The Resistance

SamVS Tue 11 Nov 2014, 19:03

01/09/13:

I wrote:As far as secret roles games go, I think I preferred the weird German one [The Castle of the Devil]. I guess Resistance is designed so that by the end of the game cross referencing all the clues can never amount to a concrete deduction. If you can't made a logical case then it pulls the focus onto the human elements, like hiding your nervous twitch and lying without pausing, and by the end unless something goes comically wrong (all spies getting in the team voting fail on the first mission, for example) you have to make some leap of faith or follow some instinct to make the decisions. So, fine, it's not a strict logic game, but I preferred the game where the clues were subtle but concrete and could be pulled together to make solid deductions about what is what. Those are just first impressions after two games or less of each, though. I may have missed some of the subtitles of Resistance today during bites of shitty takeaway fried chicken.

I like The Resistance: Avalon more mainly because it has 100% less ugly character cards. The roles also help. Probably one of my favourite games.

Post your own thoughts of the game below.

**Kes** Tue 11 Nov 2014, 23:59

I agree a lot more with your quoted review than your follow up.

SamVS Wed 12 Nov 2014, 00:56

Other Sheffield Board Gamers on The Resistance:

Lizzy wrote:THE RESISTANCE: Can't stand it. I think that's the only game I will point blank refuse to play.

...

I like hidden role games, I like both Bang! and Shadow Hunters, just not the Resistance. There's so little information available, it's about arguing and lying rather than deduction. Not a fan of that.

Paul wrote:
ch1ma3ra wrote:
I am, however, going to have to disagree with you on Resistance - I really enjoy hidden role games of that type

Agreed, I love the tension and treachery of Resistance and similar games.

Kes wrote:Resistance. Hidden Roles = Good, Only hidden roles = bad.

We need some support for this game! It's good!

SamVS Wed 12 Nov 2014, 01:38

I wrote:Had a blast with The Resistance, too. Much more fun as a spy. Less confusion and guessing, more understanding but also more opposition and more control demanded of you, so a nicer challenge, as well as a sense of camaraderie, all of which the Resistance members get to a lesser degree in certain situations but all of which are inherent to playing as a spy. I'd like to play a few more games as a resistance member, though, to check. I still haven't played a game the spies didn't win.

SamVS Wed 12 Nov 2014, 02:28

My overall thoughts on the Resistance are basically this:

It is a very elegant game, and a great system for encouraging that rare sort of play that it does, which is not logic based deduction but using a little intuition and persuation.

I've had some bad games of The Resistance where I just wasn't in the mood to express myself much and it's a slightly frustrating game in that situation. There is also frustration from the opposite situation where everyone is loud and full of convoluted but empty theories and crossing conversations and nothing much develops and I end up with a headache (even when I am doing a portion of the arguing!).

(It might be a nice house rule to have the Leader control the conversation — right of speech, freedom to silence, etc.)

But the games where there have been a cool group in the right mood have been some of the best fun I've had at the club. Exciting, confusing, theatrical, surprising. Some memorable stories have developed as a result of this elegant little system — whether successfully working out all spies but being overruled by the group, going head-to-head against another player in trying to convince the group when everyone knows one of you must be a spy, or simply people outing themselves by lying badly or giggling uncontrollably at a key moment. So I can't help but love it, even when I hate it.

As I say, Avalon's big improvement are the role cards, which develops and expands that style of play simply by adding more variation (and is a more elegant and effective way to add complexity than the plot cards of The Resistance). Each character is now differentiated which gives you a lot more to think on and work out. You should get more clues, because different roles might play differently, even if you're just a boring generic role. And if you get an interesting role — Merlin, for instance — that can change the whole feel of the game for you, demand a slightly different mindset and social control to play effectively.

**Admin** Wed 12 Nov 2014, 07:32

..::[DarkMeeple666]::.. wrote:My overall thoughts on the Resistance are basically this:

(It might be a nice house rule to have the Leader control the conversation — right of speech, freedom to silence, etc.)

