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Newbies Guide to Mafia

unreality

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unreality Grand Master

unreality

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Newbies' Guide to Mafia
Version 1.6.1

1.3: Note, I've touched this guide up, fixing typos, adding new content, elaborating on previous content, adding new links, revising and updating outdated things, etc, so be sure to check it out ;D
1.4: I've added a bunch of new categories for role types (section IV, part b) as well as a couple links here and there (BB's role list, incog and games on incog, etc)
1.4.2: I touched up a lot of things for formatting, grammar & visual aspects. I also updated and expanded the 'Stuff for Hosts' section (VII) as well as IIIc/e
1.4.3: added a hosting tip and changed some role name examples to prevent confusion; also touched up and expanded the links section
1.4.4: fixed the FAQ section
1.5: fixed typos and smoothened wording in sections I, II, III and VIII; linked to profiles of me, sin and ysan for faq/help; added (to Links section) a list of some experienced players who are available for questions from less experienced players (to add your name to this list, PM me - that's how the people that are there now got on); added to the FAQ with a question addressing inactivity; added to Baddie Strategy and Gaining Strategy; added "why?" to FAQ as per suggestion by Frost
1.6: Added "Random Advice" subsection to part VIII
1.6.1: Upgraded BD to this version from its much earlier version

I. Introduction: What is Mafia?

II. Factions and Win Conditions

III. Basic Rules
( a ) Night and Day
( b ) Voting
( c ) BTSC
( d ) PM repping
( e ) Death

IV. Roles
( a ) What are roles?
( b ) Types of roles
( c ) Independent roles

V. Game Strategy
( a ) Overall Day Strategy
( b ) Innocent Role Strategy
( c ) Baddie Role Strategy
( d ) Independent Role Strategy
( e ) Gaining Strategy

VI. Links [past Mafia games, external links, etc]

VII. Stuff for Hosts

VIII. FAQ and Random Advice

~~~
I made this with spoilers so that anyone with any level of experience can quickly access the things they need. Enjoy! ;D
~~~

I. Introduction: What is Mafia?

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Mafia is an epic game of skill, persuasion, deception, strategy, participation, cruelty and cunning. It is a contest of wits; a championship of cleverness. It is intense, unforgiving, relentless, dominating and amazing. Some people have had Mafia dreams. Some people drive across the city to get better wireless to play Mafia. People ignore their workload to play Mafia. Mafia is addicting. Mafia is fun. Mafia is wickedly cool, awesome and pulse-poundingly exciting. If a game is designed well and hosted well and played well, it can be a work of art.



Mafia is like a riddle, much like the ones on Brainden, but it is so much more than a riddle: so much more work, dedication, skill and toughness goes into a game of Mafia than any one puzzle. How well can you deduce people's roles while retaining your own identity? How can you maximize your potential to help your team and meet your win condition?

Mafia takes skill, but luckily is easy to learn and easy to become skillful. A gradual curve and focus on strategy allows basically anyone to play and enjoy Mafia, and even vanquish foes that are much more experienced than yourselves! That's why Mafia is a great game.

Mafia involves teamwork. Except for individual roles, you are part of a team. In generalized Mafia, the goal of your team is to kill the other team. Yes, kill    Mafia (in its most basic game-theory formula) is a game of elimination. People die. Everyone has died in a game of Mafia - many times a brutal or gruesome death ;P It's all part of the game, don't worry if you die. Especially if you die first, our sympathies are with you. Don't be sad, don't be mad - just root on your team and make sure not to BTSC or affect the game further in any way

In essence, Mafia involves an Italian village, where a local mafia gang has set up shop. They are killing off the villagers, one villager per night. The Mafia members can talk to each other secretly behind-the-scenes! This is called behind-the-scenes-contact, or BTSC. The villagers, angry and afraid, gather each day in the town square to lynch (execute) one person among them [via popular vote]. The lynched person is killed and their role revealed: were they a baddie - a Mafioso? If so, yippee! One dead Mafioso closer to a safe village. If the lynched person was a fellow villager... then uh oh Remember that the Mafiosos are masquerading as normal Innocents, and are influencing the vote in subtle (or not-so-subtle) ways, trying to manipulate the masses and get an Innocent (a villager) voted out as opposed to a member of the Mafia. So when playing, you have to be careful and watch out for the Mafiosos among you trying to influence the vote...

