Mission Brief
Everyone at the table knows where you are - a hospital, a submarine, a wedding - except one player. That player is the spy. In Spy you ask each other questions about the place, answer carefully and point at whoever sounds lost, while the spy listens, bluffs and tries to work out the location before the table works out who they are. Nightroom deals the cards, keeps the time and counts the hands, all in your browser with built-in voice chat: no cards, no moderator and no registration.
Rules: How to Play
1
Each round deals a location and a spy
At the start of a round every player gets a case card. All of them show the same location, except one: the spy's card is blacked out. The spy is picked at random every round, so the same person can be the spy twice in a row.
2
Everyone sees the same ten locations
The round's list holds the real location and nine others. All players see the same ten, so nobody can tell the spy by their screen, and the spy has a fair chance to guess.
3
Talk, ask and listen
There is no turn order: ask anyone anything about the place. Agents want questions that prove they know the location without giving it away. The spy wants answers vague enough to fit and sharp enough to sound sure.
4
Point at your suspect
Each player, the spy included, has one hand. Put it on any other player at any time, move it, or take it back by tapping the same player again. Everyone sees whose hands are where.
5
The round ends on time or by agreement
The discussion runs on a timer. If every player except one points at that one, a five-second countdown starts and the round ends early unless someone moves a hand.
6
The spy makes a final move
After every discussion the spy gets thirty seconds to name the location. The rest of the table just waits, so nobody knows whether they caught the right person until the reveal.
7
Reveal and score
The round result shows who won and why, then the case card with the location and the spy's name. Points add up across rounds, and the player with the most points wins the game.
Goal of the game
Agents win a round by catching the spy and keeping the location safe. The spy wins by staying hidden, or by naming the location even after being caught. Over several rounds everyone plays both sides, so the winner is whoever scores best overall.
When is the spy caught
When the discussion ends, Nightroom counts the hands.
- Majority
- A player is the suspect if more than half of the other players point at them. At a table of three, both other players must agree.
- No majority
- If nobody gets more than half, or two players are tied, the spy has slipped away.
- Wrong suspect
- If the majority points at an agent, the spy has slipped away too.
Scoring
Points are counted every round and add up over the game. The player with the most points wins; equal points share the win.
- Spy not caught
- +2 to the spy, +1 for naming the location, and +1 more if nobody had a hand on them at all.
- Spy caught, names the location
- +2 to the spy and nothing more.
- Spy caught, misses or runs out of time
- The agents win: +1 to every agent.
- Hand on the spy
- +1 to every agent whose hand was on the spy when the discussion ended, whoever won the round.
Locations
The base pack has 50 locations, from an airport and a casino to a polar station and a pirate ship. A location that was the answer in one round never comes back in the same game, not even as an option, so the list keeps changing.
Notes and the location card
Open your case card from the footer whenever you need it - it stays open until you hide it. In the round's location list you can cross places out as you rule them out. Crossed-out places stay readable on hover and can still be picked: they are notes, not a lock.
Room settings
- Players
- From 3 to 12.
- Round length
- From 3 to 15 minutes of discussion, 8 by default.
- Rounds
- From 1 to 10 per game, 3 by default.
Tips and strategy
- For agents
- Ask questions only someone who knows the place could answer, but that would fit several places on the list. "How did you get here?" works better than "How deep are we?"
- For the spy
- Listen first. Cross out locations that do not fit the answers, and answer in general terms that match the few that are left.
- Watch the hands
- Hands move all round. A sudden wave of hands on one player often says more than their answers.
As the spy, put your hand on someone early. A spy who never points stands out - and when the table piles onto an agent, your hand helps end the round in your favour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Create a room on Nightroom, choose Spy and share the invite with your friends. Everyone joins from the browser with voice chat, gets a case card and starts asking questions. No download and no registration are needed - guests can play right away.
From 3 to 12. Three is enough for a full game, and the more players there are, the harder it is for the spy to blend in.
A round is 3 to 15 minutes of discussion, 8 by default, plus a short reveal. A standard game of 3 rounds takes about half an hour.
Yes. The spy is picked at random every round, so it can happen twice or even three times in a row.
Yes, everyone sees the same ten locations for the round. The spy's job is to work out which one is real.
If no player has more than half of the other players' hands when time runs out, the spy wins the round. The spy still gets the final move and can earn a bonus point by naming the location.
It is the same kind of game: everyone but one knows the place. Nightroom's version adds hands instead of a single accusation, a final move for the spy every round, and scoring across several rounds.
Yes. Spy is free to play on Nightroom, in English, Ukrainian and Russian.