The Traitors Anywhere is a new WhatsApp social deduction game (Image: TRAITORS ANYWHERE)
WhatsApp Voice Note – 6.24pm on Monday, September 21: “I’ve just had to pull over for the sheer number of messages that are coming through on my phone! What. The. Actual? You’ve just used my children against me here!”
With six minutes to go before the Round Table ends and another person gets banished, one of the accused is forced to pull over on her way back from work and respond to the allegations that she is a Traitor.
The main accuser is her very own husband. His evidence? One of their children thinks mum is the Traitor because of the way she smiles whenever it’s mentioned at home.
It may not sound like much to go on, but in the world of new WhatsApp game The Traitors Anywhere, it’s enough to get you banished at the Round Table.
(Turns out she was a Traitor and the kid was right!)
In that final few minutes before the voting came to an end and the Traitor was exposed, all hell broke loose.
There were claims and counter claims, voice notes by the dozen, and multiple instances of people changing their vote. One player was so overwhelmed by the sheer number of messages that they didn’t manage to vote in time, something that almost proved costly to the Faithfuls.
There are times when The Traitors Anywhere is every bit as dramatic as the TV show on which it’s based, which is surprising given it plays out entirely on WhatsApp.
Despite the radically different genre, The Traitors Anywhere largely follows the same format as the TV show, complete with daily missions to bank gold and nightly treachery from the murderous Traitors.
Supporting 8-30 players, one person acts as the organiser, whose job is to invite other players and set a start date. The organiser also sets up a WhatsApp group where everybody can chat, discuss theories and point the proverbial finger.
Everything else is handled separately by the official Traitors Anywhere account, which messages each player individually with instructions and other information throughout the course of the game. This is also where you’ll complete missions, cast votes and murder Faithfuls if you are picked as a Traitor.
Needless to say, the game’s two main WhatsApp groups are just the tip of the iceberg. As a Traitor I was in constant contact with my co-conspirator, as well as individual friends that I tried to form secret alliances with. Turns out there were quite a few secret groups formed over the course of the game, something that definitely worked against me when I was trying to plead my innocence.
While the drama comes from the Round Table and the daily murders, the trials are also surprisingly fun and engaging. They range from identifying quotes from other players, to solving Wordle and Connections-style puzzles.
Even the daily surveys enhance the game, often coming back to bite you on the backside if you answered something mildly controversial or unexpected.
The Traitors Anywhere Round Table (Image: Traitors Anywhere)
The great thing about the way the game is organised is that you can largely tackle things at your own pace, provided you hit the deadlines. For example, missions run from breakfast until 1.20pm, while Round Table discussions and voting start at 1.30pm and end at 6.30pm. The majority of missions can be completed solo, so you don’t really need to bother anyone until the Round Table opens and the debating begins.
You definitely get more out of it the more you put in, but players with busier schedules still had fun joining in when they had a spare moment or two.
At £8.99 a person, The Traitors Anywhere is more expensive than I would have expected, and organising can be difficult, especially if you’re playing with friends of friends.
However, the amount of fun we had over the course of the week certainly justified the cost, and I would wholeheartedly recommend to fans of the show.
If the new series of The Celebrity Traitors is as dramatic as our recent WhatsApp game, then viewers are in for a treat.
