STTF Werewolf Game Thread

[reno expat]

(Props to atakdog, who I am stealing liberally from for all the set up stuff)

This is a werewolf game. More particularly, this is a joint POG/STTF werewolf game. Because many of the players have never played before, the rules will be explained in more detail that usual.


The Setup

There are 23 players. Of these, 16 are regular villagers and 2 are seers; together, these 18 players constitute the good team. The other five players are wolves, who together constitute the evil team.

This a completely "vanilla" game, meaning there are no roles other than these three.

Each player received a PM with his or her role assignment. (If you didn't, contact me now.) The exact PMs sent to players are as follows:

You are a villager. You must help the village find the wolves before it is overrun.

You win when the last wolf has been lynched, whether you personally are alive or dead.

Good luck!

The game thread is located in POG and can be found here: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/59...thread-436498/

You are a seer. Every night, beginning night 1 (after the first day's play), you may submit the name of one player to the moderator, who will tell you the role (villager, wolf, or seer) of that player. You must submit your peek, by PM, before the thread is opened in the morning; if you do not, your peek target will be selected randomly from among those living players whom you have not yet peeked.

You win when all the wolves have been lynched, whether you are alive or dead.

Good luck!

The game thread is located in POG and can be found here: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/59...thread-436498/

You are a wolf. Every night, the wolves may submit the name of one villager to the moderator; that player will be killed. If no kill order is submitted before, at the latest, one half hour before the thread is opened the next morning, the kill we be selected randomly from among the remaining villagers (including seers)

You may communicate among yourselves by any means you desire when wolfchat is allowed. Wolfchat is allowed beginning as soon as you receive this message, and continuing through the night; see the thread for rules applying thereafter. If wolfchat is not open, all game-related communication with other wolves must take place in the game thread.

You win when there are as many wolves left alive as villagers, whether you personally are alive or dead.

The complete roster of wolves is:

[elided]

Good luck!

The game thread is located in POG and can be found here: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/59...thread-436498/

Players were assigned their roles with a random number generator, without regard to, among other things, their experience or when they signed up


The Voting

Each day, each player is allowed (and encouraged) to vote to lynch a player. To do so, type the name of the player in bold; if you want to be sure the moderator sees it, you could be so kind as to write something like "vote: Helen of Troy", but it is not required.You may abbreviate the name of the player, provided it is clear to other players (and the moderator) whom you mean.

You may remove your vote by posting "unvote". You may change your vote simply by voting the new player; you do not need to unvote. (It wouldn't hurt, though.)

At the end of the scheduled game day, the player with the most votes is lynched, and his role revealed in the thread. If two or more players are tied for the most votes, one of the tied players is chosen randomly by the moderator.

If at any time during the day any player has a majority the possible votes on him (e.g., with nine players alive, five or more is a majority), the day ends immediately and that player is lynched. Any player who believes a player has reached majority should post "night", and all other posting should cease while the vote count is confirmed.

At "must lynch", i.e, when the village must successfully lynch a wolf or lose immediately, voting rules are somewhat different; this will be explained when the time comes.


The Timing

All times give are server time, which is also Easter Daylight Time.

I will open the thread every morning by posting "It is day." I will shoot for 10 am server time, but I may be late; you may not post in the thread until I have made the morning post. Unless I forget, I will be actually locking the thread to do this

Day lasts until 10 pm (again, EDT). Posting at 10:00 is acceptable, and votes with that time stamp will be counted. Posting after that, even just a minute after, is not acceptable, even if I have not yet declared it night by posting "It is night." Do not post in the thread at any time, for any reason, between the end of the day and the opening of the thread the next morning.

Weekends are different: There is not "night" Saturday night -- the thread remains open from Saturday morning until Sunday evening. There is no scheduled Saturday night lynch.

If any player reaches majority and is lynched before 2 pm, the moderator may, at his discretion, reopen the thread for a second game day that same day. He will do so only if it seems clear that this will not unduly disadvantage either side.


Communication

Villagers and seers may not communicate with any other player in the game, other than by posting in this thread. Any communication about the substance of the game (i.e., anything beyond the fact that the game is being played and that you are in it) is prohibited.

Wolves may communicate with each other by any means they desire during wolf chat. In general, wolf chat lasts for the duration of the night, and ends immediately upon the opening of the thread in the morning. However, an exception is made in the beginning of the game, so the wolves may coordinate their communication: wolfchat begins as soon as role PMs go out, and ends at 2 pm the first game day (Monday). It recommences that night, and lasts until 2 pm the following day (Tuesday) as well. thereafter, no wolf chat is permitted while the thread is open.


The Roster

Beerocrat
crackedquads
Dr_Jeckyl_00
exoendo
faarcyde
flopton
HighPockets
holdem17
Hood
jd_poker
juandadi
kmt5
matrix
mauri21
movieman2g
Newport Smoov
sixfour
TruFloridaGator
TwistedEcho
Velocity
Vorlautboy
Xerod
xxdanimalxx

Questions

Any questions regarding the rules should be submitted to the moderator by PM.

It is still night. Do not post in this thread.

