Werewolf is a party game about a village with a problem: a few of its players are werewolves. Each night the werewolves secretly pick a victim. Each day the whole village argues about who to vote out. The village wins by finding every werewolf, and the werewolves win by surviving until they match the villagers.
This guide covers the werewolf game rules step by step, the full werewolf roles list, how Werewolf differs from Mafia, and how to run a game on one phone with a narrator app.
Werewolf and Mafia: the same game with a different story
Werewolf grew out of Mafia, a game created by Dimitry Davidoff in Moscow in 1986. In 1997 Andrew Plotkin rewrote the theme with werewolves and villagers, and that version spread through game clubs and summer camps. The French boxed edition, Les Loups-garous de Thiercelieux (2001), added many of the special roles people know today.
The structure is identical: a hidden minority, an informed night phase, an open day phase and a vote. The differences are mostly names. Mafia says "Detective", Werewolf says "Seer". We cover the history and theme in more detail in Mafia vs Werewolf.
What you need
- Players: 6 to 15 is the sweet spot. You can start with 4 or 5, but the game is short.
- A narrator: one person who knows every role and does not play. They run the night and announce what happened.
- A way to deal roles: cards, folded paper, or a phone that deals them for you.
How many werewolves?
Too many wolves and the village never gets a chance. Too few and the game ends in one day. A good starting point, and the split our narrator app recommends:
| Players (not counting the narrator) | Werewolves | Seer | Doctor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 5-6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 7-9 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 10-12 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 13-15 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
Everyone else is a plain Villager. If your group is experienced, take one werewolf away and add a special role instead.
Werewolf game rules, step by step
1. Deal the roles
Each player looks at their role in secret. Werewolves do not know who the other werewolves are yet. They find out on the first night.
2. Night falls
The narrator says "Night falls, everyone close your eyes." Then they call each role in order:
- Werewolves wake up, recognise each other, silently agree on one victim by pointing, and go back to sleep.
- The Seer wakes up and points at one player. The narrator signals whether that player is a werewolf.
- The Doctor (or Bodyguard) wakes up and points at one player to protect tonight.
Nobody speaks during the night. Everything happens with pointing, nods and thumbs.
3. Morning
Everyone opens their eyes. The narrator announces who was attacked. If the Doctor protected that person, nobody dies. An eliminated player is out of the game and stays silent for the rest of it. In most groups they do not reveal their role.
4. Day discussion
Now the village talks. Who was too quiet? Who defended whom? Who changed their story? Werewolves join in and pretend to hunt for werewolves. Give the discussion a limit, usually three to five minutes, so the game keeps moving.
5. The vote
Anyone can nominate a suspect. Everyone points at the player they want to eliminate on a count of three. The player with the most votes is out. Agree on your tie rule before the game: a quick runoff between the tied players, or nobody is eliminated that day.
6. Repeat until someone wins
Night and day alternate until one side wins.
- The village wins when every werewolf is eliminated.
- The werewolves win when they equal or outnumber the remaining villagers.
Some special roles have their own win conditions, listed below.
Werewolf roles list
Core roles
| Role | Team | What they do |
|---|---|---|
| Werewolf | Werewolves | Wakes at night with the pack and chooses one victim. Blends in by day. |
| Villager | Village | No power. Wins by reading people and voting well. |
| Seer | Village | Each night, learns whether one chosen player is a werewolf. |
| Doctor / Bodyguard | Village | Each night, protects one player from the werewolf attack. Many groups ban protecting the same person two nights in a row. |
Popular extra roles
| Role | Team | What they do |
|---|---|---|
| Witch | Village | Has one potion to save the night's victim and one to eliminate a player. Each can be used once per game. |
| Hunter | Village | When eliminated, immediately takes one other player out with them. |
| Lovers | Varies | On the first night, two players are linked. If one is eliminated, the other leaves too. A werewolf and a villager in love win together if they are the last two. |
| Little Girl | Village | May peek during the werewolves' turn. If the werewolves catch her, she becomes their target. |
| Village Idiot | Village | If voted out, stays in the game but loses their vote. |
| Tanner | Alone | Hates his job and wants out. Wins only if the village votes him out. |
| White Werewolf | Alone | Hunts with the pack but secretly wants to be the last one standing. |
| Sheriff / Mayor | Village (elected) | Chosen by a vote on the first day. Their vote counts double in ties. |
Do not add every role at once. Two or three extras in one game are plenty, and a new group should start with the core roles only.
