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Suppressed Consequences

paranoid party game
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Do you remember the game 'consequences'? It's a sort of imaginary-gossip game, vaguely related to 'heads, bodies and legs', in which a circle of people assemble fragments of stories of this form:

[person X] met [person Y] in/on/underneath [place Z] - [X] said to [Y] [insert amusing, topical double-entendre], [Y] said to [X] [ditto] - and the consequences were [etc.]

Well, this idea is that, instead of gossip, you could construct conspiracy theories, thus:

[person X] did [action Y] in the year [Z]. The consequence would have been [A] - but party [B] conspired with party [C] to prevent that, and all the evidence that it ever happened was destroyed during historical calamity [D].

As in the original game, each player assigns a value to one unknown on a piece of paper, folds the paper to hide his/her work and passes the paper on, receiving a similar paper from another player. This is repeated until all the variables have values.

Then, the players solemnly don tin-foil hats, unfold their papers and, each in turn, announce to one another the devastating (albeit rather incoherent) secrets so long kept from the world. The winner is the player who does so with the most conviction and the straightest face.

Some mechanism might have to be added to the game to prevent obvious conflicts between variables Z and D.

I won't provide examples, because they could quickly turn trollish.

pertinax, May 09 2007

(?) An Empirical Study On the Effectiveness of Aluminium Foil Helmets http://people.csail....edu/rahimi/helmet/
[nuclear hobo, May 09 2007]

[link]






       //[person X] did [action Y] in the year [Z]. The consequence would have been [A] - but party [B] conspired with party [C] to prevent it, and all the evidence that it ever happened was destroyed during historical calamity [D].// Sounds like the formula used for most Doctor Who episodes.   

       The idea as a whole sounds like a re-enactment of that scene in Easy Rider where a young Jack Nicholson delivers his UFO theory.
zen_tom, May 09 2007
  

       Good thoughts, [zen_tom].   

       The difference from the Jack Nicholson speech is that I am proposing a social, interactive game not requiring recreational drugs.   

       The difference from the Dr Who story-lines is that the element of absurdity is intentional. Now you mention it, however, hiding behind the sofa could add something to this game - maybe as an alternative to the hats.
pertinax, May 09 2007
  

       Thank you for the link, [nuclear_hobo]. I must say, they never got in the way of *my* trusty thought-control transmitters, but you could always re-use them for lining the grill pan.   

       <homer simpson>mmm... chops</hs>
pertinax, May 09 2007
  

       Wow... That is an awesome metal beanie link.   

       All these letters and numbers are a bit confusing though.   

       I propose that the message, before being read, should be inserted into a beer bottle, which is then balanced upside down on the doorknob of the room.   

       Someone outside should then dress up in a SWAT type uniform, devoid of any markings, and confiscate the note as evidence until your group is able to locate the black-body government institution that they hide it in and...   

       Well, I'd better shut up before THEY start monitoring me...
ye_river_xiv, Jul 13 2007
  

       I think you missed the "proof of it" part, that is usually the most fun part of a cospiracy theory. So this could become:   

       [person X] did [action Y] in the year [Z]. The consequence would have been [A] - but party [B] conspired with party [C] to prevent that, and all the evidence that it ever happened was destroyed during historical calamity [D]. A remaining proof of this is [E].   

       (so for example... "A remaining proof of this is that since then all the ducks are more orange").
ilSilvano, Mar 04 2010
  

       //Some mechanism might have to be added to the game to prevent obvious conflicts between variables Z and D.// Unnecessary: THEY have access to time travel.
mouseposture, Mar 04 2010
  
      
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