The Manifesto
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Red Scare
The ManiFesto Creator: Cameron Rachal Colluding Agent: Peyton Rachal Dossier Purifier: Stephanie Baxter Playtesting Specialists: Evening Light Tabernacle Youth Group
Red Scare by Cameron Rachal is licensed under a Creative Commons AttributionNoncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Rules OF Play Overview: Communist is a game of cunning deception, covert partnerships, kidnapping, arresting, bribery, and of course, ganging-up on some poor person who doesn’t know how to give a convincing speech. The game is simple, yet very psychologically complex, calling for astute people-reading abilities. It requires almost nothing (a writing utensil and some bits of paper) and can be played practically anywhere – even in a missile silo for added Cold War feel! It’s recommended that you play in some form of a circle. I prefer to play it around a gigantic medieval banquet hall table, but it’s truly your pick. I s’pose it could be called a party game, but it involves a lot of backstabbing, bluffing, illogical accusations, exile, bandwagon jumping, yelling, mob rule, and general chaos. If that’s your type of party, then so be it.
Setup: Get the people that you will be playing with to gather in a circle—however you’d like (see previous section). There should be at least seven players (anywhere between 9 and 21 is probably optimal). You will need to use the same number of cards as you have players. Most of the roles will be Citizens, but this is discussed later… Shuffle the cards and hand them out facedown (or draw them out of a hat). Each player should look at his or her card, but it must be kept a secret. Only the Moderator reveals his card and tells everyone that he/she is the Moderator. Players now play the game with the role they have been dealt. Alternatively, the group can choose a Moderator in advance. The Moderator then takes the "Moderator" card out, shuffles the remainder, and hands them out facedown (or passes the aforementioned hat around the room). Another great way to choose the Moderator—when playing with an odd number of players, and therefore a Daytime arrest—is to have the first person eliminated become the Moderator. The choice of how to select the moderator is yours.
The Game Phases: The game proceeds in alternating Night and Day phases. (Begin with Night if you are playing with an even number, and begin with Day when playing with an odd number – the reason for this is explained later…)
Night Phase: THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT HAPPENS IN THE BASIC GAME – ALL ADDITIONAL ROLES MUST BE DEALT WITH ACCORDINGLY: At Night, the Moderator tells all the players to close their eyes. Everyone should. The Moderator then says, "Communists, open your eyes." The Communists do so, and look around to recognize each other. The Moderator should also note who the Communists are. The Moderator says, "Communists, pick someone to kidnap." The Communists silently agree on one Citizen to
kidnap, by whatever means they choose (sign language, pointing, nodding, smiling, etc.) When the Communists have agreed on a victim, and the Moderator understands whom they picked, the Moderator says, "Communists, close your eyes."
Note: An effective tool to have at this stage (although not required) is a white board. Sometimes things get confusing with people jammed closely in a circle. It’s very convenient, then, for the Moderator to be able to write the victim’s name on the white board and then hold it up for the Communists to see. The Communists can then nod in agreement or let the Moderator know that they have misunderstood. The Moderator now says "Everybody open your eyes; it's morning. During the Night, (insert victim’s name here) was kidnapped by Communists." In doing so, The Moderator indicates the person that the Communists chose, and that person is immediately eliminated and out of the game. The eliminated player then reveals their role to the rest of the group, and the game continues into the Day Phase.
Night Noise: When the players close their eyes at Night, it is best for everyone to also start humming, tapping the table, rocking back and forth, patting their legs, whistling Amazing Grace (in hopes of surviving), or some such noise. This will cover up any accidental sounds that are made by the Communists, Moderator, etc. Nobody wants to win just because they heard the creaking of a chair!
