New and interesting party games are hard to come by, especially ones that anyone can jump in and enjoy. A wonderful entry should have few and simple rules, include as many players as possible, and keep the party social and boisterous. Smirk & Dagger’s Dead Last does all of those things exceptionally well. Stabbing your friends in the back is just an added bonus.
A brief description of the game –
“DEAD LAST is a ‘social collusion’ game of shifting alliances, betrayals and murder for profit. There is no hidden traitor, as each of you is equally an ally and a betrayer at any given moment. Each round, you will conspire and then vote upon whom to kill, in an effort to be the last player standing and collect gold. You MUST vote with the larger group, just to stay alive, so alliances and gaining agreement on who will die is critical. Subtle communication, a glance, a nod, pointing a finger, flashing their targeting card, anything at all is completely legal. But don’t tip off your target – or they will ambush you instead.”
If you’ve ever played the social game Mafia (or Werewolf, depending), then you’ve got some experience in the sort of play that extends to Dead Last. What Smirk & Dagger’s title does differently is it ups the tension and quickens the pace. All but one player (or two) dies every few minutes. The last player standing collects the gold (or decides to steal or share it in a “Final Showdown”). The game resets, and everyone comes back alive for another round.
A full review of the game will follow soon after we spend some more time backstabbing each other. For now, you can pick up Dead Last here, or check out Smirk & Dagger’s site for other cool games.
