The rules in five lines
Each player gets a secret word. Civilians all share the same one, say Cat. Spies get another one, close but different, say Dog. Nobody knows which side they are on.
In turn, each player describes their word in one word or a short phrase, without saying it. Too precise and the spy latches onto you, too vague and you become the suspect.
After the round of clues, everyone votes to eliminate a suspect. The eliminated player reveals their side.
Civilians win once every impostor is out. Spies win when they are as many as the remaining civilians.
Mister White variant. One player gets no word at all. If eliminated, they get one last chance to guess the civilians' word, and if they are right, they win alone. The full rule is right below.
The Mister White rule
Mister White gets no word: their screen, or their slip, is blank. They do not know who the spies are, and the spies do not know who they are. They listen to everyone else's clues and have to make up one that fits.
They never speak first. With nothing to build on, they would give themselves away on the first clue. In our game, if the draw puts them first, they move to the end of the round and the next player opens. On paper, nobody knows who holds the blank slip: let chance decide and accept that they will open now and then. The game will be shorter, not ruined.
Once eliminated, they reveal their role and name one word, only one. If it is the civilians' word, they win alone, even with spies still in the game. In our game, capitals and accents do not count, but a synonym is not enough: it has to be the word. On paper, agree before the game whether a plural counts.
If they are wrong, the game goes on without them. They can also win without ever being eliminated: when no spy is left and they are as many as the civilians, say them against a single civilian, the vote can no longer remove them and they win.
How many impostors per table
The simple rule, the one the game applies by default. One spy up to five players, two from six to eight, three from nine to twelve. Mister White joins from four players, on top of the spies.
The cap is simple too. Spies never exceed half the players minus one, three spies for seven players for instance, and Mister White comes on top. A single Mister White with no spy also holds, the game becomes pure guessing.
On paper, these numbers are set by hand, and the custom is to keep impostors in the minority. On the phone, the host adjusts the spy count and turns Mister White on or off from the setup screen, the game blocks impossible combinations.
Beyond twelve, split into two tables with two different pairs rather than adding a fourth spy. Our game stops at twelve players per room, and the largest table we have seen on The Spy was eight.
How to pick a good word pair
A good pair comes down to one rule: a clue given for one word must also work for the other. Cat and Dog share pet, fur, home, food bowl. The spy can give any of those clues without lying, and that is what hides them.
Avoid opposites. Summer and Winter, Day and Night, Fire and Water feel like pairs because people say them together, but their clues split on the first word: hot against cold, light against dark. The spy is caught in the first round. Those three pairs used to be in our bank, and we took them out.
Avoid two words from the same theme but of a different size too. Stadium and Gym are both about sport, but one is outdoors with a crowd and the other indoors with weights. We replaced it with Tennis and Ping-pong: racket, ball, net, the two words share everything people say first.
Two synonyms, on the other hand, do not make a game. If nobody can tell how the two words differ, the spy has nothing to hide and the civilians have nothing to look for. The right gap shows up across several clues, never on the first one.
A pair does not translate. Croissant and Pain au chocolat works in French and means nothing in English, so our English bank uses Bagel and Donut instead, and the French Raclette and Fondue becomes Fondue and Mac and cheese. If you play in another language, rebuild the pair rather than translate it.
For a table new to the game, start with concrete objects from the travel and everyday lists. Movie and TV pairs need everyone to share the same references.
Twenty classic pairs
The starter pairs, the ones you hand a table discovering the game. One word goes to the civilians, the other to the spy, in whichever order you like.
- Cat / Dog
- Pizza / Burger
- Beach / Pool
- Coffee / Tea
- Car / Motorcycle
- Subway / Bus
- Book / Magazine
- Movie / TV show
- Mountain / Forest
- Baker / Pastry chef
- Soccer / Rugby
- Guitar / Piano
- Apple / Pear
- Tiger / Lion
- King / Queen
- Salt / Sugar
- Train / Plane
- Doctor / Nurse
- Sun / Moon
- Paris / London
These 100 pairs are in the game, along with 228 more. The game draws one at random each round, from the universes the host kept (food, movies...), without repeating a pair until the fresh ones run out.
Twenty food pairs
The theme that gets people talking most. Everyone has an opinion on fondue, and the spy holding mac and cheese does just fine.
- Fondue / Mac and cheese
- Pancake / Waffle
- Grilled cheese / Panini
- Cheddar / Mozzarella
- Espresso / Cappuccino
- Macaron / Meringue
- Mustard / Mayonnaise
- Butter / Margarine
- Rice / Pasta
- Fries / Onion rings
- Salami / Ham
- Oyster / Mussel
- Salmon / Trout
- Chicken / Turkey
- Strawberry / Raspberry
- Melon / Watermelon
- Zucchini / Eggplant
- Cookie / Brownie
- Tiramisu / Panna cotta
- Curry / Stew
Fifteen movie and TV pairs
Heroes, sagas and shows the whole table knows. Check everyone has the references, otherwise the one who has not seen the film passes for the spy.
