I wondered why I was the last one here just like yesterday, but I wasn’t going to complain about it since it gave me more time to think and get ready this morning. Keiko started handing out a list of rules as I sat down, and I quickly scanned them as she started reading them out loud.
Rules
The Choice
- Players decide whether or not to skip this game.
- If a player doesn’t vote by the ten minute time limit, they will automatically vote to skip the game.
- If players skip the game, every player loses 2500 points.
- Four votes are required to skip the game.
- If players don’t skip the game, the below rules apply.
Judgement
- There are eight players. The group must decide who should get the following point changes:
- +5000, +2500, +0, -1000, -2500, -2500, -5000, -5000
- Players have one hour to discuss who they think should lose and gain points. They will then anonymously vote by ranking all the other players from 1 (Should earn the most points) to 7 (should lose the most points).
- We will use the average of everyone’s votes to determine their final placement.
- If there is a tie, the player with the lowest median ranking from all player’s lists will get the better ranking.
- If that’s still a tie, the game master will allocate the better ranking to the player they deemed to be most influential in the games 'Democracy’ and ‘Judgement’.
- All player rankings will be anonymous.
- Players may verbally say their rankings, and can even show players their current rankings on their phones. However, if they press submit while showing another player, or within five minutes of showing another player, they will lose 5000 points.
- If a player doesn’t submit their ranking within an hour, they will lose 5000 points.
- The results of the game will be hidden. You will only know how many points you gained or lost.
- If players fail to skip the game, anyone that voted to skip the game will have two points added to their average ranking before point gains and losses are given out.
I immediately understood why Keiko wished me luck not just once, but twice. This game seemed simple on the surface, but it was much more vicious than ‘Democracy’.
Back then, if we all worked together, we could’ve gotten through the game without losing too many points or hurting anyone’s feelings. While we didn’t get that ideal situation, that’s how the game was designed.
This is completely different.
The game designers created an intricate battleground for us and it all stemmed from a painfully simple concept.
I immediately recognised this as a zero sum game. In fact, this was a negative sum game - even worse.
In a zero sum game, one player’s gain comes at the direct cost of another player’s loss. This alone would make it much more dangerous than ‘Democracy’, as there’d be no way for us to fight through it as a team. However, the point changes were even worse than that. Only two players could gain points, while five players would be losing them.
They also made sure to prevent any loopholes.
If this was a true zero sum game where the point gains were equal to the point losses, we could just agree to redistribute the points equally at the end. In this game, there are 7500 points that could be gained, and 16000 that could be lost.
Simple diplomacy can’t solve this game. It’s guaranteed to cause some chaos.
I also noted the cost of skipping the game. 2500 points each was a lot, but I’d prepared for this beforehand by calculating everyone’s point total.
Yaeko - 14500 (told the truth) or 9500 (lied)
Yori - 13500
Choko - 11500
Hibiki - At least 7500
Osamu - At least 5500
Mei - 4500
Nobu - 3000
I had 9000 points.
The only thing that changed from the last time I calculated this was when I gave Nobu 2500 points.
If we voted to skip the game, Nobu and Mei would have 500 and 2000 points remaining, which is far too low. If I hadn’t already given Nobu some points, he’d be at risk of getting eliminated right here.
On the surface, it seems like we have a choice and that it’s up to us to decide. In reality, there is no choice.
I didn’t want anyone innocent to get eliminated before I exposed the traitor.
The only way that’d be possible is if we played this game.
Choko and I quickly made eye contact as Keiko finished reading the rules. I’d told her everyone else’s point total before I gave Nobu 2500 points, so she also understood that we couldn’t let the group skip the game.
Luckily, this wouldn’t be too hard.
We had Mei and Yori’s vote, so we’d only need to get one other person to vote with us. Since the penalties for failing to skip the game are so severe, this shouldn’t be too difficult.
