ONE NIGHT ULTIMATE WEREWOLF

Designer: Ted Alspach & Akihisa Okui | Publisher: Bézier Games

Putting the laugh in slaughter, this title puts parlour game Werewolf/ Mafia on fast forward, condensing an hour of secret murdering to a blitzing 10-15 minutes of frantic finger pointing.

Players are secretly dealt a role card, letting them know if they’re a villainous werewolf or worried villager. Everyone closes their eyes and gets a chance to open their eyes briefly to secretly perform their own unique power, which could be looking at another’s card, swapping two players cards and many more.

Once everyone’s had their chance to act, all eyes open, roles remain face down on the table so no-one can check who they are and the accusations begin. After a timer runs out, players vote who they want to eliminate. If a werewolf is chosen, the villagers win, whilst any human death is a victory for the big beasties.

The sheer variety of actions make deducing the truth a maddening challenge. Werewolves need to avoid being caught and are also aware of fellow fiends, letting them team up to shift the blame. However, it’s entirely possible for a player who thinks they’re a werewolf has now been swapped to the other side, so knowing when to reveal information is key.

The ease of muddling ensures that those who do best aren’t necessarily the ones dealt the best cards, but whoever can fast talk their way out of trouble. Being able to communicate is crucial, as simply shouting down everyone else wastes time and jeopardises your chance to win.

While the base games come with plenty of interesting characters to shake things up, we’ve been blessed with several great standalone expansions over the years, any of which are fantastic for shaking things up (though personally Daybreak is our absolute favourite.)

A masterpiece in social deduction gaming, must have.