13 Ghosts
13 Ghosts
Created:
Summer 2017
Materials:
Masks, Flag Football Flags, LED Candles, Chalk
Place:
Manhattan Bridge Archway
Role:
Game Designer
Featured in:
Come Out and Play 2017
Summary
In the streets of the underworld, old monsters eat the souls of the newly dead to gain power. In this street game, you play the role of a newly dead soul, or an old monster. These roles constantly switch around over the course of the game, blurring the line between the few hunters and the collective hunted.
Gameplay
Setup:
The game is meant to be played in the streets. Other than the equipment above, you’ll need to draw an arcane-looking circle, with the numbers 1-13 on the outside of it.
Every player in the game gets a number flag football belt. This belt represents a player’s soul. If the player has their soul taken away from them, they’re out of the game, but they still have a chance to win. The number is the place on the circle where a player places the souls they capture.
Roles
There are two roles in 13 Ghosts: Monsters and Ghosts.
2 players at the beginning of the game have masks. Masked players are monsters. Monsters have to get as many souls from ghosts as possible. A monster takes a ghosts’s soul by snatching off their football flag. They then place those souls in their own spot in the magic circle.
Ghosts, on the other hand, have to both keep away and attack monsters. If a ghost two hand tags a monster, the monster must give up their mask to the ghost that tagged them. The tagged monster turns into a ghost, and the tagging ghost turns into a monster. Ghosts can’t touch a monster’s soul while they’re a monster, they can only two hand tag them.
Play and interactions
Ghost players are given a 10 second head start to disperse into the streets. After that, the two starting monsters start.
The 13 players are free to roam around the street, Manhunt style, and do the following actions:
Snatch: A monster pulls a soul from a ghost, and that ghost is out of the game. The ghost hands over any souls they have in their hands to the monster. Both players cannot be tagged or snatched while they do this exchange, and for 3 seconds after the exchange.
Tag: A ghost two hand tags a monster, and the monster gives the tagging ghost their mask and any souls they’re holding.
Clash: In the event that a ghost and a monster snatch and tag at the same time, the monster gives the mask to the ghost and takes the ghost’s soul. Both players cannot be tagged or snatched while they do this exchange, and for 3 seconds after the exchange. The ghost becomes a monster, but if they are ever tagged, they’re out of the game because they do not have a soul.
Cache: Ghosts and Monsters can place any souls they are holding onto their space on the Arcane Circle. Any cached souls are safe from other players, and count towards their overall soul total.
Endgame
The game ends when only two monsters are left standing, then each player counts up how many souls each player collected. You see, being the last two monsters doesn’t mean you win, what actually matters is what you did during the game. If players happen to get out early, but manage to collect a large number of souls, they may still win the game!
The players with the first and second most amount of souls face off in the magic circle. They’re both given three souls, the first monster to take the opposing monster’s souls wins the game.
