Salem 1692 is a social deduction board game published by Façade Games. It’s a small box card game that’s designed to create a feeling of suspicion amongst players as the civilians hunt the witches and the witches plot against the civilians at night. The game ends when all the witch cards are located, or only witches remain during the night phase. How does the game stack up in a highly competitive gaming category? Let’s find out!
Façade Games has created one of the most beautiful game boxes that I have seen. The boxes look like antique books that are gorgeous enough that my wife lets me keep these on display in our living room! Open the cover of Salem 1692 and you’ll find a rule book, wooden gavel, timer, and two tuck boxes full of cards.
The components are okay but the box kind of oversells what’s inside. The artwork is simple and clean but nothing special. With that being said, can you really hold a card game to the same standards as other board games? The answer is most definitely yes! Right now, Salem 1692 is listed on Amazon for $25. Compare that to lower cost games with better components such as Forbidden Island, Forbidden Desert, and King Domino then the gameplay needs to be top notch in order to validate the purchase.
To start, each player will receive 5 Tryal cards. These cards are placed face down in front of each player and will determine roles that each player will start the game with. There are 3 possible roles – Not a Witch, Witch, and Constable. Each player also receives a player card that represents someone of historical importance during the Salem Witch Trials. Each player card also comes with its own special ability. Deal 2 Salem cards to each player and you’re ready to begin! Well, almost! Shuffle the Conspiracy card into the Salem deck and then place the Night card at the bottom of the deck. Now you’re ready to play!
There are some other minor actions that need to be taken before gameplay begins but you can reference the rule book or an online tutorial for additional details. On your turn you can taken 2 actions; draw 2 cards or paly as many cards as you’d like to any other player. The key is that you can never play a card to yourself which can be incredibly frustrating, in a good way. It’s hard to figure out who is on which team and if you play a helpful card to the wrong player it can change the entire course of the game. After the draw pile has depleted the Night card will be drawn. This is an opportunity for the Witches to eliminate any player at the table. You can save yourself by confessing which is basically you offering to flip one of your Tryal cards or you can (possibly) be saved by the acting Constable. Finally, each player will select a random face down Tryal card from the player on his/her left and the possibility of the Witch team spreading increases.
The gameplay is simple, yet captivating. The individual player powers can really change each game adding to the replay-ability of this game; which surprises me as most social deduction games start to feel repetitive after a few plays (looking at you One Night Ultimate Werewolf). The choices that you must make, especially with the beneficial cards like Piety, are so frustrating because you must play them on someone else. I can imagine that playing with the maximum player count of 12 would result in the game overstaying it’s welcome; however, in my experience the game has never gone past 25 minutes.
Overall, I find the game incredibly entertaining. It’s easy to teach, set up, and play. There is; however, one substantial problem…the theme. My wife and I recently took a trip to Salem, Massachusetts for our 3rd wedding anniversary. During our stay we visited several sites detailing the events of the Salem Witch Trials including The Witch House, The Salem Witch Museum, and The Witch Trials Memorial. After seeing the actual history and hysteria that took over the Salem area in 1692, it’s hard to sit down and play a game that tries to create fun from that madness. I’m not trying to take anything away from Façade Games as the company did make a pretty great game…I just cannot look past the history that the game is based on. For that reason, I’ll be moving Salem 1692 out of my collection and looking to fill it’s void with another small box game.
Would I still recommend this game to others even though the theme has pushed me away? Absolutely. If you can look past what happened in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 then this game is something you should check out at least once. I will also say that Façade Games did include a small description of each character’s involvement in the Salem Witch Trials within the last few pages of the rule book. As all of Façade Games products are currently based on historical events, this is something that they have become known for which I appreciate. I will admit that I can normally look past a theme and enjoy a game but walking the streets of Salem and seeing the memorial really got to me. Below you’ll find some photographs that my wife and I took of the area and I would highly recommend a visit if you ever get the
chance.
If you’re like me and want some other recommendations of great social deduction games that can fill the void of Salem 1692 then I’d recommend any of the following:
· BANG! The Dice Game
· Hail Hydra
· Noises at Night (family weight game)
Thank you to everyone that stayed with me this long. Feel free to leave your feedback by using the link on the main page as I’d love to hear from you! Tag along on this gaming journey by subscribing to my YouTube Channel, Gaming While Bearded, and follow me on Instagram @gamingwhilebearded. Until next time!
Game Responsibly,
Daniel
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