Traitorous Gaming

Hey everyone. So I got to game for the first time since the RAs moved back to campus and I had a really fun time. The group included four people I really enjoy gaming with and the game was Battlestar Galactica. I can't say that I've seen much of the show, but I at least get the main themes.

I go back and forth about if I like games with a hidden betrayer. Being a good character means that I'm suspicious of the others, but I can at least work wholeheartedly towards the public goals of the game. Being a betrayer means that I have a better sense of others' alliances (especially if there's only one betrayer in the game), but I have to be sneaky. The thing I don't like is if I'm the betrayer but the others accuse me before I'm able to do some sabotage. The worst case ever was playing Mafia when I was a CA at Minnesota because there was another CA who could apparently read me immediately.

Battlestar Galactica puts a twist on the betrayer formula because you could suddenly switch from being a good character to a betrayer in the middle of the game. This parallels the show because characters may not realize they are Cylons until they are suddenly activated.

Fortunately for me, I didn't have to be sneaky sneaky because I was a good character the whole game. Nicole, who was the Cylon from the beginning, was discovered relatively early, was kicked out the airlock as a way of outing her identity. Since she was a Cylon, she did go onto another spaceship to try to thwart our plans of getting to Earth. To be honest, I didn't pick up on her treacherous actions, but I'm glad another player did. Nathaniel, who was the President, became a Cylon halfway through the game. He was never officially outed but he pulled enough sly moves that we all knew he was traitorous.

The humans ended up winning, despite running low on all resources (fuel, food, morale, & population), and being in some really sticky situations involving a huge number of enemy ships. It was a very tight game, and everyone had a fun time going from crisis to crisis. Even though Nicole had been outed as a traitor, she was still able to participate, which I think is a lot better than games where the traitor is dead as soon as they are discovered.

Hopefully I can do some more gaming tomorrow, but a lot of tonight's group has various plans. So we'll have to play it by ear, but at least I can start going to gaming events again. Just another reason why I'm glad to be back into the school year... even though my grad school break is winding to a close. All the more reason to have a great weekend, right?

Even though the only scheduled thing tomorrow is gaming, I should still get some shuteye. Tomorrow's holidays will include Bacon Day, International Day of Charity, Pet Rock Day, and Be Late for Something Day. Very nice.

DFTBA