Chicken Out Versus

Thomas pulls out a game box that still has colors, isn’t faded, and doesn't have bite marks. He blows off the dust and reads out the title.

“Chicken Out Versus.”

“Chicken Out Versus?”

“That’s what it says.”

“I’ve never heard of Chicken Out Versus.”

“Look it up.”

Yonah pulls out his phone and starts to scroll on the internet for such a board game.

“Open it, open it” Joel says while reaching over for the game.

“Relax! I’m getting there.” Thomas says while placing the game down in the middle of the five of them. He grabs the top of the game box and slowly shimmies it until the top comes off. The bottom of the box plops out on the table with a thud revealing a colorful board, game pieces, and cards. Joel quickly reaches in and starts to mess with everything.

“RELAX MAN!” Thomas shouts at Joel. Thomas reaches in and pulls out a folded paper pamphlet before stepping away. Ashton, Joel, and Seth all start to pull out all the contents of the box and display them out on the table. Thomas opens up the pamphlet and a note falls out. He picks it up and reads out the note’s content.

“Hey Joel, where did you get this game from?”

“No clue, why?”

“I have a note that says, ‘Have fun. - Stephanie, Cammy, Juliette, Morgana, Nora, Hana’. Who are these people?” He holds the note out for Joel to see.

“Still no clue. I don’t think I know a single one of those people.”

“Huh, oh well.” Thomas tucks the note in his pocket and starts to read the instructions.

“Hey guys, I’ve been scrolling on the internet, and I haven’t found any board game called Chicken Out Versus.” Yonah says, rejoining the conversation.

“Like, nothing? At all?”

“Nope, nada, nothing.”

“Weird”

“...so we’re still playing it, right?”

“It's the only board game, so, yeah.”

“Thomas, are those the instructions? How do we play?”

“Uh, well, it’s a bit weird.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ahem! ‘Chicken Out Versus with new card effects, and a more competitive atmosphere, who will get to the wish first! Players will endure challenges to their bodies and mind to reach the end. Sabotage other players to ensure you will be the first to the finish. Who will take the most punishments and Chicken Out? Who will come out unscathed and have their wish granted?’”

Everyone was listening attentively before Joel interrupted the quiet. “So how do we play?”

The guys quickly forget about the game’s summary and turn back to Thomas to read out the instructions.

“Uh, let's see. Each player rolls the dice and moves across the board. You draw the card that is associated with the color you land on and ‘endure’ the effects of the card. I’m assuming like…do push-ups, or only talk in rhymes. If you can’t deal with the effect, you ‘Chicken Out’, otherwise you say, ‘I continue’ and you deal with the effects until the end of the game. You have to reach halfway for the game to ‘legitimize’ and the first person to the end wins.”

“Simple enough”

“What do the colors do?”

Thomas flips through the booklet until he stops on a page to read.

“Green affects the body, Blue affects your outfit or fashion, Yellow affects your head and/or face. Red affects the mind.”

“And the other colors?”

“Uhhh, give me a moment to read this.”

“What other colors are there?”

“Brown, Orange, Gray, and Violet.”

“Eh, how about we’ll find out when we hit those spaces.”

“But…it says what they do right here?” Thomas holds up the pamphlet, but Joel gets in the way.

“Don’t care, you can tell us what it does when we land on them. Makes the game more mysterious and fun.”

Thomas stops showing the booklet in slight frustration. “Alright then, pick your piece and roll the dice.”

The guys take their places around the table and grab their pieces.

The exuberant and egotistical one, Joel grabs the car game piece. Joel is the one to try and be the center of attention whenever he can. He likes to be acknowledged and known for his funny jokes/behavior. He will talk about anything in order to get whoever he talks to be interested in his thoughts and opinions. While he is egotistical, he will step back when he knows that he’s out of his limits.

The goofy and skilled one, Yonah grabs the top hat. Yonah is the one that has his life most together in comparison to everyone else, and has a slight superiority complex because of this. He doesn’t really realize this as everyone else has just gotten used to it at this point. Yonah tends to do a lot of things just to find out what happens, which rarely seems to backfire on him.

The direct and unreserved one, Ashton grabs the gag teeth piece. Ashton is the one that truly speaks his mind, regardless of how unhinged the idea is. He is extremely close with Seth, and Ashton usually gets Seth on board with his ideas, and the two proceed to do the dumbest things possible when together.

The quiet and critical one, Seth grabs the headphones piece. Seth is usually quiet unless the topic includes either himself, or something he likes. Otherwise, Seth is combative of ideas that he disapproves of and is very verbally critical of them.

The stubborn and independent one, Thomas picks the book piece. Thomas is the one that tends to do his own thing within the group a lot. He’ll wander around or start a task before all the others in the group figure out what to do. While the others say he is pretty stubborn, he himself doesn’t believe or see that in himself, proving the points of the others.

Everyone lines up their pieces on the starting square before someone speaks out.

“Who goes first?”

“Seth found the box in the attic, he should go first.”

“Oh hell no. Make Ashton go first.”

“Why should I go first? He’s the one that leads the game night” Ashton points to Thomas.

“I’m still reading the rules, I need more time, someone else go.”

“I’LL GO!” Joel grabs the dice and rolls first.