I'm Not A Werewolf! One Night Ultimate Werewolf Review

ONE NIGHT ULTIMATE WEREWOLF BOARD GAME REVIEW

IS THIS A GAME AT ALL?

 This is the question we asked ourselves when One Night Ultimate Werewolf was first laid out on the table. Each of us was given a card that told us what roles we would play in a small village where werewolves are being hunted. We closed our eyes and listened to the very clear instructions that the free app gave us. Some of us, unbeknownst to others, fiddled with the cards according to the instructions. At this the night phase passed and day began, but we still remained in the dark.

 What were we to do now? The goal was clear to all of us: we had five minutes to find and hang one of the two werewolves in our midst. Success will win all non-werewolf players, while failure will win werewolves. But how can we find players with werewolf cards? How could we possibly know our own cards after possibly messing with them? We were all familiar with games like The Resistance: Avalon, but there you knew exactly what your role was and could watch other players' actions to draw conclusions. We had nothing to work with in this game. Did they have

 Carefully and gradually we began to piece together the puzzle last night. Player A revealed that she was a seer and actually saw the werewolf card with player C. Player B revealed that she was a troublemaker and that she replaced player C's card with player D's card. The case seemed clear, player D was now a werewolf and we needed all you had to do was vote for him to win. But then Player D stated that he had robbed Player C and left his card there, so if the cards were swapped, Player C should still have the werewolf card. Player C strongly denied this, admitting that he did start as a werewolf, but claiming , that player B also started as a werewolf, not a troublemaker. So she couldn't switch cards, and so player B and player D must now be werewolves. What seemed like a simple game of deduction turned into a blame game as people began to accuse each other of lying and only at the end did we learn the truth.

 Our first game of One Night Ultimate Werewolf was immediately followed by another game, and another, and another. Let's take a look at what made this experience so exciting for us.

LIMITED INFORMATION

 The goal of all good social games is to give players only bits of the truth and let them use their social and deductive skills to figure out the rest. In One Night Ultimate Werewolf, the only information you can be sure of is the map you started the game with, which could very well change during the first night phase of the game. If you accumulate information about all the players, you will have perfect information about the past events and the current state.

• Werewolves see each other.
• The henchman is a member of the werewolf team and find out who they are.
• Freemasons join the team of villagers and find out who they are.
• The Seer gains the ability to see one player's card (or two cards that do not belong to either player).
• The robber can exchange cards with another player and look at a new one.
• The troublemaker can switch cards between other players.
• The drunk changes the card without looking at it.
• The dreamer looks at his card after all the cards have been shuffled.
• To win, the goldsmith must die.
• A hunter, if killed, kills indicated on him at the end of the game.
• Lychyna assumes the role of another player.

 But will this information be ready to spread among the players? No.

UNDEFINED COMMANDS

 A good mechanic of the social deduction game is that you have to cooperate with your team members, but not reveal yourself or your teammates to the other team. In One Night Ultimate Werewolf, there is a "good" team (villagers) and a "bad" team (werewolves), but since you don't know which team you belong to, you can't give all the information either. Instead, you should be careful about which teams are available and which you belong to. Give too much information and it can help your opposing team, but too little and it can alienate you from both teams.

 I've seen games where players openly share all the information they have just to prove that the werewolf card ended up in front of them. I've also seen games where players have waited until the very end to share that last piece of information that finally reveals the truth, only to be distrusted for staying silent for so long.

INTERACTION

 One Night Ultimate Werewolf is a very interactive game. Whether your current situation allows you to speak up or remain silent, you will have to listen to what others are saying and connect to guide the arguments to the conclusion that you feel is right for yourself.

VARIABILITY OF COOKING

 One Night Ultimate Werewolf has many roles that you can combine. This not only adds variety to the game, but also allows you to adjust the balance if one side wins more often than the other.

TIME LIMITS

 A game of One Night Ultimate Werewolf only lasts ten minutes - five minutes for preparation and the night phase, and five minutes for the day phase. This means it's easy to play multiple times in a row, and while each session is distinct, there's a sense of progression throughout the session as players see patterns of interaction and carry over experiences from previous sessions to the next.

 While most social games shine with more players, One Night Ultimate Werewolf plays well with just three players. In my opinion, it's best with five to six players (less can feel repetitive when players are learning the group interaction pattern, more can feel too chaotic when arguing), but it definitely works with all players.

APPLICATION

 While the app is optional in One Night Ultimate Werewolf, it makes the gameplay smoother by instructing players on what to do during the night phase and keeping track of the time limit during the day phase. This is a good example of applications that are used directly during games.

 In a time when many games believe that bigger is better, One Night Ultimate Werewolf comes in an extremely small box that is easy to bring to a game night and get to the table, whether it's the main game or just an add-on.

 That said, One Night Ultimate Werewolf is certainly not a game for everyone. There are many reports of sessions where players simply never get past the first question about what they are supposed to do. Others don't like the fact that you have to lie to succeed, or that you just have to name the least trustworthy player at the end.

 One Night Ultimate Werewolf is also not a game for the controlling player. You can't control what role you get at the beginning and what happens to it afterwards. Victory comes not through skillful use of one's own resources, but through reading and persuading other players.

 Finally, One Night Ultimate Werewolf may even be too fast for some players. Unlike a game like The Resistance: Avalon, where the story unfolds gradually over several rounds where you can employ various strategic maneuvers to achieve your goal, One Night Ultimate Werewolf only gives you one short round to do what give you many other games. an hour or more.

CONCLUSIONS

 One Night Ultimate Werewolf isn't the deepest social game you can play. Hidden information can only be revealed through social interaction, not player actions, and the game needs the right group to shine. However, if you have a gaming group, preferably made up of long-time friends you know well, who know how to lie during the game and then laugh about it, One Night Ultimate Werewolf should be brought along for every game night.

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