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footnotes = <sup>1</sup> <small>Play time varies greatly.</small>
footnotes = <sup>1</sup> <small>Play time varies greatly.</small>
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'''Mafia''' is a [[party game]] (also called Werewolf) modelling a battle between an informed minority and an uninformed majority. Mafia is usually played in groups with at least six players. During a game, players are divided into two teams: 'mafia members', who know each other; and 'honest people', who know only the number of mafia amongst them. The goal of both teams is to eliminate each other.
'''Mafia''' is a [[party game]] (also called Werewolf) modelling a battle between an informed minority and an uninformed majority. Mafia is usually played in groups with at least six players. During a game, players are divided into two teams: 'Mafia members', who know each other; and 'honest people', who know only the number of Mafia amongst them. The goal of both teams is to eliminate each other.


==Gameplay==
==Gameplay==
In its simplest form, mafia is very easy to learn.
In its simplest form, Mafia is very easy to learn.
Have everybody sit so that they can see everybody else. Pick the same number of tokens as you have players (cards are convenient). Mark a third of the tokens or close to that ratio (take 3 red and 6 black cards if you have 9 players); if you are playing with roles, associate tokens with them. Distribute tokens randomly and secretly, everyone should remember its meaning (red or black; a special role) and return it to a pile - someone begins the game by asking everyone to close their eyes and lower their heads (the speaker also does this):
Have everybody sit so that they can see everybody else. Pick the same number of tokens as you have players (cards are convenient). Mark around a third of the tokens as Mafia and the rest as innocent; if you are playing with roles, assign a role to each token. Distribute tokens randomly and secretly. Everyone should remember their role and not reveal it.
- the speaker then tells the mafia to look up, see each other and look down again
- the speaker tells everyone to open their eyes and start the game
(Some variations include extra activities here with special roles and special tasks that need to be performed. Sometimes the speaker can not play in order to function as narrator for coordination of roles.)


The game begins when narrator (a person not playing, but organizing the game) asks everyone to close their eyes and lower their heads. The narrator then tells the Mafia to look up, see each other and look down again. Then the narrator tells everyone to open their eyes and start the game.
⚫
During the daytime phase, honest players (black card) should try to figure out who is in the mafia (red card). Members of the mafia have to hide their identity and try to put honest people under suspicion. At any point of the game, anyone could ask for a vote to eliminate someone as a member of the mafia. If majority agrees, that person is out of the game (dead), and can not participate in further discussions. Otherwise game continues as if nothing happened.


⚫
During the daytime phase, innocent players should try to figure out who is in the Mafia. Members of the mafia have to hide their identity and try to put innocent people under suspicion. At any point of the game, anyone could ask for a vote to eliminate who is suspected of being in the Mafia. If the majority agrees, that person is out of the game (dead), and can not participate in further discussions. Otherwise game continues as if nothing happened.
⚫
When a player is killed, whether by vote of the mob or by a mafia hit, one of two main variations take effect. In one variation, dead people do not reveal their identity. Therefore, in order to check the game's progress, anyone could suggest to have a 'Mafia night' (a majority has to agree). During that phase, honest players who are still in the game have to write the word 'honest' on a piece of paper; mafia members have to write down the name of a player for elimination. Notes are written in secret, then collected and revealed. The number of notes that have names on them gives the number of mafia players still in the game. If all the mafia notes have the same name on them, that player is considered to be killed by the mafia (if only one mafia player is still in the game, her/his single note is enough to kill). There are other procedures to have 'mafia night': usually an eliminated player becomes a moderator/narrator and tells everyone to lower their head, put a hand on top of it and then calls names of players. Mafia members have to move their fingers to signal a shot. The probability of an honest person being killed during 'mafia night' grows towards the end of the game. The game ends when no shots are fired during a night or the mafia players gain a majority and vote all honest players out during a day.

