Gotcha: the classic assassin party game, without the paper slips
Everyone secretly gets a target and a secret word or action. Make your target say the word or do the action, tap GOTCHA, and inherit their target. Last player standing wins. Free, in the browser, for 3 to 30 players.
What is Gotcha?
Gotcha is the game you may know as Assassin, Killer or The Elimination Game: a social game for large groups in which every player is secretly hunting one other player while being hunted by someone they cannot identify. It became popular on American campuses in the 1980s and has been a staple of summer camps, student societies and office teams ever since. The largest edition in Belgium had 1,000 students playing across the city of Ghent in 2009.
The classic version needs paper slips, a game master and a lot of bookkeeping. playgotcha.be does that part for you: it deals the targets, keeps them secret, lets a target confirm an elimination, hands the hunter their next target and shows the scoreboard.
How to play
- 1
Create a game
The host signs up for free, picks words or actions and a difficulty, and gets a game code with a QR code.
- 2
Everyone scans
Players scan the QR code, type a name and appear in the lobby. No app, no account.
- 3
Start and hunt
Each player secretly gets a target and a secret word or action. Make your target say the word or do the action.
- 4
Tap GOTCHA
Succeeded? Tap GOTCHA. Your target is out and you inherit their target and challenge.
- 5
Expose or survive
Think you know who is hunting you and with which word? Expose them. Right: they are out. Wrong: you are. Last player standing wins.
The facts
| Name | Gotcha! (playgotcha.be) |
|---|---|
| What | A web app for the classic Gotcha / Assassin / Killer party game |
| Price | Free, no ads, no in-app purchases |
| Players | 3 to 30 per game |
| Age | About 10 and up |
| Platform | Any phone browser; no install |
| Accounts | Only the host; players scan a QR code |
| Language | Dutch (English on the roadmap) |
| Made by | UPTX, a web studio in Bornem, Belgium |
| Since | 2026 |
| Privacy | No analytics cookies, no trackers, no ad networks |
| Contact | info@uptx.be |
A note on language
The interface and the library of secret words are in Dutch. Mixed groups in Belgium and the Netherlands play it anyway, because the rules fit in five sentences and the app only shows a name, a word and a button. An English version is on the roadmap; mail info@uptx.be if you want to hear when it ships. The Dutch reference pages are at /gotcha-spel and /hoe-werkt-het.
Frequently asked questions
Gotcha, also known as Assassin, Killer or The Elimination Game, is a party game in which every player secretly receives another player as a target. You eliminate your target by completing a challenge (making them say a secret word, or do a small action), then inherit their target. The last player standing wins.
It is completely free, with no ads and no in-app purchases. It runs in the browser on any phone. Only the host needs a free account; players scan a QR code and join with a name.
From 3 to 30 players per game. The sweet spot is 8 to 20. The classic paper version scales to hundreds; a student edition in Ghent, Belgium, had 1,000 players in 2009.
The interface and the word library are in Dutch for now. The rules are simple enough that mixed groups play it anyway, and an English version is on our roadmap. Contact info@uptx.be if you want to be notified.
Werewolf and Among Us run in rounds with a moderator or a screen. Gotcha runs in the background of whatever you are doing: a party, a camp week, an office. There is no moderator, nobody sits out, and every conversation becomes suspicious.