1. What is Mafia?
Mafia is a game involving an informed minority (the mafiosos) and an uninformed majority (the town). The mafia has the ability to kill someone each night, taking them out of the game. The town, on the other hand, requires a majority vote to "lynch" someone during the day phase.

2. What're the Rules?
The rules for mafia may be found here, and at the beginning of most mafia game threads. A specific rule for almost all Mafia games on the Realms is the "PM Rule", which states that you may NOT, under ANY circumstances, quote a PM sent to you by the mod, or anyone else.

3. Hold on a minute- Phases? WTF?
Every game has two types of phases - day and night. During the day phase discussion and lynch votes take place. During the night phase, no one is allowed to talk in the game thread, and the mafia PM their "hit" to the Mod.

4. So, how to I Vote for a lynch?
In most games you have to post your vote in the form of "Vote: Lynch [person's name]", bold included. Some games change this (see: "Lost Room Mafia" and "Night at the Gay Bar Mafia") but the format is relatively unchanged.

5. What's the Objective of the game?
The objective of the game may vary from game to game, but in general the Mafia wins when the town cannot possibly eliminate them, and the town wins when the mafia is totally and completely annihilated.

6. What're these "Roles" that people talk about?
There are so many roles and permutations floating around in The Arcade that it would take too long to type them all up, but I will list the main ones here.

• MAFIA
  • Mafia Don* - Leader of the Mafia, orders the hit for the night
  • Mafia Goon - Can be used as hitmen
• NEUTRAL
  • Serial Killer - Every night this person MUST PM the mod a target to nightkill.
  • Survivor - Player that can win with either side, providing they survive
  • Cult Leader - Targets one player each night to brainwash hand recruit into their group. Usually unable to recruit the mafia, though there are exceptions.
• TOWN**
  • Cop - Targets one player each night to find out information about them. Some cops get names, other cops get affiliations or powers. Some get random info.
  • Tracker - The other information gatherer. This player PMs the mod a target and follows them throughout the night. At the end of the night, they recieve a PM stating who that person targeted.
  • Doctor - Targets one player each night to protect from a nightkill.
  • Misdirector - Targets one player each night and randomizes their target.
  • Vigilante - May target one player each night to nightkill. The may is what seperates this role from a serial killer, as the vigilante can choose not to kill.
  • Masons - Normal townies that may PM each other through the course of the game
  • Roleblocker - Someone who prevents their target from taking any action that night.

* Red means these people MUST be dead before the town can win.
** MANY town roles can be easily adapted to be Mafia. The sole exception seems to be the Vigilante.

If anyone has any questions, PM them to me and the answers will be added to this post!

Personally I would take out Bounty Hunter and Usurper roles. They're not too common. Also, I wouldn't add the "Never able to recruit mafia" line from the cult leader because they sometimes can.

If there's a cult that can recruit mafia, then it's broken.

The Mafia would never stand a chance.

Haven't certain serial killers been able to win with the town? Or has that never happened?

There have been plenty of games where this happened, and it wasn't broken.

Mutant Massacre comes to mind. JOH (Sabertooth), member of the Marauders, was recruited into the Horsemen. Worked out perfectly fine.

I wouldn't say the Serial Killer MUST the mod a target for a night kill. The game I just finished (Doctor Who) made it optional, for example. I'd say what separates the Vigilante from the Serial Killer is that the Serial Killer is Neutral and wins when he's the last man standing while the Vigilante is Town and wins with the town.

In Pirates of the Caribbean, pretty much anybody could be "bought".

Huh. I guess I just keep getting flashbacks of Peers' last game where Rokk outed half the mafia at the very beginning.

Notice the disclaimer before the roles.

Yes, there have been townie Serial Killers (No Man's Land) and Optional Serial killers (Doctor Who), but the VAST majority of games run them differently.

The mafia has the ability to "hit" someone each night

Personally I would replace hit with kill.

Anyone without standards.

That was a learning experience.

Nowadays, most alignment switches (or at least from mafia to a different side) contain a "You have forgotten everything you knew before" clause.

May I suggest that this thread be pinned?

I'd add tracker to the town list. It's an important role.

great thread!