⚫
When a player is killed, whether by vote or by a Mafia hit, one of two main variations take effect. In one variation, dead people do not reveal their identity. Therefore, in order to check the game's progress, players may vote to have a "Mafia night." During that phase, innocent players write the word 'honest' on a piece of paper; Mafia members write down the name of a player for elimination. Notes are written in secret, then collected and revealed. The number of Mafia still in the game is thus revealed. Also, if all the mafia notes have the same name on them, that player is considered killed by the Mafia.


In another variation, dead players do reveal their identity by flipping their card face up.
In another variation, dead players do reveal their identity by flipping their card face up.

The game ends when no shots are fired during a night or the Mafia players gain a majority and vote all honest players out during a day.


The gameplay is quite different between the two variations and a group should try both several times to see which one creates the right balance of strategy and fun.
The gameplay is quite different between the two variations and a group should try both several times to see which one creates the right balance of strategy and fun.


During the years, players have added more rules, roles and limitations. For example, some groups prefer more structured games with rigid order of days and nights. The role of policeman was introduced in order to balance game dynamics after allowing mafia cooperation during 'mafia night' (thus one night = one kill). External links provide a good overview for different versions of rules. Some of popular special roles are discussed below.
During the years, players have added more rules, roles and limitations. For example, some groups prefer more structured games with rigid order of days and nights. The role of policeman was introduced in order to balance game dynamics after allowing Mafia cooperation during 'Mafia night' (thus one night = one kill). External links provide a good overview for different versions of rules. Some of popular special roles are discussed below.


===Special Roles===
===Special Roles===
There are different roles that go beyond the basic honest villager (or citizens, or townspeople) and mafia (or werewolves) roles. Some are on the side of the townspeople and some are on the side of the mafia. This is by no means a comprehensive list, and many groups invent their own special roles. These are just the most common. Also, these jobs can have different names; for example, the role listed under "Doctor" is sometimes called the "Guardian Angel".
There are different roles that go beyond the basic honest villager (or citizens, or townspeople) and Mafia (or werewolves) roles. Some are on the side of the townspeople and some are on the side of the Mafia. This is by no means a comprehensive list, and many groups invent their own special roles. Also, these jobs can have different names; for example, the role of the "Doctor" is sometimes called the "Guardian Angel".


The '''[[Doctor]]''' ('''Guardian''' in some Werewolf variants, '''Archangel''' in others) is on the side of the townspeople. During the night, he chooses one person to save. If this same person is a mafia target, the targeted individual survives the night, and the narrator may announce the next morning that there was an unsuccessful attempt on the person's life. Some narrators allow the Doctor to save himself; others do not.
*The '''[[Doctor]]''' ('''Guardian''' in some Werewolf variants, '''Archangel''' in others) is on the side of the townspeople. During the night, he chooses one person to save. If this same person is a mafia target, the targeted individual survives the night, and the narrator may announce the next morning that there was an unsuccessful attempt on the person's life. Some narrators allow the Doctor to save himself; others do not.


The '''[[Guardian angel|Guardian Angel]]''' (also known as Detective, mystic) is a townsperson to whom the narrator secretly reveals the identity of all mafia members. During the daytime, the guardian angel tries to inform the townspeople of who the mafia are without arousing suspicion and being killed. This role introduces another level of deception to the game because a member of the mafia may publicly claim to be the guardian angel and try to lead the townspeople to lynch innocents.
*The '''[[Guardian angel|Guardian Angel]]''' (also known as Detective, Mystic) is a townsperson to whom the narrator secretly reveals the identity of all mafia members. During the daytime, the guardian angel tries to inform the townspeople of who the mafia are without arousing suspicion and being killed. This role introduces another level of deception to the game because a member of the mafia may publicly claim to be the guardian angel and try to lead the townspeople to lynch innocents.


