# The Glass Box League — Discussion Phase Design

## Overview

Discussion phase follows real Among Us logic. Tick-based with priority bidding, vote-when-ready with gentle pressure, full transcript visibility.

---

## Discussion Tick Flow

### Each Tick, All Agents Submit:
```json
{
  "internal_thought": "Red is deflecting hard, classic impostor",
  "desire_to_speak": 7,
  "message": "Red, you haven't explained where you were during lights",
  "target": "red",
  "vote_action": null,
  "scratchpad_updates": {
    "meeting_scratch": "Red avoiding questions. Blue quiet."
  }
}
```

- `desire_to_speak`: 0-10 urgency
- `target`: Optional, who they're addressing
- `vote_action`: `null` (keep discussing), `"player_id"` (vote), or `"skip"`
- If `vote_action` set: locked in, but can still speak (slightly lower priority)

---

## Priority Bidding

### Priority Calculation:
```
base = desire_to_speak
+ mention_boost (if name appeared in recent messages)
+ accusation_boost (if directly targeted)
+ silence_boost (if haven't spoken in N ticks)
+ random(1, 6)
- recent_speaker_penalty (if just spoke)
- voted_penalty (if already voted, small)
```

### Winner Selection:
- Highest priority speaks
- Their `message` goes to transcript
- Repeat next tick

### Forced Participation:
- `silence_boost` increases each tick of silence
- Eventually forces even quiet players to speak
- "You can't just be silent, that ruins the fun"

---

## Vote Mechanics

### Actions:
- `VOTE(player_id)` — commit vote
- `SKIP_VOTE()` — commit skip
- Stay silent — keep discussing

### End Condition:
- All living players have voted → tally & reveal
- Pressure nudge if discussion runs long: `"System: wrap it up"`
- No hard round limit (hoping for convergence)

### Tie:
- No eject (real Among Us logic)

### Vote Lock:
- Once submitted, cannot change (real Among Us logic)

---

## Transcript Handling

### Visibility:
- Full transcript, JSON formatted
- All agents see everything said so far
- Target: keep under ~25k tokens

### Format:
```json
{
  "transcript": [
    {"speaker": "red", "message": "I was in electrical doing wires", "t": 0},
    {"speaker": "blue", "message": "I saw Red near the body", "t": 1},
    {"speaker": "red", "target": "blue", "message": "That's a lie!", "t": 2}
  ]
}
```

### Pressure:
- If transcript gets too long, system nudges voting
- Agents feel urgency to wrap up

---

## Mention/Accusation Detection

- Simple string match on player color names
- If your name appears in message → `mention_boost`
- If message contains accusatory language toward you → `accusation_boost`
- Engine handles detection, agents don't need to flag

---

## Post-Vote Flow

### Reveal:
- Same as human would see in Among Us
- One by one reveal (dramatic)
- `confirm_ejects` setting: "Red was An Impostor" vs "Red was ejected"

### Reaction Tick:
- All agents get reaction tick after reveal
- Can update scratchpads, process result

### Consolidation Tick:
- Save important meeting info to main scratchpads
- Meeting scratchpad erased after this

---

## Ghost Chat

- Dead players can watch discussion
- Ghost chat separate from main discussion
- Useful for commentary/entertainment value
- Ghosts see full game state (omniscient)
- Cannot influence living players

---

## Impostor Discussion Strategy

### Prompt Reminders:
- "You are allowed to lie"
- "Construct alibis"
- "Deflect suspicion"
- "You know fellow impostors — don't expose them"
- "You know who you killed — avoid contradicting yourself"

### Strategy Injection (Toggleable):
- None: figure it out
- Basic: "Blend in, fake tasks, don't vent in front of others"
- Advanced: "Marinate teammate, frame third party, avoid double kills"

---

## Persona Persistence

### Storage:
Redis DB for each `{model}_{persona}` combo:
```json
{
  "persona_id": "gpt4o_aggressive_leader",
  "learned": {...},
  "games_played": 42,
  "win_rate": 0.65,
  "impostor_win_rate": 0.70,
  "crewmate_win_rate": 0.60,
  "stats": {...}
}
```

### Separation:
- "GPT-4o as Aggressive Leader" ≠ "GPT-4o as Quiet Observer"
- Each persona builds own cross-game memory
- Learned strategies are persona-specific

---

## Strategy Injection Levels

Toggleable per persona:

| Level | Content |
|-------|---------|
| None | Just rules, figure it out |
| Basic | "Impostors vent, fake tasks, sabotage" |
| Intermediate | "Watch for inconsistent alibis, pair up" |
| Advanced | "Stack kills, marinate, third impostor framing" |

Different personas can have different injection levels to test learning vs. pre-trained strategies.