Usually there are various types of people working for the villagers: for example, a Doctor can choose one person each night. If the person is attacked by the Mafia, the Doctor saves them. etc. This is called a role, and is a key part of Mafia games. In a "vanilla" game, most people may be bland villagers ("vanilla" innocents) and important roles are scarce, but the trend in recent mafia games has been extensively themed (far from that original Italian village) and each player has a significant, possibly game-changing role. Nobody is left out. All roles should be awesome ;P

So, at night, the Mafia kills (along with other various night actions from roles such as Doctors). By day, a vote-based lynching occurs... this is accompanied with huge amounts of discussion, accusations, deception, lying, deceit, fraud, and dishonesty Trust no-one and always be on your watch. The common goal is to catch the baddies, but there are baddies lurking among you... baddies who are trying to manipulate you into thinking someone else is a baddie!

This is the core of Mafia. As you can see, it's an intense and excellent game. All the hype is real. This guide will tell you everything you need to know...

 

II. Factions and Win Conditions

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FACTIONS
A faction is a group of players that are on the same side (using the Italian village example: the villagers, or Innocents, are a faction, and the Mafia is another faction). A faction can have various overall properties:

* BTSC: BTSC stands for Behind-the-Scenes-Contact, and refers to the ability to chat with members of the same faction, using PMs (Private Messages) or some other form of contact set up by the host or players - for example, a system where members of a BTSC group get a separate secret forum to discuss on
** Typically the Mafia, or other similar baddie groups, have BTSC while the Innocent faction does NOT (the innocent faction NEVER does, except for occasionally a few people within the faction that have BTSC, but that's not a faction-wide ability). Mafia is defined in game theory by an "informed minority" ('the bad guys') and an "uninformed majority" ('the good guys')

* Nightkill: the other common faction ability is the ability to kill one player per night. The kill is usually preventable by saving roles (such as a Doctor) and is the basis for eliminating Innocents [as the faction that usually has this ability is the baddie faction(s)]. The Innocents will never have this ability, as usually it requires the group to also have BTSC ~ rarely, the Nightkill can be part of a faction without BTSC, if each faction member "votes" for their target (similar to the wererats in Medieval Mafia), but that's more complicated

These are the only two factionwide abilities: any others are rare and special cases. Usually a nightkill is decided by the group's members chatting (via BTSC) and coming to a consensus (ie, a decision on who to kill)

WIN CONDITIONS

If each faction is like a team, how do they win? Each team is pitted against each other. Each faction is technically enemies with the others (although some factions may have alliances and whatnot) and has a separate win condition. A win condition is a situation/goal/condition that has to be met to win the game... ie, kill all others, or kill specific player, or do something, or do this, or do that, etc

TYPICAL FACTIONS

* A large majority faction. These are the "good guys", the Innocents, the Villagers, the Townsfolk, the Jumpers, the Adventurers, what have you - it depends on the game. This faction makes up the majority of the players (eeeasily) and usually has the goal of killing all "baddies" (the common name for members of factions not aligned with the majority faction)

* one or more baddie factions. They are usually small (3 to 5 people, depending on the game and the number of factions & players) and have BTSC and nightkill abilities. Their goals range from killing everyone else to killing a specific range of people or something of that sort

* specialized baddies. May or MAY NOT appear in games. Examples: QAs from early Mafia games I hosted, Phages in a recent game I suggested, or the Golden Scourge from Medieval Mafia. These specialized baddie factions are usually very small - 2 players, sometimes 3 at the most - that have a very specific and sometimes complicated goal as baddies

* independent factions. Independent roles are people that stand alone - they are flying solo, and each independent role has its own independent faction & win condition of course. Independent roles tend to be unique, flambuoyant, rememberable - and harder to play, yet more rewarding


III. Basic Rules
( a ) Night and Day
( b ) Voting
( c ) BTSC
( d ) PM repping
( e ) Death

( a ) Night and Day

The game moves in cycles of NIGHT and DAY. While there may be exceptions, night usually happens first, then it alternates, worded like this:

Night One, Day One, Night Two, Day Two, Night Three, Day Three, etc...

