 Revival of Avatar Neoboard Games? A Guide to Playing
by paulinale
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As users begin to surf the neoboards again after perhaps a decade-long hiatus, waves of nostalgia may hit them as they read the board title “Avatar Simon: let’s see what you’ve got!” or “Let’s play a round of Avatar Survivor!” These games were a staple of the avatar boards and allowed users to show off their avatars, while having a little competitive fun with their neofriends. However, some of us have forgotten the rules, how to host, or how to start one of these boards. Fear not, if you wanted to play a round of either Avatar Simon or Avatar Survivor and you forgot where to begin, you have come to the right place. This guide will take you step-by-step on how to play these games and what you should post on the boards if you want to start one of these games.
Avatar Simon We will start with the simpler Avatar Simon, which is a game modelled after “Simon Says,” but just using your avatars. How to play: The host of the board is Simon and will post a set of 10 avatars that players have to post with as well. The winner(s) is the one who has the most avatars out of those 10 posted and gets bragging rights. To begin, the host will change their avatar and post on the board “1/10,” indicating this is the first avatar out of ten. All players will then follow, changing their avatar and posting “1/10” if they have the avatar or “0/10” if they do not. The host will usually wait a few minutes for all players to post before moving onto the next one, and they will change their avatar again and post “2/10.” Players will then change their avatar again and add one to the numerator of the fraction they have been posting if they have that avatar. For example, if a player has had both avatars the host posted, their next post will read “2/10” with the new current avatar. However, if a player had the first avatar the host posted, but did not have the newest avatar posted, then they will post “1/10” and keep their current avatar. If a player has had neither the first nor the second one, obviously they cannot change their avatar and will post “0/10.” This will continue on until all 10 avatars have been posted by the host. Variations: Hosts may choose to do more than 10 avatars for a longer game. Sometimes, the host chooses avatars that have an underlying theme. “Sudden death” – where players are eliminated immediately once they do not have an avatar. How to start a game: If you wish to host, see how to play above, then make your board on the Avatars/NeoSignatures board with a title stating something about playing Avatar Simon. Your first post should say something to this effect: “Hello everyone! Let’s play Avatar Simon! I will host. The game will consist of 10 avatars. We will start when we have 5 players. Post your favourite colour to join. You also can join later after we have started, just catch up and post with all the avatars that have been chosen.” Avatar Simon is a game that allows for players to join in after starting as they can just consecutively post past avatars chosen to catch up to the current avatar. Keep that in mind when you host so you allow as many people as possible to join in on the fun! Avatar Survivor Avatar Survivor can get a little more competitive and subjective compared to Avatar Simon. Eventually, the winner is selected by votes from other players. How to play: The host of the board will establish how many rounds there are based on the number of players. The number of rounds will usually be one less than the total number of players (excluding the host or any tie-breaker rounds). Unlike Avatar Simon, once Avatar Survivor starts, unfortunately, no one can join in late because it would be unfair to players who have already been voted out in prior rounds. The host of the game will pick a theme at the start of each round. Based on that theme, players will choose an avatar that they believe fits that theme the best and post on the board with that avatar. Each player has to choose a unique avatar. In the event that two or more players choose the same avatar, whoever posted on the board first gets to keep that avatar, everyone else has to go back and change their avatar to a different one. So pick quickly! After all players have chosen an avatar, the host will ask for everyone to vote for who they believe has the worst/ill-fitting avatar for that theme. Then, players will neomail the host with who they wish to vote out. Avoid posting your vote on the board so you do not hurt any feelings. Sometimes, players will choose based on how well the avatar fits the theme; sometimes, players will choose on purely aesthetics of the avatar; and sometimes, players will choose based on how easy/hard the avatar is to obtain. Most of the time, players use a combination of these to determine who they will vote out. After all votes have been cast via neomail, the host will announce which player had the most votes against them and that player is eliminated. Once you are eliminated, the host normally allows you to continue to vote (this may vary if the host wishes to not have eliminated players participate any further). This continues until one player is left standing. In the event of a tie, the host can ask everyone to re-vote between the two people or the host can be the tie-breaking vote. The host can also settle ties with a tiebreaker round, in which another theme is chosen, but only the players who tied will participate in that round, and everyone votes again. If too many players are tied (i.e. 5-way tie), the host can decide to just null the round and pick a new topic/theme. Essentially, the host can just choose how they wish to settle ties. In the final round, when there are only two players left, all eliminated players will cast their vote for who they want to win. To encourage eliminated players to stick around on the board, the host usually allows them to continue to vote and chat even after elimination. Variations: Hosts can be more restrictive on avatars used if they wish to make it harder, such as not allowing clickables or default avatars. Hosts can make it harder by changing their avatar to fit the theme as well and not allowing any players to choose the avatar the host has chosen. How to start a game: If you wish to host, see how to play above, then make your board on the Avatars/NeoSignatures board with a title stating something about playing Avatar Survivor. Your first post should say something to this effect: “Hello everyone! Let’s play Avatar Survivor! I will host. The game will consist of 10 avatars. We will start when we have 5 players. Maximum of 8 players. Post your favourite colour to join. Once first round voting has begun, no more players can join.” In a second post (for character count purposes), I will usually state the typical rules and any twists or edits to the rules I wish, including how I will deal with ties: “Rules: I will pick a theme, you can choose any avatar that you believe fits the theme. At the end of each round, you will vote for the player whose avatar you feel fits the theme the worst by neomailing me. Player with the most votes will be eliminated. In the case of a tie, I will be the tiebreaking vote. After you’re eliminated, stick around as you can keep voting each round and we will need you to determine the winner in the last round!” Avatar Survivor is a little more complicated, but it can be a lot of fun with unique themes. It can be fast-paced and get your adrenaline up as you frantically search your list of avatars for the one you want before another player chooses that avatar. Now, what are you waiting for? Go play a game and ride the nostalgia!
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