When you think of social deduction games, Werewolf springs to mind almost immediately. The game has become a modern classic and a popular party game in its own right. It perfectly blends deduction, hidden roles, bluffing, and traitors. All the mechanisms that make for a great gaming experience.
So before we look at a few alternatives, let’s first take a quick look at One Night Ultimate Werewolf.
One Night Ultimate Werewolf places players in a charming little farm town with a big wolf problem. Players have only one night to figure out who the werewolf is.
Through clues, whispers, and voting, slowly but surely, the mystery will be revealed…. but who knows how many villagers will be attacked in the meantime?
There are loads of other social deduction, hidden roles, and traitor games where you can get crafty with your line of questioning and practice your bluffing abilities. Let’s take a look at our top 5 games like Werewolf!
Games Like Werewolf
- Deception: Murder in Hong Kong
- Sheriff of Nottingham
- Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game
- Mansions of Madness
- Secret Hitler
Deception: Murder in Hong Kong
Players: 4- 12
Playing time: 20 mins
Who among you can see through the lies?
Deception: Murder in Hong Kong has players in a scenario of intrigue, hidden roles, and murder. In a game of deduction and deception, one player is the murderer who has secretly chosen their weapon and the evidence they’ve left behind.
Another player takes on the role of the forensic scientist. A key role as they hold all the clues to conviction but can only show their knowledge through analysis of the scene. The rest of the players are investigators, hoping to match clues and solve the crime.
Deception is really central to the social deduction aspect of this game. Everyone has their own theories and ideas of how the murder was committed.
And, just like One Night Ultimate Werewolf, the traitor (the murderer) works their hardest to mislead and confuse investigators to save themselves.
Sheriff of Nottingham (2nd Edition)
Players: 3- 6
Playing time: 60 mins
On the bustling streets of Nottingham, the markets are alive with goods, mostly legal, but some illicit goods are seeping through the stalls and the Sheriff is having none of it.
In Sheriff of Nottingham, players each take turns to be the Sheriff. As the Sheriff, you’ll look for contraband and those Merchants who are trying to sell it. The role of the Sheriff has a lot of power.
If they suspect something is amidst they can inspect any bag they choose. But, if a bag is checked and the Merchant was telling the truth, the Sheriff has to pay a penalty.
If you’re looking for a fun game like Werewolf for beginners, Sheriff of Nottingham (2nd Edition) is a great choice as it’s very engaging and easy to learn.
Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game
Players: 2- 5
Playing time: 60- 120 mins
Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game places players in a harsh apocalyptic world where the struggle for power and survival trump everything.
Just like One Night Ultimate Werewolf, paranoia sets in from pretty much the get-go. As supplies become more scarce and the undead numbers grow by the day, survival becomes more difficult and paranoia uncontrollable. Is there a traitor in your midst?
Dead of Winter is much more story-centric as each player/survivor is dealing with their psychological imperatives, but as a group, you’ll have to come together and discuss what’s best for the colony to survive. But, privately you’ll be weighing up what’s best for your survival too.
Each player’s secret objective plays like One Night Werewolf’s hidden roles keeping everyone alert and on their toes. Be sure to watch out for a betrayer in your colony!
Mansions of Madness (2nd Edition)
Players: 1- 5
Playing time: 120- 180 mins
The mansions of Arkham hold terrifying secrets, dangerous monsters, and eldritch forces. A dark and unknown presence looks over the town, causing madness within. Only a few brave investigators venture behind Arkham’s closed doors to stand against the Ancient Ones…
Mansions of Madness is a fully cooperative board game that takes players on a journey of horror and discovery in a Lovecraftian world.
Taking on the roles of investigators, players enter the darkened rooms of haunted Arkham mansions to battle otherworldly dangers, discover strange secrets, and hopefully solve a few cunning puzzles.
The game has a similar feel to One Night Ultimate Werewolf as there’s something that’s terrorizing the town, and the players need to figure it out before more are hurt.
If you’re looking for something like Werewolf but with a more campaign-game feel, Mansions of Madness has that and more in-depth puzzles to solve.
Secret Hitler
Players: 5- 10
Playing time: 45 mins
The theme is quite clearly different. Secret Hitler is a game of politics and betrayal set in 1930s Germany. Players are secretly and randomly assigned as a liberal or a fascist, with one player assigned as Secret Hitler.
As fascists, you’ll conspire to help your fellow fascists while trying to convince everyone that you’re a liberal. This, of course, causes a lot of lying, hearsay, and suspicion. You never know who could be Secret Hitler.
Secret Hitler is similar to One Night Ultimate Werewolf because it focuses on finding the secret traitor through deduction. There’s also a voting aspect to the game which sways the game and the process of elimination as a liberal.
As a game, Secret Hitler is well worth every penny. The gameboard and cards are sturdy and well-manufactured. It also comes with beautiful wooden pieces, again of very high quality.
Want more Werewolf?
Wrap-Up
We hope you enjoyed our list of 5 games like Werewolf! Whether it’s werewolves, Ancient Ones, zombies, or a Secret Hitler, no one can be trusted when it comes to social deduction and hidden role games.
If you liked any of these games, we can guarantee that you’ll love these as well: Codenames, Coup, The Resistance: Avalon, Betrayal at House on the Hill, and Mysterium.
We hope you’ve found an awesome board game like One Night Werewolf! Let us know which board game you like to play. We’d love to hear your thoughts on these games! Drop a comment below. We’d love to hear from you.
Ready Player Christine. Since my first D&D game, which took a turn for the weird and wacky (probably my influence), the world of board and tabletop games came alive. Now today, I get to write about these fantastical, fictional, and downright fun worlds.