Playing The Werewolf (WW) Game?!

[Huntn]

I'm just finishing up my first Werewolf Game (WW) here at MacRumors. See it Here. I don't yet know if the villagers or the werewolves prevailed. I'm thinking the latter, but fingers crossed.

How did I feel? Like I was guessing, without certainty, mistrusting everyone the entire time. Of course, this is what the game is designed to primarily do!! What I walked away from this game as a novice is that there is no certainty. Even the very first WW that was lynched, that I voted for was only because a more experienced player (subsequently killed in the night) had accused the wolf based on zero evidence (as I saw it), but just a feeling. Ok, this is frustrating!

WW Game Summary
For those not aware, this was originally designed as a party/social interaction game. A group of villagers (players) find that they have murdering werewolves among them. This game is entirely built around one group (villagers) who can't trust one another and another group who uses lies, half truths, and outright deception to stay alive. At the beginning of a game, the rules are posted, but the gist of it is that a moderator controls the time. Werewolves can coordinate behind the scenes via PM. The villagers can only discuss the situation by means of the thread in which the game exists. There are some special roles for Villagers as described within the game rules. Of the villagers, the Nightwatch is the only good guys who can communicate via PM. By the end of each day, the Villagers should all vote for whom they suspect is the werewolf. At night the werewolves pick a player and murder them. Villager analysis of whom to vote for is based on in-game statements and voting records. Werewolves kill the player they believe is the largest threat to their existence. The game is over once all of the werewolves are killed or the number of werewolves equals the number of villagers.

I've looked around online and find very little advice for new WW Game players. However I did find Werewolf Strategy Notes based on this presentation (found on You Tube.

I am a novice that is all, but this is what I've complied. Please share your links and comment pro or con. If I get enough, I might turn it into a MacRumors Guide.

These strategies are not black and white. For example, a quiet player alone does not designate a werewolf. Usually one player will have to display a variety of characteristics before you can have enough confidence to nail them.

Strategy for Villagers

1. Avoid Lying, it looks suspicious.
2. Kill quiet people, they are either WWs or not contributing.
3. Kill people who vote without comment. If no reason is offered be suspicious.
4. Kill Liars
5. Day 1 Voting: Comments not applicable for Day 1 voting. Day 1 voting is just a guess. However, hostile voting seems suspicious.
6. Watch turn to turn alliances.
7. Watch Voting Records
8. Use the Seer- ask for players to be scanned in the daytime.
9. Mistrust Everyone- For every reason stated behind a vote, look for ulterior motivations and manipulation. Unless you are a Werewolf, absolutely no one can be trusted, especially when words like "trust" are used.
10. Moderate disclosure- Be talkative, but weigh the advantage vs the disadvantage of revealing info and suspicions. You don't have to say everything that is on your mind!
11. Don't loose your mind.
12. From Plutonius:
    *Never reveal your role-The exception is if you are the seer or neighborhood watch (sometimes). A seer is a sacrificial role in that, you have to accept that you are going to die. It's useless to scan a bunch of players and then die at night without passing on the information. As a seer, you have to decide when you want to reveal your scan information (you don't have to immediately reveal yourself if you discover a WW towards the beginning).
    *Never reveal your role. The exception is if you are the seer or neighborhood watch (sometimes). A seer is a sacrificial role in that, you have to accept that you are going to die. It's useless to scan a bunch of players and then die at night without passing on the information. As a seer, you have to decide when you want to reveal your scan information (you don't have to immediately reveal yourself if you discover a WW towards the beginning).
    
    *Try not to lie. People can catch you on outright lies but not as often if you bend the truth.
    
    *Post 100% defensively. Preview everything you type and consider what other people will think (i.e. will you look suspicious). It's often better to keep things shorter.
    
    *Vote 100% defensively. You make enemies from the people you vote for and you can't always vote for the person you want to vote for. If someone votes for you, it's usually safer to vote back at them (rather than voting for someone else and having them also vote for you).

These are the Villager Challenges-
*Is a villager indecisive or being manipulative (WW)?
*Is a No-Vote/Wasted Vote (voting for someone who based on tally will not be lynched) a Villager who can't decide, or a WW who prefers killing at night, and is trying to divert suspicion based on their votes?
*If you are Nightwatch- if and when your Nightwatch companion gets infected (if at all).
*Misktakes- If a player voted for a Villager who is subsequently lynched, did this player make a mistake or was it on purpose?
*Emotions- Unfortunately emotions get in the way of logic.Try to analyze actions based within the confines of the game. Just because a player votes for you does not automatically mean you are obligated to pay them back. It might make you feel good, but does not help your side win the game. Make sure your votes are based rational thinking. If you can get someone back and remain within your overall strategy, that is ok too.

Strategies for Werewolves:
*Create confusion and dissent
*Act natural
*Act like a villager
*Argue with your fellow werewolves
*Lynch your fellow werewolf
*Act like a novice
*Pretend to be a Seer (advanced strategy)
*Kill or Not to Kill the Seer

 

[Huntn]

I suspect the lack of responses to this thread is a referendum on my WW playing skills. Yeah I deserve it, however the only reason it went up was to possibly help other noobs who blunder into this mindfield of a game.

 

[Melrose]

No, no... you had some good points. However, as with any game that relies heavily on human interaction it's very hard to say "Always do it this way" because each situation is different and therefore requires a different reaction or offense/defensive play.

Honesty was always my policy, and in the end it worked wonders for my survival... although in later games I was offed relatively quickly due to what I can only assume was raging jealously and fear at my madd skillz.

 

[Firestar]

Honesty was always my policy, and in the end it worked wonders for my survival... although in later games I was offed relatively quickly due to what I can only assume was raging jealously and fear at my madd skillz.

Huntn doesn't really like the idea of honesty as a deciding factor at all in the WW games.

You should start playing them again, by the way.

 

[Huntn]

No, no... you had some good points. However, as with any game that relies heavily on human interaction it's very hard to say "Always do it this way" because each situation is different and therefore requires a different reaction or offense/defensive play.

Honesty was always my policy, and in the end it worked wonders for my survival... although in later games I was offed relatively quickly due to what I can only assume was raging jealously and fear at my madd skillz.

Primarily I posted as food for thought and as a starting basis to attempt to filter through all of the noise in the game.

Huntn doesn't really like the idea of honesty as a deciding factor at all in the WW games.

You should start playing them again, by the way.

It's not that I don't like trust, it's because you can't believe anything that anyone says, can you? This game is built from the ground up for werewolves to manipulate the crowd with lies and deception. It's not that I don't like honesty, I love it as a Villager. However the question becomes, who am I speaking with, innocent villager or a murderous beast? How exactly are you supposed to have trust dealing with that? When player A tells you, player C is a wolf, "trust me", why exactly should I? Unless we can have a rule that wolves are never allowed to use the word trust, hehe.

I think this is much more difficult than a party version of the game because the participants are not in the same room. You get absolutely no body language or mannerisms, just text on a page. There is so much missing as compared to facing your fellow players and wolves face to face.

To reemphasize, many of the rules/strategies I listed came from a symposium on the game led by a WW master. Especially in an online game, minus the body language, if individuals do not express their suspicions and their reasons for voting, they should be highly suspect. He says lynch them...