Boring
You see the word. Hunt down the Baddies and Bastards.
Aim of the round
Find the Baddies and Bastards and vote for them.
the rulebook
How to play Borings, Baddies & Bastards
A social deduction game for 3–20 players on one phone. Everyone shares a word — except the Baddies — and the group has to work out who is faking it before the votes are counted.
01 · the roles
Everyone gets a secret, and none of them want the same thing.
Three roles, one shared word (or not), and a room full of people bluffing badly. Boring players are in the majority — the others have to hide among them.
Baddie
You don't see the word. Blend in and don't get caught.
Aim of the round
Blend in, play it cool, and avoid being accused.
Bastard
You see the word. Get yourself accused as a Baddie.
Aim of the round
Get yourself accused as if you were a Baddie.
02 · how a round runs
Six steps, then the phone goes round again.
- 01
Set up
Add every player by name — 3 to 20 of them — then set how many Baddies and Bastards are allowed.
- 02
Pick a category
The starting player names a topic, such as Animals or Films, and the game fetches a list of words to match.
- 03
Learn your role
Pass the phone around the group. Each person privately checks their role and word, then passes it on.
- 04
Discuss
Everyone talks about the category. Boring players hunt for fakes; Baddies bluff; Bastards try to look guilty.
- 05
Vote
The phone goes round again. Each player privately votes for everyone they suspect of being a Baddie.
- 06
Score the round
Roles and votes are revealed, points are awarded, and the running totals decide who plays first next round.
03 · scoring
Every vote counts — including the ones you don't cast.
Boring players are judged on every decision they make about every other player, so it pays to be sure. Baddies want a quiet round; Bastards want all the attention.
If you are Boring
| Vote for a Baddie | +5 |
| Vote for a Bastard | -5 |
| Vote for another Boring player | -1 |
| Leave a Boring player unvoted | +1 |
| Leave a Baddie unvoted | -2 |
| Leave a Bastard unvoted | +1 |
If you are a Baddie
| Finish the round without being accused | +3 |
| Every vote you receive | -2 |
If you are a Bastard
| Every vote you receive | +1 |
| Finish the round without being accused | +0 |
04 · house rules
A few things that make a round better.
01
Keep categories broad
“Animals” gives the word service plenty to work with. “Obscure 1990s Lithuanian films” does not. If a category comes back empty, try something more common.
02
Listen for the bluff
Baddies have never seen the word, so they talk around it. Bastards have seen it and will happily sound suspicious. The skill is telling the two apart.
03
Vote — abstaining isn't free
Boring players lose 2 points for every Baddie they leave unvoted. Voting for everyone is just as costly, so spend your votes where it counts.
04
Pass the phone carefully
The reveal screen is one tap away from exposing a role. Keep the phone to yourself until the next player's name comes up, then hand it over.
05 · questions
Frequently asked
- How many people can play?
- Between 3 and 20 players, on a single phone that gets passed around.
- Do we each need a device?
- No. One phone is enough — it is passed from player to player for the role reveal and again for voting.
- Is there anything to install?
- No. The game runs in any modern browser and there is no account, no download and no cost.
- Why did the role counts change after I set them?
- Boring players must always be the strict majority, so the game trims the number of Baddies and Bastards if your minimums and maximums would let them take over. The results screen tells you when that happens.
- What if the words don't load?
- The game fetches words for the category you type from a third-party word service. If it fails, choose “Try again”, or pick a broader category. Nothing else in the round depends on it.
- Does the game save my progress?
- No. Player names, scores and roles live only in the open browser tab. Close or reload the page and the game resets.
ready when you are
Grab a phone and start lying.
No installation, no sign-up, no cost. Pass the phone, pick a category and let the accusations begin.