Ultimate Werewolf
Ultimate Werewolf Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 16 Villager cards
- 5 Werewolf cards
- 1 Bodyguard card
- 1 Chupacabra card
- 1 Hunter card
- 1 Insomniac card
- 2 Mason cards
- 1 Seer card
- 1 Sorceress card
- 1 Spellcaster card
- 1 Tanner card
- 1 Village Idiot card
- 1 Witch card
- 1 Wolf Cub card
Setup
For your first game, use the following cards: 1 Seer card, Werewolf cards (1 for 6–8 players, 2 for 9–11, or 3 for 12–15), and 1 Villager card for each of the remaining players.
Choose a moderator for the game. All the players sit in a circle. The moderator shuffles the cards and deals 1 face down to each player. Each player looks at their card secretly, being careful not to reveal it to anyone.
No one should talk (except the moderator) until the following game day.
The First Night
On the first game night, the moderator calls out the roles of wolves and the Seer separately to find out which players are in those roles. The wolves see who the other wolves are. Villagers don't wake up at night.
During the night phase, the moderator says:
"Everyone in the village falls asleep. All players should close their eyes."
The moderator checks to be sure that all players have their eyes closed.
"Wolves, open your eyes and look for other wolves."
The wolves open their eyes and see who else is a wolf (quietly, so no one can hear them). The moderator takes note of who those wolves are.
"Wolves, close your eyes." (Pause) "Seer, open your eyes and point to a player."
The wolves close their eyes, then the Seer opens their eyes and silently points to a player. The moderator gives a thumbs up if the target is a wolf and thumbs down if the target is not a wolf.
"Seer, close your eyes." (Pause) "Everyone wakes up to find that wolves have overrun your once-peaceful village. It is up to you to find and eliminate those wolves."
All players open their eyes.
The First Day
Use the first day to introduce the players by going around the circle and having each player say something about themselves. This can be as simple as "My name is Bob, and I'm a Villager," to something more elaborate such as "I'm Bob, the village donut maker, and as everyone knows, werewolves don't like donuts." Players should not claim to be a wolf or the Seer; players with those roles should hide their true identity, and should instead claim to be a simple Villager.
Players may say anything they like, but they may never show their card to anyone.
After the players introduce themselves, the moderator describes how to nominate someone to be elimated because they suspect that player is a wolf:
"To nominate a player for elimination, point at them and say 'I nominate Bob.' If another player seconds the nomination, Bob may defend himself, and then we'll vote: thumbs up to stay, thumbs down to eliminate. If you eliminate a player, their role will be revealed, and the village will fall asleep immediately. If not, continue discussions until the next accusation."
If more than half of the players vote down on a player, that player is eliminated, and their role card is revealed. That player may not speak once their card is revealed, and should leave the circle (but should stick around to silently watch the rest of the game).
The moderator should set a predetermined time limit on the length of the first day (such as 5 minutes), and if no one has been eliminated by then, the village falls asleep immediately. Be sure to inform the village when time is almost up.
Every Night
Every night after the first night, the moderator calls the wolves and has them point to the player they'd like to eliminate. The wolves must all agree on their target.
The moderator then calls on the Seer, has them point at a player, and indicates if that player is a wolf (thumbs up) or not (thumbs down).
Every Day
At the start of every day, the moderator announces the player eliminated by the wolves the previous night and shows that player's card to all players.
That player may not speak at all once their card is revealed and must leave the circle (but should stick around to silently watch the rest of the game).
Ending the Game
If all the wolves are eliminated, the game is over and the village team wins. If the wolves cannot be outvoted during the day, the wolf team wins. The moderator announces when the game is over, which team won, and all players still in the game reveal their cards.
Game Discussion
A great deal of the fun of Ultimate Werewolf is the discussion that takes place immediately following the end of the game. It's a great time to set up a follow-up game.
