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First published by Century, 2023

Published in Penguin Books 2025 001

The Traitors © idtv Film & Video Productions BV and RTL Nederland B.V. 2024 Licensed by All3Media International Limited Produced in the UK by Studio Lambert Ltd

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FOREWORD

What does it feel like to be a Traitor?

I can remember the moment I felt the hand on my shoulder that meant I would be spending my time in the Castle as a Traitor. There was shock and nervousness, but also, I have to admit, a fair bit of excitement.

The reason the show caught the imagination of the public, and has become such essential viewing, is that it is a show about something we’re all utterly fascinated by: other people.

The premise is simple: twenty-two strangers meet at a remote castle in the Scottish Highlands to work together on a series of daily tasks, both physical and mental, to earn up to £120,000, which will go to the winner (or winners).

The catch is that from the protagonists three are chosen to be Traitors, who meet each evening to select one of the remaining Faithfuls to murder. The Faithfuls can fight back at a Round Table meeting each evening, where they debate everyone’s behaviour and then vote to banish someone they suspect to be a Traitor.

But that doesn’t capture the psychological drama that unfolds. With every murder and every Round Table vote our game changed shape, as there were fewer and fewer of us, and the dynamics of the relationships changed.

We spend our time making assumptions about others. We all think we can read people, and know when someone is lying, but can we?

I had to be above suspicion, forging bonds and building a family around me, as I told lies to new friends. There was pressure and guilt over the backstabbing, betrayal and double-crossing you have to employ to survive, but there was elation at eliminating a rival who had come too close to unveiling your secret. All the time, my fellow contestants who were Faithful had to try and guess everyone’s motives to sniﬀ out guilt, double and even triple bluﬀs.

And now, you too will have the opportunity to test your abilities in this book. Do you have what it takes to enter the Castle?

Will you follow the path of a Faithful or shroud yourself in the cloak of a Traitor? Will you get them before they get you?

Let the games begin!

Love

always,

Amanda Lovett

Welcome, Faithful.

The game is afoot. Are you brave enough to turn the page and enter the world of The Traitors?

Do you have what it takes to make the right choices and reach the end of this deadly game?

Will you be Faithful or a Traitor?

This book will present you with a series of decisions as you move through the 12 days it takes to make it to the finale. Beware, the wrong decision could see you banished or murdered.

You can take this journey on your own, or with others, pooling your wisdom to make the right choices. Every day you will be called upon to perform a Mission. You can choose to either play along with others, or skip to the end and continue your journey in the Castle.

The book also has regular breakout Bonus Games, separate to the Missions, which can be played with varying numbers of players, all with a Traitors twist. So there will be something for everyone in this book, whether you are reading alone, or looking for games to play with others.

Each day will end with a Round Table, as you try to work out who to banish. And every morning will begin with breakfast, as you wait to see whose absence means they have been murdered.

On the next pages are the fellow Contestants who will join you for this journey. Familiarise yourself with them.

When you are ready, turn to section 1 to start the game.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

• Alexis, 39, Edinburgh (travel website editor)

• Amrit, 29, Armagh (on-street fundraiser)

• Anna, 72, Whitley Bay (actuary)

• David, 49, Henley-upon-Thames (publican)

• Deb, 24, Port Talbot (court clerk)

• Elif, 22, North London (unemployed)

• Gabriel, 43, Anglesey (personal therapist)

• Gregg, 29, Salford (writer)

• Irwin, 41, Carlisle (pilot)

• Isla, 26, Isle of Man (aromatherapy shop owner)

• Jorge, 60, Folkestone (dentist)

• Laure, 31, Zurich (personal trainer)

• Luke, 24, Swanage (quantity surveyor)

• Nina, 73, Cork (‘retired’ ﬂorist)

• Precious, 28, Skye (student)

• Rakayah, 19, Dudley (‘in IT ’)

• River, 32, South London (museum guide)

• Ruby, 29, York (genome researcher)

• Steve-O, 42, Lowestoft (coastguard)

• Teddy, 24, South London (crypto podcaster)

• Tim, 53, Cornwall (park-keeper)

• You

1 DAY 1

The sun beats down as you stand on the manicured lawn. Behind you rise the imposing towers of the Castle. You and 21 strangers. Summoned to play a deadly game of truth and lies. Already, those who happened to be sitting next to each other on the train that brought you here have settled into groups. You overhear fragments of the sorts of muttered conversations strangers have as they get to know each other. Nina (Cork, 73) is clearly into ﬂowers, as she points at a particularly verdant bush and says something in Latin.

