Secret Hitler Rules

Secret Hitler is a game of atmosphere and strategy where two teams faceoff against each other. On one side there are Hitler and the Fascists, on the other there are the Liberals. To win, each party will try to enact policies. To play Secret Hitler, you will need between 5 to 10 players.

Game Contents

• 6 Liberal Policy Tiles,
• 11 Fascist Policy Tiles,
• 10 Secret Role Cards,
• 10 Secret Party Cards,
• 10 Envelopes,
• 10 Ja! Ballot Cards,
• 10 Nein Ballot Cards,
• 1 Election Tracker Marker,
• 1 Liberal Board,
• 1 Fascist board for a game of 5 to 6 players,
• 1 Fascist board for a game of 7 to 8 players,
• 1 Fascist board for a game of 9 to 10 players,
• 1 President Placard,
• 1 Last president Placard,
• 1 Chancellor Placard,
• 1 Last Chancellor Placard,

Roles and Parties

• There are 3 roles: 

– Liberal ,

– Fascist,

– Hitler

• The Liberals don’t know each other.
• The Fascists know each other and know the Hitler identity.
• Depending on the number of players, Hitler may or may not get to know his fascist friends.
• Depending on the role obtained, the player can end up in one of the two following parties:
  

Objective of the Game

• The objective varies according to the role played:

• Important note: As soon as 3 fascist policies have been enacted, ask the Chancellor if he is Hitler.
• If so, the fascists win the game.
• Otherwise, a “Not Hilter” card is given to the Chancellor.
  

Setup

• Place the Fascist board and the Liberal board corresponding to the number of players in the center of the table.
• Shuffle the Liberal policy tiles and the Fascist policy tiles. Place the piles on the table.
• Give a Ja! and Nein ballot cards to each player.
• The roles depend on the number of players:

• Put the Role card and the Corresponding party in each of the envelopes.
• Shuffle the envelopes and give one to each player.
• Every player secretly looks inside their envelope.
• The Role card can be kept in the envelope, but the Party card must be placed face down in front of each player.
• The President is chosen at random and receives the President placard.
• Play moves in a clockwise direction.
  

Before You Begin

For a 5-6 player game:

• All players close their eyes.
• Then Hitler and the Fascists are allowed to open theirs.
• Once they recognize each other, they close their eyes again.
• Everyone opens their eyes and the game begins.

For a game with 7 or more players:

• Every player closes their eyes and raises a fist in the center of the table.
• The fascists open their eyes and get to know each other.
• Hitler gives a thumbs up for the fascists to recognize him.
• The thumb is retracted, the eyes are closed again, then everyone opens their eyes together.
• The game can begin.
  

How to Play

• In turn, each player will take the role of President.
• The President gets to choose a Chancellor, and the Chancellor gets to enact a policy.
• The choice of the President is thus decisive for the victory of a party.
  

1. Electing a Government

• The President chooses a Chancellor.
• Anyone can be chosen except for the last Chancellor and the last President.
• The Chancellor placard is given to the chosen player.
• The rest of the players will proceed to a vote.

• A “Ja!” majority: the President and the Chancellor are elected. Move to the next stage.
• A “Nein” majority or a tie: designate a new President by passing the turn.
• Note: For the good of their party, it is important that the elected Chancellor manages to convince the rest of the players to vote for them.
  

Voting

• To vote, each player places their ballot card face down on the table.
• Once all the players are ready, the ballots are turned face up.
• Important note: If the vote is “Nein” 3 times in a row, a policy is drawn and automatically enacted.
• If the policy enacted is a fascist policy, the power conferred on the President is not activated.
  

• Each time a Chancellor is not elected, the election tracker marker advances one step.
• As soon as a Chancellor has been elected, the tracker marker returns to the first space.
  

Veto Power

• As soon as the fifth fascist policy has been enacted, the veto power is activated.
• The veto power allows the Chancellor not to enact a policy during the Legislative Session.
• Important note: The veto power is subject to the agreement of the President.
• If the President grants the veto, both policy tiles are secretly discarded and the election marker advances.
• If the President opposes the veto, the Chancellor must enact a policy.

2. Legislative Session

• The President draws 3 Policy tiles which they must study carefully.
• They discard one and pass the rest to the Chancellor.
• The Chancellor discards a tile and puts the last one face up on the board.
• The chosen, and therefore enacted, policy is placed on the Fascist or on the Liberal board.
• Important note: The tiles are drawn and discarded in secret.
  

3. Enacting a Policy

• If the enacted policy is a Fascist policy, the President immediately uses its power.

End of a Round

• The outgoing President and Chancellor receive the Last President and Last Chancellor placards, respectively.
• They cannot be elected President and Chancellor in the new round that is about to begin.

Official rules in PDF

Explore the official of Secret Hitler rule in PDF.