Day 14

Sunday, 14 December 1930

Dawn

Early in the morning, Dave leaves his house and walks Lafitte’s main street, anxious for a sign that the violence has ended.  He wanders to the square and sits beneath the flagpole, meditating on the past week.  His gaze crosses the boarded library, the quiet local bar, the church.  The church doors quietly open and Ken crosses the square to join Dave.  They sit in silence, waiting for the sunrise.

As the sky begins to glow deep orange, Dave spots a figure on the road to the north.  A tall, slender silhouette wearing a long coat and fedora is fleeing the town, glancing over its shoulder as it goes.  “Tsai?” asks Ken, squinting at the figure.  Dave grunts assent.  Their target has fled, removing the last known threat to the town.

One by one, the remaining townspeople emerge from their homes and make their way to the flag.  When everyone is gathered, Dave climbs onto a boulder and announces, “Michael Tsai ‘as left town for good.  We have peace!”  With a cheer, the crowd hurries to the bar to celebrate their return to ordinary life, and to commemorate those who were lost.  It looks like Lafitte will live on.

Congratulations to the innocent townspeople, you are victorious!

**

Thanks to everyone for your participation in this experiment-game.  We hope it was fun!  We have been honored to narrate for you and are looking forward to a great semester at ETC.

This game ended due to mafia inaction.  The remaining mafia (Jerry and Elwin) have officially “gone native.”  The players who are still alive are: Dave, Elwin (converted), Emmanuel, Jerry (converted), Kai, Ken, Lily, Mike Lee, Michael Tsai (fled), Mohan, Noah, Nora, Paola, Sandi, Sara, Sean, Siva.

The tell-all spreadsheet we used to keep track of player actions can be viewed here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Agv3wxLVqeQbdC16eFJjVUFxeml2SVFRZ3lfZjktdVE

We’re working on a complete browseable record of the game, which will be available to everybody soon.  If you’ve got any funny stories or bits of inter-player narration that the narrators didn’t see, please send it to us and we’ll include it in the complete record!

Thank you!

The Narrators

Day 13

Accompaniment:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAbwMGZtIsY

Light spreads across the sky in painterly strokes above the happy town of Lafitte.  Townspeople emerge from their homes, yawning and rubbing sleep from their eyes.  They exchange lazy smiles and start their day, rebuilding the town with newfound hope.

The thirteenth day begins now.  Four peaceful nights have passed – one more, and the town may declare victory!  Please send lynch votes in by 11pm Pittsburgh time.

The Narrators

Night 13

At the sound of the church bells, the town gathers to discuss its new-found peace.  Well, all except Sean and Ken.  Stepping out of the crowd together, they openly accuse Michael Tsai.  “He’s mafia scum,” they cry, “string him up!”  But Michael puts the crowd between himself and the two angry men, and no other townspeople move to attack him.  Looking concerned, he retreats down the street and into his house, loudly locking the door and then pulling all the curtains.

Obviously upset, Sean and Ken stalk up the road to the bar.  The rest of the town shuffles away to their night business, hoping that the peace will last.

The thirteenth night begins now.  Please send your night actions to the narrators by 10pm Los Angeles time… that’s 1am Pittsburgh time.  Remember, two more nights without a fatality and the town wins by default.

The Narrators

Day 12

The sun rises cheerfully.  The town is feeling happier every day!  Townsfolk gather and a quick scan reveals every person alive and well, and even well-rested this morning.  Sun’s skeleton is brought down from the flagpole and given a proper burial.  The bar is opened up and a round of drinks is on the house.  People are still a bit wary, but slowly and carefully trust is being restored.

The twelfth day begins now.  If you would like somebody to be lynched, please send your vote to the narrators by 10PM San Francisco time.

The town has had no deaths for three consecutive nights.  If we reach five consecutive nights with no deaths, a town victory will be declared.

The Narrators

Night 12

Enjoying its respite, the town decides not to lynch anyone today.  Ken grumbles uncomfortably about Michael Tsai to anyone who will listen, but otherwise everybody seems happy with the remaining population.  Nobody will hang today.

Which is too bad, because some villains still roam free!  The twelfth night begins now.  Please send your actions to the narrators by 10pm San Francisco time.

