Category Archives: Class Review

Ultimate Werewolf: A Class Reflection

It is the first week of class and we play Ultimate Werewolf. Coming into this class time I had played Werewolf before, but mostly with extended family. This time was different as some individuals had never played and others were experts by comparison. We had not met before and that was another challenge to overcome as we did not necessarily understand each other’s personalities. In this game, we talked about being the first follower. The first person to start something will get all the credit, but without the first follower, it will go nowhere.

Our game consisted of many different roles including the Werewolves, Wolf Cub, Bodyguard, Minion, Cupid, Sorcerer, and more. I was the minion and was tasked with trying to protect the werewolves. For context, this session had the two linked by cupid voted out first, the bodyguard who became a spokesperson and leader in the group, and a werewolf who latched onto the bodyguard and became the first follower for a lot of the decisions, and some individuals who used logic to make decisions but were killed off anyway.

The bodyguard decided to announce themself early on which could have been either beneficial or detrimental to the game depending on the truth of the statement. There was some logic pointing to him as a werewolf that I quite agreed with, and by being the Minion I knew it would not hurt to vote out a strong player and personality like them. Boy was I wrong! The second I cast my vote for the bodyguard, another individual cast their vote on me. This is the moment I realized I had saved the bodyguard and put them in good standing.

If I had pointed to a werewolf I could have diverted attention and made them look innocent as I got voted off, but instead, I made the bodyguard seem even better if that’s possible. I got voted off as the first follower and then another and then another all cast their votes for me. I was killed off and saved someone else in the process too bad it was not a werewolf.

In the end, the villagers won as a werewolf sacrificed themself for no apparent reason. Another werewolf had been killed off already in the night as someone had used a once-a-game ability. And the last werewolf, the most vocal, got caught in a lie as they mixed up stories they had told. However, throughout the game, I saw leadership in action as people were vocal and others would follow gathering more and more votes until the majority was had and someone was out.

Seeing this leadership and first-follower concept in action was both amazing and scary. It was challenging to figure out how to get the first follower on your side and not be the target of the majority. This is where I struggled and what ultimately led to my demise. The challenging part of the majority decision had voted me out which was good from the perspective of the villagers. However, it could also very well be used negatively as well.

I think this game is one where some may feel more comfortable taking risks when they know the people and personalities they are playing with better. I would recommend Ultimate Werewolf to large groups of people like this class, extended family, or a corridor of students in a resident hall. It shows leadership from different perspectives and is also an interesting bonding experience and get-to-know-you activity that could be utilized more often.

My Brief Mind-Boggling Memoir ‘Bout Mental Blocks

This week, I returned to the cooperative genre of board games with the game Mental Blocks. A group of 2 to 9 players (we played with 6) each has a card that only they can see showing either a sideview of colored blocks or a black-and-white view of a corner of a structure, then they must use foam blocks to build a structure that satisfies all the images that the players have. The rounds are limited by time, which was 9 minutes for 6 players, but after a couple failed rounds, our group simply tried to succeed AT ALL. Once we figured out a good strategy, we managed to start solving puzzles in under a minute. Luckily, the game includes ways to change the difficulty of the puzzles. In addition to a set of “Challenging” puzzles, there are restriction and glitch cards that give players additional rules, such as being unable to speak or touch foam blocks of a certain size, shape, or color. By the time class concluded, we had found a difficulty that worked well for us (around a 50% win rate).

The hardest part, by far, was trying to build what was on your card while not ruining what somebody else had built or needed to build. In one instance, another player and I both had blue blocks on our cards but another had zero blue, so we were trying to build this structure in a way that showed blue but also hid it from a single side. Another time, I swore a shape looked one way on my card but everybody else knew it couldn’t physically be shaped like I said. In our efforts to complete our objective right, we had to slow down and build the shape together or we would build something that couldn’t be correct and refuse to let others touch it.

Thinking about that in terms of leadership, one could say the exact same thing about projects where everybody has different interpretations of the same goal. 5 different people could be united under the same cause, but because they are 5 minds who each have their own vision of how that goal will be achieved, they are also 5 people competing to realize their individual dream. A great leader is somebody who includes everybody’s perspectives, crafting a plan that unites everybody’s ideas rather then letting them be until they inevitably butt heads.

