Werewolf

Overview

A social deduction game of hidden roles. A small group of werewolves kill one villager each night; the villagers try to work out who they are and vote them out by day.

Also played as Mafia. Several commercial versions exist with their own role cards and rules; this page describes the common core.

No governing body publishes rules for this game. This page describes the most common form. House rules vary, so agree them before you start.

1. Setup

Seven or more players, ideally ten to twenty. One person is the moderator and does not play.

The moderator deals a role card to each player in secret.

Role	Team	Function
Werewolf	Evil	Kills one player each night
Villager	Good	No power; votes and argues
Seer	Good	Learns one player's true role each night
Doctor	Good	Protects one player from the night kill
Hunter	Good	Takes someone with them when they die

How many werewolves to use varies by group and edition. Agree it before dealing.

2. The night phase

The moderator says "everyone close your eyes."

1. Werewolves, open your eyes. They silently agree on a victim and point.
2. Seer, open your eyes. They point at one player; the moderator signals werewolf or not, without speaking.
3. Doctor, open your eyes. They point at one player to protect.

Everyone closes their eyes between each step, so nobody learns who else was awake.

3. The day phase

The moderator announces who died overnight. If the doctor protected the target, no one died.

The dead player reveals their role and may not speak again for the rest of the game. This rule is absolute and is what keeps the game working.

The living then discuss and accuse. When ready, they vote. The player with the most votes is eliminated and reveals their role.

4. Winning

• Villagers win when every werewolf is eliminated.
• Werewolves win when they equal or outnumber the villagers.

Note the second condition — werewolves do not need to kill everyone, only to reach parity.

5. Moderating well

The moderator's job is harder than it looks:

• Keep the pace up. Long silences kill the game.
• Never reveal information by tone, timing or expression.
• Narrate the deaths with some colour. It matters more than it should.
• Enforce the dead-stay-silent rule ruthlessly.

6. Strategy

As a villager, track who defends whom. Werewolves know each other and are reluctant to condemn a partner.

As a werewolf, be actively helpful. Silence reads as guilt; leading the discussion and voting confidently against another werewolf early is the strongest play.

As the seer, decide when to reveal. Claiming early gives the village information and paints an immediate target on you. Claiming too late wastes what you learned.

Commonly argued

• The dead cannot speak. No hints, no reactions, no gestures.
• Werewolves win at parity, not by killing everyone.
• The moderator has no team and must be scrupulously neutral.
• Whether the doctor can protect themselves varies. Agree first.