Okay, I think I've finally wrapped my head around all of this, and I see what AL was doing. The "village" was a bunch of insane cannibals -- but they all thought they and their closest friends were sane. Death results were obfuscated to maintain that fiction; you saw your own masoned members die as "sane" while other villagers died as "insane".
The "mafia" was the orderlies and nurses; the odd thing to me is that it sounds as though the mafia were not all masoned together, which seems to have led to much higher than expected inactivity from them.
Were there any players in the game who didn't get to see the death roles each day?
fake edit: and MrB has posted a full player list while I was writing this and trying to figure things out.
Other questions I have after seeing MrB's list: were all of the "sane" groups identical? Three with even day kills, three with odd day kills, or did some have other powers?
And was the mafia only 5 members, or were the Self-Committed actually part of the mafia?
Traditionally, Phalla is a battle between an informed minority (the masoned mafia) and the uninformed masses (disconnected village and specials). This game turned that on its head--from what I can see, the village groups were actually more connected than the mafia, and many (most?) of them seemed to think that they were the mafia as the game began.
First off, I'd like to apologize to my group for the first kill we had. My bad. And, uh... Yeah. I enjoyed the game, for the most part. It was an interesting idea, and, like all good experiments, much was learned.
See here's the problem. Our role PM told us we were the mafia. We were speculating about there being multiple "sane" groups all the way back on day two, and I got the numbers right on all the players in the game before I died.
But that makes it a faction game not some kind of village vs mafia turned on its head or any similar notions. Because our role PM told us that we had to kill everyone who wasn't in our group until we outnumbered all other players.
If all the insane players were, in fact, one big faction we should have won on day one, when we outnumbered the other players in the game.
Blarney has got it all right. I assume he figured it out because he got in contact with someone who was on a different team, but had the same win conditions as him, but different results from deaths.
He just PM'd me with a question about if he could team up because they were so compatible.
Yeah, I basically looked at my initial role and thought "Five people, even-parity kill. Must be a disconnected mafia of ten people with a single kill distributed between them. So we need to find them and then tell the host that we want to unite. Cool." When Mr. Defecation reveals, I jump at the opportunity to network. When I find out that the Self-Committed are a group of three and they don't have a kill, and they want to support the asylum staff, I realize that I have contacted the wrong person. I give the neutral party song and dance and get away without harm.
However, I keep the information about connecting the groups in the back of my mind and keep an eye out for any complementary factions. When Teucrian comes under fire, I start a dialogue and eventually ally my group with the last member of Teucrian's, HeavyVillain. As it turns out, they have an odd-parity kill, allowing me to remain blissfully unaware of the presence of other "Sane" factions. I am under the impression that our two groups are the mafia, and our objective is to eliminate the asylum staff and self-committed then outnumber the remaining Insane.
After that, godmode starts making comments and reveals details that suggest he is another one of the "Sane" groups, and that he is in contact with another "Sane" group himself. Very curious. Communication with him confirms that there are four "Sane" groups, at which point we try to work out an alliance. And then the end of Day 6 comes and everything blows up. I don't even consider the fact that there should be a third pair of "Sane" groups until the last day, at which point I just decide to sweep the table and forget about trying to ally with the remaining "Sane" players.
I guess that's the story of my side of the game, in a nutshell.
Were there any players in the game who didn't get to see the death roles each day?
And was the mafia only 5 members, or were the Self-Committed actually part of the mafia?
The schizo and the suicidal roles didn't receive the information.
The Self-Commited were part of the mafia.
I figured with two seers and the identifiable nature of their kills, they would figure something out to link together. Looks like I was wrong. The staff also got accurate information on deaths. At least I think they did. I only interacted with the Self-Committed on a regular basis because they had no orders.
It looks like the victory conditions we were given were false. Really it seems like there was no way to victory.
Also i have to say, group B was unduly singled out for voting in the early game. Sure we had dunadan but two more people being primary vote targets?!?!?
Void Slayer on
He's a shy overambitious dog-catcher on the wrong side of the law. She's an orphaned psychic mercenary with the power to bend men's minds. They fight crime!
Apparently I double locked my proboard for that extra fresh networking smell. Should be open now, thanks MrBarney.
It is kind of funny one group thought I was working with Phyphor and he is the one who got me killed.
Honestly you thought I was an insane seer so that is enough to kill me? Really?
I suppose with 5 fingers on triggers it was only a matter of time.
