Don't look behind the Sunday Game Night mask

From: Nathan
To: Game Friends

Game Friends,

Monday evening I found Keyflower on the floor near my game shelf. Thinking nothing of it—someone must have been looking at it during last week’s Game Night—I put it away and went to bed.

Tuesday morning I rose after a night of fitful dreams and, bleary-eyed, stepped into the dining room—and what should I see but that cursed box standing upright on the table. As I carried it back to the shelf, I felt a sting and looked down to see my finger bleeding. A paper-cut, I told myself.

Wednesday once more Keyflower was standing on the table in the morning. When I reached out to pick it up, I felt a twinge in my finger and thought better of it. Let the bastard stand there for all I care.

Another night of tormented dreams followed: meeples dancing in sprays of arterial blood, chanting exhortations of violence. Dice tumbling to a stop, all upward faces skulls. My friends hand me sheets of paper but all the writing is in some strange script not known to humankind. When I look up their faces have been replaced by those of herd animals. Their herbivore’s teeth rend my flesh.

Yesterday, Keyflower had gathered several of the other games around it. Dixit, Carcassonne, Seven Wonders, and Bohnanza all circled around like they were listening. Like they were planning something. I hurried out of the apartment with a shudder.

Last night in my dreams I was visited by the spirit of Vlaada. He told me he had an important message to deliver. He said that my copies of his games—Galaxy Trucker, Dungeon Lords, Space Alert, Pictomania—wanted to warn me that Keyflower had been possessed by a demonic force. It turns out the only way to cast out the bad spirit is to scare it away with an in-costume Sunday Game Night this Sunday at 5pm. Vlaada also wanted me to know that exorcism can be very draining so we need to make sure there are plenty of snacks and drinks. Please help me out by showing up wearing a costume—I’m worried about what might happen to me otherwise.

Nathan