Day Phase: Daytime is very simple: All the surviving players congregate and arrest somebody via voting. The mob wants justice for the Communists' devious actions! As soon as majority of players vote for a particular player to be arrested, the Moderator says, "Okay, you're arrested." That player then reveals their role, and the rest of the players find out whether they have arrested a Citizen, a Communist, or (oops!) a member of the noble Neighborhood Watch. There are no restrictions on speech. Any breathing player can say anything they want -truth, lie, confusion, bribery, reflection, lyrics to a song, etc. One rule worthy of mention is that once eliminated, a player may not speak for the rest of the game. Also, although it is extremely entertaining, nobody should be allowed to make a ―death speech‖ as they are being arrested (or just found out that they were kidnapped during the night). From experience, it seems that the most important information is usually divulged at this point. Basically, if you think you have something good to say, you'd better say it before you disappear. Another very important rule to maintain is that no player may reveal their card to anyone, except when they are eliminated. All you can do is talk and lie about your role if you would like. Once a player is arrested, Night falls and the cycle repeats. Everyone closes their eyes, the Communists (or Communist) secretly select someone to kidnap, then the sun rises, the kidnapped player is revealed, and the remaining players begin to discuss another arrest. Repeat until one side wins.
How To Vote and Arrest Properly: For voting to happen during the Day Phase, someone will accuse a player (it can even be themselves), and another player must then second the accusation to make it valid. If that doesn't happen, then the vote does not happen. If a vote is in order, then all who want to arrest the accused player should hold their arm out and simultaneously point at the accused player. If a majority ―pointing‖ is reached, the accused must now speak in a desperate attempt to sway the angry mob. Another vote is taken after the accused has finished their speech. If the majority of the mob is pointing at the accused during this second vote, then they are arrested and eliminated from the game. If majority is not reached, the accused is temporarily pardoned and the blame is tossed on another player. When a player is eliminated and arrested, they must reveal their role, unless there is an optional role in play that prevents them from doing so. Simple enough, no?
Endgame & Victory: The Citizens win if they arrest all the Communists. The Communists win if they kidnap enough Citizens so that the numbers are even (two Communists and two Citizens or one Communist and one Citizen). At that point they can and take-over ―the free world‖ without having to hide their identities anymore.
An Avant-garde Summation: So, basically, Communist is a game of deduction. The Citizens are looking for a conspiracy, and the Communists are looking to, well... Win. The Citizens are all trying to figure out who is a Communist. The Communists are pretending to be Citizens and trying to throw suspicion on real Citizens. The Citizens only have limited knowledge, and the Communists have full knowledge. This is a game of an uninformed majority versus an informed minority. Accusing someone of being a Communist is suspicious. Not accusing anyone is also suspicious. Agreeing with another player a lot is suspicious; however, so is not agreeing with another player. Never voting to arrest a particular player is very suspicious for both of them - this is a game of deception after all.
Technical Notes: The Moderator should stick to the script to avoid mistakes or clues. If they say, "Open your eyes, Communists" instead of "Communists, open your eyes," a new player may misconstrue the command before the last word. The Moderator should be careful to always talk towards the center of the group. If, for example, they turn to face the FBI Agent when they say, "FBI Agent, select someone," the Communists may detect the change in acoustics. It is important that dead players not speak and that the Moderator not speak outside his official capacity -- even to correct a blatant misstatement about a matter of record. Sometimes misinformation is essential to a Communist victory. It is best during the Night Phase to not make Night Noise that requires the use of two hands unless your strategy as the Communist or FBI Agent requires this. If you need to point in the middle of the night, people will notice the pattern changes. This game can produce a lot of shouting during the Day and a lot of
humming/singing/thumping at Night. Do not play where the neighbors will complain. ("Don't mind us, we're just deciding who to arrest!") Cards can be anything from words written down on scraps of paper to full-colored and sleeved cards made specifically to play the game. A normal deck of cards can be used with role designations for certain cards or even symbols (smiley faces with different features, for example).
