How a round works
The whole party night in order — what everyone's after, one round start to finish, and how it all ends. New here? Start with this. Playing tonight? Keep it open at the table.
What everyone's trying to do
One person at the party is secretly guilty. The night is a race between the people trying to find them and the people trying not to be found.
Work out who did it — and, if you can, how they did it and why.
You, and the accomplice who knows your secret, just have to survive the night.
Before the first round
- Your phone shows you a secret role. Look at it, then keep it to yourself — nobody else sees it.
- One friend runs the night from the host console, like a game-show host. Everyone else just needs their phone.
One round, start to finish
Pick who's on the spot. The table votes one person into the Hot Seat. Whoever was picked last round is safe this time.
Question them — 120 seconds. They can defend themselves, point the finger at someone shiftier, or lie through their teeth. The clock doesn't care which.
Everyone else chases a lead. Privately, on your own phone. You might turn up real evidence, a fake planted to throw you off, or nothing at all. Only you see what you found — the room is only told how many clues turned up, never what or by whom.
Do it again. New round, new Hot Seat, new leads — until the group is ready to make its accusation.
The night can't run forever — the game caps the rounds at twice the number of players. A table of six gets at most twelve.
How the night ends
When you've all had enough, everyone locks in three answers: who did it, how (the method), and why (the motive). The game reveals what really happened and scores how close you got. Just naming the culprit is a win — proving the how and why is a cleaner one. See Winning for the three tiers.
Keep in mind at the table
- Your role is secret — always. Half the fun is nobody knowing where you stand.
- You never have to tell the truth about a clue you found. Bluffing is fair play.
- Don't trust the obvious suspect. A few innocent people were framed on purpose — see Red herrings.
- Catching the accomplice isn't enough. To win, the group has to name the actual culprit.
Words you'll hear
- Culprit
- The one who did it. Also called the guilty party.
- Accomplice
- Knows who the culprit is and helps them get away with it.
- Red herring
- An innocent player set up to look guilty. Convicting one is the mistake the culprit is hoping for.
- Hot Seat
- Your 120 seconds under questioning when the table votes you up. More →
- Smoking Gun
- The one clue that proves guilt outright — if anyone manages to uncover it. More →
- Investigation Deck
- Physical cards for the tabletop version of the game, played alongside the phones. More →