I figured the game out right after I died, so my death post was kinda prophetic. I locked the kitchen... and you all ate each other.
My one question is what was that whole day of peace? If no one acted and no one voted except for abstain, would that have ended it or at least changed the game somehow?
Void Slayer on
He's a shy overambitious dog-catcher on the wrong side of the law. She's an orphaned psychic mercenary with the power to bend men's minds. They fight crime!
I want you all to know that if you had abstained from killing everyone then everyone would have become one faction except for the paranoid schizo, who would have still became a mass murderer.
I want you all to know that if you had abstained from killing everyone then everyone would have become one faction except for the paranoid schizo, who would have still became a mass murderer.
Oh sorry did not see that thanks.
Also what the hell capfalcon?
What do we think about Void Slayer? I can't think of a reason he'd lie about alignments, so there's a good chance he's lying.
I am going to sig that.
Void Slayer on
He's a shy overambitious dog-catcher on the wrong side of the law. She's an orphaned psychic mercenary with the power to bend men's minds. They fight crime!
That game was crazy from my side. It was me and Mr Defecation but we had nothing mostly. We could see what happened after people died and that was it. Last night the host told me that we had no chance of winning so I pretty much assumed that was the case. I figured out that Coutts was mafia but not extermatott.
Having a win condition of you have to win with the mafia without any way to find them is really tough. You end up never wanting to risk it if you are wrong.
I figured out that the insane were the village day 1, but turkson threw me off when he told me the orderlies were village aligned after we were both dead
And dont be disheartened AL, its better to try and be creative and fall than to just coast. Im not one to judge, my one phalla so far wasnt exactly well recieved, i know the dangers of meddling too much as a host too. dont let it get you down! We appreciate you running the game.
This was a fun experiment. Whatever may have happened towards the end, it was an interesting set-up and, like MrBlarney said, it probably would've worked out even without the weird stuff towards the end. I wouldn't give up on running them, just take the good advice being given (from people smarter than me) and keep at it.
Sidenote: reading the ProBoards, I see I only survived Day 2 because of a clerical error. Jeez guys, could you have killed any more of us those first two days?
edit: Okay I found it... yes I was working with void slayer by voting for him twice, once for a serious bandwagon. And I was referencing the OP when I was talking about the dead. /facepalm
Also i have to say, group B was unduly singled out for voting in the early game. Sure we had dunadan but two more people being primary vote targets?!?!?
Our group lost 1-2 people a day as well.
It was my first one of these so it was interesting. So did I get killed by cannibals or there were no cannibals?
That game was crazy from my side. It was me and Mr Defecation but we had nothing mostly. We could see what happened after people died and that was it. Last night the host told me that we had no chance of winning so I pretty much assumed that was the case. I figured out that Coutts was mafia but not extermatott.
Having a win condition of you have to win with the mafia without any way to find them is really tough. You end up never wanting to risk it if you are wrong.
I didn't tell you that. I told you twice that you could win. If jackisreal had killed five different people (not likely, but possible) then the staff would have had a decent shot at winning... if Blarney didn't pick the kills well on the last night.
Also i have to say, group B was unduly singled out for voting in the early game. Sure we had dunadan but two more people being primary vote targets?!?!?
Our group lost 1-2 people a day as well.
It was my first one of these so it was interesting. So did I get killed by cannibals or there were no cannibals?
Their was no cannibal faction. Everyone turned into cannibals at the end because they were trapped in an asylum without a steady supply of food.
And dont be disheartened AL, its better to try and be creative and fall than to just coast. Im not one to judge, my one phalla so far wasnt exactly well recieved, i know the dangers of meddling too much as a host too. dont let it get you down! We appreciate you running the game.
I know. I figure I'll run some mini phallas if I get any inspiration and try and improve my technique there before I try anything again though.
This was a fun experiment. Whatever may have happened towards the end, it was an interesting set-up and, like MrBlarney said, it probably would've worked out even without the weird stuff towards the end. I wouldn't give up on running them, just take the good advice being given (from people smarter than me) and keep at it.
Sidenote: reading the ProBoards, I see I only survived Day 2 because of a clerical error. Jeez guys, could you have killed any more of us those first two days?
Even though in my mind I botched the weird stuff near the end, I felt it was necessary because the village was basically one big group of masons.
I should have found a way at being more subtle. Unfortunately I really suck at subtlety. It is a strong flaw I have.
