Capetown

A social game of secret superhero identities. Players choose to aid, disrupt or ignore a series of crimes and disasters that unfold in the bustling metropolis, unmasking one another's true identities in the process.

Setup

Prepare one slip of paper per player; write "GOOD" in small letters on half of them (rounding up) and "EVIL" on the others. Hand them out, telling players that this is their character's aim in life, which must remain secret.

Ask the players to come up with a superhero or supervillain name; preferably something original, to avoid the risk of duplicates. They should privately write this name on their slip, and pass it back to you. Keep track of the order these get passed back - you need to write a list of these names in the same order that they go around the table, so that you know who's who.

Basic gameplay

At the start of each round, the narrator announces that a crime or disaster is taking place, such as a bank heist, a prison break, an earthquake. Heroes and Villains can choose to rush to the scene, either to save the day, or to make things worse.

The players close their eyes. The moderator asks for anyone who wants to attend the scene to raise their hand (or put their hand on the table, or step forward, or something like that); the super-identities of these players are noted down by the narrator (if you've written them as a list, then put ticks or crosses next to their names for each round, according to their hero/villain nature). The moderator then asks if anyone else is out on patrol today (but not at the scene of the crime or disaster), and for them to raise their hands. These attendees aren't noted.

Players are then told to open their eyes, keeping their hands in the air. The narrator announces the list of superheroes and supervillains who attended the event, and the end result - if there were more heroes than villains, then the day is saved (and the heroes gain 1 point); if it was tied or there were more villains than heroes, then the crime or disaster was unhindered (and the villains gain 1 point). (eg. "Mantisman and Plastiqueman rushed to the volcano edge, and fought off Doctor Cuttlefish to save the school bus. Heroes score a point!")

Players are then able to look around and see who may have been in attendance at the event; anyone with their hand in the air is either one of the heroes or villains who was just named, or just happened to have been on patrol elsewhere in the city today.

The game continues over a pre-determined number of events (nine?). Whichever team has the highest score at the end is the winner.

Unmasking

If a player thinks they've worked out the secret identity of another hero or villain (ie. they've noticed that whenever Mantisman saves the day, Bob has his hand up), they can make an accusation, by naming the player and their suspected identity. (Typically, players will only accuse people on the other team.)

If the narrator confirms that they're right, then the suspected player is eliminated from the game and may no longer assist or hinder events. If they're wrong, then the narrator reveals the accuser's team (but not the accuser's identity), and that team loses a point.