Strangers online

"I'm sure we can find someone to play," said Jen, drawing a blank.

"I just think you should think through these impulse purchases a little more," said Drew. "We can burn a dollar, but these things cost space, and when we run out of space, they cost time. There's still that antique clock you haven't wound up, and that USB camera that hasn't recorded..."

"I know, I know," said Jen. "I just wanted to look at it, mostly, maybe show it off if we have any guests.

"Or we can leave it and..." started Drew.

"Wait..."

Jen's eyes lit up.

"The USB camera. I think I might have an idea."

Jen bought the game, and the next morning, she was fixing the USB camera to a small fixture attached to a tall lamp so that it was overlooking the game.

"Doesn't it seem a little... invasive?" said Drew. He had been antsy ever since Jen had suggested finding someone online to play with them.

"Nuh uh," said Jen, "there's nothing sensitive about any of this."

She slipped one of her dress straps off her shoulder.

"...but if you want me to be a camgirl..."

"Agh, no!" said Drew.

Jen giggled. "Kidding, kidding!"

"How are we even going to find anyone?"

"We just have to find two people out of eight billion who have a day to waste."

Drew looked at the sight she had up: "boardgamefinder.com," a very old, rudimentary looking forum, with an active user count reading:

"You mean two out of thirty-four hundred?" Drew asked.

"More people than we know," said Jen, as she clicked refresh.

"I can't believe I took a day off for this," said Drew.

"We can try this again over the weekend if no one responds ****... hey!"

The thread she'd posted had two replies. Jen read them and smiled.

"We've got a game!" She clapped her hands, while Drew sat down in front of the laptop's built-in camera, feeling a bit nervous, checking his fly for the third time to make sure it was zipped.

The video call started...

The first to answer was a young redheaded woman who appeared no older than 25.

"Hello? Afternoon!"

Jen beamed with delight as she picked up a metropolitan English accent.

"Hiiii! Are you 'Rosebird?'"

"Yes! LightningGamerGirl982?"

Jen giggled. Drew blushed from secondhand embarrassment.

"The game you post looked so pretty, I have no idea what it is, but I had to find out!"

"Don't worry, the rules are pretty simple!" said Jen.

Suddenly, the other caller came online.

Jen leaned forward.

"Eh-moh-toh-san-deh-soon?"

"Hello!" said a high-pitched feminine voice. My camera isn't working, sorry! Can I still play?"

The shady vibes Drew got from whatever-their-name-was made him want to cover his face.

"You can! I'm Jen, and this is my husband, Drew."

Drew also wished she'd consulted before sharing their real names.

"Mina," said Rosebird.

"I'd prefer to remain anonymous," said the invisible caller.

"That's okay," said Jen. "How do you pronounce your name? Ee-mow-toh?"

"You can call me 'Kyoko,'" said the caller.

"Okay, Mina, Kyoko," said Jen. "Shall we started? Who wants to go first?"

"Let's roll to determine turn order!" said Kyoko. "Highest to lowest!"

"Alright," said Jen, "I'll roll..."

"I can run an RNG for all of us," interrupted Kyoko, before inputting four 2d6 commands labeled with their names in the chat. The turn order ended up being...