# Screamers Mafia **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 21, 2009, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938 "2009-09-21T13:16:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 43
**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:** [October 5, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/841 "2009-10-05T00:19:13Z")
jpei (1): Freudian Slit peekercpa(3): Gryph, Boozahol Squid, PI, Cold Phoenix Drain Bead (2): USCDriver, CatInASuit Bill MC(8): Jimmy Chitwood, Drain Bead, tiltawhirl, Alka Seltzer, Daphne Black, Allwalker, Texcat, jpei (Leader) Boozahol Squid, PI(3): Bill MC, Thing Fish, Chronos CatInASuit (2): amrussell, Tom Scud Cold Phoenix (1): Oredigger Tom Scud(1): Peeker Chronos(1): Normal Phase ---
**Author:** ![TexCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/texcat/32/9041_2.png) [@TexCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TexCat)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/842 "2009-10-05T00:35:50Z")
> [@peekercpa](#): > > ok, i am more and more convinced. > > **mod question: as part of the Nighttime regimen does everyone get haldol?** none for me thx. trying to self-confirm your claim as doc by prescribing medicine? and btw who are opal and dot? ---
**Author:** ![TexCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/texcat/32/9041_2.png) [@TexCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TexCat)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/843 "2009-10-05T00:36:51Z")
not edited to bleach, sorry ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/844 "2009-10-05T01:04:26Z")
Opal is **OpalCat** , a member of this board who, long long ago, strongly objected to lists with less than three elements in them. As a result, it’s something of an in-joke (though a dated one: You hardly ever see it any more) to append “3: Hi, Opal” to the end of a two-element list (or even in the middle of a longer one). I don’t know who dot is, but I’ve gathered that she’s another Mafia player with a particularly distinctive style, like **peeker** or **Meeko**. On to game business, I have no idea what to make of this berynium stuff, other than to note that apparently, in [the original film](http://www.cyberpunkreview.com/movie/decade/1990-1999/screamers/), it’s the stuff we’re all here mining, it’s what makes space travel possible, and the mining of it is extremely environmentally unfriendly. ---
**Author:** ![peekercpa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@peekercpa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peekercpa)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/845 "2009-10-05T01:30:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Opal is **OpalCat** , a member of this board who, long long ago, strongly objected to lists with less than three elements in them. As a result, it’s something of an in-joke (though a **dated** one: \ and \ ouch. you do realize, however, that by responding in this manner you date yourself as well. dot is dotchan is deathbyirony is dbi. when i was a wee pup she was the first person i remember using shiny. i know its metagamey as all hell but one of the few folks that i would even consider knowing shiny in this crowd, other than me and a mod who will remain nameless, is **squid** and **coca cola** , maybe **bill**. that’s why i said what i said. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/846 "2009-10-05T01:39:56Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I don’t know who dot is, but I’ve gathered that she’s another Mafia player with a particularly distinctive style, like **peeker** or **Meeko**. **dotchan** , aka **dot** aka **DeathByIrony** is another mafia player, but I wouldn’t go so far as to lump her in with the ‘distinctive voices’ like **peeker, Meeko, RoOsh** or **zuma**. She’s a sweetheart. All those guys are real jerks. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/847 "2009-10-05T02:21:29Z")
Oh God my brain hurts. **Tex** , if you don’t want your Haldol, I’ll take a double. B]Jpei’s\*\* actions now seem slightly more comprehensible (especially that weird “bling” post which I’d completely forgotten about), although I think he has been too hasty to jump to the conclusion that he is a Miller. I think **Tom’s** speculation on other possible things the berrylium reference might mean is interesting, though for now I think it just has to go in the “Interesting bits of info that might mean something at some point” file. Jpei seems to have some sort of connection with \*\*Boozy, \*\*which doesn’t mean, in my eyes, that either of them are any more likely to be Town. **peeker** , however, does seem convinced that all this means that Boozy, and presumably jpei, are Town. I don’t suppose you could explain your reasoning in any relatively linear kind of way, could you, peeker? Hey, can’t hurt to ask. I’ll keep my vote where it is, although it appears that the mob has spoken. Farewell, **BillMC,** we barely knew ye…which was, um, sort of the problem. ---
**Author:** ![AllWalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@AllWalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllWalker)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/848 "2009-10-05T03:41:29Z")
> [@GuiriEnEspana](#): > > \ > … (so far, Allwalker’s vote was rather dubious)… Yeah, you said that before. So if you are willing to bring it up twice, are you willing to explain why you feel that way? I established my suspicions of **Chronos** much earlier than my vote, and after reviewing a few likely suspects before voting I found him to be the best place to stick my vote. I have changed my mind since, obviously, but please, what was so dubious? ---
