A social deduction game hides a traitor and asks everyone else to find them. You can play that on a phone or at a table. These four are a free phone game, a ten-minute box, a set of files you print, and a box that needs someone to run it. The order is what a group needs before the first round, not which game is better once it starts.
Among Us is the phone game whose pages describe play when people are not in one room. One Night Ultimate Werewolf and Secret Hitler do not say whether a call works. Blood on the Clocktower is played in the room, and someone has to run it. Once everyone has sat down, One Night Ultimate Werewolf is about 10 minutes. Secret Hitler is the free one you print.
| Start | Group | Round | You also need | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Among Us | Free on phones, $4.99 on Steam | 4 to 15 | No length given | Suggested voice chat |
| One Night Ultimate Werewolf | $29.95 | 3 to 10 | About 10 minutes | A free app, or a person reading |
| Secret Hitler | Free files, about an hour to print | 5 to 10 | 30 to 60 minutes, not the publisher | The printed files |
| Blood on the Clocktower | $160, button said sold out | 5 to 20, plus a storyteller | No length given | A storyteller, in the room |
The rows are what a group needs before it sits down.
Scores
1–5 per criterion · select a score for its reasoning and sources| # | Product | Price to start | People needed | Without one room | Length of a round | How much you learn first | What else you bring | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Among Us | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4.5 |
| 2 | One Night Ultimate Werewolf | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3.8 |
| 3 | Secret Hitler | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3.7 |
| 4 | Blood on the Clocktower | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2.5 |
How each criterion is scored
Price to start
The cheapest way the publisher lets you get a copy you can play. A free install scores higher than free files you still have to print, which scores higher than a box.
- 5 A store lists the game as free to install, with no craft step
- 4 The files are free, and the publisher names a print step
- 3 The printed price is under $40
- 2 The printed price is $40 to $99
- 1 The printed price is $100 or more
People needed
The smallest group that can start, counting a required storyteller as a person in the room. A lower number scores higher.
- 5 The minimum is 4 or fewer
- 4 The minimum is 5 or 6
- 3 The minimum is 7 or 8
- 2 The minimum is 9 or more
- 1 No player count is stated
Without one room
Whether a round can start when the group is not already together. A public lobby scores higher than silence, which scores higher than a game the pages place in person.
- 5 The page says you can join a public game, or play with anyone
- 4 Online play is described, and no public list is described
- 3 The fetched pages do not say
- 2 The pages say the game is played in person
- 1 The page says play is limited to a private group
Length of a round
How long the publisher says a round takes. A short stated round scores higher. A duration that only a third party states, or no duration at all, is the middle.
- 5 The publisher says about 10 minutes or less
- 4 The publisher says under 30 minutes
- 3 No duration is stated, or only a third party states one
- 2 A stated duration is longer than an hour
- 1 The pages describe a session of several hours
How much you learn first
How many sides and roles sit in front of a new player. Two sides score higher than a list of 50 or more roles.
- 5 The ordinary round is two sides
- 4 Two sides, and the pages name about a dozen roles or a short procedure
- 3 The pages call the rules complex, and no large role count is given
- 2 The page states 50 or more roles
- 1 Roles are not described
What else you bring
A person or an app the round needs besides the players. Players talking in the room score higher than text chat with voice you bring, which scores higher than a free app or a storyteller.
- 5 The described round needs only the players
- 4 The game includes text, and voice is something you bring
- 3 A free app runs the night, or a storyteller runs the round
- 2 A purchase gates part of play
- 1 The round needs a purchase and a dedicated person
The phone copy is free. Steam is $4.99, and Google Play marks ads. Removing the ads is $1.99 on the App Store.
Crewmates finish tasks before impostors can kill them, or they call a meeting over a body or a suspicion and vote an impostor out. The game can assign one or more impostors. You play with 4 to 15 people, online or on local WiFi. The included chat is text. A group in one room can still talk. The publisher suggests playing with friends at a LAN party or online using voice chat. A host list is where you find a public game. Play also runs across phone, PC, and console. A Polygon piece calls public games full of poor sports and people leaving, so bring friends if you can. No length is given for a match.
For a phone copy when the group may be apart, this is the one. Bring friends rather than a public game.
What it does
- Free on phones
- 4 to 15 players, online or on local WiFi
- Crewmates and one or more impostors
- Text chat
- A host list
Pros
- The phone copy is free
- A round can start with 4 players
- You can join when your group is not together
Cons
- Google Play marks the app as containing ads
- The chat feature is text
- Steam is $4.99
Who should skip:Anyone who will play the Google Play copy and will not play it while it shows ads. This does not apply to the App Store copy or the Steam copy.
Bézier Games lists $29.95. Each game lasts about 10 minutes, for 3 to 10 players, with no moderator and no elimination. It is a short form of Ultimate Werewolf, which is a different game.
A free app wakes players one at a time for a secret action. A review says one person can read that script instead, and it recommends the free app. The English phone version is only in some areas. The other routes are a partner edition in another language, an international phone app, or the browser copy.
At the end, villagers win if at least one werewolf dies. They also win if nobody is a werewolf, which is when both werewolf cards are in the center instead of with a player, and nobody dies. Werewolves win if one of them is in the game and none of them die. The base set has 12 roles. Daybreak is a separate expansion and adds 11 more.
