Mafia [ aka Letters to BTS ] ✔

Game

Mafia is a party game created by Dmitry Davidoff in 1986. In its simplest form, Mafia is played by two teams: the mafia and the innocents. At the start of the game every mafioso is given the identities of his teammates, while the innocents at first know only the number of mafiosi in the game. Live games require a moderator, otherwise known as "God", who does not participate as a player.

The game has two alternating phases: night, during which the murderer may covertly "murder" an innocent, and day, in which the surviving players debate the identity of the mafioso and vote to eliminate a suspect.

Night

All players close their eyes. The "God" then instructs all members of the mafia to open their eyes and acknowledge their accomplices. They pick a "victim" by silently gesturing to indicate their target and to show unanimity, and then close their eyes again.

The "God" then instructs the rest of the players who have special roles to perform their tasks. In the case of the detectives and the healers, the "God" tells them if they have succeeded by silently shaking or nodding his head.

Night ends.

Day

The "God" instructs the players to open their eyes and announces who "died" the previous night. According to some rules the role of the murdered player is revealed, while according to others it is not. Dead players may not attempt to influence the game.

Discussion ensues. At any point a player may accuse someone of being a mafioso and prompt others to vote to lynch him. If over half of the players do so, the accused person is eliminated and his role revealed.

Night begins again.

Special Roles

Mafia: They must "murder" as many innocents as possible without being detected, and can only pick one victim per round. Their decision must be unanimous.

Detectives: They must try to guess the identity of every mafioso and can only pick one person per round. Their decision must be unanimous.

Healers: They must try to save a potential victim and can only pick one person per round. Their decision must be unanimous.

Civilians: During the night, they "sleep" and are sitting ducks. During the day, they participate in discussions to eliminate a suspect.

Elimination

A mafioso can be eliminated by:

a) "lynching",

b) the detectives' guesswork,

c) choosing to "murder" a detective. If a detective is chosen to be murdered, no death is announced the next morning but the identity of one mafioso is revealed.

A detective can be eliminated by "lynching".

A healer can be eliminated by

a) the mafia

b) "lynching"

Victory

The cycle repeats itself until a team wins. The mafia wins when they outnumber the innocents or vice versa.