One way you could have "interfered" with more subtlety would have been to randomly pick individuals from within the village and PM them something about how their Sane friends had apparently lost their minds -- and now, they (the ones you're PMing) are the true Sane faction.
It would have been thematic, subtle, and hilarious.
Blarney has got it all right. I assume he figured it out because he got in contact with someone who was on a different team, but had the same win conditions as him, but different results from deaths.
He just PM'd me with a question about if he could team up because they were so compatible.
Yeah, I basically looked at my initial role and thought "Five people, even-parity kill. Must be a disconnected mafia of ten people with a single kill distributed between them. So we need to find them and then tell the host that we want to unite. Cool." When Mr. Defecation reveals, I jump at the opportunity to network. When I find out that the Self-Committed are a group of three and they don't have a kill, and they want to support the asylum staff, I realize that I have contacted the wrong person. I give the neutral party song and dance and get away without harm.
However, I keep the information about connecting the groups in the back of my mind and keep an eye out for any complementary factions. When Teucrian comes under fire, I start a dialogue and eventually ally my group with the last member of Teucrian's, HeavyVillain. As it turns out, they have an odd-parity kill, allowing me to remain blissfully unaware of the presence of other "Sane" factions. I am under the impression that our two groups are the mafia, and our objective is to eliminate the asylum staff and self-committed then outnumber the remaining Insane.
After that, godmode starts making comments and reveals details that suggest he is another one of the "Sane" groups, and that he is in contact with another "Sane" group himself. Very curious. Communication with him confirms that there are four "Sane" groups, at which point we try to work out an alliance. And then the end of Day 6 comes and everything blows up. I don't even consider the fact that there should be a third pair of "Sane" groups until the last day, at which point I just decide to sweep the table and forget about trying to ally with the remaining "Sane" players.
I guess that's the story of my side of the game, in a nutshell.
When he puts it like that, this sounds like a pretty awesome game
If jackisreal had killed five different people (not likely, but possible) then the staff would have had a decent shot at winning... if Blarney didn't pick the kills well on the last night.
If I had seen ten deaths from the staff and mass murderer at the end of Day 8, and the game did not end, I'm sure that myself and my allies would have rioted even more in the thread.
When [MrBlarney] puts it like that, this sounds like a pretty awesome game
Yeah, it was cool up until the end of day 6, when things started just falling apart. I guess the lesson to take here is that hosting is a balancing act requiring careful attention. You need to be engaged in the game to make sure everything is running smoothly, but you also need to keep a distance in order to not influence the game's players. Set things up so that players can figure things on their own and the host is only seen when the players really need it.
I didn't get any information about dead people's alignments...
Was I supposed to?
If not I think I should have so at least I wasn't completely in the dark about what was going on.
If I had been active i would have realized that I was on a team with the self committed, and maybe would have been able to figure out what was going on.
I haven't been as confused since my first game of Phalla.
I didn't get any information about dead people's alignments...
Was I supposed to?
If not I think I should have so at least I wasn't completely in the dark about what was going on.
If I had been active i would have realized that I was on a team with the self committed, and maybe would have been able to figure out what was going on.
I haven't been as confused since my first game of Phalla.
At least I got to kill 5 people in one day!
And this is why you don't set up a game were you purposely keep yourself in the dark.
You were supposed to receive that information, but I purposely set it up so 3clipse had total control over the staff just because I thought it would be more interesting. I only knew what you did.
I didn't get any information about dead people's alignments...
Was I supposed to?
If not I think I should have so at least I wasn't completely in the dark about what was going on.
If I had been active i would have realized that I was on a team with the self committed, and maybe would have been able to figure out what was going on.
I haven't been as confused since my first game of Phalla.
At least I got to kill 5 people in one day!
And this is why you don't set up a game were you purposely keep yourself in the dark.
You were supposed to receive that information, but I purposely set it up so 3clipse had total control over the staff just because I thought it would be more interesting. I only knew what you did.
I didn't get any information about dead people's alignments...
Was I supposed to?
If not I think I should have so at least I wasn't completely in the dark about what was going on.
If I had been active i would have realized that I was on a team with the self committed, and maybe would have been able to figure out what was going on.
I haven't been as confused since my first game of Phalla.
At least I got to kill 5 people in one day!
And this is why you don't set up a game were you purposely keep yourself in the dark.
