Werewolf Setup: Choose Roles for Your Group

To prepare a Werewolf role setup, first count the people who will receive a role, then use your version’s recommended distribution. There is no single number of wolves that works for every edition and combination of powers. With a human moderator outside both teams, ten people at the table means only nine player roles to deal.

Here is a way to plan your setup before game night. For individual powers, see our Werewolf character guide.

Count players before counting wolves

List the people who will be present when the game starts. Separate players, any moderator and people who would rather watch. Someone arriving later should not count as an occupied player slot.

Next, check the limits of your box or app. Different versions do not necessarily support the same group sizes. If your group exceeds the version’s capacity, arrange separate groups with suitable narration for each, or choose another activity.

Use this simple check: one place in the game, one role assigned under its rules. The moderator should not accidentally receive the last secret role intended for the village.

A ten-person example, including the moderator

Under Stellar Factory’s rules, ten people can use one Moderator, two Werewolves, one Seer, one Doctor and five ordinary Villagers. That is ten people in total, with nine playing on the teams.

This example belongs to that version; it does not describe Loup-garou Undercover’s settings. For a different group size or different characters, return to the relevant rules’ setup instructions.

Another friend joins before roles are dealt? Recount and check the distribution again. Do not automatically add a wolf or a new power just because an interesting card is available. If players have already seen their roles and you decide to change the setup, redeal every role before starting. Publicly replacing the only missing role may give information away.

Keep the first setup easy to explain

Start with your version’s base setup. Avoid adding expansions simply because you own them. Before introducing a character, check three things:

• The action makes sense. A newcomer should know what they can do, not just recognise the role’s name.
• Interactions are clear. What happens if two powers affect the same target?
• The win condition is understood. Does the character follow their team’s objective or have a different one?

Everyone can contribute without having a special power. An ordinary Villager plays through questions, observations and votes. Keeping those roles also leaves room for discussion instead of constant explanations of how abilities work.

Once you have chosen the roles, prepare the night call order from the same ruleset. Picking characters from several editions and using an unrelated call sequence can leave an ability without instructions.

Adjust after a game without changing everything

A quick victory alone does not prove that the setup is unbalanced. Before changing the wolf count, ask what shaped the game: a forgotten rule, an accidentally exposed role, a rushed vote or a misunderstood interaction.

For example, if the Seer did not understand how to obtain information, adding another village power does not solve that problem. Explain the action first and try the same base setup again. If you later want to test an allowed variant, change one element at a time and note what it was. This helps you understand your group’s experience; it is not a statistical measure of balance.

Set up with phone narration

Loup-garou Undercover offers narration for a group playing together in person. Find it on the App Store or Google Play, then follow your version’s available options and setup instructions.

Before assigning roles, check the participant count, explain the game rules and keep identities private. Our guide to playing without cards covers preparing the phone and the room.