Traitors

The **Traitors** are the franchise's namesake, and one of two factions contestants can compete under to win.

The Traitors are selected at the beginning of each game, although opportunities are typically offered to recruit a Faithful into their ranks should their numbers dwindle. Though outnumbered, they hold the advantage of being able to Murder other players of their choice during each cycle of the game, and can only be removed through Banishment at the Round Table.

As Traitors, their objective in the game is diametrically opposed to that of the Faithfuls: to ensure that they remain until the end of the game without being Banished, allowing them to either outright win or exercise more agency in determining the winner(s).

## Traitor Selection

    After a cast is first introduced to each other, they are then ushered to the Round Table, where the host announces that Traitors will be selected. In early seasons, this is specified as three Traitors. Later seasons have the host instead specifying that a range of two to five Traitors will be selected, although in practice, all seasons thus far have begun with at least three Traitors.

The cast is then required to close their eyes - in some later seasons, everyone wears a blindfold/mask instead - while the host walks around the table multiple times, picking Traitors by touching them on their shoulder. In some seasons, the Traitors are allowed to exchange eye contact after selection to be aware of each others' identities, while in others, they will only know who the others are after entering Traitors' Tower for the first time.

* **Note:** In *Forræder (Norway)/Season 1*, Mads Hansen further confirmed with those selected if they agreed to being a Traitor. Sander Dale rejected the selection, and Jonas Lihaug was picked in his place instead.

## Conclave

    Every night, the Traitors will don their now-iconic cloaks and grab a lantern. They then proceed to have a meeting in what is colloquially known as *Traitors' Tower*, usually a small meeting space where they can discuss their next move - typically one of the following options.

### Murder

Traitors will usually opt to Murder a Faithful of their choice and remove them from the game - provided their target does not possess a Shield. If their target does have a Shield, the Murder attempt is blocked and no one is eliminated as a result. A player who is Murdered is removed from the game immediately, without further interaction with other contestants.

### Recruitment

When a Traitor has been banished at the Round Table, the remaining Traitors are offered an opportunity to Recruit (or Seduce in some versions) a Faithful and invite them to join the Traitors. Typically, Traitors are allowed to either Recruit or Murder as they choose, with no Murder taking place if the Recruitment is successful, and Murder becoming available if it fails. The following exceptions have taken place:

* In *The Traitors (UK)/Series 1*, Alex Gray rejected the Traitors' offer, but no Murder took place that night. The Traitors were also later presented with an option where the Faithful of their choice must accept the Recruitment or be Murdered.

Chronologically, the latest a Recruitment has taken place in any season is by the third-last episode.

### On Trial

The On Trial twist (also known as Death Row or Death List) has been present in the American, Australian, British, Canadian, Dutch and Norwegian versions so far. The Traitors must select three (or more) contestants to put On Trial, and they will be the only people eligible to be Murdered the following night. If a contestant wins the Shield, it will protect them from Murder even if they are On Trial. If a contestant On Trial is Banished, there is no replacement and the Traitors will choose between the other two contestants.

A Traitor can be put On Trial even if they could not actually be Murdered; however, this runs the risk of Traitors being exposed if they are the only person left eligible for Murder, but still appear the following day. However, a variation on the twist used in the French version forces the Traitors to put one of themselves on trial, a mechanic which eventually proved fateful in the endgame.

### Other Decisions

In *The Traitors (Australia)/Season 1*, there was one night where the Traitors had to pick 3 contestants to take part in a bonus Mission, and try to increase the prize fund.

In The Traitors (UK)/Series 2, there was one night where the Traitors had to condemn 4 contestants to the dungeon, those 4 contestants are the only ones eligible to be murdered the following night. While similar to being put on trial, Traitors could condemn themselves to the dungeon but Traitors couldn't be murdered.

## Disqualification

The Traitors are allowed to use all forms of deception and manipulation, including suggestion, to advance through the game. However, there are two cardinal rules they are required to abide by:

1. To never reveal to the Faithful that they are Traitors.
2. To never expose (though they can suggest) the identity of fellow Traitors to the Faithfuls.

Violation of either of these rules typically leads to immediate disqualification as a result. Rule violations have occurred on a number of occasions.

* In *Les Traîtres (Belgium)/Season 1*, Xavier Bozzetti revealed he was a Traitor at the Round Table after an emotional Banishment. He was removed from the game after leaving the Round Table.
* In *De Verraders (Belgium)/Season 1*, Loïc Van Impe revealed he was a Traitor at a Round Table to spite fellow Traitor Jamie-Lee Six. He was also removed from the game after the Banishment, although he still got to vote.
* In *Nasledniki i Samozvantsy/Season 1*, David Manukyan revealed he was a Traitor, offering to Recruit a Faithful and convert them in a bid to avoid Banishment. However, he was not given a penalty for this action.
* In the same season, Aiza-Liluna Ai revealed the identities of the other Traitors to the Faithfuls. As she was already Banished, the show's production decided to reset the game and re-select Traitors instead - the only season this has happened so far.

## Win Condition

Due to the evolving game format, several different win conditions have arisen for the Traitors to win, depending on the specific season's endgame.

### Prisoners' Dilemma

The earliest seasons involved a prisoners' dilemma. *De Verraders (Netherlands)/Season 1* and a few other early editions allowed a Traitor who survived to the final three an option to select a Faithful. The two would then decide if they would Share or Betray:

* If both contestants picked Share, they would divide the prize fund evenly.
* If one contestant picked Share while the other picked Betray, the contestant who picked Betray gets all of the prize fund.
* If both contestants picked Betray, the third contestant in the final three left out of the prisoners' dilemma would receive all the prize fund instead.