**Author:** ![GuiriEnEspana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc79bd/32.png) [@GuiriEnEspana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuiriEnEspana)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/849 "2009-10-05T07:23:09Z")
> [@AllWalker](#): > > Yeah, you said that before. So if you are willing to bring it up twice, are you willing to explain why you feel that way? I established my suspicions of **Chronos** much earlier than my vote, and after reviewing a few likely suspects before voting I found him to be the best place to stick my vote. I have changed my mind since, obviously, but please, what was so dubious? I’ll try to explain. My initial reaction was not doubt, I said “I’m not sure how I feel about **Allwalker** ’s vote”. I think I (naively?) expected the leader’s vote, which was “locked in stone”, to either confirm one of the current suspects. - and thus give some kind of direction to the rest of us, or to open a new line of attack - and then gain followers to ensure a lynch. However not a single player deemed your reasoning for the vote on **Chronos** worth following and so, what could have been an authoritive and trend-setting vote, seems to have been wasted.. But was it? That’s my doubt… I wonder if there was some other motive behind it. And does the “locked in stone” reference have anything to do with your alignment claim which was “set in stone”? I questioned **Chronos** on his apparent “itching for a first night-kill” hoping to pick up some sort of vibe but I’m not convinced he’s scum yet - although he’s up there among my options. Your second vote was an angry reaction to **Jpei** ’s claim. Where I unvoted him - to give him some room to breath - you jumped on him on the spur of the moment. Not exactly a strong motive to move your vote from Chronos. Dubious, not scummy, but in my book, dubious. Heck, I still need to vote for someone! ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/850 "2009-10-05T07:31:29Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Oh, yeah. When do people think Tomorrow’s leader should start the clock? As it stands, Tomorrow will start on Wednesday at about 2; thus the next leader will be elected Thursday at 2. If he cast his vote immediately we would have a day ending on Friday afternoon; otherwise he’d have to wait until next Sunday to start the clock in order to get a weekday finish. > > Much as I hate to say it, I think Tomorrow’s leader should start the clock on Monday for a Tuesday finish, as I don’t like having only half a weekday for discussion at the end of the Day. I don’t think we need to decide this now. How much time we need for Day 2 will depend upon who is still around tomorrow etc etc. Lets worry about it at daybreak. ---
**Author:** ![jpei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@jpei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jpei)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/851 "2009-10-05T08:00:57Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > I just want to speculate a bit on the berynium element of jpei’s claim. I doubt that it’s a Miller tag – I don’t think that in a game not advertised as Gastardly, there would be two Millers, and from Boozy’s sorta claim, I assume he also has something like that second sentence. > > It’s possible that it was there just to allow what Boozy just did; a sort of second-rate Mason claim. > > It’s possible there’s a third party who wants to acquire x quantity of berynium, either by using a night action to steal it or by killing the possessor and stealing it that way. > > It’s possible that the scum, being robots, can use berynium as raw materials to do, well, something scummy. An extra night kill? > > Other than that, I’m out of ideas. Would 2 millers out of 24 be that Gastardly? Now, I won’t say that I must be miller, but these three possibilities seem weak. The first seems implausible to stack my role on top of a weak masonry claim for balance reasons. Number 2 and 3, by suggesting the key word is “berynium”, renders the word “shiny” as superfluous. While I’m sure some moderators wouldn’t mind inserting it, I think I read somewhere that this sort of word choice was discouraged. ---
**Author:** ![AllWalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@AllWalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllWalker)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/852 "2009-10-05T08:38:55Z")
Okay I understand (I think) but still, in the interests of discussion I will address this: > [@GuiriEnEspana](#): > > I’ll try to explain. > > My initial reaction was not doubt, I said “I’m not sure how I feel about **Allwalker** ’s vote”. > > I think I (naively?) expected the leader’s vote, which was “locked in stone”, to either confirm one of the current suspects. - and thus give some kind of direction to the rest of us, or to open a new line of attack - and then gain followers to ensure a lynch. > > However not a single player deemed your reasoning for the vote on **Chronos** worth following and so, what could have been an authoritive and trend-setting