“Alpha Wolf, wake up and exchange the Center Werewolf card for any other player’s card.”

From Daybreak, on Team Werewolf

Apart from playing like a normal Werewolf, the Alpha Wolf also needs to keep track of the center Werewolf card they gave to another player, including any subsequent switching it may have been subject to. Apart from ensuring he himself isn’t lynched he also needs to ensure that the freshly turned Werewolf also isn’t lynched. This can be made difficult because the freshly turned Werewolf won’t be playing in their own best interests.

The Alpha Wolf, together with the Minion, also needs to assess if it is likely that the Werewolves have a majority. Since there can be up to eight Team Werewolf cards in play the Alpha Wolf is crucial in outing the team Werewolf majority at the crucial moment.

If the Alpha Wolf finds he himself was switched he can out the player that he turned into a Werewolf, assuring a victory for the Village Team.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Mystic Wolf, wake up. You may look at another player’s card.”

From Daybreak, on Team Werewolf

Since the Mystic Wolf’s power partially replicates the Seer’s power, claiming Seer is a tempting strategy for the Mystic Wolf. After looking at another player’s card she can reveal what she saw, claiming she herself is a  Seer, hoping that when that player confirms their own card her claim as a Seer will be more credible. I have never seen this strategy work. At least among experienced players, the Seer will always look at two cards in the center. A Mystic Wolf claiming this strategy will almost always be outed as the Mystic Wolf rather than the Seer.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

The Dream Wolf does not wake up with the other Werewolves. When the Werewolves are called, he sticks out his thumb.

From Daybreak, on Team Werewolf

The Dream Wolf is probably the most difficult role to play. Like the other Werewolves, he has the psychological burden of constructing and defending a lie, but unlike the Werewolves he has no information and doesn’t know who his allies are, if any. If the Dream Wolf is the only Werewolf he doesn’t  get the benefit of looking at a center card under the Lone Werewolf option.

As the Dream Wolf flying under the radar is more difficult, so one strategy is to make others think you are the Tanner by making and defending outrageous claims. When others start accusing you of the being the Tanner, or the Minion, the real Tanner won’t be outing himself to contradict you, but the Minion probably will, thus giving you insight into who has those two roles.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Minion, wake up. Werewolves, stick out your thumb so the Minion can see who you are.”

From ONUW, wins or loses with Team Werewolf irrespective of whether he himself dies

Not caring whether he lives or dies, the Minion starts the day phase with very little pressure, but accelerates quickly as the accusations fly. The Minion needs to keep very close track of whether any Werewolves were switched by the Troublemaker, Robber, Witch etc. If the Alpha Wolf or the Paranormal Investigator is in play the Minion’s role becomes much harder as they try to discern who the Alpha Wolf turned into a Wolf as well as who the Paranormal Investigator is and whether they became a Wolf or not.

If the Minion is quite sure who the Werewolves are then the Minion can sit on the sidelines during discussion as long as it looks like someone other than a Werewolf will be lynched. If the Minion’s silence is seen as suspicious and he himself becomes the target of accusation then so be it. However, as the Minion becomes more unsure who the Werewolves are, either as a result of switching, or the presence of the Alpha Wolf or Paranormal Investigator, then it becomes more critical that the Minion gets himself lynched to avoid a Werewolf being inadvertently lynched.

As the Minion, the simplest situation is when you find you have been switched with a Team Village card. As long as you are confident you are now on the Team Village, you can out yourself as the former Minion and out the real Werewolves too. If you aren’t sure if the claim that you were really switched or not is true and don’t want to take the risk of outing everyone on the Werewolf team you can out yourself as a former Werewolf instead. If the switcher maintains the switch did occur in the face of that revelation then you can be sure you were switched, enabling you to reveal the full Werewolf team. If the claimed switcher takes that opportunity to recant their switching claim and encourages everyone to kill you after all as a self revealed Werewolf, then you can take the lynching as the Minion and claim victory for Team Werewolf.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Squire, wake up. Werewolves, stick out your thumb. Squire, you may view the Werewolves’ cards.”

