When comparing The Resistance vs Power Grid, the Slant community recommends The Resistance for most people. In the question“What are the best board games?” The Resistance is ranked 14th while Power Grid is ranked 18th. The most important reason people chose The Resistance is:
Even though logic is very useful when determining whose a spy, The Resistance is more about being able to bluff, trick, and sway others. As such, players are always actively engaged in discussions and trying to outplay and outsmart each other. This creates a very social environment which allows the game to thrive.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Great social experience
Even though logic is very useful when determining whose a spy, The Resistance is more about being able to bluff, trick, and sway others. As such, players are always actively engaged in discussions and trying to outplay and outsmart each other. This creates a very social environment which allows the game to thrive.
Pro Unlimited replayability
While there is little variation game-to-game (for example, there will always be two spies when five or six people play the game, and the mission sizes are always based on group size), it's the circumstances, such as which missions are chosen and who participates in them, that change each time. This allows it to be played over and over and over again without losing any excitement.
Pro Creates a boisterous and entertaining atmosphere
Players are often very loud and active during gameplay. When everyone gets into the game and starts trying to figure out who the spies are, things can get really fun with theories and accusations flying everywhere. Overall, The Resistance creates a very exciting and entertaining atmosphere full of suspense and bluffing.
Pro Short game sessions
It's designed to be played in three to five rounds, with the entire session lasting about 30 minutes.
Pro Rules are incredibly easy to understand
There are zero complex rules or systems weighing this game down. It's incredibly easy to pick up and play, and new players will understand it immediately. This makes it an excellent game for everyone.
Pro No one excluded until the end
All players remain active and get to participate until the game ends. This is great since there's no way to mess up or have to sit out and watch your friends play.
Pro Perfect for large parties
While The Resistance is flexible and able to be played with as little as five people, the best results are achieved when played with six or more players. Each and every player is engaged and working together to determine who the spies are, which means all members of the group will be able to participate from start to finish. This makes it an excellent game for parties when you want to include everyone.
Pro Easy to understand but still allows for good micromanagement/strategy
The concepts are pretty easy to grab a hold of (buy power plants, connect different cities together, buy resources for your power plants, then make money and repeat). Each step has strategy involved with it - when you buy power plants you want to diversify from others as resources more in demand cost more - when connecting cities you are looking at pricing but also blocking other players off - you can buy extra resources to boost the price on other players, or buy the bare minimum for that turn etc etc.
Pro It's hard for 1 player to hold onto the lead
You know those games where one player has a great start, and nobody can even dream of catching up? That doesn't happen in Power Grid. It balances itself out - the player currently winning goes first when buying power plants (they get only the current selection), and they build new cities last (worst selection) and pay the most for raw materials.
While the game punishes (at least in a way) the leading player, it helps to balance games and make them more fun overall. In addition, you can strategically not build more cities and hold yourself back if you need the advantage.
Pro Very little randomness
There is almost no randomness involved in the game, making achieving mastery of the game about understanding your opponents' plans and working around them.
Cons
Con Requires at least five people to play
Due to its design, a bare minimum of five players is required to play. This is especially unfortunate in situations where you have three or four people together who really want to play this.
Con Not great for shy or quiet gamers
The very nature of The Resistance often sparks loud debates with accusations and bluffs at every turn. If you are the quiet type, you may feel uncomfortable or overwhelmed in this kind of environment.
Con No room for creativity
Once you fall behind, there aren't many ways to catch up. Virtually everything can be calculated (only power plants are random), meaning there is little surprise. Once you get started, you keep trucking along the same path until somebody wins.