Steel_Wind
Legend
The Best Game at this Year’s Gencon…
Now, I know that some attendees will take offence to this, insisting that their game of preference was the best game of the con or a really cool product for this and that reason. I know, I know; yadda yadda yadda. Yeah the game you bought was pretty cool and I’m not saying you should not have bought it or that you should have spent your money on something else, ok?
This time, you probably were perfectly justified in not buying the best game at Gencon. But that does not mean that you spent your time wisely when you didn’t play The Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow. frequently and often.
In fact, I am so overwhelmed by how ingenious this game was and how much damn fun it was, I pretty much can’t wait to got to another con – ANY con – just to play it.
Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow or the slightly more straightforward Are you a Werewolf? is freaking cool ok? I don’t care how may pages Ptolus was or how many Ennies SCAP won. I bought them too. The fact is though, for a game at a convention setting? The Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow is the Best. Convention Game. Evar. If you ever have a chance to play this game? Do it. Go FAR out of your way to play this game. Cross state lines, get a passport, etc.. It’s worth it.
I believe that gaming at conventions is inherently different from the types of games you generally get when playing with your local gaming circle. Whether that is RPGs, boardgames or cards and minis, the kind of game experience you get when playing with strangers at a table is qualitatively different. Frequently, this also means that it’s often not as good for some games (RPGs, say) but that is not always so.
But sometimes, like for the brilliance that is Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow, the only place you can really play the game is at a con.
So what’s this all about? Pretty simple. I’ll explain the game to you right now to explain why this is the Best. Convention Game. Evar. As it turns out, you will also know all you need to really play this thing after you have read this post. You have all you need to play this game right now with a deck of traditional playing cards, or use Magic cards or glass beads in a bag or whatever.
The game is social game best played with between 14 to 18 people. Strangers? Even better.
Setup: The players all sit in a circle – either on the floor or in chairs in a circle, so that each player can more or less see the other.
Players: 1 moderator and between 14 to 18 people makes the best game. If the players are for the most part strangers to one another, this is pretty much ideal.
Equipment: The Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow is played with a small deck of cards in a box with a tiny, tiny booklet of rules. You could fit it all on one 8.5x 11 and you would have room to spare. The main cards are simple:
The moderator deals out one card to each player. You look at it and hide it afterwards. The card determines your role for that game. The cards are:
Villagers: A bunch of “villager” cards are in the box. Villagers have no special powers. They are victims in the night and a lynch mob in the day.
Werewolves: There are up to 4 werewolves with 18+ players but generally for 14 to 18 players, using three werewolves worked best. By day the werewolf appears to be a villager; at night, they come awake when everyone is asleep and can pick off and kill one of the members of the circle. That person is out of the game.
Variant cards: One seer card. The seer is a special villager. At night, the seer can look when everyone else is asleep and, by pointing, ask the moderator if a person is a werewolf or not. The moderator either affirms that person is a werewolf or a villager with a silent thumbs up or thumbs down.
The Peeking Child: The player who has this card can peek during the werewolf phase – but if caught peeking – is immediately slain by the werewolves.
Play: During the night cycle, the players in a circle close their eyes and rhythmically slap their thighs with one hand as they do so. The slapping gets people into the shared experience of the game and also serves to mask any rustling of sleeves or other noise that might be made by those who awake at night as they point (the werewolves, for the most part).
The moderator begins the night cycle and everyone "goes to sleep" by closing their eyes and beginning the rhythmic slapping. The moderator than announces that the the werewolves awaken. The 3 people (in a game of 14-18 or so) then open their eyes and look to each other to see each other is awake and to know who the other werewolves are. The werewolves then decide on their victom by pointing at him or her silently and nod heads or gesture otherwise. The majority of the wolves decide and agree silently by pointing and facial expression who the victim is.
