After a couple of weeks of other work beyond just playing games, a couple of weeks ago we returned to form with a Halloween themed game, Ultimate Werewolf. A party game that the whole class got to enjoy, this game felt very appropriate for the season and honestly is one that I know particularly well from previous experiences. However, this time around I think was one of the most frustrating, but still enjoyable, times I’ve ever had with this game.

For some context, Ultimate Werewolf consists of a large party of players, each with assigned roles. A majority of players are simple villagers, with no objectives other than to find and kill the werewolves. Each round, the group collectively votes to kill someone during the “day”cycle, trying to kill the werewolves. In between these rounds of discussion, the players with the werewolf role choose someone to kill during the “night” cycle, aiming at the villagers with more important roles and trying to be the last ones alive.

Now, how this game in particular differed was the additional roles assigned to people in the “village”. For example, someone was a Spellcaster, who had the power to silence any villager they wanted during the night cycle. Another person had the role of Cupid, who could pick two villagers to “fall in love”, so if one of them got killed, the other died as well. In addition, a villager named Virginia Wolfe at the beginning of the game chose a person to “fear” them, meaning they would die if she was killed. All of things happened to me at once. I could not speak, and had triple the risk of being killed, which unsurprisingly happened a short instance into the game. On the bright side, the werewolves were killed, so the villagers won, so it all worked out.

The hardest part of this game was obvious, I had so many odds stacked against me, it was hard to tell who had inflicted these curses on me, but getting through them and playing carefully was a more unique experience I may not have had otherwise. Being a leader through the group conversations, finding out who to trust while also portraying yourself as trustworthy was a constant element of the game.

My group of friends from high school that I hang out with in my hometown would love this game, because of all the roles and having to deceive others. The meta-gaming would get out of hand, and I’m sure everyone would have a good time.