WEREWORDS

Werewords is an exciting game that tests your vocabulary, ability to understand your friends, and ability to deceive.

When the game begins, there are three groups: the mayor, the villagers, and the werewolves. The only role that is known to everyone is the mayor, but the mayor secretly belongs to one of the other teams. Your goal in Werewords depends on which side you are on.

There are different objectives in Werewords. If you are a villager, you need to guess the word correctly or identify the werewolf. If you are the werewolf, you want to prevent the word from being guessed, avoid getting caught, or figure out who the seer is.

Hey there, as the mayor, you have two possible roles in this game: villager or werewolf. If you’re a villager, your job is to guide the other players and help them guess the correct word. On the other hand, if you’re the werewolf, your mission is to mislead the villagers and prevent them from guessing the word. Sometimes, you might even need to lie to throw them off track, but be careful! If you make it too obvious, you’ll get caught.

PREPARATION

To get started with Werewords, first, we need to gather the necessary cards. Depending on the number of players, we’ll need to remove the mayor, seer, and werewolf cards from the box. For example, in a game with five players, we’ll have one mayor, one seer, one werewolf, and three villager cards.

After shuffling the cards, each player will receive one face-down card in front of them. The remaining card will be placed in the middle, and this card will determine the mayor’s secret role. The mayor reveals their card and takes on this role.

Next, we place the tokens (yes/no, maybe, so close, and correct) in front of the mayor, along with a mobile device. The mayor will use the device to start the app, which should be placed in the center of the table.

Now, let’s move on to the gameplay itself, starting with the Night Phase.

Alright, here’s the deal. We’re gonna play a game, and it’s gonna be so much fun! First, I’ll tell everyone to close their eyes. Then, the mayor, who is like the boss, will secretly pick a role for each player and choose a word for the game. But shh, it’s a secret! After that, the mayor will close their eyes too.

Next, the Seer, who has special powers, gets to open their eyes and take a peek at the word the mayor picked. The Seer has to keep it hush-hush though, so they close their eyes again. Lastly, it’s time for the werewolf to have their turn. The app will say, “Hey werewolf, open your eyes!” The werewolf gets to see the secret word too, but don’t worry, their eyes will be shut tight again in no time.

Okay, now it’s time for the big reveal! I’ll say, “Okay, everyone, open your eyes!” And that’s when the exciting day phase of the game begins.

Day Phase

The day phase lasts for 4 minutes. When we’re told to open our eyes, the timer starts ticking. If you want, you can ask the mayor questions to figure out the word. For example, you can ask, “Is it bigger than a bread box?” The mayor will give out tokens for answering the questions. This goes on until the word is guessed, the mayor runs out of yes/no tokens, or the time runs out.

If you want to guess the word, you need to phrase it as a question. For instance, you can say, “Is the word dresser?”

If the time runs out, the villagers can’t guess the word anymore, but they can still win.

If the tokens run out, the timer stops. Again, the villagers can’t guess the word anymore, but they can still win.

Finally, when the game ends, the villagers emerge as the winners.

Here’s how the game works: we villagers have two ways to win. Either we have to correctly guess the word before time runs out, or if we don’t manage to guess the word, we can try to figure out who the werewolf is.

If we couldn’t guess the word before the timer runs out, we move on to the next phase. The app gives us a few moments to discuss, and then begins the countdown. When the countdown ends, we have to point at a player (someone other than ourselves) whom we suspect of being the werewolf. The player with the most votes (or multiple players in case of a tie) reveals their card. If they turn out to be the werewolf (or any of the tied players), we villagers win!

And now, let’s talk about the werewolves. They win if we villagers fail to guess the word on time and also if we don’t identify any werewolf in the vote. The werewolves can also win if, after the word is guessed, they manage to correctly guess who the seer is.

If you guess the word, the werewolves will have a moment to chat and then a countdown will begin. The player who has the most votes, or both if there’s a tie, will reveal their card. If the werewolves find the seer, they win.

There are also additional roles in the game.

One of these roles is called the Beholder. The Beholder knows who the seer is, but not the magic word. The villagers still win if the werewolves mistakenly identify the Beholder as the seer.

Another role is the Minion. The Minion knows who the werewolf is, but not the magic word. However, unlike the Beholder, if the Minion is voted as a werewolf, the villagers still win.