vote, seems to have been wasted.. But was it? I voted on what I considered the strongest basis. Whether or not other people would follow me was something I could not predict, nor should the leader have to consider. Like everyone else, the leader has to base a vote on who seems Scummiest. > [@](#): > > That’s my doubt… I wonder if there was some other motive behind it. And does the “locked in stone” reference have anything to do with your alignment claim which was “set in stone”? What could possibly be the extra motive. None of the bandwagons seemed the best case. As for “locked in stone”, my vote was locked in stone and the end of Day time was locked in stone. At least, I thought it was. > [@](#): > > I questioned **Chronos** on his apparent “itching for a first night-kill” hoping to pick up some sort of vibe but I’m not convinced he’s scum yet - although he’s up there among my options. So, you don’t agree that **Chronos** seems or seemed Scummy. But you haven’t pointed out anything wrong with my arguments for why I voted. If that is the basis fo dubiousness, then everyone is dubious. This is the part I don’t get - whether or not you agree with my vote, is there anything about the reasoning behind it you object to? If not, I don’t see why I am getting singled out here. > [@](#): > > Your second vote was an angry reaction to **Jpei** ’s claim. Where I unvoted him - to give him some room to breath - you jumped on him on the spur of the moment. Not exactly a strong motive to move your vote from Chronos. And I thought you were a little too trusting in unvoting him so fast. He could have been Scum with that power, or been lying entirely, or a number of other things. But I don’t think it “dubious”. I saw what he did as the most antiTown play of the Day. I still think that, I just don’t think it is necessarily Scummy. > [@](#): > > Dubious, not scummy, but in my book, dubious. > > Heck, I still need to vote for someone! … and now I’ve just drawn attention to myself. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GuiriEnEspana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc79bd/32.png) [@GuiriEnEspana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuiriEnEspana)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/853 "2009-10-05T08:59:46Z")
> [@AllWalker](#): > > This is the part I don’t get - whether or not you agree with my vote, is there anything about the reasoning behind it you object to? If not, I don’t see why I am getting singled out here. > > … and now I’ve just drawn attention to myself. 🙂 /snipped I didn’t intend to single you out, presently I’ve no reason to consider you scummy or vote for you. Your name popped out in my response to **Jpei** when referring to his (?) leadership. Three times I had jibed Jpei about his role PM stating how he was “the most efficient and leader-like of the miners” and I made a small aside comparing him to the previous leader. FTR I questioned his vote for **BillMC** too… Obviously I have issues with authority figures… As I said, probably naively, I think I expected the leader’s vote to set off an avalanche of either discussion or bandwagon votes. Especially as the leader has the (only?) power of breaking a tie and so has a sort of double-vote, I imagined townies would follow the leader (as it were) and vote the same way or, at least, question the reasoning en-masse if they didn’t agree. Another newbie error on my part? Darn. As for the two references to stone (who ever heard of “to \*lock \*in stone”?), I thought these may be breadcrumbs along the lines of the shiny stuff used elsewhere which could have been a basis for a good counter to **Boozy** ’s and **Jpei** ’s claims… ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/854 "2009-10-05T11:21:57Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If **jpei** had cast his Leader-vote immediately, and nobody changed their votes on Saturday, we’d be in pretty much the same situation as we would have been with a Friday Day-end. So if the Friday end was acceptable, then a Saturday end should have been, too. jpei’s claim was a major piece of information for town, and we needed to re-evaluate. Your lack of interest makes me suspicious. > [@jpei](#): > > Summary #1 is nice and straightforward. Summary #2… not so much. In 100 games with this ambiguous text, all 100 games would not have this as a pro-Town mechanic. I’m shiny. Robots are shiny. I conclude that I’m also a miller. A possible cop with a role that spots shiny things (Jewelry Certifier? Peeping Tom? I have no clue) would know for sure. Interesting jpei. Your early play baffled me, good to see you’ve been following the game carefully and thinking about what you’ve been doing. I’m not sure you are in fact a Miller. Possibly, if our investigator is a **Metal-Detector** or a **Geiger-Counter** (are Screamers radioactive? I read Chronos’ review link but it’s not clear. Has anyone seen the film?). Later in the game if our investigator claims or flips we should be able to work this out. Earlier, I talked about a Miller as a possible vig target. I don’t think you or Boozy are good vig targets right now, 2 Millers strikes me as unlikely. > [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](#): > > Peeker should protect himself tonight, if he’s a pro-town Doc. Similarly, any Vig out there should attack him. That’d get his status at least somewhat confirmed in at least one player’s (other than peeker) mind out there. If Peeker really is a doc, this could backfire, it assumes Peeker can self-protect. Also, if the scum have a roleblocker they could block him. The vig would kill Peeker, and the scum would get a free choice of nightkill. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/855 "2009-10-05T12:54:06Z")
