DAY 1: One Down, One Saved!

Foreman Hicks usually allows her crew the day off on Sunday, but with the deadline only 2 weeks away and the store not quite finished, she had to require them to work today. As the crew dragged themselves onto the work site at 5:30 am, they greeted each other sleepily. They were to begin working by 6 and most of them liked to get started early so the day would be over faster. By 6:30 however, Jay was no where to be found and everyone was very worried. Jay was usually very dependable and it was not like him to not show up for work without calling. As Angela was about to get the tools out of the tool shed she heard something. She looked behind the shed and found Jay, lying on the ground moaning. He was bleeding badly from his head. Angela shouted for help and everyone rushed over.

Jason pulled out his cell phone and called 911. Jay was incoherent but alive; for that everyone was thankful. There was a big bucket laying next to his head. Nails were spilling out of the top. It looked like someone had dropped the bucket from the crossbeams above.

Sadie looked around and saw a second bucket laying on the ground. This one was full of rivets. She pointed it out to the rest of the crew. They looked and saw foot prints going away from the area and everyone knew that the second bucket had been meant for someone else, but they must have been pushed out of the way at the last second. Thank goodness for a good Samaritan, looking out for one of their own.

The ambulance arrived to take Jay to the hospital. The EMT said that it looked as though Jay would make a full recovery in a few days but that he'd need to stay at the hospital for observations. The EMTs commented to each other that it was odd that Jay would be working construction since he is an MD after all.

As Jay was being pushed into the back of the ambulance he gained consciousness enough to shout, "Tis only a flesh wound. I've had worse!"

Now it is the day time. As you work on the site you talk amongst yourselves and decide whom to fire. You must make sure that as many of you stay safe as possible. "Day" will last until midnight on Monday. You will need 10 votes for a majority firing. Remember those that are fired are finished with the game. As Jay is now incapacitated at the hospital, he can't comment. He will be allowed back on Tuesday, May 7th.

Welcome to Littleton!

Welcome to Littleton. This is usually a very quiet, peaceful town. Most of the people were born and raised here and everyone knows and loves everyone. Lately, however, the townspeople have been in turmoil. The Wal-mart Corporation has decided to build a new store on the outskirts of town. Some of the townspeople are excited about the prospect of cheaper groceries and other items. Some hate the idea of Wal-mart coming in to destroy the nice hometown feeling of their town. The city council granted Wal-mart the permit to build but with the condition that the store be finished by 05-10-08. If it isn’t finished by that date, then the permit will expire, the unfinished building will be demolished to make way for a nature preserve, and the construction crew will not be paid.
It is now two weeks from the deadline. The townspeople that don’t want a Wal-mart store are desperate. They have tried many different ways to stop the construction from going forward, but nothing has worked yet. In a last attempt, they have managed to pay off a few of the construction workers to sabotage the work site so the job won’t be finished by the deadline.
Because the townspeople have been trying to stop the construction, the local police department has set up some undercover cops within the construction crew in order to keep things under control and keep people safe. They suspect that there might be a few corrupt construction workers and are trying to weed them out.
You are all construction workers working on the new Wal-mart store. I, the moderator, am the foreman on the site. I’m asking you as your boss and friend to help me find the saboteurs. If you can manage to pick them out before the end of the week, we will have about a week left to finish the store before the deadline expires. If we can’t find the saboteurs before the end of the week, we most certainly won’t have enough time to finish the store and thus won’t be paid for the job. Please help me find these bad apples so we can be paid for our hard work. Good luck workers.