[reno expat]

Other Rules

Participation

Werewolf is a participatory game. While it may be good strategy simply never to post, it is not fun for other players when people play that way. Accordingly, everyone is expected to participate on a regular basis.

This means that everyone is expected to post something every day, but it means more than that. Popping into the thread once a day to say "posting to avoid modkill" is an excellent way to get modkilled. Participate. Try -- to find wolves, or to look like you're doing so. Yes, every day. (The weekend, for this purpose, is one day.) If you don't, I will find a substitute for you, or modkill you.

If you aren't going to be able to post at all on a given game day, tell me beforehand. Life happens; we get that. Once or twice is not an enormous problem, but if it's going to be an ongoing issue, we'll have to find you a substitute. (Incidentally, I have at least half a dozen people who have expressed interest in subbing in, so don't hesitate to ask for a sub if you feel you can't participate.)

Angleshooting

If it seems like it shouldn't be allowed, it isn't. Go with that. I will use my discretion to decide what is allowed. That said, in the thread, just about everything is allowed, except things that are specifically prohibited.

Lying is not only allowed, it is expected.

Quoting or paraphrasing communications with or PMs from the mod is not allowed. I quoted the role PMs above, so this is unlikely to be a problem, but it applies to any other PMs and the like from me as well.

Player assistance with vote counts will be greatly appreciated when the moderator is not available. If you make a mistake while doing one, that's to be expected. Do not intentionally make any, though.

Posting after day has ended, whether I have called "night" or not, is not allowed.

Wagering on the game is not allowed.

Discussing the game outside the thread is not allowed. Sometimes this comes up when someone is in two games at once; basically, the most you can say outside this thread is that the game is going on, and so-andso was or is in it.

Posting in the thread after you're dead is not allowed, much. You may post once after you are killed, if you want, but you may not say anything substantive -- "go, village" or "take it down, wolves" are about the limit. After that, stay out of the thread; root, but root silently.

It is best if after you are dead you don't discuss the substance of the game with anyone else in the game, or even other people, until it's over. We may need substitutes, word gets around... stuff happens. Best to keep things to yourself.

Beyond that -- if you're not sure, ask.

Editing of Posts

A rule I forgot to list above: Do not edit any post in this thread, for any reason. Not to correct a typo; not to add a funny "Last edited by" note. Just don't.

Suggestions


Experience

Some of the players in this game have played before; many have not. The dynamic will be interesting, and anyone open to learning will be able to do so, but some caution is needed.

Inexperienced players: I suggest you listen carefully to your more experienced counterparts -- they have done this before, in some cases many times. Listen to them, consider their advice carefully. Do not, however, trust them, as their goal is to win the game.

Experienced players: I suggest you exercise a bit of restraint at first, lest things get off to an unpleasant start. You are not expected to soft play -- everyone is trying to win. However, it behooves everyone to recall that this is not an all star game. Also, while you may say anything you want, I would appreciate it if you do not make misrepresentations about the structure of the game, or about basic strategy. Ideally, some of the new players will stick around; please do not drive them away. And finally, I suggest you listen to them -- fresh eyes and new thoughts may turn out to be quite valuable.


Post Volume

While everyone is expected to participate, it can be overdone. If everyone spams the thread, this 23 player game will soon become unreadable to those who want to catch up or do research on what has transpired, and overwhelming to those who did not realize that werewolf is often all-consuming. (Sorry, didn't we mention that?) A modicum of restraint may be in order, particularly in the first few days.


Fighting

Werewolf is an adversarial game. It is also a game of very limited information. Whether for these reasons or others, discussions sometimes become arguments, and feelings sometimes get hurt. In particular, two things are often difficult to deal with: being called names, and getting wrongly wagoned (voted for lynching) or mislynched (meaning, lynched when you're a villager).

Name calling... maybe shouldn't happen, but it does. And I won't stop it, as it is, for better or worse, part of the game. Recall, though, that when someone calls you a moron or says your play is retarded, he means it in the context of the game -- and he may not mean it at all. Maybe he (or she; you know what I mean) is a wolf trying to agitate you, or a villager trying to make you crack if you're a wolf. On the other hand, maybe he really thinks that right now you are being retarded. And he may even be right; in retrospect, it may turn out that you're making an obvious mistake. People do that, even people who have played this game a bunch.

Remember always: it's a game. People are trying to win, and you need to, too, but it's not worth getting upset over. Put down the mouse, step away from the keyboard. Maybe take a walk -- you could probably use some fresh air anyway.

Being wrongly wagoned or mislynched... happens. In fact, it's inevitable. In a typical game, especially early on, more villagers are lynched than wolves (until seer peeks come into play, anyway). The person saying you're "wolfy" and trying to kill you for it may really believe that you're a wolf -- and the fact that he can't see that you're "obviously" a villager doesn't make him a bad person, it just makes him wrong. Also, he may be a wolf trying to get rid of you -- but assuming that that has to be the case is usually a bad plan. Meanwhile, if the whole village seems to think you're acting like a wolf, they may be right -- if you're the only one who can see that you're an obvious villager, you need to rethink what "obvious" means. And if you can't convince them, remember that in the long run, if your team wins it doesn't matter if you're alive or dead -- you still won.