Generally speaking, those players who are considered to be clever and a threat to exposing the werewolves successfully are picked off first. Being a good and vocal player has its risks
The moderator acknowledges the choice of victom and announces the wolves go to sleep. The wolves close their eyes.
The moderator awaken the seer next and the seer player performs his or her one interrogation of one villager to determine if they are a werewolf or not by pointing at a player. The moderator confirms the identity with a silent up or down thumb and that’s it.
The seer is sent back asleep and a short time later, the moderator announces that everyone awakes, and then walks to stand behind the player who was killed and taps them on the shoulder. Their role in the game is done and they are out.
The villagers – including the werewolves masquerading as villagers – now play a game of Survivor. They argue, theorize and point at who the werewolf must be and persuade the others in the circle of the correctness of their thinking. Villagers interrogate. Werewolves pretending to be villagers interrogate. The werewolves, if confronted, lie. Depending on who well they lie, they either get away with it or not.
The villagers have no choice. They *must* vote and choose a guilty party to lynch by a majority. The person selected is lynched and their identity as werewolf or villager (or possibly seer) is revealed. The lynched victim is out of the game and the remaining circle of players tightens up by adjusting their chairs to fill the space and night falls. Rythmic slapping commences. Wash, rinse, repeat.
The game continues until either all the werewolves are slain or the werewolves win by picking off enough villagers that they werewolves fform at least half of the remaining village.
I am told the game is based on a Russian card game form the 1930s called mafia. It was popularized again in France back in 2003 with the release of Werewolves of Miller’s Grove. There are some other cards and variants that expand on the game and provide other roles – but it is mostly just a gloss on the above.
This was easily the best damned game I ever played at a convention. We were laughing and arguing and slapping our thighs during the “sleep” portion of the game like some Lord of the Flies re-enactment. It was a total blast. Utterly addictive. I cannot recommend this game highly enough. If you have not played it – do so if you ever get the chance.
No dice, not much equipment required to play to speak. Utterly elegant and totally brilliant game design.
Best. Convention Game. Evar. I can’t wait to play this game again. It was simply awesome.
Now, I know that some attendees will take offence to this, insisting that their game of preference was the best game of the con or a really cool product for this and that reason. I know, I know; yadda yadda yadda. Yeah the game you bought was pretty cool and I’m not saying you should not have bought it or that you should have spent your money on something else, ok?
This time, you probably were perfectly justified in not buying the best game at Gencon. But that does not mean that you spent your time wisely when you didn’t play The Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow. frequently and often.
In fact, I am so overwhelmed by how ingenious this game was and how much damn fun it was, I pretty much can’t wait to got to another con – ANY con – just to play it.
Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow or the slightly more straightforward Are you a Werewolf? is freaking cool ok? I don’t care how may pages Ptolus was or how many Ennies SCAP won. I bought them too. The fact is though, for a game at a convention setting? The Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow is the Best. Convention Game. Evar. If you ever have a chance to play this game? Do it. Go FAR out of your way to play this game. Cross state lines, get a passport, etc.. It’s worth it.
I believe that gaming at conventions is inherently different from the types of games you generally get when playing with your local gaming circle. Whether that is RPGs, boardgames or cards and minis, the kind of game experience you get when playing with strangers at a table is qualitatively different. Frequently, this also means that it’s often not as good for some games (RPGs, say) but that is not always so.
But sometimes, like for the brilliance that is Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow, the only place you can really play the game is at a con.
So what’s this all about? Pretty simple. I’ll explain the game to you right now to explain why this is the Best. Convention Game. Evar. As it turns out, you will also know all you need to really play this thing after you have read this post. You have all you need to play this game right now with a deck of traditional playing cards, or use Magic cards or glass beads in a bag or whatever.
The game is social game best played with between 14 to 18 people. Strangers? Even better.
Setup: The players all sit in a circle – either on the floor or in chairs in a circle, so that each player can more or less see the other.
Players: 1 moderator and between 14 to 18 people makes the best game. If the players are for the most part strangers to one another, this is pretty much ideal.
