
2025James I. Fazio
From BoardGameGeek
Step back into a dark period in our past, when frenzy and paranoia dominated peoples' perception of ‘the other', driving communities across Europe to take the most extreme measures against their fellow man, or woman, as history would have it. Burn the Witch is a game of social deduction where players are divided into two factions (zealots and sympathizers), which are pitted against each other in a bid for survival. Players represent houses, comprised of two to four villagers, one or more of whom may be a witch. The zealots win by uncovering the identity of all witches in play - a discovery made only through fire. The sympathizers win by keeping the witches' identities hidden. With witches forming a small minority, the sympathizers' only chance for success depends on their ability to employ cunning and misdirection as they seek to outwit the other players by turning the zealots' xenophobia and pyromania back onto themselves. The game concludes when either every witch in the village has been uncovered or enough innocents have been wrongly condemned that the witch hunt is called off, and the sympathizers win. -description from the designer
Burn the Witch has 4 videos from 3 creators: 2 reviews, 1 how-to-play guide and 1 other video. They date from 2023 to June 2026.
To learn the rules, start with "How to Play Burn the Witch" by Pique Games, which runs 2 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Burn The Witch" by Jamie, Tabletoptiktok.
If you like it, try Regency and God Save the King, also by James I. Fazio, or Veiled Fate and Scales of Fate, which share several of its mechanics.
2021James I. Fazio
2 - 4 players5 - 15 minLight weight
2022Max Anderson, Zac Dixon, Austin Harrison
2 - 8 players60 - 90 minMedium weight
2025Max Anderson, Zac Dixon, Austin Harrison
2 players30 minMedium weight
From BoardGameGeek:
Step back into a dark period in our past, when frenzy and paranoia dominated peoples' perception of ‘the other', driving communities across Europe to take the most extreme measures against their fellow man, or woman, as history would have it. Burn the Witch is a game of social deduction where players are divided into two factions (zealots and sympathizers), which are pitted against each other in a bid for survival. Players represent houses, comprised of two to four villagers, one or more of whom may be a witch. The zealots win by uncovering the identity of all witches in play - a discovery made only through fire. The sympathizers win by keeping the witches' identities hidden. With witches forming a small minority, the sympathizers' only chance for success depends on their ability to employ cunning and misdirection as they seek to outwit the other players by turning the zealots' xenophobia and pyromania back onto themselves. The game concludes when either every witch in the village has been uncovered or enough innocents have been wrongly condemned that the witch hunt is called off, and the sympathizers win. -description from the designer
Designer
James I. Fazio
Artist
Inna Kozak
Publisher
Pique Games
Categories
Mechanics