Why You Want To Begin The Game With A Certain Phase: There is a very good reason for wanting to begin with Night if you are playing with an even number of players and begin with Day when playing with an odd number of players. This reason has come to be known as the ―Climactic Three‖ (sometimes the ―Climactic Five‖ or ―Climactic Seven‖ depending on the number of players). It is very anti-epic to end a game with a kidnapping, and the reasons are obvious. In order to ensure that this does not happen, you must follow this rule of thumb. Unfortunately, if you choose to play with any optional role such as the Bodyguard, the game is thrown out of balance, and you cannot ensure the climactic three. While these roles are fun to play with, I can promise you that watching the final three players do battle is infinitely more rewarding. So, it's optimum to play with an odd number, because you normally want to start with a Day Phase instead of one person being kidnapped during the Night Phase and never getting to talk, play, or ultimately, have fun. However, you can play a "Night Phase Zero" in which everyone gets acquainted, but there is no kidnapping. In a Night Phase Zero, the Moderator directs the action just as if it were a normal Night Phase. The only difference is that when the Communists wake-up, they will not kidnap anyone
Tournament Scoring: With a group that meets regularly such as a youth group or gaming group, people begin to wonder who the strongest player actually is. The best way to do this is to keep some sort of running spreadsheet on a computer, preferably; but, for the techno-illiterate, a pen and pad or white board would do just fine. Not only is this type of thing optional, but there is also no set way to score the game. The recommended way is that if the Communists win, each surviving Communist receives a number of points equal to the initial number of the Citizens. If the Citizens win, every Citizen receives a number of points equal to the number of surviving Citizens. In order for this to be a true representation of skill, you must also split the rankings into two groups: Citizens and Communists. The reason for this is that some people may, by luck-ofdraw, play as a Communist more often than another does. Because this might occur, and because a surviving Communist has the ability to score a good bit more than a winning Citizen, you will probably want to have a running ―Czar Award‖ for Communist with the most points and a running ―Freedom Defender‖ for the best Citizen.
Player to Role Ratios: What roles need to be in play and the number of those roles are actually questions that are group dependent. Some groups have better ―people readers‖ in them, and it makes it easier for
the Citizens to win. On the other-hand, some groups just cannot seem to do anything right, and the Communists just keep on winning. Regardless, here are a few loose guidelines and ratios to use until you find your group’s perfect combination: When playing with... 5-6 players: 1 Communist 7-11 players: 2 Communists 12-18 players: 3 Communists 19-22 players: 4 Communists Less than 12 players: 2 Neighborhood Watch 12+ players: 3 Neighborhood Watch Less than 12 players: 0 FBI Agent The ratio you choose should be custom-made for whatever type of group you have. There is no way to truly know what the ratio should be without playing around with it first. To be honest, I haven’t seen many people take the ratio suggestions as law anyway, and it’s truly best that they don’t. Traitor, College Student, Neighborhood Watch, etc. numbers will always be group dependent.
Parity: Parity is the state or condition of being equal, and one of the most common questions in existence about this game is whether the KGB Agent or the Traitor counts for the Communists in parity. The answer is no. The Citizens' special roles, such as the Neighborhood Watch, are included in the Citizen count. On the other-side, the KGB Agent and the Traitor do not count along with the Communists in parity, but rather, they count for the Citizen team. Also, a College Student only counts as a Communist after the first Communist is eliminated and they change into a Communist. The easiest way to remember parity is that it is the number of Communists vs. the number of all non-Communists. Example: 1 Communist, 1 Traitor, and 2 Citizens --- Current Phase: Night The Communists have not won yet, as the Traitor counts as a Citizen for parity purposes. The Communist will now kidnap someone in the Night (doesn't matter who) and be one step closer to winning the game. Now let’s suppose that the Communist kidnaps a Citizen. The scenario now looks like this: 1 Communist, 1 Traitor, and 1 Citizen --- Current Phase: Day What will happen at this point is the Traitor will do their best to be arrested (since they win if the Communists win, regardless of whether they’re still in the game or not). If they are successful, then the Communist team has reached parity by underhanded tactics and has won the game.
Another Example: 2 Communist, 1 Traitor, 1 Citizen, and 1 FBI Agent --- Current Phase: Day In this Day Phase scenario, the Citizens must arrest a Communist. If they arrest any nonCommunist, then the Communist team will have reached parity and won the game.
Base Roles Moderator – You narrate the events and act as a type of referee during the game. Citizen – You also vote to arrest one player each Day Phase. Communist – You conspire with your comrades and choose one player to kidnap per Night Phase.
Other Recommended Roles: These roles are used to provide variety and control over game strength or length without destroying the balance of numbers or balance of chaos and control too terribly much.