The '''[[Sheriff]]''' (also known as '''Cop''', '''Seer''' in Werewolf variants, often called '''Cattani''' in European variants, after the main character in ''[[La Piovra]]'', an Italian [[television series]] about the Mafia) is also a townsperson role. Each night, the Sheriff may investigate one person by pointing to that person. The narrator will inform the Sheriff whether that person is mafia. The Sheriff is a prime target for Mafia kills, like the Doctor and Guardian Angel. In some variants of the role, the Sheriff returns readings that are either always innocent (sometimes dubbed the '''Naïve Sheriff'''), guilty (a '''Paranoid Sheriff'''), wrong (an '''Insane Sheriff'''), or random (a '''Crazy Sheriff'''). There may be more than one Sheriff; sometimes these are called Deputies. In some variants, all of them must agree on a single person to investigate; other times they can investigate separately, to try to determine their sanity.
*The '''[[Sheriff]]''' (also known as '''Cop''', '''Seer''' in Werewolf variants, often called '''Cattani''' in European variants, after the main character in ''[[La Piovra]]'', an Italian [[television series]] about the Mafia) is also a townsperson role. Each night, the Sheriff may investigate one person by pointing to that person. The narrator will inform the Sheriff whether that person is Mafia. The Sheriff is a prime target for Mafia kills, like the Doctor and Guardian Angel. In some variants of the role, the Sheriff returns readings that are either always innocent (sometimes dubbed the '''Naïve Sheriff'''), guilty (a '''Paranoid Sheriff'''), wrong (an '''Insane Sheriff'''), or random (a '''Crazy Sheriff'''). There may be more than one Sheriff; sometimes these are called Deputies. In some variants, all of them must agree on a single person to investigate; other times they can investigate separately, to try to determine their sanity.


The '''Madman''' or '''Lunatic''' plays on the townspeople's side. Behaves like normal except that when killed, he or she has the ability to kill one person instantly.
*The '''Madman''' or '''Lunatic''' plays on the townspeople's side. Behaves normally except that when killed, he or she has the ability to kill one person instantly.


The '''[[Godfather]]''' ('''Master''' or '''Alpha Wolf''' in Werewolf variants) is a member of the mafia who is immune to investigation. If the Godfather is investigated, he will come up innocent.
*The '''[[Godfather]]''' ('''Master''' or '''Alpha Wolf''' in Werewolf variants) is a member of the Mafia who is immune to investigation. If the Godfather is investigated, he will come up innocent.


The '''Village Idiot''' (or '''[[Lackey]]''') plays on the mafia's side. He knows who is in the mafia and the mafia knows him (he opens his eyes on the first night), but he does not kill, and is immune to investigation. His main task is to spread confusion between citizens and to discretely refute arguments against real mafia. As he doesn't kill, he cannot win the game alone. As soon as the mafia itself is entirely exterminated, it loses, even if the Village Idiot is still alive.
*The '''Village Idiot''' (or '''[[Lackey]]''') plays on the Mafia's side. He knows who is in the Mafia and the Mafia knows him (he opens his eyes on the first night), but he does not kill, and is immune to investigation. His main task is to spread confusion between citizens and to discretely refute arguments against real Mafia. As he doesn't kill, he cannot win the game alone. As soon as the Mafia itself is entirely exterminated, it loses, even if the Village Idiot is still alive.


The '''[[Miller]]''' is the opposite of the Godfather, a townsperson who will come up guilty if investigated. This role is not used as frequently as other roles, as it can be seen as unfair to the person who receives it (usually secretly, so that only the narrator knows)
*The '''[[Miller]]''' is the opposite of the Godfather, a townsperson who will come up guilty if investigated. This role is not used as frequently as other roles, as it can be seen as unfair to the person who receives it (usually secretly, so that only the narrator knows).


