In my gaming group I usually get to play a wide and varied number of board games and card games. Some are more enjoyable than others. Some are more involved and others can be simple and pretty straightforward. On a Wednesday evening, after a long and busy day, a simple and straightforward game can be very appealing.

One Night Werewolf is similar to another game that is regularly played called The Resistance, a game where you have to identify spies amongst the resistance and prevent them from failing missions. In One Night Werewolf there is a variety of roles and thanks to a limited time factor a game can be done in just under four minutes, always handy if you want a quick game before one member has to shoot off to get that last train.

There are many different variations of the game depending on which character cards are dealt out. Every one having a function; unless you happen to be a villager in the basic version of the game.

The Goal!

However, before we get into what each character card does it would probably be best to talk about the goal of the game to help you better understand things. In each game there can either be one werewolf or two werewolves with the werewolves ultimate goal to not be lynched and also try to sow blame on one of the other characters. The non-werewolf characters are trying to win and they have to lynch the person they believe to be a werewolf. If they guess wrongly they lose the game but if they guess right then they win the game.

The werewolf or werewolves don’t want to be caught so they don’t usually want to out themselves however those on the good team can freely admit who they are and it is up to the other players to determine if that player is being honest or not. In addition to each player having a card, there are three cards that are placed in the middle. None of the player knows what these three cards are.

Most character cards give the player a function or action to do during the opening moments where the players close their eyes and werewolves have to identify themselves to each other. Other characters might also have to use their abilities at this point. Players keep their eyes closed so that no one knows who each other is though so it's very tense!

Who's Who?

Characters have different attributes in game too. For example the player with the Robber card allows that player to swap his or her card for another player. A Troublemaker card allows it’s owner to swap the cards of two other players. Another card called the Seer allows that person to see the card of one player or choose to see one of the cards in the middle. During the game it’s up to the player whether or not they would like to divulge the information they've worked out. If you are not a werewolf then why would you want to hide information that will support you in your favour? Things are getting interesting!

Other roles in other expansions include roles like the Tannen. The character of the Tannen is a character with a death wish of sorts. He will say that he is a werewolf as a result and can therefore throw the game for the good guys. Other cards that can be played in other games include a minion card and his function is to aid the werewolves and can use himself as a sacrifice so he can help the werewolves win.

The only role amongst the cards that has no special ability is that of a Villager, represented with the bushiest of mustaches. It can be dull to have nothing to do but in those early games if you were a werewolf it was handy to declare that you were a villager with fancy facial hair. The problem with too many people claiming to be villagers is that the other players know that there is a werewolf amongst them!

That right there is what is so good about this game, you never know what will happen next, and who is playing who. If you have not tried the game then it is definitely worth the pick up.

Highly recommended!

Neill Stringer

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