Ultimate Werewolf

Today's game review is of the 2008 release, Ultimate Werewolf.  For 5-68 players (yes, you read that right), it plays in 30-90 minutes.

Overview
At its most basic, your goal is to be part of the last team standing.  One person must be moderator and run the game; the others are each dealt a card with a role (werewolf, villager, seer, or other roles).  This card is kept secret unless otherwise stated.  The goal for the werewolves is to achieve parity (equal number of werewolves & non-werewolves); the goal for the villagers is to hunt down and destroy all werewolves.  Who will prevail?

Simplified Gameplay
The game is played in sequences of 'night' and 'day.'  The moderator runs each aspect.

During the first night,
- all players close their eyes
- the werewolves open their eyes, look around, and close their eyes
- the seer opens his/her eyes, looks around, points to a player; the moderator secretly indicates to the seer whether that player is a villager or werewolf
- the seer closes his/her eyes
- all players open their eyes, and a day begins

During the first day,
- all players open their eyes
- without revealing roles, people debate and (eventually) choose someone in the village to kill

Of course, werewolves will try to convince the villagers to kill one of their own; villagers need to off a wolf.  Since roles are secret, this is a psychological game, and one entirely up to the players discussing.  The seer has inside knowledge, but can't come across as too confident, lest the wolves figure out who it is and kill him/her in subsequent nights (see below).  [Other roles, not discussed here, add further flavor and variety to the game.]  If more than half the players vote to kill someone, that person's card is revealed, and they sit the rest of the game out.

During subsequent nights,
- follow the aforementioned night procedure, with the addition that werewolves choose someone to kill after opening their eyes and looking around

During subsequent days,
- follow the aforementioned day procedure, with the addition that the role of the person just killed the previous night is revealed

Play continues until one group has met its victory condition.

Review
Two things make this party game unique: the number of players who can participate, and the largely unstructured nature of the game.  The latter has a strong psychological and personality-based component; the right group of people will have a blast, but timid or shy folks might find this game stressful.  Basically, the day phases make or break the game: someone generally kicks things off by accusing someone else of being a werewolf and seeing how they react.  The dynamics of the ensuing conversations could be hilarious or boring based on the group.

While I enjoyed the times I played this, I don't think it will remain in my collection.  It's best played with significant numbers- a rare situation these days, with young children.  And other party games- like Bang!- are, in my opinion, more entertaining and less psychological.  It's a good concept, overall, but not my favorite.

Rating: B-