Game: Werewolves of Miller's Hollow

Thread: First Time Hosting Tips

sightreader — 2008-07-11T18:10:50+00:00

Thanks to a few more months of experience, here's an update of my previous hosting tips.

Ratios
For [gameid=25821] you need about 3 villagers for every Werewolf. The Seer is generally recommended as well, and that's probably complicated enough to get started. Have more roles rehearsed and ready, though, because most people hate being stuck as a simple villager.
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Jumping right in
I teach non-gamers who are generally restless, so I explain the general cycle of "sleep-bite-wake-lynch" then jump right in. You can explain individual roles as you call up these people to do their tasks. This quick start approach can help with unruly crowds of folks who want to talk about everything but the game. All that really matters is that players can identify what their roles are before the game starts - I provide a playing aid of some sort so people don't have to reveal that they have a weird role just to get you to identify it.
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Frequent breaks
The critical thing to remember is that it is positively painful for players to keep eyes closed for prolonged periods of time. You really can't appreciate this until you've played - within minutes, your entire group can end up with a bleary eyed headache. Explain what you're going to do with eyes open, close eyes, do it quickly, then let eyes open up again while you fumble around or explain what's going to happen next.

Secrecy
All the things you have to do sound easy until you realize that it all has to be done with attentive ears listening for everything! Before starting the first night, remember to warn people (especially the chatty ones) that players are listening for movements, sounds or changes in speech that might give something away. Here's some classic examples:

1. You: "Werewolf, choose a victim" - Werewolf: "Ummmm..." - Villagers: all turn in surprise, then bust out laughing
2. Werewolves: goofing and fidgeting - You: "Werewolves, open your eyes" - Werewolves: abruptly quiet

As a moderator, you have to be even more careful and even deceptive. Direct your voice the wrong way when talking to someone. Get used to using formal titles ("The Lovers will now... The Witch will now...") NEVER use the words like "him" or "her"!

Communicating Selected Roles
There are times when people have to choose roles (Bodyguard: "I choose to protect the Witch"). Have a numbered board ready so these selections can be made secretly with one hand (so the player can use their other hand to make it sound like they're not paying attention): You: "Which of these 4 groups is that role in? OK, is it the first, second or third role there?"

Communicating Selected People
For roles like The Lovers, people have to know they were chosen. However, in big tables and crammed rooms, it can be awkward and time consuming for you to tour the room tapping people on the shoulder.
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To reduce movement, have everyone hold out their hands to you (eyes closed). Make sure you pretend to reach and touch everyone, but just grasp the hands of those chosen.

Verifying Identities
After Werewolf kills and Seer choices, you have to make sure that no one special was picked. I suggest having people hold their cards up with eyes closed.
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Voting
To reduce pointless arguing, you can just have those who are undecided raise their hands and ask questions. When everyone's mind is made up, have everyone point, figure out who the top vote getters are, then get a count.
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I wish you best of luck, and I hope you have as much fun watching werewolves gobble up villagers as we do!
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linael — 2008-06-26T12:21:29+00:00

Free mini-game

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desmodus — 2008-06-16T12:37:18+00:00

mini edition for babybel 2007 in France

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siuchak — 2008-06-12T21:41:21+00:00

Expension in different colour

Thread: Re: Differences?

gmonk — 2008-06-01T16:58:53+00:00

It looks very nice but otherwise appears to be a compilation of rules and variants added in. Is the publishers request sufficient reason for this version to receive its own entry? Maybe a container type similar to "series" needs to be added for "variants"?

Thread: Re: Session at Schoorl

Wyckyd — 2008-05-24T11:39:08+00:00

oetan wrote:

Otto: "All who are innocent, raise your hand!"
His neighbour was stupid enough to hesitate and not raise his hand... One down.

That's brilliant! I'm definitely going to try that next time.

Thread: Session at Schoorl

oetan — 2008-05-23T16:44:54+00:00

Our annual work meeting at Schoorl is always (mis)used to play a few games of Werewolves. This year we didn't have that many participants, but still there were twelve people playing, plus a gamemaster.

The roles were three werewolves, witch, seer, little girl, hunter, cupid and the rest villagers.

Both sessions I was the seer. In the first game the first two rounds ordinary villagers were killed. I had already discovered the little girl and the hunter by then. The hunter and little girl players started accusing each other, so I decided to speak up:
"I'm the seer, and I know who the hunter and the little girl are."
Hunter: "How can I believe you. You must be a wolf."
"OK, you're the hunter!"
Point taken. I didn't want to reveal the little girl, but then the witch spoke up, and said she had revived Otto, the little girl player. That fact meant he was innocent, and I confirmed his identity as little girl. The wolf player next to him (we didn't know that yet at that point) started to get nervous and made some stupid remarks. Otto moved to kill her first. I agreed, and the other two confirmed innocent people, Otto and I all voted for her. That was one down.

Of course, I was killed the next round, but Otto did the math and the wolves were killed. Villagers win.

