About The Trial

A show trial. One player is the Defendant (secretly innocent or guilty). Three are Prosecutors. Three are Witnesses (some lying). One is the Judge (with a secret bias card). Mid-game, two Witnesses secretly swap allegiance.

8-8 players (best with 8) · 25–40 min · Party-Strategy Hybrid

How a round plays out

1. 1

   Roles dealt

   Defendant draws Innocent/Guilty. Judge draws Bias toward Conviction or Acquittal.

2. 2

   Three rounds of testimony

   Each Witness gives a statement: true if Truth card, false if Lie card.

3. 3

   Mid-game flip

   After Round 2, two Witnesses secretly swap allegiance. Past testimony becomes unreliable.

4. 4

   Interrogation

   Prosecutors and Defendant cross-examine.

5. 5

   Verdict

   Judge rules. The Bias card determines who really wanted what.

Roles

Defendant(1)

Secretly Innocent or Guilty. Wins with the matching verdict.

Prosecutor(3)

Wants conviction. Interrogates witnesses.

Witness(3)

Has a Truth or Lie card. Mid-game, two flip allegiance.

Judge(1)

Has a secret Bias card. Final ruling determines outcome.

How to win

Innocent + Acquitted

Defendant + Acquittal-biased players.

Guilty + Convicted

Prosecutors + Conviction-biased Judge.

Mistrial chaos win

Judge ruling against their bias = Witnesses win.

Tips for new players

Witnesses: stay vague

Specific lies are easy to fact-check. Vague truths read as suspicious.

Judge: lean against your bias publicly

A Conviction-biased Judge who shows skepticism reads as fair.

Defendant: target one Prosecutor

Cracking one Prosecutor's narrative cascades.

What makes it interesting

Asymmetric information at every layer. The Defendant doesn't know if the Judge is biased toward them. Witnesses don't know if other Witnesses are lying. The role flip means consistency isn't proof.

The Judge has more power than anyone — but if their bias card leaks, they lose all credibility.