The rules, step by step
- Everyone gets the location and a role there — except the Spy. Hold your card to peek at it.
- Ask each other questions. Prove you belong without naming the place.
- Anyone can accuse, once each. It takes everybody agreeing to convict.
- The Spy can call the location — right and the round is theirs, wrong and it’s the table’s.
- At zero — or as soon as most of the table taps Ready to vote — everyone names a suspect. Most votes takes the fall; a tie and the Spy walks.
Scoring and the fiddly bits
The payouts
Catching the Spy pays every innocent 1, with 2 more to whoever accused. The Spy takes 4 for calling the location, 4 for a wrong conviction, or 2 for surviving the clock.
One failed accusation each
An accusation that does not convict is your last of the round. Without that, one player could put the room into a vote every thirty seconds and run the clock down alone.
The card is on every phone
All sixteen locations show for everybody, Spy included. A list only one person was reading would be visible over their shoulder from across the room.
The final vote
At the buzzer everyone has sixty seconds to name one suspect. A strict plurality convicts; a tie or an empty ballot counts as nobody caught.
Big tables share roles
A location holds eight roles, so from nine players up the list wraps and two people can be dealt the same job.
Questions about Undercover
Is Undercover free?
Yes. It is free to play, with no adverts. An optional Plus membership opens bigger tables and extra packs.
How many people do you need for Undercover?
Between 3 and 12. Below 3 there are not enough of you for the game to work.
What do we need to play?
A phone or laptop each, with a web browser. One person opens a room and everybody else joins by typing the room code on their own phone. There’s also an iPhone app if you’d rather.
Can we play Undercover over a video call?
Yes. Share the room code in the chat and play with the call running — everything private stays on each player’s own phone.
Play Undercover online
Free, in the browser, with everyone on their own phone.