Mirkwood werewolves

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mirkwood werewolves
Game leader assembling the roles
Game leader assembling the roles
Game data
author Philippe des Phalliéres ,
Hervé Marly
graphic Alexios Tjoyas
publishing company Lui-même ,
Pro Ludo ,
999 Games ,
Asmodée Editions ,
Cromola
Publishing year 2001, 2003
Art Party game
Teammates 8–18 + game master
Duration approx. 30 minutes (depending on the number of players)
Age from 10 years on

Awards

As d'Or : animation game 2002 ( As d'Or du jeu d'animation )
Game of the year : shortlist 2003
Jeu de l'Année 2003: nominated

The werewolves of Mirkwood ( French Les loups-garous de Thiercelieux ) is a board game by Philippe des Phallières and Hervé Marly with illustrations by Alexios Tjoyas . The well-known game Mafia , which Andrew Plotkin had given a werewolf theme, was used as a template . The game was first published in 2001 by Lui-même (distributed by Asmodée Editions ) in French. In 2006, Neumond (French: Nouvelle Lune ) was the first expansion.

The game is largely based on the ability of the players to influence others, to be able to believably lie and to expose such behavior.

Prizes and awards

Mirkwood werewolves have won several awards, including one

The game has been translated into several languages ​​and has become a classic that is also very popular as a forum game on the Internet.

Game flow

The theme is that the small village of Mirkwood is haunted by werewolves. The group of citizens tries to expose the wolves who have disguised themselves as citizens. On the other hand, wolves try to be the only ones to survive and to eliminate adversaries. There are also characters with their own goals.

preparation

The game master shuffles all character cards and deals one of them face down to each player. The players look at their card and can now see whether they represent a werewolf, a simple villager or a special role. Then the game master calls for the first night and the actual game can begin.

Night phase

In the night phase, all players close their eyes. The game master calls the acting characters individually. They open their eyes and take their action. In the simple game these are only the seer and the werewolves . In the extended game with more special roles (→ characters ) the night lasts longer.

If the werewolves are called by the game master, they wake up and recognize each other. Depending on the number of players, there are two to four wolves (is played with the addition of a wolf in sheep's clothing , is played with four, but this one does not wake up with the others). The wolves use gestures to agree on a victim and then go back to sleep. The game master notes the victim of the werewolves.

The old seer wakes up alone in the night and points to a player. The game master shows the seer the corresponding character card of the person. As a result, the seer knows more than the other villagers, but has to be careful with her knowledge in order not to be exposed by the werewolves.

Day phase

During the day, all players wake up. It is now announced which of the players were killed that night. They turn over their cards, are now considered dead and are eliminated from the round. That is, they are no longer allowed to comment on the game. Now the villagers are discussing which of them could be a werewolf. This discussion phase is the real heart of the game.

At the end of the day there is a so-called vote by the village court , where on the command of the game master everyone, except for the eliminated persons, points with their finger at someone who is suspicious for them. Whoever receives the most votes is eliminated. If there is a tie, there is a runoff ballot, if there is another stalemate , a captain chosen at the start of the game decides . The remaining players will be informed of the character role of the eliminated player. After the day it becomes night again and the cycle starts again.

the end of the game

The game ends when either all werewolves or all citizens are dead. The aim of the werewolves is to wipe out all citizens while the villagers want to kill the wolves. Only if the pair of lovers consists of a werewolf and a villager can these two players only win if nobody else survives.

Pawns

In addition to the seer and werewolves , which are used in every game round, additional characters can be integrated into the game. The corresponding cards each replace a villager card.

