The Syndicate

thellama73 wrote:Hokey smokes, Bullwinkle! I completely forgot! The secret hidden location, which none of the players seemed remotely curious about.

This location was the Plateau of Mirrors, and could be access by all of the players expressing desire or curiosity about the secret hidden location in a given game day. Sadly, that never even came close to happening. On the Plateau of Mirrors, all night action would reflect back onto the person using them.

The other locations were each assigned to one of the animals, whose night power was doubled while there (the animal in question was mentioned in each host post, but no one seemed to pick up on this.)

That is awesome. Don't know why I didn't think of that as a possible location!

S~V~S wrote:

MovingPictures07 wrote:Well, I personally loved the idea of "breaking" the conventions of mafia by enabling everyone to win, but I figured some would be against it.

I am shocked though that the possibility for INH's plan slipped by Logan, haha. I thought for sure he had intended it this way.

Awesome game, Llama, thanks for it!

Yeah, but we would have to trust everyone to make it work, and that could NOT work, you know? The main losers would be the animals if someone chose to break the plan, we were vulnerable & sitting ducks. Once too many people became enamored of the plan, it would have been impossible to change direction.

Indeed.

However, I was hoping that at least once everyone could trust everyone else since it would be unique and in everyone's best interests.

It appears such a task is thematically incompatible with a mafia game, even an incredibly unconventional one.

Well, I personally loved the idea of "breaking" the conventions of mafia by enabling everyone to win, but I figured some would be against it.

I am shocked though that the possibility for INH's plan slipped by Logan, haha. I thought for sure he had intended it this way.

Awesome game, Llama, thanks for it!

Ambient 69: Music for... Well, You Know

LMAO, linki

You win.

triceratopzeuhl wrote:vomps is at least 5 years overdue on psychiatric help

thellama73 wrote:

Mongoose wrote:Which is a good look!

And leads me to my next bit -- my favorite Eno/Bowie collab, which is also my favorite Bowie album because it is the best.

Pitchfork Magazine named it the best album of the 70s. They are not wrong.

BLUE BLUE ELECTRIC BLUE

Go Animals! And everyone else!

insertnamehere wrote:DAMN IT JACK, I'M JUST DOING WHAT THE ISLAND DEMANDS!

Personally, I feel there's no inherent reason to be a cynic this game given the circumstances, so why be cynical until given a reason to do so?

Metalmarsh89 wrote:

MovingPictures07 wrote:No one has an incentive to lie, though.

Like I said, assuming every player wants to win, the plan makes the most sense.

It sure does. It is clearly a quite popular and accessible strategy.

But unfortunately, I just don't feel like doing things the mainstream way. Brian Eno wouldn't want this.

But it's anything but the mainstream way.

The mainstream way would be to play this game as mafia games are typically played.

We're doing Brian Eno justice if we can actually accomplish this win in an unconventional, non-musician-esque fashion.

No one has an incentive to lie, though.

Like I said, assuming every player wants to win, the plan makes the most sense.

Metalmarsh89 wrote: This would make for a good Talking Heads cover graphic.

It totally would!

Nonetheless, I still want try my part in ensuring a possible win, and that's all I can do.

I echo INH's sentiment. Lol.

Mongoose wrote:I mean a win is a win, but it doesn't feel as good as you win on a technicality. And I'd be as sad as a bison if it happened in my game.

BUT for Day 1, this is as good a place as any to start.

What?

What's wrong with it?

If anything, it's completely in the spirit of the game, and I'm certain it's a scenario Llama considered.

Metalmarsh89 wrote:I'm voting myself because frankly, I just feel like it.

Indeed.

Apparently the only one that might disagree is Vompatti, but considering he trolls half the time, he's probably just as uncontrollable as a host event.

I'm putting my faith in the plan (that INH proposed) because I think it's actually able to be accomplished, as long as every single one of us refuses to kill and use our night powers.

As I've said, I also think -- just to ensure in case there is resistance or unforeseen circumstances, that only ONE Animal volunteer him or herself up at the beginning of every lynch.

I don't understand the cynicism from ANYONE.

Whose best interest is it to sabotage this plan? No one's.

We can all win. Why not accomplish it?

If nonparticipants get modkilled and that ruins the plan, what's the problem with trying? We don't know whether Llama is going to modkill anyone randomly for any reason, or whether he'll have a host event that causes an imbalance -- all perhaps unlikely, IMO, but totally uncontrollable and thus not worth analyzing.

Everything that is within every player's control this game is whether we all win.

Voting myself.

Can we all actually trust each other for once when we have the once in a lifetime mafia chance where it makes sense to do so?

Amusing review, INH. Awesome.

And FYI, On Some Faraway Beach is actually the 6th track out of 10 on Eno's debut, so it isn't the final track!

Mongoose wrote:3. I still think Byrne > Eno

As much as I love Eno, I might not argue that.