- Star Wars / Star Trek
- Harry Potter / The Lord of the Rings
- James Bond / Jason Bourne
- Batman / Iron Man
- Spider-Man / Superman
- Darth Vader / Voldemort
- Yoda / Gandalf
- Zombie / Vampire
- Friends / How I Met Your Mother
- Game of Thrones / Vikings
- The Simpsons / South Park
- Toy Story / Shrek
- Frozen / Moana
- Mario / Sonic
- Sherlock Holmes / Hercule Poirot
Fifteen travel pairs
Places and holiday objects. Descriptions stay concrete, which helps tables that are just starting.
- Hotel / Hostel
- Tent / Hammock
- Suitcase / Backpack
- Passport / Visa
- Airport / Train station
- Cruise / Ferry
- Compass / GPS
- Helicopter / Hot air balloon
- Castle / Palace
- Museum / Gallery
- Pyramids / Sphinx
- Rome / Athens
- Venice / Amsterdam
- New York / Tokyo
- Volcano / Geyser
Fifteen sport and hobby pairs
Sports, games and pastimes. The field, the gear and the pace give clues without giving it away.
- Basketball / Volleyball
- Judo / Karate
- Boxing / Wrestling
- Marathon / Triathlon
- Surfing / Paddleboarding
- Kayak / Canoe
- Golf / Billiards
- Badminton / Squash
- Yoga / Pilates
- Chess / Checkers
- Poker / Blackjack
- Jigsaw puzzle / Lego
- Karaoke / Concert
- Salsa / Tango
- Skateboard / BMX
Fifteen everyday pairs
Office, home and clothes. The tightest pairs on the list, for tables that want long games.
- Pen / Pencil
- Stapler / Paper clip
- Printer / Scanner
- Elevator / Escalator
- Sofa / Armchair
- Shower / Bathtub
- Fridge / Freezer
- Oven / Microwave
- Curtain / Blinds
- Washing machine / Dishwasher
- Earbuds / Headphones
- Watch / Alarm clock
- Sweater / Hoodie
- Scarf / Beanie
- Pajamas / Bathrobe
What 84 games of The Spy tell us
The figures below come from our own games. We took every game of The Spy played to the end over the 90 days before 22 September 2026, leaving out games stopped halfway, solo trials and our own test games. That leaves 84, played in 18 rooms over 17 different days. It is the PlaySobr game with the most finished games over that period.
The sample is thin, and we say so: three rooms account for 41 of those 84 games on their own. These are a few groups playing round after round, not hundreds of tables.
The most common table is five players, 47 games out of 84. The others range from three to eight: 4 games at three, 14 at four, 14 at six, 3 at seven and 2 at eight.
A game lasts five minutes at the median, from dealing the words to one side winning, and half of all games fit between three and six and a half minutes. With three or four players the median drops to 3.2 minutes (18 games). With six or more it rises to 6.7 minutes (19 games). The longest took 18 minutes. Tables keep going: more than four games per room on average.
Who wins? The civilians, a little more than two times out of three: 57 games out of 84. The spies won 17, and Mister White won alone 10 times. That last figure is not a rate: the data does not say in how many games the host had left Mister White in play.
What we take from it for your table: the spy plays alone or in a pair against everyone, loses more often than they win, and that is how it should be. If your civilians win every time, pick a tighter pair. If the spy wins every time, pick one further apart.
How to play without a phone
Take as many slips of paper as players. Write the civilians' word on all of them except one or two with the spy's word, and one blank slip if you play with Mister White. Fold, shuffle, hand out.
Whoever prepares the slips knows both words. They sit that round out, or they prepare several rounds ahead in numbered envelopes. Draw lots for who speaks first, then go around the table.
For the vote, everyone points at a suspect at the same time on the count. The eliminated player's slip is unfolded in front of everyone.
Or let the phone hand out the words
The hundred pairs above are enough for a whole evening. If nobody wants to prepare the slips or sit a round out, The Spy on PlaySobr hands out the words. The host creates a room, the others scan a QR code, each player discovers their word in secret on their phone, and the vote happens on screen.
Seven word universes to mix or play pure, Halloween included in season, 328 pairs with no repeats within a room, Mister White and the spy count adjustable, and a single-phone mode that passes from hand to hand for guests without a device. Free, no account, nothing to install, 3 to 12 players.