Caught in the Act

Caught in the Act is a thrilling game of espionage and evidence-gathering to be played by 3-9 people in a bar setting. The game was developed over the course of about 12 hours during the Adventure Game Jam (August 15th-16th) in San Francisco. The game was playtested with many groups of people, and is a great game to play if you don't mind getting a few weird stares.

Caught in the Act was showcased at the San Francisco Come out and Play festival in October 2014, as well as IndieCade in the "Big Games Showcase".

The game is online and can be played at any time, if you have a few people around. Check it out!

Instructions summary:

The game consists of two teams: the security and the heist crew. The heist crew must perform 3 of the 6 actions given to them, without the security team identifying which actions they chose to perform. Actions include regular bar activities such as buying a stranger a drink, drinking from two straws, or folding a paper napkin into an airplane.

At the end of a 10 minute timer, the security wins if they can correctly identify which activities the heist crew chose.

The game, while on the surface fairly simple, creates a number of interesting and dynamic play experiences. Players must navigate the bar physically and socially to achieve their tasks, as many tasks involve interacting with strangers. The game is somewhat self-balancing, and adapts well to a number of different bar environments.

The game was developed in combination with Gabe Smedresden, Kate Spacek, Erik Koland, and Sam Bobra.