Games Bulletin
Welcome to the Games Subforum! This is where you can run DUELS, Mafia/Witch-hunt games, RPG-likes, and other play-by-post forum activities with distinct game mechanics. For "thread games" like "say something about the poster above/below you", try General Chat (with discretion; quality original ideas are preferred - threads designed primarily to inflate post count are best placed on forums other than this one.)
Running Your Game - tips from the cadre
A thread will flounder and die in the sign-up stages of any game without a good OP outlining the game's rules and methods. Make sure to put as much effort in your OP as you'd expect from your players!
-Mafia games get a special mention, due to their current popularity. A setup is more likely to gather interest and good players if you do some/all of the following:
- For starters, just participate in as many mafia games as you can before running your own. Become known in the community, and join the discussion in #mspafia on Esper IRC. Acquire a reputation as someone who knows their mafia chops.
- Learn your Mafia rules, inside out and back to front. Figure out how night actions'll be resolved. Find potential game-breakers or pitfalls that may force a mid-game rule change if you don't watch out.
- Look at rulesets for completed games, and figure out what you need to make the game fun for all your players. Anti-massclaim mechanisms? Disincentives for certain behaviour? Don't forget the basics like "no communication beyond what's permitted" and "teamfriendliness is key I mean jeez guys it's just a game."
- Pitch your ideas/theme in the Mafia Discussion thread in Nerdcrap, to gauge interest.
- Read guides like this one to get an idea of how to balance games.
- Ask experienced players/GMs if they can look over your setup - if you're not sure who these are, go back to the first point on this list. Most people are willing to help, and should vouch for your game once you open sign-ups - extra endorsement!
- Get someone else to also check your setup after the first person did. You and your players'll be investing a lot of time and effort into playing this game, so get it right from the get-go. If your idea was popular, all the vets would've signed up instead of checking - Do not skip this step, regardless!
- Time the launch of your thread carefully - the finite Subforum population has a limited amount of attention. The absolute maximum of "large" games that can be played simultaneously and well by the community is four. And that's assuming there's not much crossover between playerlists. Consider (with consultation from IRC peeps) opening signups but not starting until big games finish.
- Once it's done, laugh, cry, learn a few lessons, and make a few memes to poke a bit of fun at any massive derps in GMing or in-game malarkey.
Archives
Seeing as the subforum done got moved out of Forum Adventures and is its own subforum in its own right, I'll keep a list here of Completed Games threads with links. PM me or prod me on IRC if I missed something!
Mafias
Other Games
Old OP under the spoiler for old time's sake and junk. Basically, everyone be excellent to each other always. Busting in of heads is still a likely course of action if you fail to do so.
Results 1 to 7 of 7
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09-07-2010, 12:47 AM #1⠃⠗⠁⠊⠇⠇⠑
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Games Bulletin / Finished Forum Games Archive
Last edited by ProfessorLizzard; 12-15-2012 at 11:16 AM.
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11-28-2010, 10:57 AM #2Some Asshole
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- Apr 2009
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Re: Games Springcleaning
I've been having to give out more infractions for rude or otherwise unacceptable behavior in the Games forum lately, and I'm really not very happy about that! If these patterns of behavior persist, punishments are going to start getting harsher and more frequent; everyone needs to start taking a few seconds to ask themselves "Is my post being rude or insulting to someone?" before they make thoughtless posts.
Please help keep this forum as nice as the rest of MSPAFA and as nice as it should be! Just because you're competing doesn't mean you should be hurtful or snide.
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01-17-2011, 06:31 PM #3⠃⠗⠁⠊⠇⠇⠑
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Re: Games Bulletin - BE QUIET WE'RE TRYING TO SLEEP
I've noticed a trend in Mafia games of people thinking it's ok to chat after the end of day post's been put up. Night-time is for zero communication! Zero! Else it kind of negates the point.
Posting an "Oh, frick" if you got lynched or something is ok, but there shouldn't be a whole discussion after the day finishes.
Minor tic, but good game etiquette! Thanks, dudes.
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03-11-2011, 12:54 AM #4⠃⠗⠁⠊⠇⠇⠑
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Re: Games Bulletin - Cleanup on Aisle Games, "+1 post" thread spillage
Lately, a lot of threads have popped up that just recycle tired old forum-game concepts, like ^<v and "throw an object at the next poster". They take little to no effort on the part of the OP or the participants, and move so fast that they clutter the forum and drown out games that people work hard to design, run, and play.
We let it slide when there were just one or two, but this forum (the whole forum, not just this subforum) has had a long history of locking such threads, and now that so many have been popping up, we've decided to re-institute that policy. There are plenty of venues on the internet to start up these gaiaonline-style games, but we like to keep our forums above average.
Help keep MSPA exceptional by contributing original and enjoyable games!
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04-10-2011, 04:08 AM #5⠃⠗⠁⠊⠇⠇⠑
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Re: Games Bulletin - Now with tips for GMs!
With some consultation and pestering, I've put up some notes for aspiring Mafia GMs! Read them. Worship them. Live by them.
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05-02-2011, 07:33 PM #6⠃⠗⠁⠊⠇⠇⠑
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Re: Games Bulletin - Now with tips for GMs!
Newbies and oldbie mafia players alike are starting to comment on how toxic some game environments are getting, so I'm drawing a hard line and going to start handing out infractions again for violations of the Respect rule.
Gambits, conflicts of playstyle, and feelings of superiority (deserved or not) are no longer an excuse for public personal attacks or generally acting like dicks to each other. The unpleasantness is driving people away, and I am going to start asking GMs of games where players are acting egregiously badly whether it's at all warranted. If I'm in the game, I'm getting another mod like Slorange or Blueberry to step in and ask the same.
If you've got no good reason to be acting in a supercilious, abrasive, or all-round rude manner (and trust me, in most cases you won't) you will be getting infracted to the same severity you'd expect if this were a chat subforum.
I hate to have to start laying into you guys with the modstick, but the behaviour in here wouldn't be tolerated in any other part of the forum.
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06-17-2012, 10:11 AM #7Avatar by Pharms : D Moderator
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Re: Games Bulletin - Now with tips for GMs!
This is a very important message, written by Paranoia and Solaris.
Please think about this. Thank you for reading.Alright. I think this really needs to be said.
Angry is not a playstyle. It makes you a douche. A calm, thoughtful approach is a lot more useful than going in and screaming in peoples faces, because all you are doing with that is creating a hostile atmosphere. It is an empty playstyle, and a particularly virulent one. Because with the insults flying the game might as well be played in an epic mafia game room.
Being a douche does NOT help your game, your team, or anyone.
There is no justification for being crass or rude to others in a game, no matter what you play for, what team you are on, how stressed you are with your other players, absolutely nothing, especially if your only excuse is along the lines of "THIS IS JUST HOW I AM/PLAY."
If that last one is the case, then DO NOT PLAY. We don't want you to play if you can't be kind and curteous to your fellow players. So please, try for them and for yourself because it's all kinds of sad if someone gets blacklisted just because they couldn't be Nice to other people.
And finally, if you do not care about the game, you don't have to play. You can replace right out. We would prefer you replace right instead of playing in a game you do not find fun, because you will also usually be busy making the game not fun for your fellow players. Not caring is also not a reason to cheat to spite the mod or deliberately game throw. Doing that is also dicks.
