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3 Laws of Robotics is a stupid game for four to eight players. It’s social deduction with a frustratingly limited amount of time to deduce. With deceit, double-crossing and duplicity. With Androids, AIs and Robots. And where you often end up having to make stupid robot noises.
And despite - or maybe because of - all that, it’s actually quite a hoot.
You have one question, make it a good one
In 3 Laws of Robotics you get to ask just one question each round. And with that one question you need to both work out which faction you’re in (Android, AI or Robot) and what rank (from a lowly first rank to a mighty fourth or fifth rank - depending on player numbers).
But let’s step back a minute. Each round you get one card. That one card shows your faction and rank. And of course, you can’t see that card. That would make the game just a wee bit too easy…
Nope. So you get your card and you hold it up for your fellow players to see. They hold their cards up for everyone else to see. Then you go round the table once. You each get to ask one question of one other player.
And that question can’t be “what faction am I” or “what rank am I”?
Questions over, you need to then decide what rank and faction you’re in, and then either give your security key (another card) to the player who you believe is the highest rank in your faction. Or, you can keep your key if you believe you’re the highest ranked player in your faction.
The winner is the correctly identified highest rank faction with the most keys.
Easy right? Erm.. Nope.
Lies, damned lies…
I didn’t mention. When you ask your one question of one person. They’re allowed to lie should they wish. If they believe it may aide their faction’s game (assuming they’ve correctly identified the faction they’re in).
So that one, sole bit of information you’re going off might be utterly useless, or worse a deliberate devious piece of misdirection. Or it could be a marvellous accidental double-bluff from a player who’s just as in the dark as you!
Breaking the law, breaking the law
“But this game is called the 3 Laws of Robotics, where are the laws!” you may well cry.
Well the laws are where an already pretty silly game gets just a bit more stupid. From round two onwards you add a law into the game until you reach - you guessed it - all three laws, at the end of round four (the final round).
The 3 laws of robotics - just in case you need reminding - is a reference to Sci-Fi writer Isaac Asimov’s laws which guide a number of his books and short stories.
“A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.”
How does this come into play in 3 Laws of Robotics? Well, it doesn’t not really. Those laws sound pretty smart and sensible (but actually tend to be disastrous, as Asimov fans will know). The laws in 3 Laws of Robotics are a little less fundamental.
Instead the laws may restrict words (i.e. you cannot say ‘you’, ‘they’ or ‘them’). They may make you have to behave like an irritating 90s computer and say “Checking Database” before you can offer an answer. Or they may just make you keep your non-thumb fingers together all times - so your hands act like a robotic clamp.
And with laws, comes law enforcement. And now, you’re not just trying to work out critical information with really limited (and dubious) input, you’re also keeping an eye out for players who disobey these ridiculous laws so you can call them out and gain yourself additional victory points for being an irritating pedant. We all win!
It’s a party game, of course
As we said at the outset, this is a stupid game. But we live in serious, challenging times, and sometimes stupidity is just what the AI Doctor ordered