From Bonus Pack 2, wins or loses with Team Werewolf irrespective of whether he himself dies

Same strategy as Minion, but the Squire needs to adjust their approach based on what he sees when looking at the Werewolf’s cards. The Squire will have more information than the wolves in this regard. The Squire should try to communicate to the wolves that they still have their wolf card to ensure their continued allegiance. Unfortunately the Squire is also incentivized to pretend that wolves are still on Team Wolf even if they no longer are. Wolves should therefore be suspicious of the Squire regardless.

If the Squire sees that one of the wolves was switched, the Squire should listen carefully to anyone who claims the switched role. Most switching involves a direct swap, so whoever had the card that the Werewolf now has probably now has the Werewolf card and is therefore an ally.

If the Squire sees that the wolves still have their cards, the he should wait for someone else to claim they switched out one of the wolves (which he knows to be false) and call that individual out on their lie, since they are most likely on Team Village and any misdirected suspicious advantages Team Wolf.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Vampires, wake up and look for other Vampires. Give any non-vampire player a Mark of the Vampire.”

From ONUV, on Team Vampire

If the Diseased or Thing is in the game, it is usually advantageous to give the Mark of the Vampire to a player adjacent to you, since you can claim to be the Diseased or Thing and the recipient of your mark can claim to have received the Mark of Disease or been touched by Thing (or vice versa), thus mutually supporting each other’s claim. Even if the true Diseased or Thing refutes this, doubt will have been sown, to your advantage.

As the Vampire, your first priority on waking should be determining if the person to whom you gave the Mark of the Vampire still has it or lost it by receiving one of the subsequent seven marks. Seven because a player can’t receive both the Mark of the Vampire and Mark of Fear, and a Renfield replacing the Mark of the Vampire with a Mark of the Bat would remain on Team Vampire regardless.  If you determine that the player kept the Mark of the Vampire, subtly indicate that it was you who gave it to them, possibly by saying that you gave them another token, like a Mark of Clarity as a Priest, or imply that they as the Thing touched you on your shoulder or say that you received the Mark of Disease from them, giving them an opening to confirm your story.

Beyond this, Team Vampire strategy normally resolves to that of Team Werewolf.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Count, wake up and place the Mark of Fear in front of any non-Vampire player.”

From ONUV, on Team Vampire

Before playing, ensure that beginner players understand that the Count is also a Vampire and wakes up with the Vampires. I’ve seen many beginner players with the Count card not wake up with the vampires because of this confusion.

The Mark of Fear will only prevent the Pickpocket, Marksman or Gremlin from acting (assuming only the base cards from ONUV are being used). Preventing one of these from acting will advantage Team Vampire, especially if it is the Marksman. But on the downside, giving the Mark of Fear provides Team Village certain knowledge that the Count is in the game.

The Count’s strategy then resolves to that of a Vampire.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

If another Vampire votes for him, the Master is protected and cannot be killed.

From ONUV, on Team Vampire

Before playing, ensure that beginner players understand that the Master is also a Vampire and wakes up with the Vampires.

Obviously if the Master is in danger of being lynched, the other Vampire should vote for them, but there are a few exceptions. If the Master has the token of Love and the other lover is at risk of death, voting for the Master won’t protect him and will just waste the other Vampire’s vote. Marks override card powers, while artifacts override both marks and card powers. Death by love can’t be prevented by invoking the Master’s power. Also, if the vote could swing either way, it might be better for the Vampire to use their vote on another player. If the group is indifferent between voting for the Master directly or voting for their lover to kill the Master indirectly, if it has any credibility left Team Vampire should sway the group to vote for the Master directly, since then the Master’s immunity power will be employed.

