# Mystery Mafia -- Game Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 17, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025 "2011-08-17T14:03:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Episkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Episkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Episkey)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/241 "2011-08-17T19:56:06Z")
> [@lilflower](#): > > We tend to have the same Day 1 discussions all the time and it can get a bit boring, to be honest, so this seer/breadcrumb conversation is nice but I think I agree that it’s a distraction. I’m not sure if any scumminess would be revealed (although you never know). > > What shall we talk about then? Maybe you all have some other, more interesting topics. What do you usually do on Day 1? I typically just try to interact with people to gauge their reactions and figure out their thought processes. Also no, I have no more interesting topic than the current one going - but I could have a conversation about the current topic for days and I’d rather get to know all these people that are new to me instead What do you normally do? ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/242 "2011-08-17T19:56:31Z")
> [@crackedquads](#): > > Wait, you guys actually allow players to talk at night in thread, just not about the game? > > And nights are an entire day? > > What the fuck. > > :eek: Hell, most of our games now allow strategy talk at night. And as far as I can tell, our games average around 5-6x as long a day/night cycle as yours do–we have entire weeks for a single day/night cycle. Which probably explains at least some of the play differences, as it allows for a lot more time for both refined analysis and for the scum to make mistakes (even by not posting, which is a kind of mistake all its own). ---
**Author:** ![LightFoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@LightFoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LightFoot)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/243 "2011-08-17T19:56:48Z")
> [@lilflower](#): > > have you met **peeker**? yomank ---
**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:** [August 17, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/244 "2011-08-17T19:57:16Z")
Sorry, my mistake in my last post, it should read: If 1 and 2 was the case, my guess is that this would happen: 1. Everyone either lynches A or C. 2. If they’re the seer, the other is lynched the next day. I can see the second instance being sort of what you said ( **Episkey** ), but it still seems like a far shot for scum to try it since the Doc could have chosen right. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/245 "2011-08-17T19:57:44Z")
> [@Dancecat](#): > > I like this sachertorte person. I wish to subscribe to your newsletter. > > The point of the early vote on NAF was that, at the time of the vote, he had done (or suggested) what I thought was the most anti-village thing of anyone so far. The purpose of the vote is to apply pressure and hopefully generate discussion, and I’m glad that said discussion followed. As I said in an earlier post, I’m not sure that I can justifiably call him wolfy for it just because the idea was anti-villa/pro-wolf, especially since there’s a huge cultural difference between here and “home.” In fact, I am actively looking for someone who I think is a better vote (and I have a suspect or two), I’m just not quite sure what direction I’m going to take yet. > > Does that help? If it makes any difference, I followed what you were doing exactly. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/246 "2011-08-17T19:59:40Z")
> [@crackedquads](#): > > Uhh, any wolf team should absolutely jump at the chance to trade one wolf for the only seer. If you all really play like this I would claim seer (as a wolf) every game so the real seer could counterclaim and get himself killed. I doubt you guys really play that straightforward but if you do, it’s definitely a leak in your game (poker terminology ftw). The way our games are designed scum would lose almost every time following this strategy. Trust me, I have been on those scum teams. ---
**Author:** ![Dancecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Dancecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancecat)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/247 "2011-08-17T19:59:46Z")
> [@lilflower](#): > > What do you usually do on Day 1? You don’t want to know :D. But since you asked, here’s a link to a slow game, which at 3 lynches a week would still be considered pretty quick by your standards: [6/6 D-Day Vanilla Slow Game modded by the one and only Homer](http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/59/puzzles-other-games/6-6-d-day-slow-vanilla-ww-game-thread-1048491/) > [@Episkey](#): > > While you were describing “verbally bitchslapping” people it hit me: I have no clue what a villager game of yours looks like. I think you’ve been evil every game I’ve played with you? > > Has that streak been broken? I’m overjoyed to report that it has, and I finally get to be a villager again. ---
**Author:** ![Episkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Episkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Episkey)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/248 "2011-08-17T20:00:52Z")
[quote=“Idle\_Thoughts, post:237, topic:593025”] For number 1: But a vanilla villager wouldn’t actually know if player B was Town or not, so it seems to me to be a foolish claim. And taken in with your number 4, it seems weird that you’d trust player B from then on, just because a vanilla player said he was Town (heck, ESPECIALLY because a vanilla player said he was Town…because the Vanilla Town wouldn’t know). I do see your point in if the mafia killed the vanilla town, though, because logic would conclude that they think he’s right and thus, player B looks Town…but what if player B really IS scum? Then scum would want to kill off the vanilla villager anyway, if only to make it look like player B (who is scum) look like Town. Actually, I’d think scum would probably want to try killing them off either way. See, that’s unheard of in our games. If 1 and 2 was the case, my guess is that this would happen: 1. Everyone either lynches A or C. 2. If they’re not the seer, the other is lynched the next day. Or possibly: 1. Neither of them is lynched and the Doc protects the one they believe the most. Then either: A. Both people are alive in the morning (which means the Doc probably chose right and now knows who the real Seer is) B. The real seer is dead and the other person (A or C) is lynched.[/COLOR] The entire theory relies on the belief that the main goal of the mafia early is to kill the cop. There are instances where I’ve hear about mafia getting fancy and killing someone they KNOW isn’t cop just to get huge townie points, but I have not encountered them personally and so can’t really explain what happens next. This is pretty much exactly how we handle it, though we also go a step further and try not to lynch anyone claimed to be investigated since we don’t know which cop is truthful ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/249 "2011-08-17T20:01:33Z")
