- who farted how to play centers on secret teams, hidden roles, and social deduction.
- The narrator manages the lights-out phases, role actions, and public announcements.
- Bystanders win by binding and gagging every farting thief before the thieves gain control.
- Farting thieves win when at least one thief escapes or their numbers match conscious bystanders.
- Each round combines secret abilities, open discussion, nomination, and a group vote.
who farted how to play: Game Overview
Who Farted is a social deduction party game for 5–20 players, with an estimated playing time of about four minutes per player and a recommended age of 8 and up. Players are trapped in an elevator with hidden thieves, innocent bystanders, and role-specific characters. The central question is simple: who received the farting treatment?
The game alternates between darkness and discussion. During the lights-out phase, selected roles perform secret actions while players keep their eyes closed. During the lights-on phase, everyone examines the available clues, argues about suspicious behavior, and votes on who should be bound and gagged.
Video Highlights:
- Secretly assigning teams and special roles
- Running the lights-out and lights-on phases
- Using the mind reader, diver, and other character abilities
- Handling nominations, voting, unconscious players, and victory conditions
| Game Element | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Player count | 5–20 players |
| Play time | About 4 minutes per player |
| Main format | Social deduction and hidden roles |
| Public phase | Discussion, accusations, nominations, and voting |
| Secret phase | Role actions during darkness |
| Main objective | Identify and bind the farting thieves |
Farting Thieves
Work together in secret. Each darkness phase, they select a player for the farting treatment. Their goal is to keep enough conscious thieves in play or help at least one thief escape.
Innocent Bystanders
Use discussion, voting, and available role information to identify every thief. They win when all farting thieves are bound and gagged.
Independent Role
With nine or more players, the suicidal pyromaniac has a separate objective: receive the farting treatment and win immediately.
Choose the most experienced player as narrator. If everyone is new, give the narrator role to someone familiar with social deduction games and reading scripted actions clearly.
Setup and Role Distribution
Begin by selecting the narrator. The narrator receives the game setup card and script, chooses the role cards required for the player count, shuffles them face down, and secretly deals one card to every player except themselves.
Every player keeps their role hidden. The role determines the player’s team, available ability, and potential victory condition. The narrator does not receive a secret role and instead coordinates the entire game.
The source rules describe a standard example containing a farting thief, mind reader, innocent bystander, and grandparent. Additional roles become available at higher player counts.
| Player Count | Roles or Actions Introduced |
|---|---|
| All listed player counts | Farting thieves, mind reader, innocent bystanders |
| 5 or more | Diver and the protective peg |
| 7 or more | Grandparent and grandchildren |
| 9 or more | Suicidal pyromaniac and gardener |
| 13 or more | Contortionist |
Choose the Narrator
Select the player most comfortable with the rules. The narrator should keep the setup card and narrator script available throughout the game.
Select the Role Cards
Use the setup instructions to determine which roles belong in the game. Do not reveal the selected cards while preparing the deck.
Deal Secret Roles
Shuffle the role cards face down and deal one to each player except the narrator. Players privately check their cards and keep them hidden.
Explain the Objective
Remind everyone that the thieves, bystanders, and independent role may have different victory conditions. Then begin the first darkness sequence.
Never reveal a role card simply to prove an accusation. The game depends on hidden information, so players should communicate through claims, behavior, and deductions instead.
Lights-Out and Lights-On Phases
Each round follows the same basic rhythm. The narrator asks everyone to close their eyes, reads the appropriate script, and activates roles in the correct order. Once the secret actions are complete, players open their eyes and begin the public discussion.
During the first darkness sequence, the narrator introduces the roles that need to recognize one another or receive starting information. The farting thieves identify their teammates. The mind reader checks whether another player is a farting thief. When the player count allows it, the diver receives the peg, while the grandparent and grandchildren learn that they are all on the innocent bystander side.
| Phase | Player Activity | Narrator Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Darkness begins | Everyone closes their eyes | Read the script and call roles in order |
| Secret abilities | Active roles perform their actions | Confirm information without exposing identities |
| Lights on | Players open their eyes | Announce relevant consequences |
| Discussion | Players question and accuse one another | Track the discussion time |
| Nomination | A player proposes someone for binding | Confirm that another conscious player seconds |
| Defense | The nominated player speaks for about 30 seconds | Keep the process neutral |
| Vote | Players vote simultaneously | Resolve the majority result |
| Next round | The game returns to darkness | Check current role and victory conditions |
After roughly two minutes of discussion, a conscious player nominates someone by pointing to them and making the accusation. Another conscious player must second the nomination. The nominated player receives about 30 seconds to defend themselves.
All players, including the accused player, then vote simultaneously. A thumbs-up supports binding and gagging. A thumbs-down rejects it. A majority of thumbs-up binds and gags the player. A tie or majority of thumbs-down leaves that player unbound.
