Mini 886 - Popcorn Mafia - Game over!

[DraketheFake]

Hi all. Here, haven't read yet. Plenty of time over the upcoming holiday. Might even sneak a post in if I get packed soon enough.

[DraketheFake]

Impressions by page:

Page 1

- I'm not sure I agree with Xyl's initial reaction to Bogre's post. That it put him on guard against Bogre should probably be taken into account RE: the later stuff.
- Sarag's first post is bad, much worse than Bogre's first. "Haha yeah, I was gonna act like scum" is so much posturing, and reeks additionally of deference to a noted strong player. The additional focus on votes versus FoSes seems like trying to ingratiate.
- Not sure what to make of Yos stating the obvious. DragonsOfSummer agreeing looks like the trend here.
- Agreed with Zakeri about Sarag's "Gunbearers should keep their thoughts to themselves."
- Xyl giving so much advice to Val looks bad to me.

@DraketheFake: What is your favourite role to play, and why?

Vanilla townie or Cop. The shine is off the scum apple after getting it several times in a row, and I don't like playing power roles that require a lot of outguessing (i.e. doctor, roleblocker, and especially vig). I like the pressure to be off, for the most part, but I do enjoy having something to do at night from time to time.

Page 2

- rite's first post isn't particularly inspiring. Warning of future lurking is all well and good, I suppose, but confirming the game mechanics seems to be the same thing Xyl jumped down Bogre's throat for.
- Not a fan of Bogre's next post. To be fair, I'm not a fan of this game degenerating into people answering inane questions from the gunbearer, and "Why shouldn't I shoot you?" is a pretty damn difficult question to answer without looking like you're flailing. "Because you'll die" is a decent enough response. Can you imagine an answer to this question that somebody wouldn't have jumped on?
- Sarag's next post: "So I expect you'll avoid making a terrible choice." "Terrible" is a really strange word choice here. Chances are good that the current gunbearer will end up dead (7/11), and being "sure" that the current gunbearer will avoid dying is pure silliness. This might just be a further commentary on how answering these questions set forth: I'm sure somebody would have jumped on the correct answer, which is, "You shouldn't be feeling pressure as the first gunbearer, chances are you'll kill a townie and nobody will blame you if the town goes on to lose."

Page 3

- Bogre only starts looking bad to me here, with his insistence on "scumslips." Yosarian's take matches mine: Bogre appears to be latching onto something that most uninvolved parties aren't going to agree with, but I'm not sure how it makes him scum. Since I'm not convinced of that - and it seems likely that Bogre would use his shot to take out rite without thinking twice - I'm not sure how comfortable I would be with a shot at Bogre here.
- Agreed with Bogre's response about the answer he gave. I find it strange that Sarag seemed to come to his defense, then backed off immediately.
- But then of course there's "However, you should understand that I was presenting the position that I knew would garner reactions. It's generated a lot of discussion, which was part of why I did it. Many other answers to that question would have been been impossible to prove/be easily taken as a simple answer and passed over." Just plain awful.

Page 4

- Yeah I don't know. I could go either way on Bogre. Reneging on what I just said, once a scum is in the deer lights it might be a good strategy in this game to imply that the next choice is going to come right away to scare off concerned townies.
- Still don't think that gunbearer questions is the way to go, here. But I guess it had to happen somehow. Jockeying with the set-up is to be expected, so I guess my early skittishness about people advising Val heavily wasn't warranted.

Sorry I basically had to make a replace-in post in this game.

[DraketheFake]

My math is fine, Val, since there are 12 players in this game. Excluding yourself, then, there are 11 players, 7 of which are townies.

@Sarag: That's a pretty jumpy response. Caught with your hand in the cookie jar? You're "not going to waste everyone's time" by defending yourself? Is that because you figure people will ignore what you've just said in favor of continuing to harp on Bogre? Because you saw what happened when Bogre tried to defend himself? Your decision here is a very strange one by a player who came under mild suspicion at best.

[DraketheFake]

Checking in because I've been prodded. Sorry I've been busy, new job.

Honestly, I don't have much new to add. Xyl's list pretty much corresponds to my "suspicious" list, though I wouldn't go as far to say that I'm confident that all or the majority of them are scum.

Bogre's still my number one scum guess, Vala, I want to make sure that's clear.

Latching onto a seemingly aggressive town player's scum list for lack of any actual content to add? Check. Further irony of echoing the sentiments of a player who hasn't reasoned his own suspicions? Check.

It occurs to me that correct play as a townie is to encourage being shot, but that the way to avoid being shot is not to try and avoid being shot. Which is a bit of a mindfuck, but the last thing a scum wants is to be shot: it's a huge momentum swing, etc. Townies, on the other hand, should want the gun, or at least not be averse to it. Bogre's "don't shoot me I'm town" attitude makes even less sense in this light, especially in regards to his appeal to Vala's life.

Of course, the other way to hypothetically avoid being shot is to lurk. But it doesn't seem like a prudent strategy to do so here (somebody already brought up LAL), since shooting a random lurker is even less risky than it normally is - there's no night to reckon with. I'm yammering away and most of this comes down to WIFOM, I suppose.

Vala, your suspicion of Vaya I presume comes from his complete lack of posting so far. What about Zakeria? Is there any reason to keep your suspicions so close to the chest? Or was that even a conscious decision?

[DraketheFake]

I'll amend: correct play as a

suspected

townie. This game rests more squarely on the decision-making/scum-hunting abilities of the individual rather than the group. Since the penalty for being incorrectly suspected isn't death - and since survival instinct won't kick in - the only person coming under suspicion who should hedge at the prospect of being shot this early is a scum player. Yes, a townie under early suspicion in the interests of the town playing a perfect game might try desperately to avoid the gun, but the unique mechanics of the game make it so that weaseling out from under the gun should basically be a heavy scum tell.

Having said that, Bogre's answer was in response to a loaded question, so it doesn't really lead us anywhere.

Why do you assume I am suspicious of Vaya? (I merely called her(?) out for not posting enough.)

Hm. Gee.

Certain people who know who they are need to talk more, or risk being shot.

I suggest naming names

Vaya and Zakeri, mostly.

Yeah you're right, I have no idea where I got the idea you were suspicious of Vaya.

Why are you diverting attention to Zakeri, who I have also called out previously? Why are you so eager to know what my suspicions are, and why are you questioning whether keeping my thoughts to myself was a conscious decision or not? Why does it matter why I do what I do if I am confirmed town?

Pardon me for attempting to engage an player in this game in a discussion about their suspicions.

[DraketheFake]

1. So you think that with a 7/11 chance of hitting town a town player should act nervous and defensive if the gun is pointed their way?
2. I'd love to hear how 1 leads to 2, though I understand it isn't really your style so far to give any kind of reasoning.