I’ve been a bit incapacitated as of today and I got bored
not being able to do anything. I gave this browser game called Town of Salem a
chance. I know, it sounds like some lame game about brewing potions, and to be
honest, you’d think they would at least have witches as the regular villains,
but that’s not the case. If you’ve ever heard of the party game called Mafia,
then you know what Town of Salem is about (or can Google it and stop reading my
blog.) At the start of the game, everyone is assigned a role. Most people will
be town members, each with a unique special ability that aids the town members
in the investigation. At least three will be Mafia members. I know, why didn’t
they make them witches instead, since it’s called Town of Salem? I guess they
wanted to make it obvious who they were ripping off. One person gets to be the
serial killer. The game is split into night and day. At night, everyone can use
their abilities. A doctor can heal one player, who, if attacked, will survive.
A jailor does just that and can question someone, and even execute them if they
feel they are not telling the truth. The mafia can plot with each other to
frame and kill people. The serial killer obviously kills people of his own
accord. During the day, everyone discusses who they think is guilty, using the
clues from their abilities used the previous night to find out who the bad guys
are. The daytime is the political aspect more than anything, where you have to
convince the others to vote on who to send to trial. The accused can then plead
their case before the town sentences them. In this, either the Town wins, Mafia
wins, or serial killer wins. There are a few other characters, such as the
Jester, whose goal is to get himself lynched by the town to win, and the
executioner, whose goal is to get his target lynched by the town to win. These
characters win so long as they accomplish their goal, regardless of if the Town,
Mafia, or SK win.
The game looks a bit ridiculous and gives you some cheap
graphics, combined with some stupid choices, like what house you live in, but
the dynamics are a lot of fun and it’s still in beta, so no reason to gripe.
You can play a game in around 20 or so minutes and it’s a lot of fun once you
learn how to play it, so I recommend it. Don’t log in with your Facebook
account. Just don’t.