jack_of_all
04-10-2005, 08:15 AM
on field trips and similar occasions, my friends and i like this game called mafia. to make some elements more fair and more compatable to variation the rules have been adjusted slightly from what alot of people do.
if you have any interesting variations, or any other card games that are fun at parties please post them. and yes, for no real reason i did indeed type up these rules.
Mafia: the Card Game
Step 1: find a group of at least 7 people.
Step 2: From here on out, these rules will tell you how to properly host a game. You will need one card, for each person. Each card represents a particular role in the game.
1. Host: this person doesn’t actually play, they run the steps of the game, therefore they don’t need to be dealt a card, however, if no one likes being host you can pick a card which would determine who was host. In a given game, there is only one host.
2. Townsperson: use number cards here; these people have no special abilities within the game; they are the standard player. There will always be more townspeople than any other group, though in games of size 8 or less, townspeople will be less than or equal to the total number of special characters.
3. Mafia: Use a specified face card for this; every ‘night’ people in the mafia select one person to ‘kill’. When rounded, mafia should make up ¼ of the total population, so roughly ¼ of the cards will represent mafia players.
4. Doctor: Use a specified face card for this; every ‘night’ the doctor chooses one person to ‘save’. Should this coincide with the person the mafia chose to ‘kill’, that person lives instead. If it is a different person than who was killed, the doctor has no effect. There is only one doctor.
5. Detective: Use a specified face card for this; every ‘night’ the policeman chooses to ‘check’ one person, then, the host reveals whether or not that person is mafia. There is only one Detective.
Step 3: Once you have set-aside cards such that you have the proper make up of characters, mix them up. Now deal one card to each player face down, only they should see their card. Then go back around and pick them up, unless players are very young you won’t need to look at their cards to remember their position for them.
Step 4: Now that all parts have been assigned, say “everyone go to sleep” this is cue for all players to close their eyes. This is also the beginning of a turn.
Parts of a Turn:
1. Night time: all players shut their eyes
2. Mafia “wake up” by opening their eyes. Only mafia may open their eyes. At this point, they must, nonverbally (usually through pointing), select a player to ‘kill’. Now all mafia are told to go to sleep. In the event of a tie vote, they are given one minute to agree at which point, if they still haven’t they do not make a kill at all.
3. Doctor will “wake up” by opening his/her eyes. At this point the doctor will attempt to guess who the mafia has chosen to kill, and pick someone to ‘save’ (nonverbally). Now the Doctor is told to go to sleep.
4. Detective will “wake up” by opening his/her eyes. At this point the Detective will attempt to guess the identity of a mafia member (nonverbally); the host will nod yes or no, but should keep all communication nonverbal. Now the Detective is told to go to sleep.
5. All ‘townspeople’ (this includes all the ‘special characters’ which are mafia, detective, and doctor and of course actual townspeople) ‘wake up’. The host explains that the mafia chose [player name] to kill, if the doctor correctly picked this person the person is not killed, however if the doctor didn’t pick this person the player is removed from the game and are not allowed to make any ‘last words’. From there on out they watch the game unfold. Should the person who is killed by the mafia be a special character, the host will still act as if that character is around in following nights. Now the townspeople decide whom they should kill off. Each person may accuse one, and only one, person per turn. After accusations are done, voting to kill off people begins. In the event of a tie vote, the townspeople are given one minute at which point if the tie remains, no kill is made. If a person is killed off, they may make last words but cannot use them to accuse an additional person if they have already accused someone. They may however claim to have been a certain position or restate their accusation.
6. Repeat steps 1-5, the game ends when all mafia are gone (victory for non mafia) or when mafia equal the number of non-mafia (victory for mafia)
Variations:
Additional special characters:
The Rogue: the rogue has the option of becoming a townsperson or a mafia, they are given two full turns to make this decision, then on the third night the rogue is told to ‘wake up’ at a time decided by the host. The host will ask whether or no they want to join the mafia, they will nod or shake their head. From that point on out they become whatever role they chose. Should the first night have been tragic for the doctor or detective, the host will hold up the respected card, the rogue may choose that occupation as a third option. The host does not reveal what The Rogue’s choice was. The Rogue is best in games larger than 10 people.
