Which characters can be dropped??

[baloo]

Sorry if I'm a bit dense, but after reading through the C.F. bumf I'm still none the wiser as to which characters I can leave out without effecting the plot if I only have 17 guests attending. The guest list that I have gives 22 names, but doesn't say which ones are 'extras'.
Can anyone help?!?

[thekid]

I am not connected to Freeform Games but have purchased this game so I thought I could perhaps give some advice.

Check out chapter 5 of the instruction file. It tells about the casting of the game and has a nice table (page 9) telling exactly what characters to use and which to drop for various numbers of guests.

So for 17 guests, you use all guests listed for '15 Guests', plus the characters listed at '16 guests' and '17 guests'.

The ones you leave out are the ones listed under '18 guests', '19 guests' and '20 guests'.

Hope this helped some, otherwise you need to wait for a more official answer.

[mo]

That's it exactly, thank you Pedro!

Lynda, please do email me directly (click my name to the left here) if there's anything more I can tell you,

best wishes,

Mo

[baloo]

DOH! Thanks Pedro & Mo! Just after I posted, I read through the instructions PROPERLY and realised which characters can be dropped. I'm a numpty!! ;)
I'm now going through the hosts files and sorting characters out. Any tips? I'm numbering the pieces of paper for each character before enveloping so that they don't look at all of them together.
I have to admit that I'm getting slightly worried as it's beggining to look a bit complicated!! We have done quite a few 'boxed' MM's, but they don't seem to have as much detail.

[thekid]

For the hand outs found in the host file, you should initially have them all yourself. You should NOT put them into the envelope of characters. When I host games, I have my own envelope were I put all such 'host stuff'. Each hand-out is of course cut out separately (typically there is 2 or 3 on each A4 paper you print out).

At the appropriate time you should then hand each hand-out to the the character that should have it. To find out what hand-out you should deliver at what time and to whom, check out chapter 8 of the instruction file.

There is a brief summary in the 'Host's Quick Reference Sheet' although it doesn't tell exactly who would get hand-outs. I find having Chapter 8 of the instruction file 'On the Day - Hosting Casino Fatale' printed out separately and with me all the time helps a lot. It is basically a more comprehensive list of what you should do than the Quick Reference Sheet. I kept chapter 8 stapled together with the Quick Reference Sheet so that I could look up the details when needed.

To help yourself finding the various hand-outs in your own envelope (or were ever you keep them), it indeed helps making a note in advance in the upper corner of them, for example with the time they should be delivered.

So for example (this is how I did it), when time is approaching 9:00 (or whatever it might be in your specific game), you note in the Quick Reference Chart that there is something to do and you check out Chapter 8 for more information in detail. If there is some hand-outs it will tell who and you can quickly find those hand-outs in your own envelope if they say '9:00' in the upper corner. The hand-out themselves will then also state who should have it so that you can confirm it. You then deliver the hand outs to the individual characters in whatever way you feel good.

Preferably you should read through the Quick Reference Sheet and chapter 8 in the instruction file a few times in advance when preparing the game. You don't need to know it by heart, but it is nice knowing more or less what should happen and when in advance.

Did this help anything or answer any of your questions? I was slightly unsure exactly what your problem was. In addition, I don't want to tell any specific case to avoid telling game secrets. And yes, this game seems to have relatively many hand-outs for the host to handle compared to other FreeForm Games.

[mo]

Thank you Pedro, that's very good advice! I also keep a printed copy of the 'On the Day' section together with the Quick Reference Sheet when I'm hosting.