During night, conversation on the thread is limited, although BTSC conversation (usually between baddies) is flaring like a live wire as people decide the night actions they're going to do. Most mafia games have many night-active roles, and quite a lot of things happen in a single night. Not all of it goes into the night post, and much is kept hidden and behind the scenes (for example, who spy-roles spy on).

Usually hosts set time limits on night (18-24 hours is a typical range), though if they get all the night PMs in before that, they will post the night post earlier [or as soon as they can, sometimes even a bit after the deadline]. This is a good standard I set for the very first BD mafia games and it's worked ever since.

Days for a normal-length mafia game are always 24 hours, ALWAYS. Regardless of whether the host is there or not, the day ends. Not earlier (except for a special case, see below), and not later.

At the end of each night & day, the host makes a "night post" or "day post", which chronicles (usually in story form) the events that happened that are now publicly known during the night/day. They then update the roster with new deaths & developments and announce the following day/night phase and when it ends

( b ) Voting

Voting is at the heart of Mafia. How does it work? Well, when I first encountered Mafia, it was on a site called Lostpedia. The moderators were very involved in the game, so there was a live poll built into the thread where you would cast your vote. At each new day, a new topic would be made with a new poll and the mods would merge it into the thread for the new session of voting & discussing. However, this wasn't the easiest to read and understand quickly, and once you voted... you couldn't take it back or change your vote [yes, unthinkable in our play style].

When I brought Mafia to Brainden (with some of my own touches), one of the things I had to change was the voting system. So I came up with the roster-based system, and it works like this:


 

 

V. Game Strategy
( a ) Overall Day Strategy
( b ) Innocent Role Strategy
( c ) Baddie Role Strategy
( d ) Independent Role Strategy
( e ) Gaining Strategy

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( a ) Overall Day Strategy

Things you should keep in mind during the voting process:
* Always contribute as much as possible
* Don't lurk in the thread without posting and displaying your opinion about a current debate
* Never reciprocal-vote (ie, vote for someone right after they vote for you), it gets you nailed down as either a noob or a baddie, neither is good biggrin.gif
* Vote early and be prepared to come back on a lot and possibly change your vote
* Don't change your vote too much or too quickly (flip-flopping)
* Be aware of any extra voting capabilities your role has (such as double-voting power or something similar)
* Don't mindlessly "bandwagon", which is basically jumping on a popular vote
* Don't say things like "Vote for me and the Innocents will be sorry" or a similar threat, regardless of whether it's true or not. If you do, people are more likely to gang up on you
* Don't assert that you're Innocent without backing it up
* Don't make provocations and accusations based on 'previous playstyles'. Just because someone is acting different/similarly to a previous game means nothing. The way a person plays the game varies greatly each time depending on the overall game rules & setup & current situation as well as the faction and even the specific role within the faction

( b ) Innocent Role Strategy

* Don't give away your role or even give clues about your role unless there's a very very strong incentive: the result has to be positive for the Innocents, as your own life (and thus further use of your ability for the good guys) is in grave jeopardy now
* A good defense isn't just claiming you are innocent and expecting it to work. It's true that you're assumed innocent until accused as guilty, but once that happens, people look at you with a skeptical manner, and you have to prove your innocence rather than just stating it... but not necessarily outing your role, just defend your interests in the game. It helps when the accuser is more specific about why they are accusing you, so you can counter them. Watch out for 'vague' accusers ;D
* Saving roles: be careful when someone in the thread asks to be saved or says someone else should be saved. It could very well be that that person needs saving, but it could also be a trap; a baddie ploy, trying to draw away the saving role's ability... to either a baddie or even a random Innocent (so as to not implicate) that the baddies know they aren't going after. You also have to take into account that the baddies read the thread too - if they think someone is likely to be saved, they probably won't go after them, which means you might be able to cover multiple bases by saving someone else who is more subtly involved but still a possible target
* Killing roles should be very careful, and exercise their right not to kill (which they usually have). It's dumb to kill on the first night, when you have no info. If a killing roles goes on an innocent-killing-spree (accidental of course), it can really hurt the innocents, so be careful about who you kill and look for subtle clues for suspicion
* Overall, your goal is to help the Innocents win: this goal is more important than your life. Even if you die, you still win with the innocents (if the innocents win of course), so sometimes sacrifice is necessary. Nobody wants to die of course, and usually dying hurts your team, but it will happen, many times undoubtedly ;P
* If you're being voted for en masse and are planning to out yourself (ie, reveal your role) as a last resort, don't do so at the last minute - do so in the middlish, giving plenty of time for people to get on, read, discuss and change their votes. Revealing info at the end of the day helps nobody (except the baddies)

( c ) Baddie Role Strategy

* Work well as a group! Get to know each other, know what time zones you are in and what times (relative to each other) you are likely to be on, so you can get discussing and targeting (especially for night) done with lots of time to spare for good conversation, strategy, etc. Always talk to the others before coming out with a crucial post in the game thread
* Try to convince people that so-and-so is a baddie, but not with obviousness, unless you are claiming a spylike role (either openly or behind the scenes). Take advantage of the mental directions people are thinking in and use them to build suspicion for someone
* Again, work together as team - timing can be everything sometimes, and being all on and voting as a block can get you nailed like fish out of water. Don't ignore each other, though. You need to pretend like you are treating the others as anyone else, with no special treatment. Don't convey any sense of mutual secretive understanding between you and a fellow baddie
* One of the coolest thing about being a baddie is being able to learn from your peers, some of whom are probably more experienced than you and can help and direct you strategy-wise
* I've found that the more a baddie faction discusses (about all kinds of different aspects of the game), the better they do as a group. In Classic Mafia, the Mafia's BTSC forum had about 25 topics (most of them courtesy of dawh/sparrowhawk ;D) ~ and guess what? They won!

( d ) Independent Role Strategy

* Independent roles are among the hardest to play, and yet the most rewarding. If you can pull off an independent victory, you have some skill. You have no BTSC and aren't part of a team - a solo flier. Because of this, you need to watch everything carefully and try to distinguish between teams and roles. Oftentimes, Independent roles benefit from knowing as many roles as possible, as their win conditions are usually connected with certain specific roles. Initiate discussion in the thread to learn more, and always be waiting and watching for a good opportunity. If you are a role that must choose sides at some point, keep a good and accurate-as-possible tally of which side is doing better at each moment and how things affect the situation

( e ) Gaining Strategy

I really can't give any strategy... the tips I've written above are some of the most basic strategy, and even a more complex strategy may contradict some of them depending on playstyles and tactics. Strategy is so varied and complicated in Mafia that I can't possibly convey it to you, the reader... you have to learn it and develop it on your own. You will, too quickly, although here are a few tips to help you:
* keep some sort of spreadsheet or other document to keep track of roles. It will help you immensely
* go back and read! I can't stress this enough! Often you will find the most important clues & contradictions in what people have said earlier
* after the game is over, go back and read it all over again, if you have the patience - except this time, you know who has what role, and can make more sense of the strategies, plots, and motives behind everything that happened. This will give some deep insight on strategy
* talk on the thread after the game is over, discussing strategy points and good moves that others and yourself made. This will broaden your repertoire of good strategy ideas
* if you were part of a BTSC-endowed baddie faction, you can gain excellent strategy skills by playing and following and being directed by your fellow baddies, who may be more experienced than yourself. Or regardless of faction, if you are working with someone else via BTSC, that can boost your strategy skillset

