I died. No, really. Last weekend I threw a game night party, and as I stood at our hot stove, melting marshmallows to make more Rice Krispie bars for my guests (who had eaten the rest of the Rice Krispies and were begging for more), when out of the blue I was shot in the femoral artery (which is in the thigh, for those of you who are rusty on their anatomy) and bled out on the kitchen floor as my friends and killer gazed on in horror. No, disgust. NO…what’s the word I’m looking for? Oh, right. Amusement.
Just to clear things up, my friends aren’t really sadistic murderers who kill their hosts at awesome parties. I was shot in the leg, but it was by an expertly manned Nerf gun from under the table.
Later in the night, my assassination target keeled over from a poison…which was plainly written on the bottom of his paper cup. Another guest got shot under the table with a rubber band.
By now, you’re probably thinking “What the hell is she writing about?”
Well, we are playing a game. It’s not a secret game. We didn’t make it up.
Actually, it was concocted by Steve Jackson, who has also created awesome games like Munchkin and The Stars Are Right. It’s called Killer. And it’s fun!
From the website:
“You might be:
- Bitten by rubber snakes!
- Poisoned with peanuts!
- Electrocuted by ropes!
- Bombed with pillows!
- Shot with a banana!
- Hosed & sprinkled, squirted and boffed . . . even ping-ponged!
Killer is the exciting live roleplaying game for intelligent, creative and slightly uncivilized people – people who want to knock off their friends . . . without hurting them.”
In the book, it’s described as Cowboys and Indians for adults. Which is a pretty accurate description. There are multiple ways to play, but probably the most common is “Circle of Death”: the players are each given a target by the GM (Game Master), and when their target is eliminated, their new target becomes the dead person’s target. Or, Player A has to kill Player B who has to kill Player C. If Player A kills Player B, Player A’s new target is Player C.
Make sense?
Anyway, as long as “weapons” are relatively safe, they are usable. There are many, many suggestions in the book, but players are able to come up with their own weapons as well. For example, our GM approved spoons as knives, and I’ve worked up an awesome balloon-bomb contraption that would go well in a backpack.
I can’t be revealing all my secrets, though!
You can read more about this live-action role playing game by visiting the Killer site. The book is currently out of print, but you can download the PDF on the site and the site indicates that a new edition will soon get published.
So now what I’m wondering is…have any of you ever played Killer? If so, how was it? If not, would you ever play?
It’s not often anymore that you can find a card or board game that is not only quick to play, but easy to learn and addictive. Lately, every game I play takes close to if not more than an hour, and learning the rules takes even longer. 
