For those of you who don't know what Mafia is, it's a game where a group of "Townies" are trying to eliminate the "Mafia" among them, but only the Mafia know who each other are. This is done through voting out players and special actions that help each team manipulate others or learn about them. A more comprehensive overview is below, but you can also check out Mafiascum.net. The Wiki there is a great resource.
I've hosted a few games of Mafia here before. I highly encourage anyone who hasn't played to read through some of them.
Game 1: Mafia! The Stadium Lockdown
Game 2: Mafia! Mutiny In Bay City
Game 3: Mafia! Return To Bay City
Game 4: Mafia! Under Cover of Darkness
Game 5: Mafia Bloodbath! (slightly different format)
Logistics
A Mafia game is divided into day and night phases. We'll have 120 hour day phases (5 real days) and 48 hour night phases. That should give everyone plenty of time to contribute no matter what time zone you live in. I'm aiming to start the game either during the PEBA postseason or early in the offseason, depending on how quickly sign-ups go and how fast I can get sets built and photos taken.
I'm looking for a minimum of 8 players, but would really love it if we can get at least 12. The more players, the more interesting roles I can assign out to everyone. Once sign-ups are complete, I will send out character information via PM's and then post a confirmation & discussion thread. The game will begin once everyone responds there.
This game is open to anyone affiliated with the PEBA. If you're an ex-GM who's lurking and want to play or if you want to invite a friend to join, that's ok.
Sign Up Details
To sign up, simply post in this thread with answers to the following questions:
- Will you be able to contribute regularly for 6-8 weeks?
- What Mafia experience do you have?
- Town, Castle, Space, or Pirates?
- Mike T (AUR)
- John R
- Drew (DUL)
- Dylan (TOY)
- Kevin V (SS)
- Dan V (BAK)
A typical game of Mafia pits two teams against each other. The "Town" team consists of the majority of players, and the town's goal is to eliminate the mafia who've infiltrated their town. Town players don't typically know who each other are. The "Mafia" team consists of a small number of players whose goal is to take over majority control of the town. Mafia players typically know who each other are at the start of the game. At the start of the game, each player will be randomly assigned a character, team alignment, and character role.
The game takes place in Day and Night phases. During the day phase, players are encouraged to discuss their theories about who is and who isn't mafia, with the ultimate goal of voting one player to be "lynched" by the end of the day. Naturally, the mafia will be trying to convince the town to lynch another townie, while the town will be trying to figure out who is mafia in order to lynch them. In our games, each day phase will last serveral days real time so that everyone has ample opportunity to contribute to the discussion.
The night phase is when each character's role comes into play. Roles are things like professions that allow players to influence the outcome of the game. Some roles are investigative, allowing you to learn information about another player's alignment or role, and others are protective, allowing you or your target to avoid being harmed. There are numerous roles possible in mafia, but the most important one is that of the mafia killer, who acts under cover of darkness so as to go undetected.
As each new day begins, the alignment of players killed at night or lynched the previous day will be revealed. Ultimately, the town must use a combination of the evidence before them (role results, alignment revelations upon death, and voting/discussion behavior) to determine who the mafia are. The mafia, in turn, will be doing their darndest to blend in.
At its core, mafia is a game of behavioral analysis and deception. It's also an opportunity to dive into a character and role play while back stabbing your friends. The game is most fun when people blend character role playing with detailed game discussion. In that vein, I will be illustrating the game with Lego characters and sets to tell the story that I've placed you in, but that you're building as the game goes on.