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Secret Hitler
A tense political bluffing game where players are split into Liberals and Fascists and enact policies while hiding their identity. Votes to form a government and the handling of policy cards interlock, which keeps everyone suspicious of each other every turn.
Rules
Liberals use elections and the Policy record to identify hidden Fascists and Hitler, while Fascists seek office to enact their agenda or elect Hitler Chancellor.
Victory conditions first
Liberals and Fascists compete on two Policy tracks, and Hitler belongs to the Fascist team. Liberals always have a majority but know no identities; Fascist knowledge changes with the player count.
Roles and setup by player count
| Players | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberals | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Ordinary Fascists | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Hitler | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
- 1Place the Fascist track for your player count beside a Liberal track.
- 2Shuffle all 6 Liberal and 11 Fascist Policy tiles into one deck.
- 3Pack every role with its matching Party Membership card plus one Ja! and one Nein ballot, then deal one shuffled envelope to each player.
- 4Choose the first Presidential Candidate at random and give them both placards.
Step 1 — Elect a government
- The President and Chancellor from the last elected government are ineligible to be the next Chancellor Candidate. A nominee from a failed vote is not term-limited.
- Term limits affect only Chancellor nominations. Anyone may become President when the placard reaches them, including the previous Chancellor.
- When only five players remain, only the previous Chancellor is ineligible; the previous President may be nominated.
- Both Candidates may vote for their own government, and every ballot becomes public.
Check for Hitler before legislating
If at least 3 Fascist Policies were already enacted when the government is elected, immediately ask whether the new Chancellor is Hitler. If yes, Fascists win. If no, everyone now knows that player is not Hitler, and the Legislative Session proceeds.
Step 2 — Hold the Legislative Session
- The President and Chancellor cannot communicate verbally or nonverbally during legislation.
- They may not randomize, shuffle, or pass tiles one at a time to test a reaction. Both must inspect and intentionally choose a tile.
- Discarded Policies remain hidden. Afterward, either officeholder may lie about what they saw.
- If fewer than 3 tiles remain after a Legislative Session, shuffle them with the discard pile. Never place the unused tiles on top of the new deck.
After three failed elections
Everyone becomes eligible after chaos
A Policy enacted by chaos does not grant its printed Presidential Power. All existing term limits are also forgotten, so every surviving player is eligible for the next Chancellor nomination.
The Election Tracker resets whenever any new Policy is enacted face up, whether an elected government enacts it or the frustrated populace top-decks it.
Step 3 — Presidential Powers by player count
| Power | Resolution |
|---|---|
| Investigate Loyalty | Secretly view one Party Membership card, never the Secret Role; the same player cannot be investigated twice |
| Call Special Election | Choose another survivor as the next Presidential Candidate; afterward return to the player left of the President who called it |
| Policy Peek | Secretly view the top 3 Policies and return them in the same order |
| Execution | Remove one player; Hitler's death wins for Liberals, otherwise reveal no Party or Role |
Powers are mandatory and single-use
The sitting President who enacted that Fascist Policy must use its Power before the next round. Powers do not stack or carry over.
Veto Power after five Fascist Policies
An accepted veto counts as an inactive government: advance the Election Tracker and pass the presidency. If that fills the third space, resolve the usual chaos top-deck.
Lies and public information
Players may lie about all hidden information. A President may misreport an investigation, and the President and Chancellor may give contradictory accounts of the Policies they saw.
Hitler checks at game end must be truthful
A player must truthfully say whether they are Hitler when executed or when elected Chancellor after 3 Fascist Policies. If they are not Hitler, do not reveal their exact Role or Party.
Edition and background
Designed by Max Temkin, Mike Boxleiter, and Tommy Maranges with art by Mackenzie Schubert, Secret Hitler released as a free print-and-play and crowdfunding campaign in 2015 before its 2016 retail publication. The official site still distributes the game under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
No official Korean edition found
No official Korean edition was found through the publisher or BGG's registered editions. Korean terms in this guide are an original translation used to explain the official English rules.
Frequently confused rules
Q. Do Fascists win immediately after three failed elections?
No. Enact the top Policy, ignore its Presidential Power, and reset both the tracker and existing term limits.
Q. Can chaos elect Hitler after it top-decks the third Fascist Policy?
No. Hitler wins through the next qualifying Chancellor election. A top-decked Policy does not elect a Chancellor.
Q. Do Fascists win if Hitler is elected President?
No. This condition applies only when Hitler is elected Chancellor after at least 3 Fascist Policies.
Q. Does an investigation reveal Hitler?
No. It reveals only Fascist Party Membership, so it cannot distinguish Hitler from an ordinary Fascist.
Q. Does the Chancellor discard both Policies by requesting a veto?
Only if the President agrees. If the President refuses, the Chancellor must enact one of the two Policies.
Sources
Secret Hitler official English rulebook (7 pages)Secret Hitler official site and free print-and-playBoardGameGeek — players, time, weight, and editionsWiki cross-reference — Wikipedia: Secret HitlerWiki cross-reference — NamuWiki search (no matching article verified)Rule summaries are reference content written by us, not quotations from the official rulebook. Always check the official rulebook for exact rules. Diagrams are original schematics, not rulebook illustrations.
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Last updated 2026-09-15
💡 Master tip
Keep questioning how trustworthy each President and Chancellor pairing is, and do the math on the policy card ratio in your head before you vote; that is the key to surviving. As Fascist policies pile up, watch closely who takes the President's seat, because that seat brings more speaking power and more information.
Ready for something heavier
If this one has gotten too easy, try these — same feel, one step up in weight.
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