How many players does One Night Ultimate Werewolf support?

3 to 10 players. It shines at 5-8: enough people that the role swaps create real uncertainty, short enough that everyone talks every day. At 3-4 the deduction is thinner but a game still takes under 10 minutes, making it a great filler.

What is the wake order in One Night Ultimate Werewolf?

Doppelgänger (0), Werewolves (1), Minion (2), Masons (3), Seer (4), Robber (5), Troublemaker (6), Drunk (7), Insomniac (8). The Hunter, Tanner and Villager do not wake. Only roles actually in play wake; the caller (or the official app) reads them in this fixed order.

Can I play without the app or a moderator?

Yes. The night phase follows a fixed wake order, so one player can read the sequence aloud from a cheat sheet while everyone keeps their eyes closed. The official free app just makes the pacing uniform (about 5-10 seconds per step) and removes any chance of a biased caller leaking information.

What does the Robber do?

The Robber wakes fifth, picks any player, secretly swaps tiles with them, and looks at the tile they received. This changes their team instantly: a Robber who steals a Werewolf is now a wolf and should spend the day protecting the real wolves. The robbed player usually becomes a Villager — and often wrongly believes they still hold information.

Which identity counts at the end — my first role or my current one?

Your CURRENT tile, always. Whatever sits in front of you when dawn breaks is your role for scoring. This is the game's core trick: the Drunk, the Robber and the Troublemaker can all silently change it, and the Insomniac exists precisely to check whether it happened to them.

What happens on a tie vote?

All tied players die and flip their tiles — there is no revote. This makes ties chaotic and delicious: the Hunter may chain a kill, the Tanner may win by dying, and the village may wipe out both a wolf and an innocent in one stroke.

How does the Tanner win?

The Tanner is a one-player team that wins by dying. If the Tanner is voted out, they win even if the village loses — unless a wolf also died that day, in which case Tanner and village share the victory. A Tanner who knows their identity will often steer votes toward themselves while pretending to be desperate to live.

What if nobody gets more than one vote?

Nobody dies. The day resolves as 'uneventful', which favors the village when all wolves are in the center (village wins if nobody dies and no wolf is among the players) but favors the wolves when any wolf sits at the table.

What is a good beginner role setup?

For 6-8 players: Werewolf×2, Minion, Seer, Robber, Troublemaker, Drunk, Insomniac, Masons×2, plus Villagers or one Tanner to reach N+3 tiles. Skip the Doppelgänger until everyone understands the base loop — it copies roles and chains their actions, which punishes confusion.

Is One Night Ultimate Werewolf good for kids or team building?

Yes — there are no player eliminations, rounds last 10 minutes, and the fixed wake order is easy to moderate. It's a common icebreaker because losing costs you nothing: you're straight back into another game. Younger players do well with the simpler pools (drop Troublemaker and Doppelgänger first).

What are the roles in One Night Ultimate Werewolf?

The base game ships 12 roles: Doppelgänger, Werewolf, Minion, Masons, Seer, Robber, Troublemaker, Drunk, Insomniac, Hunter, Tanner and Villager. Only the first nine wake at night, in exactly that order; the Hunter, Tanner and Villager never wake. A game uses N+3 role tiles for N players (three face down in the center), so most tables only play a subset — pick a balanced pool with 2-4 Werewolves and build the rest of your board around it.

How do you play One Night Ultimate Werewolf?

Deal one role tile to each player and place three face down in the center. The night phase runs through the fixed wake order — each called role secretly performs its action while everyone else keeps their eyes closed. Then the day gives you 3-5 minutes of discussion (lying allowed, peeking never) before everyone simultaneously points at one player. Most-voted players die and flip their tiles, ties kill everyone tied, and the faction win conditions are scored from the reveal. One night, one day, about ten minutes.

What happens to the Minion when there are no wolves among the players?

That is the famous Minion paradox. At night the Minion learns who the wolves are — but if all Werewolf tiles sit in the center, the Minion is the only wolf-team player at the table and sees nobody. To win, the Minion needs any non-Minion player to die while no wolf dies, so the job becomes surviving the vote while bluffing as an ordinary villager. It is one of the hardest and most fun roles to play.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf Roles & Rules (Wake Order)

What is One Night Ultimate Werewolf?

One Night Ultimate Werewolf (ONUW) is a fast hidden-role game for 3-10 players that plays in about 10 minutes: one night, one day, one vote — game over. Unlike classic Werewolf there are no eliminations and no multi-day cycles; everyone who starts the game is still there at the reveal.

The twist that makes it special: your role can change during the night. The Robber swaps roles with another player, the Troublemaker swaps two players secretly, the Drunk must trade with the center — so the identity you started with is often NOT the identity you end with. You might spend the day defending the very wolves you're hunting, because you unknowingly became one.

It also needs no human moderator: the night follows a fixed wake order, so the free official app (or this page's wake-order table read aloud) can run the night phase.

Components

16 role tiles: Werewolf, Doppelgänger, Minion, Masons, Seer, Robber, Troublemaker, Drunk, Insomniac, Tanner, Hunter, Villager (exact counts per printing vary — check your copy)
16 starting role tokens to remember your original role
Night wake-order cheat sheet
Free companion app (iOS/Android) that acts as the night caller

Setup

Choose N+3 role tiles for N players. The pool must keep the game winnable for both teams — see the role pool section below.
Shuffle and deal 1 tile face down to each player; place the remaining 3 tiles face down in the center of the table. The center tiles are the fuel for every role-swapping ability.
Everyone secretly peeks at their own tile — this is your STARTING role, not necessarily your final one.
Pick a night caller (a player or the app) who announces each wake step.
House rule: nobody may ever show their tile — everything must be said out loud.