I also noted the tiebreak rules. I realised that this was another trap to create tension, since it’s already highly unlikely that a player’s average and median score would be the same as someone else’s.
In reality, the final tie break rule about giving the most influential players wouldn’t need to be used. This is just a trap to trick players into becoming more vocal and creating stronger divides in the group.
“You guys have ten minutes to decide whether or not you want to skip the game. There’s buttons to vote on the game’s app you’ve used for the other games. Once you enter your vote, you can’t change it, so think carefully.” Keiko calmly sat in a chair in the corner of the room, observing us once she’d read out the instructions.
I thought about the audience members who were waiting to see my every move.
There were probably those that thought I’d skip the game since I could afford to lose points while some others couldn’t.
The others probably expected me to get the group to play the game so I could aim for the 5000 points.
I started questioning if any of them had enough empathy to see what I truly cared about, but I got interrupted as Osamu suddenly spoke up.
“I think we should skip the game. We don’t have any right to decide who should lose or gain points.” Osamu made his first move, looking me in the eyes as he mirrored my moral stance and made it clear how he felt about the way our previous conversation ended. After a second, he quickly pivoted and started appealing to the group.
“‘Democracy’ already hurt us so much, imagine how much worse this game would be.” Hibiki started nodding her head as Choko gave me a look, waiting for my move. Instead of responding to Osamu, I turned to look at Nobu, who refused to look either Osamu or Yaeko in the eye.
He was the one that got hurt the most.
The person that hurt him was Osamu’s girlfriend.
I noted his anger at the hypocrisy before I stood up and presented my counter argument.
“Osamu, if this is a matter of principle to you, why don’t you lock in your vote right now and show us?”
Everyone looked at me in shock. None of them expected this early confrontation.
Yaeko was about to leap to his defence, but I wouldn’t let her. I instantly pounced at the opportunity I had.
“Surely you shouldn’t care about the risk of losing points since you care so much about this principle, so go on.” I switched from talking to the entire group and began focusing on Osamu.
“Do it.”
I intentionally spoke in a calm manner.
In the worst case scenario, Osamu would hesitate and his argument would lose credibility.
“Are you trying to punish him for trying to do the right thing?” Yaeko immedietaly took the bait.
I knew she’d want a chance to get back at me for exposing her. I made sure to base our battleground on morality so she’d use a half-baked argument that I could easily dismiss as I continued executing my plan.
“This isn’t a punishment, Yaeko.” Nobu began leaning forwards with a smile of satisfaction as I countered her point.
“After all, why should we listen to an argument based on principle if he’s too scared to go through with it? It’s exactly how you said I shouldn’t be trusted because I was keeping my point total a secret in ‘Democracy’.”
She sat in silence.
She grew more flustered as she couldn’t form a counter.
“It’s not a principle if you pick and choose when to apply it.” I paused for half a second, directing my final argument towards Osamu.
“At that point, it’s a device you use to manipulate people”.
I watched his pupils dilate with anger as I intentionally pulled a string. After our conversation, there’s nothing he’d hate more than being called manipulative by me of all people.
Yaeko took my accusation on Osamu as a personal insult and tried to defend him while his eyes lit up in rage.
“Are you saying that Osamu’s manipulating us just to save some points?” Mei and Hibiki looked a bit uneasy while Yori quietly waited for my next move.
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Choko gave me a quiet look, but it was hard to read. It could have been because she was questioning why I was baiting Osamu into skipping the game when we needed as many votes to play the game as possible, but she’s shown me that she’s smart enough to see past that. Before I could speak, Osamu softly grabbed Yaeko’s wrist before replying.
“Yaeko, you’re missing the point. Let me handle this myself.” Yaeko silently gasped as Osamu gently pushed her arm away. “Akira was never trying to punish me. He wasn’t trying to imply that I was manipulating you all either.” We held eye contact as he calmly continued.
“He knows that I care more about what’s right than the potential two point penalty. He just wanted to see if I’d hesitate.” Osamu showed us his phone as he clicked the skip button.
