Service Rat with 7 Players
Seven is the tipping point. A second Sellout joins the evil side, the Rat goes fully solo, and Sniff Out enters the prerogative schedule. If you've got a mid-sized group and want a social deduction game with real investigative play, seven players is where it opens up.
The role split at 7
Four Cats face a three-person evil team: two Sellouts plus the Rat. The Cat majority is now just 4:3, the thinnest it gets, so a single bad council swings the game hard. This is the first count where the bad side has the numbers to apply real pressure.
Does the Rat see an ally?
No. Seven players is where the Rat stops knowing anyone. The two Sellouts still know each other and know who the Rat is, but the Rat starts blind, having to identify their own team by reading votes and card plays, exactly like the Cats do. That one-way visibility is the defining feature of every game from seven up.
Prerogative schedule at 7
Seven uses the 7–8 bracket. Sniff Out shows up early at the 2nd Rat Law, and Snap Election replaces the small-game Peek at the Docket at the 3rd.
| Rat Law # | Prerogative (7 players) |
|---|---|
| 1st | – |
| 2nd | Sniff Out |
| 3rd | Snap Election |
| 4th | Kick Out of Town |
| 5th | Kick Out of Town + Veto unlocks |
Each is broken down on the prerogatives hub: see Sniff Out and Snap Election, the two that distinguish this bracket.
Term limits at 7
With seven alive, the full rule is in force: both the previous Mayor and the previous Ratcatcher are off-limits for the next Ratcatcher nomination. The small-table exception (only the previous Ratcatcher locked out) doesn't kick in until players are kicked out and the living count drops to five, so in a seven-player game you'll usually play most of it under the stricter rule, with the pool of eligible nominees widening only in the endgame.
Strategy for seven
For Cats, the early Sniff Out is your lifeline. A clean read on one player in a 4:3 game is worth a great deal, so push for trustworthy Mayors who'll use it honestly and announce results clearly. For the Sellouts, two of you means you can build parallel cover stories and avoid voting in lockstep; coordinate quietly without ever looking coordinated. For the solo Rat, the lack of an ally is a blessing in disguise: you genuinely don't know your team, so your confused, Cat-like behavior reads as authentic right up until you make your move.
Six humans plus an empty chair? Fill it with a bot for a true seven-player game on Pass & Play, LAN, or Online. One human is enough to start.
Need the fundamentals? See the full rules and the role guides, or compare with 6 players and 8 players.
Gather seven (or six and a bot) and run a game. Free on Android and iOS, no account.