The next game I discovered cupid, and I was killed already the first night. That's good for the wolves. But, the story doesn't end there. Cupid (Otto, him again) had selected two real-life lovers as lovers, one wolf and the witch. The first wolf was eliminated like this:
Otto: "All who are innocent, raise your hand!"
His neighbour was stupid enough to hesitate and not raise his hand... One down.

The next wolf, the lover, died under weird circumstances. It was revealed to the witch that the hunter's neighbour was killed. She decided to also kill the hunter (she didn't know his identity) with her potion. The next morning there were two casualties. The body count grew, with the hunter having the ability to kill another player upon death. He selected the witch!! And that also meant the lover-wolf was killed. Four dead in one round!

The last wolf didn't stand a chance, because some really weird arguments were exchanged between the few remaining players. Otto was killed, but that confirmed the wolf's identity, and as a consequence the villagers won again.

Good game. Very much fun, indeed.

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hugo_pereira_pt — 2008-05-08T20:45:23+00:00

Werewolves - Portuguese Edition

Thread: Re: Differences?

jeep — 2008-04-18T23:56:13+00:00

I was going to ask this myself. Why is this considered separately from the other games... If this is separate, then why isn't the public domain game Mafia (upon which Werewolf was based) separate?

-JEEP

Thread: Re: A Quick Review of The Werewolves of Millers Hollow

yankinlk — 2008-03-17T12:24:56+00:00

:) Thumbs up for the OP. I have been searching for a translation of the rules since I bought my copy in Austria. I knew the basics but wasnt sure of the extra cards included. This is a great game and I always whip it out when im at/having a party of non-gamers in a big group.

Thread: Re: A short game of Texas Werewolf

macls29 — 2008-02-25T19:07:45+00:00

Fabulous report! This is an example of something I really enjoy - where the logic in voting is clear, but also a "flavor" of the game comes through. Thanks John!

Thread: Re: A short game of Texas Werewolf

jmellby — 2008-02-25T14:27:38+00:00

Big Bad Lex wrote:
jmellby wrote:
Jeremy was so excited that he jumped up screaming "I'm
the Seer" and started waving his Seer card around, "and
I know Steven's the wolf!"

Jeremy needs to get out more.

He runs a comic book store, so yes.

Thread: Re: A short game of Texas Werewolf

Big Bad Lex — 2008-02-25T10:47:17+00:00

jmellby wrote:
Jeremy was so excited that he jumped up screaming "I'm
the Seer" and started waving his Seer card around, "and
I know Steven's the wolf!"

Jeremy needs to get out more.

Thread: A short game of Texas Werewolf

jmellby — 2008-02-25T04:42:00+00:00

Werewolf
2/23/2008

Saturday night we played a couple of games of Werewolf that
were striking for the regional flavor. We had two tables
at Madness Comics in Plano that finished at the same time.
We noticed the group of 20-somethings at the next table
had just purchased Werewolf and so we got everyone in a group.

Except the owner, Chris. Chris bowed out of the game, no doubt
expecting that a game about ripping people's throats out could
end as badly as the first Ca$h-n-Gun$ game, where our
fellow Texas were upset that they were not allowed to
their own guns. Or as one of them put it, "This is foam! There's
not stopping power to it!"

I've been in a number of Werewolf games, from the huge convention
games where no one knows one another, and hence takes forever
to finish, to the 10-12 people game where everyone is friends,
and things get serious. In the big games people are frequently
reluctant to talk first (least they be hanged). In smaller games
with friends things get going faster, but there is a lot
of baggage so the discussion goes on a bit.

But this game had mainly new players who were Texans, and this was
different.

So we had 5 middle-aged people that gamed a lot together,
and 4 college-agers (Paul, Paul, Alex, and ? - I'll
call him Dan) who knew each other.

Steven (the only other experienced Werewolf) and Alex (one
of the college-agers) killed Paul(1) and I explained the
discussion rules. As a small-group moderator I let discussion
go until someone is formally accused and this is seconded,
after which you allow a short speach by the defense, and voting.
This usually takes a while, especially with first time players.

But not with this group.

Paul(2) says "Alex". Dan adds "He grunted when he looked at his card.
He must be a Werewolf". One of the older folk added "He needs killin."
Lots of grunts and head-nodding. About 20 words and someone
was already heading for a noose.

As a moderator I normally don't interfere, but they hadn't "formally"
accused Alex, so I suggested they consider the options.
They wouldn't have it. A quick nomination and second later
all the hands shot into the air, except Steven's (the other
Werewolf) who looked shell-shocked.

I told them we had to listen to his defense and offered Alex a
chance to explain why he was innocent and why this would
hurt the village.

His defense was short. Four letters long, and I won't repeat them.
Again five hands shot into the air, excepting Steven's who
looked shocked. It took about 70 seconds to hang one of
their friends.

One night-time killing later (it was Thomas, because he won
the previous game of Kingsburg) and Steven tried a standard
tactic. "Paul was quick to accuse Alex ..." He didn't even
get the words out to suggest Paul was the Wolf. Dan jumped
in "Sounds good to me. Hang him." Again lots of head-nodding.

