How to Play Secret Hitler: Setup, Strategies, and More

Are you looking to spice up your game night with some fun social deduction and backstabbing? In Secret Hitler, you and 5–10 of your friends are secretly split into teams with hidden identities. Over multiple rounds, you’ll work together (or against each other) while you try to figure out who is a Liberal, a Fascist, or Hitler. You’re probably excited to get Secret Hitler to the table and start playing, so keep reading for everything you need to know to play, from setup to strategies, with strategy tips from board game expert Ashton Wu!

How to Play Secret Hitler

Board game expert Ashton Wu says that paying attention to players’ behavior and body language is key to playing Secret Hitler. Here’s an overview of the game rules:

Set the Liberal and Fascist boards for the number of players (5-10).
Shuffle the Liberal and Fascist policies in the same deck.
Load envelopes with Secret Role, Party Membership, and Ja/Nein cards.
Shuffle the envelopes and pass them out.
Fascists, secretly reveal yourselves to each other.
Enact 5 Liberal Policies or execute Hitler if you’re on the Liberal team.
Enact 6 Fascist Policies or name Hitler Chancellor after 3 Policies if you’re Fascist.

Section 1 of 7:

Secret Hitler Objective

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Every round, a player will select either a Liberal or Fascist Policy to add to their team’s board. If you’re on the Liberal team, you won’t know who’s on your team and who’s working against you, but you’ll want to add a Policy to your team’s board every round if it’s possible.^{[1]
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Meet the wikiHow Expert

Ashton Wu is a board game expert, playthrough director, and tournament commentator. He reviews board games on his YouTube channel Shelfside, where he has over 45,000 subscribers.
As a Fascist, you’ll want to pick Fascist policies to enact, but you won’t want to let everyone know that you’re playing for that team. You’ll know who your teammates are, but you’ll have to try fooling everyone else that you’re a Liberal so you can blend in.^{[2]
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Every round, a player is elected the Chancellor and enacts Policies. Once the Fascist team fills the track halfway, you can automatically win on any round Hitler becomes Chancellor. At that point, you’ll have to try and persuade the Liberal team to vote for that player without giving yourselves away.^{[3]
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Section 2 of 7:

How to Set Up Secret Hitler

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Set out the Liberal and Fascist boards for the number of players playing. You’ll use the same Liberal board no matter the player count. Check the bottom of the red Fascist boards and find the one for the number of players you have. Put the boards somewhere where all the players can easily reach them.^{[4]
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- Secret Hitler can be played with 5-10 players.
- The actions on the Fascist boards are different depending on how many people are playing.
There are 6 Liberal and 11 Fascist Policy tiles in the game. Shuffle them all together so they’re mixed well and set the stack down onto the draw pile space on the Liberal board.^{[5]
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Fill an envelope with a Secret Role and Party Membership for each player. There are 10 Secret Roles and 10 Party Membership cards. Check if the Secret Role card says Liberal or Fascist and pair it with a matching Party Membership card. Hitler will always get a Fascist Party Membership card and a Hitler Secret Role card. Put each pair of cards into a separate envelope.^{[6]
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- The Party Membership card makes it easier to see which team you’re on when you peek into your envelope.
- At the end of the game, just leave the Secret Role and Party Membership cards in the envelopes for a quicker setup next time!
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Set out the envelopes depending on your player count. There will always be more players on the Liberal team than the Fascist team, but the exact number depends on how many people are playing.^{[7]
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- With 5 players, use 3 Liberals, 1 Fascist, and Hitler.
- With 6 players, use 4 Liberals, 1 Fascist, and Hitler.
- With 7 players, use 4 Liberals, 2 Fascists, and Hitler.
- With 8 players, use 5 Liberals, 2 Fascists, and Hitler.
- With 9 players, use 5 Liberals, 3 Fascists, and Hitler.
- With 10 players, use 6 Liberals, 3 Fascists, and Hitler.
Shuffle the envelopes together before handing one to each player so the person who filled them doesn’t know what team everyone is on. Then, give each player 1 “Ja!” card and 1 “Nein” card so they can cast votes later in the game.^{[8]
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Everyone looks at their Secret Role and Party Membership privately. Take a peek at what’s inside your envelope, but don’t let anyone else see! Be careful not to make any expressions that could give away what team you’re on.^{[9]
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- If you’re on the Liberal team, try to tell the truth. Lying can make you look untrustworthy and like a member of the Fascist team.
- If you’re on the Fascist team, you want to try and convince the other players you’re Liberal so you can gain their trust before enacting your own Policies.
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Fascist players secretly reveal themselves to one another. Once you all know your roles, you can either use the official Secret Hitler app to give the next directions or you can say them among the group.^{[10]
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- For 5–6 players, everyone closes their eyes. Have the Fascist team and Hitler open their eyes and acknowledge each other. Take a long pause and tell everyone to close their eyes again.
- For 7–10 players, everyone closes their eyes and puts their fist out in front of them. All Fascists but Hitler open their eyes and acknowledge each other. Ask Hitler to stick up their thumb so the Fascists know. Pause, then have everyone close their eyes and lower their hands.
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Every round has an Election and Legislative Session. You’ll play the game in rounds until either the Liberal or Fascist team completes its objective. During an Election, players will vote on a President and Chancellor. Then, in the Legislative Session, the Chancellor will enact a Policy.^{[11]
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- Some Legislative Sessions will trigger special Executive Actions that the President can take.

