Contents:

10 Character Cards
10 Mission Cards (5 Success & 5 Failure Cards)
15 Plot Cards (Cards used in “The Plot Thickens” expansion)
5 Team Tokens
20 Vote Tokens (10 Approve & 10 Reject Tokens)
5 Score Markers (Blue & Red Markers)
1 Round Marker
1 Vote Track Marker
1 Leader Token Youtube Video Rules
3 Score Tableaus

Objective:
The Resistance is a social deduction game with secret identities. Players are either members of
the Resistance attempting to overthrow a malignant government, or Spies trying to thwart the
Resistance. The Resistance wins the game if three Missions are completed successfully; the Spies
win if three Missions fail. The Spies can also win if the Resistance is unable to organize the Mission
Team at any point in the game (5 failed votes on a single mission).

A fundamental rule of the game is that players may say anything that they want, at anytime during
the game. Discussion, deception, intuition, social interaction and logical deductions are all equally
important to winning.

The Cards & Tokens:

Character Cards – Determine the player’s
affiliation (each player is either a resistance
operative or a spy). A player’s Character Team Token
Card may not be revealed at any point in
the game, nor the character art discussed. A Spy A Resistance Plot Card
Operative
Leader Token – Designates the player that Score Markers
will propose the Mission Team.
Vote Rejected Mission Fail
Team Tokens – Allocate positions on the
Mission Team.

Vote Tokens – Approve or reject the

Leader’s proposed Mission Team. Leader
Token
Mission Cards – Determine Mission
success or failure. Round Marker

Plot Cards – Additional actions used in Vote Marker Vote Approved Mission Success
“The Plot Thickens” expansion.
Set Up:
Select the tableau corresponding to the number of players. Place the tableau in the center of the
play area with the Score Markers, Team Tokens and Mission Cards adjacent to the tableau. Place
the Round Marker on the tableau’s 1st Mission space. Give each player a set of two Vote Tokens.

Randomly select a Leader; the Leader receives the Leader Token. Use the chart below to determine
the number of Resistance Operatives and Spies that will be in the game.

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

Spies 2 2 3 3 3 4

Shuffle the appropriate numbers of Character cards. Deal one card to each player face down. Each
player secretly looks at the role assigned to them on the Character card.

Spies Reveal:
After all the players know their affiliation, the Leader must ensure that all the Spies know one
another by repeating the following script:

“Everyone close your eyes”

“Spies open your eyes. Spies look around and make sure that you know all the other Spies”
“Spies close your eyes. Everyone’s eyes should be closed.”
“Everyone open your eyes.”

Game Play:
The game consists of several Rounds; each Round is comprised of a Team building phase and a
Mission phase.

Build the Team

The team building phase consists of the Leader picking the players that he would like on the
Mission Team followed by all the players voting to approve/reject the Mission Team.

Resistance Strategy Tip: Get on the team

As a resistance operative you need to get on the mission teams, letting even a single
spy on the team is enough to make it fail. The leader gets to propose team members,
but everyone gets a vote. If the leader’s proposal doesn’t get enough votes then the
next player becomes the leader and gets to propose a new team.
Mission Team Assignment: After appropriate discussion, the Leader takes the required number
of Team Tokens (using the following chart) and assigns each Team Token to any player including
himself. Note a player may only be assigned one Team Token.

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

Ralph Paul Candice

Example: The first mission in a

five player game requires a Team of
two players. The Leader passes Team
Tokens to Paul (himself ) and Charles,
then calls for a Vote.

Spy Strategy Tip: Act like the resistance

The resistance players are out to get you - think fast and remember if you act and
vote like a resistance player you will be harder to spot. All the resistance operatives
will want to go on the missions, and so should you.

Resistance Strategy Tip: Build trust in yourself

A good resistance player not only determines who the spies are, but also builds
trust in themselves. The best way to build trust is to explain to others what you are
attempting to do and why. When interrogated the spies can stumble in their web of
deceit and expose themselves.

Mission Team Vote: After appropriate discussion, the Leader calls for a vote on the Team
assignments. Each player, including the Leader, secretly selects one Vote Token. When all players
have their selected Vote Token ready, the Leader asks for the Votes to be revealed. All players flip
over their Vote Tokens so everyone can see how they Voted. The Mission Team is approved if the
majority of Votes approved and fails if a majority rejected the assignments; a tied vote is also a
rejection. If the Mission Team is approved, play continues in the Mission phase. If the Mission
Team is rejected, the Leader passes in a clockwise manner and the Team building phase is repeated.

