The three of you stop by Umbrave’s room to collect the game, then find a table at the back of one of the common rooms to set it up. The box it’s in is long and wooden, with the name Tower of Spirit wood-burned across the top. Once he opens it and starts taking things out, you see it looks rather complex, with a game board, a multitude of little tile pieces, and a variety of cards.

“Have you ever played this before, Umbrave?” you ask, admiring a little hexagon shaped tile with a forest painted on one side.

“Yes, I think this is one we played last summer when I went home for a stint.” Examining the little book with the instructions, he nods. “I only played it a few times, but I remember the basics. It’s at its heart a cooperative game, where the players work together to gather resources and build a little society– and we win when we complete this monument thing in the face of natural disasters that can happen and such. However, it’s interesting in the fact that you can play with one of the players pretending to be a good guy, but in reality, they’re playing as a ‘Red follower’.”

Kess’s eyebrows arch up. “Really? One of us would choose to be evil in the game?”

“Well, it’d be random, as we’d pick player cards to decide it. We don’t have to, though. But if we do, the player who gets the ‘Red follower’ card can then play along, pretending to help, but secretly sabotaging the other players’ efforts to build the monument. The other players can then try to weed him out, or just try to build it despite him. We win when the monument is built, but the Red follower wins if they stop us before the last turn, or if they managed to sneak in the sabotage card into the monument without the other players noticing.” He grins. “I think we should play with the Red follower. It’ll be more fun.”

Kess wrinkles her nose. “I don’t know, Umbrave. I’m not sure I want to play a game where I’m trying to backstab my friends.”

“It’s a game, Kess– the point is to win whether you’re pretending to be evil or not.” He shrugs. “What about you, Rei? You tie break it: play with the Red follower card or no?”

You decide,