I believe my brother would very much like playing Mental Blocks. He and I have fantastic communication and love playing games together that challenge that. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, Overcooked, and so on. Since the game does work with a minimum of 2 players, I’d like to see how he and I fair against the game’s challenges and glitches. Mental Blocks is a very simply premise, but it turns out to be a really cognitively challenging game that I highly recommend.

Free Play: Lazers and Feelings

Last week, we had the option of choosing a game to play. The group I joined was playing Lazers and Feelings, a quickstart SciFi RPG all about using your laser or your feelings to solve all of our problems. I decided it would be fun to play the ship’s engineer, an android named distribution android model R-3 class Double L or D.A.R.3.L.L for short. Darell had a 5 in lasers which meant he was an expert in all things technology and logic. Lasers and Feelings only as one stat which determines how you can interact with the world. If you have a high Laser score like D.A.R.3.L.L, then you want to roll a 5 or lower on a d6 for your action to be successful. The opposite goes for Feelings, in which you would want to roll above your chosen number. The hardest e part about playing Lasers and Feelings was remembering that if you rolled your chosen number (5 for D.A.R.3.L.L), you got to ask the Storyteller one question about the situation.

After the unfortunate comatose state of our former captain, the crew picked up on a distress beacon from a derelict ship. We found no life signs aboard and decided to board through an airlock. I powered up the ship to reveal a bloody mess. The crew appeared to have been massacred by an assailant known to them. We decided it would be a good move to secure the armory to gear up against the threat. While looting the armory for everything we could, the assailant hailed us from the bridge. We negotiated a parlay and prepared for the worst. It turned out that an android spy worked its way on board and was trying to turn the ship into a planet killer. Thanks to our new weapons, we quickly turned the machine into scrap and blew up the ship ourselves.

Lasers and Feelings really shine in its light mechanics. Having only a single number determine how good you are in two opposite fields is a really cool way to build roleplay into the mechanics. Since my character was amazing at mechanics, I found it really fun to roll for feelings hoping that I would get a 6. My weird robot brain would understand humanity a little bit better with each successful roll. Quickstart RPGs like this one are great microcosms for leadership. Each of our characters had the opportunity to guide the crew’s choices and how we handled different situations. Our robot doctor would assess corpses, I would take any engineering concerns. Our security officer and explorer would guide us through the ship, and our science officer would keep us all sane. It was a great experience, and I recommend it to everyone.

Game of the Week Blog Reflection 12: Free Play

This week is a free play week, and I played Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege with my classmate Leon, this game is a 5 vs 5 FPS game, there are offense side and defense side, and there are lots of characters with unique skills on each side, each player can choose which character they want to use for this round before the game begin. Leon was very good at this game; his rank was at least at Diamond. During the class time, we played two games and he carried our team a lot, so we win both two games.

I think I like this game very much, because my favorite game CSGO is also a 5 vs 5 FPS game, so there are many similar parts between these 2 games, they are both competitive and required a lot of communications. However, the map in R6 is much more different than in CSGO. In CSGO, the buildings are not destroyable which means that enemies cannot make a hole on the wall and watch your team’s moving direction. In R6, you can even destroy a whole wall make the map totally different. So, I think the hardest point is the same as playing CSGO, it needs a long time to learn, otherwise, you will never be a good player in R6.

For the leadership part of R6, I think it is very important to communicate with each other. If at team has no communication, but the other team has, then the game will be like 1 vs 5 but not 5 vs 5, which means the team without communication would have a very high probability to lose. So, I think communication is the most important thing in this game, it will make 5 players a team, but not five individual players.

I think all of my friends who play CSGO with me will also like this game, because they are very similar games except the map.

Game of the Week Blog Reflection Week 10: D&D Week 2

This week, we played the game D&D, and this is my first game of D&D since I missed last week’s class, and I never played this game before, but I knew this is a very famous board game. So, I was very excited to play this game during the class session. During the class session, the DM helped me to insert my character, which is a monk, and I began my first adventure on D&D. We adopted three wolves to against the big Goblin, and we killed the big Goblin by one of ours ultimate.

