S P Y PA R T Y
Networking at events has never been more stressful
Making contact triggers an audio clip of the phrase ‘banana bread’
SpyParty has been in development for approx four hundred years. It has had more development than you have had hot dinners. It is still in development RIGHT NOW. That doesn’t mean you can’t play it. It just means that its creator, Chris Hecker, has transcended all traditional meanings of ‘ release date’, ‘early access’ and ‘time’. Technically, this is a preview. A preview of a game with devoted players whose interest has spanned years and who have thousands of matches logged. A preview of a game where, if a super-early build is an alpha and the next significant step along is a beta, we are clearly nearing the end of the Greek alphabet and looking to find extra letters.
SpyParty is an asymmetric one-on-one game where one player takes on the role of a spy at a party, and the other player is the sniper who must identify and eliminate them. The sniper has just one bullet, and must use their powers of observation to narrow down the suspect list. The spy, on the other hand, must perform all their tasks within a time limit without alerting the sniper.
Helping to guide the action, the sniper knows some of the characters—the ambassador, some suspected double agents, and the waiter and security guard—none of whom can be the spy. Each task also has associated ‘tells’ which an eagle-eyed observer can pick up on.
For example, if a spy’s list of tasks includes planting a bug on the ambassador, the sniper can look out for an arm movement which looks like a butt pat. I will confess that in my first few games as sniper I spent a lot of time with my sniper rifle sights trained on an ambassador’s buttocks trying to catch that movement.
The spy can try to mask the movement by figuring out which spots in a room are harder for the sniper to see, or taking advantage of crowds to conceal the action. I believe there is even the ability to plant bugs/butt pat while moving, but that seems to be the domain of the elite.
If the spy is contacting a double agent, they will need to be in conversation with the double agent (by standing in the same marked floor space). Making contact triggers an audio clip of the phrase ‘banana bread’, which both players can hear, so the sniper can quickly eliminate anyone not in conversation at the time from their suspect list.
The spy can use the third-person camera to get a better view of the room and thus time a ‘banana bread’ for when most of the attendees are in conversation. There are also more advanced options like faking contact; that plays the audio, but doesn’t require you to be in the same space as the double agent. You can use it to create confusion, but you’ll need to make real contact later.
Test-fire
There’s now a tutorial in the game, too. It’s a little rough round the edges, but does a really good job of introducing you to the main elements of both roles. My limited experience of the community has also been positive, with friendly interactions and some hints on how to improve.
Mostly, I have been playing SpyParty with a friend, though. We have a Skype call open, and can chat about the result in between rounds. If the sniper wins, there’s usually a swearword from the spy followed by, “What tipped you off this time?!” If the spy manages all their objectives chat is less free as those successful strategies (especially around swapping the infernal statues) are kept close to the chest. Perhaps I should be less free with my information on the sniper side, but it’s genuinely fun dissecting the action and learning together.