Like I said, I can only give some basic tips to help you on your way - you will learn more as you go :]

VI. Links

[General links to help you out]

Links to Every Single Mafia Game on Brainden Up To a Certain Point:

VII. Stuff for Hosts

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Suggestions:

* Don't host until you have played at least 4 or more games and know what is necessary and expected of you. If you aren't a good writer or don't have a complete vision for a game, perhaps try cohosting, it can take some of the burden off. Cohosting means sharing the hosting burden with a fellow cohost and the two of you together manage the game. Don't just say something like "oh I think hosting is cool so I'm interested in doing it" or "I don't see a game based off of <insert franchise here>, so I'm going to make one!" Rather, think carefully about the game. The more creative, original and innovative you are, the better the game will be

* Make sure you understand complex Mafia strategy and game theory basis (of mafia, that is) inside-out before designing rules/roles and hosting

* PM experienced Mafia players/hosts and discuss with them your idea and role concepts. Try to get as much help as possible in designing your game for game balance ~ it also helps to start a topic in Games with your game setup and get valuable feedback from players

* Once you have the OP/Intro/Rules/Roles/etc stuff well defined and written out, have an experienced player check it over for balance. Game balance is the most important thing in designing a game!!! Make sure you have a deep understanding of what game balance is and how to detect unbalance before even thinking about hosting. You can gain this insight from playing games and talking to experienced players & hosts beforehand while thinking about designing a game

* Look around at previous Mafia games for role ideas and ways that things could pan out. Also check out Mafia Discussion (see the Links section or just check out the Games forum for it), whether the original topic on BD or later forums from various sites, all of which are packed full of great... well, mafia discussion ;D

* Plan ahead. Know when you're active and when other Mafia games are going to start. Make sure to place your game in a good time slot that works for you and other players and doesn't interfere too much with other games (and real life)

* Hosting takes a lot of your time, beware!!! It will really suck you in (IF you are a good host that is - you SHOULD dedicate a lot of time and effort into it. If you're not, something's wrong)

Other, Less Important Stuff:

* Questions about hosting? We can help you out! PM your enquiry to the group of approved hosts, or start a topic, etc. There is a limitless sea of knowledge for you to draw from

* This may be just a personal preference but I know that others share it too, and it's generally just a spit in the face of realism and good writing, and it brings out the suspension of disbelief, asking the players to accept this twisted reality: GENDERED ROLES! Please don't do it!!!! lol. It just makes me cringe when the ROLES, which are supposed to be ROLES, become CHARACTERS, with NAMES and GENDERS, which are often different from the USERNAMES and ACTUAL GENDERS of the people that play them. Mafia is a game of roles, not of reenacting characters from some form of popular media. Sometimes it is unavoidable, but if your theme is so focused and specific that the players are playing genderized characters, I cringe ;P The only time I've done this (out of necessity) was LOST Mafia... and in such cases, it is indeed necessary. There's just no other way to do it. But there doesn't need to be a Mafia game for every possible piece of popular movie/TV/book/etc ;D I did make Jumper Mafia, but it was only loosely based on Jumper with only the concept (teleportation), the roles aren't named after characters (90% of the ideas were my own invention and design) and only a couple of the roles were even based on actual characters from the movie. I know that in recent times, people want to host about their favorite book series or movie or TV show or whatever, so I guess I'll just have to get used to it, but I'll still secretly cringe ;D Please note that this is a fudder-dudder personal bias and don't let it hold you back if you have a creative idea in mind. I know most other people don't have this same pet peeve hehe

* Most of all, hosting is fun. If you don't think so, just go back to playing biggrin.gif Many great players are just players and are very content with playing. I myself like hosting better, but that's just me. Everyone's got their niche, and we need us all to make good Mafia games ;D

* Have fun and good luck! Hosting can be tough... keep a log of all night/day actions & events that occur. Make sure you're on top of your game, and very active. Have a vision and a passion behind the storylines (if you are writing storylines for night/day posts of course). Try to anticipate possible role disputes and special cases before the game even begins [sometimes the best help is a fresh pair of eyes looking it over] so you don't have to untangle sticky situations once the game has begun

