You wake to the sound of a heavy door locking behind you.

You are standing in a stark, windowless room with eleven chairs arranged in a loose circle. Ten strangers occupy the other chairs. None appear to know what to do with their hands, their eyes, or each other.

The room is clean, modern, and deliberately comfortable. A table holds bottled water and packaged food. A doorway leads to a hallway. Another opens onto what appears to be a communal living area. There are no windows. No obvious exits.

You become aware of the weight around your neck.

An explosive collar.

Looking around, you see one around every other player's throat.

The people here are an unsettling cross-section of humanity: a frightened twelve-year-old girl in an oversized hoodie; a young athletic man already watching her protectively; an elderly woman sitting unnervingly calmly; a nervous, rumpled man avoiding everyone's gaze; a confident woman standing close to a broad-shouldered man; a composed, sharply dressed man who seems almost comfortable; a nervous young woman with glasses quietly studying everyone; a weathered older man examining the room; and a quiet auburn-haired woman whose attention seems fixed on the people rather than the surroundings.

The eleven of you have been brought here for reasons that may not be the same.

You remember enough to know that you came willingly—or at least that, whatever you were offered, threatened, promised, or told, you ultimately chose to come.

You do not know where you are.

You do not know who brought you here.

You do not know why these particular people were chosen.

Then a screen on the wall flickers to life.

WELCOME, PLAYERS.

The rules of the game are about to be revealed.

WELCOME, PLAYERS.

ELEVEN PLAYERS ENTERED. ONE QUEEN OF HEARTS.

• •
  One player among you is secretly the Queen of Hearts. The Queen designed this game and knows their identity.
• •
  The Queen has no special powers. They vote and can be killed exactly like every other player.
• •
  Each player wears a locked explosive collar. Attempting to remove, disable, bypass, or tamper with a collar will detonate it immediately.
• •
  Each day, you may talk, form alliances, investigate one another, and attempt to determine the Queen's identity.
• •
  At the end of each day, every living player must enter their private cell and secretly vote for one other living player.
• •
  All votes are completely confidential. Individual votes will never be revealed.
• •
  A player receiving votes from a majority of all living players will have their collar detonated during the night.
• •
  If nobody receives a majority, nobody dies.
• •
  Only the result of each vote is revealed.
• •
  The game continues until the Queen is killed or only two players remain.
• •
  If the Queen is killed, all other surviving players win and are released.
• •
  If only the Queen and one other player remain, both players win and are released.

THE OBJECTIVE IS SIMPLE:

Players: Identify and kill the Queen.

Queen: Survive.

Good luck.