One review says the cards can wear after a few games. An identifiable mark, for example on a Werewolf card, could give that card away. The publisher sells sleeves for that. Whether the round works over a call is unknown. When the group is together and wants about 10 minutes, this is the short round. Among Us gives no match length. Secret Hitler’s time is given as 30 to 60 minutes, and it starts at 5.
What it does
- A box at $29.95
- 3 to 10 players
- About 10 minutes, with no elimination
- A free app that reads the night
- 12 roles in the base game
Pros
- A round is about 10 minutes
- It starts with 3 players
- No moderator is required
Cons
- The box is $29.95
- Cards can wear, and a mark could give a role away
- The English phone app is only in some areas
Who should skip:Anyone who needs to join strangers without bringing a group.
The files are free. Plan on about an hour with a printer and scissors, or about $5 and 20 to 30 minutes at a print shop. The wooden boxes are not being made again. The license asks for credit, bars commercial use, and bars an app-store copy.
Five to ten people split into liberals, who start with a majority, and fascists, who are hidden to everyone but each other. The publisher describes it as finding and stopping Hitler. Each turn a player becomes president, picks a chancellor, and the group votes. Five liberal policies or six fascist policies win for that side. The publisher gives no playing time. A reference lists 30 to 60 minutes. A Wirecutter review, as Wikipedia reports it, calls the rules a difficult learning curve and the theme potentially offensive.
Whether the group can play over a call is unknown. For a free copy on paper, this is the one. One Night Ultimate Werewolf is a bought box for a shorter round. Among Us is the phone game. Blood on the Clocktower needs a storyteller.
What it does
- Free files
- 5 to 10 players
- Liberals and hidden fascists
- Five liberal policies or six fascist policies
- Credit required, and no commercial use
Pros
- The files are free
- The round is the players
- Only the fascists know each other
Cons
- Printing takes about an hour, or about $5 at a shop
- A round needs 5 players
- The hidden role is Hitler
Who should skip:Anyone who will not play a game about Hitler.
The shop lists $160, and the buy button said sold out. A review calls that price an expensive investment, even if the value for money is high. You play in person, in a circle. The count is five to twenty players and a storyteller, who conducts the action. Good shares information. Evil lies. Good wins by executing the demon. Evil wins if the demon avoids that and wipes out the town.
The box has 99 characters and four editions. Trouble Brewing is the edition marked beginner, not all 99. A review calls it complex for new players, and not offputtingly so. A new storyteller has to manage everyone else and avoid rules mistakes, which that review calls the harder job. Dead players lose their powers and still speak, with one ghost vote, a last vote after they die. The length of a round is not given.
We’d recommend Blood on the Clocktower when the group is in one room and someone will be the storyteller. Dead players still speak and keep one last vote, and the box seats up to 20. One Night Ultimate Werewolf never eliminates a player, and both it and Secret Hitler cap the group at 10. The cost is that storyteller, and a $160 listing whose buy button said sold out.
What it does
- In person, seated in a circle
- 5 to 20 players and a storyteller
- 99 characters, in four editions
- Trouble Brewing marked beginner
- Dead players still speak
Pros
- Dead players still speak, with one last vote
- The box holds four editions
- It seats up to 20
Cons
- The shop lists $160, and the buy button said sold out
- A storyteller has to run the round
- A review calls a new storyteller's job the harder one
Who should skip:Anyone who will not pay $160, or who cannot spare a storyteller.
How to choose
- You are not sitting together: Among Us.
- Everyone is here, and you want about 10 minutes: One Night Ultimate Werewolf.
- You would rather print than buy: Secret Hitler.
- You have a storyteller and can find a copy: Blood on the Clocktower. The shop button said sold out.
Our picks
Questions
Can we play if we are not in the same room?
Among Us has a host list for finding a game, and it plays across phone, PC, and console. Blood on the Clocktower is played in person, seated in a circle. Whether One Night Ultimate Werewolf or Secret Hitler works over a call is unknown.
How long is a round?
One Night Ultimate Werewolf is about 10 minutes. Secret Hitler is listed as 30 to 60 minutes, and the publisher does not give a time. Among Us and Blood on the Clocktower give no match length.
What if the theme is a problem?
Secret Hitler is about finding Hitler. A Wirecutter review, as Wikipedia reports it, calls that theme potentially offensive. The other three are impostors, werewolves, or a demon.
How we scored
Every score cites quotes from each product's own documentation, website and release notes, or from trusted third parties, captured in November 2026. Each criterion counts the same, and a criterion the evidence doesn't cover is shown as "?" and left out of that product's overall score.
Prices are current publisher and US store listings. Steam’s $4.99, Bézier’s price, and the $160.00 do not name a currency. The Clocktower shop button read sold out. Secret Hitler’s $5 is a print-shop estimate. The 30 to 60 minutes are Wikipedia’s, and the publisher gives no duration. The 12-role count is from Ars Technica. The Wirecutter lines are Wikipedia’s report of that review. The public-games line is a Polygon article from 2020. Google Play says one impostor, and the game site says one or more, so the site is used here.