Section 3 of 7:

Election

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For the first round of the game, choose a random player to start as the Presidential Candidate. Set the wooden placard labeled “President” in front of them. Then, at the beginning of each following round, pass the Presidential Candidate placard to the next clockwise player.
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The Presidential Candidate nominates a Chancellor. As the Presidential Candidate, you can choose one other person to give the Chancellor placard to. You’ll want to find someone on your team to help you enact your Policies. You can openly talk to the other players at the table and ask for their opinion, but it’s ultimately your decision on who you choose.^{[12]
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- Any player can say whatever they want to convince the Presidential Candidate to nominate them as Chancellor. You can even lie about what team you’re on!
- The players who were last elected President and Chancellor cannot be nominated as Chancellor in the following round. If there are only 5 players, then only the last Chancellor cannot be nominated.
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Every player votes “Ja” or “Nein” for the Presidential Candidate and Chancellor. Everyone, including the Presidential Candidate and Chancellor nominee, can vote. Choose “Ja” if you agree with the nomination or “Nein” if you disagree. What happens next depends on who won the vote.^{[13]
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- If there’s a tie or a majority of players vote “Nein,” find the Election Tracker on the Liberal board and move the token up 1 space. Pass the Presidential Candidate placard clockwise and have the player nominate a new Chancellor.
  - If you tie or vote “Nein” 3 times in a row, immediately reveal the top Policy of the stack and immediately place it on the matching board. Whenever the token reaches the end of the track, reset it to the bottom.
- If a majority of players vote “Ja!”, the candidates become the President and Chancellor. If there are already 3 Fascist Policies enacted, ask the Chancellor if they are Hitler.
- The player must be honest and if they are Hitler, the Fascist team immediately wins. Otherwise, the game continues.

Section 4 of 7:

Legislative Session

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The President draws the top 3 Policies and discards 1 of them. Take the top 3 Policy tiles, but keep them hidden from the other players. Choose 1 that you want to get rid of and set it face down in the discard pile without showing anyone what it was.^{[14]
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- If there aren’t enough Policy tiles in the stack in later rounds, shuffle the discard pile and draw pile together to form a new stack.
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The Chancellor chooses to enact one of the remaining Policies. The President hands the Chancellor the 2 remaining Policy tiles without any form of verbal or non-verbal communication. The Chancellor secretly looks at the Policies, then picks one to discard and one to enact. Then, they place the enacted tile on the matching team’s board.^{[15]
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- If the Chancellor enacts a Fascist Policy, it could mean the President or the Chancellor is on the Fascist team, but it may have been an unlucky draw. Remember, you can lie and deceive the other players about why you made a decision.
- After 5 Fascist Policies have been enacted, the Chancellor can choose to veto the 2 Policy tiles they have to choose from.
  - If the President agrees, discard the Policy tiles, move the Election Tracker up 1 space, and pass the Presidential Candidate placard clockwise to start a new election.
- You can always ask a player why they chose that specific policy, but they may not tell the truth.

Section 5 of 7:

Executive Actions

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The President gets to use an Executive Action if the Policy covers it. When Fascist Policies are enacted, there might be a special Executive Action that can help out the Liberal team. Pictures on the board will help remind you which action activates. The President must use the action before the next Election starts.^{[16]
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- If there wasn’t an Executive Action on the covered space, then start the next Election.
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Investigate Loyalty lets the President investigate any player. The President picks a player who has to hand their Party Membership card to them. The President checks the card in secret and returns it to the player. The player doesn’t have to show their Secret Role.^{[17]
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- Players can only be investigated once per game.
- The President can choose to lie or tell the truth about what they saw on the card.
The President hands their placard to any player that they want to make the next Presidential Candidate. They’ll nominate a Chancellor and run an Election like normal. After the Special Election, the placard goes to the player to the left of the President who used the Executive Action.^{[18]
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The President gets to look at the top 3 Policy tiles of the stack. They keep the tiles secret but must return them in the same order. They can choose to tell the truth or lie about what they saw.^{[19]
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The President chooses one player to execute by saying “I formally execute [player name].” When they do, they must ask them if they were Hitler. If they were Hitler, they must answer truthfully, then the Liberal team automatically wins. However, if they were not, then the person is out of the game and their Party Membership is kept secret.^{[20]
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Section 6 of 7:

Secret Hitler Strategies

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If you’re on the Liberal team, try to tell the truth. Lying can make you look untrustworthy and like a member of the Fascist team. Be honest about your decisions on votes, dive into your suspicions, and communicate with your team. As a Liberal, you’re trying to figure out who Hitler is, so lying to the other players can put your team at a disadvantage.^{[21]
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- Wu says, “The Liberals really need to identify which of the players might be Hitler ASAP.” He adds that the Liberal team should be careful not to elect someone unproven as Chancellor in later rounds, since that will lose the game.^{[22]
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If you’re on the Fascist team, lie about your allegiance. You want to try and convince the other players you’re Liberal so you can gain their trust before enacting your own Policies. If you reveal that you’re a fascist, the Liberal team can choose to go against your decisions, and as the majority team, they will beat you. So, do your best to subtly manipulate other players into believing you’re Liberal and get your policies enacted.^{[23]
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Lean Liberal if it’s your first time playing as Hitler. “Hitler himself is probably the trickiest role to play,” explains Wu. “He cannot be too vocal about being a fascist from the get-go; otherwise, he will just never be picked as Chancellor, and that win condition is removed for his team.” Wu adds that in the early game, Hitler “may just want to play safe and pretend to be liberal” to avoid raising suspicion.^{[24]
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- Let the Fascists subtly shift the Policies into your favor. Vote for and enact Liberal Policies when you can, and let the Fascists advance their agendas when it’s their turn. If you reveal yourself in any way, you can put the Party in jeopardy of losing.^{[25]
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Once you’re familiar with playing Hitler, selectively discard Liberal Policies. Discard certain Liberal Policies when you’re able to explain your decision so you can subtly harm the Liberal team. Try not to get into any disputes with other players when you do, though, as it may raise suspicions and lead to you being cut out of the game before you can get elected.^{[26]
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As a Liberal, slow down the vote by discussing information. Since the Fascist team might try to rush to a decision to get their Policies enacted, slow them down by discussing all of the information you have so far with your team. By working with your team and discussing all of the information you have, you can figure out who is a Fascist and deliberately work against them to slow down their Policies.
- Wu says to use social deduction to figure out what team each player is on. He says to be especially mindful of “body language and people going silent [or] loud at weird times. If someone is really riling on another person for [no] reason, try to use logic to unravel why they may be acting that way. For instance, a lot of Fascists will be extremely quick to throw Liberals under the bus.”^{[27]
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As a Fascist, focus on electing Hitler. While enacting six Policies is a way to win, you’ll have a much easier time winning if you put your efforts towards electing Hitler, as the player will already be appealing to the Liberal team. If you focus on electing Hitler, you can throw the Liberal team off, as it’ll seem like everyone is voting for Liberal policies. The distrust sewn will make it easier to elect Hitler or Fascist presidents later in the game.^{[28]
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Ask people to explain their decisions. Even though other players can lie, your line of questioning can help figure out who’s who. Ask the President about who they’re planning on investigating, appointing, or assassinating and why, ask others why they voted the way they did, ask whatever questions you can to get some more information on who’s who, as you can use that information to sway Policies in your team’s favor.

Section 7 of 7:

Ways to Play Secret Hitler

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Buy the official board game online or in-store. The official board game is available at game stores like Toys “R” Us as well as on the Secret Hitler website for $50. It is also available on Amazon and secondhand online retailers like eBay and Poshmark. If you’re looking to play with friends in person, whether it be at pregames or holiday happenings, the board game is right up your alley. Just set it up on the table, call everyone over, and get to gaming.
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Play the free online adaptation. Secret Hitler Online takes the original board game and redesigns it for online play. All you have to do to get a game going is enter your name, click "Create Lobby," and invite friends or activate bots. You can also join other lobbies by entering your name and the lobby name, then clicking "Join."
- The online adaptation supports up to 10 players.
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Print out your own version at home. The creators of Secret Hitler offer a Print & Play version of the game through a PDF. It includes the boards, the Role and Membership cards, the “Ja!” and “Nein” cards, and everything else you need to get the game going. All you need is some paper, a printer, and a pair of scissors to cut everything out.