Spyfall was originally created by Alexandr Ushan, and can be played online on the netgames.io platform. Its target audience is quite broad – generally anyone older than 12, since it requires skillful communication and reasoning skills. Given its simple premise, Spyfall can be easily picked up regardless of experience in social deduction games.
Spyfall emphasizes social deduction by involving each player evenly to identify or avoid being identified as the spy, and introducing observable evidence that allows for productive discussions rather than plain guessing.
In the game, an equal amount of effort and thoughtful strategizing is required, no matter what role you have. If you are playing as a spy, you have to try and answer others’ questions in a way that averts suspicion, while figuring out the true location. If you are playing as a non-spy, you need to carefully word questions that do not reveal the location but can help identify the spy, all the while providing enough evidence to show that you are not the spy. Throughout the game, not one player feels left out or irrelevant, and not one player (other than the spy) has more or less information than others. Depending on everyone’s behavior, questions, and responses, all players can provide input and make informed decisions about who to vote for as the spy.
We can compare Spyfall to another popular social deduction game, Mafia, where the goal is, similarly, to identify the odd one out. In Mafia, only people with special roles, such as Mafia, Doctor and Detective, gain special access to relevant information. Most of the other players, whose roles are Townspeople, end up feeling bored and unimportant because they have no concrete evidence to deduce with, and are easily voted out of the game because they have little leverage. In this case, not every player is equally involved, and the lack of accessible evidence leads to a stronger reliance on guessing.
Using the formal elements of the game, we can further expand on what makes Spyfall such a dynamic social deduction game. In terms of player structure, Spyfall is not only a unilateral game, with everyone competing against the one spy, but also a multiplayer game, where a non-spy can gain more points by identifying the spy faster than other non-spies. Moreover, Spyfall operates with multiple objectives: outwitting, solution-finding, capturing identity. These mechanics not only demand quick-thinking skills and makes it hard to win easily, but adds the aesthetic element of fellowship, since there is an inherent need for interaction and communication between each player. Unlike Mafia, which has a strong Magic Circle, Spyfall does not have an elaborate premise beyond spy/ non-spy that explores an ongoing storyline and creates attachment between players and their role. Spyfall could incorporate a more robust narrative aspect that spans multiple rounds in order to better engage the player.
Playing Spyfall with my friends offers real-life evidence for the outcome of the game’s mechanics. Some moments of success occurred when it was difficult to identify the spy, or when a non-spy was wrongly accused: we each used our perspective to accuse or defend, rather than making blind guesses or assumptions. A snippet of discussion went like, “I am suspicious of you because you asked the question about colors, even though it was irrelevant to the location”, “I asked it because I was hoping to get a reaction from…”, “Why did you provide such a vague answer to my earlier question about how fun the location is?” and so on. Some moments of failure were when the spy could be immediately found after someone happened to ask the spy first. We found that when there are few players, there is a high chance the spy will get questioned near the start of the game, causing them to reveal themselves quickly.
Overall, Spyfall is a simple yet effective social deduction game that supports balanced contributions from each player and activates many different types of thinking and reasoning to succeed. It is more enjoyable with more players and could benefit from a more vivid storyline to tie the entire game together.
