Play mafia

Mafia-also known as Assassin, Werewolf, or Village-is a group role-playing game that tests your ability to avoid suspicion. The imaginary setting is a small village where the local residents and the mafia are engaged in a fight to the death. Depending on your role, the aim of the game is either to "kill" or identify members of the opposing team during two different game cycles (night and day). Try playing Mafia at a party, when staying overnight, or at any gathering of a large number of friends!

Steps

Method 1 of 4: Setting up the game

Step 1. Gather 7 or more people to play and have everyone sit in the same room

The players may sit around a table, on seats and chairs, or on the floor, but they must all remain in the same room throughout the game. Make sure you choose a room that is large enough for everyone to be able to occupy themselves comfortably.

12 to 16 is the ideal number of people to play Mafia

Step 2. Choose a moderator

The moderator doesn't really play along. He or she has to make sure the game runs smoothly, so the moderator needs to see someone who has a good grasp of the rules. If you are the moderator, these are some of your duties:

• Deal cards
• Telling when people should 'sleep' and 'wake up'
• Keeping track of time during calls
• Informing people that they have been eliminated
• Designate the winners

Step 3. Deal a deck of cards so that there is 1 card for each roll

Use a deck of cards that consists of as many cards as there are players. The game must contain 1 king, 1 queen, 1 card of one suit for each mafia member and enough extra cards of another suit to represent the villagers.

• There should be 3 villagers for each mafia member, so add this number of cards of the special suit to the deck of cards.
• For example, to play with 12 players, you would need to remove all but 1 king and 1 queen, all but 3 cards of a certain suit (or the number of mafia players needed) and add only 7 additional random cards.
• You may assign any card as a mafia card, such as hearts, spades, diamonds, or clubs.

'Tip': The moderator can also manually choose the mafia members, detective, doctor and villagers by giving them certain cards or by tapping their shoulder a certain number of times during the night cycle.

Step 4. Shuffle the cards and let each player take 1 card

Shuffle the deck of cards and hold it face down in front of each player. Tell the players to look at their cards, but not let other players see them. Have the players hide their cards from the others for the rest of the game by placing them face down on a table.

• Use a standard deck of cards to assign roles in Mafia.
• If you don't have a deck of cards, you can also assign the roles using scraps of paper that anyone can pull from a pocket or hat.

Step 5. Use playing cards to assign players roles

Whoever gets the king is the detective and whoever gets the queen is the doctor. These players have special actions that they can do once per round. If a player gets one of the cards with the special suit, then they are a member of the mafia. If a player gets another card, it is a villager.

• The detective may designate a player he or she suspects to be a mobster. If the detective is correct, then that person is eliminated. If the detective chooses incorrectly, nothing happens.
• The doctor may designate 1 person to rescue. The doctor may also appoint himself. If the mafia tries to kill the person the doctor chose, that person will be saved in this round.

Method 2 of 4: Playing the night cycle as a moderator

Step 1. Tell everyone to close their eyes to start the night cycle

You may also ask the players to put their heads down, if desired. All players must do this, regardless of their role.

So when a player is a villager, mobster, doctor or detective, that person has to put their head down and close their eyes

Step 2. Order the mafia to open their eyes and choose a victim

Anyone who drew a mafia card should open their eyes at this point and look around to see who still has their eyes open. Give players a set amount of time, such as 60 seconds or 5 minutes, to determine who they want to "kill" or eliminate from the game. When they have made a decision, they should say who their victim is by pointing to that person.

• Tell players not to talk to other mobsters and only communicate in silence using simple gestures, such as pointing or shaking the head and nodding.
• If the mafia cannot reach a unanimous decision on who will be eliminated, then they must pass their turn and no one will be eliminated in this round.

Tip: To make the game a little more kid-friendly, make the game about stealing a box of cookies every night instead of killing someone.

Step 3. Tell the mafia to go back to sleep once the victim has been identified

Write down who the mafifa has appointed to get rid of. Then tell the mafia to go back to sleep and have them all close their eyes again.