Citizens Politician – When a vote is a tie to arrest someone, you are able to make the tie-breaking vote. When you are eliminated, you pass this role on to a player of your choice. This role takes away ties completely and speeds up game-play. It is more of an attribute than a role, since the Politician is just a Citizen with tie-breaking powers. FBI Agent – You awaken once every Night Phase and find out whether a player is a Communist or not using the Moderator ―thumb system.‖ This role takes the place of Neighborhood Watch, as you never play with more than one investigative role or group in any given game. Example: The Moderator says "FBI Agent, open your eyes. FBI Agent, pick someone to investigate." The FBI Agent opens his/her eyes and silently points at another player. (Again, it is critical that this be completely silent, even if Night Noise is in effect. The FBI Agent does not want to reveal his/her identity to the Communists.) The Moderator gestures thumbs-up if the FBI Agent pointed at a Communist and thumbsdown if the FBI Agent pointed at an innocent Citizen (or some other role that’s recognized as a Citizen, like the Traitor). The Moderator then says, "FBI Agent, close your eyes." The FBI Agent is trying to throw suspicion on any Communists they discover without revealing that he/she is the FBI Agent. Of course, the FBI Agent can reveal his/her role at any time if they think it is worthwhile to tell the other players what they have learned. Of course, Communists can claim to be the FBI Agent and "reveal" anything they want to as well. Neighborhood Watch – You wake up only on the first Night Phase when the Moderator tells you to and identify your fellow Watchmen (and women). The Neighborhood Watch, from this point on, becomes a powerful secret alliance in knowing each other’s identities. This role takes the place of FBI Agent, as you never play with more than one investigative role or group in any given game. Private Eye - In a game with revealed roles, the Moderator reveals all the roles of the people who are kidnapped, and the players themselves reveal their roles when they are eliminated. Once you (the Private Eye) are eliminated from the game, all information on eliminated players will cease. No roles will be revealed after this, and only the Moderator will know when the game is finished. This role is truly optional, but it is played with so often that it is considered commonplace.
Communists College Student - Whenever the first Communist is eliminated, you feel sympathy for them and join the Cause! Take up your sword, Comrade, and fight for the Motherland! In summation: You replace the first Communist that is eliminated, but you do it secretly. You are also seen as a Citizen by the Moderator and FBI Agent until transformation. This role can be used with any number of Communists, and it is used to give the Citizens a better shot at winning. Just replace one Communist with this role. Example: In a 3 Communist game, just use 2 Communists and 1 College Student if the Communists have been doing extremely well. It gives the Citizens a little bit more of a chance. This example can be applied to the addition of the Traitor as well. Traitor – You are allowed to know who the Communists are, but the Communists do not know who you are. You have no other special power. You have the extra fun of trying to signal the Communists to let them know who you are without being found out and arrested - or failing that and getting kidnapped! You only win if the Communists win, after all. However, if the Communists do win and you aren’t in the game anymore, you still win (see the first example in the ―Parity‖ section). On the first Night Phase, after the Communists have gone back to sleep, the Moderator will tell you to open your eyes. The Moderator will then tell all the Communists to raise their hands while keeping their eyes shut. This role is primarily used to balance the sides in strength. KGB Agent – You awaken once per night and find out whether a player is the FBI Agent or not using the Moderator ―thumb system.‖ You do not know who the Communists are, and neither do the Communists know who you are. You operate alone and do not count as a Communist in parity to win the game. You do, however, only win if the Communists win. This role is only used when the FBI Agent is in play, of course.
A FEW TRULY OPTIONAL ROLES: These roles are used to provide “spice” for groups who have temporarily grown tired of the “normal” setup. The balance of numbers and power are usually horribly skewed by these roles, but they’re fun anyway! Bodyguard – CITIZEN - Each night, you can protect one Citizen (but not the same player twice consecutively).You simply wake-up like the FBI Agent (or any other ―Night role‖) does and you pick someone to protect. They'll thank you later. News Reporter – CITIZEN - Each Night Phase, when the Communists wake-up (and only when the Communists are awake), you may peek to uncover the identities of the Communists. The Communists will eliminate you as soon as possible if they catch you. This role is mainly for fun, and it is a great one to give kids who just want to be sneaky, granted that nobody is playing cutthroat-style. Patriot – CITIZEN - You eliminate a player of your choosing when you are eliminated yourself. It doesn't matter how you are eliminated, your power still comes into effect regardless. Use with caution, as this role has the potential of throwing game out of balance by creating the anticlimactic showdowns.
