The Resistance FAQ
115 questions players ask · Updated Nov 12, 2026 · Full rulebook
Setup
- Do Spies learn who the other Spies are at the start of the game?
- Who opens their eyes during the Spies Reveal, and what if a Resistance player does?
- Can players show their Character card, describe it, or discuss its art?
- Does the Inquisitor promo tile come with allegiance cards?
- Are the player boards required to play?
- If nobody is dealt the Leader (Joker) card when choosing the first leader, what happens to the leftover card?
- Which Plot Thickens cards are used in 5-6 player games?
- Why are the character-related Plot cards left out at 5 or 6 players?
- Who is the first leader, and how is it chosen?
- Are there multiple Inquisitors to use in the game?
- Can The Resistance be played with 11 or more players?
- Is there any gameplay difference between the first and second editions?
Team Building and Voting
- Are team votes public, and do players keep their vote cards between rounds?
- Are team vote cards shuffled before they are revealed?
- If the vote on a proposed mission team is tied, does the team pass?
- Do players who are not on the mission team vote on the proposed team?
- Can the mission leader put themselves on the team they propose, and must they?
- Can a Leader vote down their own proposed mission team?
- Does a team go on the mission if only a majority approves and the Spies vote no?
- How many players go on each mission?
- What terms should players use for team votes versus mission outcomes?
- What do the Team cards do?
- Does every player have to go on a mission at least once?
- Can the first mission fail?
- Is the vote on a fifth team proposal required, or can it be skipped?
- What is a round, and when does a new round start?
Conducting the Mission
- How are the played Mission cards shuffled so nobody can tell who played which card?
- Where do the unplayed Mission cards go after a mission?
- Do you reveal every played Mission card, or only up to the number of Fails needed?
- What does each team member receive for a mission, and what do they do with it?
- Must Resistance players always play a Success card, or is that only advice?
- What happens if a Resistance player plays a Fail card by mistake?
- Does mission 4 need two Fail cards to fail in a 7+ player game?
- Does a mission that fails get repeated?
Plot Cards
- How many Plot cards does the leader draw each round at each player count?
- When are Plot cards drawn and handed out: at each new leader or at each new mission?
- Do Plot cards run out or get reshuffled in a long game?
- Are Plot cards face up once handed out, and do they count as in play as soon as the leader draws them?
- Does the leader draw Plot cards at random, and do they look at them before handing them out?
- Can the leader give both Plot cards, or several, to the same player?
- Can a player hold more than one Plot card, and can the leader give a card to someone who already holds one?
- Can the leader keep a Plot card or give one to themselves?
- When the leader distributes an immediate-effect Plot card, who suffers the effect?
- Must several Plot cards be handed out in the order they were drawn, and can the leader wait for one to resolve before handing out the rest?
- When several players can play instant Plot cards at once, who gets to act first?
- Can a Plot card marked with a 1 be played as soon as it is handed out?
- Can a player pass on a Plot card and then play it later in the same opportunity?
- Can a player who said they won't play a Plot card change their mind before the vote or pass/fail step?
- Can the leader use a Plot card's effect, such as stealing, on a card that was drawn but not yet handed out?
Plot Card Effects
- Is Take Responsibility played immediately, or is it kept in hand as a one-time card?
- What happens when Take Responsibility is handed out but no other Plot card is left to take?
- Can Take Responsibility make a player take a card handed out in an earlier round, and can the holder choose which card to take?
- How does Establish Confidence work, and who must the leader show their Character card to?
- Does playing No Confidence count as a failed team vote toward the five-rejection Spy win?
- When can Keeping a Close Eye on You be played?
- Can more than one Keeping a Close Eye on You card be played in the same round, and can two players check the same Mission card?
- How is Keeping a Close Eye on You resolved once it is played?
- When is In the Spotlight used relative to the team choosing its Mission cards?
- When does a player with Opinion Maker vote, and can the leader give Opinion Maker to a player who already has one?
Leadership
- When does leadership pass to the next leader?
- Can the same player be leader twice in a row?
- Can a leader change team assignments after first assigning them?
- Can a leader propose the same team that the previous leader proposed?
- When can Strong Leader be played?
- Can Strong Leader be played after a team has been rejected, and can a leader take back leadership they lost?
- Can two Strong Leader cards be played one after another?
- After Strong Leader is played, who becomes leader next, and does it change the leadership order?
- Can I play Strong Leader when I would have become leader next anyway?
- How does Strong Leader work when a new leader starts proposing a team straight away?
Discussion and Information
Game End
- What happens if five mission teams in a row are rejected?
- Does the count of five rejected team proposals reset for each mission, and does the vote marker go back to 1?
- Does a mission with three Fail cards automatically lose for the Resistance?
- Must a spy who can win the game by failing a mission actually fail it?
- Does the game break if the spies are known with certainty?
Notes and Variants
- Do you have to play the missions in order?
- What is the black wooden disk for?
- In the Targeting variant, does the leader hold one vote for the mission and team together, or separate votes?
- In the Targeting variant, can a new leader pick a different uncompleted mission after a rejected team vote?
- Can the Spies Reveal step be skipped in The Resistance?
- How does the Inquisitor token work when added to The Resistance?
- Can a player lie about what they saw after using the Inquisitor?
- Can Merlin or Commander roles be combined with the Chiefs and Hunters?
- Can the Commander or Assassin modules be used with Plot cards that reveal roles?
The Resistance: Hidden AgendaExpansion
- How do the optional Body Guard, Deep Cover, Blind Spy and False Commander roles work at the start of the game?
- Does the Commander learn which spy is the Blind Spy or the False Commander?
- Which Avalon roles correspond to the Hidden Agenda character cards?
- Does the Commander know which spy is the defector in the Defector module?
- When Defectors are examined by the Inquisitor, does the Inquisitor see their actual role?
- What are the Inquisitor loyalty cards, and when are they used?
- In the Hidden Agenda Hunter (Trapper) module, does the leader know which player played the Mission card they set aside?
- Can spies talk while the Assassin chooses the Commander?
- Can the Trapper trap themselves while leading a mission?
The Resistance: Hostile IntentExpansion
- How do Reverse cards change a mission's result, including mission 4 in 7+ player games?
- Can the Resistance Reverser reveal their role at the start of the game?
- Which Chief card does a Chief show at 5-6 players, and which at 7+ players?
- With two Resistance Chiefs in play (8+ players), does the spy side need to accuse both to win?
- Can the Spy Chief play a regular Fail card in the Hunter module?
- In the Hunter module, does the Spy Chief open their eyes to see the other Spies?
- In the Hunter module, does the Spy Hunter win by accusing the Resistance Coordinator instead of the Chief?
- Can the Hunter confer with teammates before making an accusation?
- Can the Hunter investigate a player who was not on the mission team?
- In the Hunter module, when is the Investigation delayed, and does it wait for the Accusation?
- Why do the Spy Chiefs extend a thumb during the Hunter module setup?
- Can the Inquisitor be used on a player who has already used the Inquisitor?
The Resistance: Hidden Agenda & Hostile IntentExpansion
- When a Resistance Rogue wins, does the rest of the Resistance team win too?
- Can a Spy Rogue play a Success card?
- How does a Spy Rogue prove they have won the game?
- How many missions must a Rogue play its card on to win?
- Does the Spy Rogue know the other spies or the Commander?
- Can you use only one of the two Rogue cards in the Rogue module?
- Why does the Rogue module include six Rogue Success cards?
- Can the Trapper be used together with the Spy Chief?