2006-09-04

### Cruel 2 B Kind

[![cruel 2 b kind](/space/cruel2bkind.jpg)](http://cruelgame.com/)

[Jane McGonigal](http://avantgame.com/) is a consummate game
designer. She just finished her PhD at Berkeley, focused on
[ludology](http://google.com/search?q=define%3Aludology), and she's worked on a
number of important [ARG](http://argn.com/)s, including
[The Go Game](http://www.thegogame.com/),
[The Beast](http://cloudmakers.org/),
[I Love Bees](http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,65365,00.html), and
[Last Call Poker](http://www.lastcallpoker.com/).

Last Sunday, I dragged Becca up to
[Dolores Park](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolores_Park) to playtest Jane's newest
game, [cruel 2 b kind](http://cruelgame.com/). It's basically
[Assassins](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassin_\(game\)), that
age-old dorm favorite, but with a couple twists.

The game is condensed into a couple hours, instead of a few weeks, which makes
it both more fun _and_ doable for normal people. More importantly, you play in
public places, which adds a lot more suspense. You never know for sure who's
playing and who's not...until you kill them, of course, or they kill you.

For more, check out Jane's
[liveblog](http://avantgame.blogspot.com/2006/09/live-blogging-1st-cruel-2-b-kind.html)
and
[recap](http://avantgame.blogspot.com/2006/09/after-climactic-bloodbath.html)
of the playtest. Sadly, due to a technical glitch, Becca and I didn't actually
get to play. It was the world premiere, though, so it's understandable that
they're working out the kinks.

If you're in the Bay Area or New York,
[sign up for the next playtest!](http://www.cruelgame.com/signup/)