# 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:** 3
**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 25, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/41 "2011-11-25T20:24:36Z")
Isn’t that just a rewording of scum must achieve parity with town? ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/42 "2011-11-25T20:31:24Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Isn’t that just a rewording of scum must achieve parity with town? I suppose the rule could have been worded more clearly. For example: “The scum only win when it becomes impossible for them to lose, even if they all openly revealed themselves.” Trepa Mayfield’s original statement could be interpreted as: "The scum win condition: Nothing. It is impossible for the scum to lose even if they all openly revealed themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/43 "2011-11-25T21:02:54Z")
Is this single voting or that weird “vote for three people each time” voting your games usually have? ---
**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 25, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/44 "2011-11-25T21:19:59Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Ooh, one quick question to **Trepa Mayfield** , please? Before diving in back in the **De’endee** game, I read a bunch of the past Mafia games here, and there was at least one before that was advertised as newbie friendly. Yet IIRC, newbie **twickster** walked out in a huff and a bunch of newbies still felt in over their heads, possibly due to the multiple old-timers participating and referencing past games in their logic/strategy. But maybe I’m misremembering. Which game was that? ---
**Author:** ![Scathach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Scathach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scathach)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/45 "2011-11-25T21:23:50Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Which game was that? This one I think [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-467356.html](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-467356.html) Just searched twickster mafia site:straightdope.com ---
**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 25, 2011, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/46 "2011-11-25T22:44:00Z")
I’m in. I’m totally new to this, so be gentle! ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Jan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Silver\_Jan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Jan)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/47 "2011-11-25T23:03:29Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > I’m in. I’m totally new to this, so be gentle! Gentle, gentle, these people will rip your throat out and laugh at your dying body!! Well that was fun 🙂 ---
**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 26, 2011, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/48 "2011-11-26T00:14:36Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Is this single voting or that weird “vote for three people each time” voting your games usually have? Borda voting. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/49 "2011-11-26T00:26:30Z")
Sign me up, please. ---
**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 26, 2011, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/50 "2011-11-26T01:13:04Z")
Thanks for the explanation, **Inner Stickler**! That makes sense. At least, as much as anything makes sense in this game. I guess I was actually lucky in **De’endee** because there weren’t any roles like masons to keep track of. But those extra powers and levels _were_ tricksy. > [@Mahaloth](#): > > Which game was that? Yep, it was the **Doperville** game. It was lauded as Newbie-Friendly but apparently … not so much. IIRC a couple of folks quit. Or maybe one of them was **pedescribe** and he just never posted a damn thing as usual. 😃 But seriously, I think the problem was just that the newbie-to-oldie ratio was really low, so it was kind of inevitable that the majority of players (experienced folks) would lean to their more natural way of playing. I do hope **Trepa** does clarify that Scum win condition, because “scum can’t possibly lose” is exactly how I read it! ---
**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 26, 2011, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/51 "2011-11-26T01:28:28Z")
So I’m reading up on the rules and roles and what have you, going over some old games to see how this thing works. Generally speaking, if you put in a post a day over a couple of months, how much time does that generally mean you put into the game on a daily basis, reading up and plotting and everything? How much behind-the-scenes PMing is there between players? Also, are there breaks for the holiday season? ---
**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 26, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/52 "2011-11-26T01:34:54Z")
Well, a good game shouldn’t last more than 2 months. Days and Nights will usually be elongated to allow for holidays. A post per day means about 5 posts in a Day which is usually considered on the edge of nonparticipatory. However, this is context based and if say, Mhaye posts 4 times in a Day, he’s being positively loquacious. But I can post 20 times in a Day and not say anything worthwhile. It will depend on the content and length of the 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 26, 2011, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/53 "2011-11-26T04:24:58Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > So I’m reading up on the rules and roles and what have you, going over some old games to see how this thing works. Generally speaking, if you put in a post a day over a couple of months, how much time does that generally mean you put into the game on a daily basis, reading up and plotting and everything? How much behind-the-scenes PMing is there between players? Also, are there breaks for the holiday season? You edited. You must die! ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/54 "2011-11-26T04:28:26Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Borda voting. Now is that you answering my question or just telling me what the “vote for three people”-style is called? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![gnarlycharlie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5f9b8f/32.png) [@gnarlycharlie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarlycharlie)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/55 "2011-11-26T13:23:44Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Yep, it was the **Doperville** game. It was lauded as Newbie-Friendly but apparently … not so much. IIRC a couple of folks quit. Or maybe one of them was **pedescribe** and he just never posted a damn thing as usual. 😃 isn’t **Trepa** the former **pedescribe** or am i misremembering? ---
**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 26, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/56 "2011-11-26T16:07:14Z")
Pedescribe changed his name to Trepa Mayfield or whatever a while ago. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/57 "2011-11-26T16:21:35Z")
In- if there’s still room, female. ---
**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 26, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/58 "2011-11-26T16:27:36Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Now is that you answering my question or just telling me what the “vote for three people”-style is called? :smack: Borda voting is when every player has 3 votes and they’re weighted so the first vote has three times the force of the third vote. I don’t think anyone uses it anymore because it really screws town over in the Endgame. I didn’t see anything in the rules about weird voting so I’m assuming it’s straight up regular voting. ---
**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 26, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/59 "2011-11-26T17:20:00Z")
> [@gnarlycharlie](#): > > isn’t **Trepa** the former **pedescribe** or am i misremembering? > [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Pedescribe changed his name to Trepa Mayfield or whatever a while ago. Oh my God, that’s hilarious. Wow, my face is red. This must’ve been pretty recent since **pedescribe** ’s habitual lack of participation was noted and, um, commented vociferously upon, in the **De’endee** game over the summer. So does this mean we’ll never get any answers to our questions, or does **Trepa Mayfield** have a different style when s/he is a game mod? 😉 ---
**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 26, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/60 "2011-11-26T17:29:00Z")
Trepa-ped, you promise, promise, promise you won’t be ditching us? You promised back in De’endee and still ditched us…again. Just like in Harry Potter. And other games. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526.md?page=4)