Pandy's "How to Play Mafia" thread

[cosmicpanda]

This is mainly directed at people who are new or otherwise don't have much of a clue what they're doing. If you disagree with something I say, do jump in and argue, because that's fun.

 

First, let me stress the basic principle behind mafia: you have townies, and you have the mafia. The mafia know who each other are, whereas the townies don't know who each other are. Townies try to determine who the mafia are, while the mafia try to get townies lynched.

 

 

How to play mafia as town:

 

1) If you're a townie, you probably don't know the alignments of anybody else. For this reason, you should assume that any other player could be scum. Don't base your opinions of other players based on what you think of them outside of mafia - say, if you're friends with them or not. A cunning mafioso will use this to take advantage of you.

 

 

2) Now, let us return to the basic principle of mafia. How can you figure out who is scum if you're only a vanilla? You have to try and work out who the mafia are by looking at the way people behave, and the resulting relationships between players. There are two general types of mafia behaviors that you can watch out for:

 

- Firstly, the mafia want to lynch townies, because that is how they win. Because you can only lynch one townie at a time, they will often work together to take a townie down. You can watch out for this. It probably won't be blatant, but it'll be there in some form.

 

- Secondly, the mafia want to protect their own. They are fewer in number than the town, and so they can't afford to lose players. Every mafiso they lose extends the game by one day, leading to more potential for disaster. Thus, if there is a lynch building on a mafioso, other members of the mafia are likely to try and defend that player. I'll cover this in more detail in the 'how to play mafia as mafia' section.

 

Of course, it's not as easy as the above might make it seem when you're actually playing, for any number of reasons. However, those are the basic mechanisms and motivations behind how the mafia behave, and a good townie should be able to spot them. By asking questions in thread and by voting for people, you can poke people into reacting, and you can analyse these reactions to determine if they fit into either of the two categories above. That's called 'scumhunting': it's how you find mafia. Never think that you can only play by 'following the cop', that is, waiting for somebody to tell you that somebody else is scum. Never be scared to vote, unless somebody's close to being lynched, in which case you just have to make sure you're voting for the right reasons.

 

 

3) Now, what if you're fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to have an interesting power role? The most commonly roles are the cop or finder, who can each night investigate another player and find their alignmnent, and the doc or healer, who can protect one player from dying each night. As either of these roles, you should generally keep quiet in the beginning, because the mafia will be looking for you: killing you makes the game substantially easier for them.* However:

 

- As cop, there are two reasons to reveal your role. Firstly, if you discover a mafioso, you should sing out immediately the next day. The town should promptly lynch the person you claim is scum. You may be killed the next night, but that's okay! As I explained before, the mafia can afford to lose members far less than the town can. If you're still unsure about this idea, remember that your function as cop is to find scum: if you're found a scum, damn well get them lynched. Secondly, if somebody else claims cop, you should also sing out. They're likely to be mafia trying to earn some town cred.

 

- As doc, you should also reveal if somebody else claims doc, for the same reason. The only other reason that you should claim is if you have survived to the very end of the game. Mafia endgames can be fraught with tension and indecision. If you have successfully blocked a kill on somebody, then you know that they're likely town. This information can be of use at the end of the game.

 

Finally, if you're about to be lynched, you can claim. This might be enough to save your skin, because the town doesn't want to lose you (this is why the mafia sometimes claim cop or doc if they're about to be lynched).

 

 

4) Lynch people. No-lynches are never good for the town except in the rarest situations. When you lynch people, you can analyse other people much more effectively than if you don't. If you never lynch, the mafia will kill you off one by one, and then you will lose.

 

 

______

 

*On a side note, this is why I don't understand breadcrumbing - the practice of hinting at your role early on in the game. Some people seem to think that this will make others believe them later if they claim, but they seem to forget that mafia can both detect these breadcrumbs and create them in order to further a fake claim. Furthermore, breadcrumbs are easily denied: "What, you thought I was claiming cop? Perish the thought."

 

 

How to play mafia as scum:

 

1) As I explained above, you want to lynch townies. You can't, of course, be too blatant about this, because townies will be watching for that. You have to do it in a way that makes it look like you're scumhunting in the same way that townies do. If you can paint a townie in a bad enough light that it makes them look like they're scum, post your argument (usually termed a 'case'). You may convince other townies to vote with you. Your teammates may then take the opportunity to leap onto the wagon. Also, if it is nearing deadline, people tend to be more forgiving about simply hopping on a wagon, so as to avoid a no-lynch. You can take advantage of this.

 

 

2) You want to defend your teammates if they're under fire. There are a few ways of doing this, but here are two general ways:

 

- You can simply point out why somebody else's argument is wrong. You should be careful about doing this, however; townies generally don't come to the defense of other townies. Thus, you should disguise your defense of your teammate as an attack on the person attacking him or her, or in some other way. Still, you might be spotted.

 

- You can simply ignore the case being built on your teammate and propose a lynch for somebody else. Thus, you undermine the case against your teammate in two ways: firstly, you're not helping to lynch them, and secondly, you're providing a distracting case. In this scenario, your buddy should probably not join the lynch you propose too enthusiastically. People might get suspicious.

 

Townies should be alert for these two techniques. As mafia, of course, the best way of avoiding a lynch is simply to do the work of defending yourself yourself. However, the assistance of your teammates is sometimes necessary in order to avoid a wagon building on you.

 

 

3) Occasionally, a mafioso will join a lynch on a teammate. This is generally something you don't want to do, but it can be useful as you can earn some town credibility if you're on a wagon that lands a mafioso. You should do this in two situations: firstly, if you can see that one of your teammates is flailing so badly that they're going to be lynched regardless of your efforts, jump on them immediately. If you can lead that lynch, all the better. Secondly, if one of your teammates is about to be lynched - say, at deadline - consider jumping on their wagon. You probably won't earn too much in the way of town cred, but it's better than nothing.

 

 

4) Generally, choose to nightkill the townie who seems like they're doing the best job of scumhunting and convincing the others that they're town. Killing this person will deprive the town of an authority figure and will mean that you have an easier job of steering the game from then on. You will have to weigh up the chances of their being protected by a doc, of course.

 

 

______

 

 

Okay, that's it. The only real way of learning the game and getting better at it is through playing, so do that. If you have any questions, do PM me. (Well, unless they're about a game you're in, as in, "should I lynch this person?", because that probably breaks a rule or two, and I won't help you anyway; and definitely don't PM me if I'm playing in a game with you, unless we're scum together, and even then only if the mod says it's okay.)

[Christine]

<3

 

Love you Pandy.

[LilyElizabeth]

Nice job, Pandy.

[Red2111]

first i want to say great write up Pandy and better put than i ever could . all of that is great adivce for a person just getting their feet wet in the game

 

 

i wanted to add a few others things though, give a take froma differnet type of play style.

 

 

- Secondly, the mafia want to protect their own. They are fewer in number than the town, and so they can't afford to lose players. Every mafiso they lose extends the game by one day, leading to more potential for disaster. Thus, if there is a lynch building on a mafioso, other members of the mafia are likely to try and defend that player. I'll cover this in more detail in the 'how to play mafia as mafia' section.

 

there is one exception i've seen, if they have an inactive team mate. i've seen scum sacrifice one of their own and lead the lynch in order to clear themselves. so be wary of fast lynches on scum as well, likely theres a team mate whose driving the wagon to help clear themselves; this is also what people are referring to when they speak of a gambit.

 

 

Of course, it's not as easy as the above might make it seem when you're actually playing, for any number of reasons. However, those are the basic mechanisms and motivations behind how the mafia behave, and a good townie should be able to spot them. By asking questions in thread and by voting for people, you can poke people into reacting, and you can analyse these reactions to determine if they fit into either of the two categories above. That's called 'scumhunting': it's how you find mafia. Never think that you can only play by 'following the cop', that is, waiting for somebody to tell you that somebody else is scum. Never be scared to vote, unless somebody's close to being lynched, in which case you just have to make sure you're voting for the right reasons.

