[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":415},["ShallowReactive",2],{"game-en-avalon":3,"overlays-en-avalon":414},{"id":4,"title":5,"accent":6,"age":7,"backdrop":8,"bggUrl":9,"body":10,"categories":27,"components":8,"cover":31,"deepDive":32,"description":16,"duration":131,"extension":134,"faq":135,"industryLegend":8,"lastReviewed":171,"leaders":8,"locale":172,"manualUrl":173,"mechanics":174,"meta":179,"navigation":180,"path":181,"players":182,"publisher":187,"quickStart":188,"resourceLegend":8,"rulesVersion":373,"seo":374,"sourceFiles":375,"sourceNotes":377,"stem":378,"strategies":379,"summary":410,"videoLanguage":8,"videoUrl":8,"weight":411,"year":412,"__hash__":413},"games\u002Fen\u002Favalon.md","Avalon","#7C3AED","13",null,"https:\u002F\u002Fboardgamegeek.com\u002Fboardgame\u002F128882\u002Fthe-resistance-avalon",{"type":11,"value":12,"toc":23},"minimark",[13,17,20],[14,15,16],"p",{},"Avalon is the social deduction game played with faces, not cards. Everyone has a\nrole, but information is unevenly distributed: the minions know each other, Merlin\nsees almost all of them, and the rest of the good side has only conversation and\nvotes to work with.",[14,18,19],{},"The structure is simple and merciless: at most five quests, one leader proposing,\na group voting, and a handful of cards deciding whether the quest survives. Good\nneeds three quests; Evil needs three fails, five rejections in a row, or Merlin's\nname at the end.",[14,21,22],{},"The game is won or lost in the details: who approves whom, who changes their mind\ntoo quickly, and who knows things they should not. The Assassin waits for the last\nminute with a single bullet, and Merlin has to win without looking like someone\nwho knows too much.",{"title":24,"searchDepth":25,"depth":25,"links":26},"",2,[],[28,29,30],"Deduction","Party","Fantasy","\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Favalon\u002Fcover.webp",{"title":33,"intro":34,"phases":35},"Who knows what, and when they show it","You can already propose, vote and run a mission. From here the game is about information: what each result proves, what each vote reveals and how Merlin is protected once good has won three missions.",[36,69,101],{"id":37,"label":38,"steps":39},"information","What each side knows",[40,55],{"title":41,"text":42,"images":43,"check":48},"Evil recognises itself; good does not","Minions see each other and know who is not on their team, except for Mordred (hidden from Merlin) and Oberon (who knows nobody and is known by nobody). Good starts without that network: Merlin sees evil except Mordred, and Percival sees Merlin and Morgana but cannot tell them apart. Evil's edge is coordination; good's is public deduction. Evil wins when good argues among itself without any new data.",[44],{"src":45,"alt":46,"label":47},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Favalon\u002Fevil.webp","Evil character cards: Mordred, the Assassin, Oberon, Morgana and two Minions of Mordred on a wooden table.","Evil character cards",{"question":49,"options":50,"answer":53,"explanation":54},"What is evil's main advantage?",[51,52],"Knowing its allies from the start","Seeing every player's role",0,"Minions recognise each other; good has to infer loyalty from public information.",{"title":56,"text":57,"images":58,"check":63},"Votes are the only public record","Mission cards are secret: only the number of fails is announced. Votes, by contrast, stay visible to everyone and are the game's only objective log. A player who keeps approving teams full of suspects leaves a trail, whether good or evil. Before accusing, rebuild the sequence: who proposed, who approved and what result came out of each combination.",[59],{"src":60,"alt":61,"label":62},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Favalon\u002Fguia-cartas-1.webp","Game cards face up in a fan, none covering another.","Cards",{"question":64,"options":65,"answer":53,"explanation":68},"What information is public in Avalon?",[66,67],"Votes and the number of fails per mission","The mission cards that were played","Mission cards are shuffled and only the number of fails is revealed.",{"id":70,"label":71,"steps":72},"experiments","Missions as experiments",[73,87],{"title":74,"text":75,"images":76,"check":81},"One success clears the whole team","A single fail sinks the mission, so a success proves nobody on the team was evil (or that evil chose not to fail). That turns small missions into tests: putting a suspect on a team and getting a success is the cheapest way to clear them. A fail confirms at least one evil is on the team, but not how many: with three players, one fail leaves everyone under suspicion.",[77],{"src":78,"alt":79,"label":80},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Favalon\u002Fgood.webp","Good character cards: five Loyal