Designer:  Ted Alspach (Castles of Mad King Ludwig, One Night Ultimate Werewolf, One Night Ultimate Werewolf Daybreak, Suburbia, Ultimate Werewolf: Ultimate Edition, Werewords)

Artist: Simon Aan, Christine Mitzuk

Publisher:  Bézier Games (Castles of Mad King Ludwig, One Night Ultimate Werewolf, One Night Ultimate Werewolf Daybreak, Suburbia, Ultimate Werewolf: Ultimate Edition, Werewords, Whistle Stop)

Genre/Mechanisms: bluffing, card game, deduction, horror, negotiation, party game, player elimination, role-playing, team-based game, traitor game, variable player powers, voting

Funding Status: At the time of this posting, Ultimate Werewolf Extreme is already fully-funded. In fact, pledges currently total more than 18x the initial funding goal with 3 days left to go on the campaign!

Player Count: 3-25

Solo Mode: no

Complexity: light

Risk: low

What It’s About: “The newest version of social deduction game Werewolf includes all new artwork featuring lifelike illustrations, fine-tuned core mechanics, new thoroughly play-tested roles, unique player items, and a fully-integrated app that automates setup and gameplay.”

How It Works: There have been many editions of Werewolf… so many editions. While successive editions have added more and more character roles, each with different abilities, gameplay remains generally the same.

Each player receives a role card. There are generally a few more cards than players (usually 3), so that some of the cards each round are not assigned to any specific player, which adds a little more complexity to the social deduction. Players then place their cards in the center of the table and a Night phase begins where all players close their eyes. Once closed, a moderator instructs any werewolf players to open their eyes so they can see and identify their allies. Depending on which roles are being used, additional roles may then be instructed to open their eyes at certain times and/or to take certain actions.

Day follows, where all players open their eyes back up. Players are allowed to discuss who they think the werewolves are, and after a few minutes of discussion, the player vote. The player who receives the most votes is killed. The process then repeats itself in a new round, until one of the following happens:

The village team wins if either a) at least (1) werewolf dies, or b) no one is a werewolf and no one dies. Since the player(s) receiving the most votes all die, the only way to circumvent this is if no player receives more than (1) vote. This can be accomplished by all players voting for the player to their left, or all players voting for the player to their right, so that each player receives exactly (1) vote. The werewolves win if no werewolves die.

What makes this latest Ultimate Werewolf Extreme edition unique are: 1) the ability to play up to (3) games simultaneously with the cards in this version, accommodating up to (25) players total; 2) all-new artwork with more realistic (and less cartoony) artwork, 3) the Artifacts Expansion with unique player items that adds mechanics, 4) a better, more-developed app than in previous versions, and various other stretch goals and extras like tarot-sized cards, GameTrayz, and elimination slap bracelets.

Comparisons: Previous versions of Ultimate Werewolf are the best comparison, because they’re essentially the same game. Some other similar social deduction games with voting include: Coup, The Resistance, The Resistance: Avalon, Salem 1692, and Secret Hitler.

What Should I Pledge?:
$69 UW Extreme Collector’s Edition: includes the Collector’s Box, GameTrayz Organizers, 80+ Role Cards, 39+ Bonus Role Cards, all unlocked stretch goal Role Cards, the 200 page Strategy Guide PDF, a name card pad, 200 custom card sleeves, a portable Deck Box, a “Got Villager?” bumper sticker, 25 player certificates, the punchboard Ivory Tower, Charm, Sandwich, and Gavel, a Moderator Scorepad, and the Moderator App.
$99 UW Extreme Collector’s Edition: everything in the previous pledge level, plus a complete set of Tarot-sized cards (including the stretch goal Role Cards), 25 Tarot Card Holders, the Artifacts Expansion, 25 polarized Inserts, 25 Rubber Slap bracelets, and a plastic Werewolf Warning sign.

Add-Ons:
None.

KS Exclusives
The eventual retail version will include the 80+ Role Cards and the moderator score pad. The other cards and various items may or may not be available as separate purchases.

All-In Total: In the continental U.S. you’re looking at $99 for the Ultimate Werewolf Extreme Collector’s Edition pledge and $21 in shipping for a total of $120.

Ultimate Werewolf Extreme completes its Kickstarter on Thursday, September 3rd and tentatively ships in June 2021.