And, the game is Mafia.
I have fallen in love with this game over the past semester… and for good reason. Get a good group of people together who will enjoy it, and you can play for hours on end. It never gets old… but, enough talk about it. Let’s talk about it.
First off, the basic game of Mafia only includes the roles of Mafia, Sheriff, and Doctor (the “raw” game of Mafia). I will be teaching you a variant style of the game called Seduction Mafia, which includes many more roles and allows for more players, greater diversity, and more intense excitement.
Seduction Mafia is usually played with a group of ten or more people (the larger the group, the more complicated the game will be), plus one person who will act as Narrator. The Narrator keeps track of the events of the game, including who dies, what happens upon the deaths of players, who was “seduced” or “silenced” during the night, and so forth. The Narrator officiates gameplay, including “pre’s”, “posts”, night activities, and general time limiting for daytime discussion. The Narrator “sets up” the game by arranging the deck with roles in such a fashion that Mafia and Townspeople will have a fairly even chance to win the game. (It is important to have a good balance of Townspeople to Mafia… a good rule of thumb is two Townspeople to every one Mafia member.)
The game begins with the passing out of cards… each card has a role written on it (i.e. “Sheriff”, “Mafia”, etc.) All players must look at their card and note their role without letting anyone else know their role. Players may not show anyone their card. The role written on the card is that player’s role for the entire game, unless otherwise noted. Depending on the number of people playing, usually at least three or four players should be Mafia and the remaining players are assigned various Townspeople roles. (The roles of the game are discussed in detail below.)
Gameplay starts officially with the Narrator announcing “Everyone go to sleep.” All players must close their eyes. The Narrator then proceeds to “wake up” the players with certain roles and takes note of the various actions associated with those roles.
Romeo and Juliet are the first to wake up. The Narrator announces, “Romeo and Juliet, wake up.” The players who have those respective roles wake up and make eye contact. They are “safe”; neither is Mafia, and both players upon acknowledging this go back to sleep. (Romeo and Juliet do not wake up during the night for the remainder of the game.)
Judas is the next to wake up during the night. The Narrator will announce, “Judas, wake up.” Any player with the role of Judas must wake up and make eye contact with the Narrator, who will take note of the player(s) with the role of Judas. If Judas would like to become Mafia at any time, he may choose to do so by waking up with the Mafia during the night, but once he is Mafia, he must remain Mafia for the remainder of the game. If Judas does not ever decide to become Mafia, he will not wake up for the remainder of the game.
Next to wake up is the Prostitute. The Prostitute chooses one player to “seduce”; that player will then be unable to perform their role that night. (If the Prostitute “seduces” the Mafia, then the Mafia cannot kill anyone that night. If the Prostitute “seduces” the Mafia Silencer, then neither can the Mafia kill anyone nor can the Silencer “silence” anyone that night. If the Prostitute “seduces” the sheriff, the sheriff cannot learn about a player’s loyalty that night. If the Prostitute “seduces” the doctor, the doctor will be unable to save anyone that night. If the Prostitute “seduces” the Vigilante, then the Vigilante will be unable to kill any player that night.) The Prostitute’s goal is to sleep with the Mafia so the Mafia is unable to make a kill during the night. If the Prostitute “seduces” a major role, the Narrator must notify that role that they are “seduced” when they wake up during the night.
After the Prostitute goes back to sleep, the Mafia wakes up. The Mafia’s objective is to kill off the Townspeople until the number of living Mafia members exceeds the number of living Townspeople, resulting in a Mafia win. The Narrator will then ask the Mafia who they would like to kill. The Mafia then must unanimously signal to the Narrator which player they wish to kill. If all Mafia members are killed, the Townspeople win. If any one Mafia member is “seduced” by the Prostitute, then the Narrator silently informs the Mafia of this fact, and the Mafia is not allowed to make a kill. The Mafia must go back to sleep.
After the Mafia goes back to sleep, the Mafia Silencer wakes up. The Narrator asks whom the Silencer would like to “silence”, and unless he is “seduced”, the Silencer signals to the Narrator who he wishes to “silence”. He may “silence” himself if he wishes to do so. If a player is “silenced”, he cannot talk, vote, or make any attempt to communicate with other players during the round he is “silenced” in. (In essence, a “silenced” player becomes Helen Keller for a round.) After “silencing” someone, the Silencer goes back to sleep.
The Sheriff is next to wake up. The Narrator will ask the Sheriff, “Who do you wish to know about?” Unless he is “seduced”, the Sheriff may point at any one player, and the Narrator will signal to the Sheriff whether that player is Mafia or not. The Sheriff may only point at one player per night. Once the Sheriff knows that player’s loyalty, he goes back to sleep.
After the Sheriff, the Doctor wakes up. The Narrator will ask, “Who would you like to save?” Unless he is “seduced”, the Doctor may “save” one person, or himself if he so chooses. The person who is “saved” will not die by the Mafia that night; however, if the Vigilante kills a person who is “saved”, the person will die regardless of their “saved” status. (The doctor cannot protect against friendly fire.)
After the Doctor goes back to sleep, the Vigilante will wake up. The Vigilante has four “kills” he can make throughout the course of the game; if he chooses to do so, he may use one kill per night. He may kill any player; however, his goal is to kill the Mafia members. After he uses a kill (if he decides to do so), the Vigilante will go back to sleep.
(Roles that do not wake up during the night are Baker, Suicide Bomber, Bomb Voyage, Grave Robber, and Postal Worker. Also, any player who has a plain Townsperson role will not wake up.)
After the Vigilante, the Narrator will announce “Everybody wake up.” At this point, all players will “awaken” and open their eyes; it is now “day”. The Narrator will announce if anyone was killed during the night, and will collect the cards of those killed in order. (At this point, if the Grave Robber chooses to do so, he may steal the role of a dead player before the Narrator looks at the cards of the dead players.) If the Grave Robber does not make a move to take a role, the Narrator will examine the cards of the dead. If anything happens upon the deaths of the players, the Narrator will announce it now. (i.e. if the Suicide Bomber dies, the players next to the Suicide Bomber must also die at this time.)
All players who die must leave the circle upon the surrender of their card to the Narrator.
After any other deaths take place and all cards are turned in respectively, daytime discussion may begin. The time allowed for discussion can vary, but should usually be about five minutes maximum. During discussion, players can reason among themselves and attempt to figure out “who did what” during the night, keeping their roles in mind.
After daytime discussion, “pre’s” take place. A “pre” is a general vote taken among the players to hear from any one player. For example, a player may say, “I pre Jason.” All players who vote to pre Jason raise their hands. If the number of players who vote to pre Jason are of a 50% group majority, then Jason is now pre’ed and must testify to defend himself as to why the Townspeople should not kill him. (i.e. “I am not Mafia, because I keep you safe.” With this defense, Jason may be saying he is the Sheriff, or possibly the Vigilante, or even the Doctor. However, he may simply be outright lying to avoid telling that he is Mafia; no one ever said you had to tell the truth in this game!) During a pre, several guidelines must be observed. A person who is in a ore may not directly tell his role to the other players; however, he may allude to his role with hints of any kind. These hints may not include numbers, quantities, or any references to “how many” of something he can do or has done. Also, a person does not have to answer questions during a pre; the pre is his time to make whatever defense he wishes. Up to three people may be “pre’d” per round.
If at any time the group of players decides for certain that they wish to kill a player who has been “pre’ed” that round, they may vote to “post” on that player. “Posting” on a player is, in essence, a vote taken to immediately kill a player, and requires a unanimous vote of agreement among all other players (except any player who is silenced who is unable to vote.) If a unanimous vote cannot be reached, then the posted player lives and may continue to play as normal. If the post carries unanimously, then the posted player dies and turns in his card to the Narrator, who informs the group of any post-death actions that take place with that particular role that died. If nothing happens, then the town goes back to sleep in the next night.
Once all three pre’s have been used during the day, the townspeople are allowed another minute of discussion before the evening vote is taken.
After final discussion, the Narrator calls for the evening vote to kill one of the three people pre’ed. The townspeople do not have to kill one of the three pre’ed players; however, a 50% majority vote is needed to kill any pre’ed player. If any player gains a 50% majority vote, then he is killed and must turn his card in to the Narrator. If more than one player gains a majority vote, then the player with the most votes dies and must turn his card in to the Narrator. Only one pre’ed player may die per round. After the Narrator reviews the dead role and announces any post-death actions for the dead player, all players go to sleep for another night of gameplay.
For the next night and for every night past this point, only the Prostitute, Mafia, Mafia silencer, Sheriff, Doctor, and Vigilante will wake up. The Vigilante has only four kills for the entire game.
After each night of gameplay, the Narrator will tell who died and take all necessary steps following the deaths of any players. Gameplay will continue with pre’s and so forth for as many days as it takes for either Mafia or Townspeople to win.
The game can end in any of three scenarios. If the members of the Mafia outnumber the Townspeople, then the Mafia win. If all members of the Mafia are killed, then the Townspeople win. The game may also end in a draw with one Mafia member and one Townsperson if the final Townsperson is either the Doctor or the Prostitute; in this case, the game would go on forever with the Prostitute always seducing the Mafia member or the Doctor always choosing to save himself from being killed.
The game of Seduction Mafia seems complex at first, but it is really fairly simple when it comes down to it. The general gist of the game is this: If you are a Townsperson, the object is to kill the Mafia. If you are Mafia, the object is to kill off the Townspeople. Straightforward? Good. Now let’s complicate it with the roles.
Here is a complete list of roles and their respective duties and privileges.
