We take a close look at the games that will leave you asking
whether your friends are really who they say they are
Words by Sam DesatoffI
n most games, everyone plays by the same
rules. Whether it’s following directions on a
space or meeting the material requirements
to build or purchase something, many games
force players to use the same mechanics to meet
their goals. But what if nobody else even knows
what abilities you have, or how you might be able
to a ect the game? at’s the nature of games
about hidden identities. ere’s a power dynamic
unique to the genre that’s brought to life by the
unknown. Speculating what everyone else at the
table is capable of becomes a game in itself, and
those variables often shape the feel of a session.
It’s tough to nail down an exact origin for hidden
identity games, but a good place to start is in 1951 with
Who?, a game published by Parker Brothers. In Who?,
players randomly draw a secret identity card and
move around the game board while trying to deduce
their opponents’ identities. You can only move onto
spaces marked with the starting letter of your role – I
for investigator, D for doctor and so on – so you need
to pay attention to how the other players move.
In 1979, Milton Bradley published Guess Who?,
a two-player deduction game that remains hugely
popular today. Players try to deduce the identity
of their opponent by asking questions about their
physical appearance, such as “Do they wear a hat?”
or “Do they wear glasses?” Over the years, Guess
Who? has had its share of controversy surrounding
the diversity (or lack thereof ) of its characters.
More recent editions of the game have introduced
more racial and gender diversity to the cast, but it
undeniably remains a product of the ‘70s.
In 1984, proli c designer Wolfgang Kramer
released Heimlich & Co. In this game of spies, each
player controls a pawn of a speci c colour. On theirturn, they roll dice and may move any of the pawns
that many spaces. Since it’s unknown what colour
each player owns, you must watch how everyone
moves the pawns around the board closely to
gure out their hidden identity. Two years after its
release, in 1986, Heimlich & Co. was awarded with
the prestigious Spiel des Jahres prize.
e game that is largely credited for popularising
the hidden identity genre is Werewolf. First created
under the name Ma a in the mid-‘80s as a teaching
tool for psychology research students, this game
secretly casts players as werewolves (gangsters in
the original) or villagers. Villagers must attempt
to learn who the werewolves are before they kill
everyone else. Werewolf has been enormously
successful and has spawned an endless stream of
spin-o s and reimplementations.
Citadels, a game rst published in 2000, is one of
the rst examples of hidden identity games giving
each player unique powers. Here, everyone is racing
to build buildings by using gold, but the way gold
is acquired varies from role to role. With over 20
di erent roles, each game plays out very di erently.
In 2005’s Shadows Over Camelot, players step
into the armour of the Knights of the Round Table
who must protect Camelot from an onslaught of
invaders. e twist is that there may or may not be
a traitor among the group seeking to sabotage the
knights’ e orts. It’s not 100% certain that there will
be a traitor in any given game – players’ actions are
sure to be heavily scrutinised and analysed.
e Resistance, released in 2009, is a team-based
game of rebellion and sabotage. Resistance members
seek to complete enough missions to overthrow the
evil empire before they can be stopped by the spies
working in their midst. Missions are completed byvoting for their success or failure with the majority
vote winning out – noting how everyone votes is
key to weeding out spies. In 2012, e Resistance
was re-themed to take place in an Arthurian
setting and released as e Resistance: Avalon.
Coup, also released in 2012, return s players to the
world of e Resistance. Much like Citadels, Coup
grants unique powers to each player depending on
the role cards they are dealt. e trick here is that you
may perform a role’s actions even if you don’t have
its card, which makes blu ng a huge component.
2013’s Mascarade plays like a combination of
Citadels and Coup. Rather than aiming to build
buildings like in Citadels, however, players are
looking to be the rst to hold 13 coins. Each
player is dealt a random character that comes
with a special ability that helps them earn
points. As in Coup, you don’t necessarily have
to own the card whose action you declare, but
you’ll lose coins if someone else calls your blu .
Given the shifting global political climate, the
theme of Secret Hitler has taken on added weight
since its 2016 release. e gameplay, however,
remains engaging and high-spirited. Everyone is
secretly a part of Hitler’s Fascist party or a Liberal
seeking to undermine his rise to power. Each turn,
the entire table votes on what kind of law to pass, with
the role of president and chancellor being passed
around. If too many Fascist agendas pass, they
win the game; the same goes for Liberal agendas.
Hidden information in games can be
empowering; knowing your gameplay is slightly
di erent from everyone else’s lends a sense of
asymmetry that’s hard to replicate in other genres.
Luckily there’s no shortage of fantastic titles that allow
us to step into someone else’s shoes for a while.HIDDEN IDENTITIES
THROUGH THE AGES
1951 1979 1984 2000 2009 2016
February 2019 tabletopgaming.co.uk 57