Isn't that Ultimate Werewolf? Even with a moderator that can fail if the group are simply out to get someone... "Sam's always a spy - he must be a spy - lynch him" tactics. I think the whole group has to be on the same page to enjoy it.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf worked well last night... I think it has a better deduction element - but then quite a few of the games came down to a definite him or her standoff that could go either way... apparently swearing on everything you hold dear isn't enough these days to convince people your a villager - man people must really distrust me.

**Kes** Wed 12 Nov 2014, 10:06

Now I think about it, I don't have an a real problem with resistance etc.
My issue is that it's a fun social game, not really a strategy game. So, if I was a party with friends having some drinks, I'd probably enjoy it, but at the club, I usually wanna play a game, not just argue and lie to each other.

**DaveB** Wed 12 Nov 2014, 11:29

Aneurin wrote:
Isn't that Ultimate Werewolf? Even with a moderator that can fail if the group are simply out to get someone... "Sam's always a spy - he must be a spy - lynch him" tactics. I think the whole group has to be on the same page to enjoy it.

And that's exactly the reason I disliked Werewolf and sold it (despite generally really enjoying social deduction games) - folk generally seem to assume I'm a git and lynch me (assuming I've not been eaten first) - I've never played a game where I survive past the second night (and even getting that far was an achievement) - no fun at all in a game with elimination.

Playing Resistance with a bunch of experienced players introduces a bit more strategy into the mix than if you have some newbies in the group in my experience - you can bring logic and deduction a bit more to bear then.

Personally I rate both resistance games pretty highly - I prefer the theme of the original but I think the role cards in Avalon add a lot to the game - thats why I'm looking forward to the expansion Kickstarter deliveries Smile

As for One Night Ultimate Werewolf last night - I am a long way from having a good grasp of the possible strategies yet, but I really enjoyed playing it out. It is (potentially) a bit too easy to be conclusively identified in the game though...

I don't, however, think these games should be played all night - they're good opener or closers, but not "session" games (for example I'm quite keen on playing a round of Resistance before playing a game of Battlestar Galactica, just to get those "suspicious bastard" juices flowing Smile

**Admin** Wed 12 Nov 2014, 12:59

DaveB wrote:
I don't, however, think these games should be played all night - they're good opener or closers, but not "session" games (for example I'm quite keen on playing a round of Resistance before playing a game of Battlestar Galactica, just to get those "suspicious bastard" juices flowing

Dave's a Cylon... kill him Wink

RikTheChief Wed 12 Nov 2014, 13:48

I really like The Resistance and prefer it to Werewolf. I like the bluffing aspect and the deduction which goes on. I've played this a few times with friends and they mostly love it although I have a few who actively don't want to play.
There is a bit of deduction and logic, you just have to remember to check how everyone is voting for the mission members, this gives you more information than you would think. I also like how there is no player elimination, even when someone is identified as a spy they still have a job to do.

Jamie Fri 14 Nov 2014, 18:21

I can't even begin to say how much I like Resistance and Avalon. I think for me; it's the combination of different elements of the game, the way it challenges me to use my brain in different ways, all at the same time. For example, there is; logical deduction and reasoning, acting and deception (which if you're a spy, you could mentally track what you should know if you were a resistance member; and that assumed knowledge forms the basis of your act), reading other people, working out if they're being deceptive or not. I like *trying* to keep a straight face, when I know I'm being dishonest; and am being challenged on my honesty - I'm pretty terrible at that though, I usually crack if pressed.