Werewolf roles vs Mafia roles
If you play Werewolf with a Mafia app or rulebook, this table translates the names. These are the eight roles in our Mafia game:
| Werewolf name | Mafia name in our app | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Werewolf | Mafia | Same night kill and win condition |
| Villager | Villager | Identical |
| Seer | Detective | The narrator answers "Mafia" or "not Mafia" |
| Doctor / Bodyguard | Doctor | Protects one player each night |
| Tanner | Jester | Wins by being voted out |
| White Werewolf (closest match) | Serial Killer | Kills alone at night and wins as the last survivor |
| No classic equivalent | Mastermind | A wolf who looks innocent to the Seer |
| No classic equivalent | Lookout | Learns who visited one player that night |
The app does not deal a Witch, Hunter, Lovers, Little Girl or Village Idiot. For those, use cards. Our Mafia game roles guide explains each app role in depth.
Narrator tips and a short script
The narrator makes or breaks a game of Werewolf. A few habits help:
- Read every night in the same order and at the same pace, even after a role is eliminated. Otherwise you give away who is dead.
- Tap or rustle while roles are awake so people cannot hear who is moving.
- Add flavour to the morning. "The village wakes to find the baker's door wide open..." is more fun than "Sam is dead."
- Never react to a player's role. A smile at the wrong moment ends a game.
A minimal night script:
"Night falls. Everyone, close your eyes. Werewolves, open your eyes and choose your victim. Werewolves, close your eyes. Seer, open your eyes and point at someone. [Nod or shake.] Seer, close your eyes. Doctor, open your eyes and choose someone to protect. Doctor, close your eyes. Morning comes. Everyone, open your eyes."
For complete lines for every phase, use our narrator script.
How to play Werewolf on one phone with our narrator app
You do not need a card set. Our Mafia game works as a Werewolf game: just call the Mafia "werewolves" when you play.
- Open the game and add 4-15 player names. The narrator is not on the list.
- Pick the number of Mafia (werewolves), Detectives (Seers) and Doctors, or keep the recommended split. Add optional roles if you like.
- Set a 4-digit narrator PIN.
- Pass the phone around. Each player taps to see their role, hides it and passes on.
- Hand the phone to the narrator and enter the PIN. The dashboard shows the script to read each night, tracks who is alive and tells you when a side has won.
The day vote happens out loud, by pointing. The narrator records the result, or "No lynch" for a tie. That is the only bookkeeping.
A quick word on One Night Werewolf
One Night Ultimate Werewolf is a commercial spin-off with a single night and a single vote. Some roles swap cards during the night, so nobody is completely sure of their own role by morning. Rounds take about ten minutes. It is a different game from classic Werewolf, but the role names overlap, which is why "werewolf roles" searches often mix the two.
Strategy for both sides
Villagers: watch how people vote, not only what they say. Werewolves often avoid voting for each other, so a pair who always protect one another is worth a question.
Werewolves: do not go quiet. Accuse someone early with a real reason, and occasionally vote against a fellow werewolf when the vote is already lost. For more, read our Mafia strategy guide.
Common questions
How many players do you need for Werewolf?
Six to fifteen plus a narrator is ideal. You can play with four or five, but the first vote decides a lot.
Does the narrator play?
No. The narrator knows everyone's role and runs the game. In our app, the narrator holds the phone after the role reveal.
What is the difference between Werewolf and Mafia?
The theme and the role names. The rules, phases and win conditions are the same. See Mafia vs Werewolf.
Can the Seer reveal what they know?
Yes, but carefully. A Seer who announces their role on day one usually becomes the werewolves' next target.
