I’ve never been one for party games. Something like Musical Chairs is manageable, but anything that involves me having to stand up and sing as punishment is a serious no-no. But yesterday’s game of Killer & Cop is one I would never want to forget!
For those of you who have never played the game, the rules are simple enough. Any number of people can play. Every player has to pick up a chit. Most of these chits are blank, but the unlucky two, or lucky as your point of view might be, are named ‘killer’ and ‘cop’. The killer’s task is to kill all the remaining players by winking at them, without unwittingly revealing himself to the hidden cop. The cop, predictably, has the task of identifying and revealing the killer.
The more the players, the more interesting the game can get. And we certainly had a very interesting game as more than 15 of my family members, spanning three generations, sat down to play this game at the urging of my eight year old cousin. Since most of us had never played this game before, the results were hilarious. In fact, if I recall correctly, there was only one successful round of Killer & Cop. All the rest could easily fall under the bloopers category.
Round 1
We’re not sure how many people are playing. So we decide, just to be on the safe side, to make more number of chits. No one seems to realize the potential danger of the ‘killer’ and ‘cop’ chit not actually being picked up. The chits are distributed while we all work out our strategies. My mom’s strategy is to Avoid Eye Contact. Better alive that dead, she says. A minute ticks by while we all wait expectantly for something to happen. By this time my mom has already given up on her strategy. My dad (you gotta love this guy) has no clue what’s happening. All he knows is that if someone winks at him, he has to declare himself dead. Suddenly he sees my mom winking at him. (Later we all decided it was the shock of seeing something that has never happened before). Excitedly he declares “I’m dead, I’m dead. She winked at me!” Instant uproar. We’re all holding our sides rolling with laughter and waiting for the cop to out the killer, which it turns out is not my mom!
Round 2
This time we made sure that the number of chits matched the number of players. We’re all picking up our chits one by one. By now people have discovered the joy of randomly winking. I pick up my chit only to discover that I’m the killer. I’m all set to embark on my killing spree when my bro declares he’s dead! I turn around trying to figure out what’s happening. In the meantime my bro realizes that the person who winked at him wasn’t even playing the game! Hallelujah! It’s a miracle. He’s alive!
My plan is back in action. I’m desperately trying to catch by cousin’s eye, when my aunt declares she’s dead! What on earth!? I glare around trying to figure out who the pseudo-killer is, when my cousin declares he’s dead! Or not. Maybe. He’s not too sure. He’s in a coma!
By now I’ve pretty much given up, clearly I’m not cut out for a life of crime. Besides, the cop thought my uncle was the killer.
Round 3
We never really figured out who the killer or cop was in this round. My dad (he entertained us throughout!) had till now been closely examining both sides of every chit he received. The expression of stark relief seen every time had been a clear indication that he was a soon-to-be victim. But this time, horror of horror’s, there was something written on his chit! The only problem was he couldn’t make out if it was a ‘C’ or a ‘K’… Ta da! Out came the glasses! A brief interval was required while we all nursed our aching sides.
Round 4
Sweet old ladies are just not killer material. Take my grandmother for instance. Though to give her credit she did try valiantly to kill us. She just had a little problem with the method. You see, she couldn’t wink. She’d stare at us intently and blink, and we would happily blink and smile back. Finally getting desperate she turned to my uncle at her right and blinked rapidly. My uncle, always quick on the uptake, leaned towards her and in a loud stage whisper asked, “Winking? Are you winking?” Before turning and announcing to the crowd, “I am dead.”
Round 5
The round seemed to be progressing nicely. The killer had claimed quite a few victims and somehow managed to elude the cop. Rumours were rampant of his possible identity. My dad by this time was getting bored. It was quite clear that he had a blank chit. Morosely he declared, “No one is winking at me,” five seconds before, coincidently, the killer winked at him. Shocked he pointed to my brother. “I’m dead!”
And so the game continued, each round invariably ending with us rolling on the floor. We managed to live through chit-swapping (all their chits were blank, but you would have never guessed it from the groans of dismay coming from the swapping parties), suicide attempts, mass homicide, criminal plots before finally we just had to stop. The laughter was killing us.
