Interest Check - Mafia?

[SadisticBlessings]

Mafia, for those of you who aren't "in the know", is a relatively popular party and forum game. Wikipedia describes it as such:

Mafia (also known under the variant Werewolf or Vampire) is a party game modeling a battle between an informed minority and an uninformed majority. Mafia is usually played in groups with at least five players. During a basic game, players are divided into two teams: 'Mafia members', who know each other; and 'honest people', who generally know the number of Mafia amongst them. The goal of both teams is to eliminate each other; in more complicated games with multiple factions, this generally becomes "last side standing".

More information here, if you're interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia_(game)

Edit: It turns out this explanation is confusing more people than it helps, so here's a breakdown I posted halfway down the page:
Before the game starts, everyone who signs up gets assigned a role by me... usually either "Town" aligned or "Mafia" aligned. The mafia know who they are and who their allies are, while the townies know nothing other than their own alignment.

The idea is, once per "day" (not an actual day, just the name of the "day phase" or "voting phase") there's a majority vote to decide who will be "killed" by the town. This can be based on logic, intuition, or just guesswork. The town's objective is to kill off all of the mafia aligned players.

After each vote the person who was killed has their identity revealed, and the "night" phase begins. In this phase the mafia is allowed to decide to kill one town aligned player.

The town wins if it kills all the mafia members. The mafia wins when they outnumber the remaining townspeople.


I've never seen a game of mafia played on this board, but since I know (or at least recognize) the vast majority of you are intelligent enough to make a real battle of wits out of it, I thought I'd see if there were enough interested people to run one. That would probably be like 15-20 people... and while frequent posting definitely makes the game go quicker, it's not necessary to be constantly involved.

I was thinking that the CornellVerse would make a great theme for a game of Mafia, as there are so many possible roles it's mind-boggling - but if there are enough people interested in another theme, I'd consider doing that one as well. I think anyone who's been to EWB will attest that mafia is a very fun, very psychologically revealing game that can definitely provide for some memorable moments and also somehow builds a sense of community amongst the players.

Any thoughts? This isn't really a sign-up post or anything, I'm just gauging whether a game like this would have an audience on the board or not... but I'd certainly be happy to run a game or two for you guys if enough people want to play :D

If not... well, then I'll go listen to the Delfonics and cry. :p

[TheEdgeOfReason]

I'm willing to play

[panix04]

just because im a forum troll i'd be up for it. Although my cornellverse knowledge is kinda limited.

[SadisticBlessings]

just because im a forum troll i'd be up for it. Although my cornellverse knowledge is kinda limited.

Nothing wrong with being a forum troll... in fact, mafia is one of those games that caters to them :D

And while I'll always love the cornellverse, if anyone has an idea for a theme that would draw more people in I'm completely open to using it instead... I just figured the CV was a theme that most players on the board would be familiar with already.

If there's enough of a reception to it, we could always run a Mafia GDS style (like the Mafia Cubed on the EWB boards), where all the roles are based on forum members :p

Regardles of the theme, the important thing is to make it a fun game for everyone involved... and I think that is more than possible, as we've got a community here that's generally very involved and ethusiastic.

Any suggestions on another theme, guys? Post em if you got em, as I haven't even begun to think about creating roles yet and so I'm virtually open to anything.

[Undertaker666]

I just read that Wikipedia page and it's quite safe to say that i'm well and truly confuzzled. :confused:

[SadisticBlessings]

I just read that Wikipedia page and it's quite safe to say that i'm well and truly confuzzled. :confused:

Hmmm... perhaps I should clarify the rules a bit, then, as the last thing I want is to scare people away with complicated rules. Here's the general breakdown:

Before the game starts, everyone who signs up gets assigned a role by me... usually either "Town" aligned or "Mafia" aligned. The mafia know who they are and who their allies are, while the townies know nothing other than their own alignment.

The idea is, once per "day" (not an actual day, just the name of the "day phase" or "voting phase") there's a majority vote to decide who will be "killed" by the town. This can be based on logic, intuition, or just guesswork. The town's objective is to kill off all of the mafia aligned players.

After each vote the person who was killed has their identity revealed, and the "night" phase begins. In this phase the mafia is allowed to decide to kill one town aligned player.

The town wins if it kills all the mafia members. The mafia wins when they outnumber the remaining townspeople.

There are also sometimes different alignments... individually aligned killers ("the serial killer") who can win when he's the last man standing, etc. In this game, there won't be any other complications, like two mafias or a 'cult' or anything, as those are for veteran games.

Is that a better explanation than the site offered? :D

[panix04]

so its a bit like cluedo then?

[Undertaker666]

Is that a better explanation than the site offered? :D

Much simpler! How are you going to incorporate the C-Verse though? :confused:

[panix04]

perhaps we could use real wrestlers and instead of having amfia and townsfolk, we can have heels and faces.

[SadisticBlessings]

so its a bit like cluedo then?

There is a passing resemblance between the two, though there are no actual "clues" to be found. The idea is that the townspeople have to be clever enough to pick out inconsistencies or logical fallacies made by mafia players in covering their tracks. It's actually a very psychological game, as knowing your opponents is key.

For example, in a game on EWB the last vote was an attempt to get rid of the serial killer - on the final night phase, he killed the mafia don, leaving the killer against the rest of the town.

One of the players posted first, congratulating the killer on getting rid of the mafia don. It backfired. One of the other players, knowing this person's general attitude towards the game, led the charge in getting him killed.

How did he know? His reasoning: "Well, you're so self-obsessed that you'd never congratulate anyone during a game of mafia, EVER, unless it was yourself. So I knew the moment you posted that congratulations that the only person who could've been the killer was you."

That's the cool thing about mafia - the only way for the town to win is to be exceptionally clever or exceptionally lucky.

Much simpler! How are you going to incorporate the C-Verse though?

Well, generally these days all mafia games have a "theme" - essentially every player gets a "role" involving the theme. I chose the CV because it's never been done before, but whatever it winds up being the idea is the same.

For example, one player might get a PM saying:

You are Brent Hill, Town Aligned Diety of Vanilla Babyfaces.

You're a hell of a worker, but you could paint yourself neon green and not stand out in the ring. Because you're so unassuming, it will take a 2/3 majority, rather than 50% majority, to lynch you during the day phase.

Everyone would get a role like that, though some would be "Mafia Aligned" etc and have the names of the other mafia members in it.

perhaps we could use real wrestlers and instead of having amfia and townsfolk, we can have heels and faces.

I'd be more than happy to run this theme as well, though I was hesitant at first because I've seen it done many times before. Regardless, whatever you folks would like for the theme to be I'll write it. I'd just love to be able to bring such an awesome game to the forum, as I've always felt the memories and stories generated by mafia games are unforgettable parts of a community :D

[Nevermore]

perhaps we could use real wrestlers and instead of having amfia and townsfolk, we can have heels and faces.

Would someone's alignment not be obvious straight away then?

Quote The Raven
Nevermore

[SadisticBlessings]

Would someone's alignment not be obvious straight away then?

Quote The Raven
Nevermore

Perhaps I should've mentioned this sooner, I dunno, but it's not necessary to "roleplay" your PM or even make it known who your role is - in a lot of games, this will give you away, as the "mafia" is a pre-determined set of individuals from the universe the theme was taken from.

The roles just give some flavor, and an excuse to give townspeople abilities to help them out. For example, there are usually one or two "investigators" who can check one player's alignment per night phase, "protectors" or "doctors" who can protect people from being night killed by the mafia, etc.

Even if I were to run a mafia game based on real life wrestlers, the mafia would probably be a "stable" of workers gone rogue, not a group based on their gimmicks.

[joose2001]

This actually seems quite interesting, and I would be up for it!
The wiki page did seem majorly confuddling so Im glad you simplified it for the idiots amongst us!

So yeah, if this goes ahead then count me in

[SadisticBlessings]

This actually seems quite interesting, and I would be up for it!
The wiki page did seem majorly confuddling so Im glad you simplified it for the idiots amongst us!

So yeah, if this goes ahead then count me in

Awesome!

I guess the wiki article COULD have done a better job of explaining the game... there wasn't exactly a section for the online form, or I'dve linked to that. I probably should've just summarized the rules in the very beginning, to avoid confusion.

Hopefully we get enough to start up... I'd be ready to go with a minimum of a dozen people or so, though the really good games always seem to have more than that.

I'm surprised so many folks on here are unfamiliar with the game though, as I figured most people would already know how to play. Not sure why. But I think that if given the chance, the peeps on this board would be a great group to play with.

[panix04]

i dont wanna speak for other people bit if you send a PM to the following im sure they will be up for it

Keefmoon
The Ego
TCP
Clarity

mainly 'cos they are all trolls too! :D

[SadisticBlessings]

i dont wanna speak for other people bit if you send a PM to the following im sure they will be up for it

Keefmoon
The Ego
TCP
Clarity

mainly 'cos they are all trolls too! :D

I'll be sure to keep em in mind - might send em those PMs after I get off work, but for now I'll let people come of their own free will :p

I'm hoping Mr T Jobs To Me & PeterHilton might be interested as well, as they were among the first people I mentioned this idea to. As it stands though, I feel certain eventually we'll get enough people to start up. Mafia sells itself. :D

[ubernoob]

I'll do it. Im a noob and a troll!

[PeterHilton]

I'm in like flynn.

[Sensai of Mattitude]

We did this at another forum that I used to post at, I'd definately be up for it.

[Wallbanger]

Pencil me in as well.

[Ghetto Anthony]

I'm in. I've played many times on other forums. :)

[SadisticBlessings]

Well, I think this is enough replies over an 8 hour period to prove that there are some people interested in playing, so I'm thinking this 'interest check' thread can be closed. Look for the Sign Up Thread I'll be starting immediately for more info regarding this mod.

I'll be happy to consider everyone who replied affirmatively to this post as already "Signed Up" for the game. So far:

TheEdgeOfReason
panix04
joose2001
ubernoob
PeterHilton
Sensai of Mattitude
Wallbanger
Ghetto Anthony

With 8 players, we only really need a few more to play. Hell, I've seen mafia played with 7 people, though that's not really the full effect.

Sign up thread to be posted shortly.

[BIGJOSH]

I'm in!

[SadisticBlessings]

I'm in!

Glad to have you, though at this point we've moved locations to the Sign Up thread a bit down the page. You make 20, so I'll update the list and make a quick post to update everyone :D