Salem Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Game Components
• Setup
  • Basic Game (3-6 Players)
  • Full Game (3-7 Players)
  • Setup for Both Games
  • Identity Card Setup
  • Distributing the Citizens
• Playing the Game
  • Basic Game (6 Players)
  • Final Accusations
  • The End of the Game
• Full Game (7 Players)
  • Witch Hunt
  • Witch Trial
  • Hangings
  • The Next Month
  • The End of the Game (Full Game)
  • The Deduction Sheets
• Alibis
  • Treachery
  • Slander
  • Hearsay
  • A Note on Honesty
• Appendix A: Playing With Fewer Than the Full Number of Players
  • Special Rules for Games with 3 Players
• Appendix B: The Citizens of Salem

Object of the Game

Salem is a simulation of the witch trials and is intended to be a historical re-creation that puts you at the heart of the hysteria of 1692. The victims of these trials and hangings were innocent of the charges wrought against them. For the purpose of understanding the atmosphere of paranoia that intoxicated the city at this time, players must also act under the assumption that there are witches among them (and in this case there will be!).

You control a group of six or seven Salem citizens, three of whom are secretly witches.

Your goal is simple: try to rid the village of witches while keeping the identity of your own citizens secret. Over the four months of June to September, 1692, when the witch-hysteria was at its height, you will hold a series of witch hunts, witch trials, and hangings. During the witch hunts, you will send citizens to jail and offer alibis for your own jailed citizens. Then, all citizens in jail stand trial to see who is hanged and who is spared...

The player who can best discern the witches from the villagers will win the game!

Basic Game for 3-6 players. Full Game for 3-7 players. Playing Time: 90-120 minutes.

NOTE: This rulebook describes how to play the Basic Game (which is focused on deduction with no defined end game) and the Full Game (which adds complexity and a fixed number of rounds). Rules that apply only to the Basic Game have a yellow background. Rules used only in the Full Game have a blue background. All other rules apply to both games.

Game Components

• 1 Deduction Pad, 50 sheets
• 7 Privacy Boards, for keeping deductions secret
• 49 Identity Cards: 7 sets of 7 cards; each set containing 3 Witch cards and 4 Villager cards; all cards in a set have the same number on the back
• 63 Player Markers: 9 of each color
• 1 Gallows Board
• 1 Noose Token
• 1 Rulebook
• 49 Citizen Cards: 7 of each of 7 player colors
• 7 Setup Cards
• 4 Month Cards: each corresponding to the actual dates the hangings occurred, listing the victims of each hanging
• 42 Witch Trial Tokens: 21 Villager and 21 Witch
• 140 Accusation Tokens: 20 of each of 7 player colors
• 21 Alibi Cards: 3 of each player color
• 49 Accusation Cards: 7 sets of 7 cards: one of each other player color and one bluff card
• 14 Witch Trial Cards: 7 Witch, 7 Villager

Setup

Basic Game (3-6 Players)

1. Each player chooses a color and takes the 7 Citizen cards, 3 Alibi cards, and 1 player marker of that color.
2. Give each player a Privacy Board and one sheet from the Deduction Pad.
3. The player who most recently visited Salem, Massachusetts is the starting player and takes the Noose Token (otherwise, the youngest player takes it).

Full Game (3-7 Players)

1. Each player selects a color and takes the 7 Citizen cards, 3 Alibi cards, 7 Accusation cards, and 20 Accusation tokens of that color.
2. Give each player a Privacy Board and one sheet from the Deduction Pad.
3. Place the Witch Trial cards, separated by type, face-up within reach of all players.

Setup for Both Games

4. Place the Month cards in numerical order in a column in the center of the play area (leave room for 7 Citizens to be placed in a row on the right side of each card).
5. Place the Gallows Board within reach of all players.
6. The player who most recently visited Salem, Massachusetts is the starting player and takes the Noose Token (otherwise, the youngest player takes it).

Identity Card Setup

IMPORTANT: See Appendix A for instructions on how to distribute unused stacks of Identity cards when playing with fewer than the full number of players.

In this step, you will create 7 stacks of cards. Each stack will contain 3 Witches and 4 Villagers, and includes 1 of each card numbered "1" through "7".