For those of you who have never played the game, the rules are simple enough. Any number of people can play. Every player has to pick up a chit. Most of these chits are blank, but the unlucky two, or lucky as your point of view might be, are named ‘killer’ and ‘cop’. The killer’s task is to kill all the remaining players by winking at them, without unwittingly revealing himself to the hidden cop. The cop, predictably, has the task of identifying and revealing the killer.
The more the players, the more interesting the game can get. And we certainly had a very interesting game as more than 15 of my family members, spanning three generations, sat down to play this game at the urging of my eight year old cousin. Since most of us had never played this game before, the results were hilarious. In fact, if I recall correctly, there was only one successful round of Killer & Cop. All the rest could easily fall under the bloopers category.
Round 1
We’re not sure how many people are playing. So we decide, just to be on the safe side, to make more number of chits. No one seems to realize the potential danger of the ‘killer’ and ‘cop’ chit not actually being picked up. The chits are distributed while we all work out our strategies. My mom’s strategy is to Avoid Eye Contact. Better alive that dead, she says. A minute ticks by while we all wait expectantly for something to happen. By this time my mom has already given up on her strategy. My dad (you gotta love this guy) has no clue what’s happening. All he knows is that if someone winks at him, he has to declare himself dead. Suddenly he sees my mom winking at him. (Later we all decided it was the shock of seeing something that has never happened before). Excitedly he declares “I’m dead, I’m dead. She winked at me!” Instant uproar. We’re all holding our sides rolling with laughter and waiting for the cop to out the killer, which it turns out is not my mom!
Round 2
This time we made sure that the number of chits matched the number of players. We’re all picking up our chits one by one. By now people have discovered the joy of randomly winking. I pick up my chit only to discover that I’m the killer. I’m all set to embark on my killing spree when my bro declares he’s dead! I turn around trying to figure out what’s happening. In the meantime my bro realizes that the person who winked at him wasn’t even playing the game! Hallelujah! It’s a miracle. He’s alive!
My plan is back in action. I’m desperately trying to catch by cousin’s eye, when my aunt declares she’s dead! What on earth!? I glare around trying to figure out who the pseudo-killer is, when my cousin declares he’s dead! Or not. Maybe. He’s not too sure. He’s in a coma!
By now I’ve pretty much given up, clearly I’m not cut out for a life of crime. Besides, the cop thought my uncle was the killer.
Round 3
We never really figured out who the killer or cop was in this round. My dad (he entertained us throughout!) had till now been closely examining both sides of every chit he received. The expression of stark relief seen every time had been a clear indication that he was a soon-to-be victim. But this time, horror of horror’s, there was something written on his chit! The only problem was he couldn’t make out if it was a ‘C’ or a ‘K’… Ta da! Out came the glasses! A brief interval was required while we all nursed our aching sides.
Round 4
Sweet old ladies are just not killer material. Take my grandmother for instance. Though to give her credit she did try valiantly to kill us. She just had a little problem with the method. You see, she couldn’t wink. She’d stare at us intently and blink, and we would happily blink and smile back. Finally getting desperate she turned to my uncle at her right and blinked rapidly. My uncle, always quick on the uptake, leaned towards her and in a loud stage whisper asked, “Winking? Are you winking?” Before turning and announcing to the crowd, “I am dead.”
Round 5
The round seemed to be progressing nicely. The killer had claimed quite a few victims and somehow managed to elude the cop. Rumours were rampant of his possible identity. My dad by this time was getting bored. It was quite clear that he had a blank chit. Morosely he declared, “No one is winking at me,” five seconds before, coincidently, the killer winked at him. Shocked he pointed to my brother. “I’m dead!”
And so the game continued, each round invariably ending with us rolling on the floor. We managed to live through chit-swapping (all their chits were blank, but you would have never guessed it from the groans of dismay coming from the swapping parties), suicide attempts, mass homicide, criminal plots before finally we just had to stop. The laughter was killing us.