The ManiFesto Creator: Cameron Rachal Colluding Agent: Peyton Rachal Dossier Purifier: Stephanie Baxter Playtesting Specialists: Evening Light Tabernacle Youth Group
Red Scare by Cameron Rachal is licensed under a Creative Commons AttributionNoncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Rules OF Play Overview: Communist is a game of cunning deception, covert partnerships, kidnapping, arresting, bribery, and of course, ganging-up on some poor person who doesn’t know how to give a convincing speech. The game is simple, yet very psychologically complex, calling for astute people-reading abilities. It requires almost nothing (a writing utensil and some bits of paper) and can be played practically anywhere – even in a missile silo for added Cold War feel! It’s recommended that you play in some form of a circle. I prefer to play it around a gigantic medieval banquet hall table, but it’s truly your pick. I s’pose it could be called a party game, but it involves a lot of backstabbing, bluffing, illogical accusations, exile, bandwagon jumping, yelling, mob rule, and general chaos. If that’s your type of party, then so be it.
Setup: Get the people that you will be playing with to gather in a circle—however you’d like (see previous section). There should be at least seven players (anywhere between 9 and 21 is probably optimal). You will need to use the same number of cards as you have players. Most of the roles will be Citizens, but this is discussed later… Shuffle the cards and hand them out facedown (or draw them out of a hat). Each player should look at his or her card, but it must be kept a secret. Only the Moderator reveals his card and tells everyone that he/she is the Moderator. Players now play the game with the role they have been dealt. Alternatively, the group can choose a Moderator in advance. The Moderator then takes the "Moderator" card out, shuffles the remainder, and hands them out facedown (or passes the aforementioned hat around the room). Another great way to choose the Moderator—when playing with an odd number of players, and therefore a Daytime arrest—is to have the first person eliminated become the Moderator. The choice of how to select the moderator is yours.
The Game Phases: The game proceeds in alternating Night and Day phases. (Begin with Night if you are playing with an even number, and begin with Day when playing with an odd number – the reason for this is explained later…)
Night Phase: THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT HAPPENS IN THE BASIC GAME – ALL ADDITIONAL ROLES MUST BE DEALT WITH ACCORDINGLY: At Night, the Moderator tells all the players to close their eyes. Everyone should. The Moderator then says, "Communists, open your eyes." The Communists do so, and look around to recognize each other. The Moderator should also note who the Communists are. The Moderator says, "Communists, pick someone to kidnap." The Communists silently agree on one Citizen to
kidnap, by whatever means they choose (sign language, pointing, nodding, smiling, etc.) When the Communists have agreed on a victim, and the Moderator understands whom they picked, the Moderator says, "Communists, close your eyes."
Note: An effective tool to have at this stage (although not required) is a white board. Sometimes things get confusing with people jammed closely in a circle. It’s very convenient, then, for the Moderator to be able to write the victim’s name on the white board and then hold it up for the Communists to see. The Communists can then nod in agreement or let the Moderator know that they have misunderstood. The Moderator now says "Everybody open your eyes; it's morning. During the Night, (insert victim’s name here) was kidnapped by Communists." In doing so, The Moderator indicates the person that the Communists chose, and that person is immediately eliminated and out of the game. The eliminated player then reveals their role to the rest of the group, and the game continues into the Day Phase.
Night Noise: When the players close their eyes at Night, it is best for everyone to also start humming, tapping the table, rocking back and forth, patting their legs, whistling Amazing Grace (in hopes of surviving), or some such noise. This will cover up any accidental sounds that are made by the Communists, Moderator, etc. Nobody wants to win just because they heard the creaking of a chair!
