I like the hidden loyalty mechanic in games. Resistance is one of my favorite games, but is falling out of favor with my IRL gaming group for a few reasons (it's been played SO MUCH, being the main one, but also the number of players required can be a barrier to entry). That same group plays a TONNE of Battlestar Galactica, but that game takes SO LONG!
I'd really like to find some other games that might be played with my IRL group. I'll list the games that include hidden loyalty mechanics that I've played and reasons why I (or my group) liked or disliked them and maybe you all can give me some recommendations?
Resistance: 15 minutes to play, so it's nice and short. Great for playing multiple games in one session, which can add to the metagame in some cases. There are easy variants to add that provide variety of play, and the game is very light on mechanics. Essentially the whole game is about the hidden loyalties. I love this game.
Bad things: other people in my group seem to like what they call a "fuller gaming experience," which probably means there are some mechanics to hide behind. OK I guess I don't mind this, but I would prefer for the hidden loyalties to be as large a part of the game as possible. Unfortunately, the game just doesn't work at all with four or less, and can seem a little less satisfying with only five players. 3-5 player games seem to work best with my IRL group. It's been played so much that certain people in my group will refuse to play it anymore, which has effectively led to it being played anymore
Battlestar Galactica: Man, I love that show, and I love Baltar, and I usually love the first 20 or so minutes of the game, even though I don't even understand how half of the mechanics work (Baltar never needs to get in a Viper, does he?). But oh mansies, does this game take way too long! If Battlestar took an hour to play, tops, and maybe wasn't so complicated, I would probably be really into it.
Don't ask me which expansions I'm playing with: probably all of them; my group would have it no other way. They just got "Daybreak" which apparently makes the game take EVEN LONGER! No thank you.
Bang! This game seems to take way too long for what it delivers. I feel like it should never take longer than 30 minutes, but I've never played a game that finished in an hour or less. There's also player elimination which sucks a lot. Also, there seem to only be rare circumstances where keeping your identity a secret is beneficial, which takes focus off of the hidden loyalty aspect of the game.
Panic Station: This game has seen a couple of plays with our group. It wasn't too popular, and I think the reason why is because usually the endgame drags on for quite a bit. There are a few situations very close to a stalemate that seem pretty common (infected people hoarding gas, humans separated from where they need to go by a ton of bugs, just waiting to draw ammo cards to deal with them). Also player elimination here is a minus.
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Games I've looked at:
Saboteur: I played a half of a game of this once, and none of us really knew the rules. Is this game good?
Room 25: Read a pdf of the rules, read some very mixed reviews, saw a PBF version of the game. Is this game good?