You find yourself standing between Luke (Swanage, 24) and Deb (Port Talbot, 24) and are somehow drawn into a conversation about whether white or brown bread is best for toast. Not wanting to be controversial, you say you like both but always save the white slice for last as a ‘treat’, then regret it when no one laughs and you catch Elif (North London, 22) looking at you a little too intently. But there’s no time to dwell on it, as everyone suddenly becomes silent and faces in the same direction.

Your Host addresses you from the steps of the Castle: ‘Welcome to you all. I trust you enjoyed your trip. The game is afoot, in fact it has been since you arrived at the railway station. You must learn that every decision here matters. Look behind you.’ You all turn

as one and see a large rectangle on the ground with a colour spectrum moving from green at one end, to red at the other.

‘This colour spectrum is to measure your confidence. Green represents a belief you will be good at this game, and red that you will be terrible, with every range of confidence in between. Go now and stand on the colour that represents your level of confidence. How good do you think you’ll be?’

What do you do?

• Stand on green. Even though you’re actually feeling quite nervous, everyone loves confidence. Turn to 185.

• Stand somewhere in the middle, best not to stand out, isn’t it? Turn to 261.

• Stand on red. Even though you think you might actually be quite good at this, self-deprecation is charming. Turn to 236.

2

After the Mission, you wander along the corridor, thinking about how only a few days earlier it was almost impossible to find somewhere that people weren’t. But now it feels empty. You aren’t entirely sure which you prefer, just that at every stage there have been diﬀerent challenges. You listen to the sound of the Castle creaking in the heat of the sun. Out of the window you watch clouds moving over distant hills.

During the Mission, you tried to watch everyone closely, especially River and Tim, but they didn’t seem to be behaving diﬀerently in

any way. Gabriel was his usual beaming self. Gregg was still a little withdrawn, but understandably so. It feels odd to have your secret and you realise this might be a tiny taster of what it’s like to be a Traitor.

You hear the sound of laughter in the corridor and when you stick your head around the door, Gabriel says, ‘Hooray, come and play a game with us!’

• Turn to 264

River listens intensely as you explain the various theories ﬂying around on why her and Tim might be plausible Traitors.

‘Wow,’ she says. ‘I didn’t see that one coming. I mean, after last night, Tim, sure. But why are they looking at me suddenly? I hope I can count on you later if it comes down to it.’ You nod, wondering all the time what you will do.

River excuses herself and says she needs to go and get changed before Round Table. You have ten blissful minutes as you sit with your eyes closed, listening to the tick of a clock, before Gabriel puts his head around the door and says, ‘It’s time.’

You get up and walk towards the Round Table.

• Turn to 176.

When you arrive, you say hello to a few people, sharing the odd joke, trying to project confidence.

‘Remember, you are yet to banish a Traitor,’ says your Host. ‘If even one of them remains at the end, they will win.’

There is a pause, then Gregg clears his throat. Whenever you’re around Gregg at the moment, you get pretty apprehensive.

What do you do?

• Jump in before Gregg can start speaking. Turn to 83

• Let Gregg speak, making sure you don’t look like you’re fearful of what he has to say. Turn to 61.

DAY 10

As you walk downstairs, all you can think is ‘walk like a Faithful, walk like a Faithful.’ You’re the first one in for breakfast this morning and you wonder if it’s been done to put more pressure on you. You concentrate on the basics of a Faithful-looking breakfast. Not a

phrase you ever thought you’d use. After all, for the Faithfuls, the big news is that Nina was banished. You have to remember that.

