The Resistance Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Setup
• Game Play
  • Team Building
  • Conduct the Mission
• Game End
• Notes and Variants

Objective

The Resistance wins if three Missions are completed successfully. The Spies win if three Missions fail — or if the Resistance is unable to organize a Mission Team at any point (five failed votes on a single mission). A fundamental rule: players may say anything at any time — bluffing and deduction are the heart of the game.

Setup

Place the Score Tableau in the center with the Score Markers, Team cards, and Mission cards nearby. Put the Round marker on the 1st Mission space. Give each player two Vote cards (Approve and Reject). Randomly select a Leader (who takes the Leader card).

Using the chart below, shuffle the appropriate Character cards and deal one face down to each player, who secretly checks their affiliation (a player's Character card is never revealed, nor its art discussed):

Players	5	6	7	8	9	10
Resistance	3	4	4	5	6	6
Spies	2	2	3	3	3	4

Spies Reveal: After everyone knows their role, the Leader reads: "Everyone close your eyes. Spies open your eyes and make sure you know all the other Spies. Spies close your eyes. Everyone open your eyes." (Now all Spies know each other.)

Game Play

The game consists of several Rounds; each Round has a Team Building phase and a Mission phase.

Team Building

1. Mission Team Assignment: after discussion, the Leader takes the required number of Team cards (per the chart below) and assigns each to any player, including themselves (each player may hold only one Team card).

   Players	5	6	7	8	9	10
   1st Mission Team	2	2	2	3	3	3
   2nd Mission Team	3	3	3	4	4	4
   3rd Mission Team	2	4	3	4	4	4
   4th Mission Team	3	3	4	5	5	5
   5th Mission Team	3	4	4	5	5	5

2. Mission Team Vote: each player (including the Leader) secretly selects a Vote card, then all reveal simultaneously. The team is approved if a majority vote Approve; a tie or a majority Reject fails the vote. If approved, proceed to the Mission phase. If rejected, the Leader card passes clockwise and the Team Building phase repeats.

The Spies win immediately if five Mission Teams are rejected in a single round.

Conduct the Mission

The Leader gives a set of two Mission cards (Success and Fail) to each Mission Team member. Each secretly plays one face down: Resistance Operatives must play Success; Spies may play either Success or Fail. The Leader collects and shuffles the played cards, then reveals them. The Mission succeeds only if all revealed cards are Success; it fails if one or more Fail cards appear. (Exception: the 4th Mission in games of 7+ players requires at least two Fail cards to fail.)

Advance the Round marker and mark the result (Blue = Success, Red = Fail). The Leader passes clockwise and the next Round begins.

Game End

The game ends immediately after three successful or three failed Missions. The Resistance wins with three successes; the Spies win with three failures (or five failed votes on one mission).

Notes and Variants

Information comes at three levels: players' voting patterns, mission results, and social cues. The Spies tend to win a significant proportion of games with the core rules, especially with more than 7 players (the included "The Plot Thickens" Plot cards give the Resistance more information and the Spies more deceit). Popular variants: Targeting (the Leader proposes both the Mission and the Team; each mission is attempted once, and the 5th can only be attempted after two successes) and Blind Spies (skip the Spies Reveal step).