Spy جاسوس

Everyone at the table sees the same secret word. Everyone except the spies, who are told only that they are spies.

That is the whole game. It is also the fastest way to find out that your friends are worse liars than they think.

The fun is in the answers. Say too little about the word and the table turns on you. Say too much and the spy quietly works out what it is and starts nodding along. Meanwhile someone who genuinely knows the word gives one strange answer, panics, and spends the next five minutes digging a hole.

HOW A ROUND GOES

Set the table. Pick 3 to 16 players, how many spies, how long the round runs, and which categories are in play. Names are optional.

Pass the phone. Each player taps the card, reads their role alone, hides it again, and passes it on. Civilians get the word. Spies get nothing.

Ask questions. A shared timer runs while you question each other. Who has actually been to this place. Who is answering everything a little too vaguely. Prove you know the word without handing it to the spy.

Vote, then reveal. When time is up the app shows nothing until someone taps Reveal roles, so the table argues it out first and finds out afterwards. Catch every spy and the civilians win. A spy who survives the vote, or names the word, wins.

1,097 WORDS, EACH ONE WRITTEN TWICE

Fourteen categories: Places, Jobs, Food & drink, Animals, Everyday things, Iran, Sports, Nature, Transport, Characters, World, Technology, Music, Clothes. Turn off the ones you do not want.

Every word was written by hand in both languages instead of run through a translator. The food list has ته‌دیگ next to sushi. The characters list puts رستم and حسن کچل beside Sherlock Holmes. The Iran category runs from تخت جمشید to چهارشنبه‌سوری.

No word comes back within 20 rounds, and the setup screen shows how many words your chosen categories draw from, so a long night stays fresh.

THREE SWITCHES THAT CHANGE THE GAME

Spies know each other, and see their partners' names. Leave it off and each spy plays alone, with no idea who else is lying.

The spy sees the category but never the word. That is the kind version.

Random spy count. The number you set becomes a ceiling instead of a count, so each round deals somewhere between one spy and that ceiling, and nobody knows how many are in play. Not even the spies.

1 to 7 spies, always outnumbere