We were late to The Traitors party. However, after watching one episode, we were hooked. The heady mix of entertainment, strategy, duplicity and deception made it compulsive family viewing.
The Traitors Card Game from Ginger Fox brilliantly translates those compelling aspects of the cult BBC show into a fun, immersive and hugely enjoyable game to play at home.
Suitable for ages eight and up, The Traitors Card Game is for four to eight players.
The aim of The Traitors Card Game
As in the game show, players are – secretly – assigned the role of ‘Faithful’ (good guys) or ‘Traitor’ (bad guy). In the card game, there’s one Traitor and a maximum of seven Faithful at the outset. However, during the game, another Traitor can be recruited. Players work together to build up a communal prize pot of gold. The mission of the Faithful is to identify and banish the Traitor/s among them and ultimately win an equal share of the gold. The Traitor/s meanwhile have to try and elude detection until the end of the game to scoop the prize fund. The player with the most gold after a pre-agreed number of rounds wins.
Gameplay (digital version)
Everyone receives a player number card that they place before them (visible to everyone). They are also assigned their role of either Traitor or Faithful, which they must keep secret.
You can play a non-digital version of the game, but we scanned the QR code to access all the digital features, which I’d recommend (there’s also a mini game to play).
Each player is dealt three cards from the 60-card game deck. On their turn, players draw another card and then discard any of the cards in their hand. ‘Gold cards’ can be added to the shared prize fund, ‘dagger cards’ can be used to force another player to show their hand and ‘shield cards’ protect a player from a murder attempt. On drawing a ‘Traitor card’, a player can decide whether to become a Traitor or remain Faithful. The ‘event cards’ can result in a murder, banishment or a quiet night. A banishment leads to an open discussion between all players about who everyone suspects. It can get quite heated!
A round ends when only two players remain, if all players agree the Traitor/s are eliminated or on reaching the ‘final banishment’ card (at the end of the playing deck).
What we think about The Traitors Card Game
In short, we love it! The game isn’t particularly complex, and in no way is that a criticism; it’s a huge plus. Both the kids and the adults got into it, slipping into character, creating suspense and adding to the overall drama. We played as a five and six, which was perfect; I’d also love to try with higher numbers. I think four would be less exciting.
The digital version is highly immersive; the music, sound effects and interactive elements really add another dimension, making the game more faithful to the TV show and the banishments and murders very authentic. We loved casting the votes and revealing them on the screen to the dramatic thumping heartbeat.
The Traitors Card Game keeps you guessing. Despite its relative simplicity, it is never obvious who the Traitor is; quite the opposite. Each game is different and involves trust, treachery and bluffing (something we also love about Kaker Laken Poker). The game has firmly cemented itself as a family favourite.
It would make a great Christmas present and would be perfect festive entertainment.
Available from Amazon and on the Ginger Fox website for just £11.99.
