LogFAQs > #898638343

Each game also has to compete against a massive treasure trove of great Avalon memories, which is unfair to new games, but a massive tribute to how much I've loved Avalon. My first game, I gained the trust of another new-ish player as Evil in the first round, and he followed me to doom for three straight missions afterward. That first night culminated in a ten-player game where on Mission 5, the good team - which I was on - wound up throwing a fail. I interrogated everyone after the fact and then looked at what I'd done - I'd accidentally put a fail card in. I was Merlin. The next night, we played a ten-player game starting 0-2, and Percival - who I'd assumed was bad - seemed ready to give up. We spent maybe twenty minutes on Day 3 and clawed our way viciously back to a victory, going to the fifth vote each day. The Evil team debated for maybe fifteen minutes before finally deciding (correctly) on Merlin.

I've enjoyed watching the look of discovery settle in on people when they realize how cool the game they're dealing with really is. I've watched clueless good people figure out who Merlin is and then lead games to effortless victories. I've accidentally thrown a double-fail in a six-person game on round one, apologized after our team immediately lost the next three days, and picked out Merlin because they were the only ones who weren't exuberant after the fact. I've been Percival and watched as one of my Merlin candidates went with another player and succeeded Missions 1, 2, and 3... and then watched in utter confusion as those two people, based on my comments, pick out Merlin. They were Morgana and the Assassin. I've watched the new girl turn against her veteran boyfriend and accuse him of being evil - and then be right and win the game for good. I've been incredibly angry about games and complained and thought about them for days and discussed them over and over. We have couples who stare into each other's eyes to determine veracity; we have the person who always claims she's "confused" and always seems to draw Evil; we have nicknames for the vanilla blue characters.

So yeah, that's the type of relationship I've had with Avalon.

Future - Like I said, I'm not super-keen on playing Avalon with people I'm unsure about anymore, because they don't see the game in the same decision space I do - more focused on mechanics than on deduction. I also now lean more toward a "let's just go with the flow" angle instead of wanting to dissect each little detail. (One of the cool things about Avalon is that you can win by willpower - put in enough effort, and people will be able to tell you're good - it's harder to muster that effort as a bad guy.) Essentially, my predisposition for shortening downtime and getting to the point has seeped into my Avalon preferences.

I'll still play, but I no longer desire for it to dominate gaming sessions. I haven't completely moved on as it is still probably the most engaging game at this player count with the right crowd, but I'm no longer compelled the same way. And that's okay.

Bonus question - What is your favorite social deduction game? What are some of your favorite memories from interacting with others in games?

Hint for #3 - it ain't T or C, it's L
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yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness