In Round 1, the game was RAT. Players randomly chose a role card. The roles were Man (x5), Asp (x3) and Rat (x1). The player who earned the most points was the winner. The way to earn points was to trade role cards with another player at the dealer's table. If a player had an Asp and traded with a Man, she got 1 point. If a player had a Rat and traded with a Man, she got 2 points. The last player to trade away the Rat before the round was over got 3 points.
On September 19, we played a new game called Snake Pit. It was a reimplementation of the excellent Korean game show called The Genius (the name was changed to stop players from researching).
Each round, contestants played a mental and social game. The winner was safe from elimination and the loser chose another player to compete in a 1-on-1 Deathmatch. The loser of the Deathmatch was eliminated from the game.
Each game was explained by the Bandaged Man - you can see these videos embedded in this page.
The Catch: The roles on the cards could only be revealed with a black light at the dealer's table and could only be viewed after an official trade so you had to trust the person you were trading with to be honest. Unofficial trades could be made with anyone but only official trades at the dealer's table counted for points and you could only officially trade once with each other player. The round ended after 40 minutes.
Result: Trades were fast and furious but stalled out after 30 minutes with Sara and Elizabeth B. trading the points lead several times. However, Cherish managed to trade the Rat a few times right before the end of the round and won with the most points. Ed was the player with the least points and chose Sara to go to the Deathmatch.
The Catch: The gold totals were kept secret and were only revealed every other turn. Only the totals were revealed, not whose totals they were. Using these totals, the players had to figure out which of them was the Thief. At the end of 8 turns, the village with the Thief would lose and the player in that village with the least gold remaining would lose. The player in the other village with the most gold would win. If the Thief had more gold than anyone else at the end, she would be a joint winner - if not, she would go to the Deathmatch with the loser.
Results: The thief was Cherish, in the large village. Her village didn't send her to exile and she accumulated a lot of gold quickly. Once she was sure to have enough to win, she told her village she was the Thief so they could send her in the last round so they could send her to the small village. Sarah had the least gold in the small village and lost. She chose to play the Deathmatch against Maureen.
In Round 2, the remaining players played THIEF. Players drew random role cards. Most roles were Villagers but one role was the Thief. They also drew to see which 3 players were in the small village and which 5 players were in the large village. Each Villager started with 10 gold. Each turn, the large village and the small village would each choose one of their members to send to exile. If the Thief was left in one of the villages, each member of that village would lose a gold to the thief. The two exiled players then returned (but not to the village they came from)
In Round 3, the 7 remaining players played STARS. Each turn, 7 random stars (red, green, blue, or yellow) were up for grabs. Players played a card valued between 1 and 5. The player who played 1 chose any one star, the player who played 2 chose any two stars, etc. The players used the stars to try complete 4 different constellations. The first player to complete 3 constellations on their player board was the winner.
The Catch: A player only collected stars if they were the only player to play their number. Since there were only 5 numbers to choose and 7 players, some numbers were bound to be duplicates. Also up for grabs each turn was a black hole which had to be taken if possible. The game could end if any player collected 3 black holes - that player would become the loser.
Results: Marie completed 3 constellations and was the winner. Ed had the worst score and chose Elizabeth B. to go to the Deathmatch.
The Catch: Players donated beads individually and privately. The person on the losing team with the fewest beads left went to Deathmatch so there was incentive to promise to donate a certain number of beads but to donate fewer (or none) when in private. To be the winner, your team must win but you must have donated the fewest beads. Each turn, only the losing total would be announced so as long as your team donated the most, no one would know how many you personally donated.
The Results: The Red team (Ed, Cherish, & Maureen) decided to have one player donate all their beads in the first round, then another player donate all in the second round, and so on. As a result, the red team won. Because they were all tied, they became joint winners. The Black team lost, and Kevin chose Elizabeth C. to go to the Deathmatch.
In Round 4, the 6 remaining players played GREED. They divided into two teams, red and black. Each player started with 10 beads. Each turn, the teams decided how many of their beads to donate. The team who donated the most beads won a point. The first team to get 3 points was the winner. The person on the winning team with the most beads left was immune from elimination.