If Team Village is sure who the two vampires are, but aren’t sure who the Master is, use this to Team Vampire’s advantage by giving nothing else away and forcing a split vote, then both of Team Vampire can vote for another player.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Vampires, point at the player who has the Mark of the Vampire and close your eyes. Renfield, wake up and look around for the Vampires, then place the Mark of the Bat in front of you.”

From ONUV, wins or loses with Team Vampire irrespective of whether he himself dies

Adopt the same strategy as the Minion, with the unfortunate addition that the Pickpocket or Marksman may look at your Mark of the Bat and out you as Renfield.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

From ONUW, only wins if he dies

The mere presence of the Tanner plays an important role in balancing the game toward Team Werewolf.  As the Tanner yourself, it is extremely hard to win. On the face of it, you want to be caught out in a lie to generate suspicion but not so blatantly that you are obviously the Tanner seeking to get lynched.

In practice I have never seen someone win as the Tanner by implying they started as a Werewolf. The times I have seen the Tanner win have almost always been by pure chance (such as the player becoming the Tanner without knowing) or by appearing to receive a Werewolf card from another player (as distinct from making others think you started with a Werewolf card).

Playing effectively as the Tanner requires preparation. Some possible strategies for the Tanner include:

• When someone has just started to arouse suspicion, claim to be a Robber and say you robbed them. Say that you can confirm that they are an innocent on Team Village. Either other players will disbelieve you are the Robber and accuse you of both being Werewolves protecting each other (resulting in a 50/50 chance of you being lynched). Or the person you claim to have robbed will take the bait, say they were a Werewolf and since you now possess their card you should be lynched.
• If a Troublemaker claims to have swapped you with someone else, claim that this is ironic because you are a Paranormal Investigator and you saw that the person with whom you have been switched was a Werewolf, so now as the recipient of your ‘Paranormal Investigator turned Werewolf’ card they are still a Werewolf and need to be lynched. Play dumb when it’s pointed out that you received the Werewolf card yourself. If either the other Werewolf does a good enough job defending himself OR if the Troublemaker reveals they never switched you after all, then your chance of being lynched increases further.
• Claim to be the Witch and you gave yourself a card from the center that is strongly suspected to be a Werewolf card
• If the Mystic Wolf and Seer are both in play, then the Tanner can open the game by claiming to be a Seer who looked at another player’s card. When the first person reveals their role, the Tanner can say that as the Seer they looked at that card and can corroborate their story. Since no experienced Seer would choose to look at one other players’ card instead of two cards in the center, the Tanner will hopefully be accused of being the Mystic Wolf and lynched.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Apprentice Tanner, wake up. Tanner stick out your thumb so the Apprentice Tanner can see who you are.”

From Bonus Pack 2, only wins if Tanner dies. If there is no Tanner, only wins if he himself dies

If the Tanner is not in play, the Apprentice Tanner’s strategy resolves to that of the Tanner.

If the Tanner is in play, the Apprentice Tanner needs to be extremely subtle. Don’t start laying suspicion on the Tanner. Play the long game by lining up a bunch of people as Werewolf suspects and provide evidence against each one to look like you are making a genuine attempt to find the Werewolf. Then gradually remove one person at a time from your line of suspects as each provides a plausible defense. Continue this until the only person left in your list of suspects is the Tanner and you guide the group to the ‘natural’ conclusion that they need to be lynched.

If you are outed as the Apprentice Tanner, say nothing more for the rest of the round. You will have zero credibility from that point and anything you say will be interpreted as pointing toward the Tanner. Even using reverse psychology to pour suspicion on someone else so the group falsely suspects them of being the Tanner will be more likely to backfire than be helpful.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Assassin, wake up and place the Mark of the Assassin in front of any player.”

