Date of Completion
2023
Document Type
Honors College Thesis
Department
Philosophy
Thesis Type
Honors College, College of Arts and Science Honors
First Advisor
Matthew Weiner
Keywords
philosophy, games, metas, social deduction games, philosophy of games, tabletop games
Abstract
Metas are patterns that arise from playing a game multiple times. Metas may form if players have each played a given game previously or if the same group of individuals plays a particular game together multiple times. Social deduction games, a class of tabletop games in which players try to deceive each other, easily lend themselves to the construction of metas over time. This thesis focuses on the metas of social deduction games, using anecdotes from individuals in the UVM Games Club to analyze different elements of metas and assess the extent to which meta formation is beneficial or harmful to the gameplay experience. This project aims to contribute to the growing field of the Philosophy of Games, which has yet to fully discuss metas as a concept.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Williamson, Julia, "The Value of Metas in Social Deduction Games" (2023). UVM Patrick Leahy Honors College Senior Theses. 601.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/hcoltheses/601