Paul(2) tried a defense. "Steven was the only person who didn't
vote for hanging Alex. He must be a Wolf!" Everyone seemed to
agree with this but since they had started out to hang Paul,
they agreed it was "Bad Form" to change directions in the
middle of the stream. Or as Monty put it "We'll get to Steven
tomorrow."

So Paul(2) died, and it was the wrong thing for Monty to say
because he was killed in the night.

We were left with three people: Steven (Wolf), Dan (villager),
and Jeremy (Seer). Since Dan and Jeremy had discussed
hanging Steven on the previous day, it looked bad for
the hairy side, and this was still barely running at
4 minutes!

Luckily, Steven caught a break on a technicality.
Jeremy was so excited that he jumped up screaming "I'm
the Seer" and started waving his Seer card around, "and
I know Steven's the wolf!"

I had to call a draw for Illegal Display of Card, and
everyone finished with a sense of accomplishment.
Except Alex.

The lesson is, Texans don't need any evidence or discussion
to hang anyone. They just need an accusation and a
handy tree-branch.

P.S. We played one more game where I was one of the
wolves. Alex tried to bluff being the Seer (he wasn't)
and where I didn't kill him overnight, got the remaining
village to vote with me to kill Alex, winning for the wolves.

John Mellby

Thread: Re: An Honest Game

macls29 — 2008-02-22T23:35:55+00:00

Revelade wrote:
I would like to see a game where the game master gives people a deck of no werewolves and see how it turns out. Killings would be chosen by the GM of course. Oh and the players would assume it's a normal game.

Well, as an "experiment" to see how people react, okay I guess. But this isn't really a game. It would be like playing PR and removing the Wharf and not telling anyone. Or playing Princes of Florence without some of the role cards.

That being said, sometimes the moderator has pulled a "quick one" on the group, in this fashion or another. Ha ha. Now let's play for real!

Thread: Re: An Honest Game

sampavone — 2008-02-22T11:01:30+00:00

A variant of this is in the "New Moon" expansion (they call it the "Plague" variant) where the only way the Villagers win is by realising something is wrong!

Thread: Re: An Honest Game

Big Bad Lex — 2008-02-22T10:32:17+00:00

Why do this?

It's like a game of Cluedo (Clue) with no cards in the middle or Sabateur where no one is a baddy. I imagine the player setting up/ moderator laughs himself stupid, but it's no more that an April 1st hoax and a waste of time.

Thread: Re: An Honest Game

davidme — 2008-02-22T00:30:25+00:00

So many people think this is a great idea, but I don't see it...especially in a large group. Seems like it would be a lot of time wasted on an experiment that we already know the outcome of: a lot of accusing and "tells" being spotted in an honest attempt to play the game.

I've seen it done in small live groups a few times and I don't complain, but I'd never trust anyone to moderate again if they wasted TOO much of my time doing this.

Not that I use a moderator anyway, but that's another story.

Thread: Re: An Honest Game

Tarrant — 2008-02-22T00:12:14+00:00

This was done once, by the famed KakarisMaelstrom, in the Werewolf forums, in the game "Panty Raid". I was one of the players duped in that one.

Creative game, though :)

Thread: An Honest Game

Revelade — 2008-02-21T23:56:42+00:00

I would like to see a game where the game master gives people a deck of no werewolves and see how it turns out. Killings would be chosen by the GM of course. Oh and the players would assume it's a normal game.

Thread: [BMS 6th Grade Session] Werewolves of Bridgetown Hollow

wittdooley — 2008-02-15T17:34:45+00:00

I've recently begun to introduce a few various board games in my classroom as enrichment activities both for verbal communications skills and writing skills. On Wednesday, we played Werewolves of Miller's Hollow with resounding success. The assignment for the activity was to write a personal narrative based on the character you played in the game. My kids did a really great job with it. Below is one such narrative, written by one of my 6th graders, that read very much like a well written session report!

* * *

There are werewolves in Miller's Hollow. We are not sure who. They are living among us, but where the are is a mystery. I am a visiting detective trying to crack the case. And here is my story:

Night One
My first night in the village was a little creepy. I could hear the werewolves howling and snarling. I also heard many screams. But I didn't interfere. I woke up the next morning to fink Derek, the mayors son, dead. Nick, the cheese industry's supervisor, called a town meeting to order.

He said, "We shall choose one person each day to hang."

As the hours passed and many explanations were heard, the townspeople chose to hang Keegan. But at that moment they had made a big mistake. They took the life from one of their own.

Night Two
The howling came again and so had the screams. I woke the next morning to find the milk maid Kayleigh dead. Another town meeting was ordered and they decided to hang the dressmaker and seamstress Audrey, who they soon found out was indeed a werewolf.

Night Three
Once again I heard howling and screams. The next morning I woke to find Hannah the cheese-churner dead. This morning, with many reasons, the town decided to hang Haley. She was the second werewolf.

Night Four
Night fall came and I heard a girly yelp and thought, "Oh no the school teacher." But I woke the next morning to find Nick, the cheese industry supervisor, dead. A town hall was called again, but it was much more disorganized because Nick was dead. After a lot of arguing, Zach, the third werewolf, was hung.