Later editions of the show that kept the prisoners' dilemma format required at least two Traitors to make the final three; otherwise, a lone Traitor would be sidelined and watch the two Faithfuls decide instead.

### Traitor's Dilemma

Seasons like *The Traitors (Australia)/Season 2* involved a scenario where the Final Three were all Traitors, they were given a choice to either Share or Steal:

The Share option would result in

* If all Traitors choose the Share option, all remaining Traitors would get an equal split of the pot.
* If any other Traitor chooses the Steal option, anyone who chooses Share does not win any share of the pot.

The Steal option would result in

* If one Traitor chooses the Steal option, the Traitor would win the entire pot while the remaining Traitors get nothing.
* If two Traitors choose the Steal option, the Traitors would even split the pot while the Share Traitor gets nothing.
* If all three Traitors choose the Steal option, no Traitor would win any share of the prize.

### Survive the Endgame

Subsequent editions of the game involved a scenario where after the final mandated Round Table, the remaining contestants had a choice to Banish Again or End Game. If at least one contestant chose Banish Again, the group would vote to Banish another fellow contestant, after which they were presented with the options again (and could theoretically do so until the final two or three, depending on the season). If everyone chose End Game, any Traitor(s) that remained would take all of the prize funds, dividing it among themselves if necessary.

## Strategy

While the Traitors are disadvantaged by their small numbers, their power lies with having more knowledge than anyone else in the game, as well as the ability to eliminate almost anyone they desire (with exceptions).

Most successful Traitor games involve a strong social game with Faithful contestants, ensuring allies who would defend them and not vote for them at Round Tables. Other typical Traitor strategies include targeting contestants who would otherwise not be Banished (such as under the radar players and those recognised by everyone else as clear Faithful), and keeping in suspicious or controversial Faithful that would be targeted by others.

While Traitors typically work as a team to eliminate as many Faithfuls as possible, they must often consider voting for or even actively targeting fellow Traitors who are in danger of Banishment. At the same time, doing so too early or too forcefully frequently leads to dysfunction and distrust among the Traitors. In newer endgames where any remaining Traitor can claim all of the prize fund for themselves, Traitors are further incentivised to betray each other and be the last Traitor standing.

Recruitment is perceived as a potentially risky strategy, depending on the specific Faithfuls the Traitors decide to Recruit. It can either reinforce the Traitors' strength by introducing a close cooperative ally who was previously Faithful, or cause a destabilising effect as the new Traitor might not be inclined to cooperate with the others.

## List of Traitors

A list of all contestants who have ever participated as Traitors can be found here.

## Trivia

### Franchise

* *The Traitors (Australia)/Season 1* is the first season of the show to feature four instead of three original Traitors. It also has the most number of contestants playing as Traitors in a continuous season, with a total of six original and Recruited Traitors.
* The latter figure is tied by *The Traitors NZ/Season 1*, *Forræder (Denmark)/Season 1*, *Az Árulók/Season 1* and *The Traitors (UK)/Series 2*, which also hold the record for most Recruitments in one season - three.
* *Forræder (Denmark)/Season 1* is the first season to:
	+ feature multiple Forced Recruitments;
	+ and to have Traitors Banished at the first two Round Tables.
* *Nasledniki i Samozvantsy/Season 1* contains the most Traitors in a single season, with eight original and Recruited Traitors. However, this is due to the game being reset midway through, and Traitors being re-selected.
* *De Verraders (Netherlands)/Halloween Season 2* is the first season to have all the Original Traitors be the first Banished.

### Contestant

* Samantha Steenwijk from *De Verraders (Netherlands)/Season 1* is the first Faithful to accept a Recruitment and become a Traitor. She is also the first Traitor to win, and consequently the first Recruited Traitor to achieve this feat.
* Holly Mae Brood from the same season is the first Traitor to vote for another Traitor at a Round Table.
* Diederik Jekel from the same season is the first Traitor to be Banished. He was also the first contestant to ever be selected as a Traitor.
* Xavier Bozzetti from *Les Traîtres (Belgium)/Season 1* is the first Traitor to be Disqualified for a breach of rules.
* Britt Scholte and Iliass Ojja from *De Verraders (Netherlands)/Videoland Edition* are the first Traitors to win as a group, as well as achieve a clear Traitor win (as Samantha's win was shared with Faithful Chatilla van Grinsven). They are also the first original Traitors (selected at the start) to win.
* Clémence Castel and David Douillet from *Les Traîtres (France)/Season 1* are the first Traitor group with both an original Traitor and a Recruited Traitor to win. David is also the first Traitor to win without any votes cast against them.
* Vanessa Douillet from the same season is the first Traitor to be Banished at the first Round Table.
* Alex Duggan from *The Traitors (Australia)/Season 1* is the first Traitor to achieve a solo Traitor win.
* Sasha Stone from *Nasledniki i Samozvantsy/Season 1* is the first Traitor to be Banished without committing a Murder. He is also the first to only last 1 episode.
	+ From an officially licensed franchise, Robbie Bell is the first to be Banished without committing a Murder, while Elias Hole is the first to only last 1 episode.
* David Manukyan and Maxim Trankov from the same season are the first Traitors to be turned into a Faithful, due to the mid-season reset.
* Wilfred Webster from *The Traitors (UK)/Series 1* holds the record for participating in the most Murders - eight in total.
* Cirie Fields from *The Traitors (US)/Season 1* is the first original Traitor to have won without any votes cast against them.
* Arie Luyendyk Jr. from the same season is the first Traitor to Quit the game.
* Blake Willoughby, Camille Chicheportiche and Sam McGlone from *The Traitors (Australia)/Season 2* are the first Traitors to be the last contestants standing but not win any money, due to all three choosing the Steal option in Traitor's dilemma, resulting in no winner being declared that season.