1. Sort the Identity cards into 7 stacks of matching numbers (i.e., all cards with the number "1" go in one stack), then flip each stack over so the Witch/Villager side is facing up (so no one can see the number of the stack).
2. Shuffle the Setup cards and place 1 face down on each stack.
3. All but 1 player closes their eyes. That player then re-arranges the stacks. Repeat that process with a different player re-arranging the stacks (in this way, no one will know which stack matches which number).
4. Take each stack and arrange the cards in the order shown on that stack's Setup card without looking at the number on the back of the cards. Move the Setup card to the bottom of the stack (face up), then turn the entire stack of cards over and place them face-down on the table (the Setup card will hide the number on the card backs). Repeat this process until all stacks have been arranged to match the order of 1 of the 7 unique Setup cards.
5. Re-arrange the position of the stacks again (as described in step 3) so no one knows which stack is which.
6. Remove the Setup cards from each stack without looking at the front of the card.
7. Now form 7 new stacks of cards, each containing exactly 1 card of each number: first take the cards from the "7" stack and form a single row of cards. Do not change the order of the cards! Drawing from the top of the stack (for all decks) lay the first card number side up. Place the second card (the new card at the top of the stack) to the right of the first card, followed by the third card, and so on. Then, take the cards from the "6" stack and place one on top of each of the "7" cards, in the exact same order. Repeat with the "5" stack, and so on, until all cards have been laid out in this way.

Distributing the Citizens

8. Give each player 1 stack, chosen at random. Place your cards on the table in front of you, face down, being careful not to reveal the Witch/Villager side to the other players. Place your colored Citizen cards on top of your Identity cards, leaving the numbers on the Identity cards clearly visible. The card beneath each Citizen card determines whether that Citizen is a Witch or a Villager for the rest of the game.
9. Each player may now examine his Identity cards. Make notes on your deduction sheet to help you remember the identity of your Citizens (we recommend that you circle the Witches and put an "X" on the Villagers).

10. BASIC GAME ONLY: Take 1 of the unselected stacks of cards and lay them out in numerical order in the middle of the table. Place the Citizen cards of an unused color on top of these cards.

11. FULL GAME ONLY: Beginning with the player with the Noose Token and going clockwise, each player now discards 1 of his Villagers (i.e., a Citizen card with a Villager Identity card beneath it—not a Witch card). No more than 2 Identity cards with the same number may be discarded at this time. If 2 other players have already discarded a particular number, no one else can discard that number.

Players should mark the discarded Citizens of all players on their deduction sheets—including their own discarded Villagers by filling in the box completely (it's important to know which numbers are discarded at the start of the game for deduction purposes as opposed to villagers deduced during gameplay).

In this way, you know the identity of 1 of each of the other players' Villagers. The discarded Citizens cannot be used to give alibis, and are removed from the game. Return the discarded Citizen and Identity cards to the box.

Playing the Game

Basic Game (6 Players)

When playing with 3-5 players see Appendix A, pages 12-13.

In the Basic Game, you must try to identify which of the Citizens in the middle of the table are Witches by collecting information from the other players. (Page 7, Step 10)

Players take turns, starting with the player with the Noose Token and continuing clockwise. The Noose Token is used to show which player is taking a turn.

On your turn, place your player marker in front of any other player and make an Accusation against 1 of his available Citizens. The accused player flips the Citizen card face down to the Graveyard side (optional: read the text on the Gravestone out loud). Then, he offers an Alibi (see "Alibis" pg, 11).

IMPORTANT: A Citizen card showing the Gravestone side cannot be the target of an Accusation for the rest of the game. Then, pass the Noose Token to the player on your left, who now makes an Accusation then passes the marker.

IMPORTANT: You may not make an Accusation against a player who already has 2 player markers in front of him. That player's Citizens may not be the target of an Accusation until a space for a player marker becomes available.

On your next turn (after each player has had a chance to make an Accusation), move your player marker in front of a different opponent and make another Accusation.

NOTE: You must move your player marker from one player to another each turn. You may not make an Accusation against the same player's Citizens two turns in a row.

