- BGG rating
- 7.9
Burn the Witch: Houses and Heretics
- 5–15 players
- 45–75 min
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2025
- BGG rank
- BGG #22,860
- BGG rating
- 7.4
Burn the Witch
2025
Rules assistance for Burn the Witch
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 5–15 players
- 45–75 min
- 14+
- Complexity 2.8/5
For 5 players
Rules assistant for Burn the Witch
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Burn the Witch is a board game released in 2025 for 5–15 players, 45–75 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by James I. Fazio and its main mechanics are Player Judge, Hidden Roles, and Voting.
Expansions
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About the game
Step back into a dark period in our past, when frenzy and paranoia dominated peoples’ perception of ‘the other’, driving communities across Europe to take the most extreme measures against their fellow man, or woman, as history would have it. Burn the Witch is a game of social deduction where players are divided into two factions (zealots and sympathizers), which are pitted against each other in a bid for survival. Players represent houses, comprised of two to four villagers, one or more of whom may be a witch. The zealots win by uncovering the identity of all witches in play — a discovery made only through fire. The sympathizers win by keeping the witches’ identities hidden. With witches forming a small minority, the sympathizers’ only chance for success depends on their ability to employ cunning and misdirection as they seek to outwit the other players by turning the zealots’ xenophobia and pyromania back onto themselves. The game concludes when either every witch in the village has been uncovered or enough innocents have been wrongly condemned that the witch hunt is called off, and the sympathizers win. —description from the designer
Designers
Publishers
- Pique Games
Questions and answers
Burn the Witch supports 5–15 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Burn the Witch is 45–75 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Burn the Witch for ages 14 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Burn the Witch has a complexity rating of 2.8 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Burn the Witch belongs to these categories: Card Game, Party Game, and Print & Play. Its main mechanics are Player Judge, Hidden Roles, and Voting. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Burn the Witch are: James I. Fazio. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Burn the Witch as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.