Betrayal.io — Play Free Online

Betrayal.io is an online multiplayer mystery game built around hidden roles. According to the game's own page, a match holds six to twelve players. Most of them are crew members working together, and at least one is the betrayer, who is trying to wreck things from the inside. Nobody is told in advance who to trust, so a round is part action and part guessing who is lying.

It sits a long way from the vertical jumpers this site is known for. Doodle Jump is a solo score chase where you only ever race yourself. Here the other players are the challenge, and every match plays out differently depending on who you are matched with. If you like the idea of a quick round with strangers more than climbing a leaderboard alone, this is a change of pace within the same catalogue.

It runs in the browser with nothing to install, so you can load it and be in a lobby within moments. It is a live multiplayer game, which means it needs a working internet connection and enough other people online to fill a match.

How to play

Move with the arrow keys or WASD and use the mouse to aim and to select things on screen. On a phone or tablet you tap and swipe instead. Which role you get at the start of a round decides what you are trying to do:

• Crew member: work with the rest of the team toward the shared goal and watch for anyone behaving oddly.
• Betrayer: act like part of the crew while undermining it without being caught.

The exact objectives, round length and special abilities are best learned by playing a round or two, because I would rather not describe details I can't confirm.

Tips

• Use your first match to learn the controls and the layout rather than to win. Reading the situation is easier once moving and aiming are automatic.
• Pay attention to who is near whom and who is where. In a hidden-role game, behaviour that does not match a player's stated plans is the main clue.
• If you draw the betrayer role, blending in beats rushing. Acting like everyone else keeps suspicion off you.
• A wired mouse and a stable connection help. Lag matters more in a live match than in a solo game.

Similar games on Doodle Jump

If you would like something more relaxed, Fireboy and Watergirl is a co-operative puzzle platformer for two players on one keyboard, where you succeed by helping each other. Helix Jump is a solo one-button arcade game that rewards steady timing. Bloons Tower Defense 2 is a strategy game with no opponents at all, just waves to plan against.

Betrayal.io suits people who enjoy social games, bluffing and short matches with other players. It is less suited to a quiet few minutes alone, since the whole game depends on a lobby of real people.