Naaa…I still like the mystery. 
Not new, just interested in seeing the game survive player burnout. We really need to start getting new blood, since so many of the active players we have left are rather set in their ways. A lot of the more adventurous, shake things up, players haven’t played in a while. So we need a fresh perspective.
Also, the games have been getting progressivly harder, and as a byproduct of that I think fewer new players are joining. I think that is a good thing in terms of keeping current players interested, but it will eventually make the mafia games impossible for outsiders to get into. And that would be a shame.
For example when I posted this game I actually considered puting a disclaimer on it saying that it was going to be much harder then it seemed at first glance, and only people who felt they knew what they were doing should apply. But then hawk and faithfool wouldn’t have shown up, and brewha and rysto probably wouldn’t have come back. And they have all been a great part of this game. I hope faith sticks around and plays again. This was a rough game to get your feet wet with.
Sorry, I just started rambling there and got a little off point. I think a new player game would be fun. It would in all likelyhood be less…intense, and probably a lot of fun to watch. And new blood is always a good thing, and I think the SDMB games is a great place to play the types of games that will most interest new players.
Once players have played a couple of SDMB games, we can lure them to the offsite boards where the more extreme games are being played. (seriously, three kingdoms is a bloodbath, you should check it out if you haven’t)
So…um…yeah…that was more answer then your question was looking for. But I like to talk about mafia…so um…yeah.
Do we have an official “List” for modding games? I think I’d like to run a “strictly newbies” game for those who have played zero (maybe one) games previously. Getting some fresh blood into this would be a very good thing, and I’m sure that there are a lot of potential players who are interested, but a bit intimidated.
Sign me up for the proposed newbie game. Of course, given how much the current game has fascinated me, I’d even join a game against veterans at this point, intimidation be damned.
Also, I was thinking about it the other day, and realized that the movie Hot Fuzz could make a pretty interesting theme to base a mafia game on. Just a thought.
I guess it’s not a SMDB game unless someone posts game-breaking information. Fortunately hawkeyeop got knocked off via independent means so it all worked out, but still.
Maybe I should have modkilled NAF for metagaming hawkeyeop in the first place…
Hey Hey, nothing in the rules against metagaming. You want someone to not metagame, put it in the rules.
I don’t think there is anyone on the list after me. PM skipmagic.
I’d like to play in the next SDMB game and I prefer to play here than on other boards, so maybe this newbie game can be run off board? I say that in complete selfishness, of course, so please forgive me. 
It’s all good. This is obviously a passionate group of players. How long have you each been playing and how did you start playing this game?
A compromise could be just having a basic game (which I think are more fun… I am probably in the minority in that opinion), and hold x number of spots (50%?) open for first-time players. Having some experienced players around instead of just newbies would probably be helpful to new players.
Well, I’ve put “don’t discuss ongoing games outside of their respective game thread” as an explicit part of my rules. I thought that didn’t need to be spelled out, but clearly I was wrong. 
I didn’t talk about your game outside of the thread. But you are right, I shouldn’t have said anything. It was a 99% random vote that got taken too far. Hawk broke your rule by talking about your game in my game thread, but he was already dead. So I guess that doesn’t hurt anything.
Good idea!
Ok, I’ve gotten the nod (thanks Skip!) for running the next game – Newbie Mafia. My current thoughts:
Sixteen players, and we’ll be keeping it basic – mostly vanilla, with a Cop, a Doctor and perhaps a Serial Killer (or maybe a group of Masons) thrown in. Those who have never played get first dibs, and then filling it out with those who have one game under their belts.
There will also be the M.A.B. – an as-yet-undetermined number of experienced players (I’m thinking in the neighborhood of three) who will serve as the Mafia Advisory Board. They won’t be actively particpating in the game itself (no voting, can’t be killed, wouldn’t “win” or “lose”), but would be following the game closely and would post suggestions and point out things that first-timers may not pick up on.
Thoughts?
That sounds interesting…
How would they be providing these suggestions? I have a bit of a hangup about non-players (and even dead players) posting in the game threads. It seems to be against the spirit of the game (I’m looking at you Idle Thoughts). If they’re providing advice through PM then are they going to be helping the Town or the Scum or both? Because (for instance) if a MAB member gave me some advice as a townie about something and another player began talking about that same aspect of the game, I would assume that they had also been advised the same thing and I would assume they were Town. It would skew my thinking something fierce.
Anyway, I’d like to see the idea hashed out a little more so that it can be appropriately scrutinized by the masses.
I think if would be best to have different mentors for the town and scum. Maybe have someone well-experienced at being scum mentor the scum. (Santo Rugger ?) Likewise, have another couple of people be the MAB for the town. Just a thought.
Eh… I wouldn’t be a big fan of the Mafia Advisory Board. Seems a bit too parternalistic for my tastes. I’d throw a few experienced players in the game itself. I don’t think anyone not in the game itself should be weighing in.
And assuming 5 scum, I’d make sure there were at least one or two experienced players on the scum team.
Although if there are only a few experienced players and it is known that at least one of them is in the scum team…
Although that could be an interesting wrinkle, as scum may then be less inclined to bump off the experienced players.