In Jackbox Party Pack 8, Weapons Drawn is a bluffing game where players draw murder weapons, create guests/accomplices and both commit and solve murders. First a sample drawing is made so other players can “investigate” other’s drawing styles for future murder weapons. Each drawing contains one letter of the player’s name the player must hide in the drawing of the murder weapon. Players create a name for their accomplices who can be murdered if other players chose them and guess who created the guest. Everyone must hide their drawing style, letter, and accomplice or otherwise divert suspicion if found out.
The question is never who the only murderer is, but who committed the murder and whose accomplice is whose. When playing with my friends the first round we weren’t yet aware that we should disguise our actions, so some drawings/accomplices were obvious. As we played, however, we learned more how to imitate each other.
The way I disguised my actions was making drawings using another’s style. I drew one of my friend’s favorite characters to complete the action and successfully evaded suspicion. Now, imitating others is a double edged sword, however, because some players would imitate me and, of course, I knew it was not myself. These accomplices were then easier for me to guess because I could infer who would imitate me.
This experience was different from Among Us where oftentimes lying outright is more applicable. Often in Among Us I simply play dumb rather than imitate others. I suppose, an imposter does attempt to imitate a crew mate, but they do not precisely imitate other’s personal mannerisms.
In a way Weapons Drawn also incorporates judging aspects where all the players vote for who they think committed the murder. There are two voting rounds separated by other murders. If a player guesses correctly in the first round they gain more points. This encourages players to analyze the other players’ characteristics and gather more information throughout the game.
This game likely works best with a group of people who are familiar with each other. I played with my close friends, so we incorporated inside jokes or personal references to try and mislead the others. The addition of having a sample drawing and hidden letter in the drawing can help for groups who are less familiar, but from playing the game the hidden letter was near impossible to spot.
Considering, Weapons Drawn is a bluffing game, players are encouraged to lie and mislead. These actions are not morally incorrect, as they are protected by the “magic circle”. Lying and misleading, specifically in this game, opens up players to read others and be cognizant of their actions and behaviors. By facilitating lying and misdirection, players are more attentive towards others than under regular circumstances. Perhaps the normalization of murder mysteries offers ethical debate, but this is not only a fault of Weapons Drawn. Alternatively players are equally rewarded for murdering and solving murders in this game. I suppose that leaves it morally ambiguous, in a way.
All in all, Weapons Drawn, is primarily a bluffing game about deceiving and imitating others, but also includes aspects of a judging game. You must deceive yet also read others to come out on top as the sneakiest and most-attentive Murderer Detective!