Giving Up

That having been said, it is rarely right to give up as a villager. Good players very rarely roll over and say "I guess you have to lynch me" -- while those times happen, they are rare. It is your job as a villager not just to help the village find wolves but also to help it find villagers -- including you.

With that in mind, tantrums when people are wagoned, however wrong-headed and lazy the village may be at the time, will not be tolerated by the moderator. If you find the urge to vote yourself to spite the village, restrain it -- because if you indulge that urge, I may modkill you and give the village another lynch, which would hurt your team even more than the mistake it's making. (Everything in these two paragraphs applies pretty much only to villagers; it doesn't often come up when the person in question is a wolf, but tantrums will not be appreciated regardless who throws them).

If you have trouble, just remind yourself that it may all be the wolves' doing, and that's actually a compliment. If they want to get rid of you, you must be doing something right.


Playing to Win

Villagers and seers win if the village wins. Each wolf wins if the wolves win. This is a team game.

Unfortunately, sometimes it's not so simple. We're human; everyone wants to play. To be honest, the villager who is mislynched day one (if that happens), and the one who is eaten night one, are not going to get as much out of the game as those who make it into the second week. It is the nature of the game, however, that some people have to be eliminated early. Sorry; next game, maybe you'll get to play to end game. Meanwhile, it really is a lot of fun watching the game from the sidelines; try it.

Sometimes you may be tempted to do something that probably isn't best for your team, but will tend to make you survive longer . I can't keep you from doing that, but I will implore you to forgo it. Playing to survive, when you think it hurts your team, is contrary to the spirit of the game. Do not do it.


What Matters and What Doesn't

The answer's easy: none of this matters. It's a game. It's fun. If you don't have fun and think you won't next time, don't do it again. But meanwhile, enjoy this game, and help others do the same.

We don't play for money. There is no fame for werewolf players. There are no championships to win. If you keep at it long enough, people may start saying you're really, really good at the game -- but even then you won't win a whole lot more than your share, because there are large stochastic elements that prevent anyone from dominating. Similarly, if you lose -- maybe this game, maybe a lot of games -- it's not a big deal. Maybe you're just unlucky. Maybe your teammates let you down. Heck, maybe you stink -- but so what? (Someone I know lost six of his first seven games; now, people have started calling him "awesomedog". Go figure.)

However, you need to be warned. Some of you will find that this silly, text-based Internet game with a bunch of people you're never going to meet in real life, which requires lots of effort but on which nothing rides, takes on a life of its own. You will spend hours at it. You will dream about it. You will not be able to explain why, to any rational person who doesn't play, but it will matter. A lot.

At that point, you will be one of us.


It is still night. Do not post in this thread.

[reno expat]

It is day

[jd_poker]

Hello everyone.

[jd_poker]

Btw villa, it's in our interests to start a ton of wagons on d1 and d2 so we can look at voting patterns. I'll be keeping note and posting updates (as well as mod vote counts) so we can spot band-wagon swappers.

I'm gonna vote for the first person to post after me

[sixfour]

holdem17

[jd_poker]

vote sixfour

[Velocity]

Vote KMT5

I don't recognize the name, so it is less likely to be a productive member of the village team in this thread. I'll be AFK for a bit, but until we get anything useful going, he's my choice.

[Dr_Jeckyl_00]

beerocrat because he no longer plays Wed night poker... Probably b/c he is out hunting villagers IMO

[Hood]

HELLOS

tentative bandwagonning vote beerocrat because he's a mod, so likely to be online right now, yet hasn't replied since thread has been open. wolves tend to sit back and not post at the start (THATS WHAT THE STRAT POST SAYZ). also has disabled "last recent activity" in profile (recently?!?!?!)

[Newport Smoov]

Goooood morning village. See some familier names in this game. This should be good.

I'll break tradition (since a couple people beat me to beerocrat) and vote the LAST name alphabetically. Which is, umm...xxdanimalxx.

JD, I hope you breaking out the spreadsheets again this game.

[reno expat]

Pro WW tip from the mod:

go into Edit Options and check the "invisible mode" button at the top so people can't see what forums and threads you are browsing

[reno expat]

An early vote count to make sure my spreadsheet is working (this goes through post 12)

[2] Beerocrat
[0] crackedquads
[0] Dr_Jeckyl_00 voted for Beerocrat
[0] exoendo
[0] faarcyde
[0] flopton
[0] HighPockets
[1] holdem17
[0] Hood voted for Beerocrat
[0] jd_poker voted for sixfour
[0] juandadi
[1] kmt5
[0] matrix
[0] mauri21
[0] movieman2g
[0] Newport Smoov voted for xxdanimalxx
[1] sixfour voted for holdem17
[0] TruFloridaGator
[0] TwistedEcho
[0] Velocity voted for kmt5
[0] Vorlautboy
[0] Xerod
[1] xxdanimalxx

[mauri21]

Hood is so interested in the wolf strategy.. And obv using the reverse..

Vote Hood

[jd_poker]

Spreadsheet on the way Newport. I'll post once we have a few more votes on Beerocrat