Down Memory Lane

Yes, I remember color wars. But did you ever play "Killer" at camp?

When I was a counselor in training ("CIT") at YMCA Camp MacLean (BTW -- when I was on staff, I lived in the tower shown in the web page picture!), we played a game of Killer that lasted most of the summer.

You never played? Here are the rules:

A time period for the game is agreed upon by all participants. Take one slip of paper for everyone playing the game and mark an "X" on one. All slips are folded and placed in a hat. Each player picks one slip. Slips are unfolded in private. The player holding the "X"-marked slip is now the killer. And the game is afoot.

The rules are quite simple:

-- A player is "killed" when the killer winks at them... and the killer must be sure the player sees him/her do it.

-- Once a player has been killed, he/she must continue on about their business as if nothing has happened, and will at some point in time later mark his/her forehead with an "X" drawn in water soluble marker, indicating that they have been removed from the game... and must wear said mark at all times until the game is ended.

-- A dead player may not tell any live players the identity of the killer.

-- A dead player cannot be revived.

-- In order to win:

- A live player may try to guess the identity of the killer by accusing the suspected killer in the presence of at least one other live player. The accused killer must answer the accusation truthfully. If the live player is correct, he/she wins and the game ends. If the live player is incorrect, he/she is now a dead player, and the game resumes.

- If the killer is successful and the only two players left are the killer and the last live person, the killer has not won until and unless he/she kills that last player.

- The last live person may win the game by evading the killer through the end of the agreed upon time period.

Next blog meet, anyone?
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