From ONUV, only wins if his target dies

The recipient of the Mark of the Assassin will normally announce this fairly early, thus painting anyone who directs unsubstantiated accusations at them as the Assassin. Other players, particularly vampires, would do well to claim they received the Mark of the Assassin in order to deflect any accusations as being driven by the Assassin’s agenda. However, if enough players do this, it erodes the real target’s veil of protection and allows the Assassin to direct suspicion against them.

With both the Assassin and his target both outed with high certainty in most games, the Assassin should serve as a rallying point of sorts. “Yes I’m an Assassin and I’m going to vote for my target who is a [villager or vampire], so if you want a [villager or vampire] to die then vote with me.”

If a Team Village player received the Mark of the Assassin then this focusing of votes on a single target is particularly important for Team Vampire. Vampires and Werewolves find it difficult to coordinate their votes since communication between themselves would result in their being outed as monsters ripe for lynching. The Assassin is uniquely positioned to help Vampires/Werewolves solve this problem since he can actively campaign against a Team Village player without attracting Team Village votes the way a Vampire/Werewolf would. Vampires/Werewolves can keep their own status confidential and simply follow the Assassin’s lead during the vote.

Note that the Assassin can give himself the Mark of the Assassin. This is often the best approach for the Assassin, since the Assassin can keep his role and mark secret, and then the Vampires, the Assassin and the Apprentice Assassin are all aligned toward the objective of killing the Assassin, often through an open majority.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Apprentice Assassin, wake up and look for the Assassin. If there is no Assassin, place the Mark of the Assassin in front of any player.”

From ONUV, only wins if the Assassin dies

If the Assassin is not in play then the Apprentice Assassin’s strategy resolves to that of the Assassin.

If the Assassin has not been outed then the Apprentice Assassin can claim to be another Team Village role and claim to have deduced that the Assassin is a Vampire. The more subtly that she can do this the better. The Assassin will be stuck in a bind since he can’t really refute this convincingly without outing himself as the Assassin.  He might only out himself as the Assassin as a last resort if he sees his lynching becoming a near certainty, but by then it will probably be too late.

If the Assassin has been outed then the Apprentice Assassin’s best bet is probably to out herself as the Apprentice Assassin, announce that she’s going to vote for the Assassin and encourage any Vampires to follow her. This allows the Vampires and Apprentice Assassin to focus their votes on a single non-vampire player, thus solving the Vampire’s problem of coordinating and focusing votes without exposing themselves.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Copycat, wake up and look at one of the center cards. You are now that role. If that role is called, wake up and do that action.”

From ONUV

Unfortunately, the Copycat is mostly a pointless card in ONUV. Since no other cards in ONUV look at any center cards the Copycat may have copied, including the Copycat in any game is functionally equivalent to  playing each ONUV game with one less card than normal. A small exception to this is that if you play with the Copycat card and the Marksman looks at the Copycat’s card then they get less information than if you simply ditched the Copycat and started the game with one less card.

Copycat does have some interesting dynamics when played with ONUW and Daybreak. The Seer, Apprentice Seer or Witch can verify/refute what the Copycat say they did. Similarly, if a copycat and an Alpha Wolf are both in play, the copycat could look at the center werewolf card and three wolves may wake up at night.

Normally, during pre-game card selection, it is hard to decide which among the wide selection of really interesting cards to include, so Copycat is an easy choice to leave out.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Doppelgänger, wake up and look at another player’s card. You are now that role. If your new role has a night action, do it now.”

From ONUW

The Doppelganger’s strategy resolves to whichever role they adopted upon first waking. The main question is whether to reveal that you were the Doppelganger that became that role or to pretend you were that role directly. You almost certainly don’t want to reveal that you were the Doppelganger without saying what role you copied since the conservative assumption of other players was that you Doppelganged a Werewolf card. If you don’t contradict that accusation immediately, it will be very hard to shake later.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Diseased, wake up. Place a Mark of Disease in front of any player to your left or right.”

From ONUV, on Team Village

At first blush, it seems that the Diseased and the recipient of the Mark of Disease are affected the same way and have the same strategy, but this is not so.

