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Crave
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The Villagers
2018
Rules assistance for The Villagers
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 7–23 players
- 15–90 min
- 10+
- Complexity 1.5/5
For 7 players
Rules assistant for The Villagers
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
The Villagers is a board game released in 2018 for 7–23 players, 15–90 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Bryan Sloan and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Player Elimination, and Role Playing.
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About the game
The Villagers is a “mafia” or “werewolf” type of social deduction party game played by two teams: The Plague Doctor team, and the Villager team. The game requires a Moderator who runs the game. The Villagers has 23 different roles, and is set during the time of the Bubonic Plague. In The Villagers, you’re either with the Plague Doctor team or the Villager team. The Plague Doctors will try to infect a new Villager each night, while the Villagers try to deduce who in their midst are Plague Doctors in hiding. The Plague Doctors are posing as Villagers too, so who do you trust? Exile a new player each day, but beware, as new infections plague your village each night.
Designers
Publishers
- Black Forest Studio
Questions and answers
The Villagers supports 7–23 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 The Villagers is 15–90 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 The Villagers for ages 10 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.
The Villagers has a complexity rating of 1.5 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.
The Villagers belongs to these categories: Card Game, Party Game, and Deduction. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Player Elimination, and Role Playing. 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 The Villagers are: Bryan Sloan. 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 The Villagers 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.