Hidden Roles Night
A find-the-hidden-Shadows party game for 6 to 16 people. One phone deals the secret roles, runs the night and keeps the timer. No app to install, no sign-up, nothing leaves the device.
Set up
Rules in one minute
Seven steps per round, a secret team, and one rule above all: it is a game about roles, never about real life.
- GoalThe Shadows are a hidden team, about one player in four. Everyone else is a Guest. The Guests win by banishing every Shadow. The Shadows win when they equal the number of other players still in.
- DealThe phone gives each player one secret card. Shadows learn who their fellow Shadows are. Everyone else only knows their own role. Seer and Guardian are optional extras for bigger groups.
- The roundBreakfast (mingle), Mission (a small getting-to-know-you task), Talk, Round table (20 seconds each), Vote, Night, Dawn. The phone shows each step and a timer.
- VoteOn three, everyone points at one player. The most-pointed-at player is banished and turns over their side, Shadow or Guest. Nothing more is revealed.
- NightThe phone goes round. Shadows pick a player to remove. The Guardian shields one player. The Seer looks at one player's side. Other Guests mark their top suspect. At dawn the phone announces who left and who the group's whispers point at.
- Out playersPlayers who are out stay at the table as Whisperers: they cannot vote, but they keep the timer and read missions aloud. Nobody has to leave the party.
- RolesShadow: remove Guests, avoid the vote. Guest: find the Shadows. Seer (from 8 players): sees one side per night. Guardian (from 10 players): shields one player per night.
Play it kindly
- Accuse roles, never people: nothing said in the game counts outside it.
- Anyone can say “Pause” at any time and the game stops for a minute.
- Nobody has to speak. Passing is always allowed.
- No dares and no forfeits. Do not use real secrets as clues.
- If someone gets upset, stop the round, take a Mission break and check in.
Mission (16)
- Find three things everyone at the table has in common. Not jobs, not age.
- Each player shares the last thing that made them laugh, in one sentence.
- Line up by birthday month without speaking, then say your month.
- Each player names one song for tonight's playlist.
- Ask the person on your left what they like most about this city.
- Teach the group one word from your language or slang. Everyone repeats it.
- Everyone names a comfort meal. Find the ingredient most meals share.
- In pairs, find one place you would both recommend within a 10 minute walk.
- Give another player a compliment about something they did tonight, not their looks.
- Pick a name for the whole table in 90 seconds. Everybody must agree.
- Tell a two-sentence ghost story, one word per player in turn.
- Everyone makes their best ghost sound. The group applauds the scariest.
- Name the costume you would wear (or are wearing) in 10 seconds.
- Pass a spooky whisper round the circle. Compare the last version with the first.
- Name a film that scared you as a kid. The group ranks the scariest.
- Argue for your favourite candy in 20 seconds. The group picks the winner.
Printable role cards (A4)
Prints the exact role set for the group size above: cut along the dashed lines, fold each card on the middle line with the role inside, shuffle face down and deal. Use the “Printed cards and a narrator” mode with them.
Questions
Do I need to download an app?
No. This page is the whole game. It works in your phone browser and, once opened, offline.
Is the deal really random and private?
Yes. The roles are shuffled on your device with the browser's random generator. They never leave the phone, and the page has no server behind it.
How many Shadows should we use?
About one in four players: 1 for 6–7 players, 2 for 8–11, 3 for 12–15, 4 for 16. You can change it before dealing.
Can we play without the phone dealing?
Yes. Print the role cards, deal them yourselves and pick a non-playing narrator. The phone still keeps the timer, reads missions and checks who has won.