Equipment: The Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow is played with a small deck of cards in a box with a tiny, tiny booklet of rules. You could fit it all on one 8.5x 11 and you would have room to spare. The main cards are simple:
The moderator deals out one card to each player. You look at it and hide it afterwards. The card determines your role for that game. The cards are:
Villagers: A bunch of “villager” cards are in the box. Villagers have no special powers. They are victims in the night and a lynch mob in the day.
Werewolves: There are up to 4 werewolves with 18+ players but generally for 14 to 18 players, using three werewolves worked best. By day the werewolf appears to be a villager; at night, they come awake when everyone is asleep and can pick off and kill one of the members of the circle. That person is out of the game.
Variant cards: One seer card. The seer is a special villager. At night, the seer can look when everyone else is asleep and, by pointing, ask the moderator if a person is a werewolf or not. The moderator either affirms that person is a werewolf or a villager with a silent thumbs up or thumbs down.
The Peeking Child: The player who has this card can peek during the werewolf phase – but if caught peeking – is immediately slain by the werewolves.
Play: During the night cycle, the players in a circle close their eyes and rhythmically slap their thighs with one hand as they do so. The slapping gets people into the shared experience of the game and also serves to mask any rustling of sleeves or other noise that might be made by those who awake at night as they point (the werewolves, for the most part).
The moderator begins the night cycle and everyone "goes to sleep" by closing their eyes and beginning the rhythmic slapping. The moderator than announces that the the werewolves awaken. The 3 people (in a game of 14-18 or so) then open their eyes and look to each other to see each other is awake and to know who the other werewolves are. The werewolves then decide on their victom by pointing at him or her silently and nod heads or gesture otherwise. The majority of the wolves decide and agree silently by pointing and facial expression who the victim is.
Generally speaking, those players who are considered to be clever and a threat to exposing the werewolves successfully are picked off first. Being a good and vocal player has its risks
The moderator acknowledges the choice of victom and announces the wolves go to sleep. The wolves close their eyes.
The moderator awaken the seer next and the seer player performs his or her one interrogation of one villager to determine if they are a werewolf or not by pointing at a player. The moderator confirms the identity with a silent up or down thumb and that’s it.
The seer is sent back asleep and a short time later, the moderator announces that everyone awakes, and then walks to stand behind the player who was killed and taps them on the shoulder. Their role in the game is done and they are out.
The villagers – including the werewolves masquerading as villagers – now play a game of Survivor. They argue, theorize and point at who the werewolf must be and persuade the others in the circle of the correctness of their thinking. Villagers interrogate. Werewolves pretending to be villagers interrogate. The werewolves, if confronted, lie. Depending on who well they lie, they either get away with it or not.
The villagers have no choice. They *must* vote and choose a guilty party to lynch by a majority. The person selected is lynched and their identity as werewolf or villager (or possibly seer) is revealed. The lynched victim is out of the game and the remaining circle of players tightens up by adjusting their chairs to fill the space and night falls. Rythmic slapping commences. Wash, rinse, repeat.
The game continues until either all the werewolves are slain or the werewolves win by picking off enough villagers that they werewolves fform at least half of the remaining village.
I am told the game is based on a Russian card game form the 1930s called mafia. It was popularized again in France back in 2003 with the release of Werewolves of Miller’s Grove. There are some other cards and variants that expand on the game and provide other roles – but it is mostly just a gloss on the above.
This was easily the best damned game I ever played at a convention. We were laughing and arguing and slapping our thighs during the “sleep” portion of the game like some Lord of the Flies re-enactment. It was a total blast. Utterly addictive. I cannot recommend this game highly enough. If you have not played it – do so if you ever get the chance.
No dice, not much equipment required to play to speak. Utterly elegant and totally brilliant game design.
Best. Convention Game. Evar. I can’t wait to play this game again. It was simply awesome.
