The Werewolves of Miller's Hollow: rules and roles
Updated · Werewolf Narrator
At a glance
The Werewolves of Miller's Hollow rules: a moderator deals secret character cards, then each night the werewolves choose a victim while the Seer, Witch and others act. Each day the village debates and votes one player out. Villagers win by killing every werewolf; werewolves win by killing every villager. The base box has 24 cards for 8 to 18 players.
- Designers
- Philippe des Pallières, Hervé Marly
- Publisher
- Lui-même (2001); now Zygomatic / Asmodee
- First published
- 2001, as Les Loups-garous de Thiercelieux
- Players
- 8 to 18
- Cards
- 24
- Play time
- About 30 min
What does each Werewolves of Miller's Hollow role do?
The 24 cards are 4 Werewolves, 13 Ordinary Townsfolk and one each of the characters below. Some English printings call the Seer the Fortune Teller.
Werewolves
Werewolf
Wakes with the pack each night and picks one villager to kill. Acts innocent by day.
Village
Ordinary Townsfolk
No power beyond a vote and a nose for liars. The majority of the table.
Village
Witch
Learns who the wolves killed. Has one potion to save that player and one to poison anyone, each usable once per game. See the Witch guide.
Village
Hunter
When killed, at night or by vote, shoots one other player, who dies too.
Village
Cupid
On the first night, makes two players lovers. If one dies, the other dies of grief straight away.
Village
Little Girl
May peek while the werewolves are awake. If they spot her, she's next. See the Little Girl guide.
Village (can switch)
Thief
On the first night, may swap his card for one of two spare cards in the middle. If both are Werewolves, he must take one.
Title, not a role
Sheriff
Elected by the village on top of a player's secret card. Their vote counts double, and they name a successor when they die.
What is the night order in Miller's Hollow?
This is the order most groups and most narrator scripts use. Treat it as common practice, not a quote from the official rulebook.
- 1
Thief (first night only): looks at the two spare cards and may swap.
- 2
Cupid (first night only): names the two lovers.
- 3
Lovers (first night only): open their eyes to see each other, then sleep.
- 4
Seer: checks one player's card.
- 5
Werewolves: choose a victim. The Little Girl may peek now.
- 6
Witch: hears who the wolves chose, then decides whether to heal, poison or pass.
From the second night on, only steps 4 to 6 repeat. Call every role every night, dead or alive, so the timing gives nothing away. Our narrator script has the lines.
What are the Werewolves of Miller's Hollow rules?
Deal one card per player, plus two spares if the Thief is in. Everyone checks their card in secret. Night falls and the moderator works through the order above.
At dawn the moderator names the night's dead, whose cards are turned face up. On the first day the village also elects a Sheriff. Then the debate: accuse, defend, bluff. The vote follows, with the Sheriff counting twice, and the player with the most votes is out and reveals their card. Night falls again.
Play continues until one side is wiped out. Villagers win when every werewolf is dead; werewolves win when every villager is. Lovers from opposite teams are the exception: they form their own side and win only if they're the last two alive. Lovers can never vote against each other.
The Little Girl causes the most arguments. Agree before the game how bold a peek can be and whether the wolves may accuse her out loud. For a general walkthrough with examples, see how to play Werewolf.
How many werewolves should you use?
The box has four, but you won't always want all of them. As a starting point, try two wolves with 8 to 11 players, three with 12 to 15 and four with 16 or more. The Seer and Witch together make the village strong, so if the wolves keep losing, drop one of those before adding a wolf. Our setups by player count have tested lists.
Playing it with an app
There's no need for an official app; the work an app saves is the moderator's. Werewolf Narrator is a free browser app that does that job with one phone: pass it round to deal secret roles, and a recorded narrator runs each night, announces deaths, times the day and checks who won.
It has the Werewolf, Villager, Seer, Witch, Hunter, Cupid and Little Girl from the box, plus a Doctor. The Thief isn't included, and the Sheriff works fine as a table rule. It plays 5 to 18, so it also covers groups too small for the box. It doesn't read the printed cards; the phone replaces the deck.
Questions people ask
Is The Werewolves of Miller's Hollow the same as Werewolf?
It's one published edition of Werewolf. The core loop is the same; Miller's Hollow made the Witch, Cupid, Little Girl and Thief widely known and added an illustrated deck.
What does Loups-garous de Thiercelieux mean?
"The Werewolves of Thiercelieux". Thiercelieux is the fictional village; English editions call it Miller's Hollow.
Can the Witch use both potions on the same night?
Yes, if she still has both. Each works once per game, so spending them early leaves her with nothing.
Can the Witch save herself?
Groups split on this. Many allow it only on the first night or not at all, because a self-heal makes her very hard for the wolves to kill. Settle it before you deal.
Can you play with fewer than 8 players?
The box is built for 8 or more. With fewer, use one werewolf and only a couple of special roles, and expect more luck in the result.
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