Day Phase: Daytime is very simple: All the surviving players congregate and arrest somebody via voting. The mob wants justice for the Communists' devious actions! As soon as majority of players vote for a particular player to be arrested, the Moderator says, "Okay, you're arrested." That player then reveals their role, and the rest of the players find out whether they have arrested a Citizen, a Communist, or (oops!) a member of the noble Neighborhood Watch. There are no restrictions on speech. Any breathing player can say anything they want -truth, lie, confusion, bribery, reflection, lyrics to a song, etc. One rule worthy of mention is that once eliminated, a player may not speak for the rest of the game. Also, although it is extremely entertaining, nobody should be allowed to make a ―death speech‖ as they are being arrested (or just found out that they were kidnapped during the night). From experience, it seems that the most important information is usually divulged at this point. Basically, if you think you have something good to say, you'd better say it before you disappear. Another very important rule to maintain is that no player may reveal their card to anyone, except when they are eliminated. All you can do is talk and lie about your role if you would like. Once a player is arrested, Night falls and the cycle repeats. Everyone closes their eyes, the Communists (or Communist) secretly select someone to kidnap, then the sun rises, the kidnapped player is revealed, and the remaining players begin to discuss another arrest. Repeat until one side wins.
How To Vote and Arrest Properly: For voting to happen during the Day Phase, someone will accuse a player (it can even be themselves), and another player must then second the accusation to make it valid. If that doesn't happen, then the vote does not happen. If a vote is in order, then all who want to arrest the accused player should hold their arm out and simultaneously point at the accused player. If a majority ―pointing‖ is reached, the accused must now speak in a desperate attempt to sway the angry mob. Another vote is taken after the accused has finished their speech. If the majority of the mob is pointing at the accused during this second vote, then they are arrested and eliminated from the game. If majority is not reached, the accused is temporarily pardoned and the blame is tossed on another player. When a player is eliminated and arrested, they must reveal their role, unless there is an optional role in play that prevents them from doing so. Simple enough, no?
Endgame & Victory: The Citizens win if they arrest all the Communists. The Communists win if they kidnap enough Citizens so that the numbers are even (two Communists and two Citizens or one Communist and one Citizen). At that point they can and take-over ―the free world‖ without having to hide their identities anymore.
An Avant-garde Summation: So, basically, Communist is a game of deduction. The Citizens are looking for a conspiracy, and the Communists are looking to, well... Win. The Citizens are all trying to figure out who is a Communist. The Communists are pretending to be Citizens and trying to throw suspicion on real Citizens. The Citizens only have limited knowledge, and the Communists have full knowledge. This is a game of an uninformed majority versus an informed minority. Accusing someone of being a Communist is suspicious. Not accusing anyone is also suspicious. Agreeing with another player a lot is suspicious; however, so is not agreeing with another player. Never voting to arrest a particular player is very suspicious for both of them - this is a game of deception after all.
Technical Notes: The Moderator should stick to the script to avoid mistakes or clues. If they say, "Open your eyes, Communists" instead of "Communists, open your eyes," a new player may misconstrue the command before the last word. The Moderator should be careful to always talk towards the center of the group. If, for example, they turn to face the FBI Agent when they say, "FBI Agent, select someone," the Communists may detect the change in acoustics. It is important that dead players not speak and that the Moderator not speak outside his official capacity -- even to correct a blatant misstatement about a matter of record. Sometimes misinformation is essential to a Communist victory. It is best during the Night Phase to not make Night Noise that requires the use of two hands unless your strategy as the Communist or FBI Agent requires this. If you need to point in the middle of the night, people will notice the pattern changes. This game can produce a lot of shouting during the Day and a lot of
humming/singing/thumping at Night. Do not play where the neighbors will complain. ("Don't mind us, we're just deciding who to arrest!") Cards can be anything from words written down on scraps of paper to full-colored and sleeved cards made specifically to play the game. A normal deck of cards can be used with role designations for certain cards or even symbols (smiley faces with different features, for example).
