Games like Secret Hitler: try Avalon

How do votes and hidden cards differ?

Both games ask a majority to approve a proposal, and a tied vote rejects it. Paying attention to who backed whom remains useful. In Avalon, ask why someone supports the whole team rather than treating its leader as the only person on trial.

Secret Hitler’s policy draw can leave even loyal officeholders without a Liberal policy to enact. Base Avalon has no shared policy deck: good mission members must choose Success, while evil members may choose Success or Fail. A Fail therefore tells you something about the team, though it does not identify the individual who played it.

Source: Official Secret Hitler rules.

Does a successful mission prove players are good?

Suppose Alice and Ben go on the first mission in a five-player game. Three approvals are enough to send them. If the mission fails, at least one of them is evil in the base setup. If it succeeds, either could still be evil and have chosen Success to earn trust.

Compare their later votes and proposed teams with that result. Reusing a successful team is a decision to discuss, not a rule that those players are confirmed good. For mission four with seven or more players, two Fail cards are needed; one Fail can appear in a successful result.

Merlin and Hitler: why revealing a role matters differently

Secret Hitler makes a particular evil player’s identity central to an election win condition. Avalon gives a good player, Merlin, information about evil at setup. Merlin must guide the good team without making that knowledge obvious, because three successful missions still leave evil an assassination chance.

Avoid importing a blanket “good players should reveal everything” habit. A confident explanation may help win a mission while also helping evil identify Merlin. The role guide explains what Merlin sees and which optional roles change that information.

When is Avalon a good Secret Hitler alternative?

Try Avalon if your group wants several team sizes, mission evidence, and continuous participation. Stay with Secret Hitler when policy uncertainty and executive powers are the part your friends most enjoy. Both have browser implementations; browser access alone is not the reason to switch.

For an ordinary human Avalon game here, gather 5–10 people, ask everyone to sign in, and keep optional roles and expansions simple. You can also learn with bots first. Read the platform differences below before assuming the rejected-proposal or assassination rules work exactly like the physical board game.

Source: Secret Hitler.io rules and browser implementation.

Learn mission voting with bots before switching

If your Secret Hitler friends are not online yet, try Avalon solo with bots. The guided First game helps you learn the team vote and mission cards without organizing a full group. Watch how a successful mission can build trust without proving someone good.

Bot games also let you see Merlin and the assassination endgame before teaching them to your friends. You can invite friends and let bots fill the empty seats instead. Choose the table size and mode in setup; it shows current availability and labels sizes that require Premium.

Can you play this Secret Hitler alternative in a browser?

Yes. Avalon here runs in a browser without an app download. For a free ordinary human game, gather 5–10 people, have everyone sign in on their own device, then create a room and share its link. Browser access does not make the games identical: Avalon has missions and Merlin instead of the policy deck and government powers.

You do not need a full human group to learn the difference. Choose Solo or First game in the AI setup, or choose With friends so bots can fill empty seats. An account is required; review current availability and the table sizes marked Premium before starting. AI access has separate conditions from free ordinary human rooms.

Start with bots or bring your friends