Who invited
the moth?
Everyone knows where they are.
One guest followed the wrong lantern.
You’re a guest.
Your slip names the location. Find the moth by listening to everyone’s clues. Don’t make the location too obvious.
You’re the moth.
Your slip says only MOTH. Avoid being caught. If you are caught, you can still win by guessing the location.
The host sits this round out. They prepare the slips, ask the questions, and count votes. Swap hosts next round. Designed for adults and teens; no acting voice required.
One moth in the bowl.
Choose a host. The host secretly picks one location from the list below. Everyone else is a guessing player.
Example for 4 players: write 3 identical GUEST slips and 1 MOTH slip.
Cloud Bathhouse
Clouds soak in warm mist. Towels dry beside the pools.
Write this on 3 slips.You followed a lantern.
You don’t know where you are. Listen, blend in, and try to work it out.
Write this on exactly 1 slip.That’s an example. On the guest slips, copy your chosen location’s name and description. All guests receive the same information.
Use equal-sized pieces of paper. Fold them the same way, or scrunch them into similar balls. Mix them in a bowl. Each player takes one.
Check your slip without showing anyone. Fold it again. The host doesn’t take a slip.
12 places to choose from
Everyone may browse this list before play. Only the host sees which location is chosen. Keep that choice off any shared screen.
Cloud Bathhouse
Clouds soak in warm mist. Towels dry beside the pools.
Moonflower Greenhouse
Gardeners water flowers that open at sunset.
Floating Market
Boats bring fruit, ribbons, and useful things to waterside stalls.
Mushroom Dance Hall
Musicians play while visitors dance beneath enormous mushroom caps.
Lost-and-Found Cupboard
Missing belongings wait on labelled shelves for their owners.
Lantern Repair Shop
Workers mend handles, replace glass, and trim wicks.
Snail Post Office
Letters are sorted, stamped, and delivered by snails.
Pillow Ferry
Passengers cross the river in a boat full of cushions.
Moon Biscuit Bakery
Bakers roll dough, fill trays, and watch the oven.
Umbrella Library
Visitors borrow umbrellas and return them to numbered hooks.
Cloud Hair Salon
Clouds have their fluff brushed, trimmed, and shaped.
Teacup Campsite
Travellers sleep in giant cups and cook over small fires.
Why a host? Whoever writes the slips already knows the location, so they couldn’t fairly play the moth.
Two questions. Everyone answers.
The host picks a starting player. Go around the group, giving one short answer each to Question 1. Then answer Question 2, starting with the next player.
What would you bring here?
What might you hear here?
Around 1–5 words is plenty. The moth answers too, using what they’ve heard. You can pause to think.
Don’t say words from the location’s name, spell it, give its initials, or rhyme with it. Don’t copy another player’s exact answer or show your slip.
More questions & help getting started
Pick any two. Everyone answers the same pair.
- What would you bring here?
- What might you hear here?
- What would you wear here?
- What might be on the floor?
- What would you complain about?
- What might you borrow here?
- What would be awkward to drop?
- What might someone ask you to do?
Stuck? Start with “I’d bring…”, “Probably some…”, or “I might hear…”. An ordinary answer works. You don’t need to invent a story.
Who followed the wrong lantern?
Discuss the clues for about a minute. Which answers fit? Which could have been guesses?
Everyone points to one suspected player at the same time. The moth votes too. You can’t vote for yourself or the host.
Most votes?
That player is the suspect. Reveal their role only. If it says GUEST, cover the location with a hand.
A tie?
Vote once more, choosing only between the tied players. Everyone votes, with no self-votes. Still tied? The moth wins.
Use the clues. Taking longer to answer, speaking differently, or being quiet isn’t proof that someone is the moth. Keep the location secret during discussion too.
A guest… or our wandering moth?
The moth wins. They escaped suspicion. The host can now reveal the location.
Keep the guest slips hidden. The moth gets one guess at the location, with no help or list of guesses.
Guests win
You caught the moth, and their final location guess was wrong.
Moth wins
You avoided being chosen, the vote stayed tied, or you were caught but guessed the location.
What counts as a correct guess? A clear equivalent is fine: “the place clouds take baths” means Cloud Bathhouse. “Somewhere wet” is too vague. The host checks, then reveals the answer.
Choose a new host and location. Make fresh slips and mix them again. Everyone plays the next round; nobody is eliminated.
No one wants to sit out? Prepare four mystery bundles.
This takes more paper, but everyone can play. Use the same clue and voting rules.
- Choose four locations together. Everyone may know these four possibilities.
- For each location, make a complete set of slips: one MOTH and enough identical GUEST slips for everyone else.
- Fold and mix the slips within each set. Wrap each set in an identical, unmarked sheet of paper.
- Mix the four wrapped bundles without watching. Select one at random and put the others out of sight.
- Open the chosen bundle without reading its slips. Mix them again. Each player takes one and reads it privately.
For 4 players, that’s 4 bundles of 4 slips: 16 slips altogether. Nobody should track which bundle is which.
Use the two questions above. One player reads them aloud and counts the vote. If the moth is caught, they guess before anyone reveals a guest slip. The group then checks the answer together.
What are we practising?
Listening for details, choosing a clue that isn’t too obvious, and explaining why an answer made you suspicious. The bluffing stays inside the game. After the reveal, you can ask: “Which clue changed your mind?”
You’re welcome to watch a round before joining. Spoken clues can also be written down and shown in turn.