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Geek Girl Authority
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
How to Master Bluffing Tactics in Popular Tabletop Games
Bluffing is one of the most entertaining mechanics in tabletop gaming. Whether you're trying to outwit your friends in a tense round of The Resistance , baiting an opponent in Coup , or trying not to smile during a game of Skull , the art of deception often means the difference between winning and losing. While strategy and planning play a big role in tabletop gaming, bluffing adds another layer of complexity, one that leans into social cues, timing, and sometimes outright lying. A good bluff creates tension. It shifts suspicion, confuses opponents, and forces others at the table to second-guess their choices. Unlike in traditional games of skill, bluffing hinges not just on what cards or resources you hold, but on what others think you might be hiding. Mastering this skill requires a mix of boldness, restraint, and psychological awareness. The Poker Parallel: Where Bluffing Began Many of the best bluffing strategies used in modern tabletop games have their roots in classic card games, most notably poker. In poker, bluffing is a key tactic in which players bet and raise when they have strong hands, but also when they're attempting to force opponents to fold. Bluffing well in poker involves controlling body language, managing betting patterns, and understanding player tendencies. The same principles can be applied when bluffing in various tabletop games. This skill isn't limited to the casino floor. Online poker has become a global phenomenon, and every serious player knows the value of well-timed deception. While playing at a general iGaming platform or in an online poker room , players rely less on physical cues and more on timing, betting behavior, and opponent history. These sites usually also offer added benefits like fast payouts, bonuses, and other perks that can be used to augment betting strategies. Platforms like these also show how digital poker has evolved, allowing for strategic bluffing even without face-to-face interaction. Players learn to pick up on hesitation in bet timing or on sudden aggression as telltale signs of a bluff or a trap. Learning these cues is essential to the game. Know the Rules Before You Bend Them Before attempting to bluff in a tabletop game, it's important to understand the rules inside and out. Bluffing only works when others believe you're playing within the rules. In Sheriff of Nottingham , for instance, the whole game revolves around lying about what's in your bag of goods. You can declare you're transporting cheese when you're smuggling crossbows, but if the Sheriff knows how the rules work and sees you getting too confident, they may decide to inspect. Knowing the rules allows you to fake certainty or feign ignorance depending on what the situation requires. In games like Secret Hitler or Blood on the Clocktower , knowledge is power. Players who seem unsure of the rules become easier targets for suspicion, while those who are confident can manipulate the table with ease. Control Your Reactions In games where bluffing is allowed or expected, your face is part of the game board. Facial expressions, hesitation, eye contact, and tone of voice all communicate more than you might intend. If you're someone who cracks under pressure, practice saying lies out loud with a steady tone and neutral body language. A successful bluff doesn't look like a bluff. In games such as The Resistance : Avalon , players are often forced to lie outright about their loyalty. Someone who fidgets too much, avoids eye contact, or nervously defends themselves might seem suspicious, even when they're telling the truth. On the other hand, players who remain too quiet or neutral can attract suspicion for different reasons. For this reason, striking a balance between participation and restraint is key. Use Information as a Weapon In social deduction games, information is currency. How you share or withhold it can shape perceptions around the table. In Codenames , the spymaster has to give clues without giving away too much. While not a bluffing game per se, the psychology is similar: one must carefully choose what others know and guess how it might be interpreted. In bluffing-heavy games like Coup , it's all about claiming power roles you may not actually have. Knowing what roles are still in play and understanding what opponents are likely to do helps craft believable bluffs. If you know someone is likely holding a Contessa, claiming to have one yourself might be riskier. However, if several have been revealed already, it becomes more believable. Timing is Everything Bluffing too often makes it predictable. The best deceivers pick their moments. If you're always bluffing, opponents will eventually catch on. In Bang! , claiming to be the renegade every game gets old fast. Vary your behavior and give others a chance to question what's real and what's a trick. There are also moments in games where bluffing can change the tide dramatically. Late-game rounds in Skull become tense because one wrong call can cost you the game. That's the perfect time to raise a bet and bluff hard, when it's all or nothing. A calm demeanor, even when