Wait for everyone to close their eyes again before continuing the game

Step 4. Say aloud that it is time for the detective to wake up

That person may open their eyes and point out someone he or she suspects to be part of the mafia. Since there is only 1 detective in the game, that person must rely on his or her instincts or the other clues he or she may have picked up.

• Remember that there can only be 1 detective. If you find anyone else opening their eyes, you have the right to check their cards to see who the real detective is.
• Note: In an alternate way to play, the Sheriff/Detective does not automatically eliminate the mob member they identified. In this case, it's up to the sheriff to convince the villagers the next day that that person belongs to the mafia.

Step 5. Indicate whether the detective was right or wrong and let him or her go back to sleep

Silently indicate whether the person designated by the detective does indeed belong to the mafia, for example by nodding or shaking the head. Tell the sheriff to go back to sleep after making the selection.

If the detective was right, that person is eliminated. However, if the detective was wrong, he knows someone else who belongs to the villagers and can nominate someone else the next turn

Step 6. Wake the doctor and let them choose someone to save

The doctor can assign someone else to save or himself. If the doctor rescues the same person the detective designated, that player survives the round and is not eliminated. Otherwise nothing will happen to the rescued person and the person chosen by the mafia will be eliminated.

• If a mobster opens his eyes when he shouldn't and sees the detective or doctor, you can choose to eliminate that person based on a mistake. Make sure everyone knows the consequences of cheating before you start the game!
• If the doctor dies, the villagers can no longer be saved from the mafia for the next rounds.

Step 7. Tell the doctor to go back to sleep after making a choice

Once the doctor has assigned someone to rescue, write down who that is and put the doctor back to sleep. The doctor will close their eyes at this point, signaling the end of the night cycle.

Method 3 of 4: Playing the day cycle as a moderator

Step 1. Tell everyone to wake up and explain the events of the previous night

You can tell the players a short story about who selected the mafia, whether the detective managed to catch a mafia member and whether the doctor picked the right person to rescue. You can add details to your story or keep it short and simple.

• For example, you could say something like, "The mafia attacked John last night, but the doctor saved him, so he lives. The detective couldn't catch a single member of the mafia last night.”
• Or say, "The mafia attacked Maria last night and killed her. The doctor was too late to save her, but the detective caught one of the mobsters in the act. George has been detained by the detective and can no longer commit crimes against the villagers.”

Step 2. Tell the players to discuss the previous night's events for 5 minutes

The players (including the doctor, detective and mobsters) have to discuss the recent events. No one may show his or her cards or reveal that they have a special role. However, the mafia members must try to convince the other players that they are villagers in order not to be suspected. Set a timer for 5 minutes so that the conversation doesn't get out of hand or go on for too long.

For example, players may say something like "Jim didn't say much, which makes him suspicious." Then Jim can say something like "I didn't feel the need to say much because I didn't do anything wrong. However, if I was guilty of something, I might point out other people.”

'Tip': If desired, you can also set a longer time limit for conversations, such as 10 or 15 minutes.

Step 3. Allows players to accuse others

At this point, anyone may accuse another player of being part of the mafia. Once the allegation has been made, someone must confirm the allegation before moving on to the defensive phase.

For example, someone can accuse another player by saying, "I think Jeniffer is part of the mafia!" If another accusation is made, the game moves on to the defensive phase

Step 4. Explain the accusation and have the accused defend himself

The accuser gets 30 seconds to explain why he or she thinks that person is with the mafia, but the person being accused also gets 30 seconds to defend themselves. The accuser may rely on his or her observations or come up with reasons why that person is guilty. The accused player may declare his or her innocence, invent a fictitious alibi or employ other tactics to prove his or her innocence.

• For example, someone may accuse someone else because they look guilty and don't contribute much to the conversation.
• The accused may use a fictitious alibi or play out other aspects of his or her character as part of their defense. For example, the accused can say that they are the doctor or the detective and no one will know the truth except the moderator.
• If the accused is lying (or if the accuser wants to convince others that the person is lying), then the accuser can claim to be the doctor or detective himself.

