Date Posted: 2017-10-07
Secret Hitler is a game where you and your friends are secretly divided into two teams, Liberals (the "good" guys) and Fascists (the "bad" guys). One of the Fascists will be additionally designated as "Hitler", and there are some related rules that we will go over later. Their objectives are to enact 5 Liberal or 6 Fascist policies respectively.
Players will take turns to be the President, usually clockwise around the table. The President will then select a player to be the Chancellor and all the players (including the President and Chancellor) will vote "Ja" (yes) or "Na" (no). If more than half of the players vote "Ja", the President and Chancellor will form the Government and go into session. Take note that the last elected President and Chancellor cannot be nominated as the Chancellor.
During a session, the President will secretly view the top 3 policy cards of the Policy Deck. These 3 policy cards can either be all Liberal, Fascist or a mix of both. The President will discard 1 of them, keeping it face-down from everyone else. Thereafter, the President will secretly pass the 2 remaining policy cards to the Chancellor. The Chancellor will choose 1 of the policies to enact and discard the other, still keeping it face-down from everyone else.
If there are already 3 Fascist policies enacted and Hitler is voted in to be the Chancellor, the Fascist win the game. If there are 5 Fascist policies enacted, "Veto Power" is unlocked. Veto Power allows all future Chancellors to reject both policies given by the President if and only if the President also agree. Otherwise, the Chancellor will have to enact one of the given policies as usual.
Depending on the number of players, the President will be granted several of these powers when a number of Fascist policies are enacted.
"Policy Peek" allows the President to secretly view the top 3 cards in the Policy Deck. "Special Election" allows the President to choose the next President. Take note that turn order will revert back to normal after the specially chosen President's turn ends. "Execution" allows the President to kill any player, who will leave the game permanently. "Investigate Loyalty" allows the President to check whether a player is Liberal or Fascist, but will not be able to see whether they are Hitler or not.
If you are a Liberal, always tell the truth. Remember that Fascists (except for Hitler) know each other and creating confusion will only confuse other Liberals. As the President, always give the Chancellor both Liberal and Fascist policies whenever possible, and as Chancellor, always enact Liberal policies. Never, ever say you are the Fascist as it will only harm your team.
If you are Fascist, create confusion. Keep pretending to be a Liberal and only enact Fascist policies when you can make it seem like you have no other choice. As the President, pretend that you had no choice but to give the Chancellor both Fascist policies and as Chancellor, pretend that you only had Fascist policies to enact. Additionally, help Hitler gain the trust from the Liberals by allowing them to enact Liberal policies and do not accuse them of being a Fascist.
If you are Hitler, pretend to be a Liberal. Enact Liberal policies and rely on your fellow Fascists to enact Fascist policies. As President, you may occasionally pretend to have gotten all Fascist policies and had no choice but to give the Chancellor only Fascist policies. However, do not overdo this!
Last but not least, have fun! Secret Hitler is ultimately just a platform for you and your friends to engage with one another. At the end of the day, they will remember not whether the Fascists or Liberals won but the exciting stories and conversations that happened.
Play Secret Hitler here!
Basic Gameplay
Players will take turns to be the President, usually clockwise around the table. The President will then select a player to be the Chancellor and all the players (including the President and Chancellor) will vote "Ja" (yes) or "Na" (no). If more than half of the players vote "Ja", the President and Chancellor will form the Government and go into session. Take note that the last elected President and Chancellor cannot be nominated as the Chancellor.
During a session, the President will secretly view the top 3 policy cards of the Policy Deck. These 3 policy cards can either be all Liberal, Fascist or a mix of both. The President will discard 1 of them, keeping it face-down from everyone else. Thereafter, the President will secretly pass the 2 remaining policy cards to the Chancellor. The Chancellor will choose 1 of the policies to enact and discard the other, still keeping it face-down from everyone else.
Special Cases
If there are already 3 Fascist policies enacted and Hitler is voted in to be the Chancellor, the Fascist win the game. If there are 5 Fascist policies enacted, "Veto Power" is unlocked. Veto Power allows all future Chancellors to reject both policies given by the President if and only if the President also agree. Otherwise, the Chancellor will have to enact one of the given policies as usual.
Presidential Powers
Depending on the number of players, the President will be granted several of these powers when a number of Fascist policies are enacted.
"Policy Peek" allows the President to secretly view the top 3 cards in the Policy Deck. "Special Election" allows the President to choose the next President. Take note that turn order will revert back to normal after the specially chosen President's turn ends. "Execution" allows the President to kill any player, who will leave the game permanently. "Investigate Loyalty" allows the President to check whether a player is Liberal or Fascist, but will not be able to see whether they are Hitler or not.
Tips for New Players
If you are a Liberal, always tell the truth. Remember that Fascists (except for Hitler) know each other and creating confusion will only confuse other Liberals. As the President, always give the Chancellor both Liberal and Fascist policies whenever possible, and as Chancellor, always enact Liberal policies. Never, ever say you are the Fascist as it will only harm your team.
If you are Fascist, create confusion. Keep pretending to be a Liberal and only enact Fascist policies when you can make it seem like you have no other choice. As the President, pretend that you had no choice but to give the Chancellor both Fascist policies and as Chancellor, pretend that you only had Fascist policies to enact. Additionally, help Hitler gain the trust from the Liberals by allowing them to enact Liberal policies and do not accuse them of being a Fascist.
If you are Hitler, pretend to be a Liberal. Enact Liberal policies and rely on your fellow Fascists to enact Fascist policies. As President, you may occasionally pretend to have gotten all Fascist policies and had no choice but to give the Chancellor only Fascist policies. However, do not overdo this!
Final Tip
Last but not least, have fun! Secret Hitler is ultimately just a platform for you and your friends to engage with one another. At the end of the day, they will remember not whether the Fascists or Liberals won but the exciting stories and conversations that happened.
Play Secret Hitler here!