[2018] MASQ Games And Thoughts!

[Tawmis]

Going to list the MASQ games - and share some thoughts! Please give suggestions on some of the games, as needed!

The Boddy Count (going with the CLUE motif, namely the movie!) - http://sierrahelp.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=5046 - I thought this was a pretty fun game. No one ever got "killed" in the game, but I think that's fine. I like the idea that the first hit does a lot of damage on any new target, then every hit after that is normal. It let's Mr. Boddy knock people's health half way, then widdle them down if they choose to.

Two Lies, One Truth - http://sierrahelp.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=5035 - We've done this game before, I think it's fun. It can help lend clues as to who the people behind the MASQ are.

Time to Rhyme - http://sierrahelp.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=5030 - We've done this one before. This one is just a forum game, as it rarely lends clues to who is behind the MASQ.

A to Z and Back Again - http://sierrahelp.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=5031 - Like the Time to Rhyme, more of just a forum game.

Trapped in a Sierra Game - http://sierrahelp.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=5029 - We did this last year, I think for the first time. It can help lend clues to who is behind the MASQ, but mostly kinda fun.

What I See - The Inventory Game - http://sierrahelp.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=5049 - First time doing this, and I thought it was a lot of fun, deciding what the items were! A lot of people got creative and funny!

Psychology of You - http://sierrahelp.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=5053 - Started this game late as a means to try and get clues from how people think so you might figure out who is behind the MASQ. Thought it was fun, but started a little late into the month to really have any effect.

The Weapons of Clue - http://sierrahelp.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=5042 - More of a forum game to post silly things you can do with the weapons from the CLUE game.

Continue The Story - http://sierrahelp.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=4765 - Was a good idea to simply continue last years. Next year we will do the same.

What Did They Do - http://sierrahelp.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=5043 - The CLUE characters. I think this might have worked better as a "Continue The Story" type setting. Will try that next year.

I Question Your Character - http://sierrahelp.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=5034 - Meant to provide clues based on the (fictional) characters provided. I think this is a fine game.

You're In A Room, Tell Us Why - http://sierrahelp.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=5044 - Another one based off the CLUE board game. Was kind of fun. I think next time I will remove the limit that it has to be an available room and let people move to different rooms, no matter what, to post silly things.

Now You've Gone And Upset The Chef - http://sierrahelp.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=5033 - CLUE movie based, but we did it last year; and this year it was fun. I enjoy reading silly ways food is ruined.

If I had To ____, I would ____ - http://sierrahelp.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=5032 - Did this last year too; I think this can provide clues as to who is behind the MASQ based on their answers. Fun game.

Things Are In a State of Flux - http://sierrahelp.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=5055 - based off the card game, but posted half way into the month. I think it may be too difficult to manage? Thoughts?

Werewolves of Miller's Hollow - http://sierrahelp.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=5047 - Didn't get a chance to take off, but would be cool to try next year, if we get enough interest.

[Jules]

The Boddy Count - It was definitely fun! I agree it can be taken up a notch for more 'killings'.

Two Lies, One Truth - I like it except for how it gets a little complex when multiple people are giving their truths and lies and not sure who to respond to.. or all?

Easy fun goodies to keep things active:
Time to Rhyme
A to Z and Back Again
Trapped in a Sierra Game
I Question Your Character

I liked these! It definitely gave a peek behind the persona!
What I See - The Inventory Game
Psychology of You

It helped having each person strike out which weapons/characters/rooms were left!
The Weapons of Clue
What Did They Do
You're In A Room, Tell Us Why

Continue The Story - I reeeeally like this one but toward the end it was getting a little confusing because so many new things were happening haha.

Now You've Gone And Upset The Chef - Yeah this was fun!

If I had To ____, I would ____ - I really liked this one! It's interesting what kind of response you'd expect and sometimes you'd get the complete opposite.

Things Are In a State of Flux - Yeeeeaahhh this one got really confusing... maybe next year do a limit of 5-7 rules then start fresh?

Werewolves of Miller's Hollow - Yeah maybe next year!!

[BBP]

Why wait with Werewolves? We can start up a game right now!!

[Collector]

Why wait with Werewolves? We can start up a game right now!!

[Jules]

lolll

[Rath Darkblade]

Collector!

Collector, why didn't you join in? The more, the merrier.

The CLUE motif:
The Boddy Count - fun! It made us think about the nick-names that other people used. I think perhaps Mr Boddy could be made slightly deadlier (e.g. after his first 5-point hit, he could take off 3 points each hit rather than 2). But even so, the game is fun as it is.

