"I used to play a lot of Werewolf, back when I had roommates, and I flatter myself that I got pretty good at navigating the many layers of deception and manipulation involved. The werewolves lie, but villagers also sometimes lie-to try to catch someone else in a lie. People change their stories halfway through the game. They accuse and cast aspersions; they sow chaos; they plant seeds of doubt. The game often devolves into shouting."
"Within the confines of the rules, there's not much I won't stoop to, and not only in games where lying is the point, as it is in Werewolf. If we are playing Settlers of Catan, where players trade resources and build settlements, I will manipulate you to try to get the best possible deal, and I will downplay how well I'm doing so I seem unthreatening until I swoop in and win in one massive turn."
Players in Werewolf receive hidden roles as villagers or werewolves; villagers cooperate to identify and eliminate werewolves by majority vote while werewolves conceal their identities and mislead others. Gameplay involves multiple layers of deception, with both werewolves and villagers sometimes lying to entrap opponents and with stories shifting midgame. Accusations, chaos, and shouting commonly occur. Some players find lying stressful or dislike conflict. Strategic manipulation also appears in other board games such as Settlers of Catan, Risk, and Root, where players trade, form alliances, and undermine threats through a calculated mix of honesty and deceit to secure victory.
Read at The Atlantic
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