Top 5 Rules to Emphasize for New Players?
Hi everyone!
So I just started storytelling (using only Trouble Brewing) and have been running it for different friend groups. With each group, I find myself explaining the rules and saw that certain ones are routinely asked if they’re not reiterated/repeated up top. These are ones I’ve noticed, but would love any others that people like to emphasize that lead to longer and better games that might not be on that first rules page explanation!
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“There are no duplicate characters.” IE there can’t be two chefs. If two players are both claiming the same role, one is lying.
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“Anybody can bluff as any character.” If someone is claiming Slayer that isn’t the Slayer, as the ST, I will still act out the entire sequence as if it’s real. Same for Virgin, Monk, etc, the ST will always try to be neutral for whenever anybody is bluffing.
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“The demon is given 3 bluffs that aren’t in the game.” The demon should try and communicate these to the minions as soon as possible. I’ve found a lot of newer demons forget to talk to their minions on day one so evil team really struggles.
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“The Fortune Teller doesn’t detect evil players, they only detect if a player is a demon.” Re-emphasize this for fortune tellers has been helpful for my games as well as reiterating the presence of a red herring.
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“Outsiders are on the good team.” I’ve been describing outsiders as Jedi that have purple lightsabers. They’re on the good team, but their abilities can sew chaos.
Would love any other rules/tips/clarifications that people like to make crystal clear for newer players. Thank you!
Posted Aug 14, 2026, 12:32 AM UTC