The Board Game Betrayal

június 12, 2026 Asteryn 6 min read
The Board Game Betrayal
About this story

A group of friends plays a highly competitive board game.

ODETTE: You can't move there!
STELLAN: The rulebook says I can.
ODETTE: Page 42 clearly says 'No leaping'.
STELLAN: That's for knights, not wizards!
ODETTE: Wizards are subject to the same gravity!
STELLAN: My wizard is a floating entity.
ODETTE: Floating doesn't mean you ignore the map.
STELLAN: The map is a suggestion.
ODETTE: A suggestion? This is a strategy game!
STELLAN: My strategy is 'Creative Movement'.
ODETTE: Your strategy is cheating.
STELLAN: Cheating is just optimizing the rules.
ODETTE: You are optimizing your way to victory.
STELLAN: It's called skill, Odette.
ODETTE: Skill involves reading the manual.
STELLAN: The manual is too long for humans.
ODETTE: It's a game, not a law degree!
STELLAN: I feel like I need a lawyer anyway.
ODETTE: You need a lesson in honesty.
STELLAN: Honesty is for people who aren't winning.
ODETTE: This is why no one likes playing with you.
STELLAN: You love my chaotic energy.
ODETTE: Your chaos is making me twitch.
STELLAN: Just accept the move and move on.
ODETTE: I will not accept a fake leap!
STELLAN: It wasn't fake, it was magical.
ODETTE: Magic has limits in this game.
STELLAN: My magic is limitless.
ODETTE: There is a mana cost for leaping!
STELLAN: I have plenty of mana.
ODETTE: Where did you get that much mana?
STELLAN: I found a potion in the woods.
ODETTE: You didn't find a potion, you stole it.
STELLAN: Finders keepers, losers weepers.
ODETTE: I am the loser because I play fair.
STELLAN: Fair is boring.
ODETTE: Boring is better than lying.
STELLAN: Lying is an art form.
ODETTE: You are a terrible artist.
STELLAN: My art is winning this game.
ODETTE: By breaking every rule in the book!
STELLAN: The book is open for interpretation.
ODETTE: Interpretation doesn't allow teleporting!
STELLAN: I didn't teleport, I glided.
ODETTE: Gliding still requires a path.
STELLAN: I made my own path.
ODETTE: With what? Your imagination?
STELLAN: Exactly! The game encourages creativity.
ODETTE: It encourages tactical thinking, not fantasies.
STELLAN: My fantasy is to take your castle.
ODETTE: You can't take it without a siege.
STELLAN: I have a small army of squirrels.
ODETTE: Squirrels are not in the game!
STELLAN: I added them as custom units.
ODETTE: Since when do we use custom units?
STELLAN: Since I decided they were cute.
ODETTE: This is no longer a board game.
STELLAN: It's an epic saga.
ODETTE: An epic saga of your delusions.
STELLAN: Just let the squirrels attack!
ODETTE: No! Get those rodents off my castle.
STELLAN: They are highly trained soldiers.
ODETTE: Trained by whom? You?
STELLAN: I gave them tiny hats.
ODETTE: Hats don't make them soldiers.
STELLAN: They make them professional.
ODETTE: I am leaving the table.
STELLAN: You can't quit during a siege!
ODETTE: Watch me. I'm gone.
STELLAN: But you're almost winning!
ODETTE: I'm not winning if you have squirrels.
STELLAN: They are very loyal squirrels.
ODETTE: I don't care about their loyalty.
STELLAN: Fine, then no one gets the castle.
ODETTE: Good, let it crumble.
STELLAN: That's a waste of architecture.
ODETTE: Your architecture is made of cardboard.
STELLAN: It's high-quality cardboard!
ODETTE: Still cardboard, Stellan.
STELLAN: You have no respect for the craft.
ODETTE: I have respect for the rules.
STELLAN: Rules are just walls to be climbed.
ODETTE: Like your fake leaping?
STELLAN: Precisely!
ODETTE: You are impossible.
STELLAN: I am a visionary of gaming.
ODETTE: A visionary of frustration.
STELLAN: Just one more turn, Odette.
ODETTE: No.
STELLAN: Please? The squirrels are waiting.
ODETTE: Tell the squirrels to go home.
STELLAN: They don't have homes, they live in my pockets.
ODETTE: That is disgusting.
STELLAN: They like the warmth.
ODETTE: Get them out of your pockets!
STELLAN: Now you're interested in the squirrels.
ODETTE: I am interested in hygiene!
STELLAN: Hygiene is for people who don't play games.
ODETTE: I am a clean gamer.
STELLAN: A boring, clean gamer.
ODETTE: Better than a dirty squirrel-master.
STELLAN: I accept that title with pride.
ODETTE: Your pride is as fake as your leap.
STELLAN: Ouch. That one hurt.
ODETTE: Good. Now move your wizard.
STELLAN: Can I glide?
ODETTE: NO!
STELLAN: Fine, I'll walk.
ODETTE: Thank you.
STELLAN: But the squirrels stay.
ODETTE: Whatever. Just roll the dice.
STELLAN: Rolling for victory!
ODETTE: You already cheated, just roll.
STELLAN: One... two... six!
ODETTE: Of course it's a six.
STELLAN: Luck is on my side!
ODETTE: Luck is on your payroll.
STELLAN: It's a beautiful day for a game.
ODETTE: I'm going to bed.
STELLAN: But the squirrels are just getting started!
ODETTE: Goodnight, Stellan.
STELLAN: Night! See you at the siege!
ODETTE: Stop it.
The Board Game Betrayal
About this story

A group of friends plays a highly competitive board game.