Review of The Resistance
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The Resistance is a highly interactive game of secret identities, deduction and deception. Players are members of an underground resistance organization fighting against a malignant government. But spies have infiltrated the resistance to thwart their plans, will the resistance be able to root out the dastardly spies in time? Length: 30 mins Age: 13 Players: 5-10
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Prelude:
If you want the perfect mix of a secrecy, social interaction, backstabbing, laughing, manipulating, collaboration, allies, and spies – this is it, this is THE ONE!
Object & Gameplay:
The object of the game is to get your side, whether it be the spies or resistance, to win. At the beginning of the game, delegate a leader randomly. This really makes no difference. The appropriate number of Character cards are shuffled & everyone is dealt one.
In a: 5 Player Game – there are 3 resistance and 2 spies; 6 Player Game – there are 4 resistance and 2 spies; 7 Player Game – there are 4 resistance and 3 spies; 8 Player Game – there are 5 resistance and 3 spies; 9 Player Game – there are 6 resistance and 3 spies; 10 Player Game – there are 6 resistance and 4 spies.
This is secret and may not be revealed. After all players know their affiliation, the leader speaks the following: “Everyone close your eyes. Spies open your eyes, look around make sure you know all other spies. (*give spies enough time to do so) Spies close your eyes. Everyone’s eyes should be closed. Everyone open your eyes”
The leader begins the game and is given the mission cards. At the beginning of each round (there are 5 rounds), the leader hands out the corresponding mission cards. The score card has a great quick reference to keep it simple. For this particular example we are going to use 7 people playing. In a seven player game, there are 4 resistance and 3 spies, and in the first mission there are 2 mission cards handed out, making a mission team of 2.
All members are given voting cards that they keep for the entire game, one is white the other is black. With these cards ALL members secretly decide if they like the mission team or not. Keep in mind that spies know who each other are, but the resistance has no idea who is good and who is bad. If the vote passes (mostly white) the mission team goes forward, it it fails (mostly black) a new leader chooses a new mission team. On the event of a tie, it fails.
If the vote passes, The two team members chosen (the leader CAN choose his or herself) are given mission fail (red) and mission pass (blue) cards. The two team members secretly choose if they want the mission to pass or fail. There is a bit of strategy in this if you happen to be a spy on the first mission. The two mission cards are shuffled and revealed. If the mission fails a red marker is placed on round one on the score board, if it passes, a blue marker is placed on round one of the score board. At this point, if there was a spy on the team and they chose to send in a mission fail card, the team members would be arguing that they are definitely not the spy and will begin accusing each other. Many times a spy will not send in a mission fail card on the first mission as a strategy option, since in a seven player game the first mission is only composed on two team members.
If the vote fails, the leader card passes and the new new leader gets to choose two people for mission. This can continue for 5 turns, but on the fifth turn, whichever two team members the leader chose to send in WILL be going on the mission, there is no vote if it passes around the table for 5 turns. Then the game continues. In all 5 rounds EXCEPT the 4th round, there only needs to be 1 mission fail to fail a mission. However, on round 4, there needs to be 2 mission fails to fail the mission. Which ever team is first to win 3 missions, wins the game.
Final Thoughts:
There is quite a bit of social deduction in this game. The resistance and spies must depend on each other to pass or fail missions. The resistance spend the game trying to deduce who they can trust by discussing with team members and watching how everyone votes. The spies are spending the game trying to not get caught and manipulating the other members into thinking they are resistance. If resistance members think a particular person is guilty, this results in one less spy being sent on missions, making it harder for spies to fail missions. To make the game even more interesting, there is a “Plot Thickens” expansion right in the box! Which I always use when playing. This allows the leader to distribute plot cards to enhance the games mechanics. The plot cards all in some way allow for Character affiliations to be identified or concealed. There is an insert in the manual that explains the expansion.
I take this game everywhere! It has a great small and sturdy box that has been designed perfectly to take up as little space as possible. It is easy to teach, and whether you are a gamer or not, everyone who I’ve ever introduced it to, loves it. Although non-gamers tend to take a game or two before they quite understand the strategy, but really only gamers would notice this *smirk*.
The Resistance actually sort of reminds me of an extremely watered down version of Battlestar Galactica. Which if you have ever played, feels like a game of skill checks.
Lastly, I would suggest using card sleeves of different colors separating the types of cards, otherwise it can get a bit confusing. For example, the character cards have the same backside as the leader card which gets passed around. There have been a few instances where players have almost passed their character card to the next leader! All and all, it is a must have.
Final Final Thoughts:
Quality: 5/5 Fun: 5/5 Substance: 4/5 Re-playability: 5/5 445e
The Resistance, reviewed by KingKel (5/4)
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