The Weapons of Clue - great fun. Things we can do with rope, ratchet and revolver!

What Did They Do - Tawmis, I agree that this might have worked better as a "Continue The Story" type setting. Then the characters could act together. Perhaps we could have it as an option - i.e. your character could be with another character, or he/she could act alone? Then we could have Miss Scarlett seducing Mr Green in the library, Col. Mustard watching through the keyhole and getting jealous, and Miss White making food in the kitchen. Then Miss White could walk down the corridor, notice Col. Mustard, drop the tray and exclaim "Col. Mustard! You naughty boy! We don't do such things in this house!" and slap him. While poor Col. Mustard tries to explain, Mr Green and Miss Scarlett hear the commotion, escape to the ballroom, and start dancing (or whatever!)

That could be lots of fun. What do you think?

You're In A Room, Tell Us Why - Yes, this was fun. I agree that if people could move from room to room, it would add to the fun. Then again, some rooms wouldn't be used at all.

Now You've Gone And Upset The Chef - this was very enjoyable. Ruining food in silly ways! I have one suggestion: I didn't know what some of the food was (e.g. Crying Tiger - what's that? Or Carne Asada Burrito - I could guess it's a burrito with meat, but I know nothing about it.) Maybe next year, the person posting could also post a picture of the food, or why he/she picked it or likes it. That would give the rest of us a clue about who they are, too!

Who's behind which MASQ?
Two Lies, One Truth - hmm, unless we guess correctly, this game didn't really give me a clue about who the people behind the MASQ are. Since each of us posts three statements, maybe the other people could have two guesses? (For instance, I'd say three things, you'd guess one and BBP guesses one. If both are wrong, it's then much easier to figure out). Or, we could post three statements - but one of them has to be obviously ridiculous (e.g. "I learned to program on an abacus" or "Growing up, my favourite toy was an Abrams tank").

Trapped in a Sierra Game - I thought this was fun. It didn't give me any hints about people, but that's okay. As the Gnome, Anna Gramma, says in QfG5: "It was fun, honey bun!"

Psychology of You - yes, this game started a bit too late to tell me how people think so I'd figure out who's behind the MASQ. Still, it was a fun game, so I didn't mind.

I Question Your Character - I'm not sure how this gives us any clues about who's who. It's a fine game, but maybe tell us why you like a particular character/actor/author/etc., or who he/she is?

If I had To ____, I would ____ - great fun! I loved people's creativity. Again, it didn't really give me any clues, but I didn't mind.

Fun games!
Time to Rhyme - well, it doesn't give clues to who's behind the MASQ, but it's good fun anyway. (I like to try and find an exact rhyme, or ask people to rhyme with difficult words).

A to Z and Back Again - yep, a forum game, but still fun.

What I See (The Inventory Game) - hilarious! "I have a potted cactus ... which I'm using to trap self-righteous fundamentalists."

Continue The Story - I'm not sure if we can continue Hilda and Harold's story. It's come to a pretty satisfactory ending. Maybe we can start a new story?

Things Are In a State of Flux - I don't know the card game, so the rules were a bit difficult to start with. However, once I did, it wasn't very hard; when it was time for me to post, I simply opened MS Notepad, went through the thread, copied all the rules so far, and then wrote my reply. Lastly, I went over my reply and, if I transgressed any rule, I simply changed my reply.

Werewolves of Miller's Hollow - I'm sorry this didn't take off. The "Flux" game and the "Werewolves" game were both complicated, so I had to pick one to follow.

[Semi-Happy Partygoer]

The Boddy Count - An incredibly clever twist on the previous murder thread concept. This is the way to go from now on, I'd say. I agree that maybe upping the stakes a bit so that someone is more likely to be killed would make it a bit more intriguing.

Two Lies, One Truth - I like the idea behind this one, but it's very easy to get lost. Perhaps brainstorming a more streamlined approach would make it easier to digest.

Time to Rhyme - I love coming up with rhymes to tricky words or sayings. This one's a keeper.

A to Z and Back Again - This is always fun, even if we get confused on the letters at first and have to iron out the kinks.

Trapped in a Sierra Game - I enjoy this thread, as it's fun to see what frustrates other players about these games.

What I See - This was a clever idea, and it's fun trying to describe items in our own rooms as if they were Sierra inventory objects.

Psychology of You - Interesting idea, but maybe too similar to the rhyming thread in terms of structure. Perhaps the rules could be refined a bit for next year to make it more original? Maybe only responding with pictures, not text, could make it stand out more.