The Spies win the game if five Mission Teams are rejected in a single round (5 consecutive
failed Votes).

Example: Paul, Charles, Candice and

Ian Approve, Ralph Rejects – the Vote is
approved, play continues in the Mission
Phase.

Spy Strategy Tip: Change your MO

From game to game spies can get stuck in predictable patterns of behavior, such as
never failing the first mission. If the resistance operatives can predict your behavior,
they are more likely to uncover your identity.

Resistance Strategy Tip: Trust no one

If you don’t trust everyone on the team then strongly consider rejecting the proposed
Mission Team. Good resistance players will usually use three or more votes per round,
carefully watching who is voting yes and asking them why. Remember the spies know
each other and sometimes you can catch them approving a vote just because a spy was
on the proposed team.

Conduct the Mission

Each player on the Mission Team must secretly decide to either support or sabotage the Mission.
The Leader passes a set of Mission Cards to each Mission Team member. Each player on the Mission
selects a Mission Card and plays it face down in front of themselves. The Leader collects and shuffles
the played Mission Cards before revealing. The Mission is successful only if all the Cards revealed are
Mission Success cards. The Mission fails if one (or more) Mission Fail cards have been played.

Note: The Resistance Operatives must select the Mission Success card; Spies may select either the Mission
Success or Mission Fail card.

Note: The 4th Mission in games of 7 or more players requires at least two Mission Fail cards to be a failed
mission.
Note: It’s suggested that two different players shuffle the played and discarded Mission cards before
revealing.
After the Mission has been completed, advance the Round Marker to the next Mission space on
the Tableau. Indicate a Mission Success with a Blue Score Marker or Mission Fail with a Red Score
Marker in the Mission space. The Leader passes in a clockwise manner and the Team building phase
of the next Round begins.

Example: Paul gives himself

and Charles a set of two
Mission cards. Paul selects
the Mission Success card and
places it face down in front
of him, Charles places the
Mission Fail card face down
in front of himself.

Paul takes the two Mission cards and shuffles them before revealing that the Mission
failed. Place a Red Score Marker on the first Mission space on the Tableau, advance
the Round Marker to the second Mission space on the Tableau and advance the
Leader token clockwise.
FAQ:
Game End:
The game ends immediately after either three successful or three failed Missions. The Resistance
wins if three Missions are successful. The Spies win if three Missions fail. The Spies win the game if
five Mission Teams are rejected in a single round (5 consecutive failed Votes).

Spy Strategy Tip: Never give up

Even if you are caught as a spy, you still have a valuable role to play in keeping the
other spies safe. Use your status as a known spy to create confusion and discontent
among the resistance operatives while protecting the remaining undercover spies.

Resistance Strategy Tip: Use all the information available

Information in The Resistance comes at multiple levels. First are players’ voting
patterns, second are Mission results, and third are cues that you can discern from
player interactions. Resistance Operatives must use all the information at hand to root
out the Spy infestation.

Variants:
The Resistance is a game highly dependent upon the group playing it, feel free to experiment with
different variants. Two popular variants are:
Targeting – The Missions do not have to be undertaken in a set order. The Leader first chooses
which Mission to go on (using the Round Marker on the Tableau) before completing the Team
Assignment phase. The number of players on the team corresponds to the Mission selected by the
leader.

The players Vote on both the Leader’s proposed Mission and Team.

Each Mission can only be attempted once. No Mission is required. The 5th Mission can not be
selected until two other Missions have been successfully completed.
Blind Spies – Skip the Spies Reveal Step

Spies winning too often?

It’s not easy to overthrow a powerful government. You can expect the spies will win
a significant proportion of the time with the core game rules, particularly when
played with 7 or more players. The Plot cards in the “The Plot Thickens” expansion
(included) provide additional information for the resistance operatives, and
opportunities for the spies to be more deceitful.
 The Plot thickens
An expansion for The Resistance
The “Plot Thickens” introduces Plot cards. These cards provide additional opportunity for
Character affiliations to be identified or concealed.

