The Resistance

About this board game

The Resistance is a social-deduction party game for 5–10 players that plays in about 30 minutes. Players take the roles of Resistance Operatives or Imperial Spies, working through three to five rounds of discussion, voting, and secret decisions.

The Resistance must complete missions against the Empire, while the spies try to undermine them from within. Everyone must assess the information available, determine whom to trust, and identify the hidden Imperial agents before too many missions fail.

• Each round begins with open discussion.
• The Leader selects a team and presents Plans to the group.
• All players vote on whether to approve the assignment.
• If approved, the selected players secretly choose to Support or Sabotage the mission.

A mission succeeds or fails based on those secret decisions. The Resistance wins when three missions succeed, while the Empire wins when three missions are sabotaged. Because players are never eliminated, everyone remains involved in the conversation and the effort to uncover shifting alliances.

Inspired by Mafia and Werewolf, The Resistance builds on social deduction with mechanics that provide more resources for informed decisions and intensify player interaction. Discussion, voting records, team choices, and mission results all become evidence as players attempt to gain trust or expose deception.

For the first printing, games with 5–6 players use 7 Plot cards, while games with 7 or more players use all 15. Each round, the Leader draws 1 Plot card in a 5–6 player game, 2 with 7–8 players, or 3 with 9–10 players. Released in 2009, this compact party game turns hidden identities and collective decisions into a tense fight for the future.