The Weapons of Clue - The Clue theme was inspired. If it's not overkill, more Clue-related games next year might be fun.

Continue The Story - I enjoyed seeing where Hilda and Harold went this year. Last year was a bit more grounded, but this time things started to get really wild...perhaps a bit convoluted towards the end, but the resolution was satisfying. Maybe it would be a good idea to start a new one next time, for a clean slate.

What Did They Do Today? - This was fun. I especially enjoyed how the entries began building upon previous ones, making it all connected. That would be the ideal way to go next time, in my opinion.

I Question Your Character - It's fun to see what other fictional (or not) characters people enjoy.

You're In A Room, Tell Us Why - Clever idea.

Now You've Gone And Upset The Chef - This one's a blast; I love seeing what everyone else likes to eat and how they could be ruined.

If I had To ____, I would ____ - Great concept and enjoyable execution. The questions everyone asks are well thought out and fun to answer.

Things Are In a State of Flux - This one was interesting. Once you get a hang of the rules, it's a real challenge to keep it going without breaking any.

Werewolves of Miller's Hollow - I didn't follow this one as I'd never heard of it before and found it convoluted. Not to say I wouldn't be willing to give it a chance, but I think we realistically need to keep the complex threads to a minimum, otherwise they become too much to follow.

[Tawmis]

The Boddy Count - fun! It made us think about the nick-names that other people used. I think perhaps Mr Boddy could be made slightly deadlier (e.g. after his first 5-point hit, he could take off 3 points each hit rather than 2). But even so, the game is fun as it is.

Cool. It was a random idea I had, and I am glad to see it seems to have done well!

What Did They Do - Tawmis, I agree that this might have worked better as a "Continue The Story" type setting. Then the characters could act together. Perhaps we could have it as an option - i.e. your character could be with another character, or he/she could act alone? Then we could have Miss Scarlett seducing Mr Green in the library, Col. Mustard watching through the keyhole and getting jealous, and Miss White making food in the kitchen. Then Miss White could walk down the corridor, notice Col. Mustard, drop the tray and exclaim "Col. Mustard! You naughty boy! We don't do such things in this house!" and slap him. While poor Col. Mustard tries to explain, Mr Green and Miss Scarlett hear the commotion, escape to the ballroom, and start dancing (or whatever!)
That could be lots of fun. What do you think?

I like it.

You're In A Room, Tell Us Why - Yes, this was fun. I agree that if people could move from room to room, it would add to the fun. Then again, some rooms wouldn't be used at all.

Was even thinking of ways to enhance it - like if people said they go into a room, I could treat it like a text adventure game, as The Butler, and maybe describe the room. And they can search for items. Maybe I have pre-determined hidden items that need to be found? Haven't got all the details panned out yet...

Now You've Gone And Upset The Chef - this was very enjoyable. Ruining food in silly ways! I have one suggestion: I didn't know what some of the food was (e.g. Crying Tiger - what's that? Or Carne Asada Burrito - I could guess it's a burrito with meat, but I know nothing about it.) Maybe next year, the person posting could also post a picture of the food, or why he/she picked it or likes it. That would give the rest of us a clue about who they are, too!

Heh, I am not sure you can say anything about posting unknown food - coming from the guy who posted about bread from Middle Earth.

There was quite a bit of food I didn't know either, so I just googled it. Or used a part of the name of the food to ruin it "My crying tiger was ruined by the tears of the tiger... it got all wet!")

Two Lies, One Truth - hmm, unless we guess correctly, this game didn't really give me a clue about who the people behind the MASQ are. Since each of us posts three statements, maybe the other people could have two guesses? (For instance, I'd say three things, you'd guess one and BBP guesses one. If both are wrong, it's then much easier to figure out). Or, we could post three statements - but one of them has to be obviously ridiculous (e.g. "I learned to program on an abacus" or "Growing up, my favourite toy was an Abrams tank").

Well, ideally, the person replies saying your guess is incorrect/correct. We could always flip it, so it's Two Truths, One Lie, and we try to guess the lie.

I Question Your Character - I'm not sure how this gives us any clues about who's who. It's a fine game, but maybe tell us why you like a particular character/actor/author/etc., or who he/she is?

Well, for example, you were naming a lot of characters I wasn't familiar with. So if I didn't know who you were, I would have guessed, based on doing google searches on some of the characters, that you were either you or BBP, for example, because you both have discussed various books and such that you have read, as your normal IDs on the forum.