Giving the Mark of Disease is a double edged sword. If a Vampire receives it, and this becomes known, then it will be much harder for Team Village, and therefore the Diseased herself, to win. The Diseased should not announce who they are until they can assess what team the person who received the Mark of Disease is on. Until the Diseased can be sure the recipient is on Team Village, they should deny being the Diseased and therefore cast doubt on any Vampire that may have claimed to receive the mark. If the Diseased gave the Mark of Disease to a Vampire and confirms it publicly then no one will vote for the diseased Vampire and Team Vampire will most likely win. In this case, the Diseased should continue to deny they were ever the Diseased, thus discrediting the Vampire and letting everyone else vote for them bringing victory to Team Village. If the rest of Team Village votes for the diseased Vampire eliminating each of their own potential to win, the Diseased may emerge as the sole winner.

Conversely,  the recipient of the Mark of Disease should announce it straight away, irrespective of what team they are on. It will not only deter others from voting for them, but if they themself are on Team Village this will narrow down who the Diseased is (on either side of that player) and in turn help eliminate Vampire suspects.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Cupid wake up. You may give any two players a Mark of Love.”

From ONUV, on Team Village

The presence of the Cupid makes life very difficult for Team Vampire.

A Team Village player receiving a Mark of Love need not act any differently since the death of their lover won’t affect which team wins. However, a Vampire receiving a Mark of Love now needs to keep both himself AND his lover alive, since the death of either will lose Team Vampire the game.

The Team Village recipient of the Mark of Love should know this and can gauge from their lover’s reaction whether they are a Vampire or not. While a fellow Team Village player will be indifferent to their lover’s death, a Vampire will be quite protective. From the Team Village lover’s perspective, when they are threatened, the more protective their lover becomes the more likely they are to be a Vampire. When they become certain their lover is a Vampire, they should announce their own suspicions and push for either that player’s death or their own death, knowing that either outcome  will kill their Vampire lover and deliver Team Village a win (as well as themself posthumously if necessary).

The Cupid should never give herself the Mark of Love. The Mark of Love is only useful if one of the recipients happens to be a Vampire and one is on Team Village. The probability of this happening is maximized if she gives the Mark of Love to two other random players.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Instigator, wake up. You may give any player the Mark of the Traitor.”

From ONUV, on Team Village

Being on Team Village, the Instigator normally has a pretty clear cut optimal strategy. The Instigator usually wants to give another player the Mark of the Traitor (which is an optional action) and then announce quite early who they gave the Mark of the Traitor to, and hope that player is a Vampire.

If she gave it to a player on Team Village the recipient is now working against the Instigator’s interest so the Instigator announcing what they did should undermine the traitor’s credibility.

If she gave it to a Vampire, then the Vampire will usually announce that they received the Mark of the Traitor anyway and out the other vampires. There is usually no point for the Instigator to lie about who they gave the Mark of the Traitor to, since everyone looks at their marks and knows if they received it or not. Any possible mark switching during the night phase, such as by the Gremlin or Pickpocket, will usually become known during the discussion before voting.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Priest, wake up and give yourself a Mark of Clarity. You may also give any other player a Mark of Clarity.”

From ONUV, on Team Village

Depending on the other roles used in the game, it may or may not be advantageous for the Priest to cleanse another player (since this action is optional). It is disadvantageous to cleanse another player if there is a high chance of cleansing a Vampire of the Mark of Love or Mark of the Traitor. It can be advantageous if there is a high chance of cleansing a Vampire of the Mark of Disease or cleansing a Villager of the Mark of the Vampire.

