Paranoia — rules, questions, and how to play
Paranoia is a whispering party game for 4–16 players in which one player secretly whispers a question to their neighbour, who must answer out loud with a name, and a coin flip then decides whether the question is revealed to everyone or stays secret forever.
- Players
- 4–16 players
- Length
- ~15 minutes
- Type
- Relaxed
- Type
- Adult-optional
Runs in your browser · no download · no account
Paranoia is the best-designed cruelty in party games. Your neighbour leans over and whispers a question only you can hear. You say a name out loud — just the name, no context, no explanation. Everyone else now knows that somebody in this room was described in some way, and that the answer was you.
Then the coin flips. Heads, the question is read out and everyone finally understands what just happened. Tails, it stays sealed forever, and the person you named goes home not knowing whether they were "most likely to become a cult leader" or "the best hugger in the group".
You set the reveal odds before you start — 25% for the cautious, 50% for classic, 75% for menaces. Lower odds are meaner, and lower odds are better. There are 2,000+ questions and the app handles the pairing so the phone travels one seat at a time around the circle.
Paranoia is part of
What you need
- One phone that travels around the circle
- 4 to 16 players seated in the same order as the player list
- Close enough seating that a whisper actually works
- About 15 minutes
How to play Paranoia
The app pairs you up around the circle each round: one asker, one answerer. Sit in the same order as the player list — the phone travels one seat at a time.
The asker secretly reads a question ("Who would fake their own kidnapping to skip brunch?"), then leans over and whispers it to the answerer. Nobody else hears it.
The answerer says a NAME out loud — one name, zero explanation — and taps it in the app. Let the paranoia set in. 😱
Coin flip! Lands on REVEAL and the question goes public for everyone. Lands on SECRET and it stays sealed forever.
Pick your reveal odds before you start: 25% for the cautious, 50% classic, 75% for menaces.
End the session any time for the recap: who got named the most, and every question that went public. Tap any round there to fix a wrong name or a mis-read coin.
Scoring and winning
- Paranoia is unscored — there is no winner.
- The app tracks who gets named the most, which functions as an unofficial scoreboard.
- The end-of-session recap lists everyone who got named and every question that went public.
- End the session whenever the group has had enough.
Paranoia strategy and tips
- Sit in the same order as the player list. The phone moves one seat at a time, and a group that has rearranged itself will spend the game confused about whose turn it is.
- Whisper properly — hand cupped, right in the ear. A whisper the next person over can half-hear ruins the round for everyone.
- Answer with a name and nothing else. No laughing, no "obviously", no glancing at anyone. The blank delivery is the whole game.
- Set reveal odds at 25% for the best results. Being told nothing is far more effective than being told everything.
- Do not tell people afterwards. Someone always cracks and explains a sealed question, and it retroactively ruins every unrevealed round of the night.
- If the group is new to each other, start at 50% odds. Total mystery with strangers is confusing rather than fun.
Variants and house rules
Reveal odds
Choose 25%, 50%, or 75% before you start. Lower odds mean more sealed questions and more genuine paranoia.
Buy the reveal
House rule: the person who was named may demand a reveal once per game, overriding the coin flip. One use only, so spend it well.
Answer-only mode
Play with reveals switched off entirely — every question stays sealed. Brutal, and only works with a group that will genuinely never tell.
Double whisper
The asker whispers to two people at once and both answer. Comparing two names for a question nobody else heard produces excellent theories.
Paranoia FAQ
How do you play the Paranoia game?
One player secretly whispers a question to the player next to them. That player answers out loud with a single name. A coin flip then decides whether the question is revealed to the group or stays secret forever.
Why is it called Paranoia?
Because when the coin lands on secret, the person who was named knows only that they were the answer to something. Not knowing what is the entire point.
How many players do you need?
Four minimum, up to sixteen. Six to ten is ideal — enough people that being named feels significant, few enough that the phone comes back around quickly.
How many questions are there?
2,000+, filtered by your global spice level and tracked so they do not repeat within a session.
Is there a winner?
No. The recap shows who got named most often and which questions went public, but nobody wins Paranoia.
Do we have to drink to play?
No. It is often played as a drinking game where the named person drinks unless the question is revealed, but the game works exactly as well without it.