You were supposed to receive that information, but I purposely set it up so 3clipse had total control over the staff just because I thought it would be more interesting. I only knew what you did.
The more you know!
Wait, what?
Why?
HAHAHAHAH, cause it just fits. That's just great. No one understood what was going on.
It's like a double blind experimental phalla. Kinda.
Void Slayer on
He's a shy overambitious dog-catcher on the wrong side of the law. She's an orphaned psychic mercenary with the power to bend men's minds. They fight crime!
vertroueI am FemaleTotes Not a SithRegistered Userregular
edited April 2011
Frecken me, cow king, infidel, dragon#, and one other sorry to lazy to look u up were masoned at begining, and by day 3, 3 of the 5 of us where dead. ....sighs
vertroue on
Blood and Fire
From the Desk of Darth Vertroue Diplomat to the USA.
0
Options
vertroueI am FemaleTotes Not a SithRegistered Userregular
edited April 2011
I had talked to coutts on day 2 and told my team that if i died to kill his as he told me in came he was a driver.
vertroue on
Blood and Fire
From the Desk of Darth Vertroue Diplomat to the USA.
Woooooooooooooooow. Looks like this was a terrible time for me to go inactive, but I just couldn't get an internet connection all weekend where I was staying. Sorry! It would have been fun to have five kills.
I misunderstood a PM at one point from the Abysmal Lynx. I thought our win was out of reach. Sorry about that. I still had fun playing either way. Even though we were partly mafia, I was probably more confused than the village. haha
Hey guys, been kinda following this game... haven't participated in a phalla in forever. When does the next one start? I saw a list of the people who are scheduled to run them, but is there an actual schedule of some sport? Are they still happening pretty regularly? Are they all in CF for the most part?
They run in CF not quite continuously; I can't recall whether or not there is a mini running at the moment (seems to be no), but we usually have one large game and one or two smaller games running concurrently. Keep an eye on the main Phalla thread for announcements of games.
There is not a firm schedule for them, regardless.
Posts
The "mafia" was the orderlies and nurses; the odd thing to me is that it sounds as though the mafia were not all masoned together, which seems to have led to much higher than expected inactivity from them.
Were there any players in the game who didn't get to see the death roles each day?
fake edit: and MrB has posted a full player list while I was writing this and trying to figure things out.
Other questions I have after seeing MrB's list: were all of the "sane" groups identical? Three with even day kills, three with odd day kills, or did some have other powers?
And was the mafia only 5 members, or were the Self-Committed actually part of the mafia?
Traditionally, Phalla is a battle between an informed minority (the masoned mafia) and the uninformed masses (disconnected village and specials). This game turned that on its head--from what I can see, the village groups were actually more connected than the mafia, and many (most?) of them seemed to think that they were the mafia as the game began.
ANYWAY!
First off, I'd like to apologize to my group for the first kill we had. My bad. And, uh... Yeah. I enjoyed the game, for the most part. It was an interesting idea, and, like all good experiments, much was learned.
Twitch Stream
But that makes it a faction game not some kind of village vs mafia turned on its head or any similar notions. Because our role PM told us that we had to kill everyone who wasn't in our group until we outnumbered all other players.
If all the insane players were, in fact, one big faction we should have won on day one, when we outnumbered the other players in the game.
Yeah, I basically looked at my initial role and thought "Five people, even-parity kill. Must be a disconnected mafia of ten people with a single kill distributed between them. So we need to find them and then tell the host that we want to unite. Cool." When Mr. Defecation reveals, I jump at the opportunity to network. When I find out that the Self-Committed are a group of three and they don't have a kill, and they want to support the asylum staff, I realize that I have contacted the wrong person. I give the neutral party song and dance and get away without harm.
However, I keep the information about connecting the groups in the back of my mind and keep an eye out for any complementary factions. When Teucrian comes under fire, I start a dialogue and eventually ally my group with the last member of Teucrian's, HeavyVillain. As it turns out, they have an odd-parity kill, allowing me to remain blissfully unaware of the presence of other "Sane" factions. I am under the impression that our two groups are the mafia, and our objective is to eliminate the asylum staff and self-committed then outnumber the remaining Insane.
After that, godmode starts making comments and reveals details that suggest he is another one of the "Sane" groups, and that he is in contact with another "Sane" group himself. Very curious. Communication with him confirms that there are four "Sane" groups, at which point we try to work out an alliance. And then the end of Day 6 comes and everything blows up. I don't even consider the fact that there should be a third pair of "Sane" groups until the last day, at which point I just decide to sweep the table and forget about trying to ally with the remaining "Sane" players.