Basic game

  • Witch : The witch always wakes up right after the werewolves have chosen their victim. It has a poison and a healing potion throughout the game. The game master points to the person who was chosen as the murder victim by the werewolves, and the witch can heal this person (including herself) with her healing potion, so that there is no death the next morning. But she can also use the poison potion on another player; then there are several deaths.
  • Hunter : If the hunter is eliminated from the game, he fires another shot in his last breath, with which he kills a player of his choice, i.e. H. he designates a player who is eliminated from the game with him.
  • Cupid : Cupid only wakes up once on the very first night to pair up two players of his choice (possibly himself). Then he falls asleep again. Then the game master touches the two lovers on the shoulder so that they can wake up briefly and know who the respective partner is. In the course of the game, the lovers have the task of protecting their partner, because if one of the two dies, the partner will mournfully imitate him; they must never vote against each other.
  • Thief : The thief is the first to wake up in the game. When playing with a thief, two more cards are dealt. The thief may look at it and exchange his card for one of the two remaining cards. So he has a new role from now on. If he doesn't want to trade, he'll be a simple villager for the rest of the game. (If there are two werewolf cards left at the end, the thief must swap his card, otherwise the werewolves would not have a realistic chance in the game.)
  • Girl : The little girl is allowed to secretly blink at night during the werewolf phase in order to recognize the werewolves. The werewolves, on the other hand, are of course careful to catch the girl doing it, so there is a certain risk when blinking.
  • Seer : The seer wakes up while everyone else is sleeping and is allowed to choose a person whose role the game master should reveal to her. The game master should proceed as inconspicuously as possible, ideally again using gestures, so that the sleepers cannot hear or guess which person has been chosen. Since the seer knows the role of another person in the game at each round, she can exert a great influence, but must use her knowledge carefully.

Extension 1: "New Moon"

The "New Moon" expansion includes new variants. The 9 variants change the rules of the basic game at certain points and bring more variety into it, the main variant (called “new moon”) works with 36 event cards that are drawn every morning. The expansion also brings 5 ​​new role cards with it:

  • Healer / Protector : The healer wakes up at the beginning of each night and determines a player (including himself) whom he wants to protect from the werewolves. Even if the selected player is bitten by the werewolves, they will not die. It is not allowed to protect the same character two rounds in a row, otherwise he would be immortal.
  • Scapegoat : Whenever there is a stalemate in the village during the vote, the scapegoat is hit immediately. However, he has a prerogative: he can decide who can vote the next day.
  • Dorfdepp : If the Dorfdepp is chosen as a victim by the village court, they recognize at the last moment that it is only the Dorfdepp. The Dorfdepp is allowed to continue living, but now has no right to vote.
  • The old man : The old man survived the werewolves' first attack. But if he is determined to be a victim by the village court or killed by the witch or the hunter, the village loses its wisdom and all special roles become simple villagers. In addition, the village forgets that they wanted to spare the village dump.
  • Flute player : The flute player is a party of its own and can only win the game on his own unless he is in love. He always wakes up at the end of each night and determines two players whom he enchants with his music. Then he falls asleep and all enchanted players wake up, recognize each other and fall asleep again. The flute player wins the game alone if all other players are enchanted.

Extension 2: "The community"

This expansion is all about 9 different buildings that are displayed in front of the players and the 9 professions associated with them. For example there is the teacher in the school, the priest in the church or the landlord in the inn. With these new professions, of course, the players get new functions and skills that change the game significantly. The players receive these professions and buildings in addition to their normal role cards and this results in a wide variety of combinations that create new game situations over and over again. In contrast to the New Moon and Characters expansions, the base game is not required for this, as it is already included in the expansion. There are also 3 new role cards:

  • The white werewolf : The white werewolf wakes up every round together with the other werewolves and behaves normally. In addition, he wakes up separately every other round and can, if he wants, kill one of the other werewolves. His goal is to be the only one to survive.
  • The arsonist : The arsonist can set a building on fire once in the game. The player who lives in it does not die, but loses his or her abilities related to the building.
  • The black raven : The black raven can attach an anonymous threatening letter to a certain house every round, which means that the player who lives there automatically has two votes against him the next day.

Expansion 3: "Characters"

The third expansion, released in 2012, contains 22 cards with 16 new roles.

