Contents

14 Character Cards
(Merlin, Assassin, Percival, Mordred, Morgana, Oberon, 5 Loyal Servants of Arthur and 3 Minions of Mordred)
10 Quest Cards (5 Success & 5 Failure Cards)
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
3 Score Tableaus (One side for each player count)
2 Loyalty Cards (Optional, for use with Lady of the Lake and Plot Thickens Cards from The Resistance)
1 Lady of the Lake Token (Optional)

Objective
The Resistance: Avalon is a game of hidden loyalty. Players are either Loyal Servants of Arthur
fighting for Goodness and honor or aligned with the Evil ways of Mordred. Good wins the game by
successfully completing three Quests. Evil wins if three Quests end in failure. Evil can also win by
assassinating Merlin at game’s end or if a Quest cannot be undertaken.

Players may make any claims during the game, at any point in the game. Discussion, deception,
accusation, and logical deduction are all equally important in order for Good to prevail or Evil to
rule the day.

The Cards & Tokens

Character Cards – Determine the player’s loyalty
(each player is either Good or Evil). Character cards on the
Team Token
side of Good have Arthur’s sigil on blue background
and Evil have Mordred’s sigil on red background. Minion Loyal
of Mordred Servant of
Hereafter references to a player’s Arthur
Good or Evil loyalty are denoted with a special font.
Some Characters have special powers during the game Leader
– Merlin and the Assasin are included in all games and Token
the remaining special character cards are optional. Vote
Score Markers Marker
A player’s Character Card may not be revealed at any point Mission Fail
in the game, nor the character art discussed. Vote Rejected
Round
Leader Token – Designates the player that will propose Marker
the Quest Team.
Team Tokens – Allocate positions on the Quest Team.
Vote Tokens – Approve or reject the Leader’s proposed
Quest Team.
Quest Cards – Determine a Quest’s success or failure. Vote Approved
Mission Success
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 Quest cards adjacent to the tableau. Place the Round
marker on the tableau’s 1st Quest space. Given 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 Good and Evil players.

Players 5 6 7 8 9 10
Good 3 4 4 5 6 6
Evil 2 2 3 3 3 4

Shuffle the appropriate number of Good Character cards (one of these cards will be the Merlin card, all the
other Good character cards will be just “Loyal Servant of Arthur” cards) and Evil Character cards (one of these cards
will be the Assassin card, all the other Evil character cards will be just “Minion of Mordred” cards). Deal one card to
each player face down. Each player secretly looks at their assigned loyalty on their Character card.

Evil reveals itself, and Merlin looks into the future

True Evil is rampant in the land. Arthur represents the future of Britain, a promise of prosperity and
honor, yet hidden among his brave warriors are Mordred’s unscrupulous minions. These forces of Evil are
few in number but have knowledge of each other and remain hidden from all but one of Arthur’s servants.
Merlin alone knows the agents of Evil, but he must speak of this only in riddles. If his true identity is
discovered all will be lost.

After all the players know their loyalty, the Leader must ensure that all the Evil players know each
other and that Merlin knows all the Evil players by repeating the following script:

“Everyone close your eyes and extend your hand into a fist in front of you”
“Minions of Mordred open your eyes and look around so that you know all agents of Evil”
“Minions of Mordred close your eyes”
“All players should have their eyes closed and hands in a fist in front of them”
“Minions of Mordred – extend your thumb so that Merlin will know of you”
“Merlin, open your eyes and see the agents of Evil”
“Minions of Mordred – put your thumbs down and re-form your hand into a fist”
“Merlin, close your eyes”
“All players should have their eyes closed and hands in a fist in front of them”
“Everyone open your eyes”
Game Play
The game consists of several Rounds; each Round has a Team Building phase and a Quest phase.
In the Team Building phase the Leader proposes a Team to complete a Quest – all the players will
either approve the proposed Team and move to the Quest phase, or reject the proposed Team passing
leadership to the next player and repeating the process until a Team is approved. In the Quest phase
those players selected to be on the Team will determine if the Quest is successful.

Choose your Team wisely. Approve only Teams where you trust everyone. Even a single Evil player on
the team is enough for failure.

Team Building Phase

It is a time for great decisions and strong leaders. Not all knights and ladies of Avalon are loyal to Arthur,
and yet you must choose only those that are Good to represent him in his quests. If an open ear and eye is
kept, Merlin’s sage advice can be discerned as whispers of truth.

Team Assignment: After appropriate discussion, the Leader takes the required number of Team
Tokens (using the following chart, or numbers on the tableau) and assigns each Team Token to any player.

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

The Leader can be on the Team, but is not required to be so. Note a player may only be assigned one
Team Token.

Discuss, Discuss, Discuss. All the players should participate in helping the Leader make the right choice of
players to be on Team. Active and logical discussion is a great way to catch Mordred’s agents in their webs
of deceit.
Justin Walter Laura
Example: The first Quest
in a five player game
requires a Team of two
players. The Leader passes
Team tokens to Walter
(himself ) and Thomas,
then calls for a Vote.
Team Vote: After appropriate discussion, the Leader calls for a vote on the Team assignments.

