Avalon
Kew Sheng Yao
Date of review: 16/9/2015
Edited by: Simon Joseph

Avalon is the revamp of Don Eskridge’s The Resistance and is a standalone game. It can be played by 5 to 10 players and on average lasts around 30 minutes of game time.

Like The Resistance, Avalon has similar gameplay and mechanics, however, it aims to create a different feel to the environment during the gameplay with the introduction of new characters. Example like there is a new character called merlin, merlin knows everyone’s role other than tone specific role. No one else knows who merlin is. Avalon and The Resistance are compatible therefore you can combine them.

Some would ask ‘if Avalon is a stand-alone game that is similar to The Resistance, why should I buy The Resistance?’ Each of the game has its own unique features. In the case of Avalon, it is placed in medieval timeline whereas The Resistance is set in a futuristic timeline with corrupted government.

If you think you got what it takes to protect Merlin and the innocent villagers or be the most evil person and remove everyone, Avalon will be the choice for you.

Coup
Kew Sheng Yao
Date of review: 17/9/2015
Edited by: Simon Joseph

Rikki Tahta’s Coup is a deduction and deception card game requiring players to outwit their opponents. While Coup d’état is a French word that means to overthrow or force seizure of a state, Coup has the players representing the states. It has slight similarities with the game The Resistance and Avalon. It can be played by 2 to 6 players with the play time of 15 minutes.

At the beginning, each player will have 2 cards face down (only known to the player themselves). Players will make a certain move like either earn coins or to eliminate player’s cards. Players that do not have any cards left are out of the game. The last player wins the game.

Coup is easy to learn yet challenging and hard to win because you need you know the players well as this is a deception game which they can either be telling you the truth or lying to you. One wrong move will cause you to lose the game, and as Jean Roqua from Never Back Down would say, “The decision is in your hand, you control the outcome.”