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Some people are generally more talkative than others. This game brings out your personality. You can win this game by being chatty or quiet.
The thing to be aware of is to play the same way as a Spy as you do as a Resistance Member.
So if you are generally chatty at this game, then don’t get quiet and contemplative when you play a Spy. It’s a red flag for your opposition.
Perhaps the spies don’t need any help in this game but here is a trick that is usually good for a win and a bit of fun.
If you are a spy, consider picking a fight with a fellow spy. Undoubtedly, one of you will be more successful than the other of convincing the rest of the group that the other is a spy but the key of course is just convincing the group that obviously it must be one or the other. Good laughs result (at least for the spies) when it is eventually revealed that the two apparent “enemies” were actually working together the whole time!
This variant is actually described in the rule book, but so many groups don’t do it. Simply don’t give the spies a chance to see one another before the game begins. Now they are as blind as the Resistance. This variant is especially good to use when people begin to complain that the spies win too often (there is usually always one person who claims this).
Some people think Resistance is too easy for the Spies to win, even when using the Plot Cards. If this is so, try skipping the ‘Spies Reveal’ part of the initial game setup, as per the ‘Blind Spies’ variant listed in the game rules … Spies will have to actively work out who their co-conspirators are, instead of starting the game off with that information.
So you’re midway through the game and somehow, the traitorous Resistance has found you out. They cut you out of the loop: your votes don’t matter, your voice goes unheard, your efforts are met with naught but sneers of “spy!” Even your partners have forsaken you, throwing you under the proverbial bus with glee. Your game is over.
Not so fast! Your role now is to completely confuse the Resistance, and I’ve found the best way to do that is to be relentlessly and completely positive. Support every idea at the table. Always vote yes. Continuously compliment every other player on their ideas and plans with a huge smile and never offer any of your own. If two other people get into an argument, support BOTH sides, loudly, even if it makes no sense.
When I used this strategy, I was captain on the final round and picked a go team with none of the spies on it. The vote passed, and the Spies were about to lose the game. Finally, a Resistance member used his card to cancel a mission and take the captaincy from me, sending a new team with one of our spies on it. The Resistance fell, all because of a smiling, happy-to-help blown spy that they simply could not trust.
The cards that come with this game seem to be made out of the same material that you might find cheap playing cards made of. After a few nights of playing, our group has found that some of the cards’ edges have began to splinter, fray, crack, and peel; creating visible tells for what card a player has submitted. I have sleeved each set of cards with a different color sleeve (left over from M:TG decks) to both protect the cards and make the different sets easily distinguishable from one another.
For the Resistance!
After reading about two particular roles in a review of Avalon, our gaming group decided to try them out with our Resistance cards. For those unfamiliar with these two characters from Avalon, the Merlin character knows who all the spies are, but the spies do not know who Merlin is. Merlin has to be careful to not be too obvious as the spies will get one shot to assassinate him at the end of the game. If the spies correctly guess the identity of Merlin…spies win. The way it’s executed is simple. Spies look up to acknowledge one another. Spies then close their eyes but raise a thumb upward on their right hand. Merlin opens eyes and sees raised thumbs. Merlins closes eyes. When game concludes (if the Resistance wins), the assassin will identify themselves and chose a Merlin. If correct, spies win.
My group prefers the sci-fi theme to fantasy so switching games wasn’t an option. I also prefer this version due to it’s simplicity. I’ve played Avalon and find it folds in on itself as you add too many characters. Simplicity is what encourages all the banter and arguing. With that said, the Merlin and Assassin characters can be a great change of pace. Keeping with the theme, we decided prior to handing out the role cards which two of our characters will be the ‘Double Agent’ (Resistance) and ‘Assassin’ (Spies) . We tend to pick characters with distinctive physical traits like the Resistance guy with the glasses and the female spy. Try it out. Fun variant.
Spies start the game with an advantage of knowing who is on their team and can frequently be content to just sit back and let the resistance throw blame around and ultimately pick spies to go on a mission (since margin of error is pretty slim). Do not become overconfident in this happening – always pose theories, make observation and analyze situation out loud, perhaps even suggesting that one or the other player might be a spy but you’re not quite sure.
Basically project uncertainty and imitate analyzing the situation. This makes you look like a good guy/gal while you plot to sabotage the next mission 🙂
This is tricky, especially when more people play. What I mean by this is to try to rely on what you can mark down as fact. This game is super fun because emotion plays a big role in the game, and that often very misleading…you can read into it too much. Instead, keep track of who went on missions, and which ones succeeded and failed. Keep track of who approves and vetoes the mission team. Conversation is important, but it’s hard to quantify. Instead, see if there are certain people who consistently agree/disagree. You’ll build the strongest case with facts.
A resistance member will most likely choose the person on their left as a mission team member to help keep track… and to possibly find out if the next leader is trustworthy. If they do not choose the person on their left… you need to ask yourself why? This is especially true early on. People forget to watch the leader… focusing too much on the other player reactions to the mission, etc. Meanwhile, the leader may have tipped their hand already (which also makes the next leader most likely a resistance member). Note: This is not always the case… but you’ll see it is better than 50%… and I’d say it works more like 80% of the time.
Strategic Tip ~ Early on… if the leader doesn’t pick the next leader… he/she is probably a spy.
Me likes some Resistance – G
With the best of 5 format for The Resistance, losing the first mission can feel very deflating, knowing you now have to get 3 of the next 4. This often will lead to spy players playing the red card as often as possible to get those red markers on the board.