Why You Want To Begin The Game With A Certain Phase: There is a very good reason for wanting to begin with Night if you are playing with an even number of players and begin with Day when playing with an odd number of players. This reason has come to be known as the ―Climactic Three‖ (sometimes the ―Climactic Five‖ or ―Climactic Seven‖ depending on the number of players). It is very anti-epic to end a game with a kidnapping, and the reasons are obvious. In order to ensure that this does not happen, you must follow this rule of thumb. Unfortunately, if you choose to play with any optional role such as the Bodyguard, the game is thrown out of balance, and you cannot ensure the climactic three. While these roles are fun to play with, I can promise you that watching the final three players do battle is infinitely more rewarding. So, it's optimum to play with an odd number, because you normally want to start with a Day Phase instead of one person being kidnapped during the Night Phase and never getting to talk, play, or ultimately, have fun. However, you can play a "Night Phase Zero" in which everyone gets acquainted, but there is no kidnapping. In a Night Phase Zero, the Moderator directs the action just as if it were a normal Night Phase. The only difference is that when the Communists wake-up, they will not kidnap anyone
Tournament Scoring: With a group that meets regularly such as a youth group or gaming group, people begin to wonder who the strongest player actually is. The best way to do this is to keep some sort of running spreadsheet on a computer, preferably; but, for the techno-illiterate, a pen and pad or white board would do just fine. Not only is this type of thing optional, but there is also no set way to score the game. The recommended way is that if the Communists win, each surviving Communist receives a number of points equal to the initial number of the Citizens. If the Citizens win, every Citizen receives a number of points equal to the number of surviving Citizens. In order for this to be a true representation of skill, you must also split the rankings into two groups: Citizens and Communists. The reason for this is that some people may, by luck-ofdraw, play as a Communist more often than another does. Because this might occur, and because a surviving Communist has the ability to score a good bit more than a winning Citizen, you will probably want to have a running ―Czar Award‖ for Communist with the most points and a running ―Freedom Defender‖ for the best Citizen.
Player to Role Ratios: What roles need to be in play and the number of those roles are actually questions that are group dependent. Some groups have better ―people readers‖ in them, and it makes it easier for
the Citizens to win. On the other-hand, some groups just cannot seem to do anything right, and the Communists just keep on winning. Regardless, here are a few loose guidelines and ratios to use until you find your group’s perfect combination: When playing with... 5-6 players: 1 Communist 7-11 players: 2 Communists 12-18 players: 3 Communists 19-22 players: 4 Communists Less than 12 players: 2 Neighborhood Watch 12+ players: 3 Neighborhood Watch Less than 12 players: 0 FBI Agent The ratio you choose should be custom-made for whatever type of group you have. There is no way to truly know what the ratio should be without playing around with it first. To be honest, I haven’t seen many people take the ratio suggestions as law anyway, and it’s truly best that they don’t. Traitor, College Student, Neighborhood Watch, etc. numbers will always be group dependent.
Parity: Parity is the state or condition of being equal, and one of the most common questions in existence about this game is whether the KGB Agent or the Traitor counts for the Communists in parity. The answer is no. The Citizens' special roles, such as the Neighborhood Watch, are included in the Citizen count. On the other-side, the KGB Agent and the Traitor do not count along with the Communists in parity, but rather, they count for the Citizen team. Also, a College Student only counts as a Communist after the first Communist is eliminated and they change into a Communist. The easiest way to remember parity is that it is the number of Communists vs. the number of all non-Communists. Example: 1 Communist, 1 Traitor, and 2 Citizens --- Current Phase: Night The Communists have not won yet, as the Traitor counts as a Citizen for parity purposes. The Communist will now kidnap someone in the Night (doesn't matter who) and be one step closer to winning the game. Now let’s suppose that the Communist kidnaps a Citizen. The scenario now looks like this: 1 Communist, 1 Traitor, and 1 Citizen --- Current Phase: Day What will happen at this point is the Traitor will do their best to be arrested (since they win if the Communists win, regardless of whether they’re still in the game or not). If they are successful, then the Communist team has reached parity by underhanded tactics and has won the game.
Another Example: 2 Communist, 1 Traitor, 1 Citizen, and 1 FBI Agent --- Current Phase: Day In this Day Phase scenario, the Citizens must arrest a Communist. If they arrest any nonCommunist, then the Communist team will have reached parity and won the game.
Base Roles Moderator – You narrate the events and act as a type of referee during the game. Citizen – You also vote to arrest one player each Day Phase. Communist – You conspire with your comrades and choose one player to kidnap per Night Phase.
Other Recommended Roles: These roles are used to provide variety and control over game strength or length without destroying the balance of numbers or balance of chaos and control too terribly much.
