■■■■■ card game
This is how to play ■■■■■, a fun and energetic party game. The guide on How to Play ■■■■■ (currently the only ■■■■■ guide on Instructables besides this one) is actually a more physical variation of the game. This guide will show you:
2 different setups (With and Without Cards)
Rules
Gameplay
Certain circumstances and
Skulls (things that either give an advantage or disadvantage to the game)
Step 1: Setup
Before we get to the rules, things will be easier to explain through the setup. There are two setups, which are really whether or not you have cards.
To begin setup, follow the below instructions:
You need at least 4 people to play, although it is more fun with 8 or more.
1 person, not included in the 4 of the minimum group will be the mayor, who directs the game as it goes, and has control over the powers in the group.
For every 4 people, there is one ■■■■■. Example: if there are 8 people in your game, there are now two ■■■■■
In a round there are also doctors and sheriffs, which we will later discuss under circumstances, but for now we’ll have one of each.
For this tutorial, we’ll be playing with a group of 8, including 2 ■■■■■, 1 doctor and 1 sheriff, meaning that 4 will be civilians
Setup #1:
This is with a deck of cards.
Aces are your ■■■■■
Queens are your doctors and
Kings are your Sheriffs
All other cards (2 thru J) are civilians
In our case, prepare two aces, 1 Q, 1 K and 4 other cards besides the listed.
The mayor will hand each player a card face down to each player. These cards will not be revealed to other players during the game.
Setup #2:
This is without cards.
Instead, we’ll be using taps, so it is up to the mayor to remember how many people he picked and which character he assigned.
Everybody will close their eyes and the mayor will walk around to assign roles.
If the mayor taps you once, you are ■■■■■.
Twice is doctor
Three times is sheriff
And if you don’t get tapped you’re a civilian
(More simple setup; the mayor should make sure not to choose extra characters or mistakenly bump into other players)
There are certain skulls/circumstances that change how the game is played. Read on!
Step 2: Rules
Now that we have the setup out of our way, it is now time to explain the rules.
Roles (basic and later explained through gameplay):
Mayor- is not an actual player in the game but rather the narrator; he has complete power over the group except the power to veto votes. He/she will assign the roles, tell when each role to wake up and sleep, create a story and sanction votes. It’s this person’s job to keep the game grounded and to keep the players reasonable. The mayor must remain unbiased throughout the game.
■■■■■-Will kill other players and try to convince other players who the ■■■■■ is without revealing themselves
Doctor-can save himself (look under “Circumstances”) and can save others
Sheriff-points at any other player and the mayor can either nod or shake their head of the person is ■■■■■ or not; uses his or her power to sway public opinion
Civilian- the most basic role, who votes and tries to figure out the mafias and vote them off
Obviously you don’t want to reveal your roles of you have an important one but rather convince others you are a civilian.
Rules:
Mayor has the right to silence the group or restart the game completely.
■■■■■ can only choose one target per round (2 ■■■■■ vote on 1 target)
Revealing your card (if you are playing with cards) is cheating.
Opening your eyes when it is not permitted is cheating.
IMPORTANT: In real life, the ■■■■ can not speak. Common saying of course. So in the game, the ■■■■ are not allowed to influence the town through speech or physical gestures. It is cheating. (They can talk, but any hinting at a ■■■■■ should get them kicked from the next round or game.)
Step 3: Gameplay
After setup, follow this sequence to play the game:
1: The mayor tells every one to close their eyes
2: The mayor tells ■■■■■ to wake up and choose their target, then to go back to sleep.
3: The mayor tells the doctor to wake up and choose someone to save, then to go back to sleep.
4: The mayor tells the sheriff to wake up and investigate someone.
5: The mayor tells the sheriff if he is right or wrong and tells him to go back to sleep
6: The mayor tells everyone to wake up and prepares the story
7: At this point, the mayor will summarize what happened during that round.
Example: Mayor says “last night, the ■■■■■ was angry at somebody who was stealing his money, so he killed person (A), the doctor saved the wrong person.” OR “last night… ■■■■■ killed person (A) but doctor saved him.”
(A certain aspect to the game will change with skulls later explained)
8: The mayor: if a person has died at the hand of the ■■■■■, take their card without showing anyone (If you are playing cards. Note: Anybody killed by the ■■■■■ will most likely be a civilian, but you take their card regardless. They are not allowed to reveal their role.)
