Decorum is a cooperative, hidden-information game where players work together to decorate a house while secretly following their own design preferences. The goal is to find a way to compromise so that every player’s hidden conditions are met, leading to a collective victory. During our play session, we had to balance communication, intuition, and strategy to achieve a shared goal without explicitly stating our objectives. This created an interesting challenge, as we had to infer others’ needs while subtly guiding the game toward our own vision.

One of the hardest parts of the game was figuring out how to make changes without directly contradicting someone else’s unspoken preferences. Since each player has unique conditions for how the house should look, small moves could unexpectedly disrupt another person’s plan. This forced us to think critically, communicate efficiently within the game’s restrictions, and remain flexible. Sometimes, we would make a move thinking it helped, only to be met with frustration from another player, requiring us to rethink our approach.

Decorum has strong ties to leadership because it requires active listening, adaptability, and conflict resolution. A good leader understands that success comes from balancing different perspectives and finding common ground. Just like in leadership roles, players in Decorum must collaborate without full transparency, make strategic compromises, and trust each other to move toward a shared objective. The game challenges players to embrace patience and negotiation—essential leadership skills in both professional and personal settings.

My friend Anna would enjoy Decorum because it is a game where either everyone wins together or loses together. She prefers cooperative games that emphasize teamwork over individual competition, and Decorum is a perfect example of that. The shared struggle of piecing together everyone’s requirements and the satisfaction of solving the puzzle as a group makes for a rewarding experience.

Overall, I enjoyed playing Decorum because it encourages both logical thinking and social interaction in a unique way. I appreciated the challenge of deciphering my teammates’ goals and adjusting my decisions accordingly. However, at times, the limited communication felt frustrating, as I wanted to explain my reasoning more openly. Despite this, the session was engaging, and I would definitely play again. The mix of strategy, patience, and teamwork made Decorum a fun and thought-provoking experience.

Our play session of Fiasco was an unpredictable and chaotic adventure, full of unexpected twists, comedic mishaps, and plenty of improvisation. We played a scenario set in a struggling traveling circus called “The Last Act,” where my character, western damsel Melissa, was entangled in a web of personal romances and dangerous secrets. The game’s structure, which relies on random elements to shape relationships and conflicts, led to a story filled with betrayal, ambition, and disaster. I really enjoyed the way the game forced us to think on our feet and build off each other’s ideas, even when things spiraled completely out of control. However, it was sometimes difficult to keep track of all the different motivations and schemes as the story progressed.

The hardest part of playing Fiasco was fully embracing the inevitable downfall of the characters while still making it feel meaningful. Since the game is designed to create a spiraling mess of consequences, it was sometimes challenging to balance between pushing my character’s personal goals and letting the dice dictate where things went. Additionally, learning the game’s structure and setting up the initial relationships took a little time to get used to. But once we got the hang of it, the freedom to improvise and let the story unfold made for an engaging and often hilarious experience.

From a leadership perspective, Fiasco really highlights adaptability and teamwork. The game requires you to pay close attention to others, think quickly, and contribute in a way that makes the story richer for everyone rather than just focusing on your own character. It also forces players to deal with uncertainty and unexpected consequences, which mirrors the unpredictability leaders often face in real life. The collaborative nature of the game makes it a great exercise in communication, problem-solving, and managing group dynamics—all essential leadership skills.

I think my cousin Robert, who enjoys role-playing games but doesn’t like complex rule systems, would love Fiasco because of its focus on storytelling rather than mechanics. Overall, though, it was an incredibly entertaining experience that I would definitely play again.

Our play session of Fiasco was a wild and unpredictable ride, filled with dramatic twists, humorous misfortunes, and plenty of improvisation. We played a scenario centered around a small cowboy town named “Boom Town” where my character was a women named Melissa caught up in a unknown scenario at the moment. The game’s structure, which builds relationships and conflicts through randomly generated elements, led to unexpected betrayals and chaotic moments that made for an engaging story. I enjoyed how the game encouraged creativity and collaborative storytelling, though at times it was challenging to keep track of all the intertwining plot points.

The hardest part of playing Fiasco was balancing character-driven decisions with the randomness of the dice rolls and scene outcomes. Also setting up the game and learning the flow of how it works was a difficult part too. Since the game is designed for inevitable disaster, it sometimes felt like we were being pushed toward failure rather than organically choosing our fate. However, this element also made the experience fun, as it removed the pressure to “win” and instead emphasized storytelling. From a leadership perspective, Fiasco teaches adaptability, active listening, and decision-making under uncertainty—skills essential for guiding a group toward a shared goal, even if that goal is a hilarious downfall. It also plays a role in leadership because you yourself need to be creative with your character and your fellow players decide if the scene has a good ending or bad ending.

I think my friend Cade, who loves improv and collaborative games, would really enjoy Fiasco because of its emphasis on storytelling and character interactions. My personal values, such as fairness and loyalty, came into play when I tried to keep my character somewhat honorable despite the game’s chaotic nature. However, I also had to embrace the inevitable betrayals and bad luck, which challenged me to let go of control and simply enjoy the narrative. Overall, the session was engaging, and while I appreciated the creative freedom, I sometimes wished for more structure in how events unfolded.

Playing Werewolf was an exciting and intense experience, filled with strategy, and unexpected twists. In our session, we had a group of around 24 players, each assigned hidden roles as either villagers, werewolves, or others. The game revolved around discussions, accusations, and eliminations, as we tried to determine who among us was secretly a werewolf while avoiding being eliminated ourselves. The tension in the room grew with each passing round as the werewolves subtly manipulated the conversation while the villagers attempted to work together to uncover them. Some players were vocal and assertive, while others played very quite and non-verbal making them usually top suspects.

