Anyone have a solution for the systematic pacing failure that seems to be inherent in the game?
Assume that you want a collapse or near-collapse state at the end of the game (for a tension-filled conclusion).
Per the designers in
this thread, it takes about 30 pulls to reach a collapse-state on the tower, the RAW only reduces the time between collapse-states by 10% (3 additional blocks per character knocked out). That means in a two-collapse game, one of the players will be sitting out of the action for nearly half the game. In a three-collapse game, one of the players will be sitting out for 60% of the game. Even if you manage to double the pace of pulls after the first collapse (which is unlikely), the situation doesn't improve much.
(Note: This is not a "you got knocked out surprisingly early" situation for which certain options are given in the text.)
Not a problem, of course, if you've got a pool of players who don't mind being completely passive spectators for long periods of time. But the "no chatter" rule exacerbates a problem which is widely recognized as a bad idea in general game design circles.
The logical conclusion would seem to be pacing for games featuring a single collapse-state: People aren't "supposed" to be eliminated except for possibly an elimination during the final climactic struggle. This makes the game considerably narrower in its utility, but appears to be the only way to easily resolve the "bored player" syndrome.
But this solution only calls attention to the other problem the game has: Tension deflation following a tower collapse.
Theoretically, this models the traditional horror pacing of "tension rises, something bloody happens, and then tension starts rising again". But the player elimination problem forces us to abandon that pacing. And even if we
didn't do that, the same problem exists at the end of the game: There's no way to quickly ratchet the tension back up.
Bill is killed by the werewolf and then... the werewolf isn't scary any more and we mop him up.
(Hypothetically, the host should make the werewolf run off and then come back later. But the problem is effectively repetitive: Whenever the tension ratchets up to the point where you can trigger an effective conclusion, there's a high-risk for a collapse... And since a collapse always indicates failure, it means the actual conclusion will happen AFTER the collapse. The game tends to either (a) end on a whimper or (b) a sacrifice. The latter is effective... but only up to the point where it becomes predictable.)
The problem appears to be insoluble. Which is a pity because the basic mechanic of pulling Jenga blocks and building the tower is, in fact, incredibly effective at generating tension around the game table.