Tattletale is a fast-paced microgame about the shifting allegiances of elementary school. Each player secretly represents a different faction and plots or opposes plots to get the most playground glory before the teacher has enough and shuts everything down.

During the game, successful plotting will increase the amount of Homework or Horseplay in the school. In addition to earning points for plotting or stopping a plot, each player's secret role gives them bonus points at the end of the game. They might be any of five roles, including the Teacher's Pet, who earn points for Homework, the Jock, who scores for Horseplay, or someone a little unusual like the BFF, who scores with another player.

Twice a game, the teacher comes in and players literally point fingers at each other to cast blame and reduce glory. The basic turn is structured as an iterative Prisoner's Dilemma with the extra twist that a third player opposes you and can cancel both actions if they guess cleverly.