The Witchfinder: Trial by Lots

Three inscribed tokens lie in view: Blessed, Cursed, and Judgement. A participant mixes them and lays them out, then openly places three role plaques: God, Accused, and Magistrate. When everything is revealed, the pairings line up as the story suggests. To close, the “accused” opens a sealed confession that has been waiting on the table and reads a statement that matches the outcome word for word.

Key benefits

• Immediate engagement: the trial roles give people something to do and care about without long scripting.

• Flexible runtime: play it in three quick beats or stretch with character business and pauses.

• Tactile props: cold cast brass tokens with a period feel on the table

• Scales to the room: works one-to-one or with up to three participants without changing method.

• Giveaway-ready ending: the printable confession template lets you leave a keepsake or tailor the wording to the event.

• Packs small, plays focused: table footprint is tiny, reset is automatic when everything goes back in place.

How it plays

Invite someone to act as the accused and let them arrange the three tokens face down in a row. They then place the three role plaques face up from left to right. Draw attention to the positions, and reveal that the tokens match their “proper” roles. Finally, hand the accused a sealed confession that has been in view since the start. They open it and read aloud a description of the exact placements they just made.

What’s included

• Cold cast brass tokens: Blessed, Cursed, Judgement

• Role cards printed on aged parchment paper and mounted on card

• Confession sheet in period style, plus a digital confession template to print replacements

• PDF instructions with full routine and setup

Deluxe edition adds: cold cast bronze tokens and secretly marked leather pouches for the tokens to enhance the effect

Specs & practicalities

• Setup and reset: minimal and instant

• Venues: close-up and parlour

• Skill: no sleight of hand; simple audience management; low timing pressure

Handling & pacing

Keep instructions short and neutral, and turn away during the token placement to heighten fairness. Let the alignments register before bringing out the confession, then give the reading a moment before you move on. The pieces reset as soon as you put them away.

Requirements

• A printer to replace the confession (if you want to give it away as a keepsake)

• A flat surface