What is mafia?
Mafia in a nutshell is a mixture of clue, role-playing, and for lack of a better term who brings better bs to the table. Mafia is a game of skill and cunning. The powers for each faction lend themselves to different criteria which I will get into better throughout the article. Basically, a game consists of a plot picked by the host. The host makes a certain number of roles. The host then proportions out the roles and powers throughout the town, mafia, serial killer, neutral, etc. The best formula when hosting a game is that only one third of the participants be mafia. This can change through multiple mafia families, serial killers, neutrals, etc. A host should never make any faction stronger than the other as it leads to an unbalanced game and loss of interest in the game.
What does it mean to be town?
The town's power lies in numbers. The big problem with current games is that people are overhyping powers. Powers should not be the basis of the game. They are there to help the town, but overall the town needs to work together to bring down the mafia. The main powers a town should have are a doctor and a cop. Other than that, everything else is for show. Some games can also include masons(two players who know each other and can communicate outside of the thread) or neighbors(two people who know who each other are, but can not communicate outside of the thread). There are multitudes of other powers including reviver(bring back a dead player), watcher(watches a player to see if there were any actions performed on them), tracker(tracks what a player does, but not who they did it to), bulletproof(escapes a lynch or night kill), vigilante(gets a turn kill in the game), bomb(kills the last player to vote for them or the person who sends in the night kill), and the list goes on and on. However, these are the most common powers seen in a game. Powers can be great and it feels great to have a power, but making the town too overpowered makes the game unbalanced as the town has not only the numbers, but also mass power. The town's power should be concentrated on what it was meant for which is winning by lynching the correct players. This makes it almost impossible for mafia or any other faction to win and you see many players complain about this in after game.
What does it mean to be mafia?
Mafia usually consist of one third of the players. They are able to communicate outside of the thread with each other. The mafia sends in the night kill. Most mafia familes consist of a godfather, a stunner or role blocker, and a goon or some other powers. As previously stated, the mafia should not be overpowered as well. Mafia members should not have multiple powers as they already know who is who for the most part. They also have the power to speak to each other outside of the thread and coordinate tactics throughout the game in their posting. Do not get me wrong though, the best mafia families distance themselves from each other so that if one is caught, they do not all get tracked by a single person. It is not uncommon for a mafia family to throw one of their own under the bus to clear their names and get in good with the town members. Always be wary of a person leading a lynch on someone confirmed as mafia unless they claim that they are the cop. The mafia are the manipulators of the game. They have to be the kings of bs or they get caught. A mafia family should never entangle themselves together throughout the thread.
What is a neutral?
A neutral can have any kind of win condition. They are neither alligned with the town or the mafia. They have their own set of conditions and powers. Some neutrals can convert, some have to find a certain member of the town, and some have only survival conditions(make it to the end of the game to share a win with the winning side). There are many other roles and win conditions that can be assigned to a neutral, I just touched on the majority of what is seen. Some games end when the neutrals meet their condition and some do not. Never trust a neutral who comes out. More than likely they have their own win condition unless they have just been cornered and have no other choice.
What is a serial killer?
A serial killer is a lone wolf. They have a survival condition to last until the end of the game. They, however, also have the power to kill as well as the mafia. This is usually limited to every other night so that again, the game is not unbalanced by town losing too many members too quickly. Serial killers are not seen in many games, but there is always the chance of one being in a game. If multiple deaths occur during night phases regularly, then you probably have a serial killer on your hands.
How do I use my powers?
This all depends on your side and your power. When you are the cop, then day 1 you are usually taking a shot in the dark. Sometimes cops get lucky, but most of the time they do not. When you are the cop it is best to keep hidden as this is the town's most powerful role other than the doc. Too many games end quickly because the cop comes out day 1. Cops should keep information stored unless they start to come under pressure. They need to stay under the mafia's radar unless they have busted at least 2 mafia members. If the game is drawing close to an end then it is ok to come out when you have found at least one mafia member. The other advantage the cop has is that they can also bust some mafia families who will use the tactic of claiming cop. This is a ballsy move by the mafia, but usually ends in the mafia being able to win the game if they get the cop to claim early. With no one to verify the validity of a person's alliance the mafia can lead the town in circles. Scan regularly and stay in the shadows is the best way to play cop. When you are the doctor, you have the power to protect. For the most part you look for who is helping the town the most as far as busting scum. Most docs have their power limited to not being able to protect a player two nights in a roll. If a person does not seem to be in danger then do not protect them. Watch for people trying to lead mislynches when deciding who to protect. The two no-brainers are if 1, the cop comes out and you protect them the following night or 2 the doc is caught and thus must protect themselves. However, sometimes you can abuse this knowledge by experienced mafia members who know that more than likely these key roles will be protected the night they are out and will go for someone else. So, sometimes it is ok to be sporadic. It is all in your gut on who to protect. For most other powers, just as I said before, follow your gut. Do not, however, paint a target on your back if you have a power role. You are the biggest line of defense for the town.
What are the day/night phases?
These are the phases when things occur. During the day phase the town has the power for the most part. This is where people should be probing for information. This is where the person is voted for for the daily lynch. The lynch target being the person who is killed during the day phase by votes. Town should remember that their power lies in numbers and should not follow a blind bandwagon. Watch for a good reason to vote and do not blindly follow someone because you think they are good or whatever other reasons. As I alluded to before, mafia will try to run the town around in circles. The more that they can get people to mislynch, the less work they have to do through the night. Cops usually get their scans during the day phase and some other powers can go off during the day phase such as the bomb. The night phase is where the mafia take action. This is where they send in their night kill. The person who they choose to die for the night. Mafia also have other powers during the night phases in some instances because as I said before, the mafia's power lies in it's powers and ability to communicate with each other. Docs usually also use their powers during the night to try to block the mafia night kill. Do not be discouraged if you can not save every player. The mafia have things planned so in most cases it is a best guess at who to protect.