An Introduction to Mafia!

Sheldonly

Introduction

Mafia is easily the best game on the forum. It’s a great way to meet new people, and spend an otherwise boring weekend.
Mafia may seem daunting but it’s actually quite simple. The goal is to survive. You will be given an alignment and a role (town, mafia, or third party). Mafia and town are always guaranteed roles, other factions depend on the type of game being played. We will discuss these in depth later on.

Town
Town is the largest faction in mafia games. Your goal is to rid the game of mafia members, while they kill you off one by one. The easiest way to do this is to actively participate in the game.

Mafia
Mafia members are in a factional chat, so they can converse behind the scenes with one another, and kill off town members. Your goal is to reduce the town numbers enough so that you kill them all or outnumber them.

Third Party
Third party roles are roles that win independently from town and mafia and generally work against both factions. They are not included in every game, and their win conditions vary.

Sheldonly

Mafia Terms

FoS – Finger of Suspicion. This means the person(s) you suspect the most to be mafia.
PoE – Process of Elimination
Lynch – To vote a member out of the game
NL – No Lynch. To not lynch (Not an option in all games).
Scum – Not Town sided
WIFoM – Wine In Front of ME – a kind of reasoning that happens when trying to determine the choices of a player that may be subject to scuminess.
AtE – Appeal to Emotion. Playing on peoples feelings.
BP – Bullet Proof. A type of role where a person survives an attempt on their life (number of shots vary).
GS – Gun Smith. A role that hands out guns to other players to be shot during the day (number of shots vary).
MyLO – Mislynch and Lose
LyLO- Lynch and Lose
NK – Night Kill
N# - Night Number
D# - Day #
VT – Vanilla Townie. A town sided role that has no extra powers.
PR – Power Role. A role that has extra powers.
Sus – Suspect
Bus (or bussing) –To throw your partner under the bus and vote for them. (See "If You Are Mafia").
SK -Serial Killer. A third party role that kills someone, of any alignment, every night.
OMGUS - Oh My God You S.uck.
ETA - Edited to Add
Look Town - To be labled as looking as if you are town sided.
Claim - Claim your role
CC - Counter Claim. To claim the role someone else has claimed.
Bandwagon - Jumping on votes for a person, seemingly, without rational reason.
Sheep - Following what others do.
Hammer - The last to vote that leads to someones lynch.
Quick Lynch - Lynching someone quickly.
Fakeclaim - To claim a role that you do not have.
ConfTown- Confirmed Town. Someone who, beyond a doubt, has a town role.
Day Start - A game that starts with a day, meaning no deaths, everyone is alive.
Night Start - A game that starts with a night, meaning all PR's that have a night action use them, usually begins with a death.
Vig - Vigilante - A town sided role that has the power to kill someone either during the day or at night (number of shots vary).
ML - Mislynch. To lynch a townie.
Scumtell - A behavior a person is known to do when scum aligned.
Scumslip - An accidental behavior that shows that said person is not town-aligned.
Selfvote - To vote for oneself.

Sheldonly

Mechanics

The game has two phases; day and night. Before the game starts, the host will privately send you your role, which you should keep to yourself unless you are in a factional chat.

During the day the town (and mafia) must lynch someone. Discuss everything on the thread and try to deduce who is the best person to possibly be anti-town. The day ends at a deadline or when the majority of votes needed to lynch someone, is reached.

During the night, everyone who has a PR, or mafia send in their night actions (hosts generally want you to send in night actions early). Before day begins, the host will give you any information that is needed for your specific role. Once all night actions are in, day will begin again. Nights usually, but not always result in a death, or multiple.

Afterlife is a chat for those who are no longer in the game. It is used to spectate the game and discuss how others are playing. You don't have to join afterlife if you don't want to. It usually occurs in Skype.

Common Roles Found in Basic Games

Vanilla Townie - Townsided. Can vote during the day, and has no night actions.
Doctor - Townsided. Can vote during the day, and at night can save someone from potentially being killed.
Cop - Townsided. Can vote during the day, and at night investigate one person to see their alignment (town or mafia)
Vigilante - Townsided. Can vote during the day, and at night kill another player; town, mafia or third party.
Mason - Townsided (generally). Can vote during the day and talk to other players that have the mason role in a factional chat. The other masons are generally confirmed town to each other.
Roleblocker - Townsided or Mafia sided depending on the game. Can vote during the day, and at night choose to block another players possible night actions.
Serial Killer - Third Party. Can vote during the day and at night kill someone.
Mafia Goon - Mafia. Can vote during the day and at night kill a player with their faction.
Mafia Godfather - Mafia. Can vote during the day and at night kill a player with their faction. If a cop investigates them, they come up as Innocent or Not Guilty.
Miller - Townsided. Can vote during the day. If investigated by a cop, they come up as guilty. (This role is usually in games that also have Mafia Godfather in them.)

Every game is different, depending on the host. When signups begin, most hosts will explain the type of game they are hosting. Some games are more complicated, and confusing, but the host will generally help you to understand your role.

Sheldonly

Basic Guide for the Newbie

So you are new to mafia, and it’s overwhelming. You don’t know a lot of people and probably haven’t read through the games. That is completely okay!

