# Mafia - Game in progress \[Edited title\] **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 9, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635 "2013-01-09T16:03:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/141 "2013-01-22T09:05:10Z")
I see we’re punning at full pelt. Pack it in! And PM received. ---
**Author:** ![Askthepizzaguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askthepizzaguy/32/9405_2.png) [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/142 "2013-01-22T09:14:15Z")
Guys, be serious. There are werewolves out there, and they’re coming to get us. We shouldn’t be taking this matter lightly. In fact, it should give us great paws. ---
**Author:** ![gnarlycharlie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5f9b8f/32.png) [@gnarlycharlie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarlycharlie)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/143 "2013-01-22T10:10:19Z")
PM received. i’m lycan this game already. ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/144 "2013-01-22T13:57:57Z")
Day One will start around lunchtime today. ---
**Author:** ![Astral\_Rejection](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@Astral\_Rejection](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astral_Rejection)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/145 "2013-01-22T14:15:30Z")
“Werewolf?” (Points outside) “THERE wolf!” ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/146 "2013-01-22T14:33:36Z")
“Beware, wolf!” “Be a werewolf? Isn’t that just a little defeatist?” (_calibrates timezones_ - lunch was an hour ago) ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/147 "2013-01-22T15:55:04Z")
Cool! Can’t wait to get this show on the road! ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/148 "2013-01-22T16:02:58Z")
> [@storyteller0910](#): > > However, unlike all other Nights, you may discuss strategy if you wish during NIght Zero. Based on my role, I think it best that I reveal nothing further until Day Two. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/149 "2013-01-22T16:06:23Z")
I see a lot of stuff about “may do this” and “may not do this,” but I’m still a little confused. I understand that there are lots of “specialty” roles that are going to influence things, but that those roles are mostly based off of modifications of the basic play structure. Can someone give me a run-down of what the basic play structure will be? ---
**Author:** ![Astral\_Rejection](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@Astral\_Rejection](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astral_Rejection)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/150 "2013-01-22T16:27:40Z")
The basic play structure is still mafia. Most likely, between 20-30% of us players are werewolves, and its your job to suss the bad guys out. All the power roles in the world shouldn’t change that basic fact. If you’ve played mafia before, you’re golden. If you haven’t, you’re still golden. This game rocks! ---
**Author:** ![DiggitCamara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@DiggitCamara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiggitCamara)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/151 "2013-01-22T16:29:52Z")
Confirming PM ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/152 "2013-01-22T16:44:56Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > I see a lot of stuff about “may do this” and “may not do this,” but I’m still a little confused. I understand that there are lots of “specialty” roles that are going to influence things, but that those roles are mostly based off of modifications of the basic play structure. > > Can someone give me a run-down of what the basic play structure will be? Oh - you mean like for real “how do you play the game?” Sure. There are a lot of new players, so here’s a quick outline of “basic Mafia,” for the benefit of any and all who haven’t played before. In a standard, ordinary game, there are two sides. One side is the Town; they will make up the majority of the players. The other side is the Scum; they will be a minority of the players. At the outset of the game, the Scum know the identities of the other Scum. The Town players know nothing except their own roles. The Scum are allowed to talk and plan amongst themselves in private (in this game, only during the Night phase - see below); the Town can talk to one another only in public, in the game thread. The game is divided into phases: Day and Night. This game is starting with Night Zero, but that’s purely administrative and you can basically ignore it. The “real game” will start with Day One. During Day One, everyone talks. Eventually, the Town will vote to “lynch” somebody - ie, remove them from the game (different games use different voting systems, but in this one, whoever has the most votes when the Day officially ends is lynched). Once that player is dead, he or she will “flip” - ie, his or her role and alignment (Scum or Town) will be revealed to everyone. Then the game moves into the Night phase. During the Night phase, the Scum select a player to “kill” (obviously, not a Scum player except in the oddest of cases). At the end of the Night, that player “flips” and is removed from the game, and we start Day Two. Little by little, the Town players hope to use the emerging information from these flips to try to figure out who the Scum players might be, and the Scum players try to complicate the process. Most games add wrinkles in the form of power roles on either side, assigned either to individual players or to groups of players. An example of a simple power role is a Detective (usually Town). Each Night the Detective can investigate one single player and learn whether that player is Town or Scum. The Scum don’t know who the Detective is, so the Detective must balance the reward of revealing what he or she learns from investigating