Servants of Arthur, Merlin and Percival on a wooden table.","Good character cards",{"question":82,"options":83,"answer":53,"explanation":86},"What does a successful mission prove?",[84,85],"That nobody on that team failed it","That the whole team is loyal beyond doubt","Evil may skip a fail to build credibility: a success clears suspicion, not guilt.",{"title":88,"text":89,"images":90,"check":95},"Rejecting has a price too","Each round allows five proposals, and a fifth rejection wins the game for evil. Rejecting is double-edged: it buys information, but it spends one of the round's few chances and moves everyone closer to defeat. Evil can push that limit with seemingly reasonable rejections. Good has to decide whether to accept a mediocre team rather than reach the fifth, or force one more round of information.",[91],{"src":92,"alt":93,"label":94},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Favalon\u002Fguia-esquema-1.webp","Annotated diagram that makes the idea of the step visible.","Diagram",{"question":96,"options":97,"answer":53,"explanation":100},"What happens if five proposals are rejected in one round?",[98,99],"Evil wins","The mission is dealt again","Five rejections in a row are an evil victory: the limit is real, not decorative.",{"id":102,"label":103,"steps":104},"merlin","Merlin, the assassin and the acting",[105,119],{"title":106,"text":107,"images":108,"check":113},"Three missions are not enough","Good completes three missions and then the Assassin steps in: if they point at Merlin, evil wins. The game therefore does not end on the third mission, but on the information good has let slip. A Merlin who always proposes the perfect team and votes against everything else is a lighthouse. Share the credit: let others propose correct teams and let Percival be wrong on purpose now and then.",[109],{"src":110,"alt":111,"label":112},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Favalon\u002Fcomponents.webp","All Avalon components spread on a table: character cards, tableau, quest, team and vote tokens, and markers.","Components and tableau",{"question":114,"options":115,"answer":53,"explanation":118},"When is the game really over for good?",[116,117],"When the Assassin misses Merlin","On completing the third mission","With three missions won, the Assassin still has the final word on Merlin.",{"title":120,"text":121,"images":122,"check":125},"Evil can hand you a mission","If evil fails every time it becomes predictable and good eventually identifies its members. Sometimes letting a mission pass is worth it, to buy trust and sneak onto later teams, especially the first one. Good must allow for that: a “clean” player is not a confirmed player. Whether to fail is evil's central bet, and the player who manages it wins more games than the one who only bluffs during votes.",[123],{"src":124,"alt":93,"label":94},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Favalon\u002Fguia-esquema-2.webp",{"question":126,"options":127,"answer":53,"explanation":130},"Why might evil choose not to fail a mission?",[128,129],"To earn trust and get on later teams","Because they are forced to play success","Always failing gives you away; a clean mission can buy credibility for the next ones.",{"min":132,"max":133},30,45,"md",[136,140,143,146,150,153,157,160,163,167],{"category":137,"question":138,"answer":139},"setup","How many players does it need?","Between 5 and 10. Every count has its own tableau, good\u002Fevil split and team sizes; below five the minions have no room to hide and the game falls apart.",{"category":137,"question":141,"answer":142},"Can you play without Merlin?","Yes, there is an Assassin-only variant, but the rulebook advises against it for early games: without Merlin the good side has no real information and the game becomes much harder.",{"category":137,"question":144,"answer":145},"What about Percival with 5 players?","If you add Percival with 5 players you must also add Mordred or Morgana to compensate. The rulebook recommends adding one optional character at a time and playing several games before adding another.",{"category":147,"question":148,"answer":149},"turn","Who may play a fail card?","Only evil players. Good players are required to play the success card. Minions may play success to blend in or fail to sabotage, and a single quest can carry more than one fail.",{"category":147,"question":151,"answer":152},"Are votes public?","No: each player picks a vote card and all are revealed at once. What is public is how everyone voted, and that record is the best clue in the game.",{"category":154,"question":155,"answer":156},"special","What exactly does Morgana do?","Morgana appears as Merlin to Percival. If Percival sees two players who could be Merlin, they must decide who to protect. She is the natural counterpart to