When it comes to online games, most people already have this big, triple-A experience that they like to sink hours at a time into. Maybe it’s “World of Warcraft”, or “Dota 2”, or “Overwatch”, or “Runescape”… Okay, maybe not “Runescape”, but still, you get my point. Everybody who plays games (and many who don’t do it regularly) have that one online game that they like to play mercilessly. But what about games that you don’t play for hours on end? What about experiences which are best enjoyed 15-20 minutes at a time? Games that rely on communication and social interaction rather than on mindless shooting or gaining levels? Games that you can play in your browser for free, and thus you can totally sneak a session or two in the office when nobody’s looking (please don’t fire me, boss)?
Of course, I’m talking about one game in particular, and that is “Town of Salem”! Have you ever played the party game “Mafia”, or “Werewolf”, or “One Night”? It’s known by many names, but the premise is always the same – a town is being terrorized by monsters that murder its inhabitants one by one. Nobody knows who these monsters are, only that they’re hiding among the townspeople. Can they put their paranoia aside and work together to discover the infiltrators, or will the forces of evil win? If an online game where you win not through headshots or DPS, but through careful manipulation and investigation of your fellow players sounds exciting to you, then you’re in for a real treat!
A standard game consists of 15 players. 9 belong to the Town and have different roles, and abilities that come with them – the Doctor can heal people at night, saving them from death; the Jailor can imprison people and interrogate them, executing them if they seem suspicious; the Investigator can gather clues about other players’ roles, etc. None of the townspeople know who the others are, or what the roles of their fellow players are – they need to rely on the in-game chat, and the clues they’ve gathered, to decide their course of action. The Mafia, on the other hand, has no such problems – the three players within it know each other’s identities and can work together to turn the town against itself while also killing one person per night. Additionally, there are three wild cards – the Executioner, who is assigned a target that they need to get lynched at all cost (more on that later), the Jester, whose goal in life is to be lynched, and the Serial Killer, who kills townspeople indiscriminately regardless of their alignment.
Every day, the townspeople may vote on whoever is the most suspicious to them. If a single person receives votes from more than half of the town’s population, they get put on trial and may be lynched, if found guilty. Upon a townsperson’s death, their role is revealed alongside a will that they can prepare while alive. The contents of the will are often taken as an absolute truth (because why would somebody lie if they’re already dead), but the more skilled players may deliberately cause more misdirection like that (for example, if they know who the Jester is, they could implicate them as being the Serial Killer in their will and get them lynched).
“Town of Salem” isn’t your traditional online game, and as such won’t appeal to everybody. But if you’re looking for a break from your online game of choice, and would like to work on your social skills a little bit, this just might be the game for you! Or maybe it might become the game of choice for you! I know it almost has for me!