Post-mortem on The Duel

We managed to get in about two hours of The Duel at Come Out & Play SF last weekend before the rain set in and Catherine’s The One started up.  Roughly 30 players ran through the game in that time, each taking on the role of both the Shepherd and the Wolf. Players really seemed to take to the game enjoying both the gameplay and narrative components I was so worried would saddle the game with undeserved weight.

Players cocked their ears to hear the story whispered to each player.  Then at the ringing of the chime dove into the game with abandon.  The game is a lopsided affair: the shepherd is blindfolded and vulnerable.  The wolf, still able to see, can play as the aggressor, though the bells they hold give away their position as they try to grab flags from the shepherd’s waist. The shepherd meanwhile defends himself by trying to grab the wolf with both hands.

Here are the full rules:

In the Woods
Two foes come upon each other in the dead of night.
In the darkness the Shepherd cannot see.
The Wolf sees through the darkness but his sound can give him away.
The duel is quick lasting only two minutes, the beginning and end marked by a chime.
For each flag the Wolf collects from the Shepherd, the Wolf scores one point.
Each time the Shepherd grabs the Wolf with two hands the Shepherd scores two points.
In a tie the Shepherd wins.

The simple point balancing gives the game a nice arc over the two minutes.  The shepherd starts out in a defensive stance, but after the loss of a flag or two must go on the offensive, leading to frantic play.  Conversely a tag by the shepherd forces the wolf into a more aggressive and risky mode.

People seemed to really have fun playing.  And quite excitedly for me, a number reported feeling the sense of fear and dread I wanted the game to engender.  I wanted it to feel like a fairy-tale horror game and I think it did.

The masks and narrative definitely helped push it in this direction.  I don’t know that it’s ready for a gallery, but for me the game and narrative marriage displays promise.  Nick Fortugno and I even discussed how we might create a series of games based around a similar folklore for a gallery like setting.  That could prove interesting.

If you played, many thanks and I’d love to hear your feedback.