How to Play Werewolf: Complete Rules, Every Role and Setups for 4–20 Players

Here is how to play Werewolf, the party game of lies and hunches for 4 to 20 players in one room. A few players are secretly werewolves. Every night they choose one player to kill. Every day the whole village argues, then votes one suspect out. The village wins when every werewolf is dead. The werewolves win once they equal or outnumber everyone else.

These are the exact rules that Wolf Village runs. In Wolf Village one phone is the narrator, in a recorded voice, and everyone plays on their own phone. Every tricky case on this page is settled the way the game settles it.

Start a free game: one phone narrates, everyone plays on their own phone

The game in one minute

1. Deal the roles in secret. Each player looks at their own role and hides it. The werewolves also see who the rest of the pack are.
2. Night falls. The werewolves choose a victim, the seer learns whether one player is a werewolf, and the doctor protects one player. Either everyone closes their eyes and the narrator wakes the roles one by one, or everyone takes a secret turn on a phone (see A night, step by step).
3. Morning comes. The narrator tells who died in the night. The dead are out, and they stay silent from now on.
4. The village talks. Argue, accuse and defend yourselves. Lying is allowed, but never show your secret screen to anyone.
5. The village votes. On the count of three, everyone points at a suspect. The player with the most votes is out.
6. Night falls again. Repeat until one side wins.

That is the whole game. Everything else is roles, and the roles are what make each night different.

What you need

• 4 to 20 players in the same room. Wolf Village takes 4 at the least and 20 at the most.
• A narrator. Classic Werewolf needs one person who doesn't play and runs the night. With Wolf Village a phone does it: the host's phone speaks every line, so everyone can play.
• A way to deal secret roles. Cards work. So do phones: with One phone each, every player makes their night choices silently on their own screen. With Shared phones, a few phones are enough, and each player takes their secret turn on the nearest phone. With the host's phone alone, it passes from hand to hand, the classic way.
• Nothing to install. Players open the game in a browser and join with a four-letter code or a QR code. Joining is free, and players need no account.

No cards and no phones? You can still play with a deck of playing cards or slips of paper: see how to play Werewolf without cards.

How many werewolves for your group

Deal about one werewolf for every five players: 1 werewolf for 4 to 6 players, 2 for 7 to 10, 3 for 11 to 16 and 4 for 17 to 20. That is the number Wolf Village recommends, and the number its Basic setup deals.

Basic is the setup for first games and new groups: werewolves, a seer and villagers, plus the doctor from 7 players. The game rates it Balanced at every count from 4 to 20.

Werewolf roles for 8 players and more: the Classic setup

Once your group knows the basics, add the witch, the hunter, Cupid and the sheriff. Wolf Village's Classic setup does this from 8 players. It adds the village idiot from 11 players and the doctor from 17.

Every Classic game also elects a sheriff on day 1.

Three more ready-made setups

Standard 12 follows the shape that, according to Chinese Wikipedia, Chinese competitions use: 12 players, 4 werewolves, 4 special roles and 4 villagers. Fox follows Japan's version of the game, where the fox is a third side and a human plays for the wolves. Chaos has the most twists, for groups who already know the game.

Your own mix. In Wolf Village, any change to a setup's cards (a role, a role's switch, the number of werewolves or the sheriff) makes it your own. The lobby then rates it Favors the village, Favors the wolves or Balanced. It scores each card by what it is worth to the village: a villager is worth 1, a werewolf −6 and the seer +7. A minion takes a werewolf's place in the recommended count, because it plays for the pack.

A night, step by step

There are two ways to run a night.

• The classic way, with the narrator calling roles. Everyone closes their eyes. The narrator calls each role in turn, and only the players called open their eyes. In Wolf Village this is Voice narrator: the host's phone speaks, and those called choose on their own phone, or tap their choice on the nearest phone when you play on shared phones.
• Everyone takes a secret turn. Nobody closes their eyes. Every living player takes a secret turn on a phone, ordinary villagers too, so nobody can tell who has a special power. A villager picks the player they suspect most; the suspicions are shown at the end of the game. In Wolf Village this is Everyone at once on own phones and Pass the phones on shared ones. The game recommends it.

The night order

When the narrator calls the roles, it always calls them in this order:

1. Everyone sleeps. "Night falls on the village. Everyone, close your eyes."
2. Cupid, on the first night only, picks two players who fall in love.
3. The werewolves open their eyes together and silently agree on a victim.
4. The seer picks one player and learns whether they are a werewolf.
5. The doctor picks one player to protect tonight.
6. The witch is shown the werewolves' victim, and may use her healing potion or her poison.

