Whip out your Doppelgänger at the office party and undo years of teambuilding work.

"I'm telling you something isn't right..." whined the rogue.

"Shut it Tanlyn. And keep your mind on the quest before us. No more talk of 'seeing a doppelgänger.'" Bogrim the barbarian readied his great sword for the encounter ahead as the rest of the party drew close.

"This will not end well," Tanlyn replied. She kept her hand resting on the familiar weight of her dagger's pommel. Someone here was a traitor... if only she knew who.

Doppelgänger, the latest offering from WizKids, is a hidden role game with a traitor element and enough tension to break the knife you try to cut it with.  Your group of intrepid adventurers must work together to gather the Artifacts of Light.

However, lurking within your ranks there are doppelgängers, seeking to collect Artifacts of Darkness.  If necessary, they'll even kill to achieve their devious goals.  So you have to ask yourself one, simple question; how much do you trust Mark from the IT department?

Each round, players are given a quest they must co-operatively complete.  Players then add a card with a helpful (or harmful, depending on your alignment) quality into the main card pool, which is then dispersed among the group.

To use items, players must roll dice.  However, doppelgängers can choose to roll cursed dice instead.  Like a DJ who only plays Nickleback, doppelgängers know how to destroy a party.  They can also injure other players and, if one dies, the quest is over.  Darkness has won, and you and Sandra from accounting will never speak again.  Good luck getting your paycheck.

I'm a fan of hidden role games - Resistance and Secret Hitler are two that have caused hilarious rifts among my gaming group.  Apparently screaming "I'm not a spy!" is not effective tradecraft.  Doppelgänger, however, seems to expand the mechanics of the hidden role game to make it easier for the traitors to hide among the group.  It's currently released in North America, but hopefully will make it's way to the European market soon.

Are you a fan of hidden role games?  And if so, do you like to be with or against the team?