1.) Yes and no. There were times where I was very uninspired, and other times when it was great fun. There was a good crowd in this game - but it's a shame how one-sided it was (like every other PYP game).SpyreX wrote: 1.) Did you like the game?
2.) Did you let the setup?
3.) What would you keep?
4.) What would you change?
2.) Yes, I think. The set-up was perhaps too rich with investigative roles, which was overcompensation for the last game, when scum destroyed the town quite easily. The masons were also very powerful, especially if they managed to get roles like Weak Doctor/Bomb. The scum did quite well in the draft, getting every role they wanted, but I think they played poorly and the town got lucky with results more than any good play from town.
It's hard to gauge what the right balance is, and it's easy to think it's overcompensation with all the additional investigative roles, but I think if the two scumteams from PYP 2 and 3 swapped, it would have produced two very even games. The fact that scum played well in PYP 2, and quite poorly (with the exception of Elli) this game clouds the true balance of the game, and creates a contrast between the two which seems exaggerated.
3.) The odd and even night vigs were great ways to water down it's potency, and even though scum got both, there was an increased chance of town finding them with inclusions of the gunsmith. It was still a risk going for those roles too. With town knowledge on how destructive they can be, there was always going to be a vig witch hunt if they misfired.
I'd keep the fruit vendor too, just for the sheer novelty of it. It's nice having a mostly useless role, because it gives people low in the draft a viable option if they want to hand out fruit to people.
The weak doctor is a more attractive role than a regular doctor, but it can't be couple with the masons, as they are too powerful together.
4.) I'd definitely drop the masons - it guarentees confirmed town at some point in the game, and the role combinations available were quite powerful, that it made things difficult for scum. With an influx of investigation roles (and a decrease of evil scum roles), I don't think the masons were needed, and probably swung things too much in the town's favour.
The pre-game also needs a bit of tweaking, and I agree with whoever said the draft needs better explanation, because again, there were several people who didn't get the draft and how it worked. Here is an idea;
Drop the masons. When sign-ups finish, lock the pre-game thread, so town can't talk/try and break the game. This prevents dice-rolling/number fixing/massclaim and smalltown attempts which keeps the integrity and appeal of the set-up alive. Then announce it is Night 0, and this is the time to send in your numbers. Scum can talk during this period. Then announce the draft order and get players to choose their roles. Once that is all sorted out, the game can begin.
This gives scum an advantage in their preparations, as town don't have any. It also means, players don't need to follow a 200 post pre-game thread with everyone planning and talking. I don't think that is needed at all, and you never see games where town talk before the game. This should be an exclusive scum-power.
I'd also drop one or two of the investigation roles and swap in something slightly less powerful. Losing the cop wouldn't be a bad idea (it wasn't even used this game), unless you bring in something like a Framer who can make someone guilty/plant guns on them. I think losing the masons/pre-game stuff is enough to balance out this set-up though. A competant scumteam that chose a better set of roles could certainly have done a lot better in this game - they were too focused on getting roles that would help them, rather than choosing roles that block the amount of power town has.