A role that isn't in the game is never called. A role whose player is dead is still called when the roles of the dead stay hidden, so the silence gives nothing away. For every word the narrator says, in this order, see the Werewolf narrator script.

What happens at dawn

Everything chosen in the night happens at dawn, in a fixed order:

1. The werewolves' victim. It is the player the most werewolves chose, fixed as soon as the whole pack has chosen (that is why the witch can be shown it). If two or more players tie for the most votes, chance picks one of them. On shared phones with the voice narrator, the pack taps once on the nearest phone, and that tap is the victim.
2. Protection and healing. If the doctor protected the victim, or the witch healed them, the victim survives.
3. The bite. An unprotected victim dies. The cursed one doesn't die but becomes a werewolf, and the fox doesn't die at all.
4. The poison. The witch's poisoned player dies.
5. The seer's look. If the seer looked at the fox, the fox dies.

Each death takes the dead player's lover with them. Then the morning is announced. A dead hunter takes their shot, and a dead sheriff passes on the badge.

A day

1. The morning. "Good morning, village." (After a narrated night: "Everyone, open your eyes.") The narrator tells who died, and how: taken by the werewolves, poisoned, dead of a broken heart, vanished at dawn, or shot by the hunter. The screen shows every name; the recorded voice says a name only if it has a recording of it. With the house rule Reveal the roles of the dead on, the narrator also says what each dead player was ("They were the seer."). With it off, a dead player's role stays secret until the game ends, except a dead hunter's, which everyone sees.
2. The election, on day 1 only. If the game has a sheriff, the village elects one before the talk: "Before you talk it over, elect your sheriff. The sheriff's vote counts double. On the count of three, everyone points."
3. The talk. Share your suspicions, defend yourselves and bluff if you must. Wolf Village has a discussion timer: 3 minutes by default, or 2, 5 or off. "Time is up. It is time to vote."
4. The vote. On the count of three, everyone points at a suspect. The player with the most votes is out: "The village has decided." On a tie, talk some more and vote again, or let everyone live: "The village could not agree. Nobody leaves today."
5. Night falls. The next night begins.

The dead stay silent. Once you're out, give no hints of any kind. You can stay and watch.

How to win

• The village wins when every werewolf is dead. "The village wins! Every werewolf has been found."
• The werewolves win once they equal or outnumber everyone else. Two werewolves and two others left is a win for the pack. "The werewolves win!"
• Some roles win alone. The jester wins if the village votes them out. The fox steals the win if it is still alive when the village or the werewolves would win. Lovers from different sides win together if they are the last two alive, and a jester or a fox in love plays only for that lovers' win.

The game checks for a winner after every morning and after every vote, once all the deaths, shots and the badge are settled. If two wins come at once, the jester's comes first, then the lovers', then the village's or the werewolves'. A living fox takes that last one.

Every role

Wolf Village has 13 roles and the sheriff. Every game has werewolves, and every ready-made setup has a seer and villagers. The other roles are optional: switch them on, or pick a setup that deals them. Your team decides who you win with.

Werewolf

The werewolves are the pack. They know each other from the start. Every night they secretly pick one player to kill. They can't attack a member of their own pack. By day, they act innocent and steer the vote. If the pack disagrees, the player most of them chose is the victim, and chance breaks a tie. (On shared phones with the voice narrator, one tap on the nearest phone chooses for the whole pack.) A pack of one hunts alone. The werewolves win once they equal or outnumber everyone else.

Villager

No special powers, just your wits and your vote. Listen closely, expose the liars and vote the werewolves out. Villagers fill every seat the other cards leave: in Basic they are the biggest group, while in Classic, Fox and Chaos there can be only a few. The village wins together when every werewolf is dead.

Seer

Each night the seer picks one other player and learns one thing: whether they are a werewolf. The seer can't look at themselves. Only a werewolf shows as a werewolf. The minion, the fox and the cursed one (until they turn) all show as "not a werewolf". Share what you learn carefully: if the werewolves work out who you are, you're next. Strategy for the seer, and for every role, is in Werewolf strategy.

Doctor

Each night the doctor picks one player to protect. If the werewolves attack that player, they survive. When nobody else died that night, the morning says: "The werewolves attacked in the night, but the doctor saved their victim. Nobody died." The protection stops only the werewolves' bite. Two host switches set the doctor's limits:

• Doctor can protect themselves: on by default.
• Doctor can repeat (protect the same player two nights in a row): off by default.

