Sunday, November 1, 2009

Zombie Massacre Pictures

The Zombie Massacre was a lot of fun - easily my favorite and best received game so far.

After a quick false start and reset, the first two zombies performed admirably! Here's their first victim:



Did Mr. Labcoat just throw her to the zombies so he could get away? Yes, yes he did.


Shortly after, one brave human decided to survey the scene - confident with his weapon. And, oh look! It's the infamous Kyle Orland of Crispy Gamer fame!



Yep, he died like a punk.


After the first few rounds, the survivors' numbers were dwindling! Only one man left to repopulate the species . . . but what a lucky guy!



In case you were wondering, the Left4Dead survivor closet trick worked here too.



Numbers continued to drop though, and a former ally soon turned fiend!



As their numbers swelled, the zombies grew more creative . . . with a Brains Refrain[TM]! [Note: need sound for this one]




It didn't take much longer till there was only one survivor to face the impending hordes.



She fought valiantly, all the way to her last bullet.



And although she eventually fell, we still crowned her Queen of the Zombies!



And so ended the 2009 Zombie Massacre, with a great time had by all!

How to Host a . . . Zombie Massacre! [Feedback]

Did you run the game? Did you like it? Have suggestions? Leave feedback in the comments here!

A few notes from my own running:
  • There needs to be a more obvious start to the game - something a little more choreographed making it clear that the humans should start running.
  • The "narrator" needs to release the zombies after each round ends to ensure humans get a head start
  • To prevent locked door stalemates: no doors can be locked, but zombies can't open doors. After 5 good "bangs," the narrator can open the door for them (simulating a break-in).
  • A few weapons are fine even in round 1
  • The protectee concept didn't work too well, though some people like the target concept
  • This game was all kinds of fun. Pics and video to follow shortly.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

How to Host a . . . Zombie Massacre!

[Just looking for the files to download? Find them here.]

What it is:

Zombie Massacre is basically a round-based excuse to use Nerf guns, play tag, and violently mime brain-consumption.


Atmosphere/Setup:


Lesson learned from the spy game: people don't like to read. As a consequence, I decided to make the atmosphere for this game optional. We used the "Radio" mp3's (available in the files), interspersed with the Halloween music playing at the party. It is important the "radio" files play in order though.

Fundamentally the background is simple: There have been recent outbreaks of "rabies" around the country, but they're small and isolated - no one is really paying them any mind. The military and public are treating it something like they did with swine flu, and industry is already taking advantage of the situation. There have been no local outbreaks in [Your Town Here]*, but the evening is still young.


How it works
:

The game is pretty simple, primarily inspired by Humans vs. Zombies. See the Rules section for elaboration.

1. Prior to the game, people draw tokens to decide who will be human, and who will be "seed" zombies. Humans also have one person they're trying to protect, and one person they're trying to get killed. (I made tokens, but strips of paper from a hat will do fine too).


2. Humans can only attack zombies with Nerf weapons, and zombies one-hand tag their victims. After "consumption", humans become zombies. Killed zombies shamble back to a "spawn point" before attacking again.

3. Game is 30 minutes long, split into 5 min rounds. Between rounds there is a safe-time when Zombies have to all go to their spawn, and humans go to the "radio room" with supplies and a computer to play the "military clips." Limited ammo and weapons are distributed then. I used a whistle to denominate the end of rounds.

5. I'm toying with the idea of a points scoring system, and will include notes in the files, but for now we're leaving it out.

[See Game Management below for more details].


Rules:

All:

- Try to keep track of ammo, I need to reuse it all night so if you can pick it up and return it to me or your respective “safe zone” please, please, do.


Humans:


- Don’t spend more than 10sec outside or you risk alerting the hordes!*

- Munitions are zombie specific, they don’t work on humans! Find another way to take out your target.

- After the repellent tone, make your way to the radio room quickly. Zombies can’t bite you then, but you *MUST* go to the room post-haste.

- If you get one hand tagged by a zombie you’re out. Follow them where they take you and they’ll give you more instructions. During the eating though - ham it up! Hand the zombie your death token afterwards - I want to see who is the best at the eating ;-).


Zombies:

- You’re a zombie, act like it!