The Roles and Night Wake Order

The night runs in a fixed order. Only the called role opens their eyes; everyone else keeps them closed and stays perfectly still.

Night wake order, team and ability of every base-game role
Wake	Role	Team	Night action
0	Doppelgänger	Copies what it sees	Look at another player's tile and copy that role and team; immediately perform its instant action (Seer/Robber/Troublemaker/Drunk), or wake later along with it
1	Werewolf	Wolves	Open eyes and see fellow wolves; if no other wolf is present (wolves are in the center), look at 1 center tile
2	Minion	Wolves' servant	Open eyes and learn who the wolves are; if all wolves are in the center, you know nothing except that you must survive the day
3	Masons	Village	Wake together (if 2 in play) and recognize each other
4	Seer	Village	Look at 1 player's tile, or at 2 center tiles
5	Robber	Village → may turn wolf	Choose a player, swap tiles with them and view your new tile (you may decline)
6	Troublemaker	Village	Swap two OTHER players' tiles without looking at them
7	Drunk	Village → uncertain	Must swap your tile with 1 center tile, without looking at what you receive
8	Insomniac	Village	Look at your own tile to check whether it was changed during the night
—	Hunter	Village	No night action; when dead, takes one chosen player down with them
—	Tanner	Independent	No night action; WINS by being killed
—	Villager	Village	No night action; pure daytime deduction

The Night Phase

The caller announces each role in wake order: 'Werewolves, open your eyes… Werewolves, close your eyes.' Uncalled players must keep their eyes closed and make no gestures or sounds.

Two things make the night phase the heart of the game: first, only wolves know each other — nobody else learns anything about anyone except through their own action. Second, your FINAL identity is whatever tile sits in front of you when dawn breaks, not the one you started with. Every role swap during the night rewires teams.

The Day Phase and Voting

Everyone opens their eyes and discusses for 3-5 minutes. You may say anything, including lying — but never show or peek at tiles.
The caller counts down and all players SIMULTANEOUSLY point a finger at one player. You may not abstain or point at yourself.
The player(s) with the most votes die and flip their tiles. On a tie, ALL tied players die. If nobody receives more than one vote, nobody dies.
If a dead player is the Hunter, they immediately pick one player to take down with them.
Flip all dead players' tiles and resolve the win conditions below.

A quiet day kills nobody: if the vote scatters so that no one gets more than 1 vote, it's an 'uneventful day' — which is exactly what the village wants when all wolves are in the center.

Win Conditions (Faction Cheat Sheet)

The Hunter belongs to the village; their take-down can flip an outcome (dragging a wolf to death, or accidentally killing the Tanner). The Minion wins or loses with the wolf team — except when no wolves are among the players, in which case the Minion wins solo if any non-Minion player dies.

Win conditions by faction for every possible outcome of the day vote
Outcome	Village	Wolves	Minion	Tanner
At least 1 wolf dies (no Tanner death)	WIN	Lose	Lose	Lose
No wolf dies (wolves among players)	Lose	WIN	WIN	Lose
All wolves in center, nobody dies	WIN	Lose	Lose	Lose
Tanner dies AND at least 1 wolf dies	WIN (shared)	Lose	Lose	WIN (shared)
Tanner dies, no wolf dies	Lose	Lose	Lose	WIN (solo)
No wolves in play, a non-Minion player dies	Lose	Lose	WIN (solo)	—

Role Pool Setups (the 'Board')

Role composition matters more than player count. Always include enough Werewolf tiles (2-4) so both 'wolves among us' and 'wolves in the center' scenarios are possible — the uncertainty between those two is where the deduction lives.

Beginner setup for 6-8 players: Werewolf×2, Minion, Seer, Robber, Troublemaker, Drunk, Insomniac, Masons×2, fill the rest with Villagers or a Tanner. Add the Doppelgänger last — it rewires the whole information structure and is the most complex role.

Advanced: Hunter adds death chains, Tanner adds a third team to reason about, and burying a wolf in the center punishes teams that vote carelessly.

How It Differs from Classic Werewolf

One Night Ultimate Werewolf vs. classic Werewolf, side by side
Dimension	One Night Ultimate Werewolf	Classic Werewolf
Length	One night + one day, ~10 minutes	Multiple day/night cycles, 40-60 minutes
Eliminations	None — everyone sees the reveal	Players leave as they die
Identity	Can change during the night	Fixed at deal
Host	Optional (app or cheat sheet)	Required, with heavy rulings
Voting	Simultaneous pointing, ties kill all tied	Round-by-round votes, last words, PK
Wolf team size	Usually 1-2	3-4 plus special wolves

Variants and Expansions

One Night Ultimate Werewolf: Daybreak (2015) — about 11 new roles (Aura Seer, Bodyguard, Prince, Witch and more), playable alone or mixed in
One Night Ultimate Vampire (2016) — a vampire team with its own night tricks
One Night Ultimate Alien (2018) — an alien team
One Week Ultimate Werewolf (2019) — departs from the one-night formula for a longer, board-based variant

One Night Ultimate Werewolf is a trademark of its respective owner. This page is an unofficial rules guide and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the trademark owner.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf Roles & Rules — Wake Order Guide

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