It's also been a pleasure to find people at the club who also enjoy the game. Smile

EDIT: Just can't wait for the KS expansion to arrive (think it should be in December now).

steveygee Sun 16 Nov 2014, 11:51

I used to really like the Resistance and now don't. The game pretends to offer a quicker, more logical, deduction based version of Werewolf, where it is down to player skill at logical reasoning and people reading to determine who wins and looses, as opposed to the somewhat more random accusations of (traditional) Werewolf. In fact what it offers is often over an hour of circular arguments, in which the same logical dead ends are explored over and over again until either the spies make a mistake, or the resistance gets lucky. Don't get me wrong, I like a good argument during a game. Co-ops are popular in my regular group of friends for just this reason (in the absence of an Alpha Gamer, it's remarkable how quickly Pandemic decides into heated squabbling about whether to save Khartoum or Paris), but despite it's claims to the contrary, the Resistance offers very little hard fact on which to base a decision or bring people over to your way of thinking. Every action can be reasonably justified, every suspicion well argued. For the first few games this is fun, but quickly becomes repetitive and boring. I think I prefer it in Werewolf when someone accuses another player of being a werewolf and when asked why, they just shrug and say 'he looks shifty.' It's just more...honest.

Jamie Thu 27 Nov 2014, 14:41

steveygee wrote: I used to really like the Resistance and now don't. The game pretends to offer a quicker, more logical, deduction based version of Werewolf, where it is down to player skill at logical reasoning and people reading to determine who wins and looses, as opposed to the somewhat more random accusations of (traditional) Werewolf. In fact what it offers is often over an hour of circular arguments, in which the same logical dead ends are explored over and over again until either the spies make a mistake, or the resistance gets lucky. Don't get me wrong, I like a good argument during a game. Co-ops are popular in my regular group of friends for just this reason (in the absence of an Alpha Gamer, it's remarkable how quickly Pandemic decides into heated squabbling about whether to save Khartoum or Paris), but despite it's claims to the contrary, the Resistance offers very little hard fact on which to base a decision or bring people over to your way of thinking. Every action can be reasonably justified, every suspicion well argued. For the first few games this is fun, but quickly becomes repetitive and boring. I think I prefer it in Werewolf when someone accuses another player of being a werewolf and when asked why, they just shrug and say 'he looks shifty.' It's just more...honest.

I'm wondering if other people have the same issues with the game?

I don't think I've experienced excessive arguments (okay, sometimes it can get a little circular; but nowhere near the point where it spoils the game), and if you're too loud, certainly in the group where I play, you just come across as (and get accused of being) a spy; so excessive argument is kinda counter-productive. I guess the experience you have with the game, can vary a lot, from group to group; more so than with other games.

Anyhow, to address a couple of your points, have you tried...

1. Having the leader control the debate phase. So, he can tell people when they can talk, when they've made their point and need to shut up, etc.
2. Playing Avalon, rather than The Resistance; and using the Lady of the Lake card. That would give a little more to go on, in terms of hard data.
3. There's also the KS expansion coming soon; will be interesting to see what that has to offer. More hard data to go on maybe?

**Admin** Thu 27 Nov 2014, 16:02

To me its all about the group - the first time we played werewolf at the club I thought it was really fun. However, subsequent plays just became lynch mobs and that kind of breaks the game - if the group doesn't want to play how these games are meant to be played it can spoil them all.

Be interesting to assess how many people like the game that also like to play Poker...

steveygee Thu 27 Nov 2014, 17:21

It isn't so much the tenor of the arguments as the repetitive nature of them. I feel like I hear the same discussions taking place every time.

SamVS Sun 04 Sep 2016, 22:19

Avalon, encapsulated:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KszJHdraSY

**Kes** Sun 04 Sep 2016, 23:00

Haha that's good! Their attitudes reminded me exactly of convincing non-gamers to play games.

JohnH Sun 04 Sep 2016, 23:25

That was great. Thanks for that.

Laughing

Jamie Mon 05 Sep 2016, 14:23

The first chap obviously understood the (carrot in a box) game a lot better than he was letting on. Smile

**Admin** Mon 05 Sep 2016, 14:53

As Shaun Lock is one of the main people on "Would I lie to you" - I guess so.

Jamie Mon 05 Sep 2016, 17:17

Aneurin wrote:As Shaun Lock is one of the main people on "Would I lie to you" - I guess so.

The look on his face when the other chap opens his swapped empty box! Very Happy

Ste Tue 06 Sep 2016, 08:38

I remember watching this when it came out on TV. Brilliant.

Sponsored content

The Resistance

The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance

Re: The Resistance