With a few of my friends, I played B*tch I May Have, a spin on the popular getting-to-know-you and party/sleepover game, Never Have I Ever. The game is targeted at groups of 5-10 young adults, and while the game’s creator is unknown, I learned it from my dear friend Katie Littleton. Like Never Have I Ever, B*tch I May Have is played orally, with no need for physical aids or pieces. In B*tch I May Have, players sit in a circle a put up 5 fingers. One member of the circle kicks things off, filling in the blanking “B*tch I may have _____” with a funny or shocking action that they have actually done, as opposed to one they have not done, as in Never Have I Ever. Then, players go around the circle one by one and clap if they have also done the action. Players must also share the story of what happened for group entertainment/discussion. The game ends when one of the players “loses” by being knocked out when they have put down all 5 of their fingers.
While B*tch I May Have differs from our game in that it does not involve direct competition between players, there is only one central “game” as opposed to many minigames, players work solo, and there is no winner, only a loser, there are also a number of ways in which are games are similar. At its core, B*tch I May Have provides a mechanism and prompt by which players are put in positions to expose silly stories about themselves and get to know one another better. Our game, Love Island: The Game, also strives to provide players with prompts and minigames to make getting to know one another goofy and ridiculous.
For example, with our game’s storytelling round players are put in a position where they have to craft funny narratives about themselves and their partners or lean into the information they have already learned about one another and make guesses based on this intuition in the back-to-back round (couples stand back-to-back and point and which one of them is the best answer for “who’s most likely to” questions, attempting to sync up on their answers). Moreover, rounds like recoupling, in which eliminated players can bid to replace a member of couples who are performing poorly, are meant to not only initiate conflict but mimic the fishbowl storytelling and discussion that makes social deduction games fun, but are also the highlights of storytelling-focused games like B*tch I May Have. This core dynamic of having an individual tell a ridiculous tale – whether it be a plea for another player to leave their partner or the confession of a wild night out in B*tch I May Have – is what allows many games to create memories, rather than just interactions. Fundamentally, Love Island: The Game and B*tch I May Have strive to create memorable experiences and stories through ridiculous interaction, despite different manners in creating such opportunities for interaction.
B*tch I May Have thrived in that there was a lot of excitement to play it, since it was a twist on the popular game Never Have I Ever. The game designer was clever to take an old favorite and add a new flavor to it. However, besides this change in premise, the mechanics of the game remained relatively unchanged, and many of the critiques I have of Never Have I Ever I have for B*tch I May Have. For one, sometimes it’s hard for people to come up with something to say, as there’s pressure to be funny or shocking. One friend in particular insisted that we skip her for the first two rounds until she could come up with something “good enough”. I also noted that this variation of Never Have I Ever is definitely best played amongst very close friends. While Never Have I Ever also involves the admission of various activities, the act of directly admitting to an action with the phrase “B*tch I may have ___” is a lot more intimidating. For example, a friend said, “B*tch I may have eaten dinner today,” which is a valid prompt, but one that doesn’t necessarily inspire a lot of engagement. Also, as the “core loop” of activities in the game is very simple (confess, put fingers down, tell stories), later rounds felt less exciting, as there was little variation. With the addition of resources or other complications, the game may be able to maintain the level of excitement felt in the first round. For example, perhaps players who maintain all 5 fingers by the end of the second round earn the right to “grill” another player, asking them 2 Never Have I Ever style questions.
