Quick Guide to Mafiascum

Welcome to mafiascum.net!

This page will quickly go over how our forum is organized and works. If you want information on how to play Mafia, please go here.

To Play Mafia

The first thing you will have to do is go to our forum. You do need to register an account with us in order to do almost anything. The link to register is in the top right corner of the page. You will need a valid e-mail address to register, as you will be required to validate your registration by clicking a link sent to that account.

All of our sign-up threads are in the Queue subforum. To join a game, post something along the lines of "/in" in its signup thread. You will be assigned to a player list, and when the list is full, you will be instructed further on where to go and what to do. If you're new to the site, we don't recommend joining a lot of games at once in case you lose interest and flake out of all of them later on.

A quick breakdown of what's available:

• Newbie games are specifically designed with new or tentative players in mind so they can get an idea of what playing on mafiascum.net is like. These games are the smallest we run on average, use a standardized setup and moderation style, and include veteran players charged with helping people who are new to the site used to our meta. As a result, Newbie games take place in a controlled environment and have generally consistent quality of moderation. All Newbie game signups are done through a single queue thread; post an /in and you will be informed when your game is cleared to begin.

• Open games are a special group of games where the setup is (more or less) known before the game begins, so you know exactly what you're getting into and how the game is going to work. Open games can be surprisingly varied, so keep an eye on what you're signing up for. Signups for Open games are all done through a single queue thread. Usually there are two games taking signups at a time, so make sure you specify which game you want to enter!

• Mini Normal games are closed games for thirteen players or fewer. Even though the setup is not known to the players ahead of time, the setups in this queue must still conform to Normal guidelines; in fact, each game is required to go through a panel of reviewers before being approved. Signups for Normal games are all done through a single queue thread.

• Mini Theme games are closed games for thirteen players or fewer. These games are not bound by Normal guidelines, so before posting your /in definitely check how the mod has advertised the game to get an idea of what you're signing up for. Signups for Mini Themes are all done through a single queue thread that usually has two games taking signups at a time, so if you want to play, make sure you specify which game you're actually interested in entering.

• Large Normal games are closed games for more than thirteen players. The setup is not known to the players ahead of time, but the setups must still conform to Normal guidelines. These games are not recommended for first-time players, as they may take a while to finish and you are expected to stick around for the entire game. Large Normal games take their signups in their own threads beneath all the pinned queues (frequently labeled "Mafia ###" or similar), so you say /in in the separate thread made just for that game.

• Large Theme games are closed games for more than thirteen players that are not beholden to Normal guidelines. These games also take their signups in separate threads below the other queues. The game mechanics and expectations can vary wildly in this group, so make sure you read the topic post before you agree to go /in! It's probably not a good idea to make one of these your first game simply because of the potential for unusual mechanics and situations.

Note that there may be a delay between when you sign up for games and when they actually start. This is common, especially in the Newbie queue where a precise combination of experience groups needs to be represented per game. Don't panic.

Due to the burden it places on the player base if someone flakes from the site, any given player can only be alive in four Mini games (including Normals and Themes together) at a time.

When you first get to mafiascum.net, you cannot mod a game on your own. Please do not try to create a thread in the Queue forum.

If you're looking for the actual Mafia games and not just the sign-up threads, you can find Newbie games in The Road to Rome, Open games in Central Park, Mini Normals in Little Italy, Mini Themes in Coney Island, Large Normals in New York, and Large Themes in Theme Park.

To Talk About Mafia

The first subforum under the Mafia forums is Mafia Discussion. You can post or create threads here for your questions, comments, and concerns. The two things we ask are that you not spam and that you not talk about ongoing games. We at mafiascum.net believe that games should be as self-contained as possible, and are averse to talking about games that are not over yet. This applies even if you are dead in the game in question or if the game is offsite.

To Post a Welcome Thread

While we're not really that thrilled about welcome threads on this site, there is usually a welcoming party hanging around the Newbie Introduction thread. We really would prefer to get to know you through the Mafia games or General Discussion, so posting a welcome can be skipped entirely if you like.

To Do Other Things

General Discussion is exactly what it sounds like. Please make sure you read the Unofficial Code of Conduct below.

We do play games other than Mafia! There's always an eclectic set of games going on in The Whole Sort of General Mish Mash (Mish-Mash for short). Whether it's Survivor, Haunted Mansion, Roll to Dodge, or even your standard Vending Machine thread, we either have it or you can organize it if you want it enough.

The other subforum worth knowing about is Help!. If you're having trouble with your account or having other issues, that's the place to ask. In particular, on rare occasions users make it so that their account needs to be validated - this is the forum to ask for help.

Unofficial Code of Conduct

In General

The most important thing to remember about social graces on this site is that most scummers are longtime Netizens and (superficially) mature adults. We're fairly welcoming people, but if you post like a fourteen-year-old Net Newbie, you will likely be treated as such.

Many boards on the Internet have rules against swearing, doubleposting, etc. For the most part mafiascum.net is fairly lenient in this regard. Of course, that's not an invitation to spam a thread with one hundred posts of assorted expletives. If you are mature enough to understand the difference, you should have no problem with this site.

Scummers represent a wide variety of backgrounds, interests, religions, and orientations. Politically speaking the board is fairly liberal for the most part. If you are uncomfortable with another user or a topic of discussion, you are advised to politely avoid them.

In Mafia Games

Mafia is not a "comfortable" game, and for this reason it's not for everyone. Your honesty, reputation, skill level, and intelligence will likely all be questioned and/or insulted by people who may not have your best interest in mind. While there are some things that are out-of-bounds - usually things that are irrelevant to Mafia, like racial slurs - having thick enough of a skin to get over these things is a necessary expectation.

In General Discussion

In the same vein as personal welcome threads, most scummers are not very interested in threads dedicated to roleplaying or gushing about your favorite video game. As a general rule, if you're thinking about making a thread that's about you or that you want to have control over, you probably shouldn't make it.

If you're worried about how to act, it's easiest to lurk around for a while so you can see how everyone else is posting, and then post like they do. We like new people; we just don't like clueless people.