November 13 2002 RussCon Report

Deprivation Game or "You have no life, you sorry-ass loser, you."

When you arrive at RussCon, you will be given five (5) random cards. Each of the cards will have a single statement on it. All of the cards will have different statements. (I'll make the cards, so there's no work for you guys.)

The statements will be about something that a person has NOT done. The statement may be, "I have never been to Florida." Or "I have never gone scuba diving."

After you have completed a game, you may ask any or all of the other players if the statements on your cards applies to them. If you find someone for which the statement on one of your cards applies, then you write your name on the back of the card and give them the card.

Even if you don't want to be MetaDevil, you should answer the questions and "claim" a card if appropriate. You can ask all the other players about your cards regardless of how you placed in the game.

Important !!! You may not give the same person more than one card the entire night.

Before you start the next game, you may alter your hand of cards in one of two ways. If you have given away one or more cards, you may draw enough random cards to fill up your hand to five cards, OR, you may set aside your cards, draw as many as you had in your hand, keep the new cards, and then shuffle your old cards back into the draw deck.

You may never have more than five "unclaimed" cards in your hand. You may have any number of "claimed" cards. Once you have "claimed" a card, it is "dead" and may not be given away again.

At midnight, the person who has given away the most number of cards is the MetaDevil. And the person who has the most "claimed" cards wins a pity prize.

If either of the two "winners" should decline their prize, then the next person (in number of cards given away or claimed) is the chosen one.

If there is a tie for the most number of cards given away, then those tied must play a game of Can't Stop as the tie breaker and the winner gets to be the next MetaDevil.

If there is a tie for the most number of "claimed" cards, then those people will read out their "claimed" card statements and everyone else will vote on who gets the prize. Those vying for the prize may whine to the voters in an attempt to gain their sympathy and votes.

I'm hoping that this game will encourage people to play games with different people as you cannot give more than one card to the same person. In addition, this game may give everyone an interesting glimpse into the social lives, or lack thereof, of the other RussCon attendees.