It wasn’t a grand declaration.
He didn’t hesitate at all when we talked in my room. I knew he had a strong moral drive, and I judged that it’d be strong enough to compel him to vote to skip the game.
His eyes showed the weight of his decision, but his resolve carried him through it. This was the exact outcome we needed.
“You’re wrong, Osamu.” I looked for any signs of anxiety in his eyes, but he held firm. “You might think you understand me after our conversations, but that was never about making you hesitate.” I leaned forwards onto the table as I clasped my hands together.
“I wanted to see if your desire to protect your morals was strong enough where you’d make a selfish decision just to uphold your principles.”
Normally, my words would have hurt him, but he already thinks I’m incredibly arrogant so he probably doesn’t care. Despite that, it’s undeniable that he was so focussed on preserving his morals that he neglected the negative impacts on his friends.
I used this as an opportunity to help him learn to see the bigger picture, whilst making sure this game wouldn’t get skipped.
“What about Nobu and Mei?” Osamu’s eyebrows squinted as I gestured towards both of them.
“At the end of Democracy, Nobu and Mei were left with 500 and 4500 points each. Why should we bend to your morals if it means eliminating Nobu, and putting Mei in an equally vulnerable spot?” Yaeko sympathetically watched Osamu as he stared down at the table, unable to come up with a response.
She turned to me and opened her mouth before looking back at Osamu. When she turned around again, she let out a frustrated groan and clenched her fists before countering my argument.
“If we play the game, then both Nobu and Mei could get eliminated. If we skip the game, then only Nobu gets eliminated.” I wondered whether Yaeko even believed what she was saying, or if she was just desperately trying to protect Osamu.
I’m sure Osamu thought something similar as he gave Yaeko a blank look. She’d already implied that Osamu was being stupid once in ‘Democracy’, and now she was stepping in even when he told her that he could handle it himself.
I turned to watch the others and I noticed Nobu giving me an anxious look. We were the only ones who knew I gave him 2500 points, making his new point total 3000. That meant that we could technically skip the game without eliminating anyone, which would strengthen Yaeko’s point.
What I said technically wasn’t a lie, but I knew Nobu would understand my point. Sure, skipping the game wouldn’t eliminate him, but it would leave him in a position that was far too vulnerable. After learning how logical he is, I’m confident he won’t reveal his true point total.
A few seconds passed before Nobu was about to speak up, but Hibiki quickly stood up and began speaking.
“I agree with Akira. We can’t just eliminate Nobu because we’re scared to judge others.” She paused as she looked at Osamu and Yaeko.
Osamu still looked away from everyone while Yaeko glared at me and Hibiki.
“If we pick an objective way to score everyone, such as helping the people with the least points, then this game won’t destroy our friendships, right?” I instantly nodded my head in agreement.
She smiled at me as she sat back down, and I smiled back as a way of thanking her for her support. I guess that Hibiki felt bad for her accusation yesterday, and this was her way of making it up to me.
“I disagree with Akira and Hibiki.” Choko remained seated as she spoke in a calm manner. I knew this was part of the plan, but I still couldn’t help being anxious when she had the perfect opportunity to expose my intentional manipulation on Osamu.
If she pointed out how I could have made my arguments about protecting Nobu and Mei before I forced Osamu to lock in his vote to skip the game, I wouldn’t be able to justify it in any reasonable way.
This is my first time putting enough trust in someone where I’m willingly making myself vulnerable to a betrayal.
“Akira’s right. We should protect Nobu and Mei, but we shouldn’t make a risky decision based on just that. What about the other votes?” She looked at me calmly before continuing. “It would be great if we could objectively rank each other based on point totals, but people could just lie about their point totals.”
She started looking at everyone else, yet no one could look at her.
