Frequently Asked Questions

This section provides answers to some common questions about playing Mafia, in general and on this site. If your question is not answered here, you're welcome to register the site and ask in Mafia Discussion, or if you like, PM an established scummer who you think would be helpful.

Do not publicly ask questions about ongoing games, even if they are not being run on mafiascum.net! If you are playing in a Newbie Game and have a question, ask one of the experienced players. If you are moderating a game, ask an experienced moderator who is not otherwise related to your game. In any other case, you're on your own - not knowing what to do is a part of the game, and we can't play for you.

General Gameplay Questions

What does <INSERT UNFAMILIAR TERM HERE> mean?

There are a couple of possibilities.

1. It's a Mafia-specific term. Look in Category:Glossary and see if you find it. If you don't, try searching for it on this wiki using the search box on the left pane.
2. It's an abbreviation of a Mafia-specific term. See Commonly used abbreviations or see 1 above.
3. It's an abbreviation of a player's name. In that case, just look around a little - you'll figure out who's being talked to pretty easily.
4. If it still isn't clear, ask the person who said it in the first place.

If you're going to search the wiki, don't forget that spelling counts!

General Mafia Etiquette

I was just killed. Can I tell everyone what I know now?

No! Never reveal information after you are dead. Just watch the game, and wait for it to end.

Can I post messages from the Game Moderator to prove my innocence?

No! Never quote private messages (to include your Role PM) without explicit permission from the Game Moderator. In most games, it is allowed (and encouraged) to reveal your role at certain points in the game (for example, if you are a Cop and have found the last Mafia, you can reveal your role to get that player lynched). However, you may not actually quote anything from the Game Moderator; even though it could (sometimes) easily be faked. The point of the game is to prove yourself through your actions and voting, not through outside information.

Can I post information during the night?

No, it is against the rules in almost all games to post game-related information during the night. Most Moderators will lock the thread at Night to avoid accidents.

I feel the Game Moderator was unfair in a decision. What should I do?

If you are dead at the time or if your complaint stems from something that should not be known to the Town, what you should not do is make your sentiment public, either in the game thread or elsewhere. Instead, feel free to contact the Moderator about it via PM. Keep in mind that moderating can be a lot of work, and if you are griping about something that is completely within the rules of the game (or that the moderator is unwilling to take action on), you will probably just annoy the Moderator.

Can I ask for help about what I should do in a game in a Discussion forum?

No. Games are meant to be self-contained, and you are expected to do your own best at any given time. Aside from that, what you say in your out-of-thread post may be revealing of your alignment, making the game much nastier to fairly moderate.

I'm in the Mafia, but I really don't like my family/being a criminal. Can I just get them all lynched?

Technically, this is perfectly possible. However, the goal of the Mafia family is to kill all non-mafia players. Getting your own allies lynched as a joke or because you don't like them is against the spirit of the game, and will likely earn you the lasting distrust of other players. However attacking your partners is a legitimate (and common) tactic, but it should be done strategically, not spitefully (see below).

Someone in my family just voted for me! What should I do?

One of the common Mafia strategies is to have some of the family voting against each other, so that if one member gets lynched, the others will look more innocent. This is a natural part of the game, and is sometimes called distancing or bussing. As for what you should do... that's up to you.

Can I talk to someone at night or outside of the thread?

It is almost always against the rules to discuss anything with anyone at night unless you are in the Mafia or a Mason lodge. It is also usually against the rules to contact someone during the day privately.

Moderator Questions

(see also Category:How to Mod)

How should I decide who should get what roles in the Mafia game I am running?

The most common and recommended way is randomly. This is the fairest way to assign roles.

1. You can use the Sequence Generator at random.org.
   1. Assign each role a number.
   2. Run the generator.
   3. Match the role number to your player list.
2. You can also just choose who you want to be Mafia, Cops, etc., but this is generally considered unfair, and leads to metagaming by your players. This is considered a bad modding practice, and by extension, moderators who do this are generally considered bad themselves.

Some group of night actions caused a paradox (such as two Role blockers blocking each other) or could be interpreted multiple ways (such as the Mafia killing an SK who killed someone else). What do I do?

Ideally, you should haveve thought of any possible circumstances along these lines before the game began. One possible policy that deals with some of these situations is that actions always succeed unless they are blocked (so in the second scenario, both the SK and the SK's victim would die.). If you didn't, figure out what would be best for the game and/or make the most sense, but be consistent!

See also Natural Action Resolution.