Policy Discussion: "Normal"

[Zindaras]

But mith's "normal" vision is different than mine and

he's the boss

. Disagreeing is fine, ignoring rules because you disagree

isn't

.

Have you contemplated murdering him in his sleep? That usually works when you disagree with someone.

Not that I'd know, obviously.

I don't think we should have these rules for Newbie games. The Newbie setup is completely open. The PMs are (or should be) listed in the first post. You could, potentially, have a Shower Curtain-Yuri Gagarin scumgroup, and it should still cause no confusion, because the setup is 100% open.

I ran an offending Newbie game, and the flavour didn't hurt the game at all (at least, not as far as I have noticed). In fact, I'd say it probably helped the game by making the flavour somewhat more interesting and allowing the mod more freedom in writing Death Posts.

Same goes for other Open Games. Did the role names in Jungle Republic confuse anyone? For Smalltown 2: Scrubs Mafia (I know it's in Coney Island, but that's besides the point for now), does the fact that it's based on Scrubs in any way matter? No, because all the Role PMs are in the first post.

For the rest, I think I'm going to agree with Yossy here.

[Zindaras]

In that case, it doesn't matter to the gameplay. It could matter to the enjoyment value. That's the whole point, isn't it? If it didn't matter

at all

, why have the themes for open games? If you're going to argue that a little flavor adds something to the entertainment value, surely you have to accept that a little flavor could just as easily take away from the entertainment value.

I'll accept that. I've noticed the same thing on WotC: there are many players who prefer simple non-flavour games over the themed games. I don't support making every game flavourful.

I don't think it matters for the open games. I do, however, think it matters for closed games. I can live with your more strict interpretation of themed, as well. Personally, I don't think Futuristic or Ogre Village are strictly bad for the Normal List, as long as

only

the flavour is different. No roles like Ogre Guardsmen, just a Cop, or maybe an Ogre Cop.

Eddie Izzard is great, but if you didn't know who he was, would you want to play in an Eddie Izzard themed game over a Mafia themed game, all other things being equal? (Ok, that's a bad example, you'd probably research Eddie Izzard, see how cool he is, and be all for playing in an Eddie Izzard game. So replace it with something you hate.)

Eddie Izzard is awesome. A friend sent me a couple of things. He's funny.

Oh yeah, I forgot one more point:

f. Some of the flavors are just plain stupid.

Yeah, I specifically chose the silliest possible flavour to prove the point that flavour doesn't complicate things in an open setup.

[Zindaras]

(Btw, I think the fact that games like Smalltown 2 exist disproves Yos's argument that we wouldn't have basic-but-flavored games if we enforce the current rules.)

Smalltown isn't basic though. It has a game-changing mechanic. There are tons of games with one major change but otherwise a basic setup. (Space Monkey, Kingmaker. etc...)

What about Mafia 56? The game's run in the Normal forums, but has a major rule change (no role reveal post death).