“What’s more, our rankings are anonymous. We could just deviate from the plan to rank our closest friends higher and to rank other people lower.” The atmosphere immediately changed from tense to quiet, with everyone being ashamed as they heard Choko call out their plans.
More importantly, Choko was doing a great job of distancing herself from me. We’d agreed that we needed to hide our alliance from the traitor, but we knew it would be hard for her to do so without undermining my position in the group.
She handled it perfectly by framing it like she disagreed with me, even though she actually ended up supporting my logic. I patiently waited to see how she tied this back into why we couldn’t skip the vote.
“I think the best path forward is that we give Nobu the 5000 points and give Mei the 2500 points.” Osamu finally looked up at us as he nodded in agreement, while Yaeko gave Nobu a distasteful glance before finally nodding her head as well.
“For the rest of us, I think we should all discuss and make cases for why everyone else should lose as few points as possible.” She paused for a second, taking a deep breath before getting to the uncomfortable truth of our situation.
“Beyond that, we should expect everyone to vote to keep their closest friends safe, and to harm their biggest enemies.” Everyone looked away, feeling as if they shouldn’t have the power to decide who gains points on purely selfish motivations.
I gave Choko a subtle nod as she brilliantly improvised and accomplished another key goal.
She knew that I would be under active fire from Osamu and Yaeko, even if they claimed not to vote against me.
That’s why she encouraged them to vote for me to lose points.
In reality, they’d vote against me anyway.
The key difference is that she’d made it so Yori and Mei could both give me better rankings without feeling any guilt or social pressure not to.
Choko showed us her phone as she voted to play the game, and I followed her example.
It was critical that I grabbed Yori and Mei’s wrists to prevent them from doing the same.
Yaeko hesitated as she anxiously looked at Osamu. Right now, we only needed three more votes to play the game.
She also knew that if the game wasn’t skipped, Osamu would be at a severe disadvantage in the next phase.
At the same time, she thought that Nobu would have to vote to play the game for his own survival since she didn’t know his real point total.
Hibiki already declared that she thought we should play the game.
That meant that only one other person needed to vote to play the game.
She stared at Mei and Yori as she tried to predict their votes.
She knew that realistically, one of them would probably vote to play the game, and she didn’t want to suffer that same disadvantage as Osamu.
That’s where the automatic voting rule came in.
Yaeko couldn’t simply just wait for the timer to run out. That would count as her choosing to skip the vote, meaning she’d suffer that disadvantage either way.
She’s being forced to choose between abandoning Osamu and condemning him to a two point disadvantage, or to voluntarily take a two point disadvantage herself in a show of support.
Just as she was about to ask Yori and Mei how they’d vote, Nobu spoke up.
“I’m actually on 3000 points. I gained extra points through a private game with the game officials.”
I hid my shock as I looked up at Nobu.
Yaeko’s eyes lit up as she immediately understood how this erased her dilemma.
“I tried saying this earlier, but Hibiki interrupted me. I’ll be voting to skip the game.”
I can’t understand why Nobu revealed his point total.
Didn’t he understand that skipping the game would just put him back at risk of being eliminated?
Even more, didn’t he understand that everyone losing 2500 points wasn’t an equal penalty? No, I know he’s logical enough to understand that he’d be affected the most as he’d have so little points remaining.
I know I’m missing something.
I analysed him as quickly as I could, but I couldn’t read his motivations for revealing his point total.
I was incredibly grateful that he didn’t expose my knowledge of his point total, since that would’ve been a devastating blow, and I did my best to adapt on the fly.
I quickly tapped Yori and Mei’s legs twice as I pointed at my vote to play the game. We’d come up with a bunch of non verbal cues to communicate in our upcoming games. This double tap meant “yes”, as in “yes, we should still vote to play the game.” They both tapped my foot three times, a symbol meaning “ok”.
After a minute or two, Keiko began announcing the results of the vote as the timer ran out.
“With six votes to play the game and two votes to skip, the game will be played. We will move onto the next phase.”