you're bluffing big, will unsettle players who are second-guessing their own moves. Understand Your Group Every gaming group has different social dynamics. Some players are more confrontational, some more passive, and others enjoy causing chaos. Bluffing in a group of first-time players may call for more subtlety. In contrast, seasoned gamers might expect double-bluffs or calculated risks. If your group is more logic-based, craft bluffs with game mechanics in mind. For social groups that thrive on chaos and conversation, focus more on emotional manipulation and storytelling. Being able to read your group and adjust your approach is a skill that will serve you across all games that include deception. Learn From Each Game One of the best ways to get better at bluffing is through experience. Win or lose, think about what worked and what didn't. Did someone call your bluff too quickly? Did you get away with a bold move? Keeping mental notes or journaling your strategies can help you become more unpredictable in future sessions. Sometimes the bluff isn't about you. It's about planting seeds of doubt in someone else's mind or letting two other players clash while you fly under the radar. Bluffing is as much about guiding the narrative as it is about hiding your own intentions. The next time you sit down at the table, pay attention to more than just your cards. Watch your friends, time your moves, and remember: the truth is only powerful if no one knows it's real. In the world of tabletop games, a good bluff is worth far more than a good hand. 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New York Times
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
10 Travel-Ready Games for Adults (That Aren't a Pack of Playing Cards)
A card game of deception and intrigue, Coup plays quickly, packs up small enough to fit easily in most bags, and encourages you to betray your friends. Coup is a social-deduction, bluffing game that senior staff writer Elissa Sanci describes as a souped-up version of the card game Bullshit. She sticks it in her purse for beer garden hangs, after-dinner drinks, or trips with friends. 'Things can get delightfully out of hand when the game gets going, and I've really had to work on my poker face to get ahead.' It made our list of best beginner board games for adults, in part because it's easy to learn. 'My brain usually goes staticky when someone tries to explain the rules of any game,' Elissa said, 'but I found Coup easy to understand.' You can also teach it to others even after they've had a few beers, and it's nearly as fun with two players as it is with six. Players: two to six two to six Duration: 15 minutes In Anomia, each player gets a different category card ranging from 'Artificial Sweetener' to 'Rock Opera.' The challenge is that you have to pay attention as symbols are drawn, indicating a two-player face-off where you must name an example of something in the other person's category before they name something in yours. It's a surprisingly energetic game that keeps you on your toes and gives competitive players nervous sweats. One downside for public spaces or thin-walled hotels: It can get surprisingly loud as you desperately shout your answers. Players: three to six three to six Duration: 25 minutes Trying to signal what cards everyone else has in their hands is the main focus of this game where cards are all held backwards. The cooperative, communication-based memory game Hanabi involves the simple task of creating sets of cards — but you never see the hand you're dealt. The crux of the game is communicating, via a specific set of rules, to other team members about which cards they have. It's up to you to remember what you've learned. 'It's the horror of watching your friend pick the worst possible card and biting your tongue so you don't blurt out their mistake,' writes game expert and staff writer James Austin in our guide to the best card games. 'That despair is balanced by the sheer joy you feel when you give them a perfectly phrased hint.' Unlike with many other games, the two-player variant is legitimately satisfying. However, matching cards is based on color, so this probably isn't a good option for color-blind players. Players: two to five two to five Duration: 25 minutes Straight out of our guide to the best two-player games is The Fox in the Forest, a charming take on the classic trick-taking card game. It's easy to learn, but its unique scoring system requires strategy if you want to win. You can feasibly play Fox in the Forest on a tray table (as long as there's not a ton of turbulence). Though the game comes with scoring tokens, it's just as easy to score on paper or your phone, which means if you're really short on packing space, you can ditch the box and pack the deck in a rubber band. The game is pretty chill, but if you're extremely competitive and don't want to start fights with your one-and-only traveling companion, consider the cooperative The Fox in the Forest Duet, which is my favorite version, though it takes up a little more table space. (If you frequently travel in a duo, you might also consider the compact, two-player deck-building game Star Realms or the pocket edition of Hive, a chess-like tile-laying game.) Players: two two Duration: 25 minutes A unique and