It is not advantageous for the Priest to announce who he cleansed until he finds out what mark that player had previously. Assuming the Mark of Love, Mark of Disease and Mark of the Traitor have already been accounted for (i.e. were not cleansed) and any apparent cleansing has not replaced the Mark of the Vampire, Team Vampire may think the player they gave the Mark of the Vampire to still has it. The Priest would do well not to correct this erroneous belief. Team Vampire may think they have a majority, particularly if Renfield is in play. Once Team Vampire confidently announce their majority, the Priest can announce that in fact they they cleansed the Mark of the Vampire from someone else and the Vampire minority just revealed themselves for certain defeat.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Sentinel, wake up. You may place a shield token on any player’s card but your own.”

From Daybreak, on Team Village

The Sentinel has no hidden information since the location of the shield token is evident to all as soon as the day phase starts. Like the Curator and Revealer, they are essentially a Villager with a small amount of agency during the night phase. As a Sentinel, beware of Werewolves taking the easy way out by claiming your role.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Thing, wake up. You may tap the shoulder of the player on your right or on your left.”

From Bonus Pack 2, on Team Village

Thing is similar to the Masons, but only consumes one of the precious spots in your deck during pre-game role selection. Thing plays similar to Masons except that you don’t know if the person whom you tapped is on Team Village or Team Werewolf/Vampire. You can lie to draw out other liars, hoping that if your lie starts to unravel the person you tapped will ultimately support your claim as Thing. However, if the person you tapped was a Werewolf/Vampire then rather than offering support they will (or should) seize the opportunity to pour more suspicion on you by denying that you were ever Thing. Your best hope in this case is that enough people saw cards in the center to know that someone does in fact have the Thing card and that since no one else has claimed it on the balance of probabilities you have it.

If you are a Werewolf/Vampire and Thing tapped you on the shoulder, then expect at some point for them to call on you to back them up. Any hesitation at that point will paint you as a Werewolf/Vampire. You can get on the front foot by claiming to be Thing yourself and saying that you tapped the person that actually tapped you. If you accompany this with a knowing wink to them, they may think you’re on Team Village and go along with this lie for the time being, they will claim to be some other role, eventually be found out and rely on you to bail them out, which of course you won’t. Alternatively, they may suspect you’re a Werewolf and dispute your version of events immediately. At this point, you will have a 50% chance of being pinned as a Werewolf/Vampire.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Masons, wake up and look for other Masons.”

From ONUW, on Team Village

If you are one of a pair of Masons you are in a good position to corroborate each others stories. One or both of you can lie to draw out Werewolves, knowing that your risk of the lie backfiring is reduced since when you eventually reveal you are a Mason, the other Mason can back you up. Beware though that two Werewolves can claim to be two Masons. And if two Masons caught in a lie confess that they were both Masons the whole time, they will likely themselves be painted as Werewolves masquerading as Masons. Therefore it’s probably best if only one of the Masons lies, while the other Mason stays above reproach by maintaining the truth from the beginning saying that they were one of a pair of Masons but they don’t want to reveal who the other Mason is yet. The credibility of the truthful Mason provides a safety net for the other lying Mason.

As a lone Mason, you have a tough game to play. No one else can back you up so if someone else, like a Werewolf, claims to be a lone Mason it will simply be your word against theirs. Worse still, two Werewolves claiming to be the Masons will appear more credible than you claiming to be a lone Mason. Your best hope in this case is if someone else can confirm your card or if they saw a Mason card in the center.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Seer, wake up. You may look at another player’s card or two of the center cards.”

From ONUW, on Team Village

The Seer is one of the most powerful cards in the game. The Seer should almost always look at two cards in the center, rather than another player’s card, as doing so provides more information. Don’t reveal what you saw until other players have revealed their own roles, so that you can catch them in a lie.

If someone claims to be a role you saw in the center, you face a tradeoff between calling them out on it immediately or waiting. Generally, waiting will be more effective at flushing out Werewolves. Another player may try to corroborate the liar’s story, who may also be a Werewolf or a Minion. If the liar is in fact on Team Village, letting them maintain the lie for a little while to flush out Werewolves will aid Team Village. On the other hand, leaving it too long will undermine your own claim to be the Seer, leaving you vulnerable to being lynched.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Apprentice Seer, wake up. You may look at one of the center cards.” 

