What “Mafia” is and what the goal is
“Mafia” is a team game of bluff: the town has to figure out and banish all the mafia, and the mafia has to survive until there are at least as many of them as townspeople.
In short
- Everyone gets a secret role: you're either mafia or town (with a night ability or without).
- By day everyone talks and votes on who to banish; by night the mafia kills and special roles act in secret.
- The town wins when all the mafia are banished.
- The mafia wins when there are at least as many of them as living townspeople.
- A host runs the game: a person or the automatic host. It all happens in your browser, with live video and voice.
There are two teams. The town is bigger, and most of its players don't know who the mafia are. The mafiosi know each other but pretend to be townspeople. Only you can see your role.
Roles:
- Mafia: mafiosi and the don (their leader). They kill at night.
- Town: citizen (no night abilities), sheriff (checks players), doctor (saves from a shot and from the prostitute's block) and prostitute (takes away speech and vote). The doctor and the prostitute aren't in every game: they're switched on in the room settings.
The game is made of days and nights taking turns. By day everyone can see and hear each other: players speak in turn, the town looks for suspects, the mafia pretend to be townspeople. At the end of the day everyone votes on who to banish. At night the town falls asleep: the mafia pick a victim, while the sheriff, doctor and prostitute act in secret. In the morning everyone learns who didn't make it to dawn, and it all starts again. The game is run by a host: a live person or the automatic host, who keeps order and time.
Goal. The town wins when all the mafia are banished. The mafia wins when there are at least as many of them as living townspeople.