Mafia: Theory Discussion

[Werebear]

You're right about the win condition. I didn't expect to get NEARLY as far as I did. One investigation, and I figured I was doomed. On that point, I did ask HD at one point if (1) the town had to kill me to win, and (2) If I didn't kill that night, would an investigation turn me up as the SK. Of course, the answer was that the town had to kill me, and that I couldn't "lay low" and avoid investigation, but it is an interesting thought.

What's a burgler?

Werebear

[Neo]

I like being an SK or similiar role

Yes, GL Mafia. It's now on the signup list. Expect to see it in a bout a year. All roles are GL'ers.

[Werebear]

So do we get assigned a GLer, or do we play ourselves? *chortle* I hope I don't get Antrax or IS... I'll get lynched for sure!

Werebear

[Sami]

You should make a Will role. With investigative abilities, but paranoid. Plus the requirement that he has to post at least 100 times a day.

[quercitron]

LOL.

You are Will!
You instigate somenoe evry night tosee if they HATE YOU!!!!
Everyone hatese you!!!!
YOU WANT TO BE A MOD!!!!
Too ****ing bad,,
also, you must, attempt to crash, the MAFIA GAME!!!
with POSTS so everyone will hates YOU!

[Werebear]

will would be the SK. "Werebear is found dead in the morning, horribly mutilated by 10,000 meaningless posts containing stupid thoughts, run on sentences, bad grammar, and missing punctuation."

[Sami]

Plus, he can control 1 person's vote per day (by hacking in and changing their password). Will wins if all the mods get killed.

[crackerjack]

What about giving conditions to a person's abilities? For example, you have the ability to investigate a person, but you have to vote at least six different people during the day or you lose that ability at night? That might be interesting...

[Neo]

GL mafia: wait and see

[Werebear]

I still like the "lay low" tactic... it combines the GF idea with the SK idea, just not at the same time.

Werebear

[Elayne]

I wonder if I get to be a role....Considering my streak of 7 (I think) straight games as mafia I think I know what I should be if I am a role

[This message has been edited by Elayne (edited 08-13-2002 05:23 PM).]

[Neo]

I tried really hard to keep it all mafia related, and just couldn't get enough roles AND keep the game balanced. So now MOST of it is mafia game related, with other GL stuff thrown in to make it interesting.

[Samadhi]

Werebear:

The burglar breaks into someones house and steals something from them. This gives them a clue as to what their role is.

And I like the "lay low" thing too! Adds a bit of strategy. Gotta catch em red handed. Literally!

Neo:

I misunderstood your question. I thought you were asking if I would consider coming back to play and were shamelessly plugging my legendary status (yes I can get through doorways with a head as big as mine )instead of shamelessly plugging your mafia.

[Sami]

If you design a themed mafia, with special roles, how can you tell if it's balanced?

[Samadhi]

I've done two themed mafias and I still couldn't tell you. It's really just guessing. One thing I did in both was give both evil groups reason to work with each other and against each other. You can try to look at expected outcomes for one group or another, how many kills a round, etc. All those things seperately will help give you an idea, but in general you just have to get a gestalt feel for the balance.

[Amb]

I think there should be a truth serum in one of the games. It will cause the victim of the serum to own up to their role directly in the thread. Or the mod will type it for them. Could be really unlucky if the mafia gets hit.

[Damelon]

Isn't the reporter kind of similar to that? The reporter investigates someone and then does a piece in the newspaper telling their role.

[mith]

Yeah... I don't usually like roles like that though; it's more fun for me (as a mod and a player) when no one is absolutely sure of anything at all (much less the entire town).

[Courk]

Originally posted by mith:

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What do you consider your best-played game?

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ttmd Its kinda sad when you come so clsoe to winning and the mod messes everything up thinking he's helping you

[mith]

heh

[Neo]

WOT was my worst...I died 3 or 4 times

[CrystyB]

Hey, you only got good roles. What did you expect of us evils??

[Neo]

Take pity on me? I mean, come ON! At the end I was a different person each day

[Dread Pirate Westley]

Originally posted by Elayne:

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I wonder if I get to be a role....Considering my streak of 7 (I think) straight games as mafia I think I know what I should be if I am a role

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The DPW role will actually be awarded postumously to whoever gets killed by the recipient of this role first.

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This is actually my AIM profile. Could you give it directions back home, please?

[Hitchhiker]

So when is GL mafia happening, and where do we sign up?

[Neo]

Well, it's in the large games list...So....a year or so...

[Samadhi]

[Elayne]

Yep 21 and 23 Lepton was cop and investigated me first night and of course, he found me to be mafia.

Now, I think anyone who accuses me after Lepton dies first night should be lynched not me. Like Samadhi said, I must have been framed

[Werebear]

All right, this is getting ridiculous. Mafia has ONE major flaw when transposed from a RL game (or an IRC game) to a message board game. Whether it's malicious or just careless, people not talking kills the game. It's driving me crazy. Zealot just got lynched in mafia 48, he was a detective. All he had to do was post, and the town could have CHOSEN whether to lynch him or not, instead of lagging and dragging and letting days go by until finally he's voted out of sheer boredom. And between the odds (which are in favor of the mafia), and that there are always a few mafia trying to steer bandwagons(even if some of their number are lurkers), it means death for the towns most of the time.

