How to Play Avalon: Roles, Rules and Winning Conditions

Avalon, commonly known as The Resistance: Avalon, is a social deduction game about secret teams, persuasion and deception. Players are assigned to Good, the loyal servants of Arthur, or Evil, who try to undermine their missions. No one is eliminated during the standard game, so everyone stays involved until the result is decided.

The Good team tries to complete three missions. Evil tries to make three missions fail, or to identify Merlin after Good appears to win. Players discuss who should go on each mission, vote on the proposed team and then secretly choose whether the mission succeeds or fails.

Avalon is not inherently a Web3 game: the standard tabletop game does not require a wallet, tokens or blockchain transactions. Avalon The Game is a digital adaptation of The Resistance: Avalon. It is described as free to play with optional donations; account details are limited, so check its current terms and privacy information before signing up or paying. Physical game prices vary by edition and seller.

The standard game supports five to ten players. Each player receives a role card in secret, which determines their team and any special information they have. The group should agree on the player count and which optional roles, if any, are in play before dealing cards; special roles change what players know and can make the game harder to read.

A basic setup needs only the role cards and mission cards or equivalent markers. One person can read the rules aloud, but that person still plays. At the start, players close their eyes for a brief role-reveal sequence so the evil team can learn who its members are and Merlin can gain information. Follow the script for your edition: role combinations affect who opens their eyes and what they can see.

Before starting, make sure everyone knows these points:

• Roles and teams stay secret.
• Good players must submit success on missions.
• Evil players may choose success or failure when sent on a mission.
• Players may argue, bluff and change their minds, but should not reveal or show their role card.

If new players are at the table, use the basic roles first. Add special roles after everyone understands the voting and mission sequence.

Good consists of loyal servants of Arthur; Evil consists of players working against them. The exact number on each side depends on the total number of players and is set by the game’s role chart. Merlin is on Good’s side and learns who the evil players are, subject to exceptions created by particular roles. That information helps Good, but Merlin has to hide how much they know.

The Assassin is on Evil’s side. If Good completes three missions, the Assassin gets to guess which player is Merlin. If the guess is right, Evil wins instead. This keeps a successful-looking Good team from winning simply by openly relying on Merlin’s clues. Some versions also use roles such as Percival, who receives information about possible Merlins, or Morgana, who can confuse that information. These are optional additions, not requirements for a first game.

For a beginner-friendly match, use the basic role set recommended for your player count. Don’t assume a player’s confident accusation proves they are Good: an evil player can make a plausible case, and a Good player can misread the evidence. Treat special-role information as useful but incomplete, and remember that the table’s discussion is part of the game—not a reliable test of honesty.

Avalon is played over up to five missions. A leader proposes a team for the current mission, using the required team size for the number of players. The leader role passes to the next player after each proposal, whether the proposal is approved or rejected.

The group votes simultaneously to approve or reject the proposed team. If a majority approves, only the selected players take part in the mission. If the proposal is rejected, leadership moves on and a new team is proposed. Five rejected proposals for the same mission give Evil the win, so the group cannot reject teams indefinitely.

Players on an approved team secretly submit a mission card. Good players must choose success; Evil players may choose success or failure. The cards are shuffled before they are revealed, so the table sees the mission result but not who played which card. A mission normally fails if at least one failure card appears. On the fourth mission in games with seven or more players, two failure cards are required for the mission to fail; check your edition’s rules if using variants.

After the result is announced, the group discusses what it suggests and the next leader proposes a team. Keep the team size chart handy so you don’t accidentally approve an invalid proposal.

Good wins by passing three missions, but there is one final step: if the Assassin role is in play, Evil gets to guess Merlin’s identity. A correct guess gives Evil the victory; a wrong guess leaves the win with Good. This means the Good team’s apparent success is not secure until the assassination attempt is resolved.

Evil wins immediately when three missions fail. It can also win if the table rejects five team proposals in a row for the same mission. These routes matter because Evil can influence the vote as well as play failure cards: a team can be blocked before it ever gets to a mission.

Result	Winner
Three failed missions	Evil
Five rejected proposals for one mission	Evil
Three successful missions, then Assassin identifies Merlin	Evil
Three successful missions, and Assassin misses Merlin or is not in play	Good

Use the official player-count chart for how many people go on each mission. The team sizes change with the number of players, and the special two-failure rule on mission four applies only in larger games. If your group uses role variants or a digital adaptation, check that version’s rules before beginning rather than assuming every table follows identical options.

Good players should compare claims against the public record: who proposed each team, who supported it, which missions failed and who repeatedly pushes to include or exclude particular players. No single vote proves someone’s role, but patterns across several rounds can help. Merlin can guide the discussion without sounding certain; a too-accurate trail of accusations can make the Assassin’s final guess easier.

Evil players need to shape decisions without making every move look coordinated. They can vote for a team that includes an evil player, then decide whether to pass or sabotage the mission. A failure card can be powerful evidence, but a failed mission does not identify the saboteur because the cards are anonymous and more than one evil player may be present.

Try these table habits:

1. Ask why a proposed team changed from the previous round.
2. Separate what you know from what you suspect.
3. Track votes and mission outcomes rather than relying on first impressions.
4. Avoid revealing your role card as proof; role claims are part of the bluffing game.

If you are new, focus on understanding the vote and mission history before trying elaborate bluffs. Experienced players can use that history to mislead, so treat it as evidence to weigh rather than a guaranteed answer.

Most first-game confusion comes from mixing up team votes and mission cards. Everyone votes on whether a proposed team should go; only the selected players submit mission cards. Good players cannot sabotage a mission, while an evil player on the team can choose either outcome. The revealed mission result does not show which person played which card.

Avoid these mistakes:

• Rejecting every team: five rejections for one mission hand Evil the win.
• Treating a failed mission as proof against one player: the mission cards are anonymous, and more than one evil player may be on the team.
• Forgetting the Assassin: Good has not secured victory after three successful missions if the Assassin can still identify Merlin.
• Using the wrong team size: follow the chart for your player count and mission number.
• Adding too many special roles too early: extra information and deception can make a first game harder to follow.

Agree before the first round whether you are using role variants and how you will handle disputes about the rules. If a rule is unclear mid-game, pause and consult the instructions for your edition rather than changing it to benefit one team. Consistent rules make the discussion fair and let players learn from the same set of outcomes.

You can play with a physical copy or use a digital adaptation. Avalon The Game is described as a free desktop and mobile version of The Resistance: Avalon, with optional donations. It is a separate digital product from any tabletop purchase; the candidate game information does not establish detailed account requirements, privacy practices or donation amounts. Check those points in the app or store listing before sharing personal details or paying.

A digital game can handle role assignment, voting and mission-card reveals for you, which may help a group that is still learning. Before starting, confirm that your chosen version supports your group size, uses the rules you expect and explains any optional role settings. If playing remotely, agree on a voice or text channel for discussion, since debate and bluffing are central to Avalon.

For a no-cost start, choose a version whose current terms confirm that the core game is free, and skip donations unless you understand what they pay for. Do not assume that a digital adaptation is a blockchain game or that it requires crypto: Avalon The Game is presented as a game adaptation, not a token-based product. If you want a tabletop experience instead, compare the specific edition and its price before buying.