Night Five
There was only one werewolf in the village. It became so scared that it killed two people. The next morning the townspeople were mourning the deaths of Olivia the barmaid and Anthony the bar patron (well, they were only mourning Olivia's death). The mayor Travis was so outraged he went with his gut and, with no reason, chose to hang Chris. His gut was right. He had hung the last and final werewolf of Miller's Hollow.

* * *

The kids had a really great time with the game and the responses I got were really fun and, for the most part, well written. I may have opened up Pandora's Box with this one, however, because now they want to do it all the time.

EDIT: Fixed Bold

Thread: Re: Reponding to the Seer - the rules are ridiculous

FireFog — 2008-02-10T17:18:02+00:00

When I'm mod, I always tell the Seer the role of the player he chose to see. It add more tense :)
And I note down on a small felt-pen board the role of everyone : so when the Seer points at the player he wants to see the role, I have only to check the board.

Thread: Re: A Quick Review of The Werewolves of Millers Hollow

reapersaurus — 2008-01-12T23:40:51+00:00

Just as a counter-point, I find that reviews of this type are not good additions to BGG.

I could describe much more, but there's in my experience there's no point, since there are little to no standards of objective quality for BGG submissions, and everyone's subjective thoughts on quality are considered equal.

Thread: Re: A Quick Review of The Werewolves of Millers Hollow

ryanabrams — 2008-01-11T19:09:33+00:00

Longbow wrote:
ryanabrams wrote:
Longbow wrote:
Not trying to be a jerk, but this seems to be more of a rules summary than a review. Congratulations on it getting approved, though.

Seriously, you weren't trying? Wow. That's an impressive display of natural talent.

Thanks, I have my moments! What a great comeback. Thumb for you!

And a thumb for you as well, for being a good sport. :)

Also, a thumb to the reviewer. I think that reviews of all types have value, including ones that simply review the basics of the game and give a quick opinion. This type of review can often be enough for someone who is unfamiliar with a game to get a sense of if they would like it, and can serve as a jumping off point for a discussion if people want more information.

Thread: Re: A Quick Review of The Werewolves of Millers Hollow

Longbow — 2008-01-11T18:47:33+00:00

ryanabrams wrote:
Longbow wrote:
Not trying to be a jerk, but this seems to be more of a rules summary than a review. Congratulations on it getting approved, though.

Seriously, you weren't trying? Wow. That's an impressive display of natural talent.

Thanks, I have my moments! What a great comeback. Thumb for you!

Thread: Re: A Quick Review of The Werewolves of Millers Hollow

ryanabrams — 2008-01-10T20:55:46+00:00

Longbow wrote:
Not trying to be a jerk, but this seems to be more of a rules summary than a review. Congratulations on it getting approved, though.

Seriously, you weren't trying? Wow. That's an impressive display of natural talent.

Thread: Re: A Quick Review of The Werewolves of Millers Hollow

Longbow — 2008-01-10T20:29:42+00:00

Not trying to be a jerk, but this seems to be more of a rules summary than a review. Congratulations on it getting approved, though.

Thread: Re: A Quick Review of The Werewolves of Millers Hollow

macls29 — 2008-01-10T20:03:17+00:00

bjhenderson wrote:
TWMH is a simple game to learn and is incredibly fun as a party game.

Thanks for the review, BJ. I would like to add to the above statement-

1. It is simple to learn, but takes some time to get "good at" Werewolf. And after the group improves, the gamers will evolve and change their styles, forcing people to try new strategies and sharpen their skills. I have NEVER played or moderated a dull game!

2. True, it is great as a party game. Perhaps this is even where this game is "at its best." But this game is also great as a hardcore game of observation, negotiation, and bluffing. I play with one group of dedicated gamers, and this is a favorite of the group.

Rob

Thread: A Quick Review of The Werewolves of Millers Hollow

bjhenderson — 2008-01-10T14:50:43+00:00

Game: The Werewolves of Millers Hollow (TWMH)

Publisher: lui-meme

Number of Players: 8-18

Game Length: 20-30 min

Recommended age: 10 and up

Game Designers: Philippe des Pallieres and Herve Marly

Theme: In TWMH you take the place of one of the townsfolk in the little town of Millers Hollow, deep in the American countryside. Each night a number of your fellow townsfolk transform into Werewolves and murder your friends. Everyday you and your fellow townsfolk vote on who they think the Werewolves are and hang them.

Components: There are 24 Cards including four Werewolves, one Fortune Teller, one Hunter, one Witch, one Thief, one Cupido, one Little Girl, one Sheriff and thirteen Ordinary Townsfolk cards. The cards are made out of regular cardstock and depict stylized pictures of the characters. While not the highest quality product, TWMH is priced fairly for what you get.

