The Traitors Anywhere is a new social deduction game played entirely on WhatsApp, bringing the drama of the hit TV show to a messaging platform. Supporting 8-30 players, the game features daily missions, nightly Traitor murders and Round Table banishments, with one player acting as organiser to invite others and set a start date.
During a recent game, one player was forced to pull over her car with six minutes left before the Round Table vote, responding to allegations that she was a Traitor. The main accuser was her husband, whose evidence was that one of their children thought she was the Traitor because of the way she smiles when it is mentioned at home. It turned out she was indeed a Traitor.
Drama and chaos at the Round Table
In the final minutes before voting ended, there were claims and counter claims, voice notes by the dozen, and multiple instances of people changing their vote. One player was so overwhelmed by the sheer number of messages that they did not manage to vote in time, which almost proved costly to the Faithfuls.
Despite the radically different genre, The Traitors Anywhere largely follows the same format as the TV show, complete with daily missions to bank gold and nightly treachery from the murderous Traitors. The organiser sets up a WhatsApp group where everybody can chat, discuss theories and point the proverbial finger.
How the game works
Everything else is handled separately by the official Traitors Anywhere account, which messages each player individually with instructions and other information throughout the course of the game. This is also where you complete missions, cast votes and murder Faithfuls if you are picked as a Traitor.
The game's two main WhatsApp groups are just the tip of the iceberg. As a Traitor, players are in constant contact with co-conspirators and individual friends to form secret alliances. Quite a few secret groups were formed over the course of the game, which worked against one player when trying to plead innocence.
Missions and pace
While the drama comes from the Round Table and the daily murders, the trials are also surprisingly fun and engaging. They range from identifying quotes from other players to solving Wordle and Connections-style puzzles. Even the daily surveys enhance the game, often coming back to bite you if you answered something mildly controversial or unexpected.
The game is organised so you can largely tackle things at your own pace, provided you hit the deadlines. Missions run from breakfast until 1.20pm, while Round Table discussions and voting start at 1.30pm and end at 6.30pm. The majority of missions can be completed solo, so you do not really need to bother anyone until the Round Table opens and the debating begins.
You definitely get more out of it the more you put in, but players with busier schedules still had fun joining in when they had a spare moment or two. At £8.99 a person, The Traitors Anywhere is more expensive than expected, and organising can be difficult, especially if you are playing with friends of friends. However, the amount of fun had over the course of the week justified the cost, with one player saying they would definitely play again.