with the risk that the Scum will kill him or her. Some games also include Doctors (able to protect a player from being killed at Night), Masons (Town players who know one another to be Town at the outset of the game), Vigilantes (Town players who can kill at Night), and even more complicated roles. Scum can have powers or power roles, as well. A Godfather, perhaps, who can confuse the results of a Detective’s investigation. A role-block, preventing other players from acting. An investigation, much like that of the Detective. An extra kill. The ability to redirect a player’s action from one target to another. And so on. And then, to make matters worse, in some games there are players who are neither Town nor Scum. This game has at least one such player. These players usually have powers and goals that put them at odds with both sides, though they may wish to work with one side or another under some circumstances. Does that cover it? ---
**Author:** ![Astral\_Rejection](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/258eb7/32.png) [@Astral\_Rejection](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astral_Rejection)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/153 "2013-01-22T17:23:39Z")
Great summary, Story! Have you had that sitting around ready to go? ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/154 "2013-01-22T17:52:49Z")
Really excellent summary, **story**! At an even more basic level, it’s a game of Numbers and Information. At the onset, the Town players have a Numbers advantage and the Scum have an Information advantage. The goal for each team is to gain or maintain their advantage in both aspects through analysis of players’ posts and interactions and analysis of who has been killed and why. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/155 "2013-01-22T18:05:49Z")
Excellent summary. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/156 "2013-01-22T18:20:08Z")
**DAY ONE** \*INT - the tavern’s common room. Outside, the rain continues to fall as it did the previous night. CLOSE ON - A Somber Man. He is looking down at a small open box on the table in front of him.\* SOMBER MAN …what can we say about Mayor MHaye? He was… male. And he had many good qualities, presumably. And even though his life is gone, we take comfort in knowing that a part of him remains with us even now. I speak specifically of his tooth and thumb, held here in this box. _As he continues, in droning fashion, the camera pans the room. 27 are present. Some look nondescript, tucked into corners or sitting with their heads bowed. Others look comically suspicious, wild-eyed and sweaty._ SOMBER MAN And so I ask you, my fellow residents of this Nameless Village in the Middle of the Woods, will we allow the murder of this mostly adequate leader to go unavenged? _He looks around, eyes aflame, waiting for the thunderous response. After a moment, Choie speaks up._ CHOIE Well, that was the plan. FUBBLESKAG More or less. SILVER JAN Did you have another idea? _The Somber Man pulls himself to his full height. Which is not terribly impressive, but there it is._ THE SOMBER MAN Too long have the Wolves dogged our Town. USCDIVER Oh, I see what he did there. _As the Somber Man speaks, the camera moves over his shoulder, out the windows… to the gallows constructed in the center of town._ THE SOMBER MAN It is time for us to strike _back!_ They hide among us by day… but _death_ will pull back the curtain on their deceptions! PLEONAST Couldn’t we also just wait until the moon comes up and kill anyone who turns into a - THE SOMBER MAN To the gallows! THE REST To the gallows! _With enthusiasm, they pour out the door. The Somber Man closes the small wooden box with a sigh._ THE SOMBER MAN Rest in peace, Mr. Mayor. THE VOICE OF MHAYE Why, thank you! \*The Somber Man looks up suddenly, startled. We follow his gaze around the room, but everything seems in order. Fireplace, cookpot, moose head, window, door, broom. The camera returns to the Somber Man. He is, compared to the last time we saw him, surprisingly headless. The camera pans up to the moose head on the wall behind him. Fade to black.\* * * * Day One begins here, and will end on Wednesday, January 30 around 2:00PM Eastern time. Voting is now open, and all game rules are in effect. Have fun! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/157 "2013-01-22T18:22:46Z")
I’m not convinced that the mayor is dead. I think he’s just… Lupining for the fjords. ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/158 "2013-01-22T18:25:15Z")
FYI: The Mayor (MHaye) is not relevant to the game itself. But MHaye has graciously consented to co-moderate the game, so this gives us a colorful reason to involve him in the fun. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/159 "2013-01-22T18:40:36Z")
OK, does anyone have any thoughts on how to use the Barn to town advantage? Seems like it could be a useful way for investigators to announce their findings without outing themselves, but I can’t think of a way to avoid it being used by Scum to muddy waters. ---
**Author:** ![GuiriEnEspana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc79bd/32.png) [@GuiriEnEspana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuiriEnEspana)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635/160 "2013-01-22T18:40:57Z")
I think everyone except choie has checked in. Choie, are you a sole non-town, armed to the teeth with secret powers, with your own personal board to chat with the moderator again? Astral, I’m tempted to vote you for repeating the cheese joke. We have a fairly long Day ahead of us, any ideas on how to maximise info without a last minute claim fest? Pizza, does your 3-phase plan work on D1? Pleo, did you mean Day one or are you really holding off on making a full unforced claim until Day 2? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-game-in-progress-edited-title/646635.md?page=9)