# Mafia: The Thrill of the Chase \[Newbie Friendly!\] **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 20, 2011, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526 "2011-11-20T06:04:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Scathach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Scathach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scathach)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/241 "2011-11-29T23:41:59Z")
> [@GuiriEnEspana](#): > > It’s the only post you’ve chosen to comment on since confirming, you seem to be quite suspicious of Mahaloth, partially echoing Astral’s comment, and, if you suspect he’s scum, I’m wondering why you didn’t vote him. Because sweeping in, picking one post and going “Aha! Here is scum!” has yet to work out for me unfortunately. I don’t know enough about game balance to do much speculating about mechanics, so the only thing I can do is comment on people’s posts. ---
**Author:** ![special\_ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@special\_ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/special_ed)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/242 "2011-11-29T23:53:18Z")
> [@GuiriEnEspana](#): > > What’s special about Friday? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/kfVsfOSbJY0/maxresdefault.jpg "Rebecca Black - Friday") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/243 "2011-11-29T23:53:25Z")
> [@Scathach](#): > > Honestly, I think this makes you look worse than Fubbleskag. It’s a newbie game, and the “abstain” thing strikes me as way more townie than scummy simply because I don’t think scum would take such a massive risk so early on. (in a way that is very unlikely to convince anyone too). The abstain thing is muddled at best. It’s more his comment than the vote, though the vote got me examining him closer. > [@GuiriEnEspana](#): > > Is your vote for his comment or for his lack of vote? The comment. It moved him up my list of suspects to number one. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/244 "2011-11-29T23:54:29Z")
> [@special\_ed](#): > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0) Curse you! ---
**Author:** ![special\_ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@special\_ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/special_ed)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/245 "2011-11-30T00:01:15Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Curse you! I know, right? I’m tempted to vote for myself for that ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/246 "2011-11-30T00:03:01Z")
> [@Silver\_Jan](#): > > I can’t open it ☹ tough break. Has anyone else had problems? Are you maybe a mac user who can’t open MS Word files or something like that? > [@special\_ed](#): > > over time, it has become less and less acceptable to have links to outside sites that ocntain information for the game. :rolleyes: the link I supplied contains general considerations applying to any game that in which doctors, vigilantes, and serial killers may or may not be present, and how that impacts the interpretation of the numbers of kills after a Night. I wonder why you have a problem with people supplying neutral and pertinent information like that in a game like this. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/247 "2011-11-30T00:05:53Z")
> [@GuiriEnEspana](#): > > What’s special about Friday? Er - the deadline? Ahhhhhh, the song… **special ed** you’re on my list. I’m not sure I’ll actually vote for anyone on the list, but you’re there, dagnabit! ---
**Author:** ![special\_ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@special\_ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/special_ed)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/248 "2011-11-30T00:21:50Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > tough break. Has anyone else had problems? Are you maybe a mac user who can’t open MS Word files or something like that? > > :rolleyes: > > the link I supplied contains general considerations applying to any game that in which doctors, vigilantes, and serial killers may or may not be present, and how that impacts the interpretation of the numbers of kills after a Night. I wonder why you have a problem with people supplying neutral and pertinent information like that in a game like this. Interesting. You take my notice that outside websites are often frowned upon and state, “I wonder why you have a problem with people supplying neutral and pertinent information like that in a game like this.” Can you please point out where I discouraged anyone from supplying neutral and pertinent information? Or was it just a way to frame a question to make me look bad? A common Scum tactic, in my experience, when someone finds any pressure uncomfortable and lashes out at the one giving it. And it strikes me as even more possible since I really didn’t accuse you of anything at all. To me, it appears very defensive of you. ```auto Now, back to the issue that you tried to re-frame. As a former moderator, the problem I have with using something like that or google docs is the potential for communication that isn't within the game. Additionally, with various work filters/computers/smartphones/ we cannot guarantee that everyone involved in the game will have access to the information. That's not to say I haven't used such things like hash tags web sites in the past. I've just come to understand the concerns that it brings. While what you did may be completely innocent and with a strong desire to help, it's quite a slippery slope, and one I would like to avoid. If you wanted to provide information of a general nature that can apply to many situations and not a discussion about this game, I can point you to our wiki: http://mafiagameswiki.com/mafiaWiki/Main_Page ``` ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/249 "2011-11-30T00:28:35Z")
So let’s see if i can hash out my thoughts in this matter by writing down and summarizing what is going on - \*\*Fubbleskag \*\*finally comes out of the woodwork (does not justify his absence) and throws in an abstain vote; \*\*Mahaloth \*\*smells scum and votes to lynch **Fubbleskag** , at which point \*\*Scathach \*\*starts suspecting **Mahaloth**. All it takes is for \*\*Fubbleskag \*\*to vote for \*\*Scathach \*\*and we have a Mexican Standoff. Still, while I agree with **Guiri** that it is hardly the most remarkable thing that is going on right now, I’m probably with \*\*Scathach \*\*on this one, it would seem that voting for \*\*Fubbleskag \*\*is a bit rash (even if I do appreciate that \*\*Mahaloth \*\*has unvoted me). I am not so sure that **Fubbleskag** ’s risk averse approach is such a bad thing (although his justification for it, combined with his relative absence in the game so far, may make things to look a bit iffy). Couple of small things I noticed: > [@Trepa\_Mayfield](#): > > Yes. And yes. I wish we had embedded quotes. This quote misses the context but anyway- this is Trepa’s answer to Guiri’s question whether we can talk strategy at night, and whether scum can talk during the day. So does this mean that scum are aware of who the other scum are? Aren’t both of those things rather uncommon in games? How does this affect gameplay? > [@Precambrianmollusc](#): > > Yes, but if there is a town aligned vig, they may hold off until they have a better grasp on who they think is scum, rather than risk a random kill on a pro town power role. > Although now I think about it, every time I have played with a pro town vig in the mix they have come right out the gate shooting, so a first night kill really doesnt indicate anything. Given that there are a whole bunch of different options, a good reason for a vig to lay low is that it may convince people that there is no vig, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/250 "2011-11-30T00:33:29Z")
> [@special\_ed](#): > > Can you please point out where I discouraged anyone from supplying neutral and pertinent information? I feel that you discouraged me from supplying neutral and pertinent information by saying that what I did was seen as less and less acceptable, when I had (and have) no inkling of why that might be the case. I find that suspicious. I’ll ponder your explanation for a little bit, but it is not immediately clear to me how what I did might enable outside communication. I would really like to hear some other voices in this matter. Let me add, finally, that if you had offered more of your wisdom as a former mod right off the bat, instead of just posting something unspecific and vague like you did, this suspicion might not have been raised. I guess it’s your style, and it makes you **special** , but it’s not very helpful. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/251 "2011-11-30T00:49:26Z")
Jeezy creezy, if I make a pot of cocoa, will you two warm up? Svejk, it’s safest to avoid using non-modsanctioned tools like that. Perhaps talk to Trepa about it, and if he agrees, you can post more about it. The other aspect here is that, on Day 1, you have to make so many assumptions that it’s not going to tell you very much that’s useful. If scum can day talk, then I would assume they know who their teammates are. I’ve been in games where the scum team was laid out in the role PM and I’ve been in games where you had to wait until the first time scum can talk for everyone to identify themselves. (Often there’s a fluff N0 thread where scum can share role info and suchlike.) Opinions vary on Scum Daytalk and Strategy Nights. The traditional setup has fluff nights and no Scum Daytalk. When town is given free rein on Nights, often scum are given help during the Day for balance. A scum team that can daytalk can coordinate much more ably as they can react to Day stuff in realtime. Fancier fake claims and the like. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/252 "2011-11-30T00:52:22Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > Given that there are a whole bunch of different options, a good reason for a vig to lay low is that it may convince people that there is no vig, I guess. Think it through. Not being snarky, I can see you’re a smart guy trying to figure out how to play by your posts, just keep on thinking it through. Is it better for town to know there’s a vig, or not? Can town direct the vig to target players they think are scum? Is the vig a target of scum? If the vig doesn’t use his powers right away, or all the time, can he become a lynch target? Can the scum convert the vig to their side? Does the vig have the same win condition as everyone else? Is it a power they can use all the time, or only once? How does the vig convince anyone else he’s the vig? Those are just the possibilities just off the top of my head. I’m sure there’s more. Think it through. Or don’t think at all. Like I said, I think quite a bit of this game is completely random. ---
