A STORYTELLING BOARD GAME SET IN THE 1970s COLD WAR ERA.
SMERSH is a portmanteau of two Russian words that translates to "Death to Spies." It operated as a counter-intelligence agency by the Red Army during the 1940s. Despite having had a large number of paid employees, little was known about the agency until recently when Russia opened their archives.
Agents of SMERSH is a cooperative Storytelling game that pits players as UN Secret Service Spies set in an alternate 1970s timeline against a newly formed and independent SMERSH. Agents of SMERSH includes custom dice to determine success or failure of encounters, and more strategic play from what is typically expected of a Storytelling board game. There are plenty of James Bond gadgets, guns, cars, pop references and detailed artwork - not to mention a touch of humor. The game features the artwork of George Patsouras (The Resistance & Flash Point).
The game is able to accommodate play with either The Encounter Book, which contains over 1500 written encounters with a similar reaction matrix to Tales of the Arabian Nights - or played more simply with only encounter cards with shorter encounters and no matrix. The First Edition (2012) of the game came with the Encounter Cards as standard, and the Encounter Book as an optional add-on (although many copies did actually include the book). The Second Edition (2015) includes the Encounter Book as standard, with the Encounter Cards available to purchase from the publisher.
- strong narrative and gonzo storytelling
- variety of characters with unique strengths
- spy gear and gadgets to discover
- engaging if you enjoy story-driven play
- endgame showdowns are long and energy-sapping
- simplification from original Smersh may disappoint fans
- heavy reading aloud can slow play
- spy intrigue with gonzo encounter storytelling
- Global espionage missions across various regions with UN intelligence context
- storybook and encounter-driven narrative
- Tales of the Arabian Nights
- Spectre
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Character progression — players gain advanced skills, health, resolve and unlock secret missions over time
- Dice-based conflict resolution — special dice resolve conflicts with success and failure indicators, can convert failures into successes via spend resolve
- endgame showdowns — final showdowns consist of multiple tests and lengthy narrative blocks
- region bonuses and Intel economy — spend Intel to draw gadgets, gain region bonuses dependent on location
- rest action and headquarters regeneration — rest actions restore health and resolve; HQ resting fully restores both
- secret missions and epic encounters — secret missions that may trigger epic multi-challenge encounters with henchmen
- storybook encounter book — a large narrative book guiding encounters and branching outcomes
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- the best thing about this game is its gonzo stories
- the game lives and dies on the encounter book and the wacky adventures inside
- no Mr Bond I expect you to read a novel aloud
- Smersh is heavily inspired by Tales of the Arabian Nights