How to Play Spyfall
Spyfall is a social deduction game for 3–10 players. Everyone knows the secret location — except the spy. Ask questions, read the room, and figure out who's bluffing before the timer runs out. A full round takes 5–10 minutes.
Play Now — FreeThe Setup
At the start of every round, each player is secretly dealt a role:
- Innocents are shown the secret location (for example: a beach, a hospital, an airport) and, if detailed roles are on, a character role tied to that place — like "lifeguard" or "nurse".
- The spy sees no location at all. Their job is to blend in, listen carefully, and work out where everyone is — without getting caught.
Before the round starts you choose the player count, how many spies are in the game (larger groups can handle two or more), the timer length (30 seconds to 15 minutes), and whether to play with locations or items.
Load the site while connected. Local play needs one device; online rooms need an internet connection on each device. See the one-phone setup guide.
Two Ways to Play
Local Pass-and-Play — one phone for everyone
Perfect for a living room, road trip, or bar table. Enter everyone's names on one device, then pass it around. Each player taps to privately reveal their role, taps again to hide it, and hands the phone to the next player. No second device needed.
Online Rooms — everyone on their own device
The host creates a room and gets a 4-character code. Friends type the code on their own phone, tablet, or computer and join instantly — no account, no download. Works across the table or across the world.
The Questioning Round
Once roles are revealed, the timer starts and players take turns asking each other questions about the location. The art is in asking questions that are:
- Specific enough to expose a spy who doesn't know the location — "Do you tip the staff here?" is harder to dodge than "Do you like this place?"
- Vague enough not to hand the spy the answer — asking "How's the sand today?" at the beach gives the location away instantly.
The spy's counter-game is to answer confidently with generalities, mirror other players' answers, and steer questions toward safer territory while narrowing down the possible locations in their head.
Council Votes
When suspicion boils over, anyone can call a council vote. Everyone votes on a suspect. If the group eliminates a spy, the innocents are one step from victory. If they eliminate an innocent, the spy's odds just got a lot better — so vote carefully.
How Each Side Wins
| Side | Wins when… |
|---|---|
| Innocents | All spies are voted out. |
| Spy | The host concludes with spies remaining, including after time runs out; or remaining spies equal or outnumber remaining innocents after a vote. |
The app does not automatically judge spoken location guesses. Local votes are entered on the shared device; online elimination needs more than half the alive players to vote for the same suspect. A tie or no majority eliminates nobody.
The end-game reveal
At the end of the round, cards reveal automatically, one at a time: innocents first, spies last. Each insane player’s exact word is shown. The host controls online playback. Pause or resume the sequence, or use Skip to go straight to the summary; Play again keeps the group together.
Quick Tips for New Players
- Innocents: listen more than you talk. The spy's answers are consistent-but-empty — no specifics, no commitment.
- Spy: ask questions too. A silent player is the first suspect in every group.
- Everyone: don't stare at the person you suspect. Spyfall is a poker game played with sentences.
- Ready for chaos? Turn on Insanity Mode — some innocents get a wrong location without knowing it.