Werewolf (game)

Werewolf (also called Mafia) is a card game that is most commonly played at conventions. Its roots stem from the former Soviet Union in 1986 under the name Mafia. In 1997, Andrew Plotkin listed the rules for the game online under the new name Werewolf.

Eight players are needed, with one of them being the moderator. The rest of the people are all citizens of a village. However, depending on how many players there are, one or two people play the role of the werewolf. The werewolf's job is to kill all of the villagers. The villager's role is to survive. One of the villagers is the seer, who can "see" who the werewolf is. During the "night", everyone must close their eyes, put their head down, and repeatedly slap their thigh or pound the table. Gently. When the werewolf is called by the moderator, it is his or her job to select who they want to kill by silently pointing to whom he or her desires to be eliminated from the game. The moderator will then tell the werewolf/werewolves to go to sleep and call upon the seer, who will rise and point to who he or she thinks is the werewolf. The moderator will nod yes or no, since the moderator has already seen the werewolf/werewolves raise their heads. It must be done in this order. When morning comes the moderator announces who has been killed, and that person remains silent for the rest of the game.

The Other Wiki has a page about the game, including a description of the rules that is sufficient to actually play the game.

Not to be confused with Werewolf: The Apocalypse or its successor, Werewolf: The Forsaken.