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by Karl Rohnke Reprinted with permission from Ziplines winter 1999, a publication of Project Adventure, Inc. The old game of "Killer" isn't played much lately; I think the name militates against itself. Parents don't want their kiddos playing a game that advertises itself as Killer and I can relate to that. Seems a shame though, that a decent role-playing game is shunned because of negative nomenclature. So change the name. Who's to know? Who's to care? How about "Thumbo", a Disneyish appellation referring to the method used for choosing a killer (eliminator), i.e. that nefarious person responsible for eliminating the remainder of players. Agree? Cool! So delete the Killer Circle rubric above, and let's get on with the game. If you have never played the old Killer game, no problem, 'cause here's how to play Thumbo, rules courtesy of Lisa Faulkingham, who gleaned them from Adam Clark, who got them from... The intent of new and old versions is identical-for one unidentified player to eliminate all the other players, and have some fun along the way. Stand in a Velcro circle. A Velcro circle indicates a shoulder to shoulder circular standing arrangement, pretending that each player has Velcro strip on their shoulders. [But what if a shorter player's shoulder only comes up to their partner's elbow? Obviously, imagine a longer strip of Velcro.] Each encircled player (everybody) rests their open left hand on their own back, palm facing out. Each player then reaches to their right with their right hand, and joins hands with the outfacing left palm of their right-side Velcro partner. It's all very neat looking when viewed from inside the circle, and half-friendly when viewed from outside. Before the Velcro circle is formed, a killer (remember, we're calling him/her Thumbo to alleviate the angst) should have been chosen using the no-see-um "thumbs up" technique. To wit: each player who wants the opportunity of being chosen as Thumbo extends their hitch-hiking hand into a rapidly forming cluster of extended thumbs. (If a player chooses not to be Thumbo, but wants to be part of the action nonetheless, that player simply extends their hand into fleshy cluster of prehensile digits with their thumb withdrawn. Why would someone not want to be Thumbo? Beats me. Maybe it has something to do with an incipient responsibility phobia or an uncontrolled thumb fetish-whatever.) With all players either looking away or operating with eyes firmly closed (peek-by-choice), the facilitator (eyes also closed), reaches in the digital cluster and squeezes an available thumb once. The single squeezed thumb (with player attached) then reaches around, finds another dancing digit, and squeezes that thumb twice. The twice squozen digit immediately takes on the unannounced role of Thumbo. Reconstitute the Velcro circle above and get ready to play. At his or her leisure, and unannounced, Thumbo squeezes either hand he or she is holding (only one) from one to ten times. The person who receives the squeeze or squeezes from Thumbo then "presses the flesh" of the person next to them one less time than the number of squeezes that they received. (Ex. Thumbo begins the action by squeezing a hand four times. That pressed hand squeezes the next hand three times. The one who receives three, delivers two, etc. until someone gets a single squeeze. A single squeeze is the "killer" sign. The player receiving that solo squeeze is eliminated from the game. The now marked person (after waiting ten seconds or so) announces their symbolic demise with a wild shriek and/or whatever histrionic gesticulations seem appropriate, or inappropriate, as the case may be. Simply stepping out of the circle with a shy smile and lowered eyes may represent the epitome of Victorian recreation decorum, but here's your chance to "blow doors", and make the scene, Get noticed. Don't go peacefully into the night. Thumbo shrewdly joins in the spontaneous laughter and nervous speculations about when, where and who. Then, just as the group seems not off balance, Thumbo initiates another series of insidious squeezes. If you think about it (and you better), since the number of squeezes can vary from one to ten, no one can definitively estimate where the hand squeezes are originating. Thumbo can deliver a squeeze in either direction, but a player who receives a squeeze from the left must deliver their squeeze to the right, and vice versa. If someone eventually believes they have discovered the sanguinary squeezer, that person announces "I accuse!" Another player must then say, "I'll second that accusation." (If no one seconds the original accusation, the game simply continues.) Then, without looking at Thumbo, on the count of three, (counted out by the facilitator ) the two people point to the persons they believe to be Thumbo. If they are both pointing at the same person, and that person admits to being Thumbo, game over man. If the accusing speculators point to different people, the remaining players get to experience two screaming deletions from the game. The game continues until either Thumbo is discovered or he/she eliminates all the circled players. Good fun with willing and trusting players. A quiet alternative. When players receive the single squeeze, they raise both hands and place them on either side of their face, at the same time miming an elongated silent scream. Having thus unequivocally identified themselves as having received the squeeze, they quietly remove themselves from the diminishing circle. The name of this game variation is, appropriately, The Silent Scream. |