The Leader is proposing the Team – but all the players have a Vote in whether they accept or reject the
proposal.The Leader can be Evil, or one of the players chosen could be a mistake. Don’t feel that you need
to accept all the proposed Teams. If you reject the team then a new Leader can propose a different Team,
maybe one without any Evil players on it.

Each player, including the Leader, secretly selects one Vote card. When all players have their selected
Vote card ready, the Leader asks for the Votes to be revealed. All Vote tokens are flipped over so
everyone can see how you voted. The Team is approved if the majority accepts. If the Team is
approved, play continues in the Quest phase (below). If the Team is rejected (a tied Vote is also rejection),
the Leader passes clockwise and the Team building phase is repeated.

Evil wins the game if five Teams are rejected in a single round (5 consecutive failed Votes).

Walter

Example: Walter, Thomas, Laura and

Evie Approve, Justin Rejects – the Vote is
approved, and play continues in the Quest
phase.
Evie Thomas

Strategy Tip: Trust no one

If you aren’t confident of every one on the proposed Team, then you should strongly
consider rejecting the proposal. Rejecting a Team is not a sign that you Evil.
A group of skilled players will usually do the Vote phase three of more times before
agreeing to a Team. Watch who approves, and ask them why they approved - sometimes
Evil players will approve because they know another Evil player was included. Merlin
can also use his voting as a signal, but be careful the Evil players will be watching.
Quest Phase
You have debated well and wisely chosen the brave knights and ladies with whom you place your trust.
Now it is time to measure a person’s true intent and loyalty to the noble cause for which Arthur fights.
Be true and goodness will prevail.

The Leader passes a set of Quest cards to each Team member. Each player on the Quest selects a
Quest card and plays it face down in front of themselves. The Leader collects and shuffles the played
Quest Cards before revealing. The Quest is completed successfully only if all the cards revealed are
Success cards. The Quest fails if one (or more) Fail cards have been played.

Note: The Good players must select the Quest Success card; Evil may select either the Quest Success or Quest
Fail card.

Note: The 4th Quest (and only the 4th Quest) in games of 7 or more players requires at least two Quest Fail
cards to be a failed Quest.
Note: It’s suggested that two different players shuffle the played and discarded Quest cards before revealing.

Note: It’s best to designate a player not on the Team to collect all the discarded Quest cards so that it’s clear
which cards are played and which are discarded. Shuffle the discarded Quest cards.
Indicate a successful Quest on the tableau by placing blue Score marker with Arthur’s sigil. A failed
quest is shown by placing a red Score marker with Mordred’s sigil on the tableau. After the Quest has
been completed (either in success or failure), advance the Round marker to the next Quest space on the
tableau. The Leader passes clockwise and the next Round begins in Team building phase.

Example: Walter gives

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

Walter 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.
Game End:
Arthur and Goodness prevail if the team of Good is able to successfully complete three quests without
revealing Merlin’s true identity. Mordred’s dark forces of Evil triumph when three quests end in failure, or
are devious enough to force Merlin into the open.

The game ends immediately after either three successful or three failed Quests. The Evil players win if
three Quests fail. The game also ends immediately and the Evil players win if five Teams are rejected
in a single round (5 consecutive failed Votes).
Assassinate Merlin – Evil’s Last chance
If three Quests are completed successfully, the Evil players will have a final opportunity to win the
game by correctly naming which of the Good players is Merlin. Without revealing any Character
cards, the Evil players discuss and the player with the Assassin character card will name one Good
player as Merlin. If the named player is Merlin, then Evil players win. If the Evil players do not name
Merlin then the Good players win.

Example: Walter, Justin, and Laura

are Good; Evie and Thomas are
Evil. Walter is Merlin; Evie is the
Assassin.The fifth Quest is successfully
completed, and the game ends with
three successes. Evie and Thomas have
one opportunity left to win – naming
Merlin. Evie and Thomas agree that
Laura is Merlin. Evie, the Assassin,
names Laura as Merlin. Laura is not
Merlin, the assassination attempt fails
and the team of Good wins the game.

Credits
Game Design: Don Eskridge
Game Development: Travis Worthington
Graphic Design/Illustration: Luis Francisco, George Patsouras, Marco Turini, Pablo Messuti, Luis Tomas
Acknowledgements: Many thanks to my excellent family, the BGG community and play-testers, KJ,
Dave, Narae, Tom, Jess, the Berkeley Board Gamers, and anyone who’s ever kicked the ceiling over a
game of Resistance.

IF YOU LIKED THIS GAME, YOU CAN FIND IT AND OTHER SMALL PUBLISHER
GAMES ONLINE AT www.IndieBoardsAndCards.com
Optional Character Cards with special powers
Four additional Characters with specials powers are available to play. You can play with these cards in any
combination that you would like. Different combinations will make the game harder to win for one the side of
the battle or the other. It is best to add one special Character card into a game at a time, adding more or changing
when you are familiar with how they play. In most cases you will want to play with Merlin, but it is not required.

