Werewolf, Apples to Apples

During our first class play session, I was introduced to Werewolf. I also played Jenga and Apples to Apples, but those I've played many times before and are arguably much simpler and less interesting to talk about.

Werewolf, on the other hand, is very interesting. Of the core game types we went over in the reading, I'd say it was about prediction. The other day in class, someone said it was about survival, which I don't entirely agree with but I think is also valid. (On a side note, I'd argue many games cannot be neatly defined by only one of these descriptors, but I'll talk about that later.) We had about 14 players, everyone was distributed a card. Some players were werewolves, most were villagers, and I had the luck of being the seer. The way the game was described wasn't entirely clear to me, and I think others had the same problem. "Talk to each other like you're normal villagers and not werewolves and try and figure out who the werewolves are." What? I've never been a villager or a seer, how do I get people to trust me?

 Werewolf relies on the players' paranoia to get things started. Luckily, someone began accusing his friend. All I needed to get involved was to judge the behavior of whoever spoke. We got a discussion rolling, voted on who to kill (who ended up being a villager), and it was time for the werewolves to hunt again. I am still not entirely sure what the duty of the seer was. I think the moderator asked me to guess who the werewolves killed before the villagers woke up, I guessed wrong, and went back to sleep.

The dynamic of the game is complex. You have to make a pitch for what is almost a blind guess and get people to vote for your choice, but at the same time the more you talk the more suspicious you become, and the more right you are the more the werewolves want to kill you. Unbeknownst to me, I called one of the werewolves "shifty-eyed" and "definitely a werewolf," but the village majority voted for someone else to die and I was killed the following night. I enjoyed the game in spite of my short exposure, and would love to play again. I'd like to try it out with people who I know well next time, as I imagine the experience is different than when playing with strangers.

Apples to Apples is also about making a pitch, but without the need for much talking. I'd designate it as a trading game. You trade words and descriptions for green cards. Whoever gets the most green cards wins. It's funny and it's a good way to get to know people. People are much more relaxed and natural when playing Apples to Apples than when playing Werewolf.