**Author:** ![special\_ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@special\_ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/special_ed)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/253 "2011-11-30T01:05:33Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > I feel that you discouraged me from supplying neutral and pertinent information by saying that what I did was seen as less and less acceptable, when I had (and have) no inkling of why that might be the case. I find that suspicious. I’ll ponder your explanation for a little bit, but it is not immediately clear to me how what I did might enable outside communication. I would really like to hear some other voices in this matter. Let me add, finally, that if you had offered more of your wisdom as a former mod right off the bat, instead of just posting something unspecific and vague like you did, this suspicion might not have been raised. I guess it’s your style, and it makes you **special** , but it’s not very helpful. I understand. If you look back at my comment, it had nothing to do with any of the content you provided, just with the method of delivery. You enabled outside communication by communicating to players through dropbox instead of through the message board. To be honest, I looked at your doc, but I didn’t even bother reading it. I’m not of the mindset to try to guess the game set-up on day 1. I’m more willing to see how things happen and then figure it out. But others are different, and that’s fine. I can, if you’d like, list a variety of ways in which this information is seen as undesirable by moderators: 1. The moderator has no control over the information. 2. The document can be changed/deleted at will by the creator (or others with permission) which circumvents the no editing rule. 3. The information may not be accessible to all players which goes against the nature of an open game. For example, work or school filters may prevent downloading or accessing certain website, player may not have the needed software on their computers or phones. 4. It is possible, to track those who have accessed the information and those who have not, prevent players who wish to hide their presence from doing so. 5. The game is designed to be played on a message board. Spreadsheets and other documents can convey an unfair advantage to one side or the other through the ability to present or analyze information. I’m sure others can come up with others, but in all honesty, I was just trying to point out to you that such a presentation of information is looked at as communication, and communication via off-board means is forbidden in this and most games. ```auto And, I certainly meant no ill will. I do like to see how people respond under pressure though. I find it often gives insight into alignment. ``` ---
**Author:** ![MentalGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/439d5e/32.png) [@MentalGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MentalGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/254 "2011-11-30T03:48:24Z")
I apologize for not posting something sooner. I planned on trying to last night, but wound up getting 2nd place in my poker tourney, so I had to play all the way to the end. I can usually keep up with the thread at work, but I don’t get much opportunity to post there (partially just because I am so slow in composing posts). Anyway, I think for Day 1, the cases against Precambrianmollusc and Mahaloth are both reasonable. I don’t like random votes and I especially don’t like a player intentionally abstaining from voting, but I don’t really see either thing as something that scum would openly do. Of the two, I found Mahaloth scummier than Precambrian, though I admit that it is more of a feeling than anything concrete. Mahaloth’s vote seemed more like he was searching for a safe vote, where PCM’s vote had a more “just trying to get things started” feel. Of course, part of that might have just been the timing. Anyway, **Vote Mahaloth** As for other strategic matters, I agree that letting the vig take care of lurkers is the best option. I am only willing to wait a Day or two, though, before lurkers become fair game for lynching. We don’t want the lurkers clogging up the endgame. (Admittedly, I do not usually have high post count. If you consider me a lurker, so be it.) > [@fisha](#): > > Is it better for town to know there’s a vig, or not? Can town direct the vig to target players they think are scum? Is the vig a target of scum? If the vig doesn’t use his powers right away, or all the time, can he become a lynch target? Can the scum convert the vig to their side? Does the vig have the same win condition as everyone else? Is it a power they can use all the time, or only once? How does the vig convince anyone else he’s the vig? Fisha, I like that you are trying to consider various possibilities. That said, if the answer to a couple of your questions was yes, I don’t think players here would consider it a vig. Like if the scum could convert them, or if they had a different win condition. Roles like that could exist (but I doubt they do in this game), but they would not be thought of as vigilantes. Svejk, I could not open your document. Also, I did think that you overreacted to Ed’s comment concerning off board documents, but it did seem to me to be more “mafia paranoia” than “let’s try to get Ed lynched over this”. Still, I could see how someone could view it differently, especially if that person was the target. I think there were some other minor things I wanted to comment on, but I need to go back and reread. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/255 "2011-11-30T04:01:07Z")
Well, hang on. By ‘outside docs’ being a bad idea, do you guys also mean any chart or whatever that someone might create and link to on his or her own webspace? Back in the other game I played, I put together some charts that were really helpful to me (though probably no one else found 'em useful) and actually kept my voting record pretty darn good… erm, up to a point, that is. 😃 So would those charts be disallowed here? It’s mentioned [in this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14147371&postcount=2379). I guess though the difference is that I did add the material directly into the post, but just added a better-looking copy on my own hosted site. (Ye gods and little fishes, just looking through that thread gives me butterflies in my stomach. I hope like hell I don’t come across the way I did there.) ---