Citizens Politician – When a vote is a tie to arrest someone, you are able to make the tie-breaking vote. When you are eliminated, you pass this role on to a player of your choice. This role takes away ties completely and speeds up game-play. It is more of an attribute than a role, since the Politician is just a Citizen with tie-breaking powers. FBI Agent – You awaken once every Night Phase and find out whether a player is a Communist or not using the Moderator ―thumb system.‖ This role takes the place of Neighborhood Watch, as you never play with more than one investigative role or group in any given game. Example: The Moderator says "FBI Agent, open your eyes. FBI Agent, pick someone to investigate." The FBI Agent opens his/her eyes and silently points at another player. (Again, it is critical that this be completely silent, even if Night Noise is in effect. The FBI Agent does not want to reveal his/her identity to the Communists.) The Moderator gestures thumbs-up if the FBI Agent pointed at a Communist and thumbsdown if the FBI Agent pointed at an innocent Citizen (or some other role that’s recognized as a Citizen, like the Traitor). The Moderator then says, "FBI Agent, close your eyes." The FBI Agent is trying to throw suspicion on any Communists they discover without revealing that he/she is the FBI Agent. Of course, the FBI Agent can reveal his/her role at any time if they think it is worthwhile to tell the other players what they have learned. Of course, Communists can claim to be the FBI Agent and "reveal" anything they want to as well. Neighborhood Watch – You wake up only on the first Night Phase when the Moderator tells you to and identify your fellow Watchmen (and women). The Neighborhood Watch, from this point on, becomes a powerful secret alliance in knowing each other’s identities. This role takes the place of FBI Agent, as you never play with more than one investigative role or group in any given game. Private Eye - In a game with revealed roles, the Moderator reveals all the roles of the people who are kidnapped, and the players themselves reveal their roles when they are eliminated. Once you (the Private Eye) are eliminated from the game, all information on eliminated players will cease. No roles will be revealed after this, and only the Moderator will know when the game is finished. This role is truly optional, but it is played with so often that it is considered commonplace.
Communists College Student - Whenever the first Communist is eliminated, you feel sympathy for them and join the Cause! Take up your sword, Comrade, and fight for the Motherland! In summation: You replace the first Communist that is eliminated, but you do it secretly. You are also seen as a Citizen by the Moderator and FBI Agent until transformation. This role can be used with any number of Communists, and it is used to give the Citizens a better shot at winning. Just replace one Communist with this role. Example: In a 3 Communist game, just use 2 Communists and 1 College Student if the Communists have been doing extremely well. It gives the Citizens a little bit more of a chance. This example can be applied to the addition of the Traitor as well. Traitor – You are allowed to know who the Communists are, but the Communists do not know who you are. You have no other special power. You have the extra fun of trying to signal the Communists to let them know who you are without being found out and arrested - or failing that and getting kidnapped! You only win if the Communists win, after all. However, if the Communists do win and you aren’t in the game anymore, you still win (see the first example in the ―Parity‖ section). On the first Night Phase, after the Communists have gone back to sleep, the Moderator will tell you to open your eyes. The Moderator will then tell all the Communists to raise their hands while keeping their eyes shut. This role is primarily used to balance the sides in strength. KGB Agent – You awaken once per night and find out whether a player is the FBI Agent or not using the Moderator ―thumb system.‖ You do not know who the Communists are, and neither do the Communists know who you are. You operate alone and do not count as a Communist in parity to win the game. You do, however, only win if the Communists win. This role is only used when the FBI Agent is in play, of course.
A FEW TRULY OPTIONAL ROLES: These roles are used to provide “spice” for groups who have temporarily grown tired of the “normal” setup. The balance of numbers and power are usually horribly skewed by these roles, but they’re fun anyway! Bodyguard – CITIZEN - Each night, you can protect one Citizen (but not the same player twice consecutively).You simply wake-up like the FBI Agent (or any other ―Night role‖) does and you pick someone to protect. They'll thank you later. News Reporter – CITIZEN - Each Night Phase, when the Communists wake-up (and only when the Communists are awake), you may peek to uncover the identities of the Communists. The Communists will eliminate you as soon as possible if they catch you. This role is mainly for fun, and it is a great one to give kids who just want to be sneaky, granted that nobody is playing cutthroat-style. Patriot – CITIZEN - You eliminate a player of your choosing when you are eliminated yourself. It doesn't matter how you are eliminated, your power still comes into effect regardless. Use with caution, as this role has the potential of throwing game out of balance by creating the anticlimactic showdowns.
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