Werewolf Narrator
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How to play Werewolf

Werewolf is a party game of hidden roles for 5 to 18 players. A few players are secretly werewolves who eliminate a villager every night. Everyone else is a villager trying to find and vote out the wolves before it's too late. You can learn it in five minutes. (Know it as Mafia? Here's how to play Mafia.)

The two teams

The werewolves

Know each other. Kill one player each night. Win when there are as many werewolves alive as villagers.

The village

Don't know who anyone is. Win by voting out every werewolf.

How a round works

  1. 1

    Deal the roles

    Every player secretly gets a role. A few are werewolves; the rest are villagers, some with special powers like the Seer or the Doctor. Nobody shows their role to anyone.

  2. 2

    Night falls

    Everyone closes their eyes. The narrator calls each role in turn: the werewolves wake together and silently pick a victim, the Seer learns one player's role, the Doctor protects someone. Then everyone goes back to sleep.

  3. 3

    Dawn

    Everyone opens their eyes and the narrator announces who died in the night. In the classic rules the dead player's role is revealed. Dead players stay silent for the rest of the game.

  4. 4

    Day: discuss and accuse

    The survivors debate who the werewolves are. Werewolves pretend to be villagers. Anyone can accuse, defend or lie.

  5. 5

    The vote

    On the count of three everyone points at the player they want to eliminate. The player with the most votes is out and their role is revealed. With no majority, nobody is eliminated.

  6. 6

    Repeat

    Night and day alternate until one team wins.

Setting up

Use about one werewolf for every four or five players, add a few special roles, and make everyone else a villager. For eight players, for example: 2 Werewolves, 2 Villagers, Seer, Doctor, Witch, Hunter.

See the 8-player setup, the setups for every group size, or what every role does.

The narrator

Someone has to run the night: call each role, remember who was attacked and saved, and announce the deaths. That can be a player who sits out using the narrator script, or the Werewolf Narrator app, which does it with a spoken voice so everyone can play.

Questions

How many people do you need to play Werewolf?

At least 5, and it works up to about 18. Eight to twelve players is the sweet spot.

Is Werewolf the same as Mafia?

Yes. It's the same game with a different theme: the Mafia are the werewolves, the Detective is the Seer and the Doctor is the Doctor. See how to play Mafia for the Mafia version of the rules.

Do you need a narrator to play Werewolf?

Traditionally one person sits out to narrate. With a narrator app the phone reads the script and tracks the game, so everyone can play.

How long does a game of Werewolf take?

Usually 20 to 60 minutes, depending on the number of players and how long you debate.

What do you need to play Werewolf?

Just the players and either a deck of role cards and a narrator, or one phone with a narrator app.

Keep reading

Let the app narrate your next game

A spoken narrator, automatic role dealing and a day timer on one phone. Free, no sign-up, works offline.

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