
- BGG rating
- 7.1
New Salem: The Constable
- 3–8 players
- 30–60 min
- 2019

2015
Rules assistance for New Salem
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 3 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
New Salem is a board game released in 2015 for 3–8 players, 30–45 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Brian Henk and Clayton Skancke and its main mechanics are Set Collection, Team-Based Game, and Closed Drafting.
New Salem is a hidden-identity, drafting, deduction, and set-collection game in which players are 17th-century founders of New Salem, where they hope to escape from the pestilence-filled streets of Salem during the infamous witch trials. Righteous players need to keep the witches at bay and construct specific types of buildings while witches add pestilence to the new town without detection. If the righteous players can keep pestilence at a minimum, the one who scored the most victory points will win, but if there is too much pestilence, the witch who was the most evil will win.
New Salem supports 3–8 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for New Salem is 30–45 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists New Salem for ages 14 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
New Salem has a complexity rating of 1.7 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
New Salem belongs to these categories: Card Game, Deduction, and Bluffing. Its main mechanics are Set Collection, Team-Based Game, and Closed Drafting. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of New Salem are: Brian Henk and Clayton Skancke. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists New Salem as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.