Do you find yourself obsessed with ferreting out the t𓂃ruth, probably stemming from years of playing Clue as a kid? Lucky for you, modern board game publishers have since taken that nugget of deduction from the classic Hasbro game and implemented it into more advanced games.

Board games with social deduction mechanisms can range from a light-hearted party type that causes laughter all a🍰round the table, to a little bit more serious, whodunit format. Find out which of your friends is the saboteur/traitor/killer/ or whatever other secret roles with this list of Best Social Deduction Board Games.

Updated August 28, 2024, by Vaspaan Dastoor: Who can you trust if not your friends? Of course, that goes straight out the window if you're playing a social deduction game. In that case, it's absolutely fine to lie, cheat, and even murder them! We've updated this list with a few more games that will question your friendship.

With Coup, each player is given two secret role cards and a list detailing the possible roles and the actions that can be taken by each one. On a player's turn, they can either perform the action listed on their character cards or ANY of the role actions listed. The goal is to deduce when someone is lying about their role and call their bluff.

If a player believes they are bluffing, they challenge the player. If the challenged player took an action that wasn't one of their roles, they must forfeit one of their roles by flipping a secret cards face-up. Once a person has both roles face-up, they are out of the game. This game is a blast trying to figure out who is what role and calling each other's bluffs.

Imagine you're in a small medieval town plagued by werewolves. You have a way to escape, but it requires the use of a magical word. It'd be great if you could just say it, but unfortunately, it's a bit more complicated than that. You will need to work with your friends and townsfolk to try and get the magic word from the mayor, but the mayor can't say much so you're going to have to ask twenty questions until you find the answer.

As you're asking the mayor your questions, players in the role of the werewolf will try and throw you off. Once you guess the word there's no guarantee you'll win, since the werewolves are also working to hunt down the seer player, and can snatch a win from under the full moon.

If you like the idea of pointing at your friends and yelling "FASCIST!", this is the game for you. Secret Hitler is all about trying to prove to your friends that you aren't a Fascist, or worse, Hitler himself. After being given a secret role of either a Fascist, Liberal, or Hitler, players are randomly dealt two cards from a deck that is mixed with both "Fascist" and "Liberal" policies.

Each round consists of the current player nominating a President and a Chancellor. All players vote to see if those people should be elected. Players then try to deduce who is a Fascist and who is Hitler because if three Fascist policies are passed and Hitler is "elected" the Fascists win the game. It's a game that is definitely perfect for parties.

A great entry point into social deduction games, Cheese Thief is a cute little game about trying to find the culprit in a great cheese heist. Players are dealt a secret role at the start of the game, either a sleepy mouse or a thief. Then everyone rolls a die, that's the hour that you wake up during a sleeping phase.

When the cheese thief wakes up, they take the cheese, and it's up to the rest of the players to uncover the criminal. If a regular mouse wakes up with the thief, they join forces, both becoming thieves and splitting the cheese with each other. You have six rounds to try and find out who the thieves are, or else they get away with their stolen goods!

One Night Ultimate Werewolf is a perfect game to play in between games because it is fast, easy, and simple. It also has an app! This game is all about convincing others that you are not a werewolf. Make sure you pull out this game with people who like arguing their case and will try to mislead players for the sake of winning. The game isn't fun unless there are spirited debates on who is the werewolf.

Like One Night Ultimate Werewolf, Salem 1692 is all ab꧋out deducing who could threaten the village. Unlike One Night Ultimate Werewolf though, this game has card play and build-up. Players play cards on each other and, as accusations begin to pile up, the other players must play "trial" cards to vote on whether a player is a witch or not.

As cards are being drawn from a deck, a night card signals a phase when players close their eyes and the witches choose someone to kill. Afte🐻r that, the person who is the constable chooses someone to potentially save. This game immerses you into the theme with its detail.

You can't trust anyone in the Thing: The Board Game, and that's what makes this game so much fun. The rules for this game are a bit more involved than others on this list since you're exploring the Antarctic facility from the film and have to work with your (hopefully) human allies to find a way to escape.

As you explore the various rooms, the shapeshifting aliens will attempt to foil the human plans and convert them into aliens as well. Much like the film, there are ways to tell who is an alien and who is still human, but you never know who you can trust. The humans can only win once everyone escapes, but the aliens win if any humans are left behind, if an alien escapes, or if all humans are turned. It's an intense game that captures the dread of the film.

With one player knowing the answer of who committed a heinous murder, it's up to the Forensic Scientist to give clues to other players in order to determine who the murderer is. As the Forensic Scientist tries to lead the other players to solve the murder, the murderer attempts to lead the group astray by interpreting the clues incorrectly.

The▨ game is made more interesting with six or more players because it brings the witness and accomplice into play. If the murderer finds he has been caught by the other players, he or she can name the witness, and if he or she is correct, the witness is killed and the murderer escapes and wins the game.

Love Letter is perfect because it's quick, easy to understand, and can fit in someone's pocket! Players start with only one card and then proceed to draw a card and play a card on their turn. Different cards allow players to perform actions in order to deduce which player has what card. There are different ways to be eliminated from the game, whether it be comparing cards with another player or guessing what card a player has.

If the regime gets word of your movemeꦜnt, it will do everything to quell it. So, you must fulfill your mission in secrecy. However, you also need to weed out the loyalist spies who will do everything they can to stop you.

You never know when the Joker decides to mess things up. This time, he's disguised as one of the DC superheroes and is trying to figure out where the Justice League is meeting up. The League must figure out who the impostor is before he figures out where they are.

FAQ

What makes a social deduction game good?

Any social deduction game th🀅at gets players at the tabl✅e talking, whether intensely or in a silly manner, is a sign of a good social deduction game. Players should feel engaged from the moment the game begins.

Can you still have fun if you refuse to lie or bluff in a social deduction game?

It is possible, and some people do play social deduction games and even win without ever lying or misleading people, but it's hard to do.