Quicker Tips:

* play out a demonstration of your game with the numbers of players in each faction to make sure it's not absurdly in favor of one faction
* DON'T LET ANY INFORMATION SLIP TO PLAYERS THAT THEY SHOULDN'T RECEIVE! After any out-of-the-norm action, sent-PM, player replacement, etc, analyze what kind of information it gives out to players. Also, beware of casual AIM/MSN conversations and don't let anything slip that could affect the game
* if someone does receive an unfair advantage via information, level the playing field and tell the secret (think about the ramifications first, though, it may be detrimental to publically reveal the info and there may be a better solution to the problem)
* again, anticipate role clashes beforehand. It will save you a lot!
* make sure you know who has what 'voting power', so you know what's going in the day and what the voting roster really means
* keep in mind all of the role interactions that are going on - if someone's action may (a) affect another action, or (b) be affected by another action, check to make sure
* if you've ran into a tricky situation, there's no shame in PMing other experienced hosts (that aren't playing the game of course)
* whatever you do, DELIVER ON TIME! You can't ask players to respect the time limits if you can't even get a night or day post in on time

Have fun and good luck!!! ;P


VIII. FAQ and Random Advice

Q: Are there any restrictions as to what I can say in the thread?
A: There are no restrictions. Unless you have a speech handicap ability discussed earlier, there is no limit to what you can say on the thread - other than the basic Brainden and Mafia rules (be respectful, don't reproduce PMs, don't post if you're dead, etc). That's not to say that you SHOULD say anything that comes to mind. Be careful about what you say and even how you word it ;D Also remember that many games have a rolekiller, so be careful about revealing information about yourself

Q: What is some "Mafia jargon" I'll need to know?
A: Here's some important stuff:
* BTSC - Behind the Scenes Contact
* win condition - abbreviated wincon, this is the goal required for a faction to win
* baddie - part of the "informed minority" that is working against the good guys/Innocents/villagers/Townsfolk/Jumpers/etc who make up the uninformed majority. Usually 'baddie' refers to independent roles too (ie, it's basically a term for all enemies of the Innocents who have other win conditions)
* bandwagoning - the action of going with an unstable (not founded on much evidence) yet seemingly popular movement toward one victim, who may or may not be an actual baddie
* bandwagon - used to describe the block of votes that someone is "jumping" onto when they "jump onto the bandwagon"
* flip-flop - a name for when someone switches around voting in a short time period, displaying indecision and uncertainty
* reciprocal voting - a name I came up with just for this guide to descibe the behavior where someone immediately votes for the person that voted for them
* WiFoM - "Wine in Front of Me", sometimes used, the terminology coming from the movie Princess Bride. WiFoM occurs when two opposing parties are caught in a whirlwind of inconclusive circular logic. For example, say there are two people in the spotlight as enemies of the Mafia. The Doctor must choose who to save and the Mafia must choose who to kill. Obviously the Mafia wants to choose someone that the Doctor DOESN'T choose, and the Doctor wants to choose the same person that the Mafia DOES choose. Thus they must anticipate each other's actions and are sucked into an infinite ladder of "well they know I know that I'd pick him because..." which leads to no real conclusions. However the key part of WiFoM is that it requires one of the options to be considerably more desirable for one of the parties involved to pick. This doesn't make anything simpler though, in fact it makes it more complicated
* PM - either Private Message, the member Prince_Marth85, the game Pirate Mafia, or the game Penguin Mafia, depending on the context :-)
* IRL - in real life (yes a real, non-mafia world does exist ;D)
* QA, GR, etc - Quarky Agent, Grim Reaper, etc. Usually longer role names and names with two words are abbreviated into quick two-letter acronyms. Be familiar with the roles and the acronyms that unofficially emerge to represent these roles
* lynch - essentially "execute", it's used to describe the crowd-based killing of one unlucky lad or lass every day
* mob - NOT referring to the "Mafia" mob but rather a group of people, psychologically (such as 'mob mentality')