 

 

i wanted ot add onto this as well. newer players have to realize that Mafia is not a game of coddling and hand holding. we're a blood thirsty bunch in the game and often times people will purposefully try to irk you to get a reaction, whether cause their scum trying to provoke you into looking scummy or a townie trying to get a read on you. You must rememebr that its just the game, and isn't personal. no ones picking on you, its just how the game goes. in other words, you need ot bring your kevlar skin and not take anyhting too personal. but it happens and everyone has an emo-meltdown-i-quit moment or 5

 

 

its an abuse you come to crave really

 

 

3) Now, what if you're fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to have an interesting power role? The most commonly roles are the cop or finder, who can each night investigate another player and find their alignmnent, and the doc or healer, who can protect one player from dying each night. As either of these roles, you should generally keep quiet in the beginning, because the mafia will be looking for you: killing you makes the game substantially easier for them.* However:

 

- As cop, there are two reasons to reveal your role. Firstly, if you discover a mafioso, you should sing out immediately the next day. The town should promptly lynch the person you claim is scum. You may be killed the next night, but that's okay! As I explained before, the mafia can afford to lose members far less than the town can. If you're still unsure about this idea, remember that your function as cop is to find scum: if you're found a scum, damn well get them lynched. Secondly, if somebody else claims cop, you should also sing out. They're likely to be mafia trying to earn some town cred.

 

- As doc, you should also reveal if somebody else claims doc, for the same reason. The only other reason that you should claim is if you have survived to the very end of the game. Mafia endgames can be fraught with tension and indecision. If you have successfully blocked a kill on somebody, then you know that they're likely town. This information can be of use at the end of the game.

 

Finally, if you're about to be lynched, you can claim. This might be enough to save your skin, because the town doesn't want to lose you (this is why the mafia sometimes claim cop or doc if they're about to be lynched).

 

 

i disagree abotu lurking when your a power role. imo the scum tend to target the inactives for 2 reasons. no info, and higher chance of hitting town; the few times i purposefully lurked as finder/healer took my lurking for what it was and killed me early on. my suggestion is to be semi active. just active enough to not be considered a lurker, but not so active as your drawing the lynch to yourself. another trick is to play just scummy enough that the scum think they can push a lynch on you. scum typically wont NK someoen they think they can lead the town to lynch (and for good reason).

 

thats my suggestions as a power role to avoid the NK.

 

 

now about revealing as cop when you find scum, no. if it's late on in the game and theres less than 2 scum left and then reveale your list to help narrow down. but if your early on and have found less than 2 scum don't reveal. instead build a case on them, if you get support apply more presusre but if people FoS you then backoff until you can get more support.

 

also in dealing with CC's, i'm against countering as healer or cop in most cases. if you are the cop and someone falsley claims i wouldn't bite unless it was LYLO. once you claim as cop, people expect a report each morning and unless its to stave off their lynch they would false claim except to push someones lynch. in either case, their lie wont last long.

 

also, for false claims; some people as vanilla town will false claim a power role to purposefully draw the NK to them.

 

 

 

4) Lynch people. No-lynches are never good for the town except in the rarest situations. When you lynch people, you can analyse other people much more effectively than if you don't. If you never lynch, the mafia will kill you off one by one, and then you will lose.

 

 

No Lynches are better than Random Lynches though and i wouldn't say their only benefical in just the rarest situaitons. i guarentee a No Lynch wagon will yeild more info than a rush "for the majority" wagon because of the reactions a No Lynch gets.

 

 

 

2) You want to defend your teammates if they're under fire. There are a few ways of doing this, but here are two general ways:

 

- You can simply point out why somebody else's argument is wrong. You should be careful about doing this, however; townies generally don't come to the defense of other townies. Thus, you should disguise your defense of your teammate as an attack on the person attacking him or her, or in some other way. Still, you might be spotted.