From Daybreak, on Team Village

As a weaker version of the Seer, the Apprentice Seer’s strategy should follow that of the Seer.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Paranormal Investigator, wake up. You may look at up to two cards of other players. If you see a Werewolf or the Tanner, you must stop and you become a Werewolf or the Tanner.”

From Daybreak, on Team Village

Do not reveal that you are the Paranormal Investigator. People will assume that you saw a Werewolf card and became a Werewolf even if you didn’t. Most of the time they will be correct, especially in smaller games where the chance of anyone else being a Werewolf, and therefore you seeing a Werewolf, is relatively high.

If, as the Paranormal Investigator, you do look at a Werewolf card, one strategy is to confess to being the Paranormal Investigator and that the Werewolf card you saw was actually a Minion. This will ensure the Werewolf you saw doesn’t get lynched. This can backfire massively if the Minion is identified elsewhere on the board, bringing both you and the player you claimed was a Minion under great suspicion.

One option to minimize the probability of becoming a Werewolf is to resolve to look at only one card or even no cards, rather than two. I would only do this if the cards in use in the game strongly favors Team Village (e.g. includes Seer, Aura Seer, Masons etc). If the cards are balanced (or even favor Werewolves) then would rather look at two cards even if there is a good chance of becoming a Werewolf. Gaining more information is always beneficial, and there is no inherent disadvantage in becoming a Werewolf if the initial card choice was balanced.

A common scenario is looking at one card which is on Team Village and then looking at another card which is a Werewolf. If this happens immediately claim that you were the Robber and you robbed the first Team Village card you saw, confirming what it was. The original owner of the Team Village card will corroborate your story, providing credibility that you were the Robber and took their card. This will make it difficult for the real Robber (if there is one) to contradict you.

This also works even if both cards you saw were on Team Village because even if you remained on Team Village as the P.I. you will have a difficult time convincing others of that. Its easier to claim the Robber and avoid suspicion altogether. This will only work occasionally though. If you need to use it again in a short period of time, better to quickly come clean that you were the Paranormal Investigator and saw the two Team Village cards before this information is revealed of its own accord.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Marksman, wake up. You may view the card of one player and the mark of another player.”

From ONUV, on Team Village

By looking at a mark, the Marksman has a reasonably high chance of identifying the Mark of the Vampire, Mark of the Bat (i.e. Renfield), or Mark of the Traitor. Announcing the mark of the Vampire or Mark of the Traitor fairly quickly is helpful to discredit that individual, but the Marksman should definitely hold back on announcing what he saw or who he looked at if he saw the Mark of the Bat. Renfield has more information on Team Vampire than even the Vampires themselves have, since the Vampires don’t know who Renfield is. If the Marksman saw the Mark of the Bat, he should pretend to have seen a different mark from another player, or pretend to not even be the Marksman at all, and play along with Renfield’s story to elicit information from him, such as subtly asking who he thinks each player is. Only when he has coaxed this information out of Renfield should he out Renfield.

As the Marksman seeing a Mark of Fear, Mark of Love, Mark of Disease won’t provide much informational advantage since recipients of any of these marks are incentivized to announce it to the group fairly early anyway.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Robber, wake up. You may exchange your card with another player’s card, and then view your new card.” 

From ONUW, on Team Village

If you robbed someone and remained on Team Village then just say you robbed someone but won’t reveal who until later. That allows the person you robbed to in turn lie to try to catch out a Werewolf, and then you can back them up.