Rules: A moderator is chosen (in my experience, it is usually best if the most experienced player acts as the moderator in the first game of the evening). The moderator then shuffles the cards and deals each player one character card. The players all look at their cards. The moderator puts the town to sleep by saying “Night falls, the town is asleep, and everyone closes their eyes.” The players all close their eyes. Then depending on which cards are in play, the moderator guides the various characters through their options. In the first “setup” round, the Thief has the option to choose a different card, Cupido chooses two lovers and the lovers recognize one another and must look out for one another for the rest of the game. In a standard round the fortune teller wakes up and gets to learn the identity of one of the players. The Werewolves choose a victim; the little girl can spy on the Werewolves during this turn. After the werewolves choose a victim, the Witch has the option to revive the victim or choose another player to poison. Next, the townsfolk wake up and everyone opens their eyes. The moderator reveals the Werewolves victim. If the Hunter dies, he retaliates by killing another character. If one of the lovers dies, the other dies as well. The townsfolk then argue and debate as to who the werewolf is. Upon a signal from the moderator, each player points his or her finger towards a player that they want to eliminate. The player with the most fingers pointed at them is convicted of being a Werewolf and lynched. If there is a tie between the accused, no one is eliminated. Eliminated players are not allowed to communicate with the living for the rest of the game. The moderator puts the townsfolk back to sleep and the standard round begins anew. The Townsfolk win if they manage to eliminate the Werewolves, the Werewolves win if they eliminate the Townsfolk and the lovers win if they are the last surviving pair.

Level of Strategy: TWMH is a simple game to learn and is incredibly fun as a party game. The game can be played by both adults and children at the same time.

Replayability: TWMH can be enjoyed again and again, or at least whenever you have enough people to play.

Party Game Rating: The Werewolves of Millers Hollow is a great game for a large number of people to play.
:star::star::star::star::star::star::star::halfstar::nostar::nostar:

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chezzilla — 2008-01-01T20:11:28+00:00

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bjhenderson — 2007-12-30T00:33:51+00:00

Card Back

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bjhenderson — 2007-12-30T00:32:08+00:00

Theif

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bjhenderson — 2007-12-30T00:31:32+00:00

Sheriff

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bjhenderson — 2007-12-30T00:28:41+00:00

Cupid

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garea37 — 2007-12-25T17:23:09+00:00

Philippe des Pallières (stand up) directs his game in "Ayudar Jugando 2007 - 3º Encuentro de Juegos de Mesa - Barcelona 2007"

Thread: A night of howling at the moon!

jjacjackson — 2007-12-18T00:27:05+00:00

So.......let me first say that this particular group has been playing Mafia (a generic version using a standard deck of cards) for years.

There were only 7 players and a moderator - yes, one short of the recommendation, but we continued anyway.

We agreed to use the following cards:
2 X Werewolf
1 X Fortune Teller / Seer
1 X Little Girl
1 X Witch
2 X Villagers
1 X Sheriff (to be voted for in Day 2)

The werewolves awaken and choose their first victim - as their luck would have it, the Fortune Teller. The Fortune Teller then wakes and much to his disappointment, reveals the identity of a common villager. Now for the Witch. He wakes and decides to burn his Resurrection Potion & Poison on the first turn. And as irony comes full circle, he chose a Werewolf as his target for the Poison.

Dawn comes and all are awake except for the unlucky Werewolf who was poisoned by the Witch.

The two werewolves are completely dumbfounded, but try to play it off. The Little Girl, who managed to peek uncaught made the mistake of stating that she knew the dead Werewolf's identity. Unfortunately, enough believed her to be lying and she was lynched. Note that the Werewolf wisely voted elsewhere!

Night fell and the lone Werewolf would eat the Witch. Either by luck or deduction, I'm not sure. The Fortune Teller, fooled by the Werewolf's vote, seeked the identity of one of the players that did vote for the Little Girl's lynching, only to discover another simple villager. Argh! With the Witch out of potions, he's unable to keep himself alive.

Discussions brew and a Sheriff is to be named. One of the villager's completely buys into the Werewolf's game plan and nominates him for sheriff. The Fortune Teller now fully aware of who the Werewolf is argues adamantly that the Werewolf needs lynching. Rather than let the Werewolf defend himself the second villager immediately jumps in and accuses the Fortuen Teller of lying and agrees to vote for the Werewolf as Sheriff. Uh-oh - naming a Werewolf as Sheriff can't be good! The same three vote for the lynching of the Fortune Teller leaving only 3 - the Sheriff Werewolf, and both Villagers. Realizing their mistake, the Werewolf howled in delight as he knows that he just won the game!

Afterthoughts - again, this group had played Mafia many, many times and the initial reaction to some of the new abilities really confused them, but now after many more plays, the roles are seamless. The group overwhelmingly enjoys this version more than our generic Mafia and vow to make this a definite keeper. Now we are looking forward to playing with the expansion - New Moon.

Thread: Re: Ideal players & character combination?

macls29 — 2007-11-13T03:38:45+00:00

ryanabrams wrote:
How do you know who was eaten if you don't have a moderator?

We sit close together at a table, and all have our hands out on the table in easy reach of all the other players. The Werewolf taps the hand of the player he chooses to kill at night (as all the players count aloud to 10). That player then flips over his card when the players have opened their eyes.

Thread: Re: Ideal players & character combination?

Rishi — 2007-11-12T15:14:33+00:00

I wouldn't recommend playing with the Little Girl. If the wolves don't catch the Little Girl immediately, then it could potentially lead to a very, very short game.

