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Play Overview
Town of Salem (2014) is a social deduction strategy game where you work with (or against) other players trying to save a village from zany villains and murderers. Like Among Us, no one knows anyone else's role; everyone must carefully weigh their decisions to cover their tracks and "suss out" who to trust through communication and observation. It's a game that set the standard for social deduction play with a wide array of roles and objectives and balanced strategic communication.
In the small town of Salem, you are randomly assigned one of the over forty roles to play as for the duration of the game. These roles are divided into Townsfolk, Neutral, and Mafia categories (you can pay to unlock the Coven category as well). Each of these groups of roles has a different objective, whether that's the Townsfolk's goal of lynching all the villains, or the Mafia's goal of killing everyone who won't submit to them.
Throughout each game, you need to work to further your goal without people from other affiliations finding out. Play is split into day and night. At night, you use abilities and actions specific to your individual role to further your goals, be that killing someone who knows too much or bugging a person of interest's house. During the day, the last night's murders are revealed to all, and some roles also get extra information. All players then meet to discuss and vote on a player to lynch.
It's this communication that makes the game so much fun. Being careful about what useful information to reveal is crucial. You can carefully drop in a comment that will incriminate other players or maybe sabotage someone you suspect. Or perhaps you'll focus on deflecting attention from yourself to avoid suspicion. The game ends when one player or group has achieved their goals and is crowned the winner.
The result is a unique game that offers a similar premise to Among Us, Goose Goose Duck and TV shows like The Traitors and The Mole. Deducing who your friends and your enemies are before finally achieving your objective after close calls and tense moments is both hugely rewarding and entertaining, offering a unique way to play with friends across the world.
Our examiner, Ben Kendall, first checked Town of Salem 2 years ago. It was re-examined by Thom Robertson and updated 10 weeks ago.
In the small town of Salem, you are randomly assigned one of the over forty roles to play as for the duration of the game. These roles are divided into Townsfolk, Neutral, and Mafia categories (you can pay to unlock the Coven category as well). Each of these groups of roles has a different objective, whether that's the Townsfolk's goal of lynching all the villains, or the Mafia's goal of killing everyone who won't submit to them.
Throughout each game, you need to work to further your goal without people from other affiliations finding out. Play is split into day and night. At night, you use abilities and actions specific to your individual role to further your goals, be that killing someone who knows too much or bugging a person of interest's house. During the day, the last night's murders are revealed to all, and some roles also get extra information. All players then meet to discuss and vote on a player to lynch.
It's this communication that makes the game so much fun. Being careful about what useful information to reveal is crucial. You can carefully drop in a comment that will incriminate other players or maybe sabotage someone you suspect. Or perhaps you'll focus on deflecting attention from yourself to avoid suspicion. The game ends when one player or group has achieved their goals and is crowned the winner.
The result is a unique game that offers a similar premise to Among Us, Goose Goose Duck and TV shows like The Traitors and The Mole. Deducing who your friends and your enemies are before finally achieving your objective after close calls and tense moments is both hugely rewarding and entertaining, offering a unique way to play with friends across the world.
Our examiner, Ben Kendall, first checked Town of Salem 2 years ago. It was re-examined by Thom Robertson and updated 10 weeks ago.
Kids not old enough for this yet? There are lots of games similar to Town of Salem. Here are some similar younger-rated games:
Play Style
This is a Communication and Strategy game with Action, Puzzle, Role-Play, Sequencing and Stealth elements. You can play this by yourself or as a 15-player online game. The minimum number of players required for a round to start is 7. Players are randomly assigned roles at the start of each new game.
Cross-Play: Play across all devices.
Cross-Play: Play across all devices.
You can play this game in the following styles:
Duration
Play Time: It takes between 10 minutes and 50 minutes to play a round of this game. Depending on how quickly a team is able to complete their goal, the time roe each round varies significantly but is typically around 15 minutes.
Benefits
Age Ratings
Content Rating
Users Interact: The game enables players to interact and communicate with each other, so may expose players to language usually associated with older rated games.
Rated for younger players in the US. Rated ESRB EVERYONE 10+ for Fantasy Violence and Mild Blood.
Rated 9+ on the Apple App Store for Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence, Infrequent/Mild Profanity or Crude Humor and Infrequent/Mild Mature/Suggestive Themes.
This game includes adverts on some platforms that are watched to unlock additional content. Note that these adverts are not covered by the age rating and may include older-rated content.
Skill Level
11+ year-olds usually have the required skill to enjoy this game. Still, it's important for parents and guardians to consider the maturity required to process the game content. It's also important to ensure children understand in-game purchases and have spending limits set-up. There are lots of different roles and complex systems and mechanics you need to master, and each role requires a different set of skills and deep strategy. In addition, players must be able to communicate well with others and be able to cope with losing repeatedly, occasionally after long rounds.
Account Rating
You don’t need a platform subscription to play this game online.
Costs
Town of Salem usually costs £3.99.
In all versions of the game, you can buy extra content called The Covern, which introduced a new class of roles to play as. In the mobile version, the game is free but there are adverts (you can pay to remove these) and you can also buy in-game currency and cosmetics with real money.
It's important to set up your accounts and devices appropriately. More information is on our Financial Resources page.
Town of Salem
There are the following additional costs associated with this game:
- In-Game Purchases: Additional in-game purchases are offered for items that enhance the experience.
- Advertising: Smartphone or Tablet version of this game includes adverts. This varies in form but watching ads is often incentivised by unlocking additional content and progress in the game. Note that these are not covered by the age rating and may include older-rated content.
In all versions of the game, you can buy extra content called The Covern, which introduced a new class of roles to play as. In the mobile version, the game is free but there are adverts (you can pay to remove these) and you can also buy in-game currency and cosmetics with real money.
It's important to set up your accounts and devices appropriately. More information is on our Financial Resources page.
Game Details
Release Date: 15/12/2014, updated in 2018
Price: 60% Off
Out Now: Android, Mac, PC, Web and iOS
Skill Rating: 11+ year-olds
Players: 1 (15 online)
Genres: Communication, Strategy (Action, Puzzle, Role-Play, Sequencing and Stealth)
Accessibility: 18 features
Components: 2D Overhead and Hand-Made
Developer: Blank Media Games (@BlankMediaGames)
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Written by parents for parents, the database complements the in-depth discussion about video game addiction, violence, spending and online safety in the Taming Gaming book. We are an editorially independent, free resource without adverts that is supported by partnerships. |
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