On the other hand if you rob a Werewolf you need to get on the front foot as soon as possible. As soon as someone on Team Village has revealed their role, say that you robbed them and can back up their story, earning you an unwitting accomplice to deflect suspicion from yourself. After securing your own safety, your best course of action is to hang suspicion on the person you actually robbed. Although they now have the Robber card, they will think they are still the Werewolf and will likely attempt to pretend to be someone else. Discredit their lie as much as you can and convince the group that they are still a Werewolf. If they are lynched they will turn over their card revealing a Robber and deliver a victory to Team Wolf.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Witch, wake up. You may look at one of the center cards. If you do, you must exchange that card with any player’s card.”

From Daybreak

The Witch basically has four possibilities. Either she sees a card from Team Village and either gives it to herself or someone else or she sees a card from Team Werewolf and give it to herself or someone else. If the Alpha Wolf is in the game it is advantageous to always look at the middle Werewolf card to immediately determine if the Alpha Wolf is in the game or not. If that card is a Werewolf, a good strategy can be giving it yourself and then playing as a Werewolf without any else knowing. If that card is not a Werewolf then note who it is and swap it with anybody. When someone claims to have the role that you saw, you know that the Alpha Wolf made them a Werewolf, which you can reveal or conceal as you see fit.

Being on the receiving end of this strategy from the Witch is one of the surest paths to being lynched, i.e. the Witch says they picked up the middle Werewolf card and gave it to you. You can counter this by saying you were the Alpha Wolf, and you made them the Werewolf. When they, as the Witch looked at the center Werewolf card, saw it was actually the Witch card, realized what happened and panicked, they then switched it with your card. So now they have the Werewolf card, you have the Witch card and the Alpha Wolf card has now been moved to the center. This counter-claim will need to be swift and convincing. Unfortunately it can be countered by a Seer seeing the Alpha Wolf card in the center.

Regardless of who I swapped I always like to say I looked at one of the Village Team cards in the middle and swapped it with someone else whom I didn’t. If that person was originally on Team Wolf and believes me then he may out himself as originally being a Wolf. This can lead to either another Wolf being implicated or a Paranormal Investigator if they looked at that person’s card or even the Minion being outed if another player was defending the first player up to that point.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Pickpocket, wake up. You may exchange your mark with another player’s mark, and then view your new mark.”

From ONUV, on Team Village

Generally, if the Pickpocket took the Mark of the Vampire, Mark of the Traitor or Mark of the Assassin he should lie about who they pickpocketed and what mark he stole. Announcing that he took the Mark of Fear or the Mark of the Bat provides team Village with useful information that the Count or Renfield are active in the game. Announcing that he took the Mark of Disease will bring relief to Team Village that a Vampire doesn’t possess it.

If the Pickpocket stole a Mark of Love from a player that is likely to be a Vampire he should claim he stole a DIFFERENT mark from another player, since he wants the Vampire to continue believing they possess the Mark of Love and to hopefully out himself by being overprotective of their lover’s life (see the Cupid strategy). If he stole the Mark of Love from a player on Team Village, then this won’t really affect the game and can be announced, but watch the actions of the other lover. If other lover shifts their protectiveness from the old lover to the Pickpocket then there is a high probability of them being a Vampire.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

“Troublemaker, wake up. You may exchange cards between two other players.”

From ONUW, on Team Village

As the Troublemaker, you don’t have to switch anyone. If you don’t switch anyone you can lie and say you did. If you do switch two cards you can either say truthfully who you switched, lie about who you switched or say you didn’t switch anyone. Lying about who you switched has the advantage that if one of those players confess to having previously been a Werewolf, hoping to now lynch the person that received that card, you can then reveal that you didn’t in fact switch them and therefore they must still be the Werewolf who must be lynched. This strategy is most effective with beginner players.

While the Troublemaker is quite powerful when playing with beginners it is actually one of the least powerful when playing experienced players. After seeing many Werewolves claiming to be a Troublemaker, almost no one takes the Troublemaker at their word, and it provides no real information to the person who performed the Troublemaker role since they don’t get to look at any cards.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.