 

- You can simply ignore the case being built on your teammate and propose a lynch for somebody else. Thus, you undermine the case against your teammate in two ways: firstly, you're not helping to lynch them, and secondly, you're providing a distracting case. In this scenario, your buddy should probably not join the lynch you propose too enthusiastically. People might get suspicious.

 

Townies should be alert for these two techniques. As mafia, of course, the best way of avoiding a lynch is simply to do the work of defending yourself yourself. However, the assistance of your teammates is sometimes necessary in order to avoid a wagon building on you.

 

 

too add onto this, you don't want to be too blatant about it, and if your going to target the main perosn pushign the lynch on your team mate, to so with a deft hand. while i agree that Mafia is a numbers game, at the same time you have to be careful not to work so openly that a connection can be made. you don't want your team mate going down to out you and the rest of your team.

 

 

3) Occasionally, a mafioso will join a lynch on a teammate. This is generally something you don't want to do, but it can be useful as you can earn some town credibility if you're on a wagon that lands a mafioso. You should do this in two situations: firstly, if you can see that one of your teammates is flailing so badly that they're going to be lynched regardless of your efforts, jump on them immediately. If you can lead that lynch, all the better. Secondly, if one of your teammates is about to be lynched - say, at deadline - consider jumping on their wagon. You probably won't earn too much in the way of town cred, but it's better than nothing.

 

this brings me to another point i wanted to stress as well. when your scum, your best bet is to try to play the game the same as you wudl as town; so if a team mate makes a mistake and you woudln't glaze it over as town, poitn it out.

 

but, heres the catch, you dont want to keep on about it and "bull dog" the issue. try to bring it up in a half-assed way that sets your team mate with a way to explain and wiggle out of it. also, and i can't stress this enough, if your ever going to lead the lynch on a scum mate or pressure them heavily on thread, clear it with them first or atleast wait to hear back from them so they can prepare for it.

 

 

 

4) Generally, choose to nightkill the townie who seems like they're doing the best job of scumhunting and convincing the others that they're town. Killing this person will deprive the town of an authority figure and will mean that you have an easier job of steering the game from then on. You will have to weigh up the chances of their being protected by a doc, of course.

 

i disagree with this somewhat. if you kill the town leader, just know that by killign them and providing the town with a corner report will lend more weight to their words; so you have to weigh how much heat their death will bring to your team agaisnt the advantage of how hard it will hit the town coeshion.

 

this isn't the only tactic for NKs either, heres a few others that are heavily employed

 

- Big Game Hunting: is when you target the more expeirenced players or players you view as personal threats. this not only eliminates players who are better at reading the game and sniffing out suttle manipulations, but also will eliminate your most likely town leaders early in the game before they've said too much.

 

- Inactives: corner reports yeild info, and inactives give little to no info off of theirs. this puts both the town and the finder at a disadvantage and leaves the WIFOM intact.

 

- your first priority for any kills are people you suspect are power roles or 3rd party; so if your gut is nagging at you that Nolder is the cop, err on the side of caution and kill Nolder.

 

 

another point on NKs is about waisting them. one of the biggest flags to me that the scum team is iin-expierienced is when they waste a NK. you waste a NK by killing a person who you're able to push a lynch on instead.

[cosmicpanda]

See, this is why me and Red disagree a lot

 

What I describe in my post is what I consider to be best practice. However, as Red points out, people can do lots of things.

[Red2111]

the great thing about Mafia though, is that theres no reall right way to play it *nods* so while we may disagree Panda, that doesn't mean either play style is better than the other. it all depends on the player

 

 

[Myndrunner]

Anything posted in the game thread should be solely taken as gameplay. If offline issues are dragging you down or you have a personal issue with another player, inform the Mod and take it to PMs. Remember it's just a game and try not to wear your emotions on your sleeves. That's where I wipe my nose anyway.

[Verbal32]

He lies. He never wipes his nose.

 

Yuck.