compact bluffing game where one player has no idea what they're drawing. Sadly, the old standby drawing game Pictionary comes in a very big box. Luckily, A Fake Artist Goes to New York fits in the palm of your hand, and all the drawing paper and markers you need are included in the tiny box. The gist of the game is this: Each player, save the Fake Artist, gets the same word. Then, all players draw a picture together that represents that word, with each player contributing a line one at a time. For the Fake Artist, the goal is to stay undetected. For the Real Artists, the goal is to prove to the other Real Artists that they know the word while being oblique enough that the Fake Artist won't catch on. At the end of a round, everyone votes on who they think the Fake Artist is, then the Fake Artist tries to guess the word that was being drawn. The game can be played with up to 10 people, so it's great for family reunions or friend group vacations. Bonus: Kids as young as 8 can probably play along with adults without killing the vibe. Players: five to 10 five to 10 Duration: 20 minutes Impatient word-game lovers will enjoy Bananagrams, which is basically speed Scrabble (without the math). It's a flexible game that can be played with as few as two players and as many as eight. Plus, it's simple to learn and fun for different generations to play at once. Samantha Schoech, a staff writer on the gifts team, takes it on all of her family vacations. We also recommend it in several of our gift guides, including our guide to the best host and hostess gifts. While all the letter tiles fit in a cute little portable banana bag, it is slightly heavier and larger than our other picks in this roundup. The game also requires a large surface area to play, but it's the kind of boardless, sprawling game that begs to be played on the floor and can adjust to awkward spaces. Players: two to eight players two to eight players Duration: 15 minutes A brain-burning cooperative game that can be played in just 15 minutes, with a deck that's slimmer than most wallets. Light packers rejoice: Sprawlopolis, an 18-card cooperative game, is smaller than a wallet, making it the most portable game on the list. The puzzle-like layout game requires a good amount of table space to 'build your city' (read: not for a tray table), but it requires almost no setup time and plays in just 15 minutes, so it's easy to whip out when you have just a little downtime. In our guide to the best card games, writer James describes it as 'a tightly designed—almost cruelly sharp—game that feels damn near impossible to win but remains a joy to bash your head against.' Another bonus: It's a rare gem that sacrifices nothing when you play it solo. (If you're a frequent solo traveler, you might also consider the portable logic-puzzle card game Food Chain Island.) Players: one to four one to four Duration: 15 minutes This series of escape-room-like cooperative games involves solving riddles and puzzles to get out of labs, tombs, and other scary places. The difficulty level depends on the game. Unfortunately, you can only play it once. Exit: The Game, which makes a series of escape-room-style games packed with riddles and puzzles, is surprisingly portable for the expansive, two-hour-ish duration. It's great for a rainy day or a fun night at the Airbnb. Since it's a cooperative game, it works well with a wide range of ages; you can feasibly play with grandparents and grandchildren at the same time, depending on the particular game's difficulty level. But it's also fun with just two adults and can even be played solo. I've played and enjoyed The Secret Lab, while our guide to the best games for families recommends The House of Riddles as a great starter if kids are joining in the fun. (Check the difficulty rating listed on the box before you choose!) One downside: it's a nonreplayable, one-and-done game. Players: one to six one to six Duration: one to two hours Even by card game standards, this game is remarkably small and portable. But the gameplay — which involves assembling the longest runs or largest set of cards you can — is surprisingly expansive. Scout has the highest praise of any in this list: Our board game expert James says he carries it in his backpack almost everywhere he goes. Scout revolves around a unique feature: being dealt a hand of cards you can't rearrange. It's the element James loves most. 'You're forced to choose between small, immediate plays that might have inconsequential payoffs and long-term strategies that depend on the right card coming along at the right time,' he writes in our guide to the best card games. 