Good vs Evil. Secret identities. Five missions. The Good team must pass 3 missions — but Evil players are hiding among them, trying to sabotage from within. Good wins if the missions succeed. Evil wins if they fail — or if they correctly identify and assassinate Merlin at the end.

5 – 10Players
30–60 minPlay Time
13+Age

Our full review: The Resistance: Avalon Review

Note: These simplified rules are based on a 6-player game. Number of players changes the Good/Evil ratio, mission sizes, and available roles.

Setup

1
Select role cards based on player count. At minimum, include Merlin (Good) and the required number of Minions of Mordred (Evil). Fill remaining slots with Loyal Servants of Arthur.
2
Shuffle and deal one role card to each player. Everyone reads their card secretly and memorizes their role.
3
Give each player one Approve token and one Reject token.
4
Randomly assign the first Leader Token.

The Opening Script (Night Phase)

Everyone closes their eyes and puts a fist forward. Then:

  1. Evil players open their eyes and silently identify each other. Eyes closed.
  2. Evil players raise thumbs. Merlin opens eyes to see who is Evil. Merlin closes eyes.
  3. Everyone puts thumbs down. Everyone opens eyes.

Merlin knows who is Evil. The Evil team knows each other. Good players know nothing — except their own role.

How a Round Works

1
The Leader proposes a mission team by handing Shield Tokens to their chosen players. Team size varies by round and player count — check the game board.
2
All players simultaneously reveal their Approve or Reject tokens. If more Approve than Reject — the team goes on the mission. If tied or more Reject — the vote track advances and the Leader Token passes left. Start again. 5 rejected votes in a row = Evil wins that round automatically.
3
If approved: each mission team member secretly plays a Success or Fail card. Good players must play Success. Evil players may play either. Cards are shuffled and revealed.
4
Even one Fail card means the mission fails (Evil scores). All Successes means it passes (Good scores). Move the result token to the score track.

Exception: In games of 7+ players, the 4th mission requires 2 Fail cards to fail.

Winning

  • Good wins if 3 missions succeed — but then Evil gets one final chance to Assassinate Merlin.
  • If Evil correctly names Merlin after Good’s 3rd win, Evil still wins.
  • Evil wins if 3 missions fail (or if they assassinate Merlin after a Good victory).

Special Roles

GOOD SIDE

Percival

Sees who Merlin is at the start of the game. Helps protect Merlin's identity during the Assassination phase.

EVIL SIDE

Morgana

Appears as Merlin to Percival at the start. Creates doubt and protects the real Merlin by acting as a decoy.

EVIL SIDE

Mordred

Hidden even from Merlin — Merlin does not see Mordred during the night phase. Harder to identify.

MIXED

Oberon

Evil player who is unknown to other Evil players — they cannot identify Oberon as a teammate. Helps balance the Good team's disadvantage in larger games.

Can Good players play Fail cards?

No — the rules explicitly prohibit it. Good players must always play Success. Only Evil players choose whether to succeed or fail.

What happens after Good wins 3 missions?

Evil gets one Assassination attempt. The Evil team consults privately and names one player they believe is Merlin. If correct, Evil wins. If wrong, Good wins.

Should Merlin pretend not to know who Evil is?

Yes — if Merlin is too obvious about knowing information they shouldn't, Evil will identify them quickly. The challenge for Merlin is guiding the Good team subtly without revealing their knowledge.

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