9: The mayor allows the towns people to discuss who the ■■■■■ might be (Allow 3 to 5 minutes).The mayor then calls for a vote (here any civilian or player can make a claim against any suspicious person.) Only two people can be nominated for prosecution (Allow 2 minutes for nominations). The mayor then allows the prosecuted to defend themselves, then a vote happens (Allow another 2 minutes for votes).
10: After a player has received majority vote against him, he receives the death penalty. (Check “skulls” for variable).
11: Then, the cycle starts again.
How to win the game!:
■■■■■ Win= Killing off everyone until you can’t play anymore. Example: There were 8 people in the game with 2 ■■■■■, and the ■■■■■ kills 4 people, so there are 2 ■■■■■ and 2 other players. The two other players maybe able to vote off one of the ■■■■■, but in the next round, one of the normal players will be killed, meaning the last 2 players are 1 ■■■■■ and 1 normal person, so you can’t win a 1v1 against ■■■■■.
Civilian/Doctor/Sheriff Win= When all ■■■■■ are killed off, self explanatory.
Step 4: Circumstances
What I mean by circumstances is when things either get out of hand or you can’t figure out where to go from your last move. Here are some of the main circumstances I’ve ran into:
The doctor: This class seems overpowered, no? Why not save yourself every round so you can figure out the ■■■■■ yourself? Those are the motives that most doctors will have, and they will barely make good doctors. The circumstance here is allowing for the doctor to save himself, every other round, so that his role doesn’t not become unbalanced. Not necessarily a rule.
Circumstance 1: Somebody woke up when they weren’t suppose to? Simple fix: You either restart the round, or kill the person who wasn’t suppose to be awake. Example: A Doctor wakes up when the mayor requests the ■■■■■ to wake up. The mayor has a choice to immediately end the life of the doctor or reset the game.
Circumstance 2: If you are the mayor, and you forget what happened in the round you’ve just completed, you can start the round again. Example: Say ■■■■■ decide to kill person A, but you forgot who person A is. Simply get the ■■■■■ to get back up when everyone is asleep and ask them who they wanted to kill.
There aren’t too many circumstances, but if you run into some, don’t be afraid to message me
Step 5: SKULLS!!!
The definition of skulls based off a game/video game, is a customization that makes a game easier/■■■■■■/weirder. Here are some skulls you can use in ■■■■■!
You were it? skull: Allows the mayor to ask if “someone was ■■■■■ or not”. It makes the game easier so you can find out how many more ■■■■■ are left.
You only live twice skull: Get the James Bond reference? This skull is specific to the doctor. With this skull activated, the doctor has to follow the once every other round rule, which states he can only save himself every other round. Example: If I was doctor and saved myself first round, I could only save myself on the third, fifth, seventh and so on rounds.
Reveal Yourself! Skull: The only time the mayor asks if somebody “if they are ■■■■■ or not” is when that person is voted off, not killed by ■■■■■. Activating this skull allows for the other roles to reveal themselves when they normally couldn’t. Example: When the doctor gets voted off, he/she can now say they were the doctor. (This skull cannot be activated at the same time as the Nobody Knows skull.)
Nobody Knows skull: Activating this skull means that when a person is voted off, they will not state whether or not they were ■■■■■, so it’s more difficult to find out if there is still more than one ■■■■■ out there.
You Saved Me! skull: Activating this allows for a doctor not to be targeted by the ■■■■■ for 3 rounds if they successfully save a victim, including themselves. Example: If you were doctor, and saved person A, and the next round ■■■■■ tries to kill you, the mayor will announce in the recap that you were a victim, but the doctor saved you, even though you may have not saved yourself. (This skull only works once per game)
Wait, the sheriff has a ■■■? Skull: This is the weirdest skull ever. The sheriff has a ■■■ with 2 bullets. He has a choice whether or not to use it at the beginning of the first two rounds, but he will be unable to check people’s innocence, and if he checks for people’s innocence first, he will be unable to use the ■■■. Example: Round 1, the mayor asks the sheriff who he wants to check, but if the sheriff shapes his finger into a ■■■ and points at someone, then the mayor will nod. In the recap, that person dies, but their role cannot be revealed. Round 2, the mayor asks the sheriff who he wants to check, and if the sheriff does check, then his ■■■ is rendered useless. The same could be said when you check someone in round 1, and try to use the ■■■ in round 2: it won’t work unless it’s the first two rounds.