What I See (The Inventory Game) - hilarious! "I have a potted cactus ... which I'm using to trap self-righteous fundamentalists."

This was a very fun game.

Continue The Story - I'm not sure if we can continue Hilda and Harold's story. It's come to a pretty satisfactory ending. Maybe we can start a new story?

Well, Sasquatch left it open to continue, from the last post, before it closed. So, who knows...
We can do a poll next year to see if we want to continue it or launch a new one.

Things Are In a State of Flux - I don't know the card game, so the rules were a bit difficult to start with. However, once I did, it wasn't very hard; when it was time for me to post, I simply opened MS Notepad, went through the thread, copied all the rules so far, and then wrote my reply. Lastly, I went over my reply and, if I transgressed any rule, I simply changed my reply.

Yeah, the card game is pretty fun. Not sure how well it translates to a forum game. Maybe need to work it out some more for next year.

The Boddy Count - An incredibly clever twist on the previous murder thread concept. This is the way to go from now on, I'd say. I agree that maybe upping the stakes a bit so that someone is more likely to be killed would make it a bit more intriguing.

Sounds good; so far upping Mr. Boddy's strike power is what folks want to see, but overall, seemed to have enjoyed it.

Two Lies, One Truth - I like the idea behind this one, but it's very easy to get lost. Perhaps brainstorming a more streamlined approach would make it easier to digest.

I am thinking, maybe everyone can post a reply to someone's two lies, one truth - but the next set of lies and truth can not be posted, until the previous is guessed.

A to Z and Back Again - This is always fun, even if we get confused on the letters at first and have to iron out the kinks.

I actually thought that was hilarious that people messed up the Alphabet!

Trapped in a Sierra Game - I enjoy this thread, as it's fun to see what frustrates other players about these games.

Agreed.

Psychology of You - Interesting idea, but maybe too similar to the rhyming thread in terms of structure. Perhaps the rules could be refined a bit for next year to make it more original? Maybe only responding with pictures, not text, could make it stand out more.

I was thinking person A posts a picture, person B replies with what they think/feel. Then person B posts a picture, for the next person to post what they think/feel. Then that person posts a picture.
So that it's always pictures we're reply to. Similar to, "In this photo, what do you see?" kind of things.

The Weapons of Clue - The Clue theme was inspired. If it's not overkill, more Clue-related games next year might be fun.

I will try to think of some others for next year.

Continue The Story - I enjoyed seeing where Hilda and Harold went this year. Last year was a bit more grounded, but this time things started to get really wild...perhaps a bit convoluted towards the end, but the resolution was satisfying. Maybe it would be a good idea to start a new one next time, for a clean slate.

Rath said the same thing; and maybe do a ground rule of the story has to have two main characters, and no more than one new character can be introduced (and dealt with) until a new character is introduced again. To prevent an influx of new characters being thrown into the story at once. (A frog, Graham, the cobbler, the genie, Rosella, Baba Yaga, all were right there at the end, which is why I kept trying to exit some of them)

What Did They Do Today? - This was fun. I especially enjoyed how the entries began building upon previous ones, making it all connected. That would be the ideal way to go next time, in my opinion.

I agree; I even saw that this year and said, this was a better idea. So next year, that's what we will go with. It will be a "Continue The Story" type setting; but based in Clue, and stuck in the mansion.

Now You've Gone And Upset The Chef - This one's a blast; I love seeing what everyone else likes to eat and how they could be ruined.

Agreed!

Things Are In a State of Flux - This one was interesting. Once you get a hang of the rules, it's a real challenge to keep it going without breaking any.

Going to see if there's a way to hone this more for next year.

Werewolves of Miller's Hollow - I didn't follow this one as I'd never heard of it before and found it convoluted. Not to say I wouldn't be willing to give it a chance, but I think we realistically need to keep the complex threads to a minimum, otherwise they become too much to follow.

It's like One Night Werewolf, and had it taken off it would have done well, I think. I am hoping to see if we can get this one off the ground next year.

[Rath Darkblade]

Now You've Gone And Upset The Chef - this was very enjoyable. Ruining food in silly ways! I have one suggestion: I didn't know what some of the food was (e.g. Crying Tiger - what's that? Or Carne Asada Burrito - I could guess it's a burrito with meat, but I know nothing about it.) Maybe next year, the person posting could also post a picture of the food, or why he/she picked it or likes it. That would give the rest of us a clue about who they are, too!

