Being a Board Game Geek, I often frequent the boardgamegeek website. And lookee what I found when browsing there today:
Werewolf
It's a commercially produced version of Werewolf for "live" play. Basically, it looks like it's just a set of cards with the various roles plus the rules. Seems a bit strange to me to bother buying the game, when a simple deck of playing cards, or a custom-built set, would suffice, although it's not particularly expensive.
I had wondered how the game might work in "real life" (as it were) and the articles posted on that site give an indication. It seems that Night phases require players to close their eyes, except those carrying out the various Night-time activities, which are directed by the moderator. During the Day phase, players then have a certain amount of time (3 minutes is suggested in one of the articles, but I suppose it can depend on the time availiable) to discuss who might be the Wolves, nominate a number of players for lynching (each of whom receives an "Angry Mob" card
) and then vote on which nominee is to be lynched.
I was wondering whether anyone had experience of playing a "live" version of Werewolf. The mechanics would be a lot different, with body language playing a strong role and much greater capacity for slip-ups, but with no ability to go back and check the record or analyse in detail what people have said. It sound like a great idea for a party game.
The articles also give some ideas for new roles - the medium, for example, who is able to hold a seance and allow the village to communicate with a dead player. There is also the suggestion that "Gifts" be represented by items, rather than having Gifted players. Those items (a crystal ball, for example, for the Seer or a shield for the Guardian) may then be transferred from one player to another during the Night phase. Some ideas, therefore, for future games here.