I guess that's the story of my side of the game, in a nutshell.
The schizo and the suicidal roles didn't receive the information.
The Self-Commited were part of the mafia.
I figured with two seers and the identifiable nature of their kills, they would figure something out to link together. Looks like I was wrong. The staff also got accurate information on deaths. At least I think they did. I only interacted with the Self-Committed on a regular basis because they had no orders.
It looks like the victory conditions we were given were false. Really it seems like there was no way to victory.
Also i have to say, group B was unduly singled out for voting in the early game. Sure we had dunadan but two more people being primary vote targets?!?!?
It is kind of funny one group thought I was working with Phyphor and he is the one who got me killed.
Honestly you thought I was an insane seer so that is enough to kill me? Really?
I suppose with 5 fingers on triggers it was only a matter of time.
I figured the game out right after I died, so my death post was kinda prophetic. I locked the kitchen... and you all ate each other.
My one question is what was that whole day of peace? If no one acted and no one voted except for abstain, would that have ended it or at least changed the game somehow?
Oh sorry did not see that thanks.
Also what the hell capfalcon? I am going to sig that.
Having a win condition of you have to win with the mafia without any way to find them is really tough. You end up never wanting to risk it if you are wrong.
Knew it all along!
And dont be disheartened AL, its better to try and be creative and fall than to just coast. Im not one to judge, my one phalla so far wasnt exactly well recieved, i know the dangers of meddling too much as a host too. dont let it get you down! We appreciate you running the game.
Sidenote: reading the ProBoards, I see I only survived Day 2 because of a clerical error. Jeez guys, could you have killed any more of us those first two days?
edit: Okay I found it... yes I was working with void slayer by voting for him twice, once for a serious bandwagon. And I was referencing the OP when I was talking about the dead. /facepalm
Our group lost 1-2 people a day as well.
It was my first one of these so it was interesting. So did I get killed by cannibals or there were no cannibals?
I bet you did.
I didn't tell you that. I told you twice that you could win. If jackisreal had killed five different people (not likely, but possible) then the staff would have had a decent shot at winning... if Blarney didn't pick the kills well on the last night.
Their was no cannibal faction. Everyone turned into cannibals at the end because they were trapped in an asylum without a steady supply of food.
I know. I figure I'll run some mini phallas if I get any inspiration and try and improve my technique there before I try anything again though.
Even though in my mind I botched the weird stuff near the end, I felt it was necessary because the village was basically one big group of masons.
I should have found a way at being more subtle. Unfortunately I really suck at subtlety. It is a strong flaw I have.
It would have been thematic, subtle, and hilarious.
When he puts it like that, this sounds like a pretty awesome game
If I had seen ten deaths from the staff and mass murderer at the end of Day 8, and the game did not end, I'm sure that myself and my allies would have rioted even more in the thread.
Yeah, it was cool up until the end of day 6, when things started just falling apart. I guess the lesson to take here is that hosting is a balancing act requiring careful attention. You need to be engaged in the game to make sure everything is running smoothly, but you also need to keep a distance in order to not influence the game's players. Set things up so that players can figure things on their own and the host is only seen when the players really need it.
The Black Hole of Cygnus X-1
Was I supposed to?
If not I think I should have so at least I wasn't completely in the dark about what was going on.
If I had been active i would have realized that I was on a team with the self committed, and maybe would have been able to figure out what was going on.
I haven't been as confused since my first game of Phalla.
At least I got to kill 5 people in one day!
The Black Hole of Cygnus X-1
And this is why you don't set up a game were you purposely keep yourself in the dark.
You were supposed to receive that information, but I purposely set it up so 3clipse had total control over the staff just because I thought it would be more interesting. I only knew what you did.
The more you know!
Why?
HAHAHAHAH, cause it just fits. That's just great. No one understood what was going on.
It's like a double blind experimental phalla. Kinda.
Ok. Ok.
In my defense, I had just done a massive presentation on my Senior Design Project, and I think it was late.
Twitch Stream
From the Desk of Darth Vertroue Diplomat to the USA.
From the Desk of Darth Vertroue Diplomat to the USA.
There is not a firm schedule for them, regardless.
I PM'd you whatever came to mind. Anything I told you was worthless, except for that time you seered someone twice.