The seer is the most traditional "special" role in Werewolf. It is easy to understand and adds a decent amount of depth to the game. The strategies are also easy to figure out, as opposed to something like the Witch, which is very difficult for new players to play.

Thread: Re: Ideal players & character combination?

ryanabrams — 2007-11-12T15:06:01+00:00

How do you know who was eaten if you don't have a moderator?

Thread: Re: Ideal players & character combination?

-xXx- — 2007-11-12T10:31:05+00:00

Thanks.

Why is the seer the first character to include? Why not the little girl for ex?

Thread: Re: Ideal players & character combination?

macls29 — 2007-11-11T18:56:12+00:00

-xXx- wrote:

1. What's the ideal number of players?
2. Which characters should you add first when gradually increasing the number of players? Which are first fits, which should wait till the end?

Hi -xXx-,

I just replied to a question you asked about Nouvelle Lune, so check out that post if you haven't yet!

About these questions...
1. You're right, I can work with as little as 4. Of course, it depends on the attitude and tastes of the players. Some of our most fun games have been with 4 (no moderator) and 6 (plus moderator). With larger groups, you probably need a skilled, experienced moderator. Not only will that help in getting the right mix of cards, it will help facilitate the game play. I'd advise breaking up a big group into two smaller games until you have a moderator that is "smooth".

2. This is a really difficult question to answer. There is a chart to follow in the rulebook - it has recommended card mixes for different sized games. The hunter is a fairly easy one to mix in, as is the mayor. The witch gets tricky... it's another role to manage at night for the moderator. The little girl, cupid, and thief are pretty wild, and add ALOT of spice to the game. Again, I'd advise playing for a few times without these three roles before mixing them into your game.

Thread: Re: Ideal players & character combination?

-xXx- — 2007-11-11T17:13:16+00:00

What's the warlock? Do you mean the mayor or the little girl? :what:

Here's my set:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/78006

Thread: Re: Ideal players & character combination?

ryanabrams — 2007-11-11T17:06:48+00:00

You don't want to play with 4. 8 is pretty low, but could work. I imagine the 18 is just because of the number of cards the game includes - you can combine sets and go larger. At BGG.CON we've played MUCH larger games than 18. It doesn't stall.

This isn't a game in the terms of most on the site. It's more of a social experience type thing - the more people, the more socital, the better the game is.

I'd add characters in this order:

Villager
Werewolf
Seer
Warlock
Witch
Hunter
Whatever seems fun from here.

But if you're playing with 10 or less, I'd stick with just the first 3.

Thread: Ideal players & character combination?

-xXx- — 2007-11-11T16:53:54+00:00

1. What's the ideal number of players? The box says 8-18, but I guess you could play with as little as 6 or even 4, and there are enough cards to play past 20. Does the game stall with any number other than 8-18 ?

2. Which characters should you add first when gradually increasing the number of players? Which are first fits, which should wait till the end?

Thread: Re: Moderating a successful night! (pictures included)

Gamethyme — 2007-10-24T00:20:06+00:00

FYI: The English Version of the expansion has apparently cleared Customs.

Thread: Re: Moderating a successful night! (pictures included)

deejflat — 2007-10-24T00:07:48+00:00

Great article and nice pictures.

Thread: Re: Moderating a successful night! (pictures included)

Gamethyme — 2007-09-20T21:23:24+00:00

The English version should be out ... hrm. Soon.

Thread: Re: Moderating a successful night! (pictures included)

sightreader — 2007-09-20T21:19:14+00:00

I ordered it from some outfit in Canada. I got the French version, translated it with my high school French, then drew up the aid sheet. We don't use any of the variant cards: they were simply too much work!

Thread: Re: Moderating a successful night! (pictures included)

Gamethyme — 2007-09-20T19:08:33+00:00

You have the expansion!

[GAMEID=21713]

This is me being jealous.

And curious: Where did you get it?

Thread: Moderating a successful night! (pictures included)

sightreader — 2007-09-20T08:35:18+00:00

Note: See the New and Improved hosting guide is at http://boardgamegeek.com/article/2465712#2465712

We had an exceptionally tense game of [GAMEID=25821] that seemed to demonstrate many of this game's highlights as well as some tricks I've learned moderating this game. As it turns out, this is a tough game to photograph as a moderator - the only time you have time to take pictures is when everyone's eyes are open, in which case all their cards are hidden away!

You actually don't have to explain anything to get things started: just hand out the cards and a few playing aids. All that really matters is that players can identify what their roles are before the game starts - no need to memorize them before starting, as all the rules can be explained during play.
[IMG]http://images.boardgamegeek.com/images/pic181307_md.jpg[/IMG]
Note the playing aid has numbers that help the moderator silently communicate role-based instructions with players (i.e. "He's a Village Elder", or "Protect the Witch") by flashing fingers. Be sure to demonstrate to everyone how you will be signaling these roles and what signals you expect to see before you and a frustrated player are trying to communicate with everyone's eyes closed.

