FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Games

Plan to Change the World in This Conversational Game

This month's edition of Casual Games for Protestors is a game about hidden information and careful planning.
Header illustration courtesy of authors.

This story appeared in the September issue of VICE magazine. Click HERE to subscribe.

Molleindustria makes free games designed to cure boredom and sometimes raise your level of social consciousness. Given the rise of protests around the world, it teamed with Harry Giles to create a series of games related to the resistance.

Undercover Cop

Choose a Ringleader. That player chooses a Target—a location, like a specific bank; a structure of oppression, like the patriarchy; or an abstract noun, like peace—and writes it down on scraps of paper, one for each Activist, leaving one scrap blank. The scraps are folded, shuffled, and distributed to the players, who examine them discreetly.

The player receiving the blank note is the Undercover Cop, whose job is to learn the Target while remaining undercover. For a number of minutes equal to the number of players, all players work together to come up with an action plan to take on the Target. The Ringleader begins asking questions about what strategies and tactics would be most appropriate and effective, and the Activists try to agree on a successful approach within the time limit.

Illustration by Stephen Maurice Graham

At any point, the Cop may reveal themselves and guess the Target: If they get it right, they win; if they get it wrong, they lose and the Activists are free to take on the Target.

When time is up, all players simultaneously guess who they think is the Cop. The most accused is exiled. If that person is the Cop, the Activists win; otherwise the Cop wins.

In real life, identities don't get revealed, and you're never quite sure who's won.