Use the App
Get the free Ultimate Werewolf Extreme moderator app for your phone. The app recommends sets of roles for each game, automatically scans players and their roles, provides narration (written and/or spoken) for each of the roles in use, tracks eliminated players, and determines the end of the game based on win conditions.
You can run Ultimate Werewolf without using this app (the moderator scorepad provides an analog method for doing much of the above), but you'll have a better, faster, hassle-free experience if you use it.
Additional Roles
Once you have played a basic game of Ultimate Werewolf, you can add additional roles to your games, resulting in a tremendous amount of variety in each play session.
Independent Roles
Some roles aren't on the village or wolf teams; the Chupacabra and Tanner win independently of those 2 teams. In both cases, if one of them wins all other players lose. You can put both of these roles into the same game to make it even harder for the village and wolf teams to win!
Support Roles
The light blue and pink roles are supporting roles for the village and wolf teams, respectively. Those roles win with their teams, and they typically have a special ability that can assist their team.
Special Wolf Role
The Wolf Cub is on the wolf team and wakes with the wolves. Adding this role to the game can make it more difficult for the village team to win.
Role Cards
The parts of a role card are detailed below. Clarifications and additional rules not shown on role cards are below that. The cards are shown in alphabetical order.
Fence Post Color: The color of the bar shows the role's team and position on that team: dark blue for a plain Villager, light blue for village team support, dark red for a wolf, pink for wolf team support, and brown for an independent team.
Name: The card's role name is shown at the top of the fence post.
Village Team Impact: The number at the bottom of the fence post is the impact this role will have on the village team. When you choose roles for a game, aim for the total of the numbers on all cards in the game to be as close to zero as possible. A positive total helps the village team, while a negative total helps the wolf team.
Description: The text on the fence at the bottom of the card has a brief description of its use in the game.
Bodyguard
The Bodyguard may not protect the same player twice in a row, and may not choose themselves.
Chupacabra
Chupacabra must be eliminated before any other team can win. Chupacabra wins if all other players are eliminated.
Hunter
If the Hunter is eliminated at night, the Hunter is told they are eliminated the next morning, at which time they may eliminate any other player. No one may talk until the Hunter makes their decision.
Insomniac
The moderator does not tell the Insomniac if 1 or 2 players sitting next to the Insomniac woke up at night, just that at least 1 of those players woke up that night. If a player next to the Insomniac is eliminated at night, the Insomniac "sees" that player, not the player next to the eliminated player.
Mason
No one in the village may directly or indirectly speak of the Masons, or the players who speak of them are eliminated that night by the secret society in order to keep it a secret. If they are eliminated by the secret society, they automatically lose, even if they are on a winning team.
The moderator needs to use discretion here; it's much better for gameplay if the subject is never discussed directly or indirectly by the players. If a player says: "well, Bobby knew Joe was safe, but Bobby's not the Seer," that's a clear reference to the Masons, so that player should be eliminated.
Seer
The moderator gives a thumbs up if the Seer points to a wolf and a thumbs down if the Seer points to anyone else. The Seer only views wolves, not any other kind of role.
Sorceress
The moderator gives a thumbs up if the Sorceress points to the Seer. The Sorceress does not not know who the wolves are.
Spellcaster
The Spellcaster may not choose the same player twice in a single game. The moderator tells the village which player is silenced at the beginning of each day.
Tanner
When the tanner wins, all other teams lose.
Village Idiot
Players should not know for certain if this role is included.
Villager
Villagers do not wake at night and have no special abilities.
Werewolf
All wolves must agree on a target. If the wolves spend more than 30 seconds determining a target, they fall back asleep and may not choose a target that night. Wolves may target another wolf at night.
Witch
The moderator points to the player(s) targeted for elimination at night. The Witch may save 1 of the targets from elimination or choose a new player to eliminate. Once the Witch uses either power, they no longer learn who was targeted each night.
Wolf Cub
The moderator asks the wolves to choose 2 targets the night following the Wolf Cub's elimination.