The Village: Great Game for Parties and Get-Togethers

If you love entertaining then you already know that the activities you plan will either make or break your next get-together! Unless you already have a themed party in mind, filling in all your time could be a bit difficult. Here is a game that goes over well when we entertain in our home.

The Village:

I learned this game as a teenager away on band trips. Who would have ever guessed it would be a huge hit among middle-aged people at our parties! It's best to have more than 10 players to make this game really move. What you essentially have is a village, which is comprised of your playing guests. There are three major roles in this game. There is a Narrator (which will probably be you if no one else already knows how to play), a Night Watchman and a Villain. I normally explain all the rules before having everyone close their eyes so I can pick the people to play the parts. Here's the gist of the game:

In your village you have a person who is taking people out in the middle of the night (the villain). You'll have the entire village "go to sleep" which is when everyone playing will close their eyes and bow their heads down. While everyone is "sleeping", you will ask the Villain (and ONLY the villain) to raise his/her head. At that time you will make eye contact with the villain who will silently point out to you his/her next victim! Once the victim is confirmed the villain goes back to "sleep". Now you will ask the Night Watchman to "wake up". You'll make eye contact with the Night Watchman who will have the opportunity to silently point out one person in the game. What the night watchman wants to know is whether or not that person is the Villain. You will shake your head "yes" or "no". The night watchman will then go back to "sleep" and you will instruct the entire village (this includes the villain and night watchman because no one knows who they are!) to "wake up".

You (the Narrator) will announce the village member who has been killed in the night. The victim may remain in their seat but becomes a "ghost" in the "graveyard". From that point on they will sit in silence and watch the rest of the game! At this point the village members must discuss and try to figure out who in the world the villain is! This is where all the fun happens! One of the rules of the game is that the night watchman and villain can NOT reveal themselves as such. As the discussions go on it is the strategy of the villain to try to say that other village members must be the villain in order to keep anyone from suspecting him! It is also the strategy of the night watchman to try to lead the village to know who the true villain is by saying, "I really don't think Joe is the villain" (because perhaps he has already pointed out Joe to the narrator and confirmed Joe truly isn't the villain) or by saying, "I really think Bob is the villain" (because maybe he pointed out Bob and the narrator has confirmed that Bob IS the villain!). The fun ensues as the entire group try to figure out who the villain is. But be careful! If your villain thinks he has an idea who the night watchman is and takes him out then the entire village is going down!

The group has a "town hall meeting" each turn to decide who they think the Villain is and to take that person out of the game. If they kill the villain then the Villagers have won the game!

I really hope you enjoy this game as it is always quite the hit at our house and we get many requests to play it when we have a crowd! On a side note, when picking the villain and night watchman, I normally tell everyone to close their eyes and bow their heads, then I walk around the group and tap on their heads if I choose them. It's ONE tap for the Villain (as it is one word) and TWO taps for the Night Watchman (as it is two words). Make sure you walk around a couple of times and stop in different places that way your group cannot automatically guess who you've chosen just by where you have stopped!

Let me know how it goes!