It’s a game of strategy. It’s a game of luck. It’s a game of intrigue. It’s a game anyone can win. It’s an extremely popular game on HCRealms. If you think I’m talking about Heroclix, you are mistaken. I’m referring to the online forum game known as Mafia, an online game so popular here on HCRealms it has its own sub-forum.

Mafia is a game where the members of the town (the good guys) known as Townies try to ferret out the Mafia (the bad guys), before the Mafia puts them on ice. Each game has a moderator who runs the game, and anywhere from 10 to 40 players who participate. Depending on the number of players and the complexity of the theme, a game can last a week to little over a month. If you find yourself unsure of the rules, don’t fret! On the front page of every game thread is a list of rules for the game including a link to a website devoted to Mafia for further clarifications.

The first step to joining the wonderful and active community of Mafia is signing up! Located here, the Mafia Sign Ups sub forum provides a list of all games looking for players. Once a game has reached the desired amount of players, the moderator will randomly assign roles to players. Each player will receive a PM containing their role. A role is a secret and private piece of information, not to be shared with others! Said role will contain several pieces of vital information. Firstly, it will tell you what character you will be playing with a brief character description: Will you be a world renowned detective or a skull busting kingpin? Next, it will describe your powers and abilities that go along with your role. Some examples of common powers and their explanations can be found here. Finally, it will tell you your affiliation, either Townie or Mafia. As a Townie you are part of an uninformed majority, knowing the roles and affiliations of no other players but yourself. Conversely, as a member of the Mafia, you are part of an informed minority, knowing the identities and role of your fellow mafia mates.

The game is broken up into two segments, the Day Phase and the Night Phase. Despite their names, each phase is usually 24 hours long. During the Day Phase, you find yourself awake and amid a group of people you don’t recognize. This is when talking takes place. During the Day Phase players post on the game thread. The Mafia tries to blend in with everyone else, while the Townies try to figure out who is part of the Mafia and remove them from the game. To get rid of The Mafia, the town votes on who to “Lynch”. Players vote for who they believe to be suspicious and likely a member of The Mafia. If more than half of the town votes for one player, that player is “Lynched” and removed from the game. But be careful! Lynching a Townie can be a crucial mistake. The town is informed of the character and alignment of said Lynched player. For example: DocDoom187 has been lynched. He was Johnny the Clamp. (The Mafia) ; Johnny the Clamp being the character and Mafia being the alignment.

After a lynch or the passing of 24 hours, whichever occurs first, the Day Phase ends and the town goes into the Night Phase. During the Night Phase, the game thread is locked and players are no longer allowed to talk. Players have the next 24 hours to PM the moderator of the game with who they intend to be targeting with the powers specified in their Role PM(see above). For example, if you are a Doctor, the Night Phase is when you may use your medical expertise to protect someone from being killed. The player you use your powers on is known as your Target.

The Mafia’s power is known as a “Night Kill”. This power allows the Mafia to choose a player to kill that night and remove them from the game. Although the game thread is locked during the Night Phase, members of The Mafia are still allowed to communicate with each other through any means, be it PMing, IMing, or even using another Forum Board. Townies, however, may never communicate with another player outside of the game thread.

Once the moderator receives PM’s from every player with their targets, or 24 hours pass, whichever occurs first, the Night Phase ends and another Day Phase begins. At the start of a Day Phase, the moderator will post what is known as the Write up. In the write up, the Moderator posts a short story, vaguely describing some of what occurred the past night. At the end of the write up, the Moderator reveals what player(s) were killed and removed from the game the past night. The town is informed of the killed player’s role and affiliation, similar to that of a lynched player. The game thread is then opened again, and the town is once again allowed to post until the next Night Phase. The game continues until either all the Townies or The Mafia are completely removed from play.

Mafia moderators around here love to add their own flare to the game, making it that much more interesting. Every mafia game has a theme in which the character roles are based off of. They range from comic book story arcs, to movies, to music, to literature. Some examples of Mafia Game themes are. X-Men: Messiah Complex, Time Travelers, Harry Potter, the Internet, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In these games, characters are based off the theme and the players tend to have powers that are thematically appropriate. For example, if your character is Batman, you may use your world class detective abilities to Cop another player and find out their alignment.

If you have played mafia games on another forum, then you will probably enjoy the games hosted here. Whether you’re new to the game or have played it elsewhere, the Mafia games here are original and quite entertaining. And if you are lost, don’t worry! It happens to all of us from time to time. Feel free to ask questions. We don’t bite…we just lynch!

Written by loganspeedo
Final Revision by DocDoom187

I must say, I love the similar thread on the bottom entitled Docdoom187.

Man was I different back then...

I thought we were trying to get new players?

If they see DocDoom187's name at both the top and bottom of the article, most of the potential new players will run away screaming at the horror of him being a mafia player.

I'm all about giving credit where it's due. These two helped me out with a lot of the heavy lifting so they deserve the kudos. DarqFeonix also helped give a couple ideas about how to make it more new player friendly.

I know. You guys did a great job. I just like to joke around with DocDoom every now and then.


edit: I tried to rep him before I gave him a hard time. But it seems like I repped him in the past and can't rep him again until I pass some more rep around. *sigh*

Everyone does. I've established my role in this forum as the ever-faithful butt of all jokes

So I guess this isn't getting front page action, eh? Oh well I hope newblood still check it out.

Great job guys.

Just wish this had been around a month and a half ago when I started.....

In your opinion as a new player, is this clear enough to be understandable and appealing to people who have never played before?

Yeah, its quite clear. Especially when compared to the older one. And you also did a good job of making it sound appealing. I like where you say "It’s a game of strategy. It’s a game of luck. It’s a game of intrigue. It’s a game anyone can win." Not only are you mentioning that its strategic (which is part of the fun of playing any game) and partly based on luck, but you also mention that any player can be victorious, which is definitely a big selling point. What player is going to want to play a game where the new guys are going to get slaughtered right off the bat? None. So when new guys start playing, the fact that they know that they have as good a chance of winning as anyone else can be a big confidence booster, which in turn will make them want to play more.

I think that if people see this article we will have more new recruits.

Reason I added it to my sig.

We're getting a special notice at the top of every page that links to this article as far as I know. Not as flashy exposure, but possibly more of it. It was Typhon's decision.

The opening and most of the writing was Logan. I just edited and revised.

Much thanks for that since I'm not as good at editing and revising.

hey thanks for explaining what mafia is!! i've been curious about what it was but have never actualy looked until today.
thanks to you guys i'm gonna start playin!!

Awesome! Welcome aboard.