Also, I sincerely apologize if I broke anyone else's laptop in addition to S~V~S's.

Also, for those of you who want to hear the previous song taken in a different context... Behold! This is what I dub post-ambient.



I'll contribute more later. Think I've done enough for now. Spreading the love of Eno isn't an easy job, but it's rewarding.

While it's impossible for me to choose a favorite Eno song, this one has to be up there. Love this so much. But really, Another Green World is a top 10 desert island album for me, and it's much better when every song is heard back to back.

This song also could have served as a location for this poll, it seems. Maybe this is the Secret Hidden Location. I would bet that it is.

S~V~S wrote:Yeah, I just Googled them, and none of them seem to have any specific bias that i can see. It was worth a try, we want to avoid anything that may upset the balance, and my guess is that there are things that will do so. Or llama would not have made it so easy. Having that specific rule about outing worries me, tbh.

Linki~ those videos just froze my ancient laptop for a minute, lol. My sign from above to log off for the night

Yeah, I agree, that's why I didn't feel inclined to vote any particular way.

I do agree we should avoid anything that upsets the balance, but if the balance can be upset by this poll, I fear it's impossible to discern. I am leaning towards it not being the case, but perhaps that's just wishful thinking.

I'm sorry about that! Was just trying to be helpful.

Well, that's not totally true, I also was enjoying sharing the awesomeness of Eno as well.

All worth a listen, IMO, although they are even better in the context of the albums on which they are placed.

JC, they're all songs by Brian Eno.

S~V~S wrote:You know the songs, what are they about?

Here is the lyrical content. Since there is not much to any of the lyrics in terms of volume or complexity, I figured it makes more sense to give you the lyrics to all of them instead of summarizing the content.

Over Fire Island - instrumental


In Dark Trees - instrumental


By This River:
Here we are
Stuck by this river
You and I
Underneath a sky that's ever falling down, down, down
Ever falling down

Through the day
As if on an ocean
Waiting here
Always failing to remember why we came, came, came
I wonder why we came

You talk to me
As if from a distance
And I reply
With impressions chosen from another time, time, time
From another time


Taking Tiger Mountain:
We climbed and we climbed,
Oh, how we climbed
My, how we climbed
Over the stars to [the] top
[Of] Tiger Mountain
Forcing the lines through the snow.


China My China:
In the haze of the morning, China sits on Eternity
And the opium farmers sell dreams to obscure fraternities
On the horizon the curtains are closing

Down in the orchard the aunties and uncles play their games
(like it seems they always have done)
In the blue distance the vertical offices bear their names
(like it seems they always have done)
Clocks ticking slowly, dividing the day up

These poor girls are such fun they know what God gave them their fingers for
(to make percussion over solos)

China my China, I've wandered around and you're still here
(which I guess you should be proud of)
Your walls have enclosed you, have kept you at home for thousands of years
(but there's something I should tell you)
All the young boys, they are dressing like sailors

I remember a man who jumped out from a window over the bay
(there was hardly a raised eyebrow)
The coroner told me 'This kind of thing happens every day'
You see, from a pagoda, the world is so tidy.


On Some Faraway Beach:
Given the chance
I'll die like a baby
On some far away beach
When the season's over.

Unlikely
I'll be remembered
As the tide brushes sand in my eyes
I'll drift away.

Cast up on a plateau
With only one memory
A single syllable
Oh lie low lie low.

S~V~S wrote:Linki, why not discuss it? Do you have something better to discuss? Since we seem to have this game wrapped up, and it will be rather a dull game, i think. Every day each person need only make one post. X person says, "I am an animal", and everyone else says, "Votes X"

If players want to discuss it, they can discuss it. I'm not against discussing it. I just don't think there's necessarily a point in worrying about it though, since they're just titles of songs and no one has information.

I'm not stifling anything; I'm just also saying it's not necessary to discuss it. But that doesn't mean we can't.

juliets wrote:MP the animals also have a requirement to maintain a balance. Does that mean if we kill a guy first we need to kill a gal second or does that part of the win condition meaningless in this plan? Whats your read on that?

And yes i agree we should be talking about where we want to go. I have no idea which is the best way and I'm not sure why people have already voted. Weren't we supposed to talk about it or did I imagine that?

linki linki linki - I cannot get the post in

Balance is maintained if no one other than Animals die though. Thus, no one must use their kills or powers, and we must lynch only Animals.

Therefore, only one Animal need out their team alignment each day period, we unanimously lynch them, no one uses powers at night. Viola. We all win! Thanks to INH for being the first to come up with such a genius plan.

What's the point in discussing it if we can't discern the meaning of it and no one has information?

Snow Dog wrote:What does tis noble emoticon mean?

Pretty much what it appears to be indicating in terms of facial expression.

triceratopzeuhl wrote:Pacifist mafia game would be a nice change from me antagonizing everybody like a paranoid schizophrenic.