Witch

The witch has two potions, each for one use in the whole game. At night the witch is shown the werewolves' victim. The healing potion can save that victim, even when it is the witch. The poison kills any other player the witch picks, that same night. The witch may use both potions in one night. Once both are used, the witch has no night power left. When the healing potion saves the victim and nobody else died, the morning says: "The werewolves attacked in the night, but the witch's healing potion saved their victim. Nobody died."

One exception comes from playing on shared phones. In a Pass the phones night, the witch can't wait for the werewolves without showing who the witch is. So if the werewolves haven't all played when the witch's turn comes, the witch decides on the heal without seeing the victim: the potion saves whoever the werewolves attack.

Hunter

The hunter has no night power. When the hunter dies, at night or in a vote, they instantly shoot one living player of their choice. The shot is not optional. "Alex was the hunter! With their last breath, they take aim." Then: "Sam fell to the hunter's arrow." When the hunter dies, everyone learns their role, even when the roles of the dead stay hidden.

Cupid

On the first night only, Cupid picks two players to fall in love, and may pick themselves as one of them. The lovers learn each other's names, not their roles, and whether they are on different sides. If one lover dies, the other dies of a broken heart: "Heartbroken, Sam follows their love into death." Lovers on the same side play on with their team. Lovers on different sides now play only for each other: they win together as the last two alive. A jester or a fox in love is always on a different side from their lover. Cupid plays for the village, unless Cupid is one of two lovers from different sides; then Cupid plays only for the lovers.

Mason

The masons come as a pair: two villagers who know each other from the start, because each one's card shows the other mason. They have no night power, and the narrator never calls them. They can trust each other, but vouching for each other out loud tells the werewolves who the masons are.

Village Idiot

The first time the village votes the idiot out, they show their card and stay in the game: "But it's the village idiot! The village spares them, but they will never vote again." From then on they can't vote. A second vote against them is the end. The werewolves can still kill them at night.

Cursed

The cursed one is a villager who carries a curse. If the werewolves attack them at night and nobody protects or heals them, they don't die: they become a werewolf and play with the pack from then on. When nobody else died that night, the morning says: "Nobody died in the night. But the werewolves bit the cursed one, and now they are one of them." When someone else did die, the narrator says only "The werewolves attacked in the night, but their victim did not die.", and the screen shows that the cursed one turned. Either way, the village doesn't learn who it is; the cursed one, the pack and a minion who knows the werewolves do. Until they turn, the seer sees them as "not a werewolf".

Minion

The minion is a human who plays for the werewolves and wins when they win. The minion knows who the werewolves are, but the werewolves don't know the minion. To the seer the minion looks like a villager. The minion has no night power, and the werewolves can kill them too. When the game counts the two sides, the minion counts with everyone else, not with the werewolves. The village wins once every werewolf is dead, whether the minion is alive or not.

With the host switch Minion knows the werewolves off, the minion doesn't know who they are, like Japan's madman.

Jester

The jester plays alone and has no night power. If the village votes the jester out by day, the jester wins alone (unless the jester is in love), the game ends, and everyone else loses: "The jester wins! The village did exactly what they wanted." If the jester dies any other way, at night or by the hunter's arrow, the jester loses.

Fox

The fox plays alone. The werewolves can't kill it: their bite does nothing. But if the seer looks at the fox, the fox dies at dawn ("At dawn, Sam has vanished without a trace."), and the seer is still told "not a werewolf". A vote, a hunter's shot or the witch's poison can also end the fox. If the fox is alive when the village or the werewolves would win, the fox wins alone instead (unless the fox is in love): "The fox wins! It outlived everyone's plans." When the game counts the two sides, the fox counts with everyone else.

Sheriff

The sheriff is a title, not a role, so nobody is dealt it. If the host switches it on, the village elects a sheriff on day 1, before the talk, by pointing on the count of three. The village may also elect no sheriff. The sheriff's vote counts double, and the sheriff breaks ties. The table counts this, because votes are a show of hands. When the sheriff dies, they pass the badge to a living player who can still vote, or throw it away. Nobody is elected again.

Each role's name in the game's seven languages

Wolf Village speaks Finnish, English, Spanish, German, Dutch, French and Polish. These are the role names it uses, which helps when friends at the table don't share a language.

Tricky cases

These are the questions that stop a game at the table. Here is how Wolf Village settles each one.

