How to deal roles for Mafia or Werewolf
- Choose Mafia or Werewolf, then list the players, one name per line. The moderator who narrates the game stays off the list.
- Check the role counts. The suggested counts give about one bad-team role for every four players, a Detective or Seer from five players, and a Doctor or Bodyguard from seven. Change any number you like.
- Press Deal roles. To show everyone their role in the room, pass the phone: each player taps their name, taps Show my role, then hides it before handing the phone on.
- Playing with people in different places? Open Or send private links and send each person their own link. It shows only their role.
- Switch to Moderator view to see everyone’s role, follow the night and day checklist, mark players as eliminated, and let the page tell you when a team has won.
How Mafia and Werewolf work
Mafia and Werewolf are two themes for the same party game, passed around among friends for decades with no single official rule book. Different groups play slightly different versions, so this page describes the common core and leaves the fine print to you.
Everyone gets a secret role. A small group is secretly on the bad team (the Mafia or the werewolves). Everyone else is on the good team (the town or the village) and wins by finding the bad team. A moderator who isn’t playing narrates the game.
- Night. Everyone closes their eyes. The moderator wakes the bad team, who silently choose one person to eliminate. Then the Doctor or Bodyguard picks someone to protect, and the Detective or Seer points at a player to learn whether they are on the bad team.
- Day. Everyone wakes up. The moderator announces who was eliminated, unless the protector chose the same person. The group debates, then votes to eliminate one player. Eliminated players are out, and the moderator decides whether to reveal their role.
- Winning. The good team wins when every bad-team player is out. The bad team wins when it is at least as large as everyone else still in the game.
Tips for a smooth game
- Pick the moderator first. A good moderator speaks slowly and keeps a steady rhythm, so nobody can tell who is waking up from the timing.
- Set the elimination reveal rule up front. Some groups reveal a role when a player is voted out and some keep it hidden. Decide before the first night.
- Eliminated players stay quiet. They can watch, but no hints.
- Starting small? With four or five players, one bad-team role and no Doctor keeps the game quick.
Privacy
Roles are dealt in your browser and never sent to or stored on a server. The moderator’s game is saved on that device only, so a refresh doesn’t lose it. A private link carries one player’s name and a scrambled role in the part after the # sign, which stays on the device. Treat the links like sealed envelopes, not a safe.
Frequently asked questions
How many Mafia or werewolves should a game have?
A common starting point is about one for every four players, and the generator suggests exactly that: for example 1 for 4 to 6 players, 2 for 7 to 10, and 3 for 11 to 14. Fewer favors the town, more favors the bad team. The bad team must always be smaller than everyone else, so the page won’t deal a setup that is already lost on day one.
Do I need a separate moderator?
Yes. One person runs the game: they narrate the night, count the votes, and announce who was eliminated. The moderator does not appear on the player list and does not get a role. Use the Moderator view to see all roles and follow the checklist.
How does the pass-the-phone mode keep roles secret?
A role only appears after a player taps their own name and then taps Show my role. They hide it and pass the phone on. Names that have been looked at get a check mark, so the moderator can see when everyone has seen their role.
Are the private links safe?
Each link holds one player’s name and a scrambled role in the part of the address after the # sign, which browsers never send to a server. The scrambling isn’t encryption, so treat a link like a sealed envelope: send it privately to its owner. Don’t open anyone else’s link.
What is the difference between Mafia and Werewolf?
The rules are the same. Only the theme changes: the Mafia theme has Mafia, a Detective, a Doctor, and Villagers, and the Werewolf theme has Werewolves, a Seer, a Bodyguard, and Villagers. Pick whichever your group prefers.
Can I add more special roles?
This page deals the four classic roles: a bad team, one that investigates, one that protects, and plain villagers. You can have more than one of each. Extra roles with unique powers are a house rule you can run on your own by telling the moderator privately.
What happens if I refresh the page or close the tab?
The game is saved in your browser on the moderator’s device, so a refresh won’t deal new roles. Private links you’ve already sent keep working, because each one carries its own role.
Can I take back a mistake in the moderator view?
Yes. Undo reverses the last checklist tick, phase change, or elimination.