My friend have found this gem on steam this week and I just love it. And believe it or not you don’t have to buy it on steam, you can play it for free in your browser.

Town of Salem is a browser-based game base on the table top game Mafia and werewolf  were the challenge lie on using effectively your role, your deductions and your ability to lie convincingly to the other players. Of the 7 to 15 players and 29 roles (and more coming up) nobody know what roles other have each role have its fun way to play. Each Role is either in one of these alignments – Town, Mafia, Serial Killers, Arsonists and Neutrals and are randomly divided to the players. The Town members need to stop the mafia & other evil guys from killing everyone, mafia most eliminate other non mafia except the neutral and have the advantage of knowing which other player is mafia and talk at night but they are fewer in number.

How to play

Like explained before there is a day phase and a night phase. Most role operates at night some during the day (Like the mayor). During there is a discussion phase after something happen the night before, usually accusation and revelation happen there. Once the time is up for the discussion Town members (all players) can vote for whom to accused. If someone is accused and get enough vote he goes on trial (??) he has X second to defend himself and only him may speak. After that every other town member vote Guilty or innocent or they may abstain (which can be important if they lynch a jester). If the target is guilty they hang him (or another gruesome death) and is death note is reveal  were the player that was executed my leave a message to help is team.

Like I said before most roles are used during the night. At night, the mafia choose who to kill, frame, blackmail, etc. Serial killer, werewolf and arsonist chose there target too. Body guard can decide who to protect and can use a vest to protect himself once per night. Medium can takes that time to contact who was killed. Doctor can chose who to save. People that are killed during the night can leave there will like the one who died in trial.

Check out this video of me and my buddy playing:

Why I just love it ? because I used to play werewolf with my friend a lot a few year back and I always wished to be able to play online. Unfortunately you don’t have to body language and voice cue of a face to face table top game that can give away information. But there are other way to compensate that, roles give power to investigate name and the chat can give away cue, most mafia seem to lay low at the beginning or to accuse the wrong people.