Thread: Mafia Philosophy

Here you may state your mafia philosophy and debate with others to what the best philosophy is.

This thread is also for discussing strategies and methods, whether as a player or a host.

Do not discuss current games in this thread - meaning that you cannot comment on a player's actions/posts of a currently running game.

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For example, I think that lynching on day 1 is crucial to get the town information because otherwise the town usually ends up being lost and not lynching on the next few days, giving the mafia a huge advantage.

I'm the exact opposite. I'm completely against d1 lynching no matter what my alignment, as there's usually no one suspicious day one and usually we end up lynching a townie, giving the mafia two kills. There are, in my opinion, much better ways to find suspicious people than throwing out random votes for absolutely no reason.

I'd also like to bring up nameclaiming: When you host a game, do you allow nameclaiming?

I've seen many people allow it and many people forbid it. In games I host, I always forbid nameclaiming. It gives a GIANT advantage to people who know the franchise while the mafia members who don't are struggling around for a believable nameclaim.

I don't like the idea of nameclaiming one bit. In most themes/games, that would make it far too easy for somebody with knowledge of the game/patience with a wiki to weed out false claims. Also, I think it is more fun to learn each players role/name after they die or at the end of the game, to keep a level of surprise.

I also dislike mass claims. Just thought I'd mention that on a related note. Mass claims don't make things fun, because it gives one person a lot of power and it just becomes a matter of picking off those who have suspicious claims.

Nameclaiming can make it very easy for those who know the franchise. I also dislike mass claiming, and I support day 1 lynches just because it helps gets the game moving and helps you get somewhere to find suspicion.

Originally Posted by FinalArcadia

I don't like the idea of nameclaiming one bit. In most themes/games, that would make it far too easy for somebody with knowledge of the game/patience with a wiki to weed out false claims. Also, I think it is more fun to learn each players role/name after they die or at the end of the game, to keep a level of surprise.

I also dislike mass claims. Just thought I'd mention that on a related note. Mass claims don't make things fun, because it