(Can also be referred to as Werewolf or Mafia)

Assassin is really a great game – it’s straightforward,  simple to set up, doesn’t require equipment, and is plenty of fun. You need at least 7 or 8 people to play. Participants are assigned five roles to play in the game – The killers, a medic, townspeople, and a moderator. For a group of eleven, the ratios should be approximate:

• 2 Assassins
• 1 Medic
• 1 Policeman
• 6 Townspeople
• 1 Moderator

Except for the Moderator, the other roles should be allocated secretly. Normally, the Moderator writes on cards and hand them out in such a way that no one knows what role others are playing. The role of the moderator should be given to someone who knows the game well (perhaps a leader to start out with).

In a nutshell:

• The two assassins’ objective is to work together to assassinate all the townspeople (including the police & medic)
• The townspeople’s objective is to vote out both the assassins

The game starts with the moderator telling everyone to close their eyes.

Once every participant has their eyes closed, the moderator asks the Assassins to open their eyes. On the first turn, each assassin will discover the fellow “assassins”.

The moderator asks the two Assassins who they wish to kill. They silently agree (by pointing to someone) who to “kill” that turn. Once someone has been selected, the moderator then thanks them and asks them to close their eyes.

The moderator then asks the Medic to open their eyes. They can then choose who to “save” (more on what this means later). Once they have chosen who to save, the moderator asks the Medic to close their eyes

Finally, the moderator asks the Policeman to open his/her eyes and select someone to accuse (of being an assassin). The moderator must honestly (and silently) answer the policeman with a nod or a shake of the head whether the accused is one of the assassins or not. The policeman should then close their eyes.

That’s the end of the first round, and the moderator then asks everyone to open their eyes. The moderator will then announce to the group who was killed during the night. The participant who has been killed takes no further part in the game. It is essential that they are not allowed to talk. (Note that if the person who the assassins selected to be “killed” was also the one selected by the medic, the moderator only reveals there was a failed assassination attempt and doesn’t give any further
information, so the person remains alive).

It is them up to the remaining group members to discuss amongst themselves who they think the assassins are. After a few minutes of discussion, the group must vote (one at a time) who they think to be the assassin. Given the roles have been handed out in secret, the early rounds are often full of speculation, people justifying their innocence, or explaining their suspicions. And as the game progresses, lies, deception, and strategy creep in. When all votes have been cast, the
participant who receives the most votes is out of the game (and must also not speak again). If there is a tied vote, give the cluster another minute for further discussion then vote again.

The policemen add a twist to the game – if they have accused someone and learned they are an assassin, they may choose to disclose this to the group, but doing so has consequences – will the group believe they are the policemen? Normally identifying an assassin puts a bigger target on their back; the assassins may choose to target that person next round. Or if the group is suspicious they may revolt and vote that person off.

The game continues, with everyone closing their eyes, the assassins once again selecting someone to kill, the medic selecting who to save, the policeman someone to accuse, the moderator announcing who was killed, then voting again. If the medic and/or policeman have been voted out, the moderator should continue pretending to ask them to select someone to save (or to
accuse) just so their identity is not revealed to the townspeople. If one of the two assassins are voted out, the game continues with one assassin.

As the game progresses, fewer and less people are in the game, and people (especially the medic and policeman) build up more and more knowledge of who the assassins may be. The discussions get more and more interesting.

As soon as all the assassins have been voted off, the game is over and the townspeople have won.

It’s recommended that the medics and the policemen keep their identity a secret in the early rounds to avoid being picked off by the assassins. There comes a time however when it may be beneficial to reveal who they are to the group, especially if the policeman has an accusation confirmed. Whether they can convince the rest of the group they are genuinely a policeman (and not an assassin posing as a policeman) adds to the mystery!

Adjust the number of policemen/assassins according to the size of the group. For 15 players, have two policemen, for 20, have three assassins, etc.