You are outnumbered, but you have something the police do not: you know who is with you. Winning does not come from playing red as fast as possible — it comes from staying unsuspected as long as possible. A spy exposed in round three loses the match for their side even if they already banked three reds.
Open as a model officer
Your first two rounds are an investment in credibility. Play black, speak clearly, accuse carefully, and behave like a conscientious officer. You give up a card or two of progress and you buy something worth more: when you do play red in round four, people will look for an explanation instead of accusing you.
The fatal error is playing boldly too early. Six red cards takes many rounds and you have more time than you think — but you only have one reputation.
Build your excuse before you need it
When you draw as president, narrate what you drew before anyone asks. Say you took red, red, black and passed on the best of them. Nobody can verify it, and a president who volunteers a story looks more innocent than one who waits to be interrogated.
Then mind the card count. If the remainder is black-heavy, "I drew three reds" stops being believable. A good spy knows when lying is cheap and when it is transparent, and saves their red cards for the rounds where red is genuinely dense in the deck.
Use your assistant without burning them
The assistant is your most useful tool and your biggest liability at once. Do not approve them every time and do not defend them warmly, because voting patterns are the first thing good police read. Vote against them once when the outcome is not close: it costs you little and buys a great deal.
And remember executing an assistant does not end the match. That makes them your shield — if suspicion closes in on the two of you, it is better that they fall, because their fall gives the police a false sense of victory and gives you several unsuspected rounds.
Accuse precisely, not constantly
A spy who suspects everyone looks like a spy. A spy who raises one specific, evidence-based suspicion looks like a diligent officer. Pick one quiet target, build a coherent story across two rounds, and let the police finish the job for you.
The best material for an accusation is genuine fact: a player who really did play red, or who rejected a proposal oddly. Do not invent — reframe what actually happened.
Survive red #4 and red #5
At red #4 the president holds an execution, and that is your moment of maximum danger. Prepare for it in advance by building an alternative candidate who looks worse than you from round two onward.
At red #5 the decision becomes collective and public, and your risk changes shape: convincing one person is no longer enough, you need the majority. And if you survive a public vote, be careful — everyone who defended you loudly is now suspect, and your assistant may go down because of you.
Six quick rules
- Play black for the first two rounds and buy credibility.
- Narrate your draw before anyone asks about it.
- Save your reds for rounds when red is dense in the remaining deck.
- Vote against your assistant at least once.
- Keep your suspicion single and specific, never scattered across the table.
- Prepare the scapegoat before red #4, not after it.