简体中文
English
Website review
This review may include AI-generated content and is not individually verified. Domain, certificate and other facts come from the observed data on this page.
What is Secret Hitler?
Secret Hitler is a social deduction game for 5–10 players about finding and stopping Hitler and a fascist takeover. Players are secretly split into two teams: liberals, who hold the majority, and fascists, who know each other but are hidden from everyone else. The liberals have the votes to control elections if they can trust each other; the fascists win by saying whatever it takes to get elected, advancing their agenda, and seizing power.
The page describes it as a hidden-role party game with a political-history framing, and it is playable for free under a Creative Commons BY–NC–SA 4.0 license. The site says to plan about an hour with a printer and scissors, or roughly $5 and 20–30 minutes at a local print shop. Rules and print-and-play files are linked from Secret Hitler.
Who it suits and what to expect
- Best for: groups of 5–10 who enjoy bluffing, accusation and table talk. The 5–10 range matters because the game depends on enough players to hide the fascists and enough votes to make elections tense.
- Less ideal for: two- or three-player sessions, or groups that dislike confrontation and lying as core mechanics.
- Time and effort: the free route costs printer time and assembly; the print-shop route trades money for speed. Either way, expect a session-length game rather than a filler.
- Tone: the historical theme is deliberate. It is not a generic hidden-role skin, and some groups will find that heavier than a typical party game.
A practical next step: decide whether your group can reliably field 5–10 people, then check the rules PDF and print-and-play files on the official site before committing to a print run. If your group is smaller, a different social deduction game will likely fit better.
How do you play Secret Hitler?
Secret Hitler is a social deduction game for 5–10 players in which a liberal majority tries to pass good policies and stop a hidden fascist team from installing Hitler as chancellor. Everyone's team is secret except that fascists know each other and Hitler.
The basic loop
Each round has three phases:
- Election. The presidency rotates. The president nominates a chancellor, then everyone votes yes or no. If the vote fails, the presidency passes on and the country slides toward chaos. Too many failed elections and the fascists gain ground automatically.
- Legislative session. If the vote passes, the president and chancellor secretly draw three policy tiles, the president discards one, the chancellor discards another, and the remaining tile is enacted. Neither player may say what they saw — but both will claim whatever suits them.
- Powers. When a fascist policy is enacted, the president may gain a one-time power depending on how many fascist policies are already on the board: inspecting a player's party membership, choosing the next president, or — late in the game — shooting someone dead.
How each side wins
- Liberals win by enacting five liberal policies, or by assassinating Hitler.
- Fascists win by enacting six fascist policies, or by getting Hitler elected chancellor after three fascist policies are on the board.
That last condition is the heart of the game: once the fascists are close, the liberals must stop electing anyone they cannot trust, and the fascists must bluff their way into the chancellorship.
What makes it work
The information is deliberately thin. Votes are public, so patterns matter; policy claims are unverifiable, so the table argues about who lied. The liberal team's real challenge is trust — as the site puts it, if the liberals can learn to trust each other, they have enough votes to control elections. Fascists, meanwhile, will say anything to get elected.
The player count changes the feel: at 5–6 players there are few fascists and elections are fragile, while at 9–10 the table is noisy and the fascist team is larger and better coordinated. Budget roughly 45–60 minutes.
Getting a copy
The game is published under a Creative Commons BY–NC–SA 4.0 license, so you can print and play it yourself — the site suggests about an hour with a printer and scissors, or a short trip to a print shop. Rules and print-and-play files are on Secret Hitler. If you want a manufactured box, it ships through Blackbox; for rules questions and variant discussion, BoardGameGeek is the practical next stop.
How many players are needed for Secret Hitler?
Secret Hitler is designed for 5 to 10 players. That range is set by the game itself: it is a social deduction game in which players are secretly split into liberals, who hold a majority, and fascists, who know each other and try to get elected and pass their agenda.
What the player count means in practice
- 5–6 players: Smaller table, so quieter players are more exposed and every vote matters more. Good for groups that already know each other.
- 7–9 players: The middle range where accusations, alliances, and bluffing have the most room. This is often where the game feels most social.