Suddenly it hits you that you only have to stay for another couple of days and you’re in with a very good chance of winning.

However, right now, you can barely work out if you want toast or half a grapefruit.

The first knock at the door is Gregg. He looks as if he hasn’t slept all night. Even though Nina had been a Traitor, she was a beloved part of the group and it’s clearly hit him hard.

‘Hooray,’ he says, smiling ruefully. ‘It’s me.’

You smile genuinely. ‘I’m not sure I have a hooray in me this morning, I’m afraid,’ you say.

There’s another knock and Gabriel puts his head around the door, then Anna, then River, then Ruby, all with the same subdued sense of celebration, as people shuﬄe about fixing themselves coﬀee. You realise suddenly how much of a threat Ruby is, now you’re not on the same side.

Then the room realises that it’s only Tim and Precious who aren’t there. You make a conscious eﬀort to go along with the muttering.

There’s a gentle knock on the door . . . and Tim comes around the corner, smiling. He scans the room and quickly works out who is missing. ‘Oh, no . . .’ But then there is a knock at the door and Precious enters, smiling. The room erupts into cheers. River runs to hug her. Tim holds his heart. They really are very good at this.

‘Well, I’m sorry, Precious, but last time this happened they recruited another Traitor,’ says Gabriel. ‘I’m happy to see you. But I can’t help but feel a bit worried what this means too.’

‘It is a bit unsettling, isn’t it?’ agrees Tim, sipping a cup of tea.

After breakfast, Gregg tells everyone he’s going for a walk and sets oﬀ on his own. The others pair oﬀ: River, Precious and Ruby to sit on the steps and Gabriel, Tim and Anna to the library.

What do you do?

• Catch up with River, Precious and Ruby. Turn to 125.

• Go with Gabriel, Tim and Anna. Turn to 68.

As you cross the room, you spot Deb sitting on her own looking visibly upset.

‘I just feel so bad, you know,’ she says. ‘I was so sure last night, but I was wrong.’

Her eyes are genuinely shining with tears, but again, you can’t help but wonder if it might be a strategy. If she is a Traitor and has the spotlight on her, wouldn’t this be the exact right way to play things?

You pat her arm, make some sympathetic noises and move along.

• Turn to 30.

Tim stands over by the window and watches Gregg walking across the lawn in the distance. ‘Well, there’s a Traitor-hunter with the weight of the world on his shoulders,’ he says. ‘I should really go and talk to him.’

‘I’m not sure if looking sad because you’ve banished a Traitor would be my strategy,’ says Anna. ‘If I was advising his life insurer, I’d say there was some extra risk there!’

You realise that might be the first time you’ve heard Anna make a joke.

‘The way I see it, Gregg’s behaviour makes sense as one of two options,’ says Anna. ‘Either he is genuinely shocked by the news that Nina was a Traitor. Or he’s a Traitor who threw Nina under the bus and feels guilty.’

You nod along. It’s certainly an interesting choice of behaviour from Gregg. Which makes you wonder if it isn’t genuine after all.

‘I would never argue with you on strategy, Anna,’ says Tim, ‘but I have a question. Do you feel as confident making predictions about the people who just keep themselves to themselves?’

‘Like who?’

He pauses. ‘Like Ruby, say? Or Precious?’ As ever with Tim, it’s said with a very breezy tone, but there’s something forceful about it. ‘Or perhaps it’s just that I’ve never liked “Ruby Tuesday” as a song.’ He has his eyes closed but you see the others looking at him a little bemused.

‘Well, there’s certainly less data to go on,’ concedes Anna. ‘If she is a Traitor, then her question about whether anyone has changed their behaviour was very clever. Because it made her seem like she was rooting out Traitors, but, of course, we don’t know her, so can’t judge if her behaviour has changed. Precious is even more of a mystery as she’s taken much more of a back seat. It’s just the sort of devious thing to happen in this place for them to send in a Traitor.’

