The Traitors is currently thrilling audiences on BBC One, but did you know it’s based on a game you can play at home with friends and family?
For those out of the loop, The Traitors is a reality series that pits ordinary people against each other to win a prize. Sounds simple? It isn’t. The contestants are separated into two groups ‘Faithfuls’ and ‘Traitors’, with only the latter group aware of who is what. In order to win, the Traitors must eliminate the Faithfuls without anyone foiling their identities. The Faithfuls have to work out which of their companions are Traitors and vote them off to win.
TV buffs will know The Traitors is based on a Dutch series called De Verraders, which itself is based on the 1980s Russian party game Mafia. Here’s how you can play The Traitors, or Mafia, at home.
How to play Mafia
Mafia is actually slightly more complicated that The Traitors, as some players have special privileges.
The basic concept is as follows: The players are split into two groups, Townsfolk and Mafia. The game follows a night phase and a day phase. During the night phase, the players close their eyes as the Mafia eliminate Townsfolk. The Doctor may then step in to save someone and/or the Detective may successfully deduce a Mafia member. During the day phase, the surviving players must figure out who the Mafia members are and eliminate them. Anyone accused of being a Mafia member can defend themselves before a vote decides who leaves. The phases continue until either the Townsfolk successfully root out the Mafia, or the Mafia overcome the Townsfolk.
Typically, you’d play this game with 10 participants, although it could be played with as few as six. So this is probably one that you’ll need to grab a bunch of friends or family for. At least ‘killing’ your in-laws might make family events a bit more entertaining!
A step-by-step guide on how to play Mafia
Step 1
Gather six or more people to play Mafia. This can be in person at home, at the pub, or, in the age of Zoom, over the internet!
Step 2
The players choose one person to be the Major, who is basically the game’s moderator (or you could call them Claudia Winkleman). Unfortunately, Mayors don’t really get to play the game but they do get to know who is or isn’t a mafia member.
The Mayor’s duties are:
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- Distributing cards to participants
- Telling people when they can open and close their eyes during night and day cycles
- Timing the discussions between players so they don’t exceed the time limit
- Informing players they have been ‘killed’ or voted out (if voting is anonymous)
- Declaring the winner!
Step 3
There are two ways to select the player roles. You could either write the different roles – Townsfolk or Mafia – on pieces of paper, mix them up in a hat, and have players draw their role.
Alternatively you could have the Mayor go around the circle and tap each player on the shoulder: one tap for Townsfolk, two taps for Mafia.
The roles are:
The Mafia: The Mafia are responsible for killing one player per night phase, which happens while everyone’s eyes are shut.
The Townsfolk: Sadly, these are the ordinary innocent villagers with no special privileges. Good luck!
Some Townsfolk also have special roles. These roles are:
The Detective: The Detective makes guesses as to who the Mafia members are. They get a number of guesses per round equal to the number of Mafia. If they are correct, the Mafia member is removed from the game. If they are not, nothing happens.
The Doctor: Once per turn before the Night Phase, the Doctor gets to choose one person to save (which could be themselves). If the Mafia then choose the ‘kill’ that player during that round, they are saved.
Step 4
Start the first night cycle. The Mayor instructs everyone to close their eyes. Once all are closed, the Mayor asks the Mafia to ‘wake up’ and silently decide amongst themselves which townsperson to kill that night. They point at their choice to inform the Mayor. The Major then tells the Mafia to close their eyes.
Step 5
The Mayor asks The Detective to wake up next and make a guess as to who the Mafia are. The Detective does so silently, and the Mayor silently informs them if they are correct or not. If they are right, the Mafia member is eliminated. If not, nothing happens. The detective must then close their eyes.
Step 6
Next, the Mayor asks the Doctor to wake up. The Doctor must choose someone to save, which could be themselves. The Doctor can save the person the Mafia selected if they choose the same person. If the Doctor chooses someone else, the person the Mafia chose is eliminated. The Doctor can also be eliminated, which means the role of Doctor no longer exists. After making their choice, The Doctor closes their eyes again.
Step 7
The day cycle begins and the Mayor tells everyone to open their eyes. The Mayor informs the players what happened the night before and can be as theatrical as they would like.
Step 8
Players discuss the night’s events. The Townsfolk have to figure out who the Mafia are, while the Mafia sit amongst them and play along to maintain their identities. The Townsfolk can use any evidence they have, such as perhaps hearing movements or sounds close to them. Everyone still alive can participate.
Step 9
The players make accusations. More than one player must make the same accusation before the accused player will be required to defend themselves.
Step 10
The accuser gets 30 seconds (or however long you decide) to explain why they have accused someone. The accused then gets 30 seconds to defend themselves.
Step 11
All players vote on whether the accused person is guilty. If the majority vote guilty, the player is eliminated regardless of whether they are a mafia member or not. If the majority vote not guilty, the accused survives.
Step 12
In the scenario where the ‘not guilty’ verdict prevails, continue accusing players until someone is found guilty by majority.
Step 13
The eliminated player reveals their role, and if they are not the final mafia member remaining, the game continues.
Step 14
Repeat the above steps until there are either no mafia members remaining (Townsfolk win) or no Townsfolk (Mafia win). The Mayor will declare the victor.
The BBC Play Along Game
If all of that is a bit too much for you, or you’re simply more interested in watching the TV show, the BBC website also has a play along game.
The Traitors: Predictor Game lets you play alongside the Players and think like a Faithful or a Traitor!
You can vote for who you think will be the next murder victim, who you think will be banished next, and choose who you think will survive.
You’ll also score points for your predictions, which rollover as the show progresses.
Apply to be on the 2025 series of The Traitors
Perhaps none of the above is enough, and you really want to play the game. Or perhaps you’d like a holiday in Scotland.
The good news is that the BBC is currently casting for series three of The Traitors, so why not get involved? Anyone interested can register now with Studio Lambert.
The Traitors continues tonight at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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