- 10 players: Maximum size. Great for parties, but expect longer discussions and more cross-talk.
A practical next step: if you have fewer than five people, do not try to force it—the hidden-team math stops working. If you have exactly five, plan for a tighter, more suspicious game; if you have eight or more, set aside extra time for debate before each vote. The game is available free under a Creative Commons license, so a group can print a copy and test it before buying a physical edition.
For groups that enjoy this style, other social deduction options include BoardGameGeek for player-count filters and comparisons.
Can I play Secret Hitler for free?
Yes. Secret Hitler is released under a Creative Commons BY–NC–SA 4.0 license, and the site publishes both the rules and a print-and-play file, so you can build a full copy yourself without paying for a commercial edition. The official page is at Secret Hitler.
What "free" actually costs you
The license makes the game free to copy, not free to produce. You still supply the physical parts:
- Time: the site suggests roughly an hour with a printer and scissors.
- Money at a print shop: the site suggests about $5 and 20–30 minutes at a local shop.
- Your own printer: paper, ink, and cardstock or sleeves if you want the cards to survive repeated play.
The license terms matter if you plan to do more than print one copy for your table:
| Allowed | Not allowed |
|---|---|
| Printing a copy for personal play | Selling copies or otherwise profiting commercially |
| Modifying and sharing your version | Releasing it under a different license |
| Crediting the original creators | Submitting anything to an app store |
Who this suits
Print-and-play works well for a group that already meets regularly, is comfortable with scissors and card sleeves, and wants to try the game before buying anything. It suits a classroom, a dorm, or a game night where someone enjoys the craft side. It suits you less if you want a durable boxed set with thick boards and tiles, since paper components wear quickly across many sessions of a 5–10 player game.
A practical middle path: print one copy, play it a few times, and only then decide whether a manufactured edition is worth it. If you would rather not cut anything out, the free rules PDF is still worth reading on its own to judge whether the hidden-role format fits your group.
Where can I buy Secret Hitler?
Secret Hitler is sold in physical form through Blackbox, the publisher, and the official site says it is available everywhere Blackbox ships. The site itself lists a Standard Edition but does not show a checkout or price, so the reliable purchase route is the publisher's own store or a retailer that stocks Blackbox titles. For the official source, start at Secret Hitler.
If you are deciding between buying and making it:
- Buy a printed copy when you want durable components, a box, and no assembly time. Best for a regular game group or a gift.
- Print and play when cost or immediacy matters more than component quality. The game is offered free under a Creative Commons BY–NC–SA 4.0 license, and the site estimates roughly an hour with a printer and scissors, or about $5 and 20–30 minutes at a print shop. That license permits non-commercial copies with credit and the same license, but not commercial resale or app-store distribution.
A practical next step: check the official site's Editions section for the current Standard Edition, then compare shipping from Blackbox against a local game store that carries it. If you mainly want to try it before committing, download the rules and print-and-play files first and run a session with five or more players.
Can I make my own version of Secret Hitler?
Yes, but only within the terms of its Creative Commons license. The official site states that Secret Hitler is released under CC BY–NC–SA 4.0, which sets three main conditions: you must credit the original creators, you may not profit from it commercially, and any version you distribute must carry the same license.
That makes personal and community use fairly straightforward, while commercial use is off the table. A few practical implications:
- Credit is required. Your version needs to acknowledge the original game.
- No commercial profit. Selling copies, charging for access, or monetising it in other ways is not allowed under this license.
- Share-alike applies. If you distribute your version, it must be licensed under the identical CC BY–NC–SA 4.0 terms.
- App stores are excluded. The site specifically notes you cannot submit anything to an app store.
A realistic scenario: a print-and-play remake for your own group, a translated edition shared freely with attribution, or a custom-themed deck given away at a game night are all consistent with the stated terms. A paid product, a Kickstarter, or a mobile app are not.
One caution: the site describes its own summary as not exhaustive, and places the responsibility for avoiding infringement on you. If your plans involve money, distribution at scale, or anything app-based, treat the license text itself as the authority and consider getting legal advice rather than relying on a summary.
For the official rules and files to build from, see Secret Hitler.
NS1
Netlify
User reviews (0)