Never Bring a Knife in the first social deduction board game from the makers of Gloom

Steel yourself for a standoff between gang members and hidden cops in Never Bring a Knife, the first social deduction board game from Atlas Games, the makers of macabre card game Gloom.

Never Bring a Knife takes place just as the players’ gang has pulled off an ambitious heist; the police are on their way so it’s up to the gang members to root out the undercover cops before reinforcements arrive - unless, of course, they’re secretly a cop.

A party board game for four to eight players, Never Bring a Knife has everyone play as either an undercover cop or hardened criminal who knows the identity of one other player. Once everyone is sat in a circle they are given their secret role and find out what the player on their immediate left is.

After setup is complete, rounds follow an identical pattern wherein each player receives four cards - these could be money, guns, armor, crime and intel - and has had four cards. Cards can be played face-up or facedown depending on their rules, with intel allowing players to check others’ roles, guns giving wounds and armor protecting against them. Money is unique in that it can be used to either collect information or heal previously received wounds, with the effect only activating after all cards have been played and revealed.

During the reveal stage of the game the group discovers who has been shot and who is wounded; if anyone receives three wounds they die and their team loses This means that players will need to work on protecting their teammates as well as themselves if they want to win - almost like the opposite of party board game favourite Cash ‘n Guns.

Never Bring a Knife plays in around 20 to 30 minutes, with the game being the debut creation of designers Maggie and Jordan Clyne.

Never Bring a Knife will be released later this month and will cost around $18 (£13).