Caught in the Act @ Come Out & Play Festival
Caught in the Act was featured in San Francisco’s Come Out & Play Festival this year!!!
It is a thrilling game of espionage and evidence-gathering to be played by 3-9 people in a bar setting. (Yup, kind of a guerilla-style public interruption of sorts — but all in good fun. In fact, one of our underlying objectives was to connect strangers in a way that prioritized playful public interaction over boozing in impermeable bar scene bubbles.)
Here’s the setup story…
The Heist Crew is planning a heist that’s going down in 10 minutes. The Security has that time to identify the specific missions to foil the heist.
● Heist Crew goal: complete 3 (and only 3) of your 6 missions without being detected.
● Security goal: at game end, correctly identify which of the 3 missions the Heist completed.
Setup:
● Total players = 3 to 9.
Divide your group into Security and Heist Crew.
● There should be 2 Heist Crew for every 1 Security. (If you have 5 players, try 2 security and 3 heist. If you have 7, try 3 and 4. 8: 3 and 5.)
● Players go to the website to get an assignment of 6 missions. Share info with all players.
● Everyone set a clock timer of 12 minutes.
● Security Crew leaves for two minutes of recon.
● Heist Crew privately decides 3 of the 6 missions to act out and makes their plan.
● After two minutes, the game is on! The action will last 10 minutes.
Winning:
● After 10 minutes of play, meet at the starting point. If Security correctly identifies the 3 completed missions, or if Heist does not complete 3 missions, then Security wins. Otherwise, Heist wins!
At the website, teams input the preferred “level” of play:
Small/empty venue -> subtle missions
Large/busy venue -> obvious missions
Example missions might be:
[S] Subtle -- [MM] Medium -- [OOO] Obvious
Individual Missions
● [OOO] Scope out the area: Stand on a chair and circle 360 degree.
● [S] Recon the bar: take a photo the bartender preparing a drink.
● [MM] Identity theft: take a photo of a non-player’s credit card or ID.
● [OOO] Don’t forget to eat: take sequential two bites of something.
● [OOO] Create a diversion: pretend to trip & fall on the ground.
● [MM] Practice your cool: pretend to smoke a cigarette and take a selfie.
● [OOO] Send a secret message: make a paper airplane and throw it
● [MM] Work on your balance: hold one foot against opposite knee for 10 seconds.
● [S] Poison a drink: put a straw into a bottle or can and take a picture.
● [S] Revitalize your energy: take a selfie of your drinking something through a straw.
● [MM] Counter-recon: take picture of a Security player
● [MM] Request a change in the music
Multi-person Missions
● [MM] Create a diversion: Get a non-player to look at the ceiling by pointing
● [MM] Find your mark: Collect 73 cents of change from non players.
● [OOO] Practice drugging a target: buy a drink for a stranger. They must take a sip.
● [MM] Record an audio password: Get a stranger to say “Swordfish”
● [S] Exchange codes: Whisper “Have you noticed anyone acting really weird in here?” in someone’s ear
● [OOO] Obtain counterfeit cash: get change for a bill from someone else
● [S] Diversion: Tap someone on shoulder and be on his/her opposite side
● [OOO] Identity theft: Get a non-player’s autograph.
● [MM] Plant a bug: Give someone a 5-second minimum hug
● [MM] Identity theft: Find out a stranger’s full name (including middle)
● [MM] Send a codephrase: Pass someone a note
● [MM] Bluff your way in: Play rock/paper/scissors with a stranger
● [MM] Identity theft: Find out someone’s birthday or astrological sign
● [MM] Record the moment: Take a selfie with someone else who is facing camera
● [S] Seal the deal: Shake hands with someone at the bar.
Weird, right? And way fun. Or at least we thought so. And so did the attendees at the Come Out & Play Festival!
This was a group effort that came out of a weekend-long game design event. (Amazing what you can accomplish in a short amount of time and with endless caffeine, snacks, and playmates!) Team members included Albert Kong, Sam Bobra, John Rogers Oliver, Erik Koland, and Gabe Smedresman.