I think the hardest point during I play this game is there are so many choices, and I do not know which I should choose. As a rookie to D&D, I think others’ experience might not be that good if they play with me, so I think this might be a part I dislike the game. However, for the game itself, I think it is very interesting, I can build my own character and I can create my own adventure story when I am playing the game.

For the leadership part of this game, I think it is most about the decision making. There are so many choices in the game and as a leader, you must think which one is best for your team. A good leader will always make the right choice for the team based on all the information the leader has. For example, in this D&D game, a leader can choose to fight with the boss directly or use some tricks to give the team advantages during the fight. If the team is under a good situation, then a leader might choose to fight with the boss directly, but if the team is not under a good situation, then the leader should think about what to do to make sure the tam can win the fight.

I think my roommate Steven will like the game, because he always like to make decisions and he did a good job on making right decisions in the past.

Game of the Week Blog Reflection: Free Play

This week we had the opportunity to pick which game we wanted to play for the duration of the class period and I picked Lasers and Feelings along with some of my classmates. Lasers and Feelings is a super quick role-playing game, the back story is that we are a part of a crew in outer space exploring and consorting with friendly and deadly aliens. Our captain of the spaceship is unconscious because he has fallen ill due to some unknown cause so we are left to fend for ourselves. I had a lot of fun designing my character, I chose to be an android doctor called Metallica who is better with feelings (such as intuition, seduction, diplomacy, etc.) and has the primary goal of continuing to be awesome.

In our gaming session, the crew and I were able to explore an old ship that has been sending out distress signals for years. Upon arrival, we found the entire crew slaughtered and only one android present claiming to be the captain but really was a spy sent to destroy the earth realm. Despite my best efforts to avoid violence, several crew members used their laser guns and laser lightsabers to kill the android, safely return to our ship, and blow up the other bloody ship.

I would recommend this role-playing game to everyone because it is super fun, low maintenance, and easy to learn/follow. Anyone can play it and it can be adapted to match the age and maturity of the players. Another thing I like is that it is quick and you don’t have to worry about remembering what happened in the last session. My favorite part of the game was witnessing Ian being hilarious and a great roleplayer, he really gets into character and that’s when you have the best experience.

D&D Week 3 Blog Reflection

Last week, we didn’t have class so we wrapped up the final week of D&D. We didn’t get to finish the quest but my team and I killed a lot of goblins and wolves so I would say it was a pretty successful journey. There were lots of laughs and even a couple of plot twists like me killing a goblin who was just a father trying to provide for his family. I enjoyed role-playing and interacting with my fellow classmates, we already agreed that going through modules together maybe something we do this summer.

After class, we had a really good discussion on if leadership is a person, a process, a position, or a combination of all three and if it ever ends. JS brought up a very good point that there is no definitive definition of what leadership is and it will look different to different people but none of us are wrong. In my opinion, I believe that leadership is a combination of all of the above but mostly the person. Someone could be a leader to others even if they don’t have the “leadership position” or “title”. I also think that leadership is very subjective because it will look different depending on the situation, I could be a leader of two different groups and be authoritarian in one but democratic in the other. Furthermore, I believe that leadership never fully ends. You may have leaders that step-down or pass the position on to someone else but people will never stop looking up to that person or using them as guidance. One could even be a leader after death through their legacy.

Overall, I would still recommend this game to everyone I know because it never gets old since the players are in control of the plot and there are different stories to choose from. This game is one of my favorite role-playing games and is up there with Fiasco. I look forward to seeing what we play in class next week for Free play!

Ladies and Gentleman Reflection

This week we played a game in TableTop simulator called “Ladies and Gentleman”, it is a cross between a card and role-playing game. If playing in TableTop simulator the game is already mostly set up, with everything the ladies need on one side of the table and the men on the other side. I played the role of the lady so I can only explain the game from that perspective. On the lady’s side, we run a series of boutique shops and cleverly try to sell and buy nice items so that they can be the best dressed at the ball. After several rounds of visiting different boutique shops and selecting various articles of clothing, jewelry or purses the lady will present her findings to her husband. The husband then decides whether he can afford to pay it or not and tries to make the choice that will benefit the couple the most.

I think the hardest part of the game was strategizing because all the ladies are trying to buy the best things with the end goal of being the best dressed. I had to decide things like do I put the best purse up in my boutique window and hope it distracts the ladies while I go visit another shop or do I put the worst thing in the boutique window so no one comes and I get a discount on my purchases. Sadly, we didn’t get very far into the game before we had to end but from what I witnessed I enjoyed the game very much and would recommend it to my family. It has the potential to be interesting and have funny role-playing once everyone knows how to play and is comfortable in their character.

I think the biggest leadership ties this game has is that it requires strategy, for reasons I mentioned above and because it requires teamwork. Winning the game will be difficult if players cannot communicate effectively and discretely with their partner on the other side of the table. A gentleman signaling to his wife to slow down on the purchases because they are low on funds or to let loose and buy whatever she wants without alerting the other players is key.

Game of the Week Blog Reflection 8: Ladies & Gentlemen

This week, we played the board game which is called Ladies & Gentlemen. We played this game during the class time online by using tabletop simulator. In this game, every two people will get into a group, one played as the lady and one played as the gentlemen. And the rules for being a lady and being a gentleman are totally different.

During the class time, there were 8 people including me played this game, and I was playing the on gentlemen side. We only got to the week 2 because one of the classmates had the internet issue and because of the complexity of the game. But we had a great time.

I think the hardest point for playing this game is to estimate your partner’s situation and making proper choice for the team. For example, my partner played as lady, and he decided to go to visit a place. However, two other teams also wanted to visit to that place, but only one of them can visit that place. Since I got the coin of 1, which means our group can go first, me and my partner can go to that place and the other two teams cannot, so they wasted this chance. So, I think this is the hardest point, because if you make a bad choice or make a wrong guess, your team will lose for this round.

I think the leadership in this game is to make good decisions. For example, if I did not get the coin of 1 and my partner chose to visit the same place as the other two teams, our team will waste that chance so that we will fall behind in this game. So, I think in a team, the leader should have the ability to make good decisions because good decisions can make the team better.

I think I do not like this game because I think the rule is a little bit complex.

Game of the Week: Incan Gold and Can’t Stop

A week or so ago, we played Incan Gold and Can’t Stop in class, and overall, I enjoyed both games. The theme that week was weighing risk vs. reward, and man, did I feel that. For a leader, considering risk vs. reward is an essential skill to learn because the risk impacts the whole group, but then again, so can the reward. Being placed in a position of leadership, one must toe the line very carefully. You might have to be more reserved than you might typically be to protect the group from harm. In a game sense, Incan Gold and Can’t Stop both emulate, risking it all for a sweet reward.

Incan Gold bursts to the seams with an Indiana Jones aesthetic. The premise is that a team of archaeologists/grave robbers are excavating/plundering an Incan temple for all it is worth. Throughout five rounds, the players delve as far as they can go into the temple, picking up emeralds, obsidian shards, gold nuggets, and the occasional artifact while also trying not to trigger any of the traps of the temple. As the players progress into the temple, they leave small amounts of treasure behind, and thus, the game’s strategic elements become apparent. The first person to flee the temple picks up all the leftover treasure. The further into the temple everyone goes, the more treasure is collected overall, but more traps can trigger. When the second type of trap comes up, any player in the temple loses everything they have gained on that round. The question becomes to delve or not to delve? Incan Gold was a lot more fun for me, even though I ultimately lost. My downfall came from me playing too safe. I was often the first to run back before my two companions would stumble upon a huge score. Can’t Stop, on the other hand, was a very different story.

The version of Can’t Stop that we played looked like it had not changed since its initial debut in the 1980s, but what Can’t Stop lacks in an aesthetic flair it makes up in pure strategy. The players roll dice to determine how quickly they climb up the board. A player wins by having three of their markers reach the top of three separate columns. Each round, after a player moves 3 markers, they can choose to stay or roll again. If the player stays, then their tokens advance to the markers, but if they roll again, they risk the chance to bust and lose all progress. After coming off of my complete defeat in Incan Gold, I decided to throw caution to the wind and go for broke. It was this reckless strategy, coupled with lucky dice rolls, that played me in the lead by the time we had to stop playing. Can’t Stop is my grandparents’ speed much more than Incan Gold because it is not bogged down by complication. The simplicity of the gameplay is Can’t Stop’s key to its longevity.