The Witness: The witness has the option of waking up at the same time as the mafia, though they can remain a townsperson in stature. Should they choose the former, they will pretend to be mafia and cause confusion/distrust. They can also reveal one mafia member per turn in their accusation, but their death would be almost certain. Should the doctor choose a mafia or witness to save and that person was selected by the mafia, the ‘saving’ has no effect. The doctor, so as to maintain the secret to all but them, may not challenge the host if they think the host has ignored their choice. The Witness is best in games larger than 10 people, but can be used well in smaller games if they replace either the doctor or detective.
Other Variations:
Warring Mafias: in very large games, 16 or more, the mafia can be divided in to two separate mafia factions that wake up at different time and are also trying to kill off their rival mafia. Should the doctor save a targeted mafia member who was targeted by the opposing mafia, the person IS saved.
Multiple doctors/detectives: in very large games, 16 or more, the ratio of doctors and detectives can be changed from one per population to roughly 1/8 of the population. When making selections, they abide by the same rules that mafia do.
Lying Host: to add realism/fun, use some source such as dice or a random number generator. A certain percent of the time, the doctors healing has no effect, and a certain percent of the time the host will lie to the detective. Try to keep the probability of these events under 1/3 so the doctor still has some power and so the detective can still somewhat trust their results.
Keeping Score: assign a specified number of points for winning as certain positions. As it is rare to be mafia, and mafia are usually at a disadvantage it is recommended that wins as mafia award the most score. Other special characters should be slightly less, and townspeople should be awarded the least. The score can be ‘turned in’ for things like an extra life, or used to gamble.
Ghost: the first player to die, may do the following once, and only once. They may signal to the doctor who to save, tell the detective who to check or tell the mafia who to kill. Once the first player dead has done this once, it cannot be done again for the remainder of the game. This is best for games larger than 10 people and in which the ‘keeping score’ variation is also being used as it gives dead players an incentive to help their side.
if you have any interesting variations, or any other card games that are fun at parties please post them. and yes, for no real reason i did indeed type up these rules.
Mafia: the Card Game
Step 1: find a group of at least 7 people.
Step 2: From here on out, these rules will tell you how to properly host a game. You will need one card, for each person. Each card represents a particular role in the game.
1. Host: this person doesn’t actually play, they run the steps of the game, therefore they don’t need to be dealt a card, however, if no one likes being host you can pick a card which would determine who was host. In a given game, there is only one host.
2. Townsperson: use number cards here; these people have no special abilities within the game; they are the standard player. There will always be more townspeople than any other group, though in games of size 8 or less, townspeople will be less than or equal to the total number of special characters.
3. Mafia: Use a specified face card for this; every ‘night’ people in the mafia select one person to ‘kill’. When rounded, mafia should make up ¼ of the total population, so roughly ¼ of the cards will represent mafia players.
4. Doctor: Use a specified face card for this; every ‘night’ the doctor chooses one person to ‘save’. Should this coincide with the person the mafia chose to ‘kill’, that person lives instead. If it is a different person than who was killed, the doctor has no effect. There is only one doctor.
5. Detective: Use a specified face card for this; every ‘night’ the policeman chooses to ‘check’ one person, then, the host reveals whether or not that person is mafia. There is only one Detective.
Step 3: Once you have set-aside cards such that you have the proper make up of characters, mix them up. Now deal one card to each player face down, only they should see their card. Then go back around and pick them up, unless players are very young you won’t need to look at their cards to remember their position for them.
Step 4: Now that all parts have been assigned, say “everyone go to sleep” this is cue for all players to close their eyes. This is also the beginning of a turn.
Parts of a Turn:
1. Night time: all players shut their eyes
2. Mafia “wake up” by opening their eyes. Only mafia may open their eyes. At this point, they must, nonverbally (usually through pointing), select a player to ‘kill’. Now all mafia are told to go to sleep. In the event of a tie vote, they are given one minute to agree at which point, if they still haven’t they do not make a kill at all.