> [@Episkey](#): > > Yeah, in retrospect that would have made things easier. I’m JimHalpert. Can we stick with whatever you weirdos from 2+2 signed on with?😃 I’m going to have a hard enough time remembering 37 players. There’s no way I’m going to remember anyone’s straightdope username and the other board username that goes with it. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/250 "2011-08-17T20:01:52Z")
> [@Episkey](#): > > Hey dancecat, you don’t seem too excited this game. Same old same old? > [@Dancecat](#): > > Sup fool? > > I’m trying to keep it to a dull roar so that I don’t ruffle any feathers. 😉 Somehow I don’t think spamming the thread endlessly and verbally bitchslapping everyone who pisses me off would bode very well here. Interesting. While it’s almost too obvious, this fits my pattern of typical scum on Day one (following the action but staying quieter than usual, trying not to ruffle feathers) so well that I think it’s worth a vote at this point. **vote Dancecat** ---
**Author:** ![Episkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Episkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Episkey)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/251 "2011-08-17T20:02:24Z")
idk how that quote got messed up, sorry ---
**Author:** ![lilflower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecccb3/32.png) [@lilflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lilflower)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/252 "2011-08-17T20:02:34Z")
> [@crackedquads](#): > > Uhh, any wolf team should absolutely jump at the chance to trade one wolf for the only seer. If you all really play like this I would claim seer (as a wolf) every game so the real seer could counterclaim and get himself killed. I doubt you guys really play that straightforward but if you do, it’s definitely a leak in your game (poker terminology ftw). But in a smaller game with maybe 4 or 5 scum, that is a big risk. Normally, the cop claim is pretty late in the game (assuming he/she isn’t about to be lynched) so there may be even less scum left. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/253 "2011-08-17T20:03:02Z")
NETA: That is to say, the scum teams are generally a lot smaller than I am guessing they are on your boards. Typical games over here have 15-25 players and 3-5 scum. On the low end, if you trade 1 scum for 1 cop in a 3 scum game the scum just gave up 25% of their team town giving up maybe 5% of their team’s value. It’s a losing strategy. ---
**Author:** ![Dancecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Dancecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancecat)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/254 "2011-08-17T20:03:37Z")
> [@lilflower](#): > > Have you met **peeker**? Ah, so you already have one. All the more reason for me to keep it down. > [@Zeriel](#): > > Hell, most of our games now allow strategy talk at night. > > And as far as I can tell, our games average around 5-6x as long a day/night cycle as yours do–we have entire weeks for a single day/night cycle. > > Which probably explains at least some of the play differences, as it allows for a lot more time for both refined analysis and for the scum to make mistakes (even by not posting, which is a kind of mistake all its own). Wow, I’ve never played a game which allowed players to talk in the thread at night. And having such long day/night cylcles is really, REALLY provillage, which (as you said) definitely changes optimal seer strategy among other things. > [@NAF1138](#): > > If it makes any difference, I followed what you were doing exactly. thumbsup.jpg ---
**Author:** ![crackedquads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b38774/32.png) [@crackedquads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crackedquads)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/255 "2011-08-17T20:03:48Z")
> [@Dancecat](#): > > You don’t want to know :D. But since you asked, here’s a link to a slow game, which at 3 lynches a week would still be considered pretty quick by your standards: > > [6/6 D-Day Vanilla Slow Game modded by the one and only Homer](http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/59/puzzles-other-games/6-6-d-day-slow-vanilla-ww-game-thread-1048491/) > > I’m overjoyed to report that it has, and I finally get to be a villager again. Lol, knew you were hifi just because of this. Kind of pisses me off that every game I’ve played with you you’ve been “randed” (whatever the hell that really means) wolf and I’ve always been villager. Hell, I’ve never, ever been a wolf in any game. Frustrating. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/256 "2011-08-17T20:04:07Z")
Crap this game is moving fast. I need to come back with my list of player I am not voting for toDay soon or the whole Day will pass me by and I will have only talked strategy. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/257 "2011-08-17T20:06:55Z")
**VOTE COUNT** Through post #256 MykBot (2): Zeriel [21], TimeLady [24] Dancecat (2): Idle Thoughts [72], Giraffe [250] Giraffe (1): special ed [51] NAF1138 (1): Dancecat [53] Idle Thoughts (1): Krayz [86]\* TimeLady (1): sachertorte [211] \*make it bold and blue next time tho ---
**Author:** ![crackedquads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b38774/32.png) [@crackedquads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crackedquads)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/258 "2011-08-17T20:07:06Z")
> [@crackedquads](#): > > Lol, knew you were hifi just because of this. > > Kind of pisses me off that every game I’ve played with you you’ve been “randed” (whatever the hell that really means) wolf and I’ve always been villager. Hell, I’ve never, ever been a wolf in any game. Frustrating. Wait, are you hifi? I don’t see your name in the game you linked, but someone (gad i think) posted a player list with hifi = dance cat. ---
**Author:** ![Dancecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Dancecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancecat)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/259 "2011-08-17T20:07:19Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Interesting. While it’s almost too obvious, this fits my pattern of typical scum on Day one (following the action but staying quieter than usual, trying not to ruffle feathers) so well that I think it’s worth a vote at this point. > > **vote Dancecat** Um, I’ve been pretty loud and opinionated thus far. Not sure why you think I’m purposefully trying to blend in; I’m merely trying to keep my personal style of playing in check since it can be VERY abrasive and I’m new to this board. ---
**Author:** ![Dancecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Dancecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancecat)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025/260 "2011-08-17T20:08:31Z")
> [@crackedquads](#): > > Wait, are you hifi? I don’t see your name in the game you linked, but someone (gad i think) posted a player list with hifi = dance cat. Yes, I’m HiFi, but that name was unavailable on this board. Hugh Jass wasn’t even available either if you can believe that, so I had to come up with something. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mystery-mafia-game-thread/593025.md?page=14)