Tips for playing Mafia from your lovely GM

[Wassamattawityucca]

Hello all,

For those for whom this your first time playing a Mafia game with me, it’s great to have you here! I’ve written this guide with the intent and purpose of helping new Mafia players feel comfortable enough to enjoy their first game. Here are a few things you should keep in mind:

- Be sure you have time for the game. Before you sign up for a game, make sure you can meet the time requirement. The mafia games tend to be very involved. I'm not saying you will have to slave away at your computer 24 hours a day playing the game until the game is over, but a good rule of thumb is that you are able to check the group thread and PMs at least twice a day, sometimes more. Games tend to last 2 weeks to a month, so take note if you have any planed vacations, etc.

- Communicate with the GM about absences. If you find that you are in over your head, and you simply don't have the time for the game you are in, or you discover that you will find yourself in an extended period (two days or more) with no internet, please do not just disappear. Send me a PM saying what's going on, hopefully as soon as you know. I will not be "mad" at you, and will likely just be glad that you had the courtesy to contact me. If you find that you have planned vacation during the time the game will likely run, don't let that discourage you for signing up. Talk to me and see if I can get you a sub, or find some other work around.

- Your commitment does not begin until the game begins. Before the game starts, something might come up, and you might realize that you can no longer play the game. GMs will not bear you any bad will for stepping out of a game before the game starts. If you step out before the game starts, the GM has at least twice as many options as he does if you need to drop out after the game starts.

- Some people type a lot. This is not a bad thing. If you play, you will notice that while some players type a few sentences in every post, while other seem to type dissertations for each and every post. As long as both players are posting regularly, there is nothing wrong with either. Especially when you are trying to catch up with several pages of posts, these really long posts can seem frustrating, and there is a lot of temptation just to skip the posts and move on to the next one. This is a bad idea to start with, as you may miss some important information that can turn the tides of a game. However, what is definitely not acceptable is to insult or dismiss other players based on their long posts. If player has the time and talent to make long and through posts, then he is doing his best in the game. Publicly berating players for their long posts, or to rudely post "tl;dr" is not acceptable. If you feel really frustrated by long posts, it is probably better to redirect your frustration towards those that aren't posting, and are not helping the game at all.

- Read the rules. This is something that may seem obvious, but isn't. The rules are posted in their own separate document for the club. However, especially if the rules are very thorough (and they often need to be for reasons that aren't always obvious), the rules can be very long. READ THEM!! You may find yourself kicked out of a game because you did something that you thought was legal, but if you had read the rules, you would have known that it wasn't. Other players and GMs will have no sympathy for you if you get kicked out of a game for something explicitly stated in the game rules. Even if you have played mafia before, the rules will also explain twists exclusive to that game, and are still important. Multiple readings are often a good idea, particularly right before the game begins, and while the game is going on. The rules often make a lot more sense once things begin happening. If you have questions or think something is unclear (it often is!), please private message the GM right away.

- Don't share your Role PM. In no game you will ever play will it be legal for you to share the PM containing your role with any player for any reason, including attempting to prove your role to others. This rule has a zero tolerance policy, if you break it, you will find yourself instantly removed from a game, and you may find yourself dealing with other consequences with other games.

- If there is any question as to whether or not an action might be questionable to the GM running the game, ask first. As comprehensive as GM's are with their rules, that cannot say "Don't do..." everything. For instance, you might be tempted to look at when a person most often gets on, with the aim of inferring from when specifically they check their private messages whether they are mafia or not...this is the type of thing that it is the player's responsibility to realize they need to discuss with the GM before doing whether or not the rules specifically forbid that action. Common sense and courtesy to the players in the game and the GM is important. If there's nothing wrong with it, the GM's will probably give you a quick thumbs up and say neat idea. If there is....it can potentially ruin a game...even if it isn't immediately clear to you as a player why.

- Honestly play to your GM stated win condition. Win conditions vary. Read the rules and your role description carefully. Sometimes survival is necessary, sometimes it is not. Win conditions are often part of how a GM balances a game. Ignoring your win condition to help another type of win condition out unbalances the game. Most games have fairly straight forward win conditions, if you are not sure about your condition or whether a certain play is permissible, ask your GM and include why you want to make the play for context.

- Alas, at death, you are done. When you "die" in a game, you are done. You can no longer post in the game thread and can no longer discuss the game with any player who is still alive. Although it may be tempting, do not post in the game thread. Even if you think what you are posting has no relevance to the game, like a sarcastic comment on the state of the game, etc. If you break this rule (or if the GM finds out you have PMed any living players), you will be banned from playing future games. NO IF, ANDS, OR BUTS ABOUT IT. Don't post it. You can, however, discuss the game with the GM, people not playing the game, and other dead players ONLY and this is limited to the Talk to the DEAD THREAD ONLY. Breaking this rule will also get you insta-banned. NO IF, ANDS, OR BUTS ABOUT IT

- Check out the glossary. A glossary has been provided in a separate sticky to assist new players with some of the jargon that occasionally gets thrown around in the games and sometimes the rules.