The Plot cards are marked to indicate which cards are included in the game for the number of
players present. Games of 5-6 players use 7 Plot cards; games with 7+ players use all 15 Plot cards.

Plot cards are not secret. Flip over Plot cards as soon as they are drawn and keep them exposed as
long as they remain in play.

Distributing Plot Cards:

At the beginning of each Round the leader draws Plot cards (1 for 5-6 players, 2 for 7-8 players and
3 for 9-10 players) and distributes the drawn Plot cards to the other players (not himself ). Remember
there are only 5 Rounds in the game.

Playing Plot Cards:

There are three types of Plot cards. Cards with the Leader symbol () on them are used
immediately then discarded, those with a “one” icon ( 1 ) are held until used, and one card with a
square icon ( ) which remains in play for the entire game. If a situation arises in which multiple
Plot Cards could be used, precedence and order is determine by proximity to the Leader (starting
with the Leader in a clockwise manner). Each player gets one chance to play any applicable cards, a
player may not pass and then subsequently elect to play cards later in the same opportunity.
Information gained by the use of a Plot card can be discussed, but a player’s Character, or Mission
cards may never be shown to the other players.

Detailed Card Descriptions:

Overheard Conversation – Use immediately – The player to whom the Leader passes this
card must look at the Character card of one adjacent player.
Opinion Maker – Permanent Effect – The player to whom the Leader passes this card
o must select and reveal their Vote token before any other players have selected their Vote
tokens. This card remains in effect until the end of the game. If two “Opinion Maker”
cards are in play those, players must reveal their votes simultaneously.
Estabilish Confidence – Use immediately – The Leader must pass their Character card to
any other player for examination.

Open Up – Use immediately – The player to whom the Leader passes this card must pass
their Character card to any other player (including the Leader) for examination.

No Confidence – One time use - The player to whom the Leader passes this card may use
this card to reject an approved Mission team (successful Vote). Using this card counts as a
failed Vote.
 Keeping a close eye on you – One time use - The player to whom the Leader passes this
card may use this card to examine a played Mission card. Using this card does not require
a player to announce its use before the Mission cards are played, nor does it affect the
Mission card played. Multiple Mission cards may be checked in a single round, but no
more than one player may check a single player’s Mission card on a round.
Strong Leader – One time use - The player to whom the Leader passes this card may use
this card to become the Leader. Use of this card must be declared before the Leader takes
any actions (draw Plot Cards or distributing Team tokens). When a “Strong” leader” is
played, another “Strong Leader” may not be played until a Vote has been taken.
In the Spotlight – One time use - The player to whom the Leader passes this card may use
this card to force a player to play their Mission card face up. The player playing this card
must declare its use and the target player prior to any player on the Mission team selecting
their Mission card.
Take Responsibility – One time use – The player to whom the Leader passes this card
a must take one Plot card from any other player.

Example: The Leader draws “Overheard Conversation” and “Strong Leader’. The
Leader passes “Overheard Conversation” to Deniz, who immediately uses it to
look at Paula’s (who is seated next to Deniz) Character card. Deniz may make any
(true or false) statement regarding Paula’s affiliation, but may not show anyone
(other than himself ) her Character card. The Leader passes “Strong Leader” to
Charles, Charles may not play the card immediately, he holds the card to play in
the future.

If I’ve never played The Resistance before, should I try the Plot cards in my first game?
It is not recommenced, try playing a couple times first without the Plot cards first. If after a few
plays you feel you want more information then try adding them the next time you play.

Credits:
Game Design: Don Eskridge
Game Development: Travis Worthington
Graphic Design/Illustration: Luis Francisco, Jordy Knoop, Michael Rasmussen, George Patsouras,
Jordan Saia, Maryam Khatoon, Luis Tomas, Vinh Mac, Alex Murur
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Brian Carpenter, Eric Hehl, Martin Burley for playtesting and
the Berkeley Boardgamers, Mike Lee, Pete Vasiliauskas for assisting the development of “The Plot
Thickens” expansion. Special thanks to Eric Zimmerman, Katie Salen, Chris Jones, the BGG
community, the Eskridges, Narae, Thomas and Jessica, DoPa, Team Don, and many more.

If you liked this game, you can find it and other small publisher
games online at www.IndieBoardsAndCards.com