Introduction to Mafia
The Introduction. On this page, we present the basic rules of Mafia for people who have never played before. If you already know how to play you can see the
advanced rules, and our lists of different
roles and
variants.
The Scenario. Mafia is a game that pits the forces of light against the forces of darkness. The players are residents of a small Italian village. Some of the players are secretly members of the mafia, who are terrorizing the village. Each night, the mafia roam the village, and select a law-abiding civilian as their victim. During each day, the villagers gather together, seeking mob justice, and vote to convict and lynch one of their number whom they think is secretly a member of the mafia.
The Number of Players. 7-10 is ideal. Games with fewer people are simpler. Games with 11-16 people can have lots of interesting characters. Minimum number is 3. No maximum number, although becomes unwieldy with 17+.
The Equipment. One standard deck of cards (optional).
The Goal of the Game. The goal of the game is to be the last team standing. If you are a member of the mafia, your goal is to kill off all the villagers in the game. If you are a villager, your goal is to kill off the mafia before they kill you off.
The Deal. One player is selected each round to be the moderator. The moderator does not participate in the game as a player, but manages the game and remains absolutely neutral. The moderator shall choose cards out of the deck representing:
- Mafia: black numbered cards, 2-9♣, 2-9♠
- Villagers: red numbered cards, 2-9♦, 2-9♥
It is recommended that the number of each type of cards be adjusted according to the size of the game.
- With 3-6 players have 1 mafia.
- For 7-8 players, have 2 mafia.
- For 9-12 players, have 3 mafia.
- For 13-16 players, have 4 mafia.
Generally having one-third of the village to be mafia works pretty well.
The moderator will deal one card face down to each player. Each player will look at their own card to see whether he or she is a mafia or a villager. No one may ever show his or her card to others at any point during the game; if this happens, that player is judged to have committed suicide and may take no further part in the game.
The Play. The game happens in phases. There are two types of phases — nights and days — which happen alternately. The moderator shall announce the end of each phase and the beginning of the next one. The game usually starts in a night phase.
Night. Whenever the moderator announces nightfall, all the players (but not the moderator) shall close their eyes (and no peeking is allowed). No one but the moderator is allowed to speak during the night. The moderator shall announce "Mafia awaken." The mafia, and only the mafia, shall open their eyes. They then decide amongst themselves by means of hand gestures which of the players they would like to kill. The moderator, once he or she understands who is to be killed, shall announce "Mafia go back to sleep." and the mafia shall close their eyes. The moderator shall announce who died during the night, and this will end the night phase.
Day. After the name of the dead person is announced, the moderator shall ask everyone to wake up. Dead people are not allowed to speak for the rest of the game, or in any other way communicate with the living. They no longer have to close their eyes during the night phases.
At this point, the remaining survivors may vote to convict someone of being mafia. The survivors may freely discuss the situation. Lying is permissible, and, for the mafia, often necessary. Players are allowed to whisper to each other, or speak in any language of their choice. However, no one is ever allowed to ask another player about his or her actual card number, and similarly no player is ever allowed to claim to have a particular card. (For example, a player is allowed to claim to be a villager, but he or she is not allowed to claim to be holding 5♥).
At any point during the day, a player can make a formal accusation against any other player of being mafia. If an accusation is lodged, the moderator shall ask everyone to be silent, and the accuser shall be allowed to state a prosecution. Then the accused shall be allowed to state a defence. Then the moderator will run the vote by counting up to three, at which point everyone who wants the accused dead should raises their hands immediately (late votes are disallowed!). If a strict majority of the surviving members vote to convict, then the convicted player is put to death and may no longer participate in the game. If there is no majority in favor of conviction, the accused is aquitted (at least for this time...) and discussions continue. The accused cannot be accused by the same accuser in the very next formal accusation; any other accusations are allowed.
The day ends immediately after someone has been convicted and killed. No further discussions can take place until the beginning of the next day. To ensure that the game does not drag on indefinitely, the moderator is allowed to set a fixed amount of time per day (typically 5-10 minutes, depending on the complexity of the game), and can force nightfall at the end of that period. In that case, no one dies during the day.
Winning. The game is won by the mafia if there are no more villagers left. The villagers win if all the mafia are killed. The moderator shall announce the end of the game and the winning side the moment the game ends. It is a team victory so players can win posthumously.
The Graduate Mafia Brotherhood of Princeton University