Before starting the first night, remember to warn people (especially the chatty ones) that players are listening for movements, sounds or changes in speech that might give something away. This goes for you as well: as a moderator, it is very hard not to direct your voice towards the person you are talking to, and it's even harder to prevent gender (words like "him" and "her") from creeping into your speech!

After Cupid pointed out the Lovers, I walked around and tapped the Lovers on the shoulder. I made sure to pretend to reach for everyone's shoulder, even those I did not tap. Let the Lovers open eyes and find each other, then let everyone open their eyes and take a break!

It's very important to give tired eyes a break as often as possible - you'd be surprised how uncomfortable it is to have your eyes squeezed shut for more than a few minutes. With eyes open, I explained what the Lovers were and how they are played: it's important to emphasize that you can identify Lovers because they refuse to accuse each other. I also give weary eyeballs breaks after Fortune Tellers, Werewolves and other phases of the night, and especially when it's necessary to explain rules.

Our introductory game was unremarkable, but it was obvious that everyone had caught on, so we tried a new mix. With only 8 players, we did NOT use the traditional Fortune Teller or Little Girl but had FOUR Werewolves (half of the population). None of the four Villagers were normal: we used the [GAMEID=21713] Village Elder and Guardian in addition to the traditional Witch and Hunter. To make things even crazier, we had Cupid: after he appointed the Lovers, I swapped his card with the last unused role, thus merging Cupid with the Thief.

The result of this mix was intense. On the first night, no one died... the Wolves had tried to bite the Village Elder. Werewolf confusion was rampant: perhaps the Guardian had flashed me the right number of the person bitten? Maybe the Witch used her healing spell? Werewolves were not the only ones paralyzed by confusion: Marie in particular was deathly afraid of the Villagers losing their powers by lynching the Village Elder - little did people know that Marie herself was actually a Werewolf!

I warned the Villagers that their luck cannot last - the Guardian can only protect each role once, the Village Elder can only surivive one bite, and the Witch has but two potions, so eventually people are going to start dying fast. They panicked and, based solely on body language and sheer luck, they managed to lynch a Werewolf - much to everyone's relief.

On the second night NO ONE DIED again... the Witch had used up her potion. Now paranoia was everywhere and the village broke into two factions. I suggested electing a Sheriff to break the deadlock, but everyone was so confused by all the possibilities that no one wanted to complicate matters further. When the two angry mobs finally came to a decision, it was the Guardian who found herself lynched, much to everyone's despair.

The third night was the apocalypse: the Witch learned a lot from the angry debate and poisoned a Werewolf. Unfortunately, she had nothing left to heal the Hunter, who then turned and shot his neighbor. Although that neighber was indeed a Werewolf, she was also the lover of the Witch, leaving the Village Elder alone with the last Werewolf. Since a Sheriff was never elected, the vote was deadlocked, and the Elder had already used up her one bite, leaving sneaky Marie the Werewolf as the last survivor and winner.

Thread: Re: Reponding to the Seer - the rules are ridiculous

blarwick — 2007-08-07T18:29:29+00:00

Whenever I run as moderator I make sure to do several things:

1. Never talk in a direction - I'm always turning my head and talking to different parts of the room while addressing a role. Sometimes even turning in spot or walking around the table for the duration of an addressment.

2. Always address roles in plural - Some cards, especially fan created roles, can create situations where you may have had 3 werewolves, gone down to 1, and then went back up to 2. Or similarly odd situations. By making sure you always address the people as 'werewolves' you can keep a lot of mystery and speculation in the game. (Has the cursed player been bit?)

3. Always address roles even if not present! - Especially if you are using the thief, it is always possible to have roles that MIGHT be in the game, but actually aren't. Nevertheless, you should address these people during the night and pretend you are interacting with them. Even if you don't have a Seer in the game, the only person that knows that might be the person who got the Thief card... keep everyone else guessing by calling the Seer phase and asking them (nobody) to select someone to investigate.

4. Avoid gender terms! - Don't use he or she ever! This is a very easy mistake to do and a little slip of the tongue could narrow down a table by 1/2 or more when people are hunting for a particular role.

5. Be clear with all signals - Hand signals are the best method to communicate with the Witch, Seer, Sorcerer, Thief, etc. When werewolves choose a victim, point at the victim and make sure they verify. With a Seer, you could show a clawed-hand signal to indicate they found a werewolf or shake your head/make a V to indicate a villager. For the sorcerer hunting the seer, make an eye symbol with your hands when they found the seer. With the Witch, ask them to give you a thumbs up or thumbs down if they want to use a potion. Non-verbal communication with your players is the key. And you can even explain your symbols during the night outloud, saying "Seer, this means werewolf, and this means villager. Now I'm gonna show you the symbol of what you found out."

6. Make sure everyone understands all roles in play - Putting a cheat sheet out for people is helpful, but be wary as you'll find 2 types of people will check this sheet. Either those that got a unique card and need to recheck its rules, or those that are cunning players who purposefully check the sheet to try to make others think they have a unique card. Thus its usually better to make sure everyone knows the cards/roles rather than rely on a player cheat sheet, but the latter will work with minor caveats.