Step 5. Tell the players to vote

The moderator now asks who thinks the accused is guilty and orders everyone to vote. Tell the players to vote with a thumbs up (for guilty) or a thumbs down (for innocent). Count the number of thumbs up and the number of thumbs down. If more people give the thumbs up, then that person is considered guilty and eliminated from the game, even though their cards prove they are not part of the mafia. If the majority kept their thumbs down, then that person is saved.

• You can keep an anonymous vote by instructing everyone to close their eyes, or choose to keep everyone's eyes open.
• Everyone should vote, including the accuser and the accused.

Step 6. Begin another round of impeachment if the vote concludes that the player is not guilty

If the majority chooses innocent, new charges may be made. Have someone else make an accusation and go through the impeachment, defense, and vote again, just like before.

The day cycle continues until someone is found guilty and eliminated from the game

Step 7. Restart the night cycle after a player is found guilty

If the majority of the voting players voted guilty, then the accused must show his or her cards and is now considered murdered. That person leaves the game and is no longer allowed to participate in conversations or voting. After this happens, the night cycle starts again.

• The person who was eliminated may keep their eyes open and observe the rest of the game, but must do so in silence and cannot intervene or provide players with any kind of information.
• The game continues until all villagers or mafia members are eliminated. The team with remaining players will be designated as the winners by the moderator.

Method 4 of 4: Trying out variations

Step 1. Change the name of the game for a more political slant

In a more left-wing version of the game, the sheriff is replaced by a revolutionary folk hero such as Assata Shakur, Emma Goldman or Ernesto Che' Guevara. The mafia is then replaced by the FBI and to win the game all FBI agents must be eliminated.

People who play this version of the game usually refer to it as 'Emma' or 'Assata' rather than 'Mafia'

Step 2. Add extra roles to give the game a little more depth

Additional roles are optional, but they can make the game much more complex and interesting. Have the moderator assign different roles to specific cards to enrich the game. Here are some options to consider:

• The Informant is told who the Mafia is, but the Mafia does not know who the Informer is.
• The Attorney can choose anyone to defend. The person defended by the lawyer cannot be voted out of the game until the following morning.
• The Loerder may open his or her eyes at any time. So this person can find out what everyone's role is in the game, but this makes the lurker more likely to be killed by the mafia.
• The Grandma With A Shotgun. If someone visits the granny with a shotgun during the night cycle, that person dies, but the granny cannot be killed.
• Cupid can make 2 players fall in love, making them all more likely to be eliminated. On the first night, Cupid chooses 2 people who will become lovers. If one of the lovers dies, the other immediately dies of a broken heart.

Step 3. Create 2 rival groups within the mafia when the player group is very large

With large groups of 20 players or more, it is often interesting to have 2 separate rival mafia groups and to play the game with 2 night cycles. These 2 types of mafia aim to kill both villagers and rival mafia members.

You can give them names like East Side and West Side Squad, or Blue Team and Red Team Mafia

'Tip': The bigger the group, the more roles you will want to add! This makes for a more complex game in which more players get interesting roles and can perform actions.

Tips

• Sitting in a circle, without tables or music, gives the game a witch-hunting atmosphere. Don't forget that it is especially fun to get absorbed in this game.
• When looking at which card you have, look quickly and keep your expression completely neutral. A good strategy is to watch the expressions of others when they first see their card. Many people may seem a little disappointed to find that they do not belong to the mafia.
• In the first round, don't try to resort to arbitrary accusations. This is the best time to judge the behavior of others. Also see who seems certain of the identity of certain people - they may belong to the mafia.
• Try to keep track of who is being accused by whom, who is being supported by whom, etc. Later in the game there may come a time when no one has a clue who belongs to the mafia and knowing how everyone voted can be very beneficial play.