The narrator should track who is conscious, bound, gagged, protected by the peg, or removed from a role action. Clear pacing prevents accidental clues and keeps the deduction process fair.
Roles, Protection, and Elimination
The special roles create the information and uncertainty that drive each round. Some abilities operate only during the first darkness phase, while others may return in later rounds. Players should remember that a role can provide useful information without making its owner safe from every threat.
| Role | Ability or Information | Important Limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Farting thief | Secretly works with the other thieves and selects a player for treatment | Must remain hidden and depends on the team’s numbers |
| Mind reader | Points to one player and learns whether that player is a farting thief | Can act only while conscious |
| Diver | Holds the peg, which protects its holder from toxic farts | Receiving the peg causes the diver to become unconscious |
| Grandparent and grandchildren | Recognize one another as members of the innocent bystander team | Cannot nominate or vote to bind one another |
| Gardener | May free one bound and gagged player | Appears only with the required player count and an eligible bound player |
| Contortionist | May remove their own bindings if currently bound and gagged | Requires the higher player-count setup |
| Suicidal pyromaniac | Wins immediately if they receive the farting treatment | Operates independently from the two main teams |
The peg is passed during the darkness phase. Its holder is protected from the toxic farts, but the diver is a special exception: if the diver receives the peg, the diver becomes unconscious and the peg is no longer available. A player protected by the peg is not told that the thieves attempted to target them.
The farting thieves then choose one player for the farting treatment. That player normally becomes unconscious. The narrator announces the result when the lights come back on, but the player’s exact role remains hidden.
If the target is the suicidal pyromaniac, that player wins immediately. If the target is protected by the peg or is the diver under the stated protection rule, the treatment does not produce the normal unconscious result.
Use role claims carefully. A truthful mind reader can identify a thief, but revealing that information too early may make the mind reader a priority target in the next darkness phase.
Victory Conditions and Table Strategy
The innocent bystander team should focus on identifying the thieves before the thieves gain numerical control. Binding and gagging a player removes their ability to speak, which changes the quality of later discussions even when that player remains part of the game.
The farting thieves should create uncertainty, protect their teammates through plausible accusations, and avoid allowing the bystanders to establish a reliable voting pattern. Since the thieves select the farting treatment secretly, their choices can also shape suspicion around innocent players.
| Team or Role | Winning Condition |
|---|---|
| Innocent bystanders | All farting thieves are bound and gagged |
| Farting thieves | At least one thief reaches the ground floor alive and conscious |
| Farting thieves | The thieves have an equal or greater number than conscious innocent bystanders |
| Suicidal pyromaniac | Receives the farting treatment |
Track Voting
Notice who starts nominations, who seconds them, and who changes position after a defense. Voting patterns can reveal alliances without requiring a role reveal.
Protect Information
A confirmed innocent should avoid giving every deduction immediately. Information is more valuable when the thieves cannot easily identify its source.
Question Silence
Bound and gagged players cannot answer accusations. Compare their earlier behavior with the claims made by conscious players.
Watch Numbers
Count conscious bystanders and thieves whenever possible. The numerical victory condition can become more important than a single suspicious player.
Round Checklist:
- Confirm which players are conscious, bound, and gagged
- Run the narrator script without skipping role actions
- Pass or remove the peg according to the active rule
- Allow discussion, nomination, defense, and simultaneous voting
- Check both team victory conditions before starting another round
A strong bystander discussion separates confirmed information from speculation. For example, the mind reader’s result may be direct information, while a player’s hesitant defense is only a behavioral clue. Keeping those categories distinct helps the table avoid treating every accusation as equally reliable.
Do not judge a player from one accusation alone. Compare their nominations, defenses, voting choices, and reactions across multiple rounds before committing the table’s vote.
FAQ: Who Farted Rules
Q: How do you start who farted?
Choose a narrator, select the role cards for the player count, shuffle and deal the cards secretly, then begin the first lights-out phase using the narrator script.
Q: How does the voting phase work?
A conscious player nominates someone, another conscious player seconds the nomination, and the accused player receives about 30 seconds to defend themselves. Everyone then votes simultaneously with thumbs up or thumbs down.
Q: What happens when a player is bound and gagged?
The player cannot speak during later discussion. Depending on the active roles and player count, the gardener or contortionist may be able to remove bindings.
Q: How do the innocent bystanders win?
The innocent bystander team wins when all farting thieves are successfully bound and gagged. The thieves can win earlier if at least one escapes alive and conscious or if their number matches or exceeds the conscious innocent bystanders.
Keep every role secret, follow the narrator’s order, and check victory conditions after each vote and darkness phase. That structure keeps the deduction focused and the table moving.