The Breakdown:
Players: 3-10
Playing Time: 10 min
Weight: 3/10
Publisher: Bezier Games
Mechanics: Bluffing
Social Deduction
Player Powers
Components: 16 Character Tiles
16 Character Tokens
Rulebook
Smart Phone App (optional)
Players: 3-10
Playing Time: 10 min
Weight: 3/10
Publisher: Bezier Games
Mechanics: Bluffing
Social Deduction
Player Powers
Components: 16 Character Tiles
16 Character Tokens
Rulebook
Smart Phone App (optional)
The Review:
Social Deduction games are usually the go-to games when your gaming nights go beyond the “sweet-spot” of 4-5 players. Within my own gaming group, games like Coup, The Resistance, Two Rooms and a Boom, and Ultimate Werewolf have been extremely popular for gamers and non-gamers alike. How does the traditional Werewolf work in just one night? Let’s open it up and take a look.
Social Deduction games are usually the go-to games when your gaming nights go beyond the “sweet-spot” of 4-5 players. Within my own gaming group, games like Coup, The Resistance, Two Rooms and a Boom, and Ultimate Werewolf have been extremely popular for gamers and non-gamers alike. How does the traditional Werewolf work in just one night? Let’s open it up and take a look.
Frankly, there really isn’t much to the game. You have some high quality character tiles with matching tokens, and that’s the game in a nutshell. As with most social games, like the ones listed above, the fun comes from the banter (read: swearing) between friends rather than components. The fact that there is an app available for this game with a timer and moderator is a definite perk, as people who have played these types of games can attest to.
Gameplay:
Objective: Werewolves/Minion: Have members of the village choose to lynch one of their own (not a werewolf)
Objective: Villagers: Lynch a werewolf.
Objective for the Tanner (optional): To be lynched.
Set Up: Use 3 character tiles more than there are people playing, shuffle and deal a role to each player. There should always be 2 werewolves among the cards.
Gameplay: After players know their role, the night phase occurs. During the night, different roles “wake-up” to perform their night actions. Here are some of the examples:
Game Ends: Following a timer (or when everyone decides to vote), players will point at the person that they choose to lynch. The person with the majority of votes is killed and roles are revealed.
Final Thoughts:
This type of game can be a lot of fun for groups that enjoy lying and trying to out-wit their friends. A lot of players relish the opportunity to be the Werewolf and try to pin it on someone else, but some struggle with the same role. Thankfully (I can’t believe I’m saying this), my friends are all backstabbing bastards and this game is a tremendous hit. The traditional Werewolf/Mafia games have the problem of player elimination, and this game eliminates that problem while having a very short run-time.
While I love this game, it is not without its faults. There isn’t a really good starting point for discussion following the night phase; eventually, someone will break the ice and claim to be a villager or something, and the problem does go away with time and experience, but it is a problem. Very rarely, there is a round in which no werewolves were selected, which I think is a pretty glaring issue in a game where you try to hunt werewolves.
Also, there are some rounds in which the werewolf’s role is stolen by the robber and can they can pin everything on that person which completely removes the deduction elements of the round (Similar things can also happen, this is just an example). I guess this can be alleviated by experience and watching how much you information you reveal about yourself, but still. Ultimately, I think the quick play time and the multiple rounds you can play outweigh the outlier games that are a little odd.
Positives:
Negatives:
Final Score: 7.5/10
Objective: Werewolves/Minion: Have members of the village choose to lynch one of their own (not a werewolf)
Objective: Villagers: Lynch a werewolf.
Objective for the Tanner (optional): To be lynched.
Set Up: Use 3 character tiles more than there are people playing, shuffle and deal a role to each player. There should always be 2 werewolves among the cards.
Gameplay: After players know their role, the night phase occurs. During the night, different roles “wake-up” to perform their night actions. Here are some of the examples:
- Werewolves find out who the other werewolves are
- The seer is allowed to check 1 person’s role (or 2 of the unused roles)
- The Robber can choose to take another player’s role and immediately changes allegiance to that team
- The Troublemaker can switch the roles of 2 other players without looking at their role
- The Villager, Tanner, and Hunter do not perform night actions.
Game Ends: Following a timer (or when everyone decides to vote), players will point at the person that they choose to lynch. The person with the majority of votes is killed and roles are revealed.
Final Thoughts:
This type of game can be a lot of fun for groups that enjoy lying and trying to out-wit their friends. A lot of players relish the opportunity to be the Werewolf and try to pin it on someone else, but some struggle with the same role. Thankfully (I can’t believe I’m saying this), my friends are all backstabbing bastards and this game is a tremendous hit. The traditional Werewolf/Mafia games have the problem of player elimination, and this game eliminates that problem while having a very short run-time.
While I love this game, it is not without its faults. There isn’t a really good starting point for discussion following the night phase; eventually, someone will break the ice and claim to be a villager or something, and the problem does go away with time and experience, but it is a problem. Very rarely, there is a round in which no werewolves were selected, which I think is a pretty glaring issue in a game where you try to hunt werewolves.
Also, there are some rounds in which the werewolf’s role is stolen by the robber and can they can pin everything on that person which completely removes the deduction elements of the round (Similar things can also happen, this is just an example). I guess this can be alleviated by experience and watching how much you information you reveal about yourself, but still. Ultimately, I think the quick play time and the multiple rounds you can play outweigh the outlier games that are a little odd.
Positives:
- No Player Elimination
- Quick Rounds
- Has Companion App for Timer/Moderation
- Several Mix and Match Roles to Add Variety
Negatives:
- Not guaranteed to have a Werewolf (Boo! No Conflict)
- Says it works with 3-10 players, but it’s a lot better with 5+
- No starting point for discussion
Final Score: 7.5/10