Werewolf Game for Kids and Families: Gentle Rules for Younger Players
Yes, the werewolf game for kids works, and it works best with three changes: the simplest roles, short rounds and gentle words. A grown-up's phone runs the night, so nobody has to narrate and everybody plays. You need at least 4 players, and the grown-up who hosts can be one of them. Below are the roles, the gentle rules and a family-night script you can read out.
Start with Basic: two taps, and the phone runs the night
The two taps are Create game and Deal the roles. You type your name first, and dealing waits until at least 4 players are in. A phone that has never hosted starts on One phone each, where everyone joins on a phone of their own. With only your phone, tap Shared phones first, then add each child's name before you deal.
The family version at a glance
| Players | 4 to 20. Most families play with 4 to 10 |
| Roles | the Basic setup: werewolves, a seer and villagers, plus a doctor from 7 players |
| Phones | one grown-up's phone is enough. Children don't need a phone or an account |
| Narrator | the phone. Nobody has to sit out to run the game |
| Nights | Pass the phones: nobody closes their eyes, and everyone takes a secret turn |
| A game | a few nights and days. With 4 to 6 players there is one werewolf, so one right vote ends it |
Gentle rules for younger players
- Use soft words for being out. The game's words are already mild. On screen, Sam was "Taken by the werewolves" and "is out of the game". Out loud, the werewolves "claimed Sam", or "claimed one of the villagers" for a name the voice hasn't recorded. After a vote, the voice says "Sam is out of the game." or "The village has decided who leaves the game." You can add your own words: Sam was caught, and is now a ghost who watches. Note that the screens use the game's usual words. A werewolf's card says the pack secretly picks someone to kill, and its night button says Attack.
- Say that pretending is part of it. Werewolves pretend to be villagers. That is allowed, but only inside the game. The game's rules say: "Lying is allowed, but never show your secret screen to anyone."
- Nobody has to close their eyes. In a Pass the phones night, each player takes a secret turn on the phone and hands it on. Villagers take a turn too: they pick the player they suspect most. So there is no eyes-shut moment to peek through, and nobody can tell the werewolves by who takes a turn.
- Turn the spooky sounds off if you need to. In House rules, the Sound effects switch turns off the howling, the bell and the wind. The spoken announcements stay on.
- Keep Reveal the roles of the dead on. It is on by default. When someone is out, everyone learns what they were, so younger players can follow the story.
- Give the ghosts a job. Players who are out stay silent: no hints of any kind. On shared phones any phone can start the discussion timer and record the vote, so a ghost can be the timekeeper.
The Basic roles, in words a child understands
Basic is the first setup in the list, marked Best for a first game. A phone that has never hosted starts with it. It has just three roles, four from 7 players:
- 🐺 Werewolf: at night, the werewolves secretly choose one player. By day, they pretend to be villagers.
- 🔮 Seer: at night, the seer picks one player and learns whether they are a werewolf.
- 🩺 Doctor (from 7 players): at night, the doctor picks one player to protect. If the werewolves choose that player, they stay in the game.
- 🧑🌾 Villager: no power, just a good guess and a vote.
Each role card shows the role's picture and name, so children who read slowly can still tell what they are.
| Players | Werewolves | Seer | Doctor | Villagers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | 1 | – | 2 |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | – | 3 |
| 6 | 1 | 1 | – | 4 |
| 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
The village wins when every werewolf is out. The werewolves win once they equal or outnumber everyone else. The complete rules have the setups up to 20 players.
Family night, step by step
- Set up (5 minutes). Open the game on your phone, type your name and tap Create game. Choose Shared phones. Then add each child with Add a player without a phone. Names must all be different. Choose Basic if it isn't chosen already, and Pass the phones for the nights. In House rules, set the Discussion timer to 2 minutes.
- Explain the game in one minute. Read this out: "Tonight we are a village. Some of us are secretly werewolves. Every night the werewolves catch one player, and every day the village guesses who the werewolves are. Werewolves pretend, and that's allowed in the game. Never show anyone your screen."
- Deal. Tap Deal the roles. The phone goes round: each player taps their name, looks at their role and hides it. The werewolves also see who the other werewolves are.
- The first night. Tap Start the night and pass the phone round the circle. Everyone plays a secret turn and hands the phone on. Then tap Wake the village.
- The morning. The phone says "Good morning, village." and that the werewolves claimed someone, or that the doctor saved their victim. The screen shows who was claimed. Say: "Sam is a ghost now. Ghosts stay quiet, but they can watch. Sam, you keep the time."
- The day. Start the timer and talk. Who is acting strangely? Then tap Go to the vote and say: "Everyone think of one name. One, two, three: point!" Tap the player with the most votes, then confirm with the button that reads Vote out: and their name. On a tie, say "One more minute of talking, then we point again", or let everyone live today.
- Night and day again, until one side wins.
- Read the story together. Every phone shows Who was who and How it all happened, night by night. Ask: "When did you guess? What gave the werewolves away?" Then tap Play again, same players.
Keep the rounds short
- Small groups play short games. With 4 to 6 players there is one werewolf, and the village wins the moment it is out.
- Use the 2-minute timer. The timer can be off, 2, 3 or 5 minutes, and it is 3 by default. When it runs out, the phone says: "Time is up. It is time to vote."
- Play many short games, not one long one. A child who is out early is back in the next game a few minutes later.
- Stop at any time. On your phone, open the game menu, tap End the game, then tap again to end it and reveal the roles.
Younger children: play in pairs
- Two can play as one. Add them as one player, such as "Mia and Grandpa". They look at the role together and decide together.
- Or just host. Switch off I'm playing too, and your phone is only the host and narrator. You have no role, so you can help anyone read their screen. The game still needs 4 players besides you.
- Older kids who want the classic way can try Voice narrator: everyone closes their eyes, and the phone calls the roles one by one in a recorded voice. Those called open their eyes and tap their choice on the nearest phone.
No phones, or no signal?
Wolf Village needs an internet connection. Without one, deal the roles with a deck of playing cards or paper slips, as in how to play Werewolf without cards. A grown-up then narrates, and the gentle rules above still apply.