Ok, I tried this once already, but I decided to be more serious about it this time. I really want to play Mafia with you guys. It's a really fun game that can seem confusing at first but once you get the hang of it, it can become addictive.
First, you probably want to know what a Mafia game is.
The Mafia game is a contest between two opposing sides: the Mafia and the Town. (Some games may also have one or more Independents.)
More information:
The basic idea of the Mafia game is this: A small number of all participating players are Mafia; the rest are Townies. Members of the Mafia are aware of each other's identities; Townies are not aware of any other player's affiliation. The goal of the Mafia is to blend in with the Townies in order to eliminate all of them. The Mafia wins when all Townies are dead. The goal of the Townies is to figure out who is Mafia and eliminate them. The Townies win when no Mafia members remain. Independents act independently of either team; they win when no other players remain.
During the Day phase, all players can post suspicions, accusations and banter in the Mafia game thread. They can also vote to lynch a fellow player or vote not to lynch anyone. If a player has more lynch votes than anyone else at the end of the phase, he is lynched. (This means that he dies and is eliminated from the game.) After the Day phase, the game switches to the Night phase. During this phase, members of the Mafia scheme among themselves and choose a player that they want to kill. They do this by submitting their choice to the Game Moderator via PM. (Whoever they kill is also eliminated from the game.) Some Townies may have Night Actions of their own; these are abilities that can aid the Town and are used by sending a PM in which they state their intentions to the Game Moderator. Those that don't have a Night Action simply wait throughout the Night until the Day phase commences. The game continues until either all Mafia members are dead and the Town wins, or all Townies are dead and the Mafia wins. In games with an Independent player, the game may end with all Mafia and Townies dead, leaving the Independent as the sole victor.
You can find a newbie newb guide here: http://wiki.mafiascum.net/index.php?title=Newbie_Guide
Don't be discouraged, the game seems really complex when you first hear about it, but once you start playing, you'll find it to be pretty simple to catch on.
If you do sign-up, please make sure that you participate in the game. It only takes a few minutes a day to send in a Night Action and post a lynch vote.
Words to know:
Game Moderator: The person who is running the game.
Mafia: The Mafia are the "bad guys" and try to kill all the Townies. They are also known as "scum."
Townies: The Townies are the "good guys" and try to identify and kill all Mafia members.
Independents: Independents are players who are neither Mafia nor Townie and win by being the last player alive. They may also be known as "scum."
Theme: Most games have a theme. A theme is usually a popular TV show, film, game, or book and all players will be playing as a character from the theme. Its purpose is to add a bit more depth to the game's narrative and doesn't affect the game mechanics in any way.
Role: Players may be given a role. Each role comes with an ability that can be used to the advantage of the player and/or their team. The ability may be either passive or active.
Phase: Each game consists of phases which will be changed by the Game Moderator at set times. Most games will alternate between Day phase and Night phase. The Day phase is for players to vote on who they want to lynch. The Night phase is for the Mafia to submit their kill to the Game Moderator.
Day Action: An active ability that can be used during the Day phase.
Night Action: An active ability that can be used during the Night phase.
Lynch: Any player who is lynched is considered dead and out of the game.
Kill: Any player who is killed is considered dead and out of the game.
I would encourage you to add other players as contacts on Skype. Of course there is always PMing, but you can tell if someone is lying more easily if you can hear them talking.
The best thing about this game is that you may form friendships and bonds that otherwise may never have happened. Whether you're a Mafia member who is scheming together with his allies or a Townie trying to find out who you can trust, communication is important in the game and makes it a lot more fun.
I won't have a theme for my first game; I will be using standard Mafia roles which can be found in the newbie newb link above. I just want it to be a simple game that can give you guys an idea of how to play. Then I will do another one shortly afterwards with a fun theme. Themes make the game more interesting.
Here is a list of my usual rules.
Rules
• There are 2 phases: Day and Night.
• Day Phase will begin at 10am EST (3pm GMT) and end at 10pm EST (3am GMT).
• Night Phase will begin at 10pm EST (3am GMT) and end at 10am EST (3pm GMT).
• No screenshots of any kind.
• No copying/pasting of any messages from the Moderator.
• During the day phase, either vote for whomever you wish to see lynched or vote "No lynch."
• Votes Must be submitted in bold.
• Vote changes Must be submitted in a new post.
• No editing of any posts is allowed.
• No Gag, open banter.
• Once you are dead, you may not influence the game in any way unless your role allows it.
Rules can vary from game to game, so be sure to read the rules set for each game. I am used to playing with 12 hour phases but I may have to use 24 hour phases here because so many people are in opposite time zones. I plan to go with the 12 hour phases in the trial and I will change it if needed.
I really think you guys will love this game. I have a handful of people who have already said that they would like to play. If you're interested, ask any questions here and I will post the game in this same thread.
Since I can't edit posts after a certain amount of time, I will repost an updated player list each night before I go to bed. We need around 10-15 players to play. The more players, the more fun the game is. So once we have enough players, I will send everyone a PM to confirm they want to play. After confirmation, I will post the time and date the game will start in the thread. Each player will get a PM from me approximately 12 hours before the game begins. This PM will contain your character, your role and your faction (Mafia, Town, Independent).
So yeah, play with me. Play because I'm Losty and you love me
*A special thanks to Vosur for helping me edit this post*