Frequently Asked Questions

This section provides answers to some common questions about playing Mafia, in general and on this site. If you have additional questions, email mith or ask in the Forums.

Forum Specific Questions

Forum? What forum?

We have a Discussion Forum (phpbb2) for users to play online Mafia here. Since this site is devoted to the online version of Mafia, it would be kinda pointless if we didn't, really. ;)

How do I ______?

If you have a question regarding the use of phpbb2, it is probably answered in the http://mafiascum.net/forum/faq.php Forum FAQ]. If that doesn't answer your question, use the {{AnswerMe}} tag to get some info.

Ok, I'm registered on your Forum. How do I play/moderate?

Check the Queue Forum to see if there are any ongoing signups. There are five basic types of games: Normal Game, Theme Game, Mini Game, Open Game, and Newbie Game.

To sign up in the Minis, Open, or Newbie Games, post in the queue thread that you wish to play in the next possible game, or, in the case of Mini Theme Games and Open Games, which game you would like to play, ("/in for Famous Women" is an example Mini Theme post) and as soon as the game is full, it will start. Remember that you can only be in a total of 4 Mini Games at once.

To sign up for Large Normal or Large Theme games, simply post in the dedicated signup thread for that game in the Queue subforum, and it will start once it is full. However, Large games may have some restrictions on who can signup, so check before signing up.

Once a game starts, the Game Moderator will send you your role by PM. If you don't understand something, you can always ask questions. Make sure you read the Game Moderator's posted rules before the game starts, as they are not always exactly the same from game to game.

If you want to moderate, post in one of the threads labelled "Moderators". New moderators must be active on the site for 3 months before being eligible to moderate, and can start by moderating a game in the Mini Normal or Open queues. To moderate a Mini Normal, you must devise the setup yourself, but you can choose what type of game to run. On the other hand, if you moderate an Open game, the setup will already be made for you. You must have moderated one game to sign up to mod a Mini Theme or Normal game, and you must have moderated two games before you can moderate a Newbie or Large Theme game.

If you sign up to moderate a Mini, Open or Newbie game, just check the queue thread; players will sign up there, so as soon as your game is at the top of the list and full, you can start. If you sign up to moderate a Large game, wait until you are at the top of the Waiting List. When it is appropriate, the List Mod will give you permission to open the signup thread.

When your game is full, you will be given the rights to open your game thread, and you can begin to moderate.

General Gameplay Questions

What does x mean?

There are a couple of possibilities.

1. It's a specialized term. To see the meaning just type it into the Search box below and see what you get. If you get nothing, type {{AnswerMe}} on the page and someone will get on it soon.
2. It's an abbreviation of a specialized 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.

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 emails/messages from the Game Moderator to prove my innocence?

No! Never quote emails or private messages 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 GameModerator; even though it could 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 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?

Never question the Game Moderator in the thread if the decision has anything to do with something that shouldn't be known to the Town. However, feel free to contact the Moderator about it. 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, you will probably just annoy the Moderator.

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.

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

It is generally 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. Check with the Moderator's posted rules, or ask him or her directly by private message or e-mail.

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. I use an Excel spreadsheet to do this. I list the players in one column, the roles in another column, and in each cell of a third column I put "=RAND()". This generates a random number in each cell. Then the players or the roles can be randomly sorted by the generated numbers. This is the fairest way to assign roles. 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.

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've 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'd be best for the game and/or make the most sense, but be consistent!

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