first impressions: werewolves/are you the traitor?
first impressions is a series of board game reviews. all commentary is based upon the first time the author and companions play the game “straight outta the box,” and do not reflect prolonged exposure to the game. reviews are designed to give a quick ‘first impression’ of a board game, with the hopes that it will encourage more thoughts (and support) for some of the more uncommon board games out there. we will also heavily refer to board game geek, which is widely considered the spot on the internet for board game news.
well, if there ever were two unsuspecting stinkers i could play in the same evening, i think i’ve found them. i’m lumping these two games in the same review because not only are they very similar in gameplay, not only do they rely primarily on players talking to one another, not only did i play them both for the first time in the same night, but they both suck.
the games werewolves and are you the traitor both rely on player interaction. in fact, apart from the deductive aspects of the endgame of werewolves, both games rely almost entirely on how well players can bullshit each other. some folks apparently find this entertaining. but in games where nothing is at stake, where you’re forced to make arbitrary choices about which players are eliminated (and forced to sit through the rest of the game before they can play again), and the rules are seemingly slapped together with HUGE dependence on the gimmick of players trying to spin on their own innocence, shit gets old pretty quick. i wasn’t feeling it, for either game.
actually, that’s not true. after the initial few seconds of understanding how the game would play out, i decided to aggressively fuck with the rest of the players. for example, i misrepresented myself as a “special townsperson” in werewolves: acting in a way and making veiled comments that encouraged people to think i was the Seer, when in fact i was just bullshitting them. in are you the traitor, i blatantly announced in the beginning of each round that i was a good wizard, completely truthful in that regard, and still went nowhere. both games are so arbitrary and chaotic–depending on players’ perceived levels of intuition and paranoia–that they both seem like supreme wastes of time for me.
the only enjoyment i had in the game was in deliberately sabotaging the situations with a room full of players who had somehow drunk the kool-aid; i wasn’t focused on winning in either case; but because of the way these particular games are “designed”, it doesn’t make a difference. players are unable to tell who is working with the team, who is the werewolf or the traitor, or who is simply fucking with them…until after the damn game is over.
so you can collect treasure in are you the traitor? so what! big fucking deal. someone else who has the one ring (one of the randomly-drawn treasure cards…and there’s five of them) will just steal it from you anyway…never mind you were on their team the round before. in fact, you can just sit back and wait for the rest of the players to score points; you can “win through association,” gaining points without lifting a finger in most cases.
is this simply the fault of the gaming group in which i played these games? possibly. but you cannot blame the group dynamic (comprised of mostly white folks, both genders, in their early 20’s) for all the flaws in these interaction games. there are rules, after all, regarding how the players must interact with one another. werewolves is a traditional game originally developed during the time of stalin’s communist russia, and apparently little has changed over time. that doesn’t mean it’s a good game. are you the traitor was just bad all around, and released just last year.
i can’t believe i’ve spent so much time simply bitching about how weak these games are. although it was an enjoyable evening because i had a chance to meet some new people (primarily board game enthusiasts, to boot), these games were not fun for me. i recommend people stay away from these games. not since i’ve played lifeboats have i played a more poorly-conceived game. i’d rather sit through agricultural policy debate, for crying out loud.
please note: all photos taken from board game geek.
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