Dark Village is a role-playing game where simple Citizens are terrorized by Werewolves, Witches, or Demons each night. With
suspicions running high, the Citizens choose a person to lynch each day.

Objective
Good and Evil are at odds. The Citizens must attempt to rid the village of all the evil players by lynching who they suspect to be causing the nighttime murders. If the village is successful
in lynching all the Werewolves, Witches or Demons during the day, the Citizens win! If the Evil players succeed in killing all the Citizens, they are victorious!

Components
Dark Village is played with a deck of cards that includes 10 Evil roles and 26 Citizen roles.

Setup
A game of Dark Village is easy to get started. Just gather a group of people and have them sit in a circle. You can be just about anywhere…on chairs, on the ground, around a table, or on the couches in the family room. A person who is familiar with the game is chosen as the Narrator. Cards to be used are
chosen with there being around one Evil player for every 3 Citizens. The Narrator deals each player a card that becomes their secret role for the game. A basic game begins with a Narrator, 2 Evil characters and 6 Citizens.

Roles
 Narrator
 Citizens (Good village folk)
 Werewolves, Witches, and Demons (Evil villagers who win by killing off and outnumbering Citizens)
 Seer/Detective (Citizen-sided, can inspect for Evil members)
 Doctor (Citizen-sided, can choose a player to save at night)

Nightfall…
The Narrator begins the game by having everyone close their eyes and be silent. He controls all the actions in the form of a story. (“Nighttime has fallen and all the village has
gone to sleep…”) This begins the nighttime phase of the game. Each night, the Narrator has characters awake and perform their actions. He instructs the Werewolves to “awake” (open their eyes) and see their fellow members. They kill off one of the Citizens by silently gesturing who they choose. They must all be in agreement. The Narrator asks one Werewolf to gesture his
battle sign and makes note of it. The narrator then has the Werewolves go back to “sleep” (close their eyes). The Narrator, then, instructs the Seer to “awake”. The Seer points at a player he suspects of being Evil. The Narrator nods if the Seer is correct. The Narrator has the Seer go back to “sleep”. The Narrator, next, instructs the Doctor to awake and select a person to save. The doctor silently points at a player goes back to “sleep”. Last, the Narrator instructs all Citizens to gesture their battle sign and makes note of the sign of the player who was attacked.

Daybreak…
The Narrator has everyone “wake up” to begin the daytime phase.
Unless the Doctor has saved the player the Werewolves attacked or the player has defeated the Werewolves with his battle sign, a murder is announced to the group. The Narrator tells a story of that character’s death. The dead player may no longer participate in the game in any way. All the players may now discuss who they suspect as one of the killers. After enough time has passed, the Narrator calls for a vote on who the village will lynch. The majority vote causes that player to be hung and killed at dusk.

The Second Night
The Narrator continues the night and day phases until, all the Citizens or all the Evil players have been killed.

Winning
When either all Good or all Evil is left, the game is over and that group wins. Remember, even though you may die, the things you said might provide valuable information to help your group win.

Battle
A Battle occurs between the Werewolves and the player they attack. A player may only use a sign that is shown on their card. The outcome is decided by one of the most basic
systems known to man:
 Paper beats Rock
 Rock beats Scissors
 Scissors beat Paper
 Evil wins all ties

Additional Roles
Dark Village includes several additional roles to enhance traditional gameplay.
 Priest – Sees the role of a dead player each night
 Mason – Learns the identity of the other Mason
 Dentist – Every third night chooses a player to silence for one day
 Star-Crossed Lover – Chooses a lover the first night. If one dies, both die.
 Fortune Teller – learns one player’s role a night
 Hunter – Kills another player when he dies.
 Peeping Tom – May peek while the Evil players are “awake”
 Thief – Steals the role of one player the first night. The player is dealt a new role.
 Lawyer – Chooses one person to save from lynching each night
 Sheriff – Vote to lynch counts twice
 Farmer – If the farmer dies, the Citizens have 3 days before they starve and die
 Scholar – learns if an Evil is beside him
 Scientist – learns the number of Evil alive
 Magician – Dies on second successful attack
 Village Idiot – May only speak gibberish
 Gravedigger – Buries a player alive during day
 Serial Killer – Kills at night on his own. Not part of either group.
 Psychiatrist – Suspects one player of being the Serial Killer each night. If correct, the Serial Killer is “cured” and becomes a normal Citizen.

Based on Mafia by Dimitry Davidoff and Werewolf by Andrew Plotkin

Games