6 Mar 2007

Game Review: Werewolf

Name: Werewolf
Genre: Party Game
Designer: Dimitry Davidoff
Publisher: Several
Category: Mystery/Bluffing/Deduction
NÂș of Players: 8+
Cost: Very Cheap
Quality of Components: High
Age of Players: 8+
Rules: Very Simple
Strategic Depth: Low
Learning Curve: Very Low
Set up Time: Minimal

There are some games that are design to be played in very specific occasions, therefore people may ignore them when building a game collection. Werewolf is one of those games.

In Werewolf, all players assume the roles of villagers living in a peaceful community. But the peace is broken, when in a morning, one of the villagers is found slain. The marks on the body points to a werewolf killer. At this point, everyone panics and the villagers start killing each other until the werewolf is killed stop.

The game requires at least 8 people to be played. The game requires only a deck of cards (common cards will do). The cards represent the roles each player. One of the players is the moderator. The moderator is the first person to be killed, and the only player that knows everyone's roles. Werewolfs know each others and the villagers have no additional information. Other roles include the seer, the witch, the hunter, etc.

The game flow is simple, at the beginning everyone closes their eyes, the werewolfs kill someone (the moderator in the first night). At night all other roles are played as well. Next it's the day phase. All living players discuss with each other trying to agree on who are they going to kill. Usually people vote for someone and the person with the most votes is killed. And the game processes with the werewolfs killing someone at night and all the players killing someone in the day. The game ends when the werewolfs and the villagers are at equal number or when all the werewolfs are killed. Werewolfs win if the first condition is occurs. All others win with the second. If the hunter and a werewolf are the last players living, the hunter wins.

Simple game, lots of fun. I've only played this game in one occasion: in the return trip from Lagos two weeks ago. At first the players were lost, but very soon everyone realised that they had to kill someone during the day and a mob mentality could be felt, players screaming a name, trying not to be killed, some trying to convince the others not to kill someone claiming that he was the seer. Lots of fun!

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