Are You A Werewolf?
From RabbitWiki
Contents |
[edit] What Is it?
"Are You A Werewolf?" (AYAW) is a somewhat older game, known by several other names: Mafia, Cultists, Chupacabras, or just Werewolf. There is a well researched article at wikipedia. The Looney Labs version is considered by many to be the definitive version of the game, being a direct implementation of the core character roles, and the cleanest available art.
[edit] How Do You Play?
"Werewolf" requires a dozen or so people. All players sit in a circle, and are all considered Villagers. Secretly, two players are named Werewolves, and one person is named The Seer. The game is split into Days and Nights. The game proceeds like so:
- Villagers are trying to identify the Werewolves, by lynching one person every day.
- The Werewolves are trying to kill the whole village in the night, one person at a time.
- The Seer is a special role that gets to (potentially) know the true nature of one person each night.
Because the villagers cannot truly know who the werewolves are, it is the job of the wolves to sow deceit and mistrust among their neighbors, while looking perfectly benevolent themselves. This is, in short, a game of lies and mob rule. Great fun at crazy hours of the night!
Due to the popularity of the game, a vast number of variants have evolved, as well as rules on how to run tournaments, and other such things.
This game, it should be noted, is a root of the more recent Looney Labs game, Are You The Traitor?.
[edit] Suggestions for Moderators
While a theoretically simple game to run, a good moderator has the job of instilling certain ideas in the village, while carrying out ideals of good moderation.
- The moderator should speak with a loud voice of authority whenever necessary. Not to be a jerk, but because someone needs to.
- Pay attention to your village!! There is nothing more annoying to a village than a moderator who has wandered off, when a vote is being called.
- Everyone in the village is playing as part of a team. Obviously, there are two teams, the werewolves and the innocents. Whether you are killed the first day, or make it all the way to the end-game, you are still part of your team. Rest assured that your death was not irrelevant.
- If you have a large group, more than 15 people, consider breaking up into more than one village. Some of the bigger conventions may have more than a dozen villages going at once! If you have more than 30 players, consider cycling players into forming new villages as old villages start to empty out.
- At it's heart, werewolf is a game of lying and mistrust -- things our society does not encourage. Sometimes, people can get upset at what happens in a game. If tempers flare, encourage people to take a breather, walk away, chill out. As moderator, try to seek a quick, fair solution, and move on.
Russell Grieshop has some further advice on how to plan and run a game.
- How to Plan an Are You a Werewolf Event (PDF, 260k)
- Moderating an Are You a Werewolf Event (PDF, 256k)
[edit] Moderator's Script
The game has a certain patter to it that must take place, and it is the moderator's job, first and foremost, to see to it that villagers get the information they need, no more and no less. Jim Dunaway formalized a script (PDF) which some players might find useful.
First round only:
It is night. The moon is full. Everyone, close your eyes. Werewolves, open your eyes, and find each other The werewolves open their eyes, find each other, then close them again. Werewolves, close your eyes. The sun is rising. The night is over. Everyone, open your eyes. A new day has begun.
All other rounds:
It is night. The moon is full. Everyone, close your eyes. Werewolves, open your eyes. Werewolves, choose a victim. The werewolves silently agree on and gesture towards the player they wish to kill. The moderator silently confirms them. Werewolves, close your eyes. Seer, open your eyes. Seer, point at someone. The moderator gives the seer a thumbs up if the indicated player is a werewolf, and a thumbs down if he or she is just a villager. Seer, close your eyes. The sun is rising. The night is over. Everyone, open your eyes and see that this person has been torn apart by werewolves. The moderator points at the victim, who reveals his or her card and says nothing for the rest of the game.
[edit] Variants
As mentioned above, there are many, MANY variants of werewolf. Some of them have been published by other game publishers. As a Looney Lab Rabbit, you should not be surprised if one of these non-looney decks shows up at an event. Official Looney-sanctioned events will always prefer the Looney decks, of course.
This is not the place to list every variant known, and many players agree that additional villager roles only serve to dilute the game. Nonetheless, a few common alternate villager roles are presented:
- The Hunter - When the hunter dies, by werewolf or by angry mob, they immediately choose to kill someone else.
- The Masons - Typically two villagers secretly identify each other on the first night, so they know who each other are, but have no other actions to be taken at any point in the game.
- The Bodyguard - The bodyguard chooses, every night, who they are going to protect. Werewolves cannot kill the protected person.
- The Cultist - The cultist works for the forces of the werewolves, but does not wake in the night to kill, and does not appear to the seer as a werewolf. In short, the cultist is a villager who wins when the wolves win, and so should try to swing the vote against the innocents.
- The Lunatic - The lunatic wins if he is lynched by the angry mob. While this sounds silly, it discourages whimsical lynchings.
Sometimes, villages might want to try some other flavorful alterations to standard game-play. Examples of variation in rules and game play are:
- The Silent Village - No-one in the village (except the moderator) may speak at any time. Anyone who speaks during the day is considered instantly lynched, and the day ends immediately.
- Timed Game - Each day is limited to a set amount of time. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 2 hours .... Time limits should be clearly established at the start of the game, and the moderator should warn the village when their day time is nearly up.
- Reveal / No Reveal - When all villagers are killed (whether by being eaten or lynched), they should or should not reveal their character card. This must be decided at the beginning of the game. Most commonly, people do reveal their card, but perhaps it makes for a more interesting game if roles are not revealed until the game's end.
- No Werewolves - Unbeknownst to the village, the moderator has not included any werewolves in the village. Instead, the moderator chooses people to kill in the night. WARNING! this has been known to greatly anger some villages, and is widely regarded as a bad idea!!
[edit] Forms, and Documents
Jim Dunaway has come up with some other documents that may help run tournaments.
