Indie Game Studios

Avalon

by Julie Ahern

Big Box Edition

The Dream of Camelot

The first time I played Avalon was at Origins Game Convention 10 years ago. I remember convincing the other players I was Merlin, fighting for the side of Arthur. In truth, my secret role was Morgana, so I won the game for the villains. My wicked laughter rang out after we thwarted our third mission. For those not in the know, Avalon is a social deduction game for 5 to 10 players which plays in about 30 minutes. Play well, and your fellow gamers will never know with which side you share loyalty.

How to Play

As a quick overview, here is how to play: each person will get a secret character, either a hero serving King Arthur, or a villain aligned with Mordred. Players close their eyes, and the team loyal to Mordred reveal themselves by looking up. Next, their eyes close again, and then Merlin looks up to determine the villains, as indicated by a thumbs up. All players awaken and take turns playing group leader to select teams for quests. Everyone votes to approve or reject the team, and the majority vote moves forward. Then, that team votes a fail or success on the mission. Even one fail means the mission was thwarted. These steps are repeated until either one side, or the other can claim three successes or failures. With a variety of characters and other specialized rules, this game has plenty of re-playability.

What is New

What’s exciting for established fans is that the Avalon Bix Box Edition includes the 23 distinct characters and numerous optional modules like Lancelot and Excalibur that were released as expansions for Avalon and The Resistance. In fact, the entire new packaging contains all Resistance and Avalon content. But it isn’t just a reprinting; there are new roles and modules as well, such as the Messengers, Lunatic Brute, and Trickster. Not only that, this one box comes with stunning new art for everything.

For the newcomer, this beloved hidden role game is now a one-stop shop for a collector who was fearful they would not find all the expansions. For any fan of hidden role games, the Avalon Big Box has near limitless gameplay at the reasonable cost of $39.99. It’s a wonderful collector’s item and hours of gameplay for any gathering.

How to Demo

Avalon absolutely benefits from in-store game play. Having one dedicated person to run this game is a draw for players and spectators alike. You will need space for players, but a table is not required. A benefit of this is that the game still works with social distancing. While watching social deduction games at the most recent conventions I attended, it struck me that the demographic of players was much younger. It made sense, you have social action with structure, little reading (which widens the accessibility for earlier ages), and lots of tension figuring out your team. All this adds up to a new demographic of players who are new to this game. In my family, hidden role games come in second only to card games for whole-family interaction. From my parents in their 70s to my youngest niece who just turned eight, we can all play Avalon at home, and you can too!

One of the founding members of Greenbrier Games, Julie Ahern has worked as a project manager, designer, developer, writer, and editor. Her first game design was Zpocalypse and most recently was for Final Girl for Van Ryder Games. In addition to writing stories, rules, and copy, Julie has contributed to GTM Magazine and Meeple Monthly.