Some rail at those voting. "Why did you vote for him just because he's quiet? Didn't you learn from the other mafias that that's a bad thing?" Of course, we know it's a bad thing. But if you have someone on the brink of being lynched, you don't know who they are, what their role is, and for days they don't even bother posting, you're supposed to assume they're innocent and disband the bandwagon? I don't think so. That defeats the whole point of the game.

People. Why sign up for a game, if you're not going to be there? If you're not going to post? This game was created as a lively game of accusations and debate, fun and surprise, and getting to laugh at who you've fooled, or who you've found out. In the RL game, there's no shirking and lurking. You're right there. Someone accuses you, points their finger at you, there's no sitting back on the couch and hoping they get distracted. It's talk fast or die quicker.

So what, you say, same old complaint. Well, I'm going to try to offer a solution. I'm considering not signing up for mafias any more, and putting myself on a permanent replacement list. If we had 4-5 players who were on reserve for each mafia, then mods wouldn't hesitate to yank out silent ones, and roles would not be killed just because they didn't post. Each person who was about to be replaced would be given fair warning, and an oppotunity to post, then replaced. If a system like this were in place, Zealot would have been given fair warning, someone could have jumped in, and posted his investigations before the noose drew tight.

I know there's people out there who want to be in mafia games, but don't have the time for a full one, they could join the replacement list as well. Any characters killed in the mafia who didn't have revealing roles (like cops or mafia) could also jump on the list to get back in. We have the list of mafias running, we could edit that list to include replacements. The only effort it would take would be on the mod's part, to keep track of days gone by without posting for each character, and of course keeping track of their choices, if need be.

What do you say? Reasonable answer, or pixellated garbage?

Werebear

[wordcross]

I agree mostly Werebear. Sometimes silent people just don't have anything to add, and it's just the way they are. These people should be let alone, i think, because if they are voted for, they are at least paying attention and can defend themselves. And usually they at least vote during the round so that they are not holding things up.

Now, for people who never say anything, and aren't paying any attention at all, and don't post even under peril of being lynched, those kind of people should be booted from a Mafia game.

I think that a replacement list is a good idea, and I volunteer to also join it. The only thing i would add would be to list any games that a person is currently playing as a replacement, so that the first person on the list doesn't automatically get put into 3-4 mafia games at once and then have to try and keep up.

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I'm not an actor, but i play one on TV.
GLih8evilstuff: I hope you never call me, my caller ID would explode.

[Werebear]

I thought each game would have its own list. And you may not have anything to say, but even just posting to comment on anything is worth it!

Werebear

[Elayne]

Mandatory posting requirements like those in Verbose, does make for more work on the mods part. Though it only in general took me about 15 minutes to do them which isn't too horribly bad. Then again Verbose STARTED with only 18 players.

I did and do however, think they were a good thing.

[Samadhi]

Originally posted by Werebear:

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Zealot just got lynched in mafia 48

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Zealot's last post on the GL was on the 3^rd of June. That should have given you guys a clue he might not speak up. Zealot basically fell off the face of the GL. Damned shame.

But I do agree. Recently in a mafia game one of my fellow mafia members councelled the rest of us to lay low and stay quiet. Screw that!! I will rant and make a spectacle out of myself every damned time!! Why else would I want to play? Sure winning is great but pulling the wool over someone's eyes is so much better!! But you have to participate to do that. I have said it before and I will say it again if you are not contributing posts to the game YOU AREN'T PLAYING. Shame on you!!!! People who play like this hurt the game.

But if someone is not posting and it is just because they're not around then this is where the moderator has to step in. In Newbie 6 I was very forward about players posting regularly (with the help of the other players pointing out the slackers to me - a good players responsibility IMO). If they were not posting regularly I asked them if they please would. If they said they could not; no harm, no foul please come back when you can. Sometimes life gets in the way of games, that's life. But as a mod I try to take it upon myself to ensure that the players are IN THE GAME. I think all mods should, unfortunately they don't.

But then some can't even lynch the right people (sorry I couldn't resist).

[Samadhi]

Oh and I can't wait to pose some questions regarding theory once Newbie 6 is over. Very interesting endgame.

[mith]

*~bump~*

[rOver]

Here's a question for all the veteran GLers. Do you have a nemesis among the mafia players? Someone for example who is good at finding out your role or someone who you'd vote for just to honour the tradition. If yes, who and how did it start?

Or do you have someone who you prefer to convince of you innocence at the start of the game? If such thing is indeed possible.

[Samadhi]

Nope. No one can figure out what I am.

[mith]

Me and deth always vote for each other in chat, but it's rarely serious unless one of us are scum (in which case the other usually gets lynched for getting the first lynched).

I vote for IS randomly, of course.

[Neo]

Not a nemisis....but muds and I usually join forces at the end of chat games