Tim sips from his tea, looking thoughtful. You chat for a while and then decide it’s time for a change of scene.

• Turn to 32.

You go and sit next to River, who thinks that Jorge is a big loss.

‘Anna’s kept a record of who’s voted for who at Round Table. Apparently Jorge has the best record on not voting for Traitors.’

‘Had,’ you remark. A thought occurs: ‘Listen, have you talked to Nina about . . . you know?’

‘Grannygate?’ asks River, with a look.

‘Stop it,’ you say.

‘Yeah, me and Nina were the first ones down. She didn’t actually seem massively cut up about it. Which is a bit weird, right? Her own granddaughter, a Faithful, getting kicked out?’

River might be onto something, you think, but on the other hand, you’ve got to try and stay in the game whether you’re a murderous visitor to the Conclave or a tried and true Faithful.

• Turn to 180.

You make your excuses and explain you’ve already agreed to meet someone, hoping it doesn’t appear too obvious that you’re avoiding a conversation with them. You wander in the garden, enjoying being on your own for a while. As you come round a corner, you bump into Nina and Rakayah. Rakayah says she’s going to go back to the Castle, but Nina joins you out under the trees. She points out a couple of plants and you look politely.

‘Lovely girl, but very young,’ she says, as she watches Rakayah in the distance. ‘She keeps telling me she thinks I’m marvellous. I remember when seventy seemed a very long way away.’

You smile and look down. Then you suggest it’s time to head inside. You bump into Teddy, who says, ‘It’s Round Table time.’

• Turn to 141.

‘You’re right, Teddy, I wasn’t being honest with you,’ you say.

‘I knew it!’ he shouts.

‘But the reason I couldn’t meet your eye isn’t that I’m a Traitor. It’s just that I was worried I’d laugh. Because, if I’m honest, this feels a bit silly to me.’ You look around the table, meeting people’s eyes.

‘I’m going to be completely honest now. I have no idea who is a Traitor. No grand plan. No big theory. I might as well ﬂ ip a coin. All I know is that I’m a Faithful.’

Your Host announces, ‘Faithfuls and Traitors, it is time to carry out your first banishment. Please write down who you think should leave the game.’

Suddenly it all seems very real. In a few moments’ time, someone will leave the room, and the game, for good. You ask yourself who’s acting most like a Traitor, and while of course any of you could be innocent, Steve-O is the one who seems most defensive.

As those ahead of you read out the name they’ve written down, almost everyone has written Steve-O. When it’s your turn to justify it, you just say, ‘I had to write someone, I’m sorry.’

River and Laure actually vote for Tim but, other than that, it’s time for Steve-O to leave. It’s a big moment, watching him stand. His upper lip is trembling.

‘Steve-O,’ intones your Host. ‘You have been banished. Before you leave the Castle, it’s time to reveal whether you’re Faithful or a Traitor.’

‘I’d just like to say,’ oﬀers Steve-O, ‘I honestly thought I’d be here longer than this. I wasn’t sure I’d win, but this . . .’ He peters out.

‘You messed up, guys. I’m a Faithful. Or was.’

‘Oh Jesus!’ barks Rakayah.

‘This is on me, guys, I’m sorry, I rushed things,’ oﬀers Irwin. ‘SteveO, you’re right, I’m so sorry, mate.’

• Turn to 69.

‘If I may,’ you say. ‘I have always tried to play things by my head. But now I’d like to appeal from the heart. I am a Faithful. I know that to be true.’ As you speak, you look around and make eye contact with every one of them. ‘I hope that my behaviour in here has earned me your trust. I haven’t got everything right, no one has, but I’ve acted like a Faithful from day one. However, whatever happens, I don’t think it’s right for any of us to not face the same scrutiny. River, you have always been great at summing up the mood of the group, but I don’t think now is the time for that. You should face the same scrutiny as the rest of us. There’s just something about how eager you are to control what we all think.’ Ruby nods vigorously. But Gabriel looks uncomfortable that you have been so aggressive.

