Assassins (Rules and Discussion)

[umop ap!sdn]

This is a game that I have played elsewhere, and it's a lot of fun. (Don't let the big long rules scare ya, it's really not complicated at all.) Anyone who's interested, post here or send me a PM. If I get enough players by the weekend, I'll send out everyone's assignments and post a new thread for game play to commence.

Here are the rules:

Overview

The basic premise is that each player has a target and is trying to "assassinate" their target by getting them to post a particular word. In turn, each player will also have an assassin who is trying to get them to post a word. All players will be arranged in a circle so that everyone has one target and one assassin. All game play will take place in a designated play thread, and only posts in that thread will count as a "kill". Every so often I'll assign new words - any one word is sufficient to eliminate a player.

Ask all the leading questions you want, but be careful - if your target figures you out they can counterassassinate you. Rule of Counterassassination: To kill your assassin, you must publicly name them and the word or one of the words you think they are trying to get you to say. (Just say "I think so-and-so is trying to get me to say x" or put the words "counterassassination attempt" in your post.) If you guess the right word but the wrong assassin, or if you make 3 wrong guesses in a row (without assassinating or counterassassinating anyone) you will be eliminated.

If you assassinate a player, that is, get them to post their word in the game play thread, PM me and I'll verify the kill. Your next target is the player your target was hunting. If you counterassassinate your assassin, your new assassin is whoever was hunting them.

Anyone can join the game; anyone can post, regardless of their status in the game or even if they are not in the game at all. The game ends when there is only one assassin left alive. At this time, I will announce the winner and post a quick overview of the game play.

Remember, folks, it's just a game - and most of all, it's supposed to be fun, so ask questions and make conversation. All but one player is going to post their word, and I won't point and laugh at the first player eliminated. Because each player is depending on their target to post, I will eliminate anyone who posts less than once every couple of days - this is the Rule of Posting Frequency. Also, be honest - if you realize you've said your word, don't edit your post.

Special Roles

Designated Decoy

There may or may not be one Designated Decoy. The Designated Decoy's identity will be kept secret, and they will be given a list of all the players' kill words but not told who is playing or which words are whose. They will not be part of the circle and therefore will not have an assassin or kill words. I will be counting on the decoy to keep the thread going if ever it should slow down too much.

Miscellaneous Rules

I will not reveal the exact number of players during play, nor the identity or status of any player if at all possible. Kill words and targets must, for obvious reasons, be kept secret. Don't tell anyone you've killed them, or your status in the game, or whether a counterassassination attempt was successful, etc.

Your kill word will work whether or not you are in conversation with your assassin, or even if your assassin has not yet posted. Even James Bond probably walked into a door sometime.

If you quote someone and the quote contains your kill word, this does not count as a kill. The word must have originated from your keyboard in order to kill you.

Words which are forms of or derivatives of a kill word count as a kill. "Risk" will match "risky" and "catch" will match "caught", but "cat" will not match "concatenation". Referee's decision is final.

I will PM each player with their target and the word that will kill their target. When a kill is made I will PM the assassinated with the word that killed them, and the assassin with their new target and word(s). When a counterassassination attempt is made, I will send the player a PM to tell them if the guess was right or wrong. If correct, I will then inform the counterassassinated player's assassin of their new target and kill word(s). Even after your "demise" in the game, I would prefer that you continue to post to the thread because it keeps the conversation interesting.

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[umop ap!sdn]

I will also be maintaining a list of all the rounds we play here... expect this post to grow in the long term. :D

Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5 commenced here, [strike]but there is no[/strike] and here is the actual play thread for this round.

[Candy]

Could you post the names of the people who are playing per game? I've been watching, and I think MM Dandy just jumped in and posted. It was cute, but this has thrown me off on who is playing and who is not. :P

[umop ap!sdn]

From the play thread:

I obviously got the scissors from....wait a minute! *stopps and thinks for a second*

I obviously got the scissors from here.

Paranoid much? You put "walmart"in the url anyway, if that's what you were worried about. Maybe we should have a ruling on that.

I would be inclined to count URLs as a kill if they include a kill word. If it's in your post and not part of a quote block, I would assume that it came from your keyboard.

