I wanted to give the fine people of Listserve a gift. As I’m a game developer by trade and a general creative-type, I figured what finer way than to develop a game. A few minutes ago, I did just that.
Materials:
- stack of index cards (or multiple sheets of paper)
- pens/pencils (at least one for each player)
- players (4-8, probably)
Directions:
- each player should take a card and write down the name of a fictional person. leave lots of room, and pass it to their left.
- each player takes the card they receive and writes down a sentence or two of public knowledge about the name on the card, and passes it to their left.
- each player takes the card they receive, and writes down (on the back) a sentence or two of a deep dark secret involving the name on the card, and after folding it to hide the secret, passes to their left.
- the card you receive is now your identity for the remainder of the evening. Your goal is to uncover all the other players secrets, while hiding your own.
Tips:
- the secret works best if it’s something that would ruin the character completely if it were to be revealed
- intertwined secrets can be especially fun if it’s something that involves another character, and recall you’ve seen two names before you write the secret for the third
- remember that at least one person knows your secret from the moment you start the game, because they wrote it down
- get into character as much as you can. You’ll feel silly at first, but it’s WAY more fun.
- it can be interesting to establish prior knowledge and setting before you start creating the cards, such as: all characters are trapped in a bomb shelter together; or they’re kids spending the night in a haunted mansion on a dare; or The Inspector won’t let anyone leave until he figures out who murdered The Victim
Have fun!
Andy Berdan
[email protected]
London, ON, Canada
PS. if anyone plays Secrets, or even has a better name for it besides the subject of this email, I’d love to hear from you!