One issue I’ve been grappling with is what to play when you have more than 8 people. The most obvious game is Mafia/Werewolf. While I have nothing against Werewolf, like all fantastic games it has an addictive quality that can be unhealthy for a regular game night. So I went looking for an alternative. What I needed was a game where there was communication, strategy, lasted for a bit less than an hour and was playable with more than 8 people but with few materials. Couch of power was that game.
We tried it out last night and it worked pretty well. The rules we used were from Wikipedia and are as follows:
Everyone writes their name on a slip of paper and puts it in the pile, which is then shuffled. Each player takes a slip and does not reveal the name on it to anyone else.
Divide the players into two teams. The game works best if the teams are even. To avoid later confusion, instruct one team to distinguish themselves from the other team by wearing headbands, rolling up their pants legs or shirt sleeves, etc. — boys vs. girls may work.
Teams then alternate seats (i.e., no two team members are sitting next to each other) so that two people from each team are on the couch and there is one empty seat. Play begins with the player left (or clockwise) of the empty seat.
The player calls a name, and whoever has that name on their slip must move to the empty seat, making their former seat the new empty seat. Play always passes to the player to the left of the empty seat. When all four people on the couch are from the same team, the game is over and that team wins.
The game works on several levels. One is that you have to remember everone’s name and then also who HAS that name. Then you also have to play the game with a bit of strategy. I like the team dynamic that it has and it’s a great alternative to Hombre Lobo (Mafia) if you have an even number of players.