Q: How do I start playing Mafia? Where do I jump in?
A: It may seem intimidating, but in reality it's not biggrin.gif It's easy to play - a Mafia game either has a Sign-up topic (read the whole the topic first then post, signing yourself up and usually re-posting the updated roster) or the sign-up is in the same place as the starting topic. OR, in recent games, some hosts have either sent out PMs or have announcements in their signatures (and other places around the forum, such as various topics) to PM them if you are interested in joining their game. On the newer branchoff forums, every game requires a signup topic but can be accessed by PMs, shoutbox, etc as well. If you have any questions about current & upcoming games, feel free to PM current players/hosts or someone else that can help you out. It's pretty easy, just check out the 'Games' forum to get a good overview of what's going on

Q: What defines inactivity, and what is expected of an 'active' player?
A: When you join a game, you are expected to actively participate in the game, from voting to discussing to using your role actions strategically (ie, if you don't use a role ability, it should be because you chose not to, not because you were inactive - in this case at least tell the host that you are choosing to not act). Many players think it's okay to just come on, vote, and log back off. It's not - an active player gives reasons for their vote, listens to others, and is more in tune with what's going on in the game; this gives you more leverage and power as a player as well. You don't have to be on the game thread at every waking moment, but checking the topic a few times a day is recommended at minimum. Also, if you are a player that has BTSC with others, you should be taking advantage of that excellent ability. Again, you don't have to sell your soul to the game, but it should be a prominent focus and you should be as active as you can be, enhancing both the game and your own skills and potential of victory ;D Only sign up for the game if you know that you'll be able to play the game fully in spite of other complications (work, school, vacations, other mafia games, etc)

Q: Why Mafia?
A: Hehehe... there are a lot of answers to that question. From "Because" to "Why not?" - but the real answer is, Mafia is amazing. And fun. You just have to experience it for yourself... and basing off the fact that you've just read a good portion of this guide (or at least the very end), I know you're about to. So join a game and see what it's all about : D

Random Advice

* Don't take it personally: Mafia is a game of betrayal, deceit, danger, lies, death and destruction. In the history of Mafia, I have only seen one or two incidents where an action was taken because someone had a vague dislike for someone else. Out of hundreds and hundreds of actions. So really, don't take it personally. If anything, take it as a compliment if you are targeted by a lot of different factions, including the baddies. It means they recognize you as either an ample threat or a helpful ally.

* Read, Read, Read: the more you put into Mafia, the more you get out. Touch up on strategy, ideas, tips, and nostalgia by reading older mafias & discussions (see the links section).

* Listen to your "Elders", but don't take their word for it: more experienced mafia players can be great sources. But you have to remember two things: (1) Game Count does not necessarily equal Experience. (2) If the advice is given inside a Mafia game, look out for factors that could cause them to lie to you... trust no one (except maybe BTSC mates, though in some games they are untrustworthy too).


Enjoy playing Mafia, it's an awesome game!!!

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unreality Grand Master

unreality

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  On 5/1/2012 at 3:33 AM, flamebirde said:

Newbies guide to Mafia

Games section, pinned to top

One of the most essential and comprehensive guides to mafia. A must for every new player.- nearly everyone who's ever read this and went on to become the greatest mafioso/mafiosa in history.

It still humbles me to this day that bringing the simple game of mafia to Brainden has spawned such a dynamic, devoted community (and ring of associated websites) of intelligent players. Keep on innovating and having fun :) And don't forget to go outside! haha :P

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Kikacat123 Proficient

Kikacat123

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Hello, I'm a Newbie-or at least I was before this became my 20th post. Mafia sounds really cool. My only question is, exactly how do you actually begin to participate in a game? Is there like a sign-up sheet or something? Thanks for the rules-I bet they will help a lot if I ever figure out how to join a game.

Edited by Kikacat123
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