Game Managers/Reviewers: @eevee @Geyde @Reinforced_Concrete1 @Blizer
Moderators: @eevee @PoisonedSquid @Luxy
So you want to host a Forum Game?
1. Preliminary
The most important step of the process when hosting a FM is to have everything in place so that the reviewers down the line have an easier time looking at your game.
First off, you must choose a category of game type.
FoL - Competitive Forum of Lies.
All games in this category are Vanilla FoL, with no changes whatsoever. If you want to host one, contact either @eevee, or @anon97870008.
Any instances of unnecessary host intervention when running these setups will be strictly cracked down on. These games are the premier games of FoL, and as a result there is very little tolerance for rulebreaking.
Phase lengths are typically 48/24 (can be otherwise), and all specific mechanics can be found in the Forum of Lies Hub.
Only one of these games are allowed to run at any time.
SFoL - Special Forum of Lies
Any non-vanilla game of Forum of Lies will fall under this category. This includes any change from the vanilla formula, even extending to phase length.
You must contact a moderator AND a reviewer when wanting to post any of these. The reviewer will make sure that your setup is fair and that there are little/no contradictions in mechanics. Showing only part of the setup to them will not get it passed, and they will only be passed after being fully reviewed.
If there are any changes from Vanilla FoL, you must list them in the OP for the game. If anything is not included in the OP it will be assumed that it will be running by FoL mechanics. Closed setup games will not have to reveal changes. One of these games may be allowed to run at any time.
The limit of what makes an SFoL goes back to one idea: is the game based on conversion or the flavor of Throne of Lies? If so, then it’s a SFoL.
Vanilla FM (VFM)
Standard FM games, either Open or Semi-Open, free of hidden mechanics. The category for everything containing only vanilla roles, standard day/night cycles, and free of bastard mechanics (excluding arguable things like Godfathers, provided the possibility they may exist is known ahead of time). These games should need to pass review, but that should both not be difficult and should never prevent the reviewer from playing (if it does, that’s a good sign it’s not actually as vanilla as you think).
Competitive FM (CFM)
Non-vanilla games that are intended to be taken seriously and played to win, with a setup that tries to be balanced and interesting. These games should be devoid of any real bastard elements. They will be reviewed before they can be run, but unlike the VFM category, PFM does not place restrictions on mechanics. As such, this is the place for games that stray from the Vanilla setup, without straying from the Vanilla mindset. Games may be Open, Semi-Open, or Closed.
Special FM (SFM)
Anything that is built for player enjoyment over player competition, has a lot of widely varying power roles, or generally doesn’t fit into the other two categories would be classified here. It’s basically the SFoL of FM - reviewed, and allowed to contain hidden roles or mechanics. This category may be split into different ones as there are realistic problems with how this category takes up an inordinant amount of games.
Miscellaneous
Anything not included in prior categories will usually fit here. An example of a forum game would be Deception: Murder in Hong Kong or Minority Rule. Make sure that any moderator is given a basic rundown of how your game works. Please try to avoid having three or more games up at any time in this category
2. What is your game?
All of the following must be sent to the moderator when planning to have a game.
Phase Length
Player Count
Game Type (FoL, SFoL, VFM, CFM, SFM, Misc)
Role List:
Open - The rolelist is shown and there is no variation to the rolelist. An example would be Cop13.
Semi-Open - All potential roles are shown, but there is variation to the setup. FoL falls under this category. Smalltown games fall under this category as alignments are randomized.
Closed - Very little information about the setup is given. Potential roles are not shown, but it is fairly standard for these games to include an example rolecard in the OP of the game.
Bastard?:
Bastard - Game is designed for the enjoyment of the host. Game will lie to players without any way to see it coming. An example of this would be a hidden win condition for a player.
Semi-Bastard - There are times where the host will lie to players, but it doesn’t necessarily break everything. In closed setups this is especially important to note as not signaling to players that there may be certain roles that may cause the host to lie can break the game.
Not Bastard - The host will never lie to players. If host does lie it will be told beforehand as a part of the setup, so the players will have an expectation that they may have been lied to.
Lynch Systems:
Majority - Lynches are decided when a player reaches a majority of votes.
Plurality - Whoever has the most votes at the end of the day will be lynched.
These may be done in combination in Majority + Plurality.
Classcards (You should include an example rolecard in OP even if game is closed. Not necessary.)
Feedback List
3. Contact a moderator
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-kXnHo5-rV8aWxMbla-foTzYfXb0mD0FGGlX93reo5Y/edit?usp=sharing
This is the official game queue. If you want to host a game you must contact a moderator and provide the aforementioned information in section 2.
The moderator will review your setup before putting in on the queue. Setups that have been run before on other sites or here will typically get a thumbs up much quicker.
4. Review
Review is an important part of making your game better and more balanced for players. You should not try to skip this step, and you should listen to the reviewer’s advice.
Reviews may take a long time if your setup is large, and potentially even longer if it is a closed setup.
The most important part of the review is cooperating with the reviewer. They are trying to help make the game better.
Addendums:
Only one FM game with 16+ players may be running at any time. This does not include FoLs or SFoLs
- This may be subject to changes in the moment. Ala Case by Case procedure.
Only three FM games with 14 or less players may be running at any time. This is across all FM categories.
- Again, subject to a case by case procedure. I’m not going to stop a game from running if another is just waiting to end.
Turbos
They do not have to go through any process listed above, and the moderators do not have to be notified.
All turbos should only last 3 hours after starting.
If you believe I’ve missed anything, please say so.
