FAQ:
What do we do if everyone is a civilian?
A: You wouldn’t know until the end, but probably it means it’ll be an uneventful game where the civilians win. Unfortunately, there’s not a great solution for this.
How do we know who the Guardian and Alien are?
A: You don’t. This entire game centers on assumed roles, identities, and personalities as a facilitation for immersion and emotional ‘buy-in’. There is always a chance that you, the player, aren’t who you think you are. Players have to make uninformed and flexible assumptions to proceed. There’s always a chance you’re accidentally sabotaging yourself. Part of the game is navigating this uncertainty.
What does the Guardian do?
A: The Guardian is not so much of a wielder of special abilities as it is a personality bestowed upon a player. A further element of immersion and an encouragement to take on some extra responsibility or devote some more emotional buy-in to the outcome of the game. The primary tension and responsibility of the Guardian is to follow and combat sabotage patterns. If one person is continually putting in high value positive cards for small totals, you as the guardian may want to recognize this and anticipate a spike in the sum by themself adding a high value negative card. However, if they followed the pattern wrong, their support then becomes self-sabotage. Balancing the uncertainty while bearing the responsibility of ‘The Guardian’ is the point of this role.