The best thing to do is to just jump in. It never hurts to ask the host questions about your role, and how things work. This is how you learn. Do not be afraid of making mistakes. We all started off the same way and it’s better to just jump in, rather than be timid and lurky.

1. Participate. This is the most important thing. Even if you aren't sure what you are saying is right, post it anyways. Most of the time, we all post things that are not right, but it helps to work together.

2. If you don't understand something, ask. It can be daunting to jump in with those of us who have played together in multiple games. We are more than happy to explain our reasonings, actions and the like. Don't be afraid to ask something, even if you feel it is silly.

3. Don't be a sheep. It's easy to follow how everyone is voting, but don't. Take in what everyone is saying and don't be afraid to speak against something you feel may be wrong.

4. Don't claim unless you have to! It's best to only claim your role if you are about to be lynched. Don't claim if you only have a few votes. The best time to claim is when you are 2-3 votes away from being lynched. Premature claiming makes it easier for mafia to narrow down who has important PR's. You aren't helping town if you prematurely claim.

5. Don't take things personally. The game can seem mean at times, but no one takes it personally. It's just a game, and we all understand that. If you get killed, or someone calls you scum, just roll with it; defend yourself and make sure you keep your head in the game and keep the feels out of it.

6. Never Hammer unless you are sure they are mafia. Don't hammer if someone hasn't claimed. This leads to many problems; we generally don't want to quick lynch because it can cause town to potentially lose an important PR.

7. Don't talk Game when the day ends. You might want to comment on the latest lynch, but anything you post past the day's end is only hindering you. Mafia can take your comments and may try to kill you. Also, if you are mafia, your reaction or comment may somehow be a scumslip, and town may lynch you for that. Try to be vague, or not post at all.

8. When you die, don't talk game. It is acceptable to talk, if you are dead, during the night, but not about the game. The most you can say during the day is "After life please" or "Can I be all-knowing?" Once you are out of the game, don't comment on it in the thread itself, or to people who are still playing. This is a common courtesy. If you wish to discuss the game, go to Afterlife and spectate with the other ghosts.

9. If you have a PR, make sure to send in night actions ASAP. This is especially useful if you are in a different timezone, or have to leave the game for a bit. This ensures that the host isn't waiting around for you, and that your actions don't get skipped. It's a common courtesy in mafia games.

10. Lack of participation doesn't always mean someone is scum. This is one thing mafia will try to latch on to. It's easy to convince others to lynch someone who hasn't been around as much as others. Sometimes things do come up and people aren't around 24/7. Be careful of lynching quickly and use your best judgement.

11. Do not selfvote as a general rule. Selfvoting should only be done in a few instances; mafia caught by a PR, or if you have a role that benefits town to have you lynched (i.e. Oracle or Virg.in.). When it is in LyLo one should NEVER self vote as town. You are handing mafia the win. Selfvotes may be funny, or comical but could easily lose you the game.

Sheldonly

If you are Town...

Congratulations, you are town. This means that you are in the majority of the players and it is your job to eliminate any scum that is in the game.

Playing as town is much easier than playing as mafia though you don't have anyone that is confirmed town to you unless you are a mason. Your job is to discuss things on the thread and try to deduce, with the other players, who the mafia is.

If you are town, try and post as much as possible. This is the only way to really learn the game.

Don't be intimidated that the regular players seem to be able to discern "scumtells." Sometimes the regular players get desensitized to each other and any and all new insight is helpful.

Don't hammer (see glossary for definition) unless you are sure someone is mafia. Give people a time to claim, then use your judgement.

If you are Mafia...

Good luck, you are mafia! This means that you are in the minority of the players and it is your job to eliminate enough town so that nothing can prevent your win.

Playing as mafia is tricky. Many of the seasoned players are not fans of the deception involved. But, there are many players that adore being part of a mafia team.

Since you are new, your new mafia team mates are your best friends. They will help you out in the factional chat, which is a big bonus.

Being part of mafia, it is best to try and deduce which players might have a PR. Those are the players you want to eliminate, (through lynch, or kill) first. Lucky for you, everyone but your mafia team mates are an enemy. You have the insight to know that everyone not on your team, is an enemy, town does not have this benefit.

Try to seem town; act as if you are trying help town to rid itself of scum.

Another tactic mafia may use is bussing their partners. This means to not town read your mafia partners and vote for them. This is useful if they are already looking scummy. This can help you not be associated with them when they are lynched and they are shown to be mafia. It's a risky move but can sometimes pay off.

Keep in mind, however, that there may be a vigilante, SK, third party, or another scum faction who is out to get you. Don't get arrogant just yet! Make sure you understand the setup with your mafiaso friends before you go guns blaring, so to speak.

Sheldonly

Useful links

Mafia Central (a List of upcoming games)

Guides:

Playing as Mafia

MafiaScum Newbie Guide

A General Mafia Guide

Setups:

Greatest Idea Mafia

Greater Idea Mafia

Cracking Idea Mafia

Pick Your Power X/Y


Past Games To Learn From

These games are good examples of different types of setups.

Slasher

Cracking Idea Mafia

Flavored Mafia Game (With Common Roles)

Pick Your Power X/Y

Greater Idea Mafia

Vanilla Mafia

Mafia Game with Created Roles

Assassins

Role Madness

Multiple Mafia Factions