  • The Big Bad Wolf : The Big Bad Wolf is a wolf that kills twice in the night. He first agrees on a victim with the other wolves, then he chooses a second victim on his own. This role is suitable for large groups or for quick rounds. The big bad wolf loses its power once a werewolf is killed.
  • The primal wolf : He is a werewolf who can turn a player into a werewolf instead of eating. He secretly signals to the game master, after the decision of all werewolves, when a conversion should take place.
  • The Wolfhound : When called by the game master, he can decide whether he wants to become a werewolf or remain a villager. His choice will not be known even after his death.
  • The wild child : At the beginning of a game, the wild child chooses another player who then becomes his role model. If his role model dies, the wild child becomes a werewolf.
  • The pure soul : The pure soul is the only openly played identity whose role card shows the image of a normal villager on both sides. The person with this role does not have any special abilities, but embodies a clearly verified good person and is therefore a safe option when choosing the captain or bailiff.
  • The Angel : If he is eliminated in the first round vote (not by the werewolves) he alone wins the game.
  • The three brothers (3 cards): The three brothers wake up together on the first night and recognize each other. Otherwise they are simple villagers. These cards are suitable for large groups as it creates a subgroup of villagers who already know each other for sure.
  • The two sisters (2 cards): The two sisters wake up together on the first night and recognize each other. Otherwise they are simple villagers who have known each other from the start.
  • The fox : When called in the night, he selects a player and learns from the game master whether he or one of his two neighbors is a werewolf or not. If there is at least one werewolf in the trio, they can try again the next night. But if neither of the three is a werewolf, he loses his ability.
  • The devoted maid : The maid sacrifices herself for other roles. The player takes the card of someone who has just died once (before the others can see this identity) and takes on their role. The role is played as if it were new to the game.
  • The bear guide : If the bear guide is right next to a werewolf in the morning, the game master (bear) shows this with a growl.
  • The Knight with the Rusted Sword : The knight uses his rusty sword to infect the werewolf on his left with tetanus when he is eaten by them at night. This werewolf then dies the following night. Accordingly, all players between him and the dead wolf are acquitted.
  • The embittered old man : At the beginning the game master divides the village into two groups (e.g. according to characteristics) - the old man then belongs to one of the two groups. His goal, to win the game on his own, is to eliminate the other group completely.
  • The juggler : Before the start, the game master selects three additional roles, which he places face up in the middle. At the beginning of each night, the actor chooses one of these roles and plays it until the following night. He repeats this until there are no more roles to choose from and he becomes a normal villager.
  • The stuttering judge : The game master and the judge agree on a sign on the first night. If the judge gives this signal after the regular voting of the village and the death of a player, the referee immediately carries out another vote.
  • The Gypsy : The Gypsy can call the spirits. Called up every night, she gives the game master a sign when spiritualism (cards from the 1st expansion) is to be carried out the next morning.
  • The bailiff : The bailiff is appointed by the captain, who can revoke this at any time. This is not a secret role, but an additional function. Every day the field warden can select an event card (from the 1st expansion) to be carried out.

Further

In 2012 an anniversary edition was published under the title "10 Years Later", which contained all characters up to the expansion "New Moon" in a larger, adapted map form.

In 2014 a version was released under the title "Der Pakt", which, in addition to the basic game, also contains all the expansions that have been published so far. This box is currently only available in French, German, English and Spanish. As with the expansion The community , the cards are printed on thicker cardboard.

In 2016 a collection of the best cards from the various expansions was published under the title "Best of Werewolves". The set includes 28 role cards made of sturdy cardboard, a chief's shoulder strap and instructions.

In addition to the official expansions mentioned, there are various individual variants with "unofficial" characters that can be agreed on within the round.

expenditure

  • French: Les loups-garous de Thiercelieux (Lui-même, 2001)
  • German: The Werewolves of Mirkwood (ProLudo, 2003)
  • Dutch: Weerwolven van Wakkerdam (999 Games, 2003)
  • English: The Werewolves of Miller's Hollow (Asmodée Editions)
  • Spanish: Los Hombres Lobo de Castronegro (Cromola)

Movies

The US horror film Cry Wolf , released in 2005, is based on this game. Also in the Austrian film Das Werwolfspiel by Johanna Rieger, which premiered in 2013, the game develops a strange life of its own and claims its victims among the players.

swell

  1. ↑ Andrew Plotkin's Werewolf website
  2. ↑ The Werewolves of Mirkwood - Characters Expansion 3 Spieleoffensive.de
  3. ↑ Loups-Garous de Thiercelieux on Facebook (French) accessed on August 4, 2014.
  4. ↑ Das Werwolfspiel , derstandard.at accessed on June 4th.

Web links