The 10 Best Social Deduction Board Games of All Time, Ranked
Sometimes, the most exciting board games are the ones where you don’t know which of your fellow players you should trust. Who amongst you is secretly a killer? How many people at the table are spies? The best social deduction board games make answering these questions a ton of fun. 10. A Fake Artist Goes to New York Image via Oink Games A Fake Artist Goes to New York is like social deduction Pictionary. Everyone is drawing the same word, on the same canvas, one line at a time. However, one of the players doesn’t actually know what the selected word is while the drawing occurs. That player has to contribute to the artwork without bringing attention to themselves, or they’ll be called out as a fake once the round ends. However, if the fake artist can still guess what the picture is meant to be, they get away with the crime. It’s a highly portable board game that you can take with you whenever you’re traveling. 9. Werewords Image via Bezier Games Werewords is a straightforward word-guessing game, but with a unique twist. You’ll have a set number of questions to ask as a means of finding the correct word, and everyone will work as what appears to be a team. However, one of the people at the table is trying to deceive you and lead you further from the right answer. If you don’t guess the correct word, you might still be able to win if you can identify the werewolf. It’s a solid tabletop title for players of all ages, and works well for parties. 8. Bang! The Dice Game Image via DV Giochi Ready for an epic showdown in the Wild West? Bang! The Dice Game has all the gunslinging fun and surprising twists of fate that you’d expect to find in a classic Western. Only one player has a known identity in town: the sheriff. Everyone else is either a deputy, a renegade, or an outlaw. If you’re allied with the law, you have to keep the sheriff alive for as long as possible and take down all the baddies. If you’re a renegade, you have to be the last person standing to win. And finally, if you’re an outlaw, you’re basically in town just to cause chaos. 7. One Night Ultimate Werewolf Image via Bezier Games If you’re looking for a social deduction board game that’s fast and easy to learn, then you’ll love One Night Ultimate Werewolf. The game has an app that sets up the narrative and manages the night phase. This mechanic ensures that everyone can participate without knowing who’s who. There are tons of interesting role cards, and each one has its own power, which guarantees that no two games are alike. This also helps prevent some players from feeling less impactful than others. If just one of the werewolves is caught at the end of the day, the game ends as a win for the villagers. 6. Spyfall image via Cryptozoic Entertainment A game of Spyfall starts without all but one person receiving a card with a location on it, such as a police station, a casino, or a submarine. The player who draws the card without any information about the location is the spy. As you play, everyone will take turns asking each other questions about the location to try and determine who’s the odd one out. However, these questions need to be as vague as possible. If the spy can guess the right place correctly, they evade capture and win. It’s a simple formula for a game that works great for big groups. 5. Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game Image via Plaid Hat Games In Dead of Winter, you and your fellow players are some of the last humans to survive the fallout of the zombie apocalypse. You’ll need to work together to fortify your camp, gather supplies, and fight off monsters. However, everyone at the table has a secret objective that has to be completed in order to win. Oftentimes, these objectives come at the expense of the other survivors. As a result, everyone has to balance the needs of the group with the needs of their specific character. Sometimes, only one person will win. Other times, it could be a small group, or perhaps no one if you’re not careful. 4. Deception: Murder in Hong Kong Image via Grey Fox Games Deception: Murder in Hong Kong does a great job of making you feel like a detective. In front of each player, you’ll find a mix of evidence and weapon cards. You’ll have to determine, based on these cards, who is most likely to be the killer. To help you, you’ll get a few clues from the witness, who can’t speak directly about what happened, but will help you narrow down some of the suspect’s key attributes. If you’re the murderer or the accomplice, you’ll need to throw everyone off the scent by discussing why one of the other people at the table is more suspicious than you. 3. Unfathomable Image via Fantasy Flight Games Unfathomable takes place in a Lovecraftian version of 1913, as you and your fellow players journey across the Atlantic Ocean aboard a steamship. When you’re several days away from shore, the Deep Ones begin to rise up. Unfortunately, not every player aboard y
Sometimes, the most exciting board games are the ones where you don’t know which of your fellow players you should trust. Who amongst you is secretly a killer? How many people at the table are spies? The best social deduction board games make answering these questions a ton of fun.
10. A Fake Artist Goes to New York
A Fake Artist Goes to New York is like social deduction Pictionary. Everyone is drawing the same word, on the same canvas, one line at a time. However, one of the players doesn’t actually know what the selected word is while the drawing occurs.
That player has to contribute to the artwork without bringing attention to themselves, or they’ll be called out as a fake once the round ends. However, if the fake artist can still guess what the picture is meant to be, they get away with the crime. It’s a highly portable board game that you can take with you whenever you’re traveling.