Heh, I am not sure you can say anything about posting unknown food - coming from the guy who posted about bread from Middle Earth.

Everyone should know what lembas is!

A to Z and Back Again - This is always fun, even if we get confused on the letters at first and have to iron out the kinks.

I actually thought that was hilarious that people messed up the Alphabet!

Me, too. I had at least one instance where I was trying to think of the next word, and while I did that, someone else jumped in with a word starting with the same letter. Or (and this is my fault) when I was counting the alphabet backwards.

Reminds me of a bit from the late Bill Hicks, when he's describing being caught drink-driving in the 80s, and the cops make him sing the alphabet backwards:

"Z, Y, X ... um ... gee, you get so used to that song, you know? Z, Y, X ... oh, f*** it! A, B, C, D, E, F, G ... I'm a moron, get me off the road..."

Continue The Story - I enjoyed seeing where Hilda and Harold went this year. Last year was a bit more grounded, but this time things started to get really wild...perhaps a bit convoluted towards the end, but the resolution was satisfying. Maybe it would be a good idea to start a new one next time, for a clean slate.

Rath said the same thing; and maybe do a ground rule of the story has to have two main characters, and no more than one new character can be introduced (and dealt with) until a new character is introduced again. To prevent an influx of new characters being thrown into the story at once. (A frog, Graham, the cobbler, the genie, Rosella, Baba Yaga, all were right there at the end, which is why I kept trying to exit some of them)

You can blame me for Baba Yaga's appearance. Way too often, I'm posting here while caffeine-deprived and/or sleep-deprived. The genie had just given poor Hilda a boil on her nose, and I thought it would be fun for Baba Yaga to ask for a boil too.

Maybe the genie could have just thrown up his hands and declare: "Sure, why not? I'm having a boil sale! Two-for-one! All our boils must go!"

[notbobsmith]

Boddy Count - I really liked this one, though I think I agree with other people that making it easier for "Mr. Boddy" to win would be beneficial.

Continue the Story - It was fun continuing from where we left off last year. Though now it seems we have reached a conclusion of sorts.

Time to Rhyme, A to Z and Back Again, If I Had To ____, I Would _____ - These are always fun. Short and simple and always nice to see when someone posts something clever.

Two Lies, Once Truth - There were some issues with keeping track of who responds to who.

Trapped in a Sierra Game - This is fun, I found myself running things that hadn't been covered though.

Weapons of Clue, You're in a Room Tell Us Why - These were kind of fun. I'm wondering if maybe allowing people to visit the same room might make things more interesting. Characters could interact with each other or continue something that another person started. Something like that.

What Did They Do - I agree that maybe something like a "Continue the Story" would work well. Also, keeping track of characters that have been used like in "Weapons" would be helpful.

What I See - This was actually quite fun. I enjoyed trying to mimic the style of inventory text descriptions.

Psychology of You - This may have been too much like the Rhyming game

I Question Your Character - Interesting choices people made. I didn't recognize quite a few of them.

Now You've Gone And Upset The Chef - Always fun. The rules say that the answer has to be a clue to who you are. I think most people just ignore that and I think I found it restrictive myself.

Things Are In a State of Flux - Very hard to keep track of things, especially when multiple people post when I was offline. But then the point was to be challenging.

[Datadog]

I was frequently busy off-line, so it was very overwhelming to see all the games in play. I couldn't start in on anything that required a lot of attention to detail or followed a lot of rules. But as always, I like the simple ones like Rhyming, Character Questioning, and "if I had to".

[Rath Darkblade]

Hmm... so Datadog, am I right in saying this for you?

If I had to follow all the games on the MASQ, I would never have any free time!

[Spikey]

I often play and host social deception games as play-by-forum, like Werewolves and the Resistance: Avalon. We sorta developed our own one here though with Boddy Count. But Id really like to play Resistance with you guys, and willing to host. =D

[Tawmis]

I often play and host social deception games as play-by-forum, like Werewolves and the Resistance: Avalon. We sorta developed our own one here though with Boddy Count. But Id really like to play Resistance with you guys, and willing to host. =D

I have the Resistance card game; I've played it twice, but it was fun! It's just we usually play "One Night Werewolf" (and recently purchased "Secret Hitler" which operates along the same lines, with a little more complexity). Sometimes we play, "Murder: Deception in Hong Kong", which is a little different.

But, Bang! The Dice Game is probably one of my favorites.

All of which could, technically with some adjustments be turned into a forum game!

In other words, let's see if we can recruit some people for your game, Spikey!