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backstab

backstab is a Python library for game-theoretic analysis and Monte Carlo simulation of social deduction games in the Traitors/Mafia/Werewolf family.

It accompanies the paper "The Vote-Left Equilibrium: A Deterministic Coordination Strategy for the Faithful in The Traitors."

Where to start

This documentation is organised using the Diataxis framework.

  • Tutorials

Step-by-step lessons for newcomers. Start here if you have never used backstab before.

Run your first simulation

  • How-to guides

Practical recipes for common tasks. Start here if you know what you want to do.

Compare strategies · Analyse deviations · Run parameter sweeps

  • Reference

Complete, authoritative description of every public API.

API reference

  • Explanation

Background reading on the theory and design decisions behind the library.

The game model · The FixedOrder protocol

Installation

python -m pip install backstab

Or with uv:

uv add backstab