How to Play Corp & Theft 🏢

Corp & Theft is a live, video-first whodunnit for 4 to 12 players, set behind the counter of a busy office or shop. Something has gone missing, one person in the room is the thief who took it, and everyone else has to figure out who. There's no board, no cards in your hand, and no app doing the detective work for you — the whole game plays out on camera and microphone, reading faces, catching contradictions, and arguing your case out loud. It's part interrogation drama, part friendly chaos, and it lands somewhere between Mafia, Among Us, and a panel of bad witnesses all talking over each other.

Because the deduction happens through real conversation, Corp & Theft shines with friends who'll commit to the bit. PlayParty handles the secret role assignment, the turn order, and the scoring; you bring the questions, the gossip, and the poker face. Below is everything you need to host a room and play your first round confidently.

Players & setup

Corp & Theft is built for 4 to 12 players. Four is enough for a tense, fast game; eight to ten is the sweet spot where the gossip gets rich and the thief has more cover to hide behind. Everyone needs the PlayParty app and a working camera and microphone, since the entire game is played face to face on video.

One person creates the room and becomes the host. The app generates a short room code, and the host shares that code with the group. Each friend opens PlayParty, enters the code, and joins the lobby. When everyone has their camera on and is showing up in the lobby grid, the host picks Corp & Theft and starts the match. Roles are dealt secretly the moment the round begins — only you can see your own role.

Roles

At the start of each round PlayParty privately assigns one of three roles to every player. Your role decides what you secretly know and what you're trying to do.

The Thief 🕵️

Exactly one player is the Thief. You took the missing item, and your whole goal is to survive the round without being identified. At setup you choose a disguise — the cover identity you'll pretend to be — and then you blend in, answer interrogation questions smoothly, and try to steer suspicion onto someone else. You win by staying hidden when the accusations are made.

The Cop 👮

One or more players are Cops, depending on room size. The Cop runs the investigation: interrogating suspects one at a time, weighing their answers against the gossip, and ultimately deciding who to accuse. The Cop leads the room but doesn't have to go it alone — testimony from the others is the real evidence.

Customers & Employees 🧑‍💼

Everyone else is an innocent Customer or Employee who was on the scene. You don't know who the thief is, but you saw things, and your job is to gossip, give testimony, and help reason out the culprit. You're on the same team as the Cop — the townsfolk win together when the thief is caught.

How a round works

• 1. Roles are dealt. PlayParty secretly assigns the Thief, the Cop(s), and the Customers/Employees. The crime is announced — something has been stolen from the office or shop.
• 2. The thief picks a disguise. The Thief privately chooses a cover identity to hide behind for the rest of the round.
• 3. The interrogation begins. The Cop questions suspects one at a time. Each suspect, including the thief, answers on camera while the rest of the room watches and listens.
• 4. Customers gossip and testify. Between or alongside the interrogation, the innocent players share what they noticed, contradict shaky answers, and float their suspicions.
• 5. The room reasons it out. Everyone debates the testimony live — comparing stories, spotting inconsistencies, and narrowing the suspect pool.
• 6. The accusation. Based on the evidence, the Cop (with the room's input) accuses a suspect. The accused player's true role is revealed.
• 7. Resolution. If the accusation lands on the thief, the townsfolk win the round. If it misses, the thief escapes and takes the round.

Scoring & winning

Each round has a clear winner. If the thief is correctly identified and accused, the Cop and all the Customers/Employees win together — catching the culprit is a team victory. If the thief survives without being caught, the thief wins the round solo. There's a real tension in the math: the townsfolk are many but uncertain, while the thief is alone but knows exactly what happened.

Most groups play a series of rounds and keep a running tally, reshuffling roles each time so everyone gets a turn at being the thief, the cop, and an innocent witness. The player or team with the strongest record across the session comes out on top. Because roles rotate, a single unlucky round won't sink you — it's your reading of people across the whole game that decides who's the best detective and who's the best liar.

Tips & strategy

• Commit to your disguise. If you're the thief, decide your cover story up front and keep it consistent. The fastest way to get caught is to change details between answers.
• Ask follow-up questions. As the Cop, don't accept the first answer. Re-ask the same thing later in slightly different words — liars trip on the details they didn't rehearse.
• Watch the camera, not just the words. This is a video game by design. Hesitation, glancing away, or talking too fast often says more than the actual testimony.
• Innocents should talk. Staying silent makes you look like you're hiding something. Volunteer what you "saw" and help build the timeline — active witnesses sway the room.
• Beware the loudest accuser. A thief often deflects by aggressively blaming someone else early. Notice who's steering suspicion and ask why they're so sure.
• Plant reasonable doubt. If you're the thief, you don't need to be invisible — you just need at least one believable alternative suspect for the room to argue about.

Frequently asked questions

Ready to run your first heist? Round up 4 to 12 friends, share a room code, and see who can keep a straight face on camera. Want to mix up your party lineup first? Browse all of our party games on the Games page, or head back to the PlayParty home page to get started.