Step 6: Tips!
Since ■■■■■ has been around since I was 11, I’ve learned a lot about this game, so here are a few tips on how to play like a pro!
-■■■■■ is a psychological game. Although you trust/distrust someone in real life, the game completely changes those factors. People will always try to get inside your head, and get them on your side. You should try to do the same, but be careful about who you ally with.
-Some people can’t help smiling if you ask them if they are a civilian or ■■■■■, so don’t just go on the assumption they are lying to you. I had a friend who had a suspicious smile all the time, even though he was just a civilian.
-Don’t stay silent too much, because when you finally do go after someone, they will use that against you, saying that you’ve suddenly started talking just to get rid of them.
-Don’t underestimate your opponents. In a game of 12 people, we had 3 ■■■■■, a doctor and sheriff, and seven civilians. By round 3, 2 ■■■■■ had died along with two civilians, and one civilian was saved. The one ■■■■■ left was me, so I pulled my trump card: my psychological attacks. I turned everybody against each other, and acted as their moderator. By the last round, it was two civilians and me, meaning that if either of them died, I won. I finally used my “I helped you clause” which entails “Don’t you remember that he tried to vote you off two rounds ago, and I helped saved you? Why would I have reason to kill you now?” That always gets them. In the end, I single handedly defeated 7 other players, whose reactions were: Dear God, who is this kid? But really, don’t underestimate the younger people of your group, or the silent, or the over talkative.
-As a sheriff, understand that you don’t check a target twice. If person A is innocent, why choose him again? I had somebody do this during a round, and he wasted 4 guesses on the same person.
-Another thing as sheriff, you need to learn how to defend others. If you know who the innocents are, try to keep them alive. If you are playing against 2 ■■■■■, and 1 has already died, then use your authority against them. “Okay everybody, there’s only one ■■■■■ left, and it’s person C. I know because I’m the sheriff. If he doesn’t end up being the ■■■■■, you could kill me, but then we would have already won the round.” That is a very aggressive sheriff play.
-On a very rare occasion, sometimes more than one doctor/sheriff is played. In that case, you need to support each other as the ■■■■■ would in keeping each other alive. The chances of two doctors is very slim though…
-■■■■■ need to know how to wage a war, even if it means sacrificing one of your own. Say it’s a normal 8 person game, with two ■■■■■. You’ve already killed 3 people, and both ■■■■■ are alive, so secure your chance by making it to the end. Nobody ever suspects that ■■■■■ would kill ■■■■■, so when the mayor asks to vote somebody off, and your buddy is screwed, go for it. People will think that since you went after ■■■■■ (after he’s proven of course) you probably aren’t ■■■■■. Use that as your argument too. “You remember ■■■■■ B? I helped you guys get rid of him, and we’ve made it this far, there’s no way I could be ■■■■■, because that would be too high of a risk.”
-■■■■■ need to act like civilians, so do a “ruse” between you and your ■■■■■ to make it look like you’re accusing each other, to displace the balance of ■■■■■. It will confuse the citizens so much.
Step 7: Update at the End of 2018!
Hey y’all! This is Vincent in 2018 just feeling really grateful for this community and all the views this one guide got. ■■■■■ is not only a game to me, but part of my culture. There’s a lot a learned from this game, as well as meeting wonderful people. I just wanted to write this thank you note to the Instructable community, as well as present below some new roles I find interesting! Enjoy and thank you once again.
New Roles:
Sniper: I went to youth group retreat, and this role was presented to me as the main Mayor of the group. The sniper is given their role at the same time as everyone else. When they are told to wake up at night, they can choose a target to prepare to kill. However, they can only give a signal to the mayor during the day to kill their target. The sniper has a set amount of kills, which I decided should be 1 bullet for every 5 people including the sniper.
Saboteur: I experimented with this role as an example of the veteran from Werewolf. The concept is if someone visits the veteran’s house at night, they get shot, regardless of their role. The concept of the Saboteur is that they receive their role like everyone else. When they are asked to wake up, they will choose a target to sabotage. If the ■■■■■ choose the target first, one of the ■■■■■ is randomly chosen to die. If the ■■■■■ skip over the target, and the doctor saves the target, they will die. If the sheriff checks the target, they will die. You get the gist.