Percival: Percival is an optional Character on the side of Good. Percival’s special power is knowledge of Merlin at
the start of the game. Using Percival’s knowledge wisely is key to protecting Merlin’s identity. Adding Percival into
a game will make the Good side more powerful and win more often.
Note: For games of 5, be sure to add either Mordred or Morgana when playing with Percival.

Mordred: Mordred is an optional Character on the side of Evil. Mordred’s special power is that his identity is not
revealed to Merlin at the start of the game. Adding Mordred into a game will make the Evil side more powerful
and win more often.

Oberon: Oberon is an optional Character on the side of Evil. Oberon’s special power is that he does not reveal
himself to the other Evil players, nor does he gain knowledge of the other Evil players at the start of the game.
Oberon is not a “Minion of Mordred” and does not open his eyes during the reveal at the start of the game.
Adding Oberon into a game will make the Good side more powerful and win more often.

Morgana: Morgana is an optional Character on the side of Evil. Morgana’s special power is that she appears to
be Merlin – revealing herself to Percival as Merlin. Adding Morgana into a game will make the Evil side more
powerful and win more often.

The “reveal” phase at the start of the game will vary depending on which roles are added – see below for new
scripts to use for the different Character cards that are included.

“Everyone close your eyes and extend your hand into a fist in front of you”
“Minions of Mordred, not Oberon – open your eyes and look around so that you know all agents of Evil”
“Minions of Mordred close your eyes”
“All players should have their eyes closed and hands in a fist in front of them”
“Minions of Mordred, not Mordred himself – extend your thumb so that Merlin will know of you”
“Merlin, open your eyes and see the agents of Evil”
“Minions of Mordred – put your thumbs down and re-form your hand into a fist”
“Merlin, close your eyes”
“All players should have their eyes closed and hands in a fist in front of them”
“Merlin & Morgana – extend your thumb so that Percival may know of you”
“Percival, open your eyes so you may know Merlin & Morgana”
“Merlin & Morgana– put your thumbs down and form your hand into a fist”
“Percival, close your eyes”
“All players should have their eyes closed and hands in a fist in front of them”
“Everyone open your eyes”
Optional Rules
Targeting: The targeting varEviet allows the players to complete the Quests in any order they see fit adding a level
of strategic planning into the game.

During the Team phase, the Leader chooses both which players to be on the Team and which Quest the Team will
attempt to complete. Use the included Round marker to indicate which Quest the Leader selected. The number
of players chosen to be on the Team must correspond to the number required for that Quest. For example in a
game of 8 Players, the leader chooses to start the game by completing the 3rd Quest which requires 4 Team members. The
leader chooses 4 players to be on the Team, and places the Round marker on the 3rd Quest before calling for a Vote.
After the Quest phase, place the appropriate Score marker on the tableau in the space corresponding to the Quest
attempted. Once attempted, a Quest may not be attempted a second time.

The 5th Quest cannot be attempted until at least two other Quests have been completed successfully.

For games with 7 or more players, the 4th Quest still requires two Fails to be played in the Quest phase to be a
failed Quest.

Plot & Loyalty Cards: The Loyalty cards are used only if you are playing with the optional Plot cards contained
in The Resistance. Some Plot cards require a player to reveal their identity, but in The Resistance: Avalon Merlin’s
identity must be kept secret even if his loyalty can be revealed.
Use Loyalty cards instead of your Character card whenever you are subject to a Plot card that reveals your
Character card. You must use the Loyalty card that corresponds to the loyalty on your Character card. Using the
wrong Loyalty card will result in losing the game.

Lady of the Lake & Loyalty Cards: The Lady of the Lake token is an optional player ability. The player with the
Lady of the Lake will be able to look at the loyalty of another player. Unlike the other character powers, the player
that has this ability is open information.

At the beginning of the game, give the Lady of the Lake token to the player on the Leader’s right.
Immediately after the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Quest is resolved, the player with the Lady of the Lake token will choose
one player to examine. The player being examined will receive the pair of Loyalty cards and pass the card that
corresponds to the loyalty of their Character card to the Lady of the Lake. Using the wrong Loyalty card will
result in losing the game.

The Lady of the Lake may discuss, but cannot reveal the Loyalty card passed.

The player being examined receives the Lady of the Lake token. The Lady of the Lake will only be used three
times in the game. A player that used the Lady of the Lake cannot have the Lady used on them.

Example: Don (an Evil player) starts the game to the Leader’s right and receives the Lady of the Lake token. The first
Quest ends in success, the second Quest is a failure. Don, as the Lady of the Lake, chooses Margaret (a Good player) to
examine. Margaret takes the two loyalty cards – and passes the Good card to Don. Don looks at the Good card and
proclaims “Margaret is an Evil minion of Mordred” – an outright lie! Margaret is outraged and quickly rebuts “I never
trusted you Don, and now I know you are a liar”. Don passes the Lady of the Lake token to Margaret. Margaret will
be able to examine another player’s loyalty after the third quest is resolved. Margaret cannot use the Lady of the Lake on
Don.

Note: the Lady of the Lake is best saved for games of 7 or more people. Adding the Lady of the Lake into a game will
make the Good side more powerful and win more often.