All too soon, it’s time. But this time you are collected and taken down to the front of the Castle. In the shadows you think you must be where you had first stood on the grass what seems like a lifetime ago. Your Host steps forwards.

• Turn to 25.

While you wait to be called in, a few people open a pack of cards and you decide to join in.

BONUS GAME

CAPTURE THE CASTLE: JESTER

You need: deck of cards, phone with timer

Players: Town Crier, plus at least two others

Take from the deck two 2s (the Renegades) and one joker (the Court Jester). Then add court cards (king, queen, jack) until there are three more cards than there are players.

One player is the Town Crier and should now read the text below.

I am shuﬄ ing the cards, and dealing one to everyone, including myself.

I am now placing the remaining cards face down in a row on the table.

Everyone, look at your card. If you have a , you are a Renegade, come to capture the castle. If you have a joker, you are the Court Jester. Everyone else is a member of the Royal

Family. Place your card face down, close to the three already on the table in a way that makes it clear whose is whose.

When I say, ‘Let us dance!’, the Masked Ball will commence. Everyone – including me – will close their eyes for a count of eight. During that time, any Renegades must open their eyes and clock each other.

Ready . . . Let us dance! One, two, three, four, ﬁve, six, seven . . . eight.

Everyone must open their eyes. When I say, ‘Send for the Jester!’, we will all again close our eyes for a count of eight. During that time, the Court Jester may silently swap, without turning them over, any two cards, or may choose not to.

Ready . . . Send for the Jester! One, two, three, four, ﬁve, six, seven . . . eight.

Everyone must open their eyes. The King has heard that there may be a Renegade at his Masked Ball. In ﬁve minutes’ time, he will have someone put in the stocks.

Your identity is the one on the card in your place, regardless of what you started with. You have ﬁve minutes to debate whom to put in the stocks. Any of you may claim to have been assigned any of the identities – Royal Family, Renegade or Jester.

The time starts . . . now.

Set the timer, and then when the time is up . . .

After a count of ﬁve, we shall all vote. The player or players with the most votes shall be placed in the stocks.

If one or more Renegades is placed in the stocks, the Royal Family shall be declared victorious. If there were no

Renegades, the Royal Family shall be declared victorious. In all other situations, the Renegades shall be declared victorious. If you decide that the King should exhibit clemency, you should now agree to each vote for the player on your left, and nobody shall be placed in the stocks.

I shall now make the count of ﬁve. One, two, three, four, ﬁve.

NB : this game can be combined with other Capture the Castle games in the list of games at the start of the book, so long as the total number of cards is always topped up to three more than the number of players using members of the Royal Family.

Just as you finish the game, you hear your name being called and it’s time for you to meet your Host.

• Turn to 290.

‘I wouldn’t have ever thought it in a million years till last night,’ you say. ‘She’s a total Faithful. But then Nina? I’m not saying I’m totally agreeing with you at all. But I’m not ruling it out either.’

‘Ooh, careful with those splinters in your bum from sitting on that fence!’ says Ruby. You can’t help but warm to her. She’s forthright and charming. All the qualities you’d need to be a brilliant Traitor, you immediately think.

‘Let’s both just keep an eye on River then,’ she says. And you nod.

‘Right. We should go join up with the others,’ Ruby says. ‘Before they start to gossip!’

As you head into the corridor, your Host addresses you from the stairs.

‘Right, time for you to join together, Faithfuls and Traitors, and complete today’s Mission.’

• Turn to 252.

‘You know, Gabriel, until a few nights ago, not in a million years,’ you say. ‘Then Nina happened. I’m not saying I’m totally agreeing on River. But I’m not ruling it out either.’

You feel proud of your reasoning. River was right, the trick is just to pretend you don’t know that you’re a Traitor.

9781804947685

penguin books

The Ultimate Game of Cunning, Logic and Intuition

PENGUIN BOOKS

BONUS GAMES

FOREWORD

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

1

DAY 1

2

DAY 10

BONUS GAME

CAPTURE THE CASTLE: JESTER