Secret Role Dealer
Deal hidden roles for Werewolf, Spyfall and odd-one-out games on one phone, with the balance checked before the roles are handed out.
The table
Pass the phone round
Each player taps their own card, reads it, then taps again to hide it before passing on.
Getting the balance right
- Wolves at or above half the table is not hard mode — it is unwinnable. They win by outnumbering the village, so reaching half ends it immediately. Any setup that crosses that line is refused here rather than dealt.
- The usual ratio is about a quarter, rounded down: two wolves at eight players, three at twelve, four at sixteen.
- Special roles come out of the villagers' share, so they are held back until the table is big enough — the Doctor from seven players, the Hunter from ten. There is always at least one plain villager left.
- In Spyfall nobody gets the same role twice while the location still has spare ones. Two players holding Cook makes an accusation land on the wrong person.
- The odd one out always gets a paired word, never an unrelated one. Coffee against Tea is a game; Coffee against Submarine gives the impostor away on their first clue.
- Nothing leaves your device and nothing is stored. Close the page and the roles are gone.
How to use
- Choose the game and the number of players.
- Check the suggested role balance.
- Pass the device around so each player sees only their own role.
- Confirm everyone has looked before starting.
Frequently asked questions
Why does role balance matter so much?
Because these games collapse if the ratio is wrong. Too few hidden roles and the informed side cannot survive the voting; too many and the uninformed side has no chance. Recommended ratios exist because groups discovered the hard way where the game stops working.
How many werewolves for a given group?
Commonly around a quarter of the players, rounded to taste — three for a group of a dozen is a typical starting point. Smaller groups need proportionally fewer, and very small groups struggle with hidden-role games at all, since there is too little discussion to hide in.
Is passing one phone around safe?
It works provided everyone confirms before passing, and the device does not display anything after the role is dismissed. The genuine risk is somebody glancing at a neighbour's screen, which no software prevents — turning away while looking is the group's job.
What makes these games work?
Discussion rather than deduction. The information available is deliberately thin, so the game is really about reading people and constructing plausible accounts. Groups that treat it as a logic puzzle usually find it less satisfying than groups that treat it as a conversation.
What about player elimination?
It is the main weakness of traditional Werewolf — eliminated players sit out while everyone else keeps playing, sometimes for a long time. Many modern variants give eliminated players a continuing role, and it is worth choosing a version that does if your group has the patience of a normal group.
Does anything get uploaded?
No. Roles are assigned in your browser and nothing is transmitted, which matters given the entire premise depends on the assignment staying private.
🔒 This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded, logged, or stored.