Players: 8-18
Playing Time: 20-60 minutes
Difficulty: 1 (of 10)
This review shares some text in common with my other Mafia / Werewolf reviews, mostly in the Game Play section.
The Components
The Werewolves of Millers Hollow comes in a pretty light box with:
- 24 cards
- 1 rulebook
The Cards: The cards are all printed as over-sized square cards of light-to-medium weight with a shiny gloss and rounded corners. Each one features full-color artwork which somewhat abstractly depicts the various roles in the game.
The artwork runs the gamut from quite nice (the villagers and the werewolves) to stunningly beautiful (all of the special roles).
However, I also found the cards a little hard to use because they’re so abstract, and because there’s no text at all on the cards. Ironically, it's the most common cards, the villagers and the werewolves which give me the most trouble in figuring them out (to the point where I couldn't figure out what was the front of the cards and what was the back the first time I picked them up--something that will probably be a problem for other first-time players). Conversely, though abstract, the special role cards do give some hints about what they do.
In any case, look at the picture nearby. It's worth a thousand words.
The Rules: The rulebook is a 24-page full-color glossy book. It's well laid out, nice to look at, and pretty easy to follow.
Overall, the beauty of the art is top rate, and I am impressed by the attempt in the special roles to visually depict what they do (to a limited extent). However, I also think that the beauty of the cards has cost the game something in usability, primarily for first-time players. On whole it thus earns a "4" out of "5" for Style, though I think that might climb to "5" for individual groups through multiple plays.
The Game Play
In Werewolves if you're a werewolf you're trying to kill the humans, and if you're a human you're trying to kill the werewolves.
Setup: The game begins with choosing a moderator, then handing out role cards to all the players. Two to four players will be werewolves (depending on total player numbers), one player will be a fortune teller, a number of players will be villagers, and some players may have special roles (more on them later). These role cards are kept secret.
Order of Play: The game play is broken into two broad parts, which repeat in order: day and night. Each night someone is eaten by a werewolf, then each day someone is lynched.
Night: In the basic game, there are two phases during the night: the fortune teller phase and the werewolf phase. The night begins with everyone closing their eyes. It's generally suggested that people hum, tap, or whatever during the night to cover up accidental noises.
The Fortune Teller Phase. The moderator then asks the fortune teller to open his eyes and to silently select another player. The moderator then shows that player's role card to the fortune teller.
(Most Werewolf games just have the fortune teller learn if someone is werewolf or human through a thumbs up or down. Revealing the card gives them a bit more info--and the oversized cards in this game are admirally suited to being displayed across the table--but also seems a bit more awkward.)
The Werewolf Phase. The moderator then asks then werewolves to open their eyes. They identify each other, then silently select a player who they kill. The werewolves then close their eyes.
Day: Everyone now opens their eyes and the moderator identifies who has been killed; that person may no longer talk. The rest of the players now discuss who they think are werewolves. The fortune teller may be able to give some pointers, but if he's too explicit, he will become a target for the werewolves. Likewise, other players (usually the werewolves) can pretend to be the fortune teller (but this of course has its own dangers).
After the discussion each player then points at another player. Whomever has the most fingers pointed at him is lynched and out of the game. If there's a tie, no one is eliminated.
(There are also special rules for electing a sheriff during the day, typically on the second or third day. The sheriff will then get two votes in future elections, and gets to name his successor on his death bed. The sheriff is only elected once and gets a special additional card to mark his position.)
Now, a new night begins ...
The Millers Hollow rules say that cards are revealed when people die. This seems to vary from one version of the game to another.
Special Cards: The game can work exactly as described for 8-18 players. However, there are also special character cards, most of which act toward normal human victory conditions, but which have special powers, thus giving more players the opportunity to have a unique play each game. Here's the special characters included in Millers Hollow:
Special Info:
- Little Girl: Human. May peek during the werewolf phase of the night, but dies of fright if caught.