Final Accusations

If you think you have identified the Witches in the middle of the table, you can make a Final Accusation at any time (even during another player's turn!). Simply announce, "I accuse!" and write which of the 3 citizens you believe to be Witches on the back of your deduction sheet. Move your player token to the lowest numbered Citizen card in the middle of the table that is not marked with a player token (this will show the order in which Final Accusations were made).

If multiple players accuse at the same time (i.e., before the next player takes his turn), all of their player markers are placed on the same Citizen card. Once a player makes a final accusation, they no longer take turns accusing, but must still offer alibis.

The End of the Game

As soon as half of the players (rounded up) have made their Final Accusations, the game ends. Each remaining player takes 1 additional turn. During this final turn, you may make an Accusation against any player (including a player that you accused last turn or one with 2 player tokens in front of him).

When these final turns are over, the remaining players must write down their own Final Accusations and place their player token on the next available Citizen card in the middle of the table (all these players will place their marker on the same card even if they complete their Final Accusation before the other players).

Finally, turn over the Identity cards in the middle of the table (starting with "1"). Each player compares his Final Accusation to the cards as they are revealed. If any of your guesses are wrong, you lose the game! Remove your player marker from the center of the table.

Once all 7 Identity cards are revealed, only players who guessed all 3 Witches correctly will still be in the game. The remaining player who made his Final Accusation first (i.e., his Player Marker is on the lowest numbered card) wins the game! If multiple players guessed correctly at the same time, they share the win. If no one guessed correctly, all players lose!

In the shown example, if the grey player's accusation is correct, the grey player wins! If not, the win would go to the blue player if blue has accused correctly, then purple/green, etc...

Full Game (7 Players)

When playing with 3-6 players see Appendix A, pages 12-13.

In the Full Game, you must send your opponent's Citizens to jail, put them on trial to identify which of these citizens are Witches, and use your best judgment when deciding who will hang.

NOTE: During setup for the Full Game, each player will have only 6 Citizens in play (see "Identity Card Setup", pg 4).

The Full Game is divided into 4 rounds, called "Months". During each Month, there are 3 steps:

1. Witch Hunt
2. Witch Trial
3. Hangings

Witch Hunt

When you have the Noose Token, select 1 Citizen in front of any other player to send to Jail. Give that player the Noose Token, then move one of his Citizens so it is next to (to the right of) the current Month card. Carefully move both the Identity card and Citizen card without revealing the identity of the Citizen to the other players.

The accused player must now offer an Alibi for the Citizen you put in jail (see "Alibis", pg 11). Once the accused player has offered an Alibi, he becomes the new active player (note that this is different from the Basic Game, where play passes in clockwise order). The new active player now chooses 1 Citizen of another player to place in Jail, and so on.

IMPORTANT: Only one Citizen of each color can be put in Jail each Month. When you make an accusation, you must choose a Citizen of a color that has not been accused (i.e., already in jail) this Month.

Play continues until there is one Citizen of each color in Jail. Then the Witch Hunt ends and the Witch Trial begins.

Witch Trial

Each player takes 2 Witch Trial cards: 1 Witch card and 1 Villager card. Secretly select the card that matches the identity of your Citizen in Jail, and place it face down on the Gallows Board. Discard the other card face down next to the Gallows without revealing it.

Once all players have placed a Witch Trial card on the Gallows, the player who holds the Noose Token shuffles the discard pile and adds 1 random card from the discard pile face down to the cards on the Gallows. Then, he shuffles the cards on the Gallows and reveals them one at a time.

Each time a Witch card is revealed, place 1 Witch token on the current Month card in the appropriate space. If a Villager card is revealed, place 1 Villager token. These tokens remain on the Month card for the rest of the game, as a reminder to all players of the identities of the Citizens put in Jail that Month.

NOTE: Keep in mind that 1 random card was added.

Finally, return the Witch Trial cards to their respective decks.

Hangings

At this time, the players must decide which of the Citizens put in Jail this Month will be hanged. Take your deck of Accusation cards. Choose which of the Citizens in Jail you would like to see hanged, and place the cards matching their colors face down in front of you. You may play Accusation cards against as many colors as you choose.