Percival.",{"category":154,"question":158,"answer":159},"And Oberon?","Oberon is an evil player who neither reveals to the other minions nor knows them, and does not open their eyes during the reveal because they are not a Minion of Mordred. They play alone and often sabotage without coordination.",{"category":154,"question":161,"answer":162},"Does Mordred appear to Merlin?","No. Merlin does not see Mordred during the reveal, so one evil player is always outside Merlin's information. That is why Mordred tilts the game towards Evil more than any other optional character.",{"category":164,"question":165,"answer":166},"scoring","How is a quest marked?","With the blue marker showing Arthur's sigil if it succeeded, or the red marker with Mordred's sigil if it failed, on that round's space. Then the round marker advances and leadership passes clockwise.",{"category":168,"question":169,"answer":170},"end","What if the Assassin guesses wrong?","If the named good player is not Merlin, Evil loses and Good wins, even after three completed quests. The Assassin gets exactly one attempt.","2026-10-24","en","https:\u002F\u002Favalon.fun",[175,176,177,178],"Hidden roles","Voting","Negotiation","Risk taking",{},true,"\u002Fen\u002Favalon",{"min":183,"max":184,"best":185},5,10,[186],7,"Indie Boards & Cards",{"pitch":189,"pitchCheck":190,"setup":196,"turn":266,"mistakes":338,"winning":366,"winningCheck":367},"Avalon is a hidden-loyalty game for 5 to 10 players. Most are loyal servants of Arthur; a few are minions of Mordred. Each round the leader proposes a team for a quest, everyone votes in secret, and if the team is approved its members secretly play a success or fail card. A single fail card sinks the quest. Good wins three completed quests and Evil wins three failed ones, but there is a twist: if Good completes all three, the Assassin gets one last chance to name Merlin. Get it right and Evil takes the game anyway.",{"question":191,"options":192,"answer":53,"explanation":195},"What happens when Good completes three quests?",[193,194],"The Assassin names a player as Merlin; if correct, Evil wins","Good wins immediately","Merlin cannot celebrate early: the Assassin has the final say by naming a good player.",[197,207,217,227,240,253],{"text":198,"images":199,"check":201},"Pick the tableau for your player count and put it in the middle with the score markers, team tokens and quest cards beside it. The round marker goes on the first quest space.",[200],{"src":110,"alt":111,"label":112},{"question":202,"options":203,"answer":53,"explanation":206},"What decides which tableau you use?",[204,205],"The number of players","Whether optional characters are in play","Each tableau shows how many players there are, how many are good and evil, and the team size for each quest.",{"text":208,"images":209,"check":211},"Deal loyalty: shuffle the good cards (one of them Merlin) and the evil cards (one of them the Assassin) for the player count, then deal one face down to each player. With 5 players it is 3 good and 2 evil; with 7, 4 and 3; with 10, 6 and 4.",[210],{"src":78,"alt":79,"label":80},{"question":212,"options":213,"answer":53,"explanation":216},"How many players are evil in a 7-player game?",[214,215],"Three","Two","Seven players means 4 good and 3 evil; the rulebook chart changes with every count.",{"text":218,"images":219,"check":221},"Run the night reveal out loud, following the script: everyone closes their eyes, the minions of Mordred recognise each other, and Merlin opens their eyes and sees the minions with a raised thumb. Nobody else opens their eyes at any point.",[220],{"src":45,"alt":46,"label":47},{"question":222,"options":223,"answer":53,"explanation":226},"Who sees the minions during the reveal?",[224,225],"Only Merlin, besides the minions themselves","Every good player","Merlin is the only good player who knows them, which is why the role is so dangerous.",{"text":228,"images":229,"check":234},"Give the leader token to a random player. That leader proposes the first team, and afterwards leadership passes clockwise every time a team is rejected or a quest is completed.",[230],{"src":231,"alt":232,"label":233},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Favalon\u002Fguia-fichas-1.webp","Game tokens grouped by type, each detail visible.","Tokens",{"question":235,"options":236,"answer":53,"explanation":239},"When does the leader change?",[237,238],"When a team is rejected or a quest is completed","Only at the end of the game","Leadership rotates on every rejection and at the end of each round.",{"text":241,"images":242,"check":247},"Decide whether to play with optional characters: Percival, Mordred, Oberon and Morgana. The rulebook suggests adding one at a time; with Percival and 5 players you must also add Mordred or