One-night werewolf rules

1. The goal of the game

Every player belongs to a team: the village, the werewolves, or the Tanner, who plays alone. The village wants to eliminate at least one werewolf. The werewolves want to survive the vote. The catch? During the night, cards are swapped… and nobody is sure of their team when they wake up.

2. Setup

The game is played with 3 to 12 players. The deck always holds three more cards than players: each player secretly gets one card, and the last three stay face down in the center. There must be at least one werewolf in the deck.

Online, the host chooses the roles (or lets the game suggest a balanced set). Each player reveals their card with an animation, memorises it, then closes their eyes.

3. The night and the wake-up order

The narrator calls the roles one by one, always in the same order. Every role in the deck is called, even those whose card is in the center: that way, nobody can guess the center from silences. A player wakes up according to the card they received at the start.

Here is the wake-up order:

1. 1Doppelganger — At the start of the night, copies another player's card and becomes that role.
2. 2Werewolf — Opens their eyes with the other wolves. Alone, you may look at one card from the center.
3. 3Mystic Wolf — A Werewolf who can also look at another player's card.
4. 4Minion — Learns who the werewolves are. Wins with them, even if they die.
5. 5Mason — The Masons wake up together and recognise each other.
6. 6Seer — Looks at one player's card, or two cards from the center.
7. 7Ghost Hunter — Looks at up to two cards. Finds a wolf or the Tanner? Joins that team.
8. 8Robber — Swaps their card with another player's, then looks at their new identity.
9. 9Troublemaker — Swaps two other players' cards without looking at them.
10. 10Drunk — Swaps their card with a card from the center, without looking at it.
11. 11Insomniac — Wakes up last and looks at their card.

The Villagers, the Tanner and the Hunter sleep all night. The Little Girl has no turn of her own: she may peek during the werewolves’ turn.

4. The day and the debate

Everyone wakes up. A free debate begins, usually 3 to 5 minutes long: everyone can say whatever they want, including lies. The wolves pose as villagers, the Seer hesitates to reveal herself, the Robber wonders whether he has become a wolf…

On Loup-Garou Sans Carte, the debate happens over voice chat, and you can whisper to a single player: only they hear you, but everyone sees your mouth move.

5. The vote

At the end of the debate, every player points at another player at the same time. The player or players with the most votes are eliminated, with one exception: if nobody got more than one vote, nobody is eliminated. If the Hunter is eliminated, the player they voted for is eliminated too.

6. Who wins?

What counts are the cards at the end of the night, not the starting ones:

• The village wins if at least one werewolf is eliminated. If there is no werewolf among the players, the village wins only if nobody is eliminated.
• The werewolves (and the Minion) win if no werewolf is eliminated… and the Tanner is not eliminated either.
• The Tanner wins if he is eliminated.
• The Doppelganger and the Ghost Hunter play for the team of the role they became during the night.

7. Tips to play well

• Count the claimed roles: if there are two Seers, someone is lying.
• Think about the swaps: an honest player may have changed teams without knowing it.
• Silence is suspicious, but so is talking too much. Find the right balance.
• Discover the strategies of every role in our role guide.