If anyone knows of a good reason to rule otherwise, feel free to bring it up here. :)

[umop ap!sdn]

Could you post the names of the people who are playing per game?

No, in fact I cannot even reveal the number of players. Reason being, if everyone knew how many players there were, when it got down to the last 2 each one would know who their assassin is. In fact, it is supposed to be difficult to determine who is and is not playing; that's part of the beauty of the game and the reason why anyone and everyone is allowed to post in the thread.

[umop ap!sdn]

Rule clarification:

Everyone is allowed, even encouraged, to get in on the discussion and try to get people to post specific words. Keeps the players still in the game from figuring out who's after them.

Have fun everyone! Oh yeah and there hasn't been a death lately. I wanna see some carnage!

[teri tait]

What if you make a post and then think you know the kill word against you, is it fair to edit your post?
Like me, I think the kill word is window, but I just posted a reply with that word before I figured it out.
Maybe a simultanious kill, like we both die?

[Lance]

Umop will clarify this but, I think, if you figure it out too late it would like in real life figuring out who your assassin is right after they pull the trigger.

[teri tait]

Umop will clarify this but, I think, if you figure it out too late it would like in real life figuring out who your assassin is right after they pull the trigger.

Yep, you're right. Its in the rules, I just reread them.

[Doe, John]

I'm new to this. Has the cursor always been an automatic pistol in this thread? Pretty farkin cool.

[Lance]

Yes, in this thread, and a few of the pages early in the first game we played.

Admins and moderators have the ability to embed HTML in their posts, so I just embedded the cursor earlier in the thread.

[umop ap!sdn]

Heh, I'd forgotten about that... just goes to show what happens when using an out of date operating system.

[Doe, John]

Is there any limitation on how long a post has to be? Like could I get away with posting one word replys? :wink:

[umop ap!sdn]

I may have to make a rule against that.

Seriously though, while it's not actually in the rules, it would seem to lend an unfair advantage by making it easier to win by default. But in actuality, a one word reply might be exactly what one's assassin has in mind, and posting only single words makes it very very hard for one to lead their target on, so what we could end up with is a long drawn out game where the target has a good chance of winning by default unless they happen to stumble onto their word.

Anyway, no it's not an effective strategy. Better to ask leading questions because then either the target will take the bait or make a successful counterassassination and either outcome makes for a more fun game. :D

[Мастер]

I may have to make a rule against that.

:P

[teri tait]

I may have to make a rule against that.

:P

Better include no just posting emoticons, too. ;)

[Doe, John]

I may have to make a rule against that.
<snip>
Anyway, no it's not an effective strategy. Better to ask leading questions because then either the target will take the bait or make a successful counterassassination and either outcome makes for a more fun game. :D

I appreciate your opinion but I wasn't really asking for an analysis of the effectiveness of that ploy. Just whether or not it was against the rules, which apparently it is not, at least not yet. Thank you. :D

[umop ap!sdn]

Only trying to make sure the game stays fun. ;)

[St. Jimmy]

If someone posts a smiley, and the code for the smiley contains the kill word, does that count as a kill? This hasn't happened, but in case it does...

[umop ap!sdn]

Good question. :D

There's no way to tell whether they've typed it in or clicked on the graphic. If it were obvious that a smiley was typed in then there'd be a good reason to count it. But it's also very easy for a smiley to escape one's attention as a kill word, especially one who does not have all the smiley codes memorized. I want to try to stay with the original intent of the game, specifically that players are trying to lead each other into saying specific words (without getting caught).

I'm inclined to say no. Besides, there's also BB code tags... if your word is "size" and you post something in itty bitty text, that shouldn't count as a kill, should it?

[Мастер]

Feck, I forgot to post in the game thread while I was gone...

[umop ap!sdn]

**** BANG! ****

Just kidding. :P

[Dragon Star]

**** BANG! ****

Just kidding. :P

[Мастер]

So I'm still in? OK then...

[umop ap!sdn]

Hmm, this is interesting...

It seems this game has been played for a long time now, although admittedly not in its present form.