The hardest part of the game was remember all the character we had from the game and remembering what roles or actions have happened in the game to influence the winner/loser. As a player, I constantly second-guessed my decisions, unsure if I was making the right call or being misled. The werewolves had the advantage of knowing each other’s identities, while the villagers had to rely on intuition and logic to figure things out. It was challenging to balance between speaking up to defend myself and not seeming overly defensive, which could make me look suspicious. The game tested my ability to read people, make quick decisions under pressure, and adapt when things didn’t go my way.

From a leadership perspective, Werewolf connects strongly to strategic thinking, persuasion, and decision-making. Leaders often have to operate with incomplete information, just like villagers trying to find werewolves. The game also highlights the importance of communication—convincing others of your viewpoint or rallying them to a cause mirrors real-world leadership challenges. Additionally, risk-taking plays a major role; some players take bold chances by making big accusations or lying convincingly, while others prefer a more calculated, cautious approach. In this game, I found myself taking moderate risks—occasionally making strong claims but also observing and gathering information. This is similar to my leadership style, where I balance assertiveness with careful analysis before making key decisions.

I think this game would be especially enjoyable for people who like social deduction and strategy. My friend Cade, for example, would love the challenge of reading people and debating with them. My family as whole would love this game too. We love these types of games along with party games so I think I am going tom play not Werewolf but probably mafia all together. Overall, Werewolf is a game that brings out different strengths in different people, making it a great choice for groups looking for an engaging and interactive experience.

For week 5, I had the pleasure of playing the game Cursed Court. The artwork was nice, and I really enjoyed the mechanic of placing a card face-down between each set of neighboring plays. This quirky mechanic, however, led me to my biggest hurdles during the game. During a few rounds, my 2 cards were the same, such as two Priestesses. Obviously, two other players knew that at least one Priestess existed. So, the challenge was to not call attention to the fact that two points would be given on the Priestess tile instead of one. I couldn’t be too bold and put a lot of chips on the square—lest my opponents would know—nor could I bump people on that tile for too much because it would draw suspicion. Timing was also another factor. How many tiles would I be willing to keep for the whole game just to get those two points? That’s where decision-making comes into play…
Cursed Court ties into leadership in that it constantly necessitates skills like awareness, flexibility, and decision making. You need to be aware of people’s emotions and how they put down their coins. Do they make the action immediately or take time in their response? It gives you a sense of what cards they have around them. Cursed Court also forces you to be flexible, especially when you are bumped off a tile that you really wanted. Sometimes you have to cut costs and plan for failure / being taken over by opposing players. Lastly, this game requires many decisions during each round. Sometimes players choose to consistently bump each other, leading to long chains of asking oneself “What is the best course of action for me NOW?” This attribute of the game additionally ties into flexibility which was mentioned above.
I think my uncle Kevin would really like this game because he really likes to mess with people in a fun, lighthearted way. This game would be a perfect opportunity for him to completely throw games and have the biggest bluffs in board game history.

For the second half of my Fiasco game, one of our group members did not show up for class. We decided as a group that this would be a new character, and quickly established character relationships and needs. This time was a little easier than the beginning, but it was still probably our biggest challenge. Getting acquainted with a new member took time, and we slowly but surely learned their play style.

As we went along, we found that the Tilt to be very helpful for our group because it helped us decide where we wanted to take the story. An overarching narrative was established, and the clock was ticking. Because we struggled with decision-making last session, we made it a point to keep things succinct and focused to move the narrative forward.

There were a lot of fun instances, including a scene where two characters had an intimate experience. To preface the scene, we asked each player to make sure they were comfortable with the subject matter, and after clear consent was given, we proceeded.

During one of my scenes with our new character, Tibolt, I was pleading for them to help me cover up a murder. I was given a black die and expected my character to be denied help. But to achieve the most amount of intrigue in the story, Tibolt decided to give me a conditional ‘yes’ rather than a stunted ‘no’. I was picturing a black or white response, but was met with an exciting tint of grey. This was a great example of flexibility and negotiation in leadership, coming up with a solution that satisfies all parties involved. My teammate found a fun way to still give my character something to work towards while also honoring the color of the dice.

The biggest issue my group had was the setup of Fiasco due to our collective indecisiveness. Because we weren’t really familiar with each other and did not know each other’s preferences, we were unsure as to what play set and character relationships to choose from. Who was comfortable being in a marriage or being enemies with another player? Due to our hesitations, we did not reach Act Two by the end of the class period, as JS had expected us to. As a leader, it is important to take decisive action to solve complex problems more efficiently. Honing decision-making skills is vital in a role where you manage hundreds of team decisions on a regular basis.
Additionally, despite watching the videos on Canvas of how other people played the game, the setup was not salient in anyone’s mind and we had to consult the guide several times. We picked character relationships, needs, locations, and objects based on what we wanted, not what the dice pool foresaw. Our note cards were also all over the place and did not do a great job establishing who was related to who or who needed what from who.
However, as we played into our game and realized a few mistakes were made along the way, we adapted. I remember telling the group “if we are having fun, then we are playing it right.” Ultimately, that was our end goal, and we did. Two characters were at the grocery store, and one made an off-hand comment about the amount of bananas the other character was buying. Soon Jeff the Monkey was introduced and became an integral part of the storyline. Being able to adapt to change is another key feature of great leadership. With so many things happening at once, a great leader must be able to think on their feet, embrace unexpected changes, guide the group toward a shared goal, and find success through collaboration.
I would recommend this game to my brother, Matthew. He is very quick on his feet in improv settings and also regularly plays as GMs in D&D sessions/campaigns. I think he would take great pleasure in a table-top roleplaying game where all players are the Game Masters instead of just one.