Anyway, you can always lurk around with us as ghost/zombie sockface

Indeed.

And YES, I totally lost the link to that! AWESOME. Good times.

S~V~S wrote:No, so long as there is no kill, I agree. The whole outing thing goes against the grain, but so long as there are no lynch mistakes or night kills, the non animals need not reveal, right?

And yeah, a game where EVERYONE wins might be refreshing

triceratopzeuhl wrote:A moste noble socke thou art.

No lynch yet though, so, where are we going?

Well, considering Llama said "not yet" in response to juliets's question about poll info, I figured since there's no way for anyone to know what option would benefit, AND since there's no reason for any team to antagonize another team anyway, I'm positive we couldn't even analyze the best option since we have no clue what it'll do. Thus I just picked based on the song itself.

Snow Dog wrote:Doen't matter what i think about Eno. Simple fact is Roxy Music with Eno is far better than Roxy Music without him.

Snow Dog wrote:

MovingPictures07 wrote:You know, just to show how committed I am to this and how I really think it's the best option for everyone:

I am an Animal.

Feel free to lynch me on Day 1.

That way no one else has to team claim and we can see how this plan is going to play out. I'm willing to sacrifice my life in order to pursue this.

Well done Alex. No point agreeing with a plan then hiding. Kudos to you!

It was difficult because I LOVE ENO and I REALLY want to play this game, but after discussing it and seeing others so far appear in agreement, I'm absolutely willing to do what it takes so that we can all enjoy a win here, and I'm happy with this.

I was going to wait a bit longer to make sure the plan had no holes and that everyone was OK with it, but then I realized there really isn't a point and that the only possible hole is something totally beyond our control (host event possibility). Only other way it could not work is sabotage. Thus, it actually made more sense for me to sacrifice my life for the cause right off the bat, so that all the Animals didn't team claim so early on, just in case someone decides to go against the plan.

As Trice said, I also believe, in addition to winning, it would be oddly satisfying to pull this off.

Pacifist mafia game ftw?

triceratopzeuhl wrote:a non-mafia game for a non-musician

That would be oddly satisfying, and likely a very unique game. Truthfully, we can always abandon that strategy if an unexpected kill throws the plan off, so it hurts nothing to start off trying this out. Well, maybe it hurts whichever animals have offered themselves up for sacrifice to that point.

(also I like Eno and consider him a musician)

Agreed entirely.

Now that I've team claimed truthfully, no other Animals need to needlessly put their lives on the line until Day 2, at the very least. But even still, I just don't see how anyone would oppose this.

You know, just to show how committed I am to this and how I really think it's the best option for everyone:

I am an Animal.

Feel free to lynch me on Day 1.

That way no one else has to team claim and we can see how this plan is going to play out. I'm willing to sacrifice my life in order to pursue this.

I think, as long as everyone is OK with it, we try the plan, and only one Animal can then come forth and offer to be lynched.

What is there to lose, really?

S~V~S wrote:If we could make it work, I would be OK with it. But the killers would have to not kill, and we have no way of knowing that will happen until they ... don't kill. The vote manipulators should not use their powers either.

It seems almost TOO easy, but looking over the win cons, I don't see any reason it would not work; even down to team outing being specifically OKed by the host. Although it will be harder once teams start getting BTSC, and Trice makes a good point. Plus I just have an ingrained bias against outing, even if it is allowed

But a plan that allows everyone to win is an attractive one.

I am going to vote for Fire Island.

This is true, but whether they kill or not is uncontrollable, and one would think their chances of killing are MUCH less if the entire thread is in agreement on a plan for everyone to win that seems pretty possible. What motivation would there be to kill? Unless, like I said, one team wants to win at the exclusion of others, but that seems completely unnecessary.

Plus, as Eno is a self-proclaimed "non-musician", successfully implementing INH's plan so that every player can win seems like the perfect way to honor that sentiment in this game.

triceratopzeuhl wrote:Also, problem with the plan is that if even 1 non-animal accidentally dies (whether via lynch, nk, host event deedly, etc) then the animals can't win. Might make them reluctant to cooperate and out themselves.

Well, that's true, but the only one of those that is completely out of our collective control is a host event.

Other than that, as long as everyone agrees to it, it should be possible. And as long as no one wants to win at the exclusion of others, then I don't see why it would be against someone's self-interest to agree, even if they're an Animal.

The more I think about it, the more I believe it would be absolutely awesome if we could accomplish INH's plan.

I'm curious if anyone has any problems with it, but otherwise I think it would be best for at least one person to claim Animal so that we can lynch that person tomorrow.

Brian Eno is one of my favorite musicians of all time.

I'll probably be analyzing the poll based on which song I like the most. Tough call, since they're all awesome...

But I'll go with Over Fire Island.

Hello, Trice! So glad to be playing alongside you after so long.

Yay game!!

INH, that's a really interesting idea! Like BR said though, not sure whether everyone could agree to that.