• The vote is a tie. Talk some more and vote again, or let everyone live. With a sheriff, the sheriff breaks the tie.
• The werewolves can't agree. The player most of them chose is the victim. If two or more players tie for the most votes, chance picks one of them.
• A player is killed in the night after choosing. Their choice still counts, because everything happens at dawn. A seer killed tonight still sees, a witch killed tonight still poisons, and a seer's look at the fox still kills the fox.
• The doctor and the witch save the same victim. The victim lives, and the morning credits the doctor. The witch's healing potion is still used up.
• What the doctor's protection stops. Only the werewolves' bite. It doesn't stop the witch's poison, the hunter's shot, a broken heart or the seer's look at the fox.
• The werewolves attack the cursed one, but the doctor protects them. The protection wins: nobody dies and nobody turns.
• The hunter dies of a broken heart, or is poisoned. The hunter still shoots. Any death counts.
• The hunter's shot and the end of the game. The shot comes first. The game checks for a winner only after the shot.
• The witch is the victim. She may heal herself. She can't poison herself.
• Lovers on opposite sides. A werewolf in love with a villager plays only for the lovers. While that werewolf lives, the village can't win, and the pack doesn't count it as one of theirs.
• The village idiot is the sheriff. When the vote spares them, they lose their vote, so they pass the badge on or throw it away. A spared idiot can't be given the badge either.
• A cursed lover is bitten. The lovers' sides are counted from their roles now. So a cursed one in love with a villager becomes a lover from a different side once bitten.
• A jester or a fox in love. A lover on a different side from their lover plays only for the lovers' win. A voted-out jester in love doesn't win, and a fox in love doesn't steal the win.
• The doctor saves someone on a night when another player died. The morning doesn't say "Nobody died". It says only: "The werewolves attacked in the night, but their victim did not die."
• The jester is killed at night. The jester just loses. Only a village vote makes the jester win.
• Two wolves and two villagers are left. The werewolves win: equal numbers is enough.
• The minion, the fox and the count. Both count as "everyone else" when the game compares the werewolves with the rest.

Playing without a narrator

Classic Werewolf needs one person to sit out and run the night. You can skip that in two ways.

• Let a phone narrate. In Wolf Village, the host's phone is the narrator. It speaks every line in a recorded voice, calls the roles in order, keeps the night's secrets and announces the morning. The host can play too: with I'm playing too on, the host gets a role like everyone else.
• Give everyone a secret turn instead. With Everyone at once (own phones) or Pass the phones (shared phones), nobody closes their eyes and nobody calls the roles. Every living player takes a secret turn, so nobody has to run the night.

Have no phones or cards to hand? See how to play Werewolf without cards, with playing cards, paper slips or phones.

Teachers and youth leaders: Werewolf works in class and at camp with one phone per table, no student accounts and nothing to install. See Werewolf in the classroom and at camp.

Families: start with the Basic setup and short rounds. See Werewolf for kids and families.

Where Werewolf comes from

Werewolf began as Mafia. Dimitry Davidoff, a psychology student at Moscow State University, devised Mafia in 1986 or 1987 as a classroom activity for the high-school pupils he taught. Andrew Plotkin learned Mafia at the 1997 National Puzzlers' League convention and gave it the werewolf theme. (Plotkin's page, with Davidoff's account; Wired, 2010.) The full story, and the versions played around the world today, are in where Werewolf comes from.

FAQ

How many players do you need for Werewolf?

At least 4. Wolf Village takes 4 to 20 players. The Basic setup works at every count from 4 to 20. Classic starts at 8 players, Fox and Chaos at 9, and Standard 12 needs exactly 12.

How many werewolves for 8 players?

Two. The game recommends 1 werewolf for 4 to 6 players, 2 for 7 to 10, 3 for 11 to 16 and 4 for 17 to 20.

Is Werewolf the same game as Mafia?

Yes. It is the same game with a different story: the mafia become werewolves, and the investigator of the Mafia Plotkin learned becomes the seer. See how to play Mafia.

In what order are the roles called at night?

Cupid (first night only), the werewolves, the seer, the doctor, then the witch.

Can the doctor protect themselves?

Yes, by default. The host can switch that off. By default, the doctor can't protect the same player two nights in a row.

Do dead players get to talk?

No. The dead stay silent, with no hints of any kind. They can stay and watch.

Can you play Werewolf without a narrator?

Yes. A phone can narrate, or every player can take a secret turn so that nobody has to run the night. See Playing without a narrator.

Do the roles of the dead get revealed?

That is a house rule. In Wolf Village it is on by default: when a player dies, the narrator says what they were. With it off, a dead player's role stays secret until the end. Two roles show anyway: a dead hunter, and a village idiot the vote spared.

Start a free game: one phone narrates, everyone plays on their own phone

Start a free game: one phone narrates, everyone plays on their own phone