The workers who have been paid off are the “mafia” but for this game we will call them the “saboteurs.” There are five of them. There are two “doctors” and they won’t know each other or be allowed to work together this game. The doctors can only save each person once. The undercover cops are the “detectives” and there are three. They won’t know who they are this game either or be allowed to work together. The detectives will only be allowed to ask about one person a night and the doctors will still only be able to save one person a night. I will not reveal who is saved.
One of the new things I’d like to try this game is to not have anyone die. When the saboteurs strike, they will only disable their victim(s). This will enable the second new spin; people can come back to the game after the saboteurs have struck. When the construction workers vote it will be to fire someone from the job. However, when the workers vote their say is final. The person fired will not be coming back. The workers still need a majority vote in order to fire someone. There are 20 people now so for the first vote you will need 11 for a majority.
The third spin will be when the victims come back. If the saboteurs choose, they can pick one victim in a “night” period and that one person will be incapacitated for five “day” periods and then be allowed back into the game. The saboteurs will also be allowed to choose to have two different victims in one “night” period though. If they choose this, then their victims will only be disabled for three “day” periods each before coming back. This could be helpful for the saboteurs, or detrimental. They will have to decide. I will email the victims to let them know when they can play again.
The workers will have nine “day” periods to weed out the saboteurs. If even just one saboteur is still alive by the end of that period, they win. If the workers manage to fire them all before the seventh day, then they win.
If you have any questions, please ask. I want to start playing tomorrow so please ask your questions soon.
We’d like to welcome some of Jason’s family who are playing with us this time. I hope you all will enjoy playing with the Hutchinson family.

DAY 6: the end of an era

It didn't take long for the town to decide that Eric was a con man, a fake, and a really good one. He had tricked them for days, but now, thanks to Shirley's senseless death, Eric was voted out.

While the town dragged Eric down to the ocean he didn't even squirm. He faced his death like a man, proud of the way he had conducted himself. He chanted the mafia motto for all to hear, "Take take take, you'll get what you deserve! TAKE TAKE TAKE, you'll get what you DESERVE!" When they finally reached the ocean, Eric was dropped in an area well known for housing jellyfish. The citizens turned their backs on him as he was repeatedly stung.

Jay, at the conclusion of Eric's execution, proclaimed Matthew the last mafia. The town audibly gasped (all except for Emily who mumbled I told you so under her breath) and turned to face Matthew. Matthew, shocked that his identity was known, immediately fled the scene. Nobody in the town could catch him. They discovered days later that the town submarine was gone, Matthew had obviously put it to good use.

Wakananababoo was safe once again. Everyone returned to the beach and once again felt comfortable working on their deep bronze tans. Well, they were comfortable until the tsunami hit. Every citizen survived, but did Matthew and his submarine?

Good work, citizens! You uprooted the mafia once again! I decided to just end the game because we all knew what was going to happen anyway and I didn't want to wait 3 days for it to play out. It seems the mafia have a very tough job. Here were the roles:

Mafia: Matthew, Hillary, Alexis, Eric
Doctors: Merrit, Cortney (Very nice job, by the way, to both of you! They saved Kari the first time, and Jay the next two times.)
Detectives: Shirley, Jay

Jay, I'm sorry, but I already promised Jason he could moderate after Hillary. You can do it after him (if we all are still wanting to play by then). I will email her all of your email addresses, so be looking for something from her soon. Her email is alemermak@yahoo.com (it will say Charlie Hicks).

DAY 5: in the clinic

When the mayor came to, it was the middle of the next day. She woke up in the town clinic hooked up to a heart monitor and a small bandage wrapped around her head. Her headache indicated she had taken a hard fall. Apparently someone found her in her mother's house and carried her there. She heard a low moan from behind the sheet that separated her from the next bed. "Hello?" she called. "Do you need me to call a nurse?" The only reply was more muffled moans.

When the nurse arrived, the mayor asked about the person in the next bed. The nurse indicated she couldn't reveal who it was due to patient confidentiality laws, and told the mayor they couldn't speak anyway as their mouth had been sewn shut by some sick criminal. The nurse did reveal that a retired doctor, wearing all black and a stethoscope around their neck, carried the patient to the clinic to safety. The mayor knew it was one of the citizens of Wakananababoo, and was thankful both doctors were still alive.