**Author:** ![special\_ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@special\_ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/special_ed)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/256 "2011-11-30T04:17:21Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Well, hang on. By ‘outside docs’ being a bad idea, do you guys also mean any chart or whatever that someone might create and link to on his or her own webspace? Back in the other game I played, I put together some charts that were really helpful to me (though probably no one else found 'em useful) and actually kept my voting record pretty darn good… erm, up to a point, that is. 😃 So would those charts be disallowed here? > > It’s mentioned [in this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14147371&postcount=2379). I guess though the difference is that I did add the material directly into the post, but just added a better-looking copy on my own hosted site. > > (Ye gods and little fishes, just looking through that thread gives me butterflies in my stomach. I hope like hell I don’t come across the way I did there.) What I would recommend for a game I was modding would be this: it is OK to create whatever notes you’d like for your own use. I would only share things by posting them in the game thread. I know the formatting can be awful for conveying information, but I think of it as part of the game. But that’s me (and a few others) ---
**Author:** ![special\_ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@special\_ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/special_ed)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/257 "2011-11-30T04:24:54Z")
egad! I’m a hypocrite As I say all this, I post a link to a time/date website into another game. Just to provide a countdown timer for the DayEnd. I’m going to go sit in the corner now. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/258 "2011-11-30T04:50:53Z")
Alright, I guess I was overreacting a little bit. Thanks for the clarification. I maintain that it might not have come to this if some more extensive directions and explanations had been supplied sooner - this is my first game after all - but that’s neither here nor there. At any rate, no hard feelings, putting this behind me to focus on hunting down some scum. **Inner Stickler** , I’ll have that hot cocoa now, thank you 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MentalGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/439d5e/32.png) [@MentalGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MentalGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2011, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/259 "2011-11-30T05:06:11Z")
> [@fisha](#): > > Here’s the bad/good thing about Mafia. > > Everyone needs to post-a lot. Timely, intelligent, insightful posts. > > However… > > Everything.single.thing you post will be held against you at some point. > > Don’t take it personally. Keep posting. > > The only information we have to detect scum is by everyone’s posts. > > Scum know this, therefore they (general rule) try to lurk-either by not posting at all, or by posting fluff. > > Lynching in absence of information is basically betting odds. At this point of the game, odds favor scum. I hate blind lynchings. Townies at the end of the rope sucks ass. > > There is a very strong sentiment of ‘lynch the lurker.’ I happen to agree with it, not only because it can be a scum ‘tell’ on occasion, but mostly because if you’re not going to participate, well, why are you even here? > > That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate 1 very insightful post to 10 ‘fluff’ posts. I don’t know that scum lurk or post fluff(I think of fluff as essentially non-game related posts) so much as try to make it look like they are participating without really drawing attention. Some scum will lurk, but it seems in my experience, they are usually the same players that do not post much as Town either. > [@special\_ed](#): > > Wait! > > WTF? > > I make you feel inferior? > > How? > > I’ve played so many of these games and my record is abysmal! I am horrible at this game. When I try serious approaches, I’m wrong. When I try being flippant, I’m wrong. I’m just wrong. > > And on those instances when I’m right, no one listens to me anyway. So what does my reasoning matter? I can sit here and Bah and applaud and let you all come to your own conclusions. I know you often bring up your abysmal record, but I don’t think most of those losses are your fault. And I have seen you do some brilliant things in games. You obviously put much more thought into this game than I or most players do, so while I won’t just follow you blindly, I am always interested in hearing your reasoning. (Now I await the snuggling accusation.) > [@choie](#): > > Yep, it’s his first. > > Tsk tsk! FOS at Mahaloth for not reading carefully so early in the game! (Nah, just kidding. BTW am I crazy for being disappointed that you’re no longer using your Denial/Anger/Depression/Bargaining/Acceptance style in your posts?) > > I’m fairly itching to do an OMGUS on **GuiriEnEspana** but I shall refrain. > > **vote fluiddruid** > > Honestly I have no idea why. I guess my reasoning is, any vote is just about as good as any other, and why not pick on an SDMB mod for once? > > OH. I just thought about something. Since we started during a Day, rather than a Night, does this mean that the scum gang don’t know yet who’s one of them, and who’s one of us? I don’t remember how that works. IIRC my first game began at Night, so the scum were already one step ahead of us. I doubt the mod would keep members of the scum team in the dark about who their teammates were, but Ed modded a game once where the scum did not know what powers each other had until after Day 1. That