9. Werewords
Werewords is a straightforward word-guessing game, but with a unique twist. You’ll have a set number of questions to ask as a means of finding the correct word, and everyone will work as what appears to be a team. However, one of the people at the table is trying to deceive you and lead you further from the right answer.
If you don’t guess the correct word, you might still be able to win if you can identify the werewolf. It’s a solid tabletop title for players of all ages, and works well for parties.
8. Bang! The Dice Game
Ready for an epic showdown in the Wild West? Bang! The Dice Game has all the gunslinging fun and surprising twists of fate that you’d expect to find in a classic Western.
Only one player has a known identity in town: the sheriff. Everyone else is either a deputy, a renegade, or an outlaw. If you’re allied with the law, you have to keep the sheriff alive for as long as possible and take down all the baddies. If you’re a renegade, you have to be the last person standing to win. And finally, if you’re an outlaw, you’re basically in town just to cause chaos.
7. One Night Ultimate Werewolf
If you’re looking for a social deduction board game that’s fast and easy to learn, then you’ll love One Night Ultimate Werewolf. The game has an app that sets up the narrative and manages the night phase. This mechanic ensures that everyone can participate without knowing who’s who.
There are tons of interesting role cards, and each one has its own power, which guarantees that no two games are alike. This also helps prevent some players from feeling less impactful than others. If just one of the werewolves is caught at the end of the day, the game ends as a win for the villagers.
6. Spyfall
A game of Spyfall starts without all but one person receiving a card with a location on it, such as a police station, a casino, or a submarine. The player who draws the card without any information about the location is the spy. As you play, everyone will take turns asking each other questions about the location to try and determine who’s the odd one out. However, these questions need to be as vague as possible. If the spy can guess the right place correctly, they evade capture and win. It’s a simple formula for a game that works great for big groups.
5. Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game
In Dead of Winter, you and your fellow players are some of the last humans to survive the fallout of the zombie apocalypse. You’ll need to work together to fortify your camp, gather supplies, and fight off monsters. However, everyone at the table has a secret objective that has to be completed in order to win.
Oftentimes, these objectives come at the expense of the other survivors. As a result, everyone has to balance the needs of the group with the needs of their specific character. Sometimes, only one person will win. Other times, it could be a small group, or perhaps no one if you’re not careful.
4. Deception: Murder in Hong Kong
Deception: Murder in Hong Kong does a great job of making you feel like a detective. In front of each player, you’ll find a mix of evidence and weapon cards. You’ll have to determine, based on these cards, who is most likely to be the killer.
To help you, you’ll get a few clues from the witness, who can’t speak directly about what happened, but will help you narrow down some of the suspect’s key attributes. If you’re the murderer or the accomplice, you’ll need to throw everyone off the scent by discussing why one of the other people at the table is more suspicious than you.
3. Unfathomable
Unfathomable takes place in a Lovecraftian version of 1913, as you and your fellow players journey across the Atlantic Ocean aboard a steamship. When you’re several days away from shore, the Deep Ones begin to rise up.
Unfortunately, not every player aboard your boat is as trustworthy as they seem. A few of the players will have the “Hybrid” loyalty cards, and will actually be working to sink the ship from within. As a human, you’ll need to guard your available resources, dispatch enemies that rise from the waters, and if you can, throw the hybrid players in the brig to prevent them from doing any more damage.
2. The Resistance
In The Resistance, players work to carry out or sabotage secret missions that will shape the future of the Empire. For the first of these missions, everyone at the table has to vote for three players to participate.
However, as play progresses, the size of the team increases. If you’re an ally of the Resistance, you’ll need to figure out who’s actually on your team, and who’s an imposter. If you’re a spy working for the Empire, your goal is to convince everyone of your innocence.
Games usually only take about fifteen minutes and are always packed with tons of fun table talk.
1. Blood on the Clocktower
The town of Ravenswood Bluff has a dark secret: it’s secretly inhabited by demons. These mysterious entities strike at night, killing one player at a time. However, they appear human while the sun shines. How are you going to catch them? By discussing it with everyone else in town and leading a witch hunt, of course.
Blood on the Clocktower takes all the basics of a normal social deduction board game and turns them up to eleven, and for that reason, it belongs at the top of this list.
There are multiple nights, and players are allowed to leave the room to discuss the events of the game in groups. If you’re killed off, you can haunt the town. If you’re late, you can join as a traveler. Plus, up to 20 people can play.
The post The 10 Best Social Deduction Board Games of All Time, Ranked appeared first on Destructoid.