- No running, keep to a shamble. You can lunge if they’re in range, but limit it to a “basketball move”

- One hand tag. Once you tag them though, ham it up! Eat them loudly! Then take them to the respawn point and share the zombie rules [you don’t have to shamble for this].

- When the repellent tone sounds, head to the respawn point. Drop everything you’re doing to get there. If you’re eating someone, bring them with you.Wait till I come down to release you before heading out again.

- If you get “shot,” you have to touch the respawn point before heading out again [you can run once you’re out, but once you tag back in you have to shamble again].


Game Management:
(Things to do during the game)

- Play "repellent sound" (whistle) every 5 minutes
- Hand out weapons/ammo using the attached schedule. See the excel spreadsheet in the files.


* We played at a friend's house, but wanted to limit outdoors mobility. Revise this rule as appropriate for your play-space.
** Since this is the first test-run, I'm playing ammo and weaponry by ear. It should, however, be very limited. This isn't Left4Dead - humans should mostly be running.
*** Additional notes about pre-game setup and such can be found in the files.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Tips on Running a Horror Game

Just found this while perusing Bioware's official blogs. It's a 3 part series with tips on how to add atmosphere and run a major party game.

It's a good deal more complex than the type of thing I attempt here, but the tips are useful nonetheless.

http://blog.bioware.com/2009/04/08/running-a-horror-game-p1/
http://blog.bioware.com/2009/04/09/running-a-horror-game-p2/
http://blog.bioware.com/2009/04/10/running-a-horror-game-p3/

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

How to Host a . . . Spy Game! [Feedback]

Did you run the game? Did you like it? Have suggestions? Leave feedback in the comments here!

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For the Spy Game, since I ran it before I had the blog, here are a few of the suggestions I got immediately from players post-game:
  • Limit the game to about 2hrs, and plan a more formal wrap-up.
  • Run the game in the afternoon, people were too tired late at night. [Note: we ran an 8pm game]
  • Perhaps drop guards in favor of pitting Spies vs Spies? And arm both teams.
  • In that vein, have another character actor (like El Presidente) for competing drops.
  • Also in that vein, have both teams attempt to smuggle the same objects to diff locations.

How to Host a . . . Spy Game!

[Looking for the files to download? Find them here.]

What it is:

The Spy Game is basically a modified version of a"smuggle" party game, with a little bit of tag involved.*


Atmosphere/Setup:


A more detailed scenario is in the files, but here’s the quick and dirty:

There’s a Central American “leader” who’s been running a super-secret project funded by a LOT of money. Most of said money came from sources not as friendly to the West as they’d like. He’s having a big party to celebrate the research - you’re there to get as much info as you can, get in his way, and gain some leverage. Enter the game:

Players are encouraged to design their own backstory (though there are some suggestions in the files), but this game relies heavily on improvisation. The organizer, in particular, will be playing as El Presidente and needs to "play it up" to really get the players in the mood and in the game.


How it works:

The game is based on one team of Spies trying to move various objects from around the house to designated "drop zones" without getting caught by the opposing team of guards. Guards, on the other hand, try to catch the spies and are armed with water guns. In our game, the "objects" ranged from a folder of files, to a full size lamp, and even one of the guards!

In more detail from the downloadable documents:

"Alright, here’s the deal. We have two teams, Spies and Guards. The Spies’ goal is to smuggle several objects to specified “drop zones.” The Guards’ goal is to get in the way. Spies score by getting items out, Guards score based on whatever’s left. There are weapons around, and if you get wet, you’re in timeout (more details below). Sounds easy, right? Well there’s a few more kinks. Nobody knows what team anyone else is on (and the intent is to keep it that way). Further, Guards don’t know what items are being smuggled. Spies know of a few, but here’s the catch, the ones they know about are ones they have to get someone else to steal. Spies have to get other spies to tell them what to do without revealing themselves to the guards."