Morgana.",[243],{"src":244,"alt":245,"label":246},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Favalon\u002Fguia-personaje-1.webp","Whole character card, name and artwork visible.","Character",{"question":248,"options":249,"answer":53,"explanation":252},"Which optional character knows Merlin?",[250,251],"Percival","Oberon","Percival sees Merlin and Morgana without being able to tell them apart; Oberon is an evil player who does not even know their own side.",{"text":254,"images":255,"check":260},"Restate the goal before starting: Good needs three completed quests, Evil needs three failures or five rejected teams in a single round. And if Good reaches three, the Assassin still has one shot.",[256],{"src":257,"alt":258,"label":259},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Favalon\u002Fguia-cenital-1.webp","Top-down view of the table at the setup point the step describes.","Table from above",{"question":261,"options":262,"answer":53,"explanation":265},"How many consecutive rejections hand the game to Evil?",[263,264],"Five in a single round","Three across the whole game","Five rejected proposals in a row in the same round win the game for the minions.",[267,278,289,303,314,327],{"title":268,"text":269,"images":270,"check":272},"The leader proposes a team","The leader picks the quest team and hands out a team token to each member. The size depends on the round and the tableau: with 5 players it is 2, 3, 2, 3 and 3; with 7, 2, 3, 3, 4 and 4. The leader may join the team but cannot give two tokens to the same player.",[271],{"src":231,"alt":232,"label":233},{"question":273,"options":274,"answer":53,"explanation":277},"Can the leader stay off the team?",[275,276],"Yes, they can propose others","No, they must always be on it","The leader hands out tokens freely, including or excluding themselves.",{"title":279,"text":280,"images":281,"check":283},"Discussion and secret vote","Everyone discusses the proposal, then votes in secret with one of their two vote cards. All votes are revealed together. Majority approves; a tie counts as a rejection.",[282],{"src":60,"alt":61,"label":62},{"question":284,"options":285,"answer":53,"explanation":288},"What happens if the vote ties?",[286,287],"The team is rejected","The leader decides","A tie is a rejection: the team needs a clear majority to go out.",{"title":290,"text":291,"images":292,"check":297},"Rejected: leadership passes","The next player becomes leader and the team phase repeats. Every rejection pushes Evil closer: five rejected proposals in the same round end the game with a minion victory.",[293],{"src":294,"alt":295,"label":296},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Favalon\u002Fguia-mesa-1.webp","The table mid-turn, with the pieces the step mentions.","Table in play",{"question":298,"options":299,"answer":53,"explanation":302},"How many rejections can the group afford in one round?",[300,301],"Four at most","As many as they like","The fifth consecutive rejection wins for Evil, so a team has to be approved before then.",{"title":304,"text":305,"images":306,"check":308},"The quest","Each team member gets a success card and a fail card, picks one and leaves it face down. Good players are required to play success; Evil players may play either. A player not on the team collects and shuffles the cards before revealing them.",[307],{"src":60,"alt":61,"label":62},{"question":309,"options":310,"answer":53,"explanation":313},"Which card must a good player play on a quest?",[311,312],"Always the success card","Whichever they prefer","Loyal servants cannot sabotage: only minions choose between success and fail.",{"title":315,"text":316,"images":317,"check":322},"Quest result","One fail card sinks the quest, except the fourth quest in games of 7 or more players, which needs two fails. Place the success or fail marker, advance the round marker and pass leadership clockwise.",[318],{"src":319,"alt":320,"label":321},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Favalon\u002Fguia-marcador-1.webp","Marker on its track, position pointed out.","Marker",{"question":323,"options":324,"answer":53,"explanation":326},"How many fails does the fourth quest need with 7 players?",[215,325],"One","In games of 7 or more, the fourth quest requires two fail cards to fail.",{"title":328,"text":329,"images":330,"check":332},"Endgame and the Merlin assassination","Three completed quests give Good the win, but first the Assassin names a good player as Merlin: get it right and Evil wins. Three failed quests win for Evil outright.",[331],{"src":294,"alt":295,"label":296},{"question":333,"options":334,"answer":53,"explanation":337},"Who gets the last attempt after three successful quests?",[335,336],"The Assassin, naming a good player","Merlin, revealing themselves","The Assassin points at a good player; if it is Merlin, Evil takes the