How do we play real life Traitors?

[RLTraitors]

Long holiday weekend. 8 People. How do we play real life traitors?

2 traitors or 3?
Draw the traitors randomly on paper?
How do the traitors find one another?
How does the murdering occur?

What else am I not thinking of?

You can play it by assigning roles by dealing out cards, I used to play it years ago as a party game called Mafia.

Oo thank you. But how can the traitors meet each other?

Isn’t it essentially the game Werewolves? Or secret hitler etc Just buy that and play werewolves or adjust the words to traitors!

if not, you need one person to run the game and not be included, the Claudia if you will. Then put in 2 traitors, the rest faithful. Everyone draws one. All look at the same time but not tell anyone. Then the Claudia says everyone close their eyes, on 3 traitors open your eyes. Do that so the traitors know who each other are, and the Claudia. Then close eyes again and Claudia starts the game. Go from there.

Google 'mafia party game' or similar

We used to play this in the evenings when I worked at a summer camp and it's basically the same thing! You need a good narrator to play the role of Claudia. But not sure 8 will be enough for a good game, we had about 15

Second werewolfs

Get the board game!! https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3288180?utm_custom6=LIA&deeplink=true&gclsrc=aw.ds&&cmpid=GS001&_$ja=tsid:59157%7Cacid:629-618-1342%7Ccid:20368907733%7Cagid:%7Ctid:%7Ccrid:%7Cnw:x%7Crnd:2668985936754281763%7Cdvc:m%7Cadp:%7Cmt:%7Cloc:1006565&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=20368907733&utm_term=3288180&utm_content=shopping&utm_custom1=&utm_custom2=629-618-1342&GPDP=true&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19671806872&gbraid=0AAAAAD9II9lBN6inaE6Pz2SaufHiZVcyM&gclid=CjwKCAiAt8bIBhBpEiwAzH1w6aH7Z__--UBGY3pBO-_9Ll4OeiBdcV5iZUM_Vmy81icpWG2PoOifERoC2QIQAvD_BwE

Everyone’s going to want to play. So we need a way without Claudia

Someone needs to make an app for this.

There's a boardgame you can buy

Here you go:
https://www.instructables.com/How-To-Play-Mafia-with-And-Without-Cards/

Everyone is sitting in a circle with their eyes closed, the mafia / traitors can open their eyes and communicate non-verbally.

A game only takes about 10-20 minutes, it’s less involved and immersive than the TV show. You could probably find a way to expand it if you want to turn it into an event (but I would worry about fall-outs!)

There is. It’s the game werewolves and there is an app that narrates. The game has been around for years in various forms, many of us have played this way before the TV program was a thing.

The board game "Secret Hitler" is a very similar concept to traitors. It's really good fun.

We have the board game but we are thinking all weekend one game. So the suspense and longevity of it is part of the drama.

No moderator. So the open close eyes thing for werewolves doesn’t work.

I am thinking maybe we draw from paper our allocation?
On the allocation the traitors are given a locked code to a traitor box we can leave in the loo? Then the traitors can leave each other a message to initially know its them?

In the traitor box there can be kill cards which are pre-made so we dont give it away with handwriting?

The traitors have to take the kill cards and place it somewhere so others can see it without getting caught?

Friday night: Allocation - 8 players
Saturday Day: Murder - end with 7 players
Saturday Eve: Round Table - end with 6 players
Sunday Day: Murder - end with 5 players
Sunday Pre Dinner: Round table - end with 4 players
Dinner & Drinks Interlude
Sunday Eve: End Game

Does that work?

I've done traitors style over an evening.

We did cards with traitor or faithful written on one side, shuffled and dealt them out. Everyone had to write their name on the blank side of the card before looking at the other side to reveal. We then put the cards in a box, we left it in a different room so the traitors had to sneak into the room and peek in the box without being caught.

They could communicate by WhatsApp so no need for secret meetings.
When someone was murdered they moved the card from the box to the centre of the dining table, again a bit of sneaking around to do it etc.

We also had a bottle of prosecco as the prize for the winner 😁

If it’s an all weekend game, what does the person who is murdered first do for the rest of the weekend?

To add I did a bit of coordination so traitors had a chance to get to the box, so everyone was ushered into the living room for drinks, but inevitably someone needed the loo, or went to get another round of drinks. Were they suspicious? What about the last person to leave the room, why did they take so long etc.

We also did a murder in plain sight - we had glitter in a napkin for dessert. That took a bit more planning, we had several options for it, glitter in a napkin, lipstick on a glass, which was written out beforehand and the traitors could pick and had to put the card on the dinner table so it was revealed to the group.

