The hidden-role half runs on how much the liar knows. The Chameleon can see all sixteen words but not which one is secret. The Spy has nothing at all and has to work out the location from the answers people give. The fake artist gets the category and a pen.
One Night Werewolf resolves the entire night on the phones, so no one sits out as narrator and nobody is eliminated — your card may have been swapped and nobody tells you. Avalon and Secret Hitler both start at five, because a lie needs somewhere to stand.
Skull and Mastermind hide information rather than people. Skull is four discs each and a bidding war with no cards to read; Mastermind deals one code to the whole table and everybody breaks it alone, so the thing you are reading is the scoreboard.
Every deduction game we have
Questions about Social deduction games
Which needs the fewest players?
Mastermind runs from two, and Chameleon, Spyfall, Skull and One Night Werewolf all seat three. Avalon and Secret Hitler need five before the roles have anywhere to hide.
Does somebody have to sit out and narrate?
No. One Night Werewolf runs the night on the phones — the Seer’s peek, the Robber’s steal and the Troublemaker’s swap all resolve without a moderator, so everyone in the room holds a card.
What stops the table just voting for the quiet one?
In Chameleon a tied vote accuses nobody and the impostor walks, so the room has to genuinely agree on a name. In Spyfall it takes everybody agreeing to convict, and each player may accuse only once.
Which is the longest?
Secret Hitler at twenty to thirty minutes, then Avalon at fifteen to twenty-five. Both keep a floor where the faster games shrank online, because the arguing is the game.