How Do You Play Betrayal.io?

Updated

Betrayal.io is an online multiplayer social deduction game for 6 to 12 players. You are assigned to one of two sides: betrayers, who win by sabotaging and eliminating the crew, and crew members, who win by working together to identify and remove the betrayers. The official site describes it as inspired by Werewolf, Town of Salem, and Among Us, and it is currently in alpha, with PC, iOS, and Android versions listed as coming soon.

The two roles

Role Goal How you get there
Betrayer Win as the betrayer Betray your teammates — sabotage, deceive, and avoid being voted out
Crew member Win as a team Cooperate, share information, and vote out the betrayers

The core tension is that both sides look identical at the start. Nothing on the surface tells you who is a betrayer, so every round becomes a mix of observation, argument, and voting.

What a round looks like

  1. Match starts with 6–12 players. The game assigns roles secretly, so you only know your own.
  2. Play proceeds in rounds. Crew members try to complete their objectives and stay alive; betrayers try to stop them without being caught.
  3. Discussion happens between rounds. Players talk, accuse, and defend. This is where most of the game is actually decided — a convincing lie can be as strong as a correct deduction.
  4. The group votes. The player with the most votes is removed. Vote wrong and you lose a crew member; vote right and you cut into the betrayers' numbers.
  5. A side wins. Crew members win by eliminating all betrayers. Betrayers win by reaching their own win condition before that happens.

Why it plays differently from a solo game

Because the outcome depends on what other people believe, not just on what is true, Betrayal.io rewards:

  • Tracking behavior over time — who was where, who accused whom, who changed their story.
  • Speaking clearly under pressure — a vague defense reads as guilt to most lobbies.
  • Knowing when to stay quiet — over-explaining is its own tell.

For example, if two players both claim they were together when a sabotage happened, the group's job is to test that alibi against everyone else's account. The betrayer's job is to make that test fail.

Practical notes before you play

  • Player count matters. With 6 players there is very little room for error; with 12 there is more noise for a betrayer to hide in.
  • It is in alpha. Expect the game to change, and treat the current build as a work in progress rather than a finished product.
  • Platform availability is limited for now. The site lists PC, iOS, and Android as coming soon, so check the official page for the current way to play rather than assuming a download is available.

If you have played Werewolf, Town of Salem, or Among Us, the loop will feel familiar: the rules are simple, and the difficulty comes entirely from the other players in the room.