Rules:

  1. Ingenuity is key, be clever! The rules are not meant to impede you, just to prevent things from getting out of hand.
  2. If you are “hit” by a weapon, you are confined to the Games room for 5 min. You can still chat, make use of the room in any way, just can’t leave.
  3. If you witness someone shooting someone else (and are not the target), cause a ruckus. The shooter will be confined too.
  4. No explicitly talking about which “team” you’re on. Actions may make it clear which one you are on, but even then no talking about it. This includes guards: if you figure out who is a spy, well done! But don’t tell anyone. If you’re shot, don’t reveal your allegiance!
  5. No physical violence, but if you can snag something from someone else before they notice, it’s fair (should they notice though, you’d best back off!). Otherwise, feel free to use whatever you can find or get at!
  6. Artifacts, once discovered, are placed in the “drop zone.” If you’re unsure about the item, Artifacts have shiny stars on them somewhere. Each item has a specific drop zone, make sure you find out where it goes!
  7. We’re relying on the honor system, so please follow these rules!

Notes:
  • I've included a list of items I used for the game in the files, feel free to change them or add more.
  • Humor is key! I'm a terrible comedian, but everything's hilarious when delivered in an over-top faux-spanish accent.
  • Keep it moving. When things stall out it's time to open the lab. If Spies are having trouble, an incompetent El Presidente can "unwittingly" help them out . . .

* I wish I could remember where I found the smuggle idea from, but it isn't mine.
** It is important to remember while playing as El Presidente that your job is not to win, but to facilitate for your players - don't make it too hard to have the key stolen

Saturday, August 15, 2009

How to Host . . . [Your Own]

A few notes on organization pertinent to any of the posts/games here:

1. I make a lot of documents for these games. I'll describe the core of the games in posts, but don't hesitate to download the docs, they go into a LOT more detail.

2. I <3 spreadsheets. They're a tremendous tool, useful for organizing attendance as well as assigning roles. I'm attaching the ones I used, but I encourage you to make your own!

3. If you want to host any of the games I post, a good idea is to follow the tags: All of my games will be tagged with "Run Your Own" as well as the game name (e.g. "Spy Game").

4. If you try the game, please leave feedback in the "Feedback" tagged post for that game. I'll post anything I'm told, but the more that share the better! Suggestions, what worked/what didn't, whatever, is all very helpful. I intend to return to each game for refinement, so please share!

5. Other tags, such as "design," might be useful if you want to try refining any of my games for your own purposes. Let me know if you make any changes. . . more ideas = better games!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

An Introduction

I suppose an introduction is in order before I simply start posting items to the blog. So here we go:

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Me:
As my profile indicates, I'm an avid gamer and enjoy aspects of all types: card, board, video, whatever. I'm also a touch social. I really enjoy hanging out with people, and with the right motivation can generally muster up 10-14 people for an event, subject depending. Put these together and you get someone who regularly coordinates events.

Group Gaming:
Games like Rock Band, Mario Party, and the party side of Monkeyball were staples in college for me where it was easy to get an impromptu group together and we all had a lot of free time. After graduation, though most of my friends stayed in the same area, we had trouble getting everyone together for anything unless it was something big. Thus it was that I started organizing group outings.

I ran a traditional "Murder Mystery" with fair success (I did it on the cheap), but found I really wanted something more active.

So I took a group out for paintball. Awesome, but a bit much for a regular event and expensive to boot.

Deciding that there must be something middle ground-ish, I went hunting on the internet but found the offerings sparse. I'd find a few pieces of things here and there, but nothing quite like what I had in mind. Some required huge numbers of gamers, others were just threads of ideas - minor side games at parties.

Blogdom:
In March of 2009, I ran a self-designed Spy game. It was generally well received (despite some problems), and I found I really enjoyed the design process as much as the game itself. So this fall I decided to design and run a Zombie game for Halloween. My wife suggested that if this was to be a regular thing, I ought to share the games with others. And so we find ourselves here.

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I've only run the one game so far, but we'll see where the blog takes us. For now, I'll be writing about the design and structure of my past games and possibly bits on any game I'm putting together now. If you read anything and have a suggestion or criticism, please share!

The early posts may be a bit out of order as I jump between the old game and new, but tag navigation should keep you in the right spot if you're trying to follow a particular game. I'll try to keep the final versions of games isolated to single posts so anyone can try running one on their own.

Thanks for reading and happy gaming!

P.S. I'm a grad student at present, so be prepared for gaps in updates. I'll do my best to keep things regular though.