The '''[[Devil's Advocate]]''' (or sometimes just '''Devil''') is the opposite of the Sheriff, investigating people each night in an attempt to figure out who the Sheriff is. Since they are on the Mafia's team, they then try to kill the Sheriff either through lynching or informing the mafia of their identity. In some variants, if the Devil's Advocate is investigated by the Sheriff, the Devil's Advocate will come up innocent.
*The '''[[Devil's Advocate]]''' (or sometimes just '''Devil''') is the opposite of the Sheriff, investigating people each night in an attempt to figure out who the Sheriff is. Since they are on the Mafia's team, they then try to kill the Sheriff either through lynching or informing the Mafia of their identity. In some variants, if the Devil's Advocate is investigated by the Sheriff, the Devil's Advocate will come up innocent.


The '''Little Girl''' can "peek" during the killing phase. This role is primarily found in werewolf-themed games, although other names for roles with similar abilities exist.
*The '''Little Girl''' can "peek" during the killing phase. This role is primarily found in werewolf-themed games, although other names for roles with similar abilities exist.


The '''Vigilante''' is on the side of the townspeople, and can kill one person during the daytime (or nighttime, in certain variations) at his discretion. The narrator may confirm for the group the Vigilante's role when he makes the kill, thus it cannot be faked.
*The '''Vigilante''' is on the side of the townspeople, and can kill one person during the daytime (or nighttime, in certain variations) at his discretion. The narrator may confirm for the group the Vigilante's role when he makes the kill, thus it cannot be faked.


The '''Bomb''', when killed either by being lynched or by the mafia, also kills the people on either side, when sitting in a circle, or two people at their discretion when not. Sometimes this role only triggers if targeted for a kill at night.
*The '''Bomb''', when killed either by being lynched or by the Mafia, also kills the people on either side, when sitting in a circle, or two people at their discretion when not. Sometimes this role only triggers if targeted for a kill at night.


The '''Tax Collector''' (Or '''Prostitute''') can choose to disturb/sleep with a person during the night time. This disables the abilities of any character that is the victim. I.e. the Mafia will no longer be able to kill people that round (The narrator will indicate the Mafia was "busy"), or the cops will no longer be able to investigate. This character is mostly negligible with villagers.
*The '''Tax Collector''' (Or '''Prostitute''') can choose to disturb/sleep with a person during the night time. This disables the abilities of any character that is the victim, so that the Mafia won't be able to kill people that round (The narrator will indicate the Mafia was "busy"), or the cops won't be able to investigate. This character has no effect on villagers.


The '''Jestor''' (Or '''Joker''', another variation of the "village idiot") attempts to make people believe that s/he is the mafia so s/he is killed during the day, and thus will win the entire game single-handedly. In order to do this, the Jestor must subtlely attempt to make it appear that s/he is Mafia, yet not clear enough for the mafia to find out, to avoid death by night, as the Jestor is the biggest threat (logically speaking) to both mafia and villagers.
*The '''Jester''' (Or '''Joker''', another variation of the "village idiot") attempts to make people believe that he is in the Mafia so he is killed during the day, and thus will win the entire game single-handedly. In order to do this, the Jester must subtly attempt to make it appear to the villagers that he is Mafia, yet not clearly enough for the Mafia to find out, to avoid death by night. The Jester is the biggest threat (logically speaking) to both Mafia and villagers.


'''[[Freemason|Masons]]''' are more frequently found in larger games. They are townspeople who know each other to be innocent, and thus can work together with greater confidence. Sometimes they are enjoined against revealing that they are Masons directly, and may only hint that they know the innocence of another player.
*'''[[Freemason|Masons]]''' are more frequently found in larger games. They are townspeople who know each other to be innocent, and thus can work together with greater confidence. Sometimes they are enjoined against revealing that they are Masons directly, and may only hint that they know the innocence of another player.


'''[[Serial killer|Serial Killers]]''' are also more native to larger games. They are an independent role with a killing ability, like the mafia. They kill one target each night, and win if they are the last individual standing. It is rare for a serial killer to win the game, but can be especially prestigious.
*'''[[Serial killer|Serial Killers]]''' are also more native to larger games. They are an independent role with a killing ability, like the Mafia. They kill one target each night, and win if they are the last individual standing. It is rare for a serial killer to win the game, but can be especially prestigious.


