Social deception

lie, suspect, accuse

Secret roles, straight faces and a lot of finger-pointing. Half the fun is getting caught.

Eleven games

Social deception
Cheat

best bit: calling “Cheat!” and flipping over four very confident lies

Play cards face down and say what they are, true or not. Get caught lying and you pick up the whole pile.

3–10 people · 15–30 min · cards · learn in a minute
Social deception
Kemps

best bit: a very suspicious amount of eyebrow scratching

Get four of a kind, then secretly signal your partner so they can call it before the other team catches on.

4–8 people · 20–40 min · cards · learn in a minute
Social deception
Liar's Dice

best bit: calling “Liar!” on a bid that turns out to be exactly right

Bid on how many of a number are hidden under everyone's cups. Call a bluff, and someone loses a die.

2–6 people · 15–30 min · dice · learn in a minute
Social deception
Mafia

best bit: finding out your sweetest friend was the killer all along

A few players are secretly the Mafia. Each night they take someone out; each day the town votes on a suspect.

7–20 people · 30–60 min · nothing needed · learn in a few minutes
Social deception · from Germany and Denmark
Mia

best bit: announcing Mia with a perfectly straight face

Secretly roll two dice and claim a score that beats the last one, true or not. Get caught lying, lose a life.

3–10 people · 15–30 min · dice · learn in a minute
Social deception
Sardines

best bit: six grown adults silently wedged into one coat closet

One person hides and everyone else searches. When you find them, you squeeze into the hiding spot too.

4–15 people · 15–45 min · nothing needed · learn in seconds
Social deception
Up Jenkins

best bit: a row of perfectly innocent faces, one of them lying

One team hides a coin under their hands. The other clears hands away one by one, saving the coin for last.

6–16 people · 15–30 min · nothing needed · learn in a minute
Social deception
Wink Murder

best bit: your friend dying very slowly and very loudly mid-sentence

One secret killer takes people out with a wink. Everyone else tries to catch them before they're next.

6–20 people · 10–30 min · nothing needed · learn in seconds
Social deception · from Japan
Word Wolf

best bit: realizing halfway through that you're the wolf

Everyone gets the same secret word, except one player who doesn't know their word is different. Find them.

4–10 people · 10–20 min · nothing needed · learn in seconds
Wordplay
Fictionary

best bit: your made-up definition getting more votes than the real one

Someone reads out a real word nobody knows. Everyone writes a fake definition, then guesses which one is real.

4–10 people · 20–45 min · pen & paper · learn in a minute
Get to know you
Two Truths and a Lie

best bit: learning the unbelievable one was true the whole time

Tell everyone three things about yourself, one of them made up. They grill you, then vote on which is the lie.

3–20 people · 15–30 min · nothing needed · learn in seconds

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