We've become accustomed to how reality games like this work. Deceit, betrayal-- it's all fair. We might tut-tut, but part of the fun of these shows is that opportunity for self-righteousness: how could they do that? I would never! And we believe that, behind the scenes, the producers are doing whatever they can to promote that drama. It makes for engaging viewing. Of course, the producers like to keep mum about it; they'd rather we judge the contestants for any moral failings, not the show for incentivizing them.
Devil's Plan is a little different. It explicitly invites deceit from the beginning. The plan is to turn the contestants themselves into devils. But is it possible that DP is not playing completely above the table here? Is it possible that DP's goal is instead to demonstrate how clever one must be to be a saint?
The heart of DP are two games played daily. The first, ostensibly competitive, pits players against each other in cleverly designed games that include challenges both mental and social. If they win, they gain or lose "pieces" which allow them to remain in the game-- when they lose their last piece, contestants are eliminated. The second game of the day, explicitly cooperative, raises the prize pool.
But there are hidden games as well. Unbidden, contestants discover new puzzles in their environment. What is the prize for solving these challenges? On this, our show's hosts are, so far, silent.
DP is a game about puzzles, and if you like good puzzles, I think you'll like to play along-- DP certainly invites you to, never revealing secret information until the game is already won or lost. The cooperative puzzles are somewhat interesting, but purely mental in nature. But where the game shines is in its "competitive" puzzles. Why the quote marks? Because these puzzles typically contain carefully designed (and carefully shrouded) Prisoner's Dillemmas. If you like to solve puzzles the wrong way, if you've ever heard, "Yeah, okay, but I don't think you're supposed to play the game that way," then you'll love these puzzles, because I'm pretty sure DP's designers really, really want us to solve them the wrong way. (We home viewers can think about the rules at leisure, finding the creative solutions, but unfortunately, DP's contestants are not yet finding all the strategies. Their schedule is strict.)
For people who are not into puzzles-- particularly, not into political puzzles-- there is probably not much here, just another reality show. But for me, there's a lot, and I'm greatly looking forward to the rest of the season.
