Paranoia

Frame · Tension & threat atmospheric · visual / auditory / haptic

Distrust of everyone, observation from the shadows: no one is safe, and anyone could be the enemy.

Design question – In your game you can trust no one. What creates the distrust? Hidden roles, patchy information, or the others’ behaviour?

Reference example – Among Us: someone on board is sabotaging, and every walk alone looks suspicious. The Resistance: every mission that fails raises the question of who at the table is lying.

Atmosphere

Paranoia

Sensory field

Sight: glances over the shoulder, surveillance cameras, suspicious gestures, shadows. Sound: whispering behind your back, footsteps that stop when you turn around. Touch: restlessness, hyper-alertness, the feeling of being watched.

Coherence

Paranoia requires hidden information and social interaction. Mechanisms: Hidden Roles, Voting, Accusation, Bluffing. Activities: Observing, Accusing, Deceiving, Defending. Ludic Organisational Structures: social order under stress. Ductus: escalating moments of suspicion → confrontation → revelation.