> [@jpei](#): > > Would 2 millers out of 24 be that Gastardly? Frankly, I find even 1 miller mildly gastardly. And I at least am expecting there to be more than 1 night kill, or else this game will go on until some time next year, which means that there will probably be fewer mislynches before LYLO than you’d expect from a naive analysis of a 24-player mafia game. Saddling town with 2 nearly automatic mislynches would be pretty gastardly. Though I guess it’s to some degree counterbalanced by the weak-mason effect. Anyway, possible but I doubt it. > [@](#): > > Now, I won’t say that I must be miller, but these three possibilities seem weak. The first seems implausible to stack my role on top of a weak masonry claim for balance reasons. Your power (though annoying) was not all that powerful. A weak masonry claim wouldn’t really make it add up to as useful as say a cop or doctor or vig, none of which we’d be surprised to see in this game. > [@](#): > > Number 2 and 3, by suggesting the key word is “berynium”, renders the word “shiny” as superfluous. While I’m sure some moderators wouldn’t mind inserting it, I think I read somewhere that this sort of word choice was discouraged. Mahaloth, in particular, likes his flavor text. If you want, take a spoiled look at the Lost and Weird West games; Town spent a lot of time chasing around after hints in the flavor text that just weren’t there. I don’t think reading too much into specific word choices is likely to be productive. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/856 "2009-10-05T12:56:04Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > If Peeker really is a doc, this could backfire, it assumes Peeker can self-protect. Also, if the scum have a roleblocker they could block him. The vig would kill Peeker, and the scum would get a free choice of nightkill. (that was in response to the suggestion that the vig vig Peeker). Further, even if peeker survives a vig, it doesn’t mean he’s confirmed as town; there remains the possibility of a scum doctor (a role both of our mods have used in recent games they’ve modded). ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/857 "2009-10-05T13:47:27Z")
I am not feeling the Bill lynch, so will not be joining that train. Having looked around, I can’t see a really good prospect to place my vote on. People of interest tomorrow, from my pov, would include peeker, Chronos & CIAS. Jpei’s monster post above had me put him down as town. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/858 "2009-10-05T14:05:18Z")
I jumped on yesterday morning to try and convince people to vote for Coldphonix but apparently that post got eaten. Basically that gist was that while Bill has been absent except for his single vote Cold has had about the same level of activity, only about 4 more posts, but has had two votes both of which were for the lynch leader with little or poor explanation. Also at least Bill has told us that he’s been busy while Cold just seems to appear and vote. I don’t think there is enough time to change anyone’s mind but I at least wanted to point out that voting for a truly absent lurker doesn’t give as much information as a lurker who shows up when it’s convenient for him since we will at least learn if there were game reasons for it being convenient for him. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/859 "2009-10-05T14:49:28Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > (that was in response to the suggestion that the vig vig Peeker). > > Further, even if peeker survives a vig, it doesn’t mean he’s confirmed as town; there remains the possibility of a scum doctor (a role both of our mods have used in recent games they’ve modded). Another possibility would be that we have another Doc who is protecting **peeker** (this would be, IMO, poor play, but can’t be ruled out), so his surviving a Vig doesn’t even totally confirm him as a Doc, and to give us even that limited information, the Vig would have to out himself. I will not presume to advise our hypothetical Vig on how to play, but if he were to target peeker Tonight, I would advise him to consider carefully whether it is worth the risk to tell us about it Tomorrow vs. saving the information for later in the game (such as when either he or peeker is in real danger of lynch). ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938/860 "2009-10-05T14:56:06Z")
> [@GuiriEnEspana](#): > > @ **Chronos** You’re very eager to end the day, itching for your first night kill? > > Scum must be getting pretty concerned with us townfolk having 3 more days to suss you out. I remember noting at the time that this seemed like a really outrageous smudge against **Chronos**. I didn’t comment at the time, but since you have now brought it up again, **Gueri** , I will note that this sort of baseless accusation tends to raise my suspicion level. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938.md?page=42) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/screamers-mafia/510938.md?page=44)