The best social deduction games

What is a social deduction game?

In a social deduction game, players are secretly split into teams, usually a small informed group that knows each other and a larger group that doesn't. The larger group wins by working out who is lying, and the smaller group wins by staying hidden. The evidence comes mostly from what people say, how they vote, and how they react.

They are also called hidden role games. Mafia and Werewolf are the classics, and most of the games below change one part of that formula, such as removing eliminations or replacing the night phase with a word puzzle.

All games at a glance

Free games you can play tonight

• Mafia

  4 to 30+ players

  The original social deduction game, created in Moscow in 1986. A hidden mafia eliminates one player each night, and the town votes out a suspect each day. You only need a narrator and a way to deal roles.

  Compared with Mafia: This is the one the rest are compared to. It handles bigger groups than almost anything else on this list.

  Deal roles on one phone

• Wink Murder

  6+ players

  One secret murderer eliminates players by winking at them, and victims dramatically die a few seconds later. An openly chosen detective has to name the murderer before everyone is gone.

  Compared with Mafia: No narrator and no night phase, so it works well with kids and in a crowded room.

• Imposter (word game)

  3+ players

  Everyone except one player gets the same secret word. Going around the circle, each player says one word related to it, and then the group votes on who doesn't know the word.

  Compared with Mafia: A round takes a few minutes and nobody sits out, which makes it a good warm-up before Mafia.

Boxed games worth buying

• Werewolf (Ultimate Werewolf)

  5 to 75 players

  Mafia retold in a village, with werewolves instead of mafia and a Seer instead of a Cop. Ultimate Werewolf is the best-known boxed version and comes with dozens of extra roles.

  Compared with Mafia: Same game, different theme. Buy the box if you want printed role cards and more roles to mix in.

• One Night Ultimate Werewolf

  3 to 10 players

  Werewolf compressed into a single night and a single vote. Roles get swapped in the dark, so players often finish the round unsure which team they're on.

  Compared with Mafia: Much faster, works with as few as three players, and nobody is eliminated early.

• The Resistance

  5 to 10 players

  A few spies hide inside a resistance cell. Each round, the group votes on a team for a mission, and spies on that team can secretly sabotage it.

  Compared with Mafia: There are no eliminations, so everyone plays until the end. Voting records give hard evidence to argue over.

• The Resistance: Avalon

  5 to 10 players

  The Resistance with an Arthurian theme. Merlin knows who the evil players are but has to stay hidden, because the Assassin can steal the win by naming him at the end.

  Compared with Mafia: Closest to Mafia's Cop dynamic, with no player elimination.

• Secret Hitler

  5 to 10 players

  Liberals and fascists elect a president and chancellor each round, who pass policies from a deck. The fascists win by passing enough fascist policies or by getting Hitler elected chancellor late in the game.

  Compared with Mafia: More structure and more to track. Good for groups who like reading voting patterns.

• Blood on the Clocktower

  5 to 20 players

  A storyteller-run game where good players each have a unique ability and evil players protect a Demon. Dead players stay in the conversation and keep one last vote.

  Compared with Mafia: Mafia for experienced groups. Nobody sits out after being eliminated, and every player has information to share or fake.

• Two Rooms and a Boom

  6 to 30 players

  Players split between two rooms and trade hostages each round. The blue team wins if the President ends up away from the Bomber, and the red team wins if they end up together.

  Compared with Mafia: Built for big groups and lots of movement. No narrator is needed during the game.

• Spyfall

  3 to 8 players

  Everyone knows the secret location except the spy. Players ask each other questions, trying to catch the spy without giving the location away.

  Compared with Mafia: Short rounds driven by questions instead of night kills.

• The Chameleon

  3 to 8 players

  A card shows a grid of words on one topic, and everyone except the Chameleon learns which one is secret. Each player says one word, and the group votes on who was bluffing.

  Compared with Mafia: A boxed version of the Imposter idea. Quick rounds and no elimination.

• Insider

  4 to 8 players

  The group plays twenty questions to guess a word. One player secretly already knows it and steers the questions, and once the word is guessed everyone has to work out who that was.

  Compared with Mafia: Cooperative for the first half, then a single accusation. Good for groups who don't like lying for long.

• Deception: Murder in Hong Kong

  4 to 12 players

  A forensic scientist knows the solution but can only give clues through scene tiles. Investigators study each other's evidence cards to find the murderer's weapon and key clue.

  Compared with Mafia: More of a puzzle. The deduction comes from clues on the table as much as from people.

• Coup

  2 to 6 players

  Each player holds two hidden character cards and can claim any character's action, true or not. Anyone can challenge a claim, and the last player with cards left wins.

  Compared with Mafia: Every player for themselves rather than hidden teams, but the bluffing feels similar.

Online games

• Town of Salem

  Up to 15 players

  Mafia played online in a browser or on a phone, with dozens of roles and a text chat for each day phase.

  Compared with Mafia: The way to play Mafia with strangers or when your group isn't in the same room.

• Among Us

  4 to 15 players

  Crewmates complete tasks around a spaceship while impostors sabotage and eliminate them. Bodies trigger meetings where everyone discusses and votes.

  Compared with Mafia: A video game, so each player needs a device. The meetings are basically Mafia's day phase.

Picking one for your group

• With 3 to 5 players, try the Imposter word game, The Chameleon, Spyfall or One Night Ultimate Werewolf. Elimination games get thin at this size.
• With 5 to 10, The Resistance, Avalon and Secret Hitler shine, and Mafia plays well with a Cop and an Angel.
• With 10 or more, play Mafia, Werewolf, Two Rooms and a Boom or Blood on the Clocktower.
• With kids or a mixed crowd, start with Wink Murder or the Imposter word game before moving on to Mafia.
• If players hate sitting out, choose a game without eliminations, such as The Resistance, Avalon or Insider.

If you are going with Mafia, the rules, role guide and narrator script cover everything you need.

Frequently asked questions