Thread: Re: Reponding to the Seer - the rules are ridiculous

sightreader — 2007-07-27T05:17:08+00:00

jmilum wrote:

the seer, sure, but since the little girl has the capability of spotting all the wolves at once on Night 1, all she has to do is reveal day 2 and say "hey i am the little girl and X, Y, and Z are the wolves".

True, especially if you have careless wolves. However, as a moderator, I generally advise all "sleepers" right off the bat to listen for people suddenly falling silent or moving around when their turn is called. Forewarned, wolves generally mask their movements, plus I warn them to watch for the Little Girl. This makes it very hard for the Little Girl to get anything beyond sketchy information about what they might have seen, and about half the time they get caught.

Thread: Re: Reponding to the Seer - the rules are ridiculous

jmilum — 2007-05-24T05:47:47+00:00

sightreader wrote:
Well, from what I can tell, it appears that the Seer and Little Girl have a great deal of difficulty communicating to everyone what they know - no matter how much that is - without drawing a lot of suspicion upon themselves or becoming an instant corpse.

the seer, sure, but since the little girl has the capability of spotting all the wolves at once on Night 1, all she has to do is reveal day 2 and say "hey i am the little girl and X, Y, and Z are the wolves".

Thread: Re: Reponding to the Seer - the rules are ridiculous

sightreader — 2007-05-22T06:30:57+00:00

jmilum wrote:

again, perhaps it is just my bias, but i would not want to be a wolf in a game with a player that was allowed to basically 'cheat' at night.

Well, from what I can tell, it appears that the Seer and Little Girl have a great deal of difficulty communicating to everyone what they know - no matter how much that is - without drawing a lot of suspicion upon themselves or becoming an instant corpse. Perhaps our players are simply incompetent, but I can't tell because I'm always the moderator (I've only actually played once, and at that time I was a Werewolf)

Thread: Re: Reponding to the Seer - the rules are ridiculous

jmilum — 2007-05-21T05:09:29+00:00

sightreader wrote:
Hmmm... I never thought about disempowering the Seer like that.

to each their own, but it is more about a balanced game than about 'disempowering' the seer.

but we haven't run across anything truly game-breaking yet.

again, perhaps it is just my bias, but i would not want to be a wolf in a game with a player that was allowed to basically 'cheat' at night.

any half way competent 'little girl' should be able to figure out the wolves in at least two nights, if not on just night 1. then reveal day 2 w/ all of their names. game over. where's the fun in that?

Thread: Re: Reponding to the Seer - the rules are ridiculous

sightreader — 2007-05-04T01:23:29+00:00

jmilum wrote:
I just give a thumbs up for a positive hit (seer finds a wolf, sorcerer finds the seer, etc) and a thumbs down for a negative hit.

Hmmm... I never thought about disempowering the Seer like that. Anyway, our number system works pretty fast and well - we don't have to worry about doing stuff one at a time.

I missed the part about the broken Little Girl rule. Not everyone seems to like being one, and there do seem to be some loopholes (especially revolving around getting her discovered), but we haven't run across anything truly game-breaking yet.

Thread: Re: Reponding to the Seer - the rules are ridiculous

JeVo — 2007-04-23T14:56:53+00:00

As Mod I got another method :
I never give any card away !

one by one I call the players awake, and show them their card.
wave them asleep and call the next one.

So I have the whole stack of cards in my hand, I can show the seeer the card of the player he indicates.

However, don't forgot to take an extra card and place it upsidedown under your stack of cards. Otherwise, when waving your hands during your stories you reveals the identity of the player at your right hand side. :blush:

And I second the broken mechanic of the little girl. She is dissmissed from my deck forever.

Thread: Re: Reponding to the Seer - the rules are ridiculous

galfridus — 2007-04-23T14:25:10+00:00

Thumbs up and smile for villager, claws up and bared teeth for werewolf works pretty well and is hard to mistake.

As for having the Seer identify special roles...I'd use a special set of cards (or just write down all of the roles in magic marker on index cards or something). If the moderator can't remember, having everyone hold up their cards at once seems to make sense.

The "noisy seer" option is interesting (played it once for the first time this year), though I don't think I'd want to play that way every time.

Thread: Re: Reponding to the Seer - the rules are ridiculous

jmilum — 2007-04-23T09:49:24+00:00

I just give a thumbs up for a positive hit (seer finds a wolf, sorcerer finds the seer, etc) and a thumbs down for a negative hit.

Thread: Re: Reponding to the Seer - the rules are ridiculous

beri — 2007-04-23T08:31:19+00:00

sightreader wrote:
beri wrote:
I just let the Seer know if it's a villager or a werewolf by making a hand signal - a 'V' for Villager, a 'W' for Werewolf.

Really? You don't tell him about Hunters, Witches, Pied Pipers, and stuff like that?

Most of our games are played with just Werewolf, Villager and Seer roles. But no, I don't tell the Seer about any other special roles - I figure that just knowing who is a good guy and who is a bad guy is really what he's after.
Now, I see the Novelle Lune expansion introducing some roles which are good villagers, but can have bad effects on the game...that's more difficult. But I still like to give just a V or a W, or a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, as a clear indicator.