How to Play Guess the Spy Online
5 min read · Free to play on Boardly · 3–10 players
Rules, modes and player counts: Guess the Spy game page
Last updated
How do you play Guess the Spy online?
Everyone but one player is shown the same secret location, and the group asks each other questions until it can vote out the player who does not know it – while the spy listens for the answer and can win outright by naming the location first.
Game Setup
- 3–10 players — works great at any size in this range
- ~5–8 minutes per round
- One secret location per round (e.g. Beach, Hospital, Space Station)
- One spy — randomly assigned, hidden from other players
Player range, the round timer and the location list for the online version are on the Guess the Spy game page.
How a Round Works
- 1Roles are secretly assignedAll players except the spy are shown the secret location (e.g. "Train Station"). The spy only sees "You are the spy" — they have no idea where everyone is.
- 2Questioning phase beginsPlayers take turns asking each other one question about the location. Keep questions vague enough not to reveal the location to the spy, but specific enough to prove you know it.
- 3The host can call the voteThe host can close the questions and open the vote early. Everyone votes at once, and the player with the most votes is voted out – a tie eliminates nobody. Naming anyone but the spy loses the round for the group.
- 4The spy can guess the locationWhile the questions are still running, the spy can declare "I know the location!" and pick it from the list. A correct guess wins the round outright; a wrong one ends it there and then, with the round going to the group. Once the vote is open the guess is gone.
Tips for Non-Spy Players — How to Find the Spy
- Ask questions that test knowledge without giving the location away
At a beach: 'How crowded is it?' tests the spy but doesn't tell them where everyone is. Avoid 'What do you smell?' — too easy to fake an answer.
- Watch for hesitation and vague answers
Players who know the location answer quickly and naturally. The spy tends to pause, give short answers, or use phrases like "it depends" and "maybe."
- Don't rush the vote
The spy wants you to accuse the wrong person. Let a few rounds of questions reveal patterns before deciding — accusing the wrong player loses the round for your group.
- Compare answers across players
If most players give similar answers and one gives something completely different — that's likely your spy.
Tips for the Spy — How to Survive
- Give confident, vague answers
The worst thing you can do is sound unsure. Be assertive — 'It's always busier than people expect' works for many locations.
- Eliminate locations fast
Listen closely to others' questions and answers — they're leaking information. By round 3–4, you should be narrowing down your guesses.
- Accuse someone early
Counterintuitive, but voting to accuse another player shifts suspicion away from you. Pick someone quiet and call them out.
- Know when to guess
Your window closes the moment somebody opens the vote, so name the location while the questions are still running. Guess right and the round is yours whatever the table thought; guess wrong and you hand it to them.
Guess the Spy Questions
How many people do I need?
Three at the minimum and ten at the most. Three is tighter than it sounds, because there is nowhere for the spy to hide behind other people, and five or six is where the bluffing gets interesting.
Can I play with a bot instead of a person?
No, and that is deliberate. The whole game is people reading each other – a bot asking a canned question tells you nothing, and a bot holding the spy role would empty the round. Invite a third person instead.
What happens if the group accuses the wrong player?
The round goes to the spy, and so does a tied vote, which eliminates nobody. That is the cost that keeps the questioning honest: a group that accuses on a hunch loses as surely as one that never accuses at all.
Can the spy win after being suspected?
Yes, but only while the questions are still running. The spy names the location from the list, and a correct guess takes the round however the table was leaning. It is a real bet: a wrong guess hands the round to the group there and then, and once somebody opens the vote the guess is no longer available at all.
How specific should my questions be?
Specific enough that a person who knows the location can answer naturally, vague enough that a person who does not cannot work it out from the question. That tension is the entire skill of the game.
How long is a round?
Five to eight minutes, which is short enough to play several in a row. Rotating who the spy is across a few rounds is the usual way to play, and it is also how a quiet player stops looking suspicious by default.
Gather 3–10 friends and try it now.
Play Guess the Spy →Or read about Guess the Spy on Boardly first.