Insider
- 👤 Players:
- 4-8 (Best at 6)
- ⏱ Time to play:
- 15 minutes
- ♟ Equipment:
- 5 minute timer, method to indicate role, method to choose or reveal words
- 🧠 Designer(s):
- Akihiro Itoh, Kwaji, Daichi Okano, Kito Shinma (Oink Games)
A twist on 20 questions with secret roles where the Insider tries to stay hidden from the Master and Commons while manipulating the discussion to lead everyone to the correct answer.
Disclaimer: Insider is copyright Oink games. What follows is a reinterpretation of the rules without the copyrighted flavor text.
Overview #
The game is played in 3 rounds:
- Guessing
- Discussion
- Voting
Setup #
- Deal out role cards: 1 Master, 1 Insider, and X Commons (as many as there are people left). Everyone secretly looks at their roles.
- The master announces their role and instructs everyone to close their eyes.
- The master flips the top card and the theme for the game is the word whose number matches the top card. (Alternately, the master can choose a word and write it on a card.)
- The master closes their eyes and tells the Insider to open their eyes (all other eyes remain closed), who then views the word secretly.
- The master calls for the Insider to close their eyes and covers the word.
- The master tells everyone to open their eyes and play begins.
Guessing Begins #
- A timer is set for 5 minutes.
- Everyone (Commons and Insider) ask free-for-all yes/no/don't know questions to the Master about the word.
- There is no limit to amount of questions, they must only be phrased as yes/no/don't know questions.
- The Insider tries subtly direct everyone else to the answer without revealing their identity.
- The Commons need to ask questions to find the theme and also work out who the Insider is.
- The Master is in a good position to pay attention to who is the Insider, since they don't have to guess the word.
- If the word has two possible meanings (ex. tear in the eye vs tear in clothing), the Master should choose only one of the meanings.
- The timer stops when the word is guessed.
- The person who guessed the word is now the Guesser
- The timer is flipped and the remaining time is used for the voting round
- For example, if the word is guessed after 3 minutes have passed, the voting round will last for 3 minutes. If guessed in 1 minute, the voting round will last for 1 minute.
If the timer runs out before the word is guessed, everyone loses.
Discussion Begins #
Everyone discusses who they think the Insider is. Discussion ends when everyone is finished, or when the hourglass runs out.
Voting Begins #
First Vote: Judge the Guesser #
Everyone, except the guesser, tries to decide if the Guesser is the Insider.
- A majority is required to accuse, a tie is not sufficient to accuse.
- If accused, the Guesser reveals their card/role.
- If they incorrectly accuse the Guesser, the Insider wins and the game is over.
- If they correctly accuse, the Master and Commons win and the game is over.
- If the vote does not accuse the Guesser, and the Guesser was not the Insider it moves to the second vote.
| Is the Guesser the Insider? | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Majority says yes | Commons Win | Insider Wins |
| Majority says no | Insider Wins | Go to Vote #2 |
Second Vote: Find the Insider #
If the majority correctly does not think the Guesser is the Insider, the Master counts to 3 and everyone simultaneously points to who they think it is.
- The person with the most votes is accused as the Insider (majority not required).
- The Guesser decides a tie.
- If the Insider is found, the Master wins along with the Commons.
- If the Insider is not found (another player is chosen), the Insider wins.
Setup Tips #
- Word cards can be chosen from other games like Apples to Apples or Codenames.
- As a variant, or if word cards are not available, words can also be written down freely by the Master.
- Role cards can be from a standard deck of cards (Ace for Insider, King for Master, numbers for commons, etc)
Nathan's Notes: This is a great scaling group game that requires almost no materials.
Date added: | Modified: