Have you ever played mafia/scum in real life?

[Freudian Slit]

Just curious--I know it started out as a real life party game. (At least, I assume so...most things do.) I've only ever played it online myself. How does it work in real life? Do people get as involved? Is it more about having a poker face and reading emotions than online, since you can't really analyze previous posts (unless you have a stenographer present)?

Is it as complex, with lots of different roles, or does that get too complicated?

And most importantly, is it as fun?

[Chronos]

I don't think I've ever played it, but I certainly heard about it first as a face-to-face game, long before the age of the Internet. Face-to-face games are typically much smaller (less than 10 people), which necessarily requires that the game be simpler: The only power roles I'd heard of for the face-to-face game were the Detective and the Doctor, and both of those presented as somewhat optional.

[Mahaloth]

Yes, in fact that is how I played it first.

It's fun, but it can be more frustrating, as you can't rely on people to stick with the spirit of it for the whole game. Some people just give up and others don't get the idea of hiding during the night.

I've only played with the Doctor and Detective.

I was in a great game once, where it was down to me(town) and two other people. I knew that one was town and one was scum and ultimately, they cast their votes on each other and I had to decide the game.

I was wrong, but very entertained.

[Hoopy Frood]

I've played in real life. Typically you have a doctor and a detective in town and no scum power roles. Frequently roles are determined by draws from a small subset of poker cards where red is usually town, black is scum, and face cards denote various power roles. Sometimes the distribution of power roles is randomly determined, which means town may not have any power roles. The style of game referred to as C9 at MafiaScum is basically taken right out of the simplest real life setups. ( http://mafiascum.net/wiki/index.php?title=C9 ).

I have also played in games with serial killers. Typically the SK wins if it comes down to him and someone else. You can realistically throw most power roles into the mix, but since RL games tend to be more laid back and much more about poker face and body language analysis than what people actually say, too many power roles end up bogging it down.

[BigT]

My sum total Mafia experience is a single mini game on Idle's sight (where I died on day 1 because I was a non-self protecting DOC who was trying to figure out who to protect). But I've watched the game at a church camp setting.

I'd rather play a live version, or at least one on chat or something. I obsess over the game otherwise.

[Trepa Mayfield]

Ayup. In fact, I didn't pay attention to the Mafia thread here until I realized that it was the same thing as the RL game I had played earlier.

(also I feel the need to mention that I hosted an online game that had color based on a hypothetical RL game)

[Freudian Slit]

I get pretty into the games online, too...Like, I get honestly pretty hurt if I feel I'm being voted off. And pissed at myself if I'm doing a bad job of covering up being scum. If it were a one night game in real life I doubt I'd be that invested.

[Freudian Slit]

This might be a dumb question, but is it hard to strategize at night? Aren't town supposed to put their head down and cover their ears while mafia talks (I heard that the mod has everyone put their heads down and then taps scum on the shoulder to tell them to speak among themselves), but you'd think you could maybe overhear, and wouldn't it be hard to do a lot of strategizing? Or is it more like a quiet vote?

[Rysto]

The mafia basically point to people to indicate who they think should die, and once they all point at the same person the moderate knows know the target is.

[sachertorte]

This might be a dumb question, but is it hard to strategize at night? Aren't town supposed to put their head down and cover their ears while mafia talks (I heard that the mod has everyone put their heads down and then taps scum on the shoulder to tell them to speak among themselves), but you'd think you could maybe overhear, and wouldn't it be hard to do a lot of strategizing? Or is it more like a quiet vote?

scum don't talk. It's the same game, but is very different. In real life you try to tell if someone is lying by LOOKING at them. Behavioral shifts and detecting lies (not by logic, but by perception) is the key.

Same general structure, but totally different strategy.

[Chronos]

Yeah, there's not nearly as much Scum strategizing, but then, there's not all that much Town strategizing, either. With the faster pace and the lack of a permanent record, it's not really possible.

[Boozahol Squid, P.I.]

I've played much more in real life than on the webs. There's no scum strategy, per se, in a real life game, because there's no chance for scum to discuss things. The game mostly comes down to power roles, face reading, and hearing someone lift an arm to point.

Not to say it's not a good party game. It's just a lot more straight forward than the tracked game we play here.

[Sitnam]

I did. I introduced it to a group of 12 and many didn't really know each other, there was booze involved and it was a blast. After people got the concept I kept adding new roles to keep it interesting. We played for a few hours until everyone was too drunk to remember their role.

ETA: In the party game you can hear chairs creak when mafia puts their heads up and some people just can't keep a straight face when accused whether or not they're actually guilty. IMHO playing online is easier for scum.

[Mahaloth]

This might be a dumb question, but is it hard to strategize at night? Aren't town supposed to put their head down and cover their ears while mafia talks (I heard that the mod has everyone put their heads down and then taps scum on the shoulder to tell them to speak among themselves), but you'd think you could maybe overhear, and wouldn't it be hard to do a lot of strategizing? Or is it more like a quiet vote?

It is totally silent. The two or three scum look up, point to whom they want to kill, and basically nod when they have an agreement. The moderator confirms it carefully and nods when he/she understands.

The moderator even moves around the room, making sure his voice comes from different areas to make sure no no can draw any conclusions.

It runs on the honor system, mainly. I guess people could cheat.

[Tom Scud]

It runs on the honor system, mainly. I guess people could cheat.

Well, people can cheat in online mafia as well; the no extra-game communication thing is pretty much an honor system.

[Kobal2]

Yup, I was introduced to the game IRL, only it was called "Werewolf", and of course the theme was a medieval village plagued by werewolves rather than a big city and mobsters. It was a big gaming group, we could sometimes play with 20, 30 people at once. If the game master knows his stuff and has good storytelling skills, and each player adopts a "role" to play, it gets very fun and intense. Playing in the dark by candlelight is of course a plus, not only for the ambience, but to let scum/werewolves open their eyes or point their fingers/nod at each other as discreetly as possible (this also helps the "little girl", who can watch the scum at night, do so without getting seen).

The other advantage of playing IRL is that you often know most of the players personally, so there's an additional layer of metagame going... and a layer of silly, too :).

[Alka Seltzer]

The game mostly comes down to power roles, face reading, and hearing someone lift an arm to point.

So you could make someone a cop by giving them an ear-trumpet?

[Wolverine]

Never played it online, only offline which has its own difficulty. Past experiences with the same group of friends can definitely influence a game. Who is quieter than normal, more aggressive? There's an extra meta level that Kobal2 was referencing. It's always interesting when the real shy ones are the mafia.

One game, a little under half had played the game before and knew how to strategize. The rest were brand new. Since I was familiar with the game, during the first town meeting the mafia roused the townspeople to kill me (because we all know, facial hair = evil) and everyone else just kind of nodded their head still learning the rules. I never got to do anything and was pretty upset, instead of taking the early death as a compliment of my "skills".

[Chronos]

If you'd like to try it in a more strategy-heavy environment, you are of course welcome to sign up for one of the games here, or one of our sister boards.

[Oredigger77]

I've played twice the first was at a party in high school and it was poorly explained and the game ended up fizzling. In college on the way home from a track meet we tried playing instead of watching whatever crappy movie was playing but once we understood the game we got too loud and the non players complained so the coach made us quit.

Now that I've played online a bit I think it would be interesting to try again in person and see how much carry over I could use. Might be a fun idea for a dopefest of the mafia group.

[Mahaloth]

Well, people can cheat in online mafia as well; the no extra-game communication thing is pretty much an honor system.

Exactly. I assume this does not occur. I've never heard of it, anyway.

[Boozahol Squid, P.I.]

So you could make someone a cop by giving them an ear-trumpet?

How else would you do it?



By the way, I've got a few spare ear-trumpets to sell, if anyone's buying...

[Boozahol Squid, P.I.]

Exactly. I assume this does not occur. I've never heard of it, anyway.

In my first game of online mafia (on Idle's board) I did this, without knowing it was against the rules. The person I sent a message to duly reported me, and I withdrew from the game. Dopers are far too upright for their own good. ;)

[Freudian Slit]

How else would you do it?



By the way, I've got a few spare ear-trumpets to sell, if anyone's buying...

I just figured the moderator would privately (like when everyone's heads were down) ask the cop who they wanted to investigate. The cop could submit a name and the mod could tell them (in writing maybe) if they were town or whatnot.

Wouldn't the scum notice the cop with their ear trumpet?

[appleciders]

Sure. That's where I've played it the most, really. If it's a small group, you have just the Doctor, the Detective, and the Mafiosos. In larger groups, you can go a whole night without having a role beyond "villager", so we add any of a half-dozen more roles (the Witch, the Lovers, the Hunter, etc.)

[JSexton]

I play mafia on a couple of Magic: The Gathering boards a lot. Last year, a bunch of us got together IRL for the first time and played werewolf face-o-face. It was incredible to try and adjust to the wildly different strategy with people I know very well online, but not at all IRL. I hope to do it again soon.

One guy, Stan, is smooth as silk online. Game one face-to-face, as soon as the day starts, I ask him if he's scum. He pauses, stutters out "Y-no. No!" and breaks into a huge nervous grin. Bam! Easy lynch. But nope, he was town. Turns out he's just a whole lot more nervous IRL than he is online. That showed me just how different the game is.

[NAF1138]

I learned about mafia as a theatre game in high school. It was always played as an ice breaker/bonding game early on in the rehearsal process of any show that was getting put up. It's lots of fun in real life, and as others have said, very different.

[storyteller0910]

Now that I've played online a bit I think it would be interesting to try again in person and see how much carry over I could use. Might be a fun idea for a dopefest of the mafia group.

That would be entertaining. I wonder how different we would all be in an offline game.

[Boozahol Squid, P.I.]

I learned about mafia as a theatre game in high school. It was always played as an ice breaker/bonding game early on in the rehearsal process of any show that was getting put up. It's lots of fun in real life, and as others have said, very different.

Curious. In the theatre group I was in, in college, we often played 'sex in the prop room'. A much more effective bonding game, but perhaps less conducive for the whole cast.

[BigT]

I've often wondered if the real life game can use some of the complex rules and roles we've* created. I could see having a lot of fun with a themed mafia. Heck, a gastardbastard real life mafia would be hilarious.

*Well, you've. I don't play because I'm going through crap where my brain doesn't work reliably, and I can't guarantee I'd be around and capable though a whole game. That's why I think I'd prefer quick games.

[Chronos]

Curious. In the theatre group I was in, in college, we often played 'sex in the prop room'. A much more effective bonding game, but perhaps less conducive for the whole cast. Well, how conducive it'd be to the whole cast would depend on how many tentacles you have, now wouldn't it?

[NAF1138]

Curious. In the theatre group I was in, in college, we often played 'sex in the prop room'. A much more effective bonding game, but perhaps less conducive for the whole cast.

High school theatre vs college theatre my friend. I participated in your type of bonding when I was going to theatre school for college. I am here to tell you it is highly conducive to whole cast bonding. Large ensemble shows are particularly fun. :cool: