Being Geek

Chapter 17. Managing Werewolves

If I move a muscle, I’m dead. Jane, who I’m pretty sure is a Werewolf, is jumping from one player to the next, testing will and looking for weakness. She’s looking for a sign of guilt or discomfort, and it’s not just her. The room is full of people looking for someone to lynch.

The game is Werewolf, and I’m both exhilarated and terrified, which is odd because I’m paid to play this horrific game every day.

A Dangerous Scenario

Werewolf is a party game described by its creator as “a game of accusations, lying, bluffing, second-guessing, assassination, and mob hysteria.” Understanding the basics of how it’s played is important to understanding why this game will help your critical thinking skills at work.

A moderator begins by handing players cards that indicate their role: Villager, a Seer, or Werewolf. With all the cards distributed, each player announces his role in the village, and everyone says the same thing: “Hi, I’m MyName, and I’m a Villager.”

Now, some people are lying. There’s a bunch of Werewolves, and they’re not going to admit that, because the Villagers want to kill the Werewolves before they kill us.

The moderator then announces that it’s nighttime, and all the players close their eyes. The two things that Werewolves are afraid of are, obviously, cows and zombies, so all the players make one of the following sounds: “BraAaaaaaaaAaaaains” or “MooOooooooOooooo.”

These sounds are an auditory cover for what ...