Although it's been around for years in recent months the game Among Us has gone viral with streamers and normal players alike. It's a great game and at it's core is a Social Deduction mechanic that is well known by tabletop gamers, so here's a list of some of the best options out there for people wanting a real life Among Us style fix.

Werewolf - this game has become the quintessential social deduction game 2 teams a Villager team and a smaller Werewolf team, there's a moderator and a few specialist roles but otherwise it's a lot like Among Us (right down to the win conditions, discussion and voting). For faster easier play there's now also app versions (with digital moderation, aka no one has to sit out) and One Night Ultimate Werewolf (a sped up version allowing for much faster paced play). Werewolf was actual also a reworking of an older game called Mafia but the better theming has led it to become the more recognizable of the 2 games.

The Resistance - smaller than Werewolf but equally satisfying in its social deduction aspects The Resistance pits 2 groups (Resistance members and Spies) against each other against the backdrop of a future ruled over by a corrupt world government. With 5 simple missions, a leader, voting to determine who attempts the missions and spies able to sabotage missions it creates a lot of tension and deception in a very short period of time. There's also an Arthurian version called The Resistance: Avalon for those who prefer more of a fantasy style setting.

Spyfall - this is an interesting game where the script is flipped and the majority have full information while the antagonist (the spy) doesn't. There are many locations and the normal players all get told where the key location is but the spy doesn't. Then the group attempts to discover who the spy is while the spy attempts to trick them through a series of questions and answers. The key is for normal players to be able to give answers that show that they know the location without being too obvious and giving it away to the spy. There are now many versions of the game including a DC comics one.

Bang - another hidden role social deduction game Bang has a wonderful spaghetti western aesthetic and adds in things like unique character powers. There is a sheriff role (which is known by everyone) as well as a bandit role, a renegade role and a deputy role (which are all secret). The sheriff aims to kill the bandits and renegade, the bandits aim to kill the sheriff, the renegade aims to kill the bandits and then the sheriff (considered the hardest role) and the deputy aims to keep the sheriff alive. There's also a Dice Game version which is equally fun and much more streamlined (although at the cost of removing a cool item system).

Coup - a hidden role with hidden powers game set in the same universe as The Resistance, in this game each player has 2 hidden roles (which also represent their life), but can claim to have whatever role in order to use a role's special ability on their turn, gain the benefits unless successfully challenged. Roles can be lost by lying and being caught out by a challenge, challenging someone incorrectly, being assassinated (one of the abilities, avoidable with other hidden abilities) or with a Coup (unavoidable but costing in game currency). It's hard to describe succinctly but it plays amazing well and everyone i've every played with manages to grok things in a short period of time.

I hope you enjoyed this foray into board games, social deduction games like these are excellent particularly as icebreakers, breathers between bigger games and as party games. If you want something heavier which still incorporates the social deduction sub-theme then you might want to try the Battlestar Galactica Board Game (one of the best traitor mechanic and sci-fi series adaption games of all time).

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