Especially for lower player count games, (8 and below), if you’re a spy and you’re selected for the first mission, don’t be afraid to play the blue card to let the mission succeed.
While allowing the mission to succeed won’t automatically remove all suspicions of your fellow players (in The Resistance nothing short of revealing your role card will do this!) it will make failing future mission easier. It is much tougher to determine the spies when they are helping missions succeed, than if someone makes their presence known in the first mission.
The reason this works even better in games with 8 or fewer players is due to the last round requiring all blue players to be in the mission for it to succeed. If you can convince the blue players you’re on their side due to helping in the first round, you have a better chance of getting in on the last mission, ensuring a failure there.
From my experience, games where a spy has the first mission fail are most likely to be won by the resistance than games where a spy slow plays the first round, and gets their revenge in future rounds.
Don’t worry about the fact that you know nothing on the first turn. To win as the Resistance you need to use each turn to your advantage. So vote down the first mission and make accusations, try to catch people off guard and see if you can get someone to slip from the very beginning. If you do not you will lose your first mission most likely and start in the whole. You may get accused of being a spy but make bargains show how you can prove your worth by getting in on the mission and showing you are not a spy.
It doesn’t guarantee a win, but it will make the first turn useful and not just luck based. (be warry though spies can do the same thing)
I want to stress that, for the resistance, this only works best early on in the game. You gain a lot of information out of seeing who approves and rejects the mission. And, even though the spies win if 5 mission teams in a row are rejected, the resistance will always win the majority if everyone on the resistance approves it. Through all of that, you’ll get a lot of helpful information that will pay off in later missions. Plus, more people get to be team leaders, which I think is the trickiest part of the game.
Here a few quick tips on how to lie like a champ.
1.) Observe. Find someone that you believe is most similar to you in personality and especially emotional reactions. See how they act when they are resistance and simply imitate them and their responses.
2.) You are Resistance. You are Resistance, even if you aren’t. As hard as it may sound, don’t think about trying to outsmart the Resistance. Instead, genuinely think as if you are the Resistance. You are trying to find the spies as much as they are.
3.) Switch it up. Pay attention to how you play as Resistance. Pay attention to how you play as a spy. Switch it up, ESPECIALLY if this means getting people to think you are a spy when you are Resistance. Think of this as an investment for future pwnage.
I have used this strategy to catch many spies in the past.
If you accuse another player of being a spy with little known evidence and 1 – 2 players latch on to your accusation and agree with you then you almost always have a spy on your hands.
Usually the spies are eager to have the target off their back and tend to agree with others accusations so they don’t have to make their own. Loyal players just don’t have the information especially early on and tend not to jump on others accusations as quickly.
Whenever I have done this and someone agrees with my faulty accusation I usually ask them why they agree with me. I wait for their answer and then explain how my reasoning makes very little sense. It’s pretty convincing to the rest of the loyal players who the spies are at that point.
If you are a member of the Resistance, it is in your best interest to communicate as much as possible. Even if the spies don’t out themselves verbally, you can be alert for tells, as their answers and behavior may not quite gel. The trick to communication in The Resistance is to balance the proven benefits with the danger of over-selling yourself and breeding unwarranted suspicion. Of course, if you are a spy, this is a clever double-tricky strategy. Anyone talking *too* much is a spy – but that’s what a spy would want you to think…
I’ve noticed a tendency for some games to get a little heated. Some folks can get a little testy with a game about lying. If a friend bests you in the game by completely betraying your confidence…congratulate them. That is the game after all. Learn from their tactics and use what you learned in future games. Do your best to not be a sore loser…and then plot your revenge. (evil laugh while twisting mustache)
“You’re the Spy!”
“No, you’re the spy!!”
“Only a spy would call me a spy, SPY!!”
“no no no NO, if this mission fails we all know that you are the spy!”
There are times when there can be a heated debate like the example above. Most likely those two individuals are not the spy. And the spies are laughing away because those two are doing the work for them.
As the Resistance…
Take note of their actions, because when it’s time to pick a team to deploy you can almost guarantee that those two will help you succeed that mission. From my experience, Resistance seem to have the need to prove themselves the most and point the most fingers.
As the Spy…
Just sit back, watch the fireworks fly and enjoy the show!
Or you can…
Pick a side and egg on, the more Resistance disagree with each other the more they are not going to choose the other for their team. At the same time, since you are picking a side you are building a bond of trust. Use that to sabotage their mission. It will leave them baffling.
-Enjoy Yourselves!
This may seem obvious, and that’s probably why no one has mentioned this yet… but you really need to pick yourself (as the leader) when you go on a mission… especially the first mission!!! Why? Well, the spies are the only people who know who everyone is. When you don’t choose yourself… you look suspicious. If you are a spy, you’ve given yourself away. If you are not a spy… all experienced players will now suspect you of being a spy… especially if it’s the first mission. You may not recover. I’ve seen this happen far too often in recent games. I thought this was Resistance 101 stuff.
Strategic Tip ~ PICK YOURSELF!!!
Granny Out.
I’ve played this game once with a quite group that went along voting and going on missing without a whole lot of discussion. They mostly just looked around at each other suspiciously.
The next time I played with different people they were more lively and into their roles. They enjoyed a lot of discussion prior to voting on the teams and have lively yet friendly arguments.
If you were to look at the final “box scores” of the 2 games they would pretty much be the same. The big difference, however, was that they second game was a lot more fun.
So, my advice is to get a lively group to play with you. If your group doesn’t seem to get this concept then lead by example. Have fun with it! Treat this one as a party game!