Gaming Cultures:: Spring 2006: LIT 4930
Parlor Games: Points to Keep in Mind
- Parlor games are used to get more people to talk and discuss in a social situation, so make sure the game involves friendly activity and conversation
- Parlor games use simple, available objects, so you can choose to use regular objects: dice, making trivia cards, regular playing cards, tarot cards
- What values do you want to include in your game: fun is a value, social values? cultural information (US trivia, world trivia), subculture information?
Sample Elements to Use in the Game
- Like Werewolf, a set of 15 cards divided into different roles
- Regular playing cards, 52 card deck (and 2 jokers)
- Storytelling games can start or include particular story segments, like Mad Libs
- Working without items and just with word games, puns and such
- Planning a dinner party-theater-type game: how to host a murder styled things, maybe how to host a speed dating something (in line with Valentines day)
- Or working on a board game in groups
Parlor Game Mock-ups
Concept: Story-building Game Based off a Deck of Cards :: Group Members: Jill, Chris H., Athena, Jennifer C., AJ
- First person draws and the # on the card is the amount of words, at most, the person has to say - creating a story that goes around the group of people
- Referring to the cards:
- Ace: counts as one word
- 2-10: basic number cards
- King, Queen, Jack: 15 words, but must be related to the suit/element (hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades)
- Joker: pass your turn to anyone in the group. The person you pass to must draw a card.
- Suits:
- Hearts: romance
- Clubs: misfortune/bad luck
- Diamonds: Good fortune/good luck
- Spades: Conflict of any kind
- In the beginning - to pick a theme - each player is dealt a card, high card starts. But, if there is a dispute as to who has the highest card (Ace high and two aces are dealt), whoever's day most resembles the suit theme on the card is the starter of the story. After the starter is chosen, everyone returns their card and the deck is shuffled. The game can then begin.
- End: game ends at the end of the deck.
Concept: Party Quirks (drinking game) :: Group Members: Hollie, Sarah B., Kathleen, Jonathan, Ryan
Deck of cards
- Deal out cards (one/person) to everyone. First ace or highest card is the person who is the party host (guesser).
- Everyone else picks a "role" that they are going to act out and write it down (without showing the host).
- The guest come to the party only acting their role chosen (ie Superhero that flies into walls or Irish vampire, etc).
- The host must guess what each guest's role is.
- If host guesses wrong, he/she takes a shot. If host guesses correctly, all guests take a shot.
Concept: Top Secret Game :: Group Members: Rachel, Justin, Jess, Evan
*Top Secret*
Concept: What Are You Doing? :: Group Members: Franaz, Stefanie, Ricky, Cheryl, David
One person in the group starts acting. For example, as though they are swimming. Then, another person in the group asks what that person is acting. The person who is acting tells the other group member something different from what they are doing. As a result, that person must act out what the person just told them.
For example:
- Group member 1 acts like he/she is swimming.
- Group member 2: What are you doing?
- Group member 1: I'm running.
Rules: must say something different from what the person is actually doing.
Modified rules:
- 5 seconds to give the next person a task or you're out.
- Can't do something that's already been done.
- Pick a topic and can't go outside the topic. Example, chores, if you say bowling you are out.
- Can't say what you're actually doing.
- Once around cricle is a round. When you complete one round topics restart. (You can repeat an activity).
- Maximum 10 people per group and minimum of 5.
- Last person standing wins.
Concept: The Patriot Act:: Group Members: Walton, ???
A combination of "Are You a Werewolf?" and "Telephone" with a political edge.
Materials
- 30-card deck
- Politicians / Bush and Cheney (2)
- Terrorists (3 / 1 per 10 players)
- Citizens (25)
- 1 "Bushisms" card
- Participants
- 30 Players
- 1 Mediator
To Play
One card is dealt to each player, excepting the mediator. Everyone lowers their heads, and the mediator asks the terrorists to look up to see who one another are. Once the terrorists are established to one another, everyone is able to raise their heads. Everyone keeps their card concealed. The players who are dealt the Bush and Cheney cards begin the game as the politicians, and though they do not show their cards, they announce themselves publicly.
A message is started with Bush (possibly a quote is chosen from the .Bushisms. card provided) and passed around the circle from person to person. When the message reaches a terrorist, he or she must change a word. He or she may add or remove a word, but the sentence must remain coherent. The process is repeated for each terrorist until the message returns to Bush. Bush announces the message that he started and the resulting message.
Bush and Cheney may now ask two people (one for each Bush and Cheney, in that order) to recite what version of the message they passed on. They are required to tell the truth. They do not need to be seated next to one another; any two people from the circle can be chosen. With the knowledge of how the message changed in its transference, Bush and Cheney must now decide on one person to send to Guantanamo. In this period of deliberation between Bush and Cheney on who should be sent to prison, the citizens are allowed to voice their concerns and suspicions. They may volunteer what their version of the message was. Unlike in the .wiretapping. performed by Bush and Cheney previously, anyone can lie, especially the terrorists.
Once a decision is made, the player.s card is revealed. If it is a terrorist, the country is one step closer to winning the war on terrorism; if not, the country is down one loyal citizen.
Every other round, elections are held. The current politicians may be retained indefinitely, one politician may be voted out of office and the other retained, or a regime change may be implemented and both politicians replaced with a new Bush and Cheney. In this way, the citizens are able to replace leaders that are not making the decisions that they feel are appropriate. To be elected, all potential politicians must be nominated. A vote is held; the two people with the highest number of votes are elected as the new officials. This takes place at the beginning of the voting round; after that, play continues as normal.
To win, team America must catch all the terrorists. It's that simple. However, if the politicians chronically make poor choices and the population drops so that there is a ratio of one terrorist to every three citizens, then the terrorists are able to complete their scheme and win the game. Also, if the terrorists are crafty enough and two of them are elected into office, the game ends in victory for the terrorists. The mediator will be aware of when this occurs, as will the terrorists, since they know who one another are.