# 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:** 4
**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, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/61 "2011-11-26T17:29:00Z")
> [@special\_ed](#): > > You edited. You must die! Boo! The game has not started yet. What a scum thing to jump on a newbie just like that! [Thanks for reminding me of that rule though. I’m aware of it and I’ll keep it in mind :)] ---
**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, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/62 "2011-11-26T18:07:47Z")
Er yeah, I’ve been assuming since the game hasn’t started yet, it’s okay to edit. If not, uh oh, I’m screwed. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/63 "2011-11-26T18:26:48Z")
I’d like to sign up but I’m afraid I won’t be able to participate properly this week (family emergency). How much board presense does playing normally take? ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/64 "2011-11-26T18:33:55Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > 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. Okay, if \*\*Trepa \*\*is **pedescribe** , I’m sorry, I’m withdrawing my signup. Fool me twice, etc. ---
**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, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/65 "2011-11-26T18:35:03Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > Okay, if \*\*Trepa \*\*is **pedescribe** , I’m sorry, I’m withdrawing my signup. Fool me twice, etc. I’d consider it but I am willing to be fooled again. He can’t flake out on a modded game, right? ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/66 "2011-11-26T18:45:23Z")
☹ Bye Zeriel > [@Mahaloth](#): > > 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. It was a really busy day yesterday. Post-Thanksgivng, birthday celebrations (not mine)…lots of obligations that I had not anticipated. Gimme a sec, I’ll start things up now. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/67 "2011-11-26T18:57:18Z")
1. Inner Stickler (m) 2. Astral Rejection (m) 3. Mahaloth (m) 4. Scathach (f) 5. precambrianmollusc (m) 6. gregorio (m) 7. MentalGuy (m) 8. Hirka T’Bawa (m) 9. septimus (m) 10. choie (f) 11. orcenio (m) 12. special ed (m) 13. fubbleskag (m) 14. wevets (m) 15. Silver Jan (f) 16. gnarlycharlie (m) 17. GuiriEnEspana (m) 18. Svejk (?) 19. fluiddruid (f) 20. fisha (f) > [@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. > > I guess the question is: how _does_ one make a Mafia game newbie-friendly? What distinguishes a newbie-friendly game from a hardcore “don’t enter unless you’re Al Capone / John Gotti’s successor” kinda game? There’s no crazy offbeat mechanics, no power-roles that could never be anticipated (except maybe one, as mentioned before) and no hidden information that’s separate from the main game. You’d think that’s typical, but around here it’s not. > [@GuiriEnEspana](#): > > **Is there a cutesy name for the scum team?** Nope, just “scum”. Because that’s what they are. **Really?** [/QUOTE] Let me clarify. **The Scum win when enough townies have died that, even if all the scum revealed themselves, they would be guaranteed to win.**. In a totally no-powers game, that’s the equivalent of “when they outnumber the town”, but doctors and vigs and SKs and the like have a way of gumming up the works. > [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Is this single voting or that weird “vote for three people each time” voting your games usually have? Single voting. > [@choie](#): > > 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? 😉 ’ I’m a much more competent mod than a player, I swear. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’d like to sign up but I’m afraid I won’t be able to participate properly this week (family emergency). How much board presense does playing normally take? You can sub in if someone drops out, which would be after this week anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/68 "2011-11-26T19:14:00Z")
And before I forget…here’s the Vanilla Townie PM: Vanilla Townie Hi, and welcome! You are a (pure young maiden/handsome young fellow), looking for an (everlasting soulmate/dearly beloved wife) in among the crowd of (jerks/skanks). Along the way, you’ll have to deal with (intrigue/betrayal/fright) and bask in the beauty of (perfectly sculpted muscles/bright blue eyes/lovely flowing hair/exquisite dresses). Really, though, what you’re afraid of is those people out there who hang out in bars and will leave you in the lurch. You know, the scum of the dating pool. Special Powers: None ---
**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, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/69 "2011-11-26T19:32:25Z")
Got my PM, thanks. Does the game start now? And does it start during Night or Day? (I think last game started at Night.) ---
**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, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/70 "2011-11-26T19:34:55Z")
I see that I failed to supply personal information on my sex. Let word spread across the land: I am a **boy**! ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/71 "2011-11-26T19:35:11Z")
The smell on his breath was…enchanting, just like the rest of him. But cold. Oh so bitterly cold, biting like the smell of a frozen tic-tac. His sculpted muscles, his bright blue eyes–and yet there was something so distant about him, so different than the Eduardo that she had been used to. He left, he came back. Changed. She had to confront him about it. She knew she should. “Who are you?!” she shouted, into his ear, startling him into wakefulness. He knew, too, apparently, as he didn’t even bother to try to defend himself, breaking into a dead run. They ran from each other, lightly, liltingly, pounding over the springy steps of dead lies. Both knew that they would meet again, sooner or later, but neither had considered just how giant of a commotion it would be. For when one deals in such passionate matters, one must bring allies. And as they gathered friends and foes alike, regulars at the bars using a constant shifting mass of pseudonyms, both young lovers realized just how phony their relationship had been. Who was he, really? Who had they been? When they gathered later, to confront each other, did they ever really know each other at all? The modern sense of know, for the record. “Later”, of course, is now. Now we see–a score of young passionate flames, all impossibly attractive, all steely-eyed and strong-shouldered, staring into the suddenly foreign faces of their fellows, pondering the most important question of all: who shot who? * * * Alright: all role PMs have been sent out. Please check in here or via PM so I know you got yours. It is now Day 1. Day 1 ends 5 days from when the last person checks in, which will probably be Thursday. ---
**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, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/72 "2011-11-26T19:45:53Z")
Confirmed. ---
**Author:** ![GuiriEnEspana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc79bd/32.png) [@GuiriEnEspana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuiriEnEspana)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/73 "2011-11-26T19:51:25Z")
Confirming! And I’m ready to fall in love! @ **Scathach** , fancy a pint? ---
**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, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/74 "2011-11-26T20:08:47Z")
Confirmed. ---
**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 26, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/75 "2011-11-26T20:16:13Z")
Got it. ---
**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, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/76 "2011-11-26T21:08:20Z")
Confirmed. ---
**Author:** ![Hirka\_T\_Bawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/db5fbb/32.png) [@Hirka\_T\_Bawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hirka_T_Bawa)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/77 "2011-11-26T21:20:13Z")
Confirmed ---
**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, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/78 "2011-11-26T22:17:41Z")
me too!!1! ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/79 "2011-11-26T22:32:24Z")
Cool, I think we’ve got about half confirmed so far? (You guys can talk strategy now, you don’t have to wait…) ---
**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, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526/80 "2011-11-26T22:45:35Z")
Confirmed [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mafia-the-thrill-of-the-chase-newbie-friendly/603526.md?page=5)