The Narrators

Day 11

Thursday, 11 December 1930

Dawn

Morning comes, and everybody awakes in relative comfort.  Lily notices some cookie crumbs in her kitchen, but other than that everything seems in order.  People convene in the town square and conversation resumes, almost as if Sun Moon’s skeleton isn’t hanging from the flagpole overhead.  Maybe the town has finally found peace!

Maybe, maybe not.  Time will tell.  If you’d like to kill someone today, send your lynch vote to the narrators by 10pm on Tuesday the 10th (round extended due to travel).

The Narrators

Night 11

Having a night of relative peace has apparently made some townspeople bold.  A quick vote is taken on lynching, just in case…

The votes:

Albert: 4 votes (Dave, Ken, Mike Lee, Sean)

As soon as the votes are announced, the four accusers circle Albert to prevent him from running.  Mike and Sean each take an arm, and as Albert struggles and protests Dave searches him for weapons.  He discovers no less than fourteen pairs of nail clippers (all different sizes), six emery boards and a bottle of cosmic cucumber nail polish.  Albert spits on Dave’s jacket.  “Dirty nail-biter,” he cackles.  “I could give you a manicure, oh yes I could.  One to die for!”  His nervous giggles crescendo into a maniacal laugh, stopping only when Ken hits him over the head with a thick board.

The unconscious Albert is unceremoniously dumped into a cheap coffin, which is topped off with rocks, nailed shut, and thrown into the river.  He’ll have an unpleasant night.

Like perfectly timed gravy, the plot thickens: Two factions remain.  The eleventh night begins now.  Because we will be at Disneyland until 11:30pm today, this round will run an extra day.  Please send your night actions to the narrators by 10pm Los Angeles time on Sunday the 8th.  Thank you!

The Narrators

Day 10

The sun rises.  Most of the townspeople slept better than usual last night – no gunshots, no screams.  Curious, people gather in the street and look around to see if anybody is missing.  Everybody’s accounted for… except Michael Tsai.  Concerned, Kai and Lily call out his name.

On a nearby rooftop, Michael awakens from a groggy sleep and tenderly touches a new black eye.  As soon as he realizes where he is, he calls for help.  The townspeople gather and help him down from the roof.

Well, everybody’s accounted for.  Could the town be safe at last?

Well, the game isn’t over, is it?  The tenth day begins now.  If you want to lynch someone, send your votes in by 10pm Los Angeles time.  And remember, we need at least three votes to lynch!

The Narrators

Night 10

Today, the townspeople go about their business, beset by confusion and suspicion.  Some folks sweep the porch or sit in rocking chairs, glaring at each passerby.  Others run errands with heads hanging low, avoiding each others’ eyes.

The main street is filling with monuments to the victims of the crime war.  Several shops are boarded up, including a palm-reader’s emporium and the local chemist.  The library has been locked for over a week now.  The police station has been pretty quiet of late, and although the bar is still a regular meeting place, nobody is serving drinks.  And of course, nobody wants to look at the bloodstain on Ricardo’s front steps.

As night falls, the town gathers near the flagpole to see who they will execute.  It seems leadership is in short supply these days, because they stand in silence.  Sean yells, “Kill Jerry!” but is quickly hushed by the others.  It seems nobody will die this evening.

The Votes:

Jerry: 1 vote (Sean)

The tenth night begins now.  Please send your night actions to the narrators by 10pm Los Angeles time.  18 players still live: Dave, Elwin, Emmanuel, Jerry, Kai-Hsin, Ken, Lily, Michael Lee, Michael Tsai, Mohan, Noah, Nora, Paola, Sandi, Sara, Sean, Siva, and Weichuan.

The Narrators

Day 9

In the morning, Ricardo is found dead on the steps in front of his home.  His body has been mutilated – all of his fingers and toes are missing, leaving his hands and feet as bloody stumps.  His throat has also been slashed.  A quick scan of the house reveals a shattered brandy glass in the den and a trail of blood leading to the basement, but nothing more.

Collectively, those still alive put on a show of mourning Ricardo’s death.  Then they move on to the terrible task of the day – executing a guilty party!

The ninth day begins now.  Please send your lynch votes to the narrators by 10pm Los Angeles time.

The Narrators