said, the scum are allowed day talk in this game, so I am sure they all know who each other are and are plotting our demise already. > [@Svejk\_1](#): > > So by my count, after **FluidDruid** checked in yesterday at 12:33 PM and gameplay really started, 14 players have contributed by making at least one post (I haven’t really scored posts for substance, though); that leaves six players still lurking or MIA or whatever: > > **FluidDruid > Fubbleskag > Hirka T’Bawa > MentalGuy > Scathach > Septimus** > > This is a group to keep an eye on, perhaps? It seems fair to say that scum have less of an incentive to post than non-scum; if that is true, and there’s, say, 4 or even 5 scum, and 2 of them are still cowering in the shadows, that gives a .33 scum ratio for the above group, as opposed to a much lower ratio in the group of posters (.14 - .21). Except, I think scum would be thinking they needed to try to be seen as participating in order not to draw this kind of attention (essentially trying to hide in plain sight). Whereas Town players would not be as concerned with making sure they showed up right away as long as they planned on contributing before the end of the Day. So, I would estimate the above list to have fewer scum proportionally than the overall game. > [@fubbleskag](#): > > I don’t have a timezone or pressing other matters to lean on as an excuse, I’m just even more horrible at this game during Day 1 than usual. I always have trouble on Day 1 making a case, even a weak one, for a vote when there’s literally nothing to go on. I’m almost of the thinking that anyone making a remotely serious case for a vote on Day 1 is likely scum trying to avoid suspicion for being too inactive. > > **Vote Abstain** Hell, if nothing else, just make some sort of policy vote on Day 1. Vote for a lurker, vote for someone for voting a lurker, vote for someone for talking about lurkers. Hell, just vote for Ed for the link he inserted into this thread. > [@Mahaloth](#): > > Really? I thought most pro-town vig’s are rather gun shy early. I have seen I think a fairly even distribution of gun shy vigs and gun happy vigs. I tend to think the best ones are the proactive ones who go after the lurkers or the players that were almost lynched. In those cases, they are not really substituting their judgement of who is scum for Town’s, but they are taking care of players who might be a problem for Town down the road. > [@Astral\_Rejection](#): > > To figure out a serial killer, just subtract one from each town tally, as presumably the killer is not town aligned. > > Also, you’ll note I didn’t say it was unbalanced, per se… I just felt it was unlikely. If the vig is not forced to kill, for instance, we could be back at 4 correct lynches versus 7 mislynches, which is horribly skewed pro-town. Add in that Trepa’s given win condition for scum makes no mention of eliminating all threats, and that this is a newbie friendly game, and I feel “no vig” is more likely. > > Tomorrow, we’ll see if I’m wrong! If scum can win even after they have completely revealed themselves, I think they have eliminated all threats. > [@special\_ed](#): > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0) I have not actually clicked on that link, but considering it is a youtube video in response to someone mentioning Friday, I am pretty sure you just committed a lynchable offense. > [@Svejk\_1](#): > > I wish we had embedded quotes. This quote misses the context but anyway- this is Trepa’s answer to Guiri’s question whether we can talk strategy at night, and whether scum can talk during the day. So does this mean that scum are aware of who the other scum are? Aren’t both of those things rather uncommon in games? How does this affect gameplay? I think when mafia first started on the board it was generally uncommon to have Night strategy and to allow the scum team to talk during the Day. It has become more common, though by no means universal, to allow Night strategy and scum talk during the Day > [@choie](#): > > Well, hang on. By ‘outside docs’ being a bad idea, do you guys also mean any chart or whatever that someone might create and link to on his or her own webspace? Back in the other game I played, I put together some charts that were really helpful to me (though probably no one else found 'em useful) and actually kept my voting record pretty darn good… erm, up to a point, that is. 😃 So would those charts be disallowed here? > > It’s mentioned [in this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14147371&postcount=2379). I guess though the difference is that I did add the material directly into the post, but just added a better-looking copy on my own hosted site. > > (Ye gods and little fishes, just looking through that thread gives me butterflies in my stomach. I hope like hell I don’t come across the way I did there.) Yeah, I don’t think it was much of a problem since all the information was there in the thread. Also, it was a PDF, so it was not as if other players would be editing it. (I don’t know what kind of document Svejk linked to since I could not open it.) I do think it would be better overall, though, if you did not link to documents outside the thread and just put all the information in your posts. (Another consideration is people reading the threads in the future. You don’t know if those documents will still be around later.) ---
**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:** [November 30, 2011, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/260 "2011-11-30T05:40:55Z")
Anybody else having board problems? This is the first I’ve been able to get on in a couple of hours. It might be sporadic… I haven’t exactly been sitting here clicking “refresh” over and over. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526.md?page=14)