The Villagers (2018)

About this game

The Villagers is a “mafia” or “werewolf” type of social deduction party game played by two teams: The Plague Doctor team, and the Villager team. The game requires a Moderator who runs the game. The Villagers has 23 different roles, and is set during the time of the Bubonic Plague. In The Villagers, you’re either with the Plague Doctor team or the Villager team. The Plague Doctors will try to infect a new Villager each night, while the Villagers try to deduce who in their midst are Plague Doctors in hiding. The Plague Doctors are posing as Villagers too, so who do you trust? Exile a new player each day, but beware, as new infections plague your village each night.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 7 to 23.
• Rules load. At 1.5/5 this is a light game — explain it in a few minutes, good for a table that has not played much.
• Age. The publisher suggests 10 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.