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Spychecking With Your Brain
Watch their movement.
Why is that soldier with full health/armour running AWAY from the enemy? Why is that defender running into an obscure corner where there's no resupply? Time to get suspicious.
Watch their speed.
This is only useful in a couple of cases - HWGuys and Soldiers are SLOW. After a while, you get a good feel for how slow. When you see a HWGuy sprint across the map far faster than they normally move, think spy. Conversely, be suspicious of slow-moving scouts.
Watch Their Weapon.
Most classes have 4 weapons, but a disguised spy will only show one of them - the one a class spawns with. In several cases, these are the class's main weapon, but in others they are weapons that a class will rarely use. If a teammate is showing one of these weapons, they might be a spy - but if they're using another weapon, they are definitely NOT a spy.
| This Class... | Might be a spy if they're using a... | Is NOT a spy if they're using... |
|---|---|---|
| Scout | Nailgun | Crowbar, Shotgun |
| Sniper | Rifle | Crowbar, Shouldered Rifle |
| Soldier | Rocket Launcher | Crowbar, Shotgun |
| Demoman | Grenade Launcher | Crowbar, Shotgun |
| Medic | Super Nailgun | Medkit, Shotgun |
| HWGuy | Assault Cannon | Crowbar, Shotgun |
| Pyro | Flamethrower | Crowbar, Shotgun, Incendiary Cannon |
| Spy | Tranquiliser gun | Knife, Nailgun |
| Engineer | Railgun | Wrench, Shotgun |
Some of these are quite helpful - no sane engineer runs around with his railgun out, for instance - while others are less useful. With many classes, this is most useful proving the negative - for instance, HWGuys or Soldiers carrying shotguns are not spies.
Watch Their Class
Of course, smart spies know about speed and weapons, and will often stick to classes that are unlikely to be uncovered this way - Medic, Sniper and Demoman are particularly popular choices.
Watch for voice comms
When someone uses the built-in Half-Life voice communication system, a loudspeaker icon appears above their head, only visible to players on the same team. If you see this icon over someone, they're not a spy.
Watch out for pyros and burning team-mates
Pyros have several weapons that set enemies on fire. If friendly fire is off, these will not set team-mates alight. So if only your team has any pyros, and you see a teammate on fire, it's a spy.
Watch The Map.
Many maps have elements that react to members of one team only. Some of these, like respawn doors, are unlikely to be very useful for spychecking. Others, however, can be very useful. The classic example of this behaviour is the spotlights in the yard of Rock2, which light up doors when an enemy comes through them - including disguised spies. Some can be more subtle - for instance, the elevators in 2fort will only activate for members of one team.