3. Doctor will “wake up” by opening his/her eyes. At this point the doctor will attempt to guess who the mafia has chosen to kill, and pick someone to ‘save’ (nonverbally). Now the Doctor is told to go to sleep.
4. Detective will “wake up” by opening his/her eyes. At this point the Detective will attempt to guess the identity of a mafia member (nonverbally); the host will nod yes or no, but should keep all communication nonverbal. Now the Detective is told to go to sleep.
5. All ‘townspeople’ (this includes all the ‘special characters’ which are mafia, detective, and doctor and of course actual townspeople) ‘wake up’. The host explains that the mafia chose [player name] to kill, if the doctor correctly picked this person the person is not killed, however if the doctor didn’t pick this person the player is removed from the game and are not allowed to make any ‘last words’. From there on out they watch the game unfold. Should the person who is killed by the mafia be a special character, the host will still act as if that character is around in following nights. Now the townspeople decide whom they should kill off. Each person may accuse one, and only one, person per turn. After accusations are done, voting to kill off people begins. In the event of a tie vote, the townspeople are given one minute at which point if the tie remains, no kill is made. If a person is killed off, they may make last words but cannot use them to accuse an additional person if they have already accused someone. They may however claim to have been a certain position or restate their accusation.
6. Repeat steps 1-5, the game ends when all mafia are gone (victory for non mafia) or when mafia equal the number of non-mafia (victory for mafia)
Variations:
Additional special characters:
The Rogue: the rogue has the option of becoming a townsperson or a mafia, they are given two full turns to make this decision, then on the third night the rogue is told to ‘wake up’ at a time decided by the host. The host will ask whether or no they want to join the mafia, they will nod or shake their head. From that point on out they become whatever role they chose. Should the first night have been tragic for the doctor or detective, the host will hold up the respected card, the rogue may choose that occupation as a third option. The host does not reveal what The Rogue’s choice was. The Rogue is best in games larger than 10 people.
The Witness: The witness has the option of waking up at the same time as the mafia, though they can remain a townsperson in stature. Should they choose the former, they will pretend to be mafia and cause confusion/distrust. They can also reveal one mafia member per turn in their accusation, but their death would be almost certain. Should the doctor choose a mafia or witness to save and that person was selected by the mafia, the ‘saving’ has no effect. The doctor, so as to maintain the secret to all but them, may not challenge the host if they think the host has ignored their choice. The Witness is best in games larger than 10 people, but can be used well in smaller games if they replace either the doctor or detective.
Other Variations:
Warring Mafias: in very large games, 16 or more, the mafia can be divided in to two separate mafia factions that wake up at different time and are also trying to kill off their rival mafia. Should the doctor save a targeted mafia member who was targeted by the opposing mafia, the person IS saved.
Multiple doctors/detectives: in very large games, 16 or more, the ratio of doctors and detectives can be changed from one per population to roughly 1/8 of the population. When making selections, they abide by the same rules that mafia do.
Lying Host: to add realism/fun, use some source such as dice or a random number generator. A certain percent of the time, the doctors healing has no effect, and a certain percent of the time the host will lie to the detective. Try to keep the probability of these events under 1/3 so the doctor still has some power and so the detective can still somewhat trust their results.
Keeping Score: assign a specified number of points for winning as certain positions. As it is rare to be mafia, and mafia are usually at a disadvantage it is recommended that wins as mafia award the most score. Other special characters should be slightly less, and townspeople should be awarded the least. The score can be ‘turned in’ for things like an extra life, or used to gamble.
Ghost: the first player to die, may do the following once, and only once. They may signal to the doctor who to save, tell the detective who to check or tell the mafia who to kill. Once the first player dead has done this once, it cannot be done again for the remainder of the game. This is best for games larger than 10 people and in which the ‘keeping score’ variation is also being used as it gives dead players an incentive to help their side.