Each player has 1 Accusation card for each of the other players' colors. You can also use your "bluff" card to avoid making any Accusations, or to fool the other players as to the number of Accusations you are making. You can never make an Accusation against your own Citizens. You can only make an Accusation against a Citizen that was put in Jail during the current Month.

Once all players have placed their Accusation cards in front of them, the cards are simultaneously revealed. Place one of your Accusation tokens on each Citizen in Jail that matches the color of the cards you played.

Any Citizen in Jail that is marked by at least 1 Accusation token is hanged. Flip over the Citizen card (keeping the Identity card face down!) so the Gravestone is revealed. (Optional: read the text on the Gravestone out loud.)

The Accusation tokens are placed on the Gravestone, and remain with that Citizen for the rest of the game.

The Next Month

Once all the hangings have been resolved, the next month begins with a new Witch Hunt. The player who holds the Noose Token takes the first turn.

The End of the Game (Full Game)

When the fourth hanging is complete, the game ends. Flip the Gallows Board to show the scoring chart. Then, reveal the identity of each Citizen that was hanged (with the Gravestone showing) one at a time.

• If the revealed Citizen was a Villager, move all the Accusation tokens from that card to the Gallows.
• If the revealed Citizen was a Witch, each player that does not have an Accusation token on that Citizen must place one of his tokens on the Gallows.

EXCEPTION: Never place one of your tokens on the Gallows if the Witch is your own Citizen. You cannot accuse your own Citizens.

(Arrange cubes along back of gallows card.)

At the end of this process, you will have 1 token on the Gallows for each Villager you hanged, plus 1 token for each hanged Witch you failed to accuse.

The player with the fewest tokens on the Gallows after all the hanged Citizens have been resolved is the winner of the game! If multiple players are tied, they share the victory.

The Deduction Sheets

The Deduction Sheet is used to help you determine which Citizens are Witches and which are Villagers. During setup, 7 stacks of Identity cards were created, numbered 1 through 7. Each stack included 3 Witches and 4 Villagers. There are 7 Citizens for each number. So, for example, there are 7 #1 Citizens: 3 of those are Witches and 4 are Villagers.

Your deduction sheet is divided into 7 rows and 7 columns. Each row represents 1 of the 7 colors (players) in the game. Each column represents the Citizen numbers 1 through 7. Since you know that there are exactly 3 Witches in each row and column, you don't need to learn every Identity card to deduce each row or column. You only need to identify the 3 Witches or the 4 Villagers to deduce the rest.

Each color also has exactly 1 Witch in common with another color. So, for example, if you know that Yellow's Witches are #1, 2, and 3, and you are able to deduce that Blue also has a #1 Witch, you would know that Blue's #2 and #3 cannot be Witches. Conversely, if you determine that Blue's #1 and #2 are Villagers, her #3 Citizen must be a Witch.

Alibis

Alibis are used to respond to an Accusation against one of your Citizens. There are 3 types of Alibis: Treachery, Slander, and Hearsay.

Each time one of your Citizens is Accused, you must offer an Alibi to all. The Alibi card you use is placed in front of your Citizens. The next time one of your Citizens is accused, you will only have 2 remaining Alibi cards to choose from. Your Alibi cards remain in front of your Citizens until you have used all 3 Alibi cards, at which point you take them back into your hand to use again.

You can use any of your Citizens when you play an Alibi, including Citizens showing the Gravestone (Basic Game) or in Jail (Full Game).

If you are playing a game with less than the full number of players, all Alibis provided are given using the player's base color citizens (see Appendix A, pg 12).

All players (including the active player) should record the Alibi given next to the appropriate color on their deduction sheets. You should record the Alibis you use so later on you can remember what information you have given to the other players!

You must reveal new information each time you use an Alibi. You cannot use the same combination of Alibi and Citizens that you used earlier in the game (including giving the inverse answer to a Hearsay Alibi).

EXAMPLE: In the Full Game, if you choose Citizens 1, 2, and 3 for a Hearsay Alibi one turn, you cannot later use Citizens 4, 5, and 6 for another Hearsay Alibi, since this would provide no new information. You could choose 2, 3, and 4, or 1, 5, and 6 for the Alibi, for example.