'It's a delicious tension.' Like many of Oink's games (the brand also makes A Fake Artist Goes to New York), Scout is extremely compact and can be played quickly. But it does have a knock against it: Instead of a scoring pad, the game has scoring tokens that are easy to lose. Players: three to five players (though there is a two-player variant) three to five players (though there is a two-player variant) Duration: 20 minutes Heads Up!, a downloadable party game (iOS, Android) created by Ellen DeGeneres, is one of my personal favorites — it has, more than once, made me laugh until I cried. The game involves putting your phone on your forehead, with the screen facing the group and displaying a digital card with a word or phrase. Players act or talk out what's on the card, and the goal is for you to guess the card on your head, collecting as many as possible in a single minute. It's ideal for groups, though you can feasibly play it with just two players, and many decks are compatible with different age groups (though there are adult- and kid-specific decks available). Plus, you don't even need a table for this one — just the space to be active and a little noisy. The base game costs $2 and comes with several decks, with more available for purchase. My favorite decks are from the Act It Out series, where you act out cards in a duo or group. Players: two or more two or more Duration: two minutes or more This article was edited by Hannah Rimm and Maxine Builder. What I Cover I'm a writer on the discovery team covering travel products, along with related news, fun facts, and tips.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Government expert on Elon Musk and DOGE's "slash-and-burn exercise"
It was a remarkable moment last Tuesday: President Trump standing beside a shiny electric car at the White House making a pitch for the car's maker, Elon Musk: "This man has devoted his energy and his life to doing this. I think he's been treated very unfairly by a very small group of people." For Musk – who spent about $300 million to help Trump win the White House, and who has reportedly pledged millions more to Trump's political efforts – it was a boost for Tesla's image, and a show of solidarity from the president. As he climbed into the driver's seat, Mr. Trump gushed, "Everything's computers!" Tesla protests across the country have been a response to the "Department of Government Efficiency" initiative, known as DOGE. And as the man at its helm, Musk has been presidential confidant, cost-cutter, and government contractor all at once. Molotov cocktails, arson and graffiti: Tesla facilities attacked in wake of Elon Musk's role in the White House When asked about possible conflicts of interest given Musk's role in the Trump administration, Katie Drummond, the global editorial director of Wired (the technology publication that has scored recent scoops about Musk and his associates), says, "It is very clear that there are conflicts of interest across the board. I mean, Elon Musk himself is one giant conflict of interest. "When you think about SpaceX, Starlink, Tesla, you think about all of these companies that are in some way, shape or form regulated and overseen by different agencies of the federal government," Drummond said. "And then you remember that the person who owns and runs all of these companies is flying on Air Force One with President Trump. Of course it's a conflict of interest." Inside Elon Musk's "Digital Coup" (Wired)DOGE's foreign aid cuts have sparked "total chaos" around the world (Wired) After years of covering Silicon Valley, Wired was ready to cover the ascent of tech billionaires into politics. [Last year, the magazine endorsed Trump's opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.] But in January, present at Trump's inauguration were Musk and other Silicon Valley billionaires. Asked if that represented a new power structure in this country, Drummond said, "It's a power structure that has been growing for a while now. But I thought that the inauguration was such a stark moment of realization – I think should be a moment of realization for everyone in the United States – about who really runs this country." And who is running it? Elon Musk? Or President Trump? "The technology industry," Drummond replied. "You think about the trillions of dollars involved in all of those companies and those businesses. There is so much power in the technology industry, and when you combine that with, you know, essentially collusion with the federal administration, or at least a willingness to work hand-in-hand with the Trump administration, that's what we're about to see." Newt Gingrich is a Republican former Speaker of the House, and a long-time Trump ally. Asked if he is concerned about possible conflicts of interest given the world's richest man's many business dealings with the federal government, Gingrich said, "Well, I think you always have to look at the danger of conflicts of interest with anybody. But at the same time, I would say that one of the virtues of being as wealthy as he is, is he hardly needs to rig the game." Asked who has oversight over Musk at this point, Gingrich replied, "Donald J. Trump. He is the chief executive officer of the United States. He was elected by the American people, and he's acting as the President of the United States." Gingrich became a household name three decades ago for his own push to shrink the federal government. Asked how today is different, Gingrich opined that the government is "much sicker" now than it was in 1995. "It's had a huge growth of bureaucracy, a huge growth of left-wing ideology, much bigger deficits," he said. "Trump has been campaigning for 10 years. He's found in Elon Musk the kind of person who has the drive, the toughness, the intelligence to really fundamentally take on the 'deep state' and change it in ways that would normally be unthinkable." In the 1990s, Gingrich pressured the Democratic