The game in one paragraph
Most players are Faithful. A few are secretly Traitors, and only the traitors know who the traitors are. Every night the traitors murder one faithful player. Every day the whole group meets at the round table, argues, and votes to banish one person, who then reveals whether they were faithful or a traitor. The faithful win if they banish every traitor. The traitors win if any of them are still in the game at the end.
This is a home version of a TV format; it is not affiliated with the show or its makers.
What you need
- Eight or more players. It works best with twelve to twenty.
- A host who runs the game and does not play. The host needs to know who the traitors are to run the murders.
- A private place for the traitors to meet — a laundry, a back room, a group chat the others cannot see.
- An evening or a weekend. One round is about thirty minutes, so a party gets three to five rounds; a weekend away can run the whole thing.
How many traitors?
Too few and the first banishment ends the game; too many and the faithful never catch up. These are the counts the Traitors preset deals:
| Players | Traitors | Faithful |
|---|---|---|
| 8–9 | 1 | 7–8 |
| 10–15 | 2 | 8–13 |
| 16–24 | 3 | 13–21 |
| 25+ | 3 or 4 | the rest |
With a single traitor, add recruitment (below) so they are not alone for the whole game.
Dealing the roles
Everyone needs to learn their role without anyone else seeing. With the role dealer, the host shares one link, each player types their name, and their role appears on their own phone. The host then opens the reveal link on the organiser page, privately, to see who the traitors are.
The traitors need to find each other. The simplest way: put it in their private briefing, which only the traitors see — “Traitors meet in the laundry when the host rings the bell.” The faithful get their own briefing, so everyone reads a few lines and nobody's screen looks different from across the room.
A round, step by step
- Breakfast. Everyone gathers. The player murdered overnight does not arrive; the host announces who it was. They are out, and they do not reveal anything else.
- Mission (optional). A short group game — a quiz, a puzzle, a relay. Winning adds to a prize pot or earns a shield (see house rules).
- Round table. Open discussion, then everyone writes or says one name at the same time. The most votes is banished. On a tie, the tied players get one minute each and the group votes again.
- The reveal. The banished player says “I am Faithful” or “I am a Traitor” and leaves the game.
- Night. The traitors meet privately and agree on one faithful player to murder. They tell the host, who tells the victim quietly before breakfast.
Ending the game
When four or five players are left, hold a final round table. After each banishment, everyone still in votes whether to end the game or banish again. If the vote to end is unanimous, the game stops: if every traitor is gone, the faithful win; if even one traitor remains, the traitors win.
House rules to settle first
- Recruitment. When a traitor is banished, the remaining traitors may invite one faithful player to join them. The player can refuse.
- Shields. A mission winner is safe from murder that night. Nobody else learns who holds one.
- Revealing murders. Victims stay silent about their role. Only banished players reveal.
- The prize pot. Real or imaginary, split between the winners. Even a chocolate bar raises the stakes.
FAQ
How many people do you need to play The Traitors at home?
Eight at the least, with one traitor. Twelve to twenty is the best range, with two or three traitors.
Can the host play?
Not really — the host has to know who the traitors are to run the night. Pick someone who enjoys running things more than winning them.
How do the traitors find out who the other traitors are?
Put a meeting place in the traitors' private briefing, or have the host gather them quietly on the first night.
Can we play it over a weekend?
Yes, and it is better that way: one round per meal, murders overnight, and the final round table on the last afternoon.
Deal the roles
Open the role dealer with the Traitors preset, set your number of players, add a meeting place to the traitors' briefing, and share the link. It is free and nobody needs to sign up.