Treachery

Choose 1 other Citizen of your color whose identity matches the Accused or Jailed Citizen. Then, declare that they have the same identity (such as "2 is the same as 4"). This will tell the other players that these 2 Citizens have the same identity, but not whether they are Witches or Villagers.

When Treachery is used as an Alibi, you should make a note on your deduction sheet. We recommend something like: 2 = 4.

Slander

Choose 1 other Citizen of your color whose identity does not match the Accused or Jailed Citizen. Then, declare that they have a different identity (such as "3 is not the same as 7"). This will tell the other players that these 2 Citizens do not have the same identity.

When Slander is used as an Alibi, you should make a note on your deduction sheet. We recommend something like: 3 ≠ 7.

Hearsay

Choose 2 other Citizens of your color in addition to the Accused or Jailed Citizen. Then, declare how many of those Citizens are Witches (be careful that you don't answer 3 or 0, as that would reveal the identity of all 3 Citizens!). This will tell the other players two things: the number of Witches among the 3 Citizens, and also the number of Witches among the rest of your Citizens (since you will have exactly 3 Witches).

When Hearsay is used as an Alibi, you should make a note on your deduction sheet next to that player's color. We recommend something like:

• 1: 123 / 2: 4567 (Basic Game)
• 1: 123 / 2: 456 (Full Game)

A Note on Honesty

The game of Salem only works if all players always state the truth when giving an Alibi. You cannot give false information to the other players (as this would make it impossible to deduce who the Witches and Villagers are). Remember: You're under oath!

Appendix A: Playing With Fewer Than the Full Number of Players

If you are playing with fewer than the maximum number of players (6 players in a Basic Game or 7 in a Full Game), some of the Identity card stacks will not be assigned to any player. These card sets are assigned an unused color, with Citizen cards of that color placed on them:

If you are playing the Basic Game with 4 or 5 players, or the Full Game with 4, 5, or 6 players, give each player 1 Citizen/Identity card pair from each unassigned color. When taking cards from more than 1 color, these citizens must have a different number. Place these Citizens in front of you with your own Citizens. Place one of your player markers on these Citizens to show that you own them. Any leftover Citizens are returned to the box, without looking at them.

Record the identity of your extra Citizens on the appropriate color of your deduction sheet, as normal. Each color is still treated as a separate "player", even though the cards of that color are distributed among several players.

When one of your extra Citizens is accused, you must provide an Alibi using a Citizen/Citizens of your own color.

You may find it helpful to list the color of the cards used for an Alibi on your deduction sheet, being careful not to confuse blue and brown, or green and gray.

Example: The yellow player has an extra green Citizen and an extra red Citizen. The green Citizen is accused and she plays a "Treachery" card. She says "Green 1 is the same as yellow 7." She could not say that the green 1 was the same as the red Citizen. She has to use one of her yellow Citizens.

When playing the Full Game with fewer than 7 players, some players will have more than 1 Citizen in Jail during the Witch Trial. Always take 1 Witch card and 1 Villager card for each jailed Citizen you control, and place 1 card for each on the Gallows.

The Basic Game setup for 5 players and the Full Game setup for 5 players are shown as diagrams on this page.

Special Rules for Games with 3 Players

Basic Game (3 players): In a 3-player game, each player takes 2 Citizens of each unused color. Do not look at the identities of your extra Citizens before the game. You may only examine their identity if they are accused by another player. You must provide an Alibi using a Citizen of your own color.

Full Game (3 players): In a 3-player Full Game, you will need to draw a total of 8 extra Citizens (2 each from 4 unused colors). Before taking your extra Citizens, you must identify the number of the Villager you removed during step 9 of the Identity Card Setup (see page 7). Then, take 2 Citizens with that number from the unused sets. Finally, take 6 other Citizens with different numbers from those that remain.

Each player should now have Citizen cards with every number, including one duplicate pair.

Appendix B: The Citizens of Salem

Appendix B (pages 12-15) gives brief historical biographies of the Citizens of Salem. It is background flavour only and contains no rules, so it is not transcribed here. The credits and acknowledgments on the back cover are not transcribed.