game.",[339,348,357],{"title":340,"text":341,"check":342},"Approving everything to avoid arguing","Rejecting does not make you evil: good groups reject three or four proposals per round. Approving without discussion hands quests to Evil and makes you look suspicious at the same time.",{"question":343,"options":344,"answer":53,"explanation":347},"Does rejecting a proposal mean you are evil?",[345,346],"No, rejecting teams you do not trust is normal","Yes, only evil players reject","Rejecting is part of the game; approving anything without talking is the strange behaviour.",{"title":349,"text":350,"check":351},"Evil players giving themselves away","If the minions always vote as a block or approve only teams that include another minion, the pattern exposes them. Spread your votes and let a clean quest pass now and then to buy credibility.",{"question":352,"options":353,"answer":53,"explanation":356},"What mistake does a new minion make?",[354,355],"Always voting as a block with the other minions","Pretending to be good","Voting patterns are the most reliable information the good side gets.",{"title":358,"text":359,"check":360},"Merlin talking too much","Merlin knows who is evil and the temptation is to say so. But the Assassin is listening: if Merlin becomes too reliable, the game is lost at the last second. Drop hints and let others reach the conclusion themselves.",{"question":361,"options":362,"answer":53,"explanation":365},"What is the risk of Merlin being too explicit?",[363,364],"The Assassin identifies them and Evil wins","They get removed from the team","The Assassin only needs one name; the clearer Merlin talks, the easier the guess.","Good wins by completing three quests as long as the Assassin fails to name Merlin. Evil wins by failing three quests, by getting five teams rejected in a single round, or by naming Merlin after the third completed quest.",{"question":368,"options":369,"answer":53,"explanation":372},"How can Evil win without failing three quests?",[370,371],"Forcing five rejections in a round or naming Merlin","Only by failing three quests","Rejection stalling and the Merlin assassination are the other two paths to a minion victory.","EN rulebook (Indie Boards & Cards, 2012)",{"title":5,"description":16},[376],"reglamentos-pdf\u002FAvalon_Rules_EN.pdf","The rulebook is a scan with no text layer, so it was read page by page. It covers the basic game with Merlin and the Assassin, the four optional characters and the night reveal script. Component photos come from the BGG gallery.","en\u002Favalon",[380,384,387,390,394,397,400,404,407],{"level":381,"title":382,"text":383},"beginner","Reject without guilt","A rejection does not make you suspicious; approving a bad team does. If you do not trust everyone on the team, vote no and say why.",{"level":381,"title":385,"text":386},"Learn the team sizes","Knowing how many players each quest takes tells you how many minions can fit without standing out. With 5 players, a two-player quest may be clean or carry a single traitor.",{"level":381,"title":388,"text":389},"Listen to who approves whom","The voting record is the most honest information at the table: minions tend to approve teams that include other minions and reject clean ones.",{"level":391,"title":392,"text":393},"intermediate","As Evil, buy credibility","Let a clean quest pass once in a while and vote for it convincingly. A minion who never approves anything has no voice in the decisive rounds.",{"level":391,"title":395,"text":396},"As Merlin, use tone","Never name names. Ask questions, doubt a specific proposal out loud and let others reach the conclusion. Direct information turns you into the Assassin's target.",{"level":391,"title":398,"text":399},"As Percival, shield Merlin","If you know Merlin, do not defend them every time: draw suspicion onto yourself instead. The Assassin is looking for the source of information, not the loudest voice.",{"level":401,"title":402,"text":403},"advanced","Map the proposals","Track who proposed whom and how everyone voted. After two rounds, repeated teams usually expose the minions who are covering for each other.",{"level":401,"title":405,"text":406},"Two fails are a confession","If a two-player quest comes back with two fails, both players are confirmed evil. Sometimes it is worth sabotaging alone to avoid handing over that information, especially on the fourth quest with 7 or more players.",{"level":401,"title":408,"text":409},"As the Assassin, wait","Do not reveal your role or push early. Listen to who defended whom and who had information they should not have had: Merlin's name usually comes from that list of votes.","Merlin knows the traitors and has to hide it: three quests for Good, three failures for Evil and the Assassin's last bullet.",1.9,"2012","g4ej_8nBXjwJ343x0cC7wvc7er-OsXt5R-hCkoxW7w8",[],1792932784371]