Ready to Host Your Own Office Traitors Game? Read this first.
November. The days are getting shorter, the playground is getting muddier, and the looming spectre of the school Christmas play is making everyone a little twitchy. As a teacher at a small UK primary school, I knew that the staff and I needed a morale boost.
I’m a huge fan of The Traitors -I watch avidly with my teenage daughter. I love escape rooms, games nights, true crime and anything that involves a bit of mystery. But this year, I needed the distraction more than ever. I’d had a traumatic year with two close family deaths, and I needed something fun to pull me through. If there is one thing I am good at, it’s games.
The Inspiration: From Stress to Scrolls
Inspired by this brilliant article by Simon Jenkins in The Guardian (who rightly points out that the workplace is the perfect setting for treachery), I decided to bring the castle to the classroom.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/04/traitors-office-workplace-bbc-show].
My goal was clear: create something fun for our incredible staff (teachers, TAs, kitchen team, admin – everyone!) running up to Christmas. Crucially, I wanted it to run quietly in the background of school life, mainly over text and out-of-hours, so as not to interrupt the serious business of teaching tiny humans.
Gaining Permission (The Head Teacher Conundrum)
I approached my Headteacher first. His response was not particularly encouraging: he doesn’t watch TV and had little interest in playing. But… he didn’t say no. I took that as a green light!
After asking around revealed plenty of eager potential players, I took the plunge and sent an email invite to all staff. The Google Form was simple: Name, Faithful/Traitor/Either preference, and permission for a WhatsApp group. I stressed the low-effort, high-fun approach – no prior knowledge of the show required!
Realising I couldn’t handle two sites and 28 potential murderers alone, I recruited the school’s king of drama: my colleague who runs our infamous quiz night. He brought the perfect blend of mystery and dry humour, leaving me to handle the organisation. We were set!
Tea Stains, Red Ribbons, and Random Fate
With 28 players – even if the Head remained a firm spectator (though happy enough to mention it in the newsletter) the planning began. I spent an enjoyable weekend crafting the role cards.
Pro Tip: To make the scrolls look authentic, I tea-stained the paper and baked it in the oven to dry. I rolled them up and tied them with red ribbon. Pure theatre!
The best decision? I left the Traitors selection entirely to random fate. In a Monday staff meeting, my co-host, clad dramatically in a cloak, had everyone pick a scroll. This meant no one could second guess who we would have chosen (and more to the point, absolved me of all responsibility) the Traitors could be four teachers on one site, or the entire admin team!
Fate gave us a fantastic mix: A Chef, a Class Teacher, a Teaching Assistant, and the PE Teacher. The game was officially ON!
Murder in Plain Sight (and the Silent Deputy)
The Traitors were immediately hungry for blood. The first murder was swiftly executed by 8:30 am by our eager chef.
The next day, my co-host delivered the first announcement via a hilariously deadpan voice message to the main WhatsApp group. Gifs, accusations, and frantic messaging ensued.
At our first banishment, our usually vocal Deputy Head, who had been completely silent in the WhatsApp chat, was voted out – and the kicker? He had even voted for himself! (I was genuinely sad to see him go, as I knew the game would have been a great staff bonding opportunity).
From then on, the rhythm was set:
- 7:30 am: A new murder announced.
- 4-5:00 pm: Banishment vote conducted via secret Google Form.
Spreadsheets, Suspicion, and Farts
The game quickly took on a life of its own.
By the end of the first week, you couldn’t walk down the school corridor without hearing whispers and theories. The game was working even better than I had hoped: connecting staff across both sites who usually rarely spoke.
Paranoia set in and accusations started flying, with everyone getting increasingly suspicious and confused. The drama escalated further, with staff staging “murder scenes” around the school, even smearing themselves in ketchup. The WhatsApp group regularly had over 200+ messages sent after work.
One staff member created a spreadsheet tracking who voted for whom and who was murdered where and when. Was it helpful data or just a cunning bluff? I can’t yet reveal, but the discussion was priceless!
Halfway in and the Faithful were struggling to sniff out any Traitors. We lost 15 players without catching a single Traitor. The desperation led to some very funny moments, including an incident where a teacher asked another to come into her classroom to “smell a fart.” The group deemed this highly suspicious behaviour – clearly a “Murder in Plain Sight” challenge! She was voted off immediately. Unfortunately, she was innocent but I’m absolutely stealing that challenge for future games!
The first Traitor caught was a pivotal moment in the game, particularly as it was revealed with a brilliant TikTok-style edited video that made one lovely TA an instant celebrity.
The Grand Finale (My Sanity vs. Their Bloodlust)
After the first Traitor catch, I quickly lost control. My co-host and the remaining Traitors became a ruthless death machine. Murders came so fast I had to bring the final forward to save my sanity (and because we were rapidly running out of players!) Three victims went on the final day alone.
This entire project has been incredibly rewarding – a great way to channel stress, heal from trauma, and create genuine fun at work. If you’re looking for the ultimate team building game, I highly recommend it.
Tomorrow, the last Faithfuls and one remaining Traitor will meet in person to decide who will take the glory. Wish me luck – I think I’ll need it more than the players!
P.S. Want to Host a Game Without the Planning Stress?
I spent hours creating the resources and balancing this complex cross-site game and realised others might want the fun without the weekend planning frenzy. Like many teachers looking for a side hustle, I decided to package the entire game – all the rules, role cards, host guides, and game templates – and list it on Etsy!
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/4409717957/the-traitors-ultimate-group-edition