Planning a perfect game night with BETRAYAL: setups and house rules

A good game night doesn't happen by luck. The right number of spies, a day that is neither too short nor too long, and a few house rules everyone agrees on before the first card is revealed make the difference between a table that laughs all evening and one that gets bored after two rounds. Here are ready-made setups by group size and occasion, house rules that work with the app, and tips for whoever is holding the phone.

Recommended setups by group size

Starting points, not laws: play one game, then adjust. Every role works with any number of players; this table is about balance, not about what is allowed.

Remember that later days are 60% as long as the first (never under 2 minutes), so a 10-minute first day becomes about 6 minutes on day 2. If you don't know a role yet, read the roles page before the evening.

Setups by occasion

👨‍👩‍👧 Family with kids

• Category: Fruits or Places. Everyone knows what a banana or a beach is.
• Roles: Detective and Guardian only. Skip the Witch and the Lovers, which take longer to explain.
• Day: 4–5 minutes, group vote so younger children can follow the discussion.
• Tip: let an adult sit next to the youngest player during the reveal to help read the card quietly, without looking at it.

🌙 Friends, late night

• Category: a Mix, or your own list of shared jokes and places (see below).
• Roles: Jester, Saboteur, Hunter. These create surprises and big reveals.
• Day: 6–8 minutes, secret vote. Use tournament scoring to settle who is the best liar.

🎉 Big gatherings and holidays

• Players: up to 20 at one table. If you have more, run a second phone at a second table and swap winners between games.
• Roles: the full set from the 13–20 row. Cupid is perfect for a wedding or a holiday dinner.
• Tip: appoint one patient host for the phone so the night phase moves quickly.

🏫 School or team-building

• Category: Jobs or Countries, or a custom list linked to the lesson or the company (departments, projects, cities you work in).
• Roles: Detective, Seer, Guardian. No Witch's death potion if you want to keep it gentle.
• Day: 5 minutes, group vote: it trains listening and arguing politely.
• Debrief: after the game, ask who gave the best "balanced" question.

🚗 Long trips

• The game works offline after the first visit, so open it once before you leave.
• Only passengers play. Use the group vote so the phone doesn't travel around too much in a moving car.
• Short days (3–4 minutes) fit between stops. Alone in the back seat? Try Today's secret.

Explaining the game to newcomers in 1 minute

Read this out loud, word for word if you like:

1. "Everyone gets a card on this phone. Press and hold it to read it in secret."
2. "Most of you will see a secret word, like Airport. One of us is a spy who only sees the category, Places."
3. "We take turns asking each other questions about the secret. Don't be too obvious, or the spy will guess it. Don't be too vague, or we'll think you're the spy."
4. "When the timer ends, we vote someone out. If it's the spy, they get one last guess at the word."
5. "At night, the phone goes to everyone. Just follow what the screen tells you."

That's enough to start. Newcomers learn the rest by playing. For the full rules, see how to play.

House rules that work with the app

The app handles the roles, the timer and the votes. These variants are agreed at the table and need nothing more than a quick word before the game.

• 🎨 Themed custom lists: one evening, all the secrets come from a single theme: "our neighbourhood", "summer holidays", "things in grandma's kitchen". Ideas and steps are below.
• 🤫 Silent round: answers must be one word. "Do you go there often?" "Rarely." It's harder for civilians to prove themselves, and much harder for the spy to pick up clues.
• ⚡ Speed round: set the day to the minimum of 3 minutes. No time for long speeches, just fast questions and instinct.
• 🏆 Tournament over 5 games: keep the same players for five games in a row. The app adds up the points automatically (civilians +2, spies +3, jester +4…), and whoever leads after game 5 is champion of the night.
• 🔁 No repeat question: once a question has been asked, nobody can ask it again that game. Need ideas? See question ideas.
• 🔄 Rotating first asker: the app picks who asks first on day 1. On the following days, the player sitting to the left of the previous first asker starts, so everyone gets a turn in the spotlight.
• 🌀 Chaos mode for experts: turn it on in setup. The spy sees 8 possible secrets, one of them the real one. The spy has a better starting point, so civilians must be extra careful with every answer. Save it for groups that already know the game well.

Tips for the host

Seating

Sit in a circle and type the names in exactly that order, because the phone follows it. Seat newcomers between regulars.

Passing the phone

• Hand it over screen-down. Press-and-hold on the card prevents accidental reveals, but good habits help.
• Lower the brightness in a dark room so neighbours can't read over a shoulder.
• At night, everyone takes the same amount of time with the phone, even civilians with nothing to do. A quick tap gives away that you have no power.

Keeping it fair

• Agree on the house rules before the reveal, not in the middle of a game.
• The host plays like everyone else, so keep your face neutral when you take the phone back.
• If a beginner is voted out in the first minute every time, suggest a group vote with a short discussion before anyone is accused.

Players who peek or talk when eliminated

• Eliminated players can't talk. Remind them kindly; a funny penalty works well: the next game, they ask the first question.
• Someone peeked at another card? Stop and start a new game with the same players from the menu.
• Give eliminated players a job: watching the timer or helping hand the phone around at night (without looking at the screen).

Ideas for custom word lists

The built-in lists are good, but secrets everyone shares memories of make the best evenings:

• Local places: the corner bakery, the school, the old market, the football pitch, the mosque or the square in your neighbourhood.
• Family memories: grandma's house, the beach from last summer, the wedding hall, the village, the car that always broke down.
• Favourite foods: dishes your family cooks on special days, the snacks you buy after school, the street food from your city.

Choose secrets everyone at the table knows. A place only two people have visited isn't fair to the others.

How to add them in the «📚 Lists» screen

1. Open «📚 Lists» from the home screen, or tap «📚 Edit lists» next to "What do we play?" in setup.
2. Pick the category your word belongs to: Places, Countries, Jobs or Fruits (favourite dishes fit well in Fruits for a food evening).
3. Tap «➕ Add», type the name (for example "Grandma's house") and choose an icon.
4. Optionally add a short description, some words that give it away (separated by commas) and question ideas (one per line). They appear on players' cards and make the round better.
5. Tap «💾 Save». Your words appear under "Added by you".
6. For a fully themed night, delete the original words of that category (you can restore them later) and play only that category.

Add at least 6 words to a category, so the spy can't simply guess from a short list.

Ready? Gather the table

Pick a setup, agree on one or two house rules, and pass the phone. The first game is the explanation; the second is where the fun really starts. ▶️ Start a game now. And if you want to improve as a player, read the tips, the spy guide and how to catch the spy.