Bit shit for the ones out on Saturday, especially the afternoon one. Just play ultimate werewolf

@RLTraitors

AI suggestion for the set up (hope you don't mind the wall of info)

Game Template: The Weekend Traitors
Objective:

• Faithfuls: Identify and banish all Traitors to win a shared prize pot.
• Traitors: Remain undetected and eliminate all Faithfuls to steal the prize pot.

Players: A group of dedicated participants (minimum 5, ideally 8+), all committed to honest play and discretion. Required Materials:

• Slips of paper
• Pens
• Hats/bags for drawing roles and votes
• A dedicated, secret messaging app/group chat (e.g., WhatsApp, Google Hangouts) for Traitors only. This group chat must be kept a secret from the Faithfuls and muted to avoid suspicion.

Phase 1: Setup and Role Assignment How are Traitors Chosen?

1. Prepare Role Cards: On slips of paper, write "Traitor" on a few (e.g., 2 Traitors for 8 players, 3 for 12+) and leave the rest blank ("Faithful"). The number of Traitors should be a minority.
2. Secret Drawing: All players sit in a circle with their eyes closed or blindfolded (or just face down if everyone is trustworthy). A non-playing person (or a designated "game starter" who then joins the game as a regular player) mixes the slips in a hat and each player draws one at random, ensuring absolute secrecy.
3. Role Confirmation: Players open their slips in private, ensuring no one else sees their role.

How do Traitors Recognise Each Other?

• Secret Group Chat: The Traitors (and only the Traitors) immediately join a pre-arranged, secret group chat on their phones. This allows them to communicate covertly throughout the game, both during the "night" phase and the day, without alerting the Faithfuls.
• Initial Identification: In their secret chat, they can confirm each other's identities and start plotting their strategy.
• Strict Rules: All players must have their phones on silent to avoid notifications from the Traitors' chat giving them away.

Phase 2: Weekend Gameplay Loop The game alternates between Day (Missions and Round Table) and Night (Murder). Day Phase

1. Breakfast (Morning Announcement): The game starter/facilitator announces who was "murdered" overnight. The murdered player is out of the main game (but can participate in missions, see "Ghosts" below) and reveals their role. The remaining players gather to discuss.
2. Mission (Daily Challenge): The group participates in a physical or mental challenge (e.g., riddles, escape room style tasks, scavenger hunts).
3. Goal: Earn money for the prize pot. Traitors should subtly sabotage without being obvious.
4. Shields: Hide "shields" around the mission area. A player who finds one is immune from the next murder. They must announce they have a shield.
5. Mingling/Discussion: Players socialise, form alliances, and discuss suspicions in private or group conversations. Traitors use this time to blend in and misdirect.
6. Round Table (Evening): Players formally convene to debate who they think is a Traitor. After discussion, everyone privately writes down the name of the player they wish to banish.
7. The player with the most votes is banished and reveals their role.
8. If a Traitor is banished, it's a win for the Faithfuls; if a Faithful, a win for the Traitors.

Night Phase

1. Curfew: At a designated time, all players must go to their private rooms. To ensure fairness, play loud music for a few minutes while players are getting settled to cover any noise.
2. Murder: The Traitors use their secret group chat to decide who to murder. They must agree on one target.
3. Confirmation: The Traitors privately confirm their target with the non-playing "game starter" (if you have one) or simply agree among themselves that this person is out in the morning.
4. Recruitment (if applicable): If the number of Traitors gets too low (e.g., only one remains), they can choose to recruit a Faithful instead of murdering, who then secretly joins their team. The recruited player is notified privately.

Additional Rules & Tips

• Ghosts: Murdered and banished players become "Ghosts." They can participate in missions but cannot be part of the round table discussions or influence main game decisions. This keeps them involved all weekend.
• Maintain Buy-in: Keep the game engaging for everyone. Ensure activities are fun and that early eliminated players still have a role.
• Final Round Table: The game ends when only 2 players remain (if one is a Traitor, Traitors win the whole pot), or if all Traitors are banished (Faithfuls win).

I am imagining they still chat, gossip but they can’t vote.

They might be most inclined to oust the traitors!

Think this link shows your insta profile btw

Different from what you’ve asked but if weekend long traitors is a bit tricky, you could play werewolves/ mafia like others have suggested and also get ‘don’t get got’ which is a game that gives everyone secret missions to complete. You could play that over a weekend. Will say though, the first time my group played don’t get got we had an absolute blast but the second time it was awful because everyone was suspicious of everyone and everything so we all just refused to interact 😅

Did this at a staff bonding day.

everyone sits at the round table, opens a card that says traitors or faithful. Then everyone closes their eyes and only traitors open them.

Trying to oust a traitor are they 🤣 games not started yet!

Oh cheers x