How to Play Service Rat
Service Rat is a free social deduction game for 5–10 players where Workers try to Modernize a failing enterprise while Saboteurs quietly bankrupt it. This is the complete guide: setup, the five phases of a Shift, the CEO Directives, win conditions, and quick strategy notes for each role.
Setup
At the start of every game, each player gets a secret role:
- Workers — the majority. They do not know who is who.
- Saboteurs — a hidden minority. They know each other and know who The Rat is.
- The Rat — one player, allied with the Saboteurs. The Rat does not know who the Saboteurs are.
Role distribution scales with player count:
- 5 players: 3 Workers, 1 Saboteur, 1 Rat
- 6: 4 Workers, 1 Saboteur, 1 Rat
- 7: 4 Workers, 2 Saboteurs, 1 Rat
- 8: 5 Workers, 2 Saboteurs, 1 Rat
- 9: 5 Workers, 3 Saboteurs, 1 Rat
- 10: 6 Workers, 3 Saboteurs, 1 Rat
The blueprint deck is 17 cards total: 6 Modernization and 11 Sabotage. The deck is intentionally biased — Workers cannot just sit back and hope. Bots can fill any empty seat in any mode (Pass & Play, LAN, or Online).
The five phases of a Shift
Each round is called a Shift. A Shift cycles through five phases:
1 · Appointment
The current CEO nominates a candidate for Chief Engineer. Players who served as CEO or Chief Engineer last Shift are term-limited and cannot be nominated (or, with 5 alive players, only the previous CEO is term-limited).
2 · General Meeting
All players vote yes or no on the nominated pair. A majority is required to approve them. A tie counts as failure. Three consecutive failed nominations trigger Chaos on the Floor — the top blueprint from the draw pile is auto-enacted, and the downtime tracker resets to zero.
3 · Blueprint Archive
The CEO draws the top 3 blueprints, secretly discards 1, and passes the remaining 2 to the Chief Engineer. The CEO can lie about what they discarded.
4 · Chief Engineer's Workshop
The Chief Engineer enacts 1 of the 2 blueprints. The other is shredded. The enacted blueprint is placed on the appropriate track (Modernization or Sabotage) — public for everyone to see.
5 · CEO Directive (when triggered)
Certain Sabotage milestones grant the CEO a one-time directive that triggers immediately after the blueprint is enacted. The directive depends on player count and which Sabotage slot was just filled — see the next section.
CEO Directives
Directives unlock as Sabotage blueprints accumulate. Exact thresholds vary by player count — in a 5-player game, Personnel Audit unlocks at the first Sabotage; in a 9–10 player game, players reach Termination at the fourth.
- Personnel Audit — the CEO secretly checks a player's file (Worker or Saboteur). Each player can only be audited once. The CEO can lie about the result.
- Blueprint Preview — the CEO secretly views the top 3 blueprints in the archive. They can lie about what they saw.
- Extraordinary Shift — the CEO personally chooses the next CEO. After that special Shift, normal rotation resumes.
- Termination — the CEO must terminate one player permanently. If the Rat is terminated, Workers win the game.
Veto Power and Chaos on the Floor
Veto Power unlocks after 5 Sabotage blueprints have been enacted. Once unlocked, the Chief Engineer may request a veto before enacting a blueprint. The CEO can approve (both blueprints discarded, downtime tracker advances by one) or deny (Chief Engineer must enact as normal).
Chaos on the Floor is triggered by three consecutive failed votes. The top blueprint is auto-enacted with no CEO/Chief Engineer involvement and the downtime tracker resets. Saboteurs deliberately block votes to trigger Chaos when the draw pile is stacked in their favor.
Four ways to win
- Workers win by enacting 5 Modernization blueprints.
- Workers win by Terminating The Rat via a CEO Directive.
- Saboteurs win by enacting 6 Sabotage blueprints.
- Saboteurs win if The Rat is appointed Chief Engineer when 3+ Sabotage blueprints are already on the board.
Important asymmetry: The Rat does not know who the Saboteurs are. Until 3 Sabotage blueprints are enacted, The Rat must play like a Worker — voting carefully, building trust — because being too obvious gets them Terminated.
Quick strategy by role
The deep strategy section is on the home page. Here is the one-paragraph version for each role:
- Worker: Pattern recognition wins. Who votes No on every nomination? Who hands you two Sabotage blueprints after a clean draw pile? Take notes mentally and reference enacted blueprints when discussing.
- Saboteur: Stay reasonable in the first two Shifts. Drop the hammer mid-game when the deck favors you. Always have a credible lie ready about what you discarded as CEO.
- The Rat: Until the Sabotage track crosses 3, play exactly like a Worker. After that, get yourself appointed Chief Engineer — but never name yourself as the Rat, and avoid suspicion at any cost.
Three ways to play
The same rules apply to every mode. You choose how the game is hosted:
- Pass & Play — one phone is passed around the table. Best for in-person groups with one device.
- LAN Multiplayer — all players on the same Wi-Fi, each on their own device. Best for offices or game nights with everyone present.
- Online Multiplayer — share a room code, play from anywhere. Best for remote groups, with no account required.
All three modes support AI bot players to fill any empty seats — a 4-player human group can play a 5-player game with one bot, for example.
Service Rat is free on Android and iOS, no account required.