Mafia - Any member who is dealt a card with the word “Mafia” on it is a member of the Mafia. Mafia includes Mafia Silencer and Judas if Judas chooses to join the Mafia at any point in the game. The Mafia’s objective is to kill off the Townspeople until the number of living Mafia members exceeds the number of living Townspeople, resulting in a Mafia win. During the night, the Narrator will awaken the Mafia and ask who they would like to kill. The Mafia then must unanimously signal to the Narrator which player they wish to kill. If all Mafia members are killed, the Townspeople win. If any one Mafia member is “seduced” by the Prostitute, then the Mafia is not allowed to make any kill.
Mafia Silencer - The Mafia Silencer functions as a Mafia member, but is given the added privilege of “silencing” any player, either Mafia member or Townsperson, for one round. If a person is “silenced”, he cannot talk, vote, or make any attempt to communicate with other players during the round he is “silenced” in. (In essence, a “silenced” player becomes Helen Keller for a round.) If another Mafia member is “seduced” by the Prostitute, the Mafia Silencer may still silence a player; however if the Mafia Silencer is “seduced”, neither the Mafia nor the Mafia Silencer can perform their roles.
Judas - A person who holds this card starts the game as a Townsperson. If the player chooses to do so, he may remain a Townsperson and fight against the Mafia, but at any point in the game may choose to wake up with the Mafia and fight against the Townspeople, joining the Mafia as a result. Once Judas decides to join Mafia, he will remain Mafia until the end of the game.
Sheriff - The sheriff is a Townsperson who, when awake during the night, has the privilege of pointing at any living player. The Narrator will then signal the Sheriff whether that player is or is not Mafia. The Sheriff can only find out about one player per night.
Doctor - The Doctor is a Townsperson who, when woken during the night, has the power to “save” any one person for a night, including himself. If any attempt is made to kill a person whom the Doctor saves, that person will not die. However, if a person is saved but is killed by the Vigilante, he will die regardless due to “friendly fire”.
Vigilante - The Vigilante is a Townsperson who has the power to kill up to four people per game. The Narrator will wake the Vigilante during the night and ask if he would like to use one of his four kills. If the Vigilante chooses to do so, he must signal to the Narrator who he would like to kill. The Vigilante goal is to kill off the Mafia.
Romeo and Juliet - These two roles are synonymous… two Townspeople are assigned these roles. Those two Townspeople will wake up the first night and make eye contact, taking note of who their counterpart is. The point of these roles is that those two Townspeople know who each other are, and are then aware that they are both NOT Mafia. Once Romeo and Juliet know who each other are, they do not wake up during the night again.
Prostitute - The Prostitute is a Townsperson who has the power to “seduce” any one player during the night. The Narrator will awaken the Prostitute and the Prostitute will then signal to the Narrator who he/she would like to “seduce”. Whoever the Prostitute “seduces” will not be able to perform their role that night. (i.e. if the Prostitute sleeps with a member of the Mafia, the Mafia cannot make a kill that night; they are “seduced”. If the Sheriff is “seduced”, then he cannot find out about any player’s loyalty that night. The same would be true for the Doctor, the Vigilante, etc.)
Baker - The Baker is a Townsperson who has no waking role during the night. However, if the Baker is killed, the Townspeople have only three more nights to eliminate all Mafia members before the town starves to death, resulting in a Mafia win.
Postal Worker - The Postal Worker is a Townsperson who does not awaken during the night; however, if killed, the Postal worker “goes postal” and must kill one other player also. (i.e. when killed, the Postal Worker must hand in his card to the Narrator, who will then announce that the player was a Postal Worker and will inquire who he would like to kill. Whoever the Postal Worker kills must hand in their card, and upon their death must perform any necessary duty related with their role.)
Suicide Bomber - The Suicide Bomber is a Townsperson who has no active waking role; however, if killed, the Suicide Bomber also kills the two people sitting on either side of him. Those respective players must hand in their cards and upon their deaths must perform any necessary duty related with their roles.
Grave Robber - This role is neither Townsperson nor Mafia; however, the role is determined whenever the player exercises their privilege. The privilege related with this role is this: upon the death of any other player, once the dead player has handed in his card and before the Narrator announces the role of the dead player, the Grave Robber may inform the Narrator that he would like to take the dead player’s role. (i.e. the Narrator announces that “Bob died.” Once Bob hands the Narrator his card, the Grave Robber if he so desires may hand his “Grave Robber” card to the Narrator and take Bob’s “dead” card, thus assuming Bob’s role. If Bob was the Sheriff but was killed, and the Grave Robber takes Bob’s card upon Bob’s death, then the Grave Robber assumes the role of Sheriff from that point on.)
Bomb Voyage - This role functions the same as that of the Postal Worker, except the Bomb Voyage upon his death is given three kills instead of one. Due to the explosive power of this role, the Bomb Voyage MUST remain secretive of his role throughout the game, and MUST pose as another role to maintain secrecy.
Townsperson - The plain “Townsperson” card is simple an innocent role that has no function aside from designating a person as a Townsperson. Usually, this role is inly employed in large groups where there are not enough “role” cards to go around. “Townspeople” can vote and play as normal, but hold no further active role.
Congratulations! You now know the game of Seduction Mafia.
- Knolster
