01. The Premise

Welcome to a social-deception game for friends, inspired by Dennis’s favorite reality show, The Traitors (with a sprinkle of Survivor, Big Brother, and RuPaul’s Drag Race thrown in). The game will consist of challenges, daggers, shields, clues, murders, trials, and backstabbing. (For a quick explanation, reference the children’s game “Mafia.”)

Once the game begins on-site, players will be blindfolded, and the hosts will secretly tap a select number of players on the shoulder to designate them as Traitors. The remaining guests will be Faithfuls.

The Faithfuls are trying to identify and eliminate the Traitors. The Traitors are trying to survive until the end without being exposed. Once the Traitors have been selected, the game is underway and will continue until the end.

02. Roles

03. Challenges

• Challenges will take place throughout the game and will allow players to win shields that protect them from being “murdered” by the Traitors.
• The winner or winners of each challenge will receive an advantage: either a clue, a dagger, or a shield. A clue provides a hint towards the identity of the traitors, a dagger provides the recipient with an extra vote during one banishment, and a shield protects its holder from being murdered by the Traitors (but it does not protect them from being banished). Shields are automatically active and do not need to be played.

04. Faithful Elimination (AKA Murder)

• During each round, the Traitors will collectively agree on one player to eliminate, or “murder.”
• The host will announce the eliminated player at an appropriate time: immediately afterward, before a meal, or before the next challenge.
• The eliminated player will immediately join the Jury upon announcement.
• If the Traitors cannot agree on a target within the deliberation period provided by the host, they will lose control of the elimination, and the hosts will randomly select a player to eliminate.

05. Banishment Round Table

• The group will vote to eliminate one player they suspect is a Traitor.
• Votes will be written on personal chalkboards and read aloud one by one, beginning with the player called on first by the host.
• Before voting begins, the host will ask whether any player has an advantage they would like to use. Advantages may only be played at this time.
• Once voting begins, no talking is allowed.
• The player with the most votes will be eliminated. The eliminated player must immediately reveal their role by saying, “I am a Traitor” or “I am Faithful.”
• The eliminated player will immediately join the Jury.

TIES: If there is a tie, the tied players will participate in a revote. Only the tied players will be eligible to receive votes. If the vote remains tied after the revote, a coin flip will determine who is eliminated.

RECRUITMENT RULE: If a Traitor is eliminated and only one Traitor remains, the remaining Traitor may forgo a “murder” and recruit a Faithful to become a Traitor. Recruitment is optional and may only be used once during the game.

06. Jury Banishment

• The Final 5 will be seated facing the Jury.
• Each finalist will have 30 seconds to explain why they deserve to remain in the game. No interruptions are allowed.
• The Jury may not ask questions. Finalists may only make statements.
• Jury members will vote for the player they want to banish.
• The player who receives the most votes will be eliminated.
• After the banishment, the game will continue with the remaining four players.

07. The Final Trial

• At the Final 5, each remaining player will receive a pouch containing one green ball and one red ball.
• At the hosts’ direction, each player will reach into their pouch, select one ball, and keep it concealed in their hand.
  Green: You wish to end the game. Red: You wish to banish someone.
• If a red ball is revealed, a live banishment will take place immediately. Any eliminated player or players will be removed from the game without revealing their roles.
• The game ends when all remaining players reveal a green ball.
• Once the game ends, all remaining players will reveal their roles. If one or more Traitors remain, the Traitors win. If no Traitors remain and all surviving players are Faithfuls, the Faithfuls win.

01. Social Rules

• Lying is not just allowed — it is encouraged. Claim to be a Traitor. Deny being one. All fair.
• No screenshots of the Traitor group text under any circumstances.
• No revealing your role voluntarily in a way intended to collapse the game.
• No physical interference with another player's game decisions.
• Jury members may interact freely with active players — but may not share game information or campaign for outcomes.
• Highlands is the base of operations. Players who stay elsewhere do so at their own strategic disadvantage.

02. The Hosts

• Manage the Traitor group text and receive all banishment decisions.
• Run all challenges.
• Run all banishment voting.
• Announce "murdered" players.
• Adjudicate all disputes — ruling is final, no appeals.
• Do not share game information with any player under any circumstances.