Special Victory:
- Cupid: Human. One of the most complex roles. On the first night gets to name two other players to be lovers. Now, if either of those players dies, the other does as well. They can’t vote to lynch each other. And, if they’re a werewolf/human pair, they win only if they’re the last two survivors.
- Thief: Gets to select one of two extra roles during the first night.
Life & Death:
- Hunter: Human. When killed, the hunter gets to retaliate, killing one other player.
- Witch: Human. May once heal someone from death and may once kill someone.
Voting:
- Sheriff: An elected role. Gets two votes.
Relationships to Other Games
The game of The Werewolves of Millers Hollow apparently dates back to a game called Murder which first appeared in the 1960s and featured one murderer, one detective, and a number of potential victims.
The modern game of Mafia was probably invented in 1986 by Dimitry Davidoff. It included two gangsters, one angel (or alternatively a knight-commandant), and a bunch of innocent citizens.
Andrew Plotkin rethemed it to Werewolf, probably around 1997.
The Werewolves of Millers Hollow is an extension of the core Mafia/Werewolf game with most of the same basic rules. As with most of the Werewolf games that support more people, Millers Hollow has a number of special roles. They're a fairly standard combination of special info, special victory, and power over life and death, though the Sheriff is a very nice addition as an elected role, giving villagers something else to do during the day.
The Werewolves of Millers Hollow is one of three Werewolf games that I'm aware of that are currently in professional production. The other two are Lupus in Tabula by daVinci Games and Are You a Werewolf? by Looney Labs.
Of the three, Are You a Werewolf? is a plainly produced version of the game without the whistles and bells of special characters. It's also a cheaper version of the game ($4).
Lupus in Tabula, on the other hand, is a very comparably produced version of the game. It's about the same price ($10) and also is a full-color production. Of the two I found Lupus better for a more casual Werewolf crowd, because the cards are somewhat easier to use. Lupus also supports slightly more people, around 25 (though Millers Hollow could support more than the 18 people it claims).
I at first found the Millers Hollow art a lot harder to follow, and I'm sure this will be the feeling of many first-time users. However, it does have a clear beauty to it that wasn't found in Lupus, and all of the special role artwork becomes clearer once you're familiar with what the roles do.
The Game Design
As with other Werewolf/Mafia games, The Werewolves of Millers Hollow's main selling point is that it can support large numbers of players: 18 according to the box, though there are actually 23 role cards (meaning you should be able to have a 24-player game, including the game master).
All the Werewolf games manage the large number of players by keeping most folks involved all the time. During the night there's some waiting around as individuals take their turns, but it's fairly short. Then, during the day, everyone gets to participate at once.
Traditionally most of the members of the Werewolf/Mafia family of game have two flaws:
Only a Few People Get to Be the Werewolf: This game works fine for a play or two, but afterward some people will start to get antsy because they keep having to play villagers. Like most versions of this game, Millers Hollow solves this problem with extra roles that are essentially humans with special powers. I find most of the ones in this game (the cupid, the witch, the thief) a bit more complex than is necessary. Conversely, I think the hunter is a great example of a very simple role which can cause large differences in how the game plays (since many people might threaten to retaliate after death by claiming to be the hunter), and the little girl is a neat example of adding a physical element to the game.
Players Are Knocked Out of the Game: Day by day, players are totally knocked out of the game. This is the most troublesome for people who are knocked out early, and Millers Hollow doesn't really do much to alleviate this core problem of the Werewolf games: one player will die before they can do anything.
Overall, The Werewolves of Millers Hollow is a good game, though it hasn't done much to resolve the standard problems with the genre's gameplay. Nonetheless, it earns a "4" out of "5" for Substance.
Conclusion
The Werewolves of Millers Hollow is one of two high-quality Werewolf/Mafia games currently on the market. I don't find it the easiest to play, but it is definitely the most beautiful. If you're an experienced Werewolf players who just want some high-quality components to add to your playing experience, this is probably the right set to get. For beginners I'd instead lean toward the more recent Lupus in Tabula which I think rates slightly higher on usability.
