`Werewolves' Cards

Cards for Playing the `Werewolves' Game

October 1997

Way, way back in 1997, Zarf introduced me (and most of his other friends) to the "Werewolves" game. Also known as "Werewolf" or "Mafia", this is a game of paranoia and betrayal. It's sort of a short-term role-playing game, but there are no dice. It doesn't actually need cards, but most people use cards to assign the roles each player will take.

Zarf had a set of cards he'd hand drawn, but I wanted a set of cards that were a little swankier, and more uniquely mine. I laid everything out in FrameMaker, and since I lack any real drawing skills, I used some FM clipart for the pictures. Some people think the pictures are cute, and I certainly agree. I think the fact that each Villager card is different also makes things a little more fun. Since most of the time you'll be a Villager, having each each different adds a tiny little bit of variety. The Werewolf cards are also different from each other, though only slightly.

In 1999, I thought about packaging my cards with Zarf's rules and selling the set for a few bucks through Contagious Dreams. For various reasons, that project didn't go anywhere. The Looneys now have their own set of cards for sale, with nice drawings done by Alison Frane.

If you're the type who'd rather not pay for anything you can get for free, feel free to download my designs and print them out. This PDF has four pages. Print out the first two pages (the backs), then flip them over and print out pages 3 and 4 (the fronts). I recommend using the heaviest card stock you can find. Then, cut at the crop marks and you're good to go!