administration of President Bill Clinton to embrace conservative budget cuts. But in the Clinton-era, most reforms came only after months of deliberation and Congressional action – in stark contrast to what's happening today. What is DOGE? Here's what to know about Elon Musk's latest cost-cutting effortsMusk is not an employee of DOGE and "has no actual or formal authority," White House says "Let's be clear: Some people are gonna get hurt, let's be honest," Gingrich said of DOGE's broad cuts to federal programs and staff in virtually every agency. "There'll be some people laid off that probably shouldn't have been. There'll be some contracts that are dropped that probably shouldn't have been." "Or some things that happen where the government just isn't functioning well," I said. "Then the question you have to ask yourself is, on balance, does this system need to be fixed, even if the risk of fixing is gonna be some things that aren't totally a hundred percent?" Gingrich said. "Because you slow down enough to try to avoid any possible mistake, you'll get nothing done." But Elaine Kamarck, a scholar at Washington's Brookings Institution, countered, "You can't just start lopping off whole categories of workers." And what is the outcome if the table of government is tipped over? "People will die," Kamarck said. "It's that serious." In the 1990s, Karmack was effectively the Clinton administration's counterpart to Gingrich, administering what was called Rego: Reinventing Government. She said it was very different from what is being implemented by DOGE and the White House. "What Musk is doing, and Trump, is they're testing the limits of executive power in a way that we did not," she said. "We went through it the old-fashioned way: If we thought a law needed to be changed, we went to Congress and asked them to change it." Asked whether Democrats should work with Musk and President Trump, as Democrats tried with Republicans in the '90s, Karmack said, "I think Democrats should try where they can, absolutely. I think they should try to work with Musk. The problem is there's a total lack of transparency. We don't know who they're cutting. There's no rationale for why they're cutting. They're saying these people are wasteful? What do you mean? What are they doing that is a waste of taxpayers' money? We've gotten none of this. "This is just a sort of slash-and-burn exercise," Karmack said. "This is not a thought-out exercise." In a statement to "CBS Sunday Morning," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that DOGE has been "incredibly transparent," and that "President Trump has stated he will not allow conflicts, and Elon himself has committed to recusing himself from potential conflicts." But Katie Drummond of Wired says concerns about Musk are not going away … and Elon Musk, for now, remains empowered. "It's very clear, and I think should be very clear to anyone who has watched Elon Musk and how he operates for any period of time, his work ethic and his ambitions are limitless," said Drummond. "I think we are really sort of only at the beginning of what has the potential to be a much more seismic transformation of these federal agencies, of the federal infrastructure, for as long as Elon Musk is involved in this transformation." For more info: Wired"The United States of Elon Musk Inc." (Wired Magazine)Elaine Kamarck, founding director, Center for Effective Public Management, Brookings InstitutionNewt Gingrich ( Story produced by Ed Forgotson. Editor: Remington Korper. Trump sends Iran a warning while ordering strikes against Houthis in Yemen Retail giants like Macy's, Walgreens face financial turmoil Senate passes short-term funding bill, averting a government shutdown
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Anti-Trump 50501 Protests Break Out Across the Country
Thousands of protesters gathered at different cities across the country Monday to declare President's Day as 'No Kings Day,' in protest of the unlawful actions of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk to upend the federal government. The swath of protests were organized by the 50501 Movement, a name which refers to 50 protests in 50 states on one day. The group, which originated on social media, previously planned a series of demonstrations that took place earlier this month in response to Musk and Trump's early efforts to overhaul the federal government. Since then, the fascist duo have only continued their plot to cut popular federal programs and launch mass firings of federal employees. In Washington, D.C., thousands of people gathered around the reflecting pool beside the U.S. Capitol building. 'Hey Congress, grow a spine!' they shouted, according to independent journalist Alejandro Alvarez. Alvarez wrote that it was likely the largest demonstration to take place in the capital city since Trump was inaugurated last month. Other protests took place across the country, from Augusta, Maine, to Portland, Oregon, to Sante Fe, New Mexico, to Orlando, Florida. In New York City, a video from Freedom News TV showed thousands of protesters marching through lower Manhattan, cheering to 'Stop the Coup!' In Boston, Massachusetts, nearly 1,000 people marched through the below freezing temperatures shouting, 'No Kings on President's Day!'