Due to her confinement in the clinic, the mayor texted everyone in town on their cell phones and set up a virtual town meeting to discuss the next execution. She did not reveal what she knew about the mystery patient behind the sheet, but realized that texting would also enable them to participate in the vote. "Please," she wrote, "find the mafia and kill them, before we all lose are lives and, more importantly, Wakananababoo is permanently scarred by the opening of a Six Flags. Hurry!"

It is now DAY. The doctors have foiled the mafia's plans once again. There are still 11 citizens, which means 6 votes to kill. Good luck.

NIGHT 5: calling in for backup

Eric or Shirley, Eric or Shirley? The town had a hard time deciding and, in the end, they never did quite decide. The town was torn in two, some believing Eric and some believing Shirley. In the end they squeaked out a majority by one vote, Shirley was to be executed at dusk.

It was the mayor's job to ultimately sign off on how someone's death was to be executed. She was faced with a horrible dilemma. How do you respectfully kill the person who gave you life, especially when you aren't fully convinced of her guilt.

Wakananababoo was quite remote which made it imperative to have several evacuation plans in place in case of valcano erruption, earthquake or tsunami. The island had one submarine, two bomb shelters, and a small fleet of hot air balloons. Even though the mayor knew her mother was terrified of heights, she decided she would give her mother a fighting chance. At dusk Shirley was placed in a hot air balloon and released into the sunset. Tears flowed.

About an hour after her mother disappeared into the pink and orange horizon, the mayor was at her mother's house going through her things when she received a call. "Shirley Hutchinson? This is Detective Marshall with the FBI. I understand you need our help. Unfortunately we will be unable to come to Wakananababoo as our geologists tell us your island is in imminent danger due to..." The mayor didn't hear the rest of his explanation, her mother was obviously a detective, and she had fainted on the spot.

It is is now NIGHT. Those with night roles need to email me by midnight tonight. My poor mother...

DAY 4: Wakanana Crabs

The mayor woke up with a massive headache and her lungs burned. That hairspray really took a toll on her. The sun had just started creeping up over the horizon and she began rubbing her eyes. Everyone left in town was still laying there after the group fainting, a few seemed to just begin to stir. The mayor finally was able to open her eyes, stand up and survey the scene. She noticed footprints going to and from the hut, and what appeared to be a long mark of something (or someone) being dragged in the sand.

A few yards away the mayor discovered a large hole filled with Wakanana Crabs. Wakanana Crabs were known for their fatal pinchers. They had been known to kill entire villages by swarming them and then pinching the bodies until they bled to death. These crabs, however, appeared to be peacefully sleeping. This certainly was unusual. She took a stick, moved a few crabs around, and found a bottle laying at the bottom of the pit: Prescription Sleeping Pills.

One of the undercover doctors had been successful, the pit did not contain any bodies. The mafia had been thwarted once again!

It is now DAY until tomorrow at midnight. This game seems to be trickier than the last time, the doctors are having more success. Good luck, citizens!

NIGHT 4: disappear in a cloud of...hairspray?

It didn't take long for the town to decide who to kill. Mr. Jay, trusted by most in town, recommended Hillary's death and the majority of the town went along with him. Hillary declared her innocence, but her revelation fell on deaf ears.

The mayor went down to the local drugstore and picked up twelve bottles of hairspray. She returned to the beach where Hillary had been tied together with palm leaves, handed one bottle to each citizen, and counted down. "Three, two, one, GO!"

At first Hillary seemed quite unaffected by the fumes directed her way. We can assume her lungs had become quite accustomed to the toxins by the superior height of her lovely bangs. After nearly 15 minutes engulfed by the hairspray cloud, Hillary finally fell.

The town hurried over to her hut and did a quick search. Under the floorboards they discovered nearly 20 hollowed out coconuts, the communication tool of choice for the mafia of Wakananbaboo. The town cheered, and then they all fainted right there in Hillary's hut. It seems the lingering fumes were too much for them.

It is now NIGHT. Those with night roles should email me by tonight at midnight. As always, there is to be NO communciation during the night, on the blog or otherwise.