The '''Hunter''' is a '''Villager''' with the power to let the villagers win ties at the endgame between werewolves/mafia and villagers. Normally werewolves/mafia win ties, as when the numbers is even they can just 'come out in the open' to kill remaining villagers. A surviving hunter shifts the balance in ties to the villagers, so that they are still a threat to the werewolves/mafia.
*The '''Hunter''' is a '''Villager''' with the power to let the villagers win ties at the endgame between werewolves/Mafia and villagers. Normally werewolves/Mafia win ties, as when the numbers is even they can just 'come out in the open' to kill remaining villagers. A surviving hunter shifts the balance in ties to the villagers, so that they are still a threat to the werewolves/Mafia.


There are a wide variety of other possible roles and ways to play the game. Some narrators give clues pointing to the members of the mafia or other killing roles, such as describing patterned methods of death. Sometimes everyone has a special role of some sort, but no one knows what all the roles are.
There are a wide variety of other possible roles and ways to play the game. Some narrators give clues pointing to the members of the Mafia or other killing roles, such as describing patterned methods of death. Sometimes everyone has a special role of some sort, but no one knows what all the roles are.


In some variants, players don't know the number of Mafiosi, Sheriffs, Lunatics and so on. It's up to the narrator to decide how many of these characters will be introduced and tell only a range (e.g. "Ladies and gentlemen, there are 2 or 3 Mafiosi among us, one Sheriff and 0-4 Lunatics."). Furthermore, Mafioso and Sheriff roles can be combined, giving the '''Corrupt Sheriff''' role. A Corrupt Sheriff plays on the mafia's side, but investigates together with other Sheriffs and tries to exert an influence on them to avoid investigation on Mafiosi.
In some variants, players don't know the number of Mafiosi, Sheriffs, Lunatics and so on. It's up to the narrator to decide how many of these characters will be introduced and tell only a range (e.g. "Ladies and gentlemen, there are 2 or 3 Mafiosi among us, one Sheriff and 0-4 Lunatics."). Furthermore, Mafioso and Sheriff roles can be combined, giving the '''Corrupt Sheriff''' role. A Corrupt Sheriff plays on the mafia's side, but investigates together with other Sheriffs and tries to exert an influence on them to avoid investigation on Mafiosi.

Revision as of 04:58, 15 November 2005

Mafia
Players6 or more
Setup time< 5 minutes
Playing time15–60 minutes1
ChanceLow
Age range9 and up
SkillsStrategic thought
Team play
Roleplay
1 Play time varies greatly.

Mafia is a party game (also called Werewolf) modelling a battle between an informed minority and an uninformed majority. Mafia is usually played in groups with at least six players. During a game, players are divided into two teams: 'Mafia members', who know each other; and 'honest people', who know only the number of Mafia amongst them. The goal of both teams is to eliminate each other.

Gameplay

In its simplest form, Mafia is very easy to learn. Have everybody sit so that they can see everybody else. Pick the same number of tokens as you have players (cards are convenient). Mark around a third of the tokens as Mafia and the rest as innocent; if you are playing with roles, assign a role to each token. Distribute tokens randomly and secretly. Everyone should remember their role and not reveal it.

The game begins when narrator (a person not playing, but organizing the game) asks everyone to close their eyes and lower their heads. The narrator then tells the Mafia to look up, see each other and look down again. Then the narrator tells everyone to open their eyes and start the game.

During the daytime phase, innocent players should try to figure out who is in the Mafia. Members of the mafia have to hide their identity and try to put innocent people under suspicion. At any point of the game, anyone could ask for a vote to eliminate who is suspected of being in the Mafia. If the majority agrees, that person is out of the game (dead), and can not participate in further discussions. Otherwise game continues as if nothing happened.

When a player is killed, whether by vote or by a Mafia hit, one of two main variations take effect. In one variation, dead people do not reveal their identity. Therefore, in order to check the game's progress, players may vote to have a "Mafia night." During that phase, innocent players write the word 'honest' on a piece of paper; Mafia members write down the name of a player for elimination. Notes are written in secret, then collected and revealed. The number of Mafia still in the game is thus revealed. Also, if all the mafia notes have the same name on them, that player is considered killed by the Mafia.

In another variation, dead players do reveal their identity by flipping their card face up.

The game ends when no shots are fired during a night or the Mafia players gain a majority and vote all honest players out during a day.

The gameplay is quite different between the two variations and a group should try both several times to see which one creates the right balance of strategy and fun.

During the years, players have added more rules, roles and limitations. For example, some groups prefer more structured games with rigid order of days and nights. The role of policeman was introduced in order to balance game dynamics after allowing Mafia cooperation during 'Mafia night' (thus one night = one kill). External links provide a good overview for different versions of rules. Some of popular special roles are discussed below.

Special Roles

There are different roles that go beyond the basic honest villager (or citizens, or townspeople) and Mafia (or werewolves) roles. Some are on the side of the townspeople and some are on the side of the Mafia. This is by no means a comprehensive list, and many groups invent their own special roles. Also, these jobs can have different names; for example, the role of the "Doctor" is sometimes called the "Guardian Angel".

  • The Doctor (Guardian in some Werewolf variants, Archangel in others) is on the side of the townspeople. During the night, he chooses one person to save. If this same person is a mafia target, the targeted individual survives the night, and the narrator may announce the next morning that there was an unsuccessful attempt on the person's life. Some narrators allow the Doctor to save himself; others do not.
  • The Guardian Angel (also known as Detective, Mystic) is a townsperson to whom the narrator secretly reveals the identity of all mafia members. During the daytime, the guardian angel tries to inform the townspeople of who the mafia are without arousing suspicion and being killed. This role introduces another level of deception to the game because a member of the mafia may publicly claim to be the guardian angel and try to lead the townspeople to lynch innocents.
  • The Sheriff (also known as Cop, Seer in Werewolf variants, often called Cattani in European variants, after the main character in La Piovra, an Italian television series about the Mafia) is also a townsperson role. Each night, the Sheriff may investigate one person by pointing to that person. The narrator will inform the Sheriff whether that person is Mafia. The Sheriff is a prime target for Mafia kills, like the Doctor and Guardian Angel. In some variants of the role, the Sheriff returns readings that are either always innocent (sometimes dubbed the Naïve Sheriff), guilty (a Paranoid Sheriff), wrong (an Insane Sheriff), or random (a Crazy Sheriff). There may be more than one Sheriff; sometimes these are called Deputies. In some variants, all of them must agree on a single person to investigate; other times they can investigate separately, to try to determine their sanity.
  • The Madman or Lunatic plays on the townspeople's side. Behaves normally except that when killed, he or she has the ability to kill one person instantly.
  • The Godfather (Master or Alpha Wolf in Werewolf variants) is a member of the Mafia who is immune to investigation. If the Godfather is investigated, he will come up innocent.
  • The Village Idiot (or Lackey) plays on the Mafia's side. He knows who is in the Mafia and the Mafia knows him (he opens his eyes on the first night), but he does not kill, and is immune to investigation. His main task is to spread confusion between citizens and to discretely refute arguments against real Mafia. As he doesn't kill, he cannot win the game alone. As soon as the Mafia itself is entirely exterminated, it loses, even if the Village Idiot is still alive.
  • The Miller is the opposite of the Godfather, a townsperson who will come up guilty if investigated. This role is not used as frequently as other roles, as it can be seen as unfair to the person who receives it (usually secretly, so that only the narrator knows).
  • The Devil's Advocate (or sometimes just Devil) is the opposite of the Sheriff, investigating people each night in an attempt to figure out who the Sheriff is. Since they are on the Mafia's team, they then try to kill the Sheriff either through lynching or informing the Mafia of their identity. In some variants, if the Devil's Advocate is investigated by the Sheriff, the Devil's Advocate will come up innocent.
  • The Little Girl can "peek" during the killing phase. This role is primarily found in werewolf-themed games, although other names for roles with similar abilities exist.
  • The Vigilante is on the side of the townspeople, and can kill one person during the daytime (or nighttime, in certain variations) at his discretion. The narrator may confirm for the group the Vigilante's role when he makes the kill, thus it cannot be faked.
  • The Bomb, when killed either by being lynched or by the Mafia, also kills the people on either side, when sitting in a circle, or two people at their discretion when not. Sometimes this role only triggers if targeted for a kill at night.
  • The Tax Collector (Or Prostitute) can choose to disturb/sleep with a person during the night time. This disables the abilities of any character that is the victim, so that the Mafia won't be able to kill people that round (The narrator will indicate the Mafia was "busy"), or the cops won't be able to investigate. This character has no effect on villagers.
  • The Jester (Or Joker, another variation of the "village idiot") attempts to make people believe that he is in the Mafia so he is killed during the day, and thus will win the entire game single-handedly. In order to do this, the Jester must subtly attempt to make it appear to the villagers that he is Mafia, yet not clearly enough for the Mafia to find out, to avoid death by night. The Jester is the biggest threat (logically speaking) to both Mafia and villagers.
  • Masons are more frequently found in larger games. They are townspeople who know each other to be innocent, and thus can work together with greater confidence. Sometimes they are enjoined against revealing that they are Masons directly, and may only hint that they know the innocence of another player.
  • Serial Killers are also more native to larger games. They are an independent role with a killing ability, like the Mafia. They kill one target each night, and win if they are the last individual standing. It is rare for a serial killer to win the game, but can be especially prestigious.
  • The Hunter is a Villager with the power to let the villagers win ties at the endgame between werewolves/Mafia and villagers. Normally werewolves/Mafia win ties, as when the numbers is even they can just 'come out in the open' to kill remaining villagers. A surviving hunter shifts the balance in ties to the villagers, so that they are still a threat to the werewolves/Mafia.

There are a wide variety of other possible roles and ways to play the game. Some narrators give clues pointing to the members of the Mafia or other killing roles, such as describing patterned methods of death. Sometimes everyone has a special role of some sort, but no one knows what all the roles are.

In some variants, players don't know the number of Mafiosi, Sheriffs, Lunatics and so on. It's up to the narrator to decide how many of these characters will be introduced and tell only a range (e.g. "Ladies and gentlemen, there are 2 or 3 Mafiosi among us, one Sheriff and 0-4 Lunatics."). Furthermore, Mafioso and Sheriff roles can be combined, giving the Corrupt Sheriff role. A Corrupt Sheriff plays on the mafia's side, but investigates together with other Sheriffs and tries to exert an influence on them to avoid investigation on Mafiosi.

Online Play

Although Mafia is usually played face to face, playing it online is also fun. This adds a new dimension to the game, making it last longer and allowing people to have a record of what others have said and how they have voted. There are many forms of online play: one could do so with the BYOND, where the game was implemented by "LostRealm" with multiple icons for player use. As part for the promotion of the film Cry_Wolf a site was setup to play a similar game using AIM Instant Messenger, pitching wolves against sheep.

Online forum play was first known to be run on the Internet forum Grey Labyrinth by a regular poster from that site. The game requires 1 or 2 moderators to control. A sign up thread is created announcing the game. The game usually starts in the night phase with players messaging the moderator with their choices, and the mafia teams communicating via email before submitting their kill. The moderator will process the choices, write the appropriate death scene for those that were eliminated, and post a dawn scene. Then the players will vote for who they think is mafia. Generally speaking the first day of the online game is very random in nature, but as the game progresses the lynching becomes more strategic and planned.

Themes are the most common method of online play. Any group of well known characters or groups will work. The Simpsons, Hanna Barbera, Lord Of The Rings for example have been used because of their extensive character sets. In themed games, Roles tend to be more creative and relate to the scenes in which they are set. It is not uncommon for major characters to be left out of the balance of roles to allow the mafia teams to lie about who they are. Themes can also be Types - such as a Canines-themed game, or more extreme such as Time Travel Mafia or Deep South (a variant with no night phase).

Moderating online play generally requires you to attempt to balance the game well so any team or group has an even chance of winning. This is even more pertinent when using powerful creative roles. The balance is usually 25% mafia - so a 12 player game would entail 3 or 4 mafia depending on the balance of the remainder of the game. A brief listing of the known online variants follows (some would be near impossible to play in real life).

  1. Deep South Mafia - also known as nightless mafia. The game is broken into choice blocks which last a set amount of real life time. During a choice block, players can vote to lynch and/or submit their choices to the moderator. The moderator will action them at a set time. If a player is lynched during that time, the choice block will end immediately, and all votes are nullified and the next block begins. Choices are always made first as part of an update, and then voting. Some moderators may care to flip this rule around. Choices are made in the order recieved. Common roles for this variant are "Lie Detector" who can detect a lie in a role claim by a player. "Mafia/Serial Killers" who kill during the day at any time. "Advance doctors" who can protect one choice block in advance. "Chef" who can call lunch and end a choice block once.
  2. Grey Labyrinth's Designer mafia is to have all prospective players invent a role and submit it to the moderator. The moderator tones the roles down to make them playable and then shuffles them up amongst the players.
  3. Location-based games often have maps involved in which players have to travel to different destinations.
  4. MafiaScum.net Time Travel mafia allows players to alter history with their night choices. Roles are not revealed on death in this variation because players can be brought back to life at any stage. Time travelling roles are usually restricted to prevent chaos. Standard roles are "Coroner" who can investigate a corpse at night. "Blocker" who can prevent a player time travelling. "Serial Killer" who can travel back 1 or 2 nights to kill someone. One of the major changes in Time Travel mafia is that the person with the most votes at the end of a set time is lynched. This means that if a player votes and then dies on a previous night due to a history change, the vote is effectively nullified.
  5. Romanian Mafia Club's Ebony and Ivory mafia games give every player a black ebony ball and a white ivory ball which stand for votes, and the players can efectively work towards lynching or saving others, because every white ball (a vote in favor of that player) takes out a black ball (a vote against him) that he received. The end of the day brings death to the role that has the most black votes.

Mafiascum is an Internet forum where registered members can play a game of Mafia with other people over a message board. Mafiascum has been around since October 2002 and is a direct descendant of the Grey Labyrinth, an Internet forum dedicated to all types of puzzles and games; when Mafia began to dominate the site's traffic and player base, one of the administrators set up a separate forum specifically for those games. Since its creation, membership has grown and diversified, with games now played under different rulesets, in different languages, and at different skill levels. Recently the gamesite moved to an independent server to accommodate these levels of growth. Players have also contributed to a Mafia-specific wiki about gameplay, strategy, roles, and local players.

History

Mafia was created by Dimma Davidoff at the Psychological Department of Moscow State University, in spring of 1986, and the first players were playing in classrooms, dorms and summer camps of Moscow University. The game then became popular in other Soviet colleges and schools and in 1990s it started crossing borders, first in Europe (Hungary, Poland, England, Norway) then the United States, now it is played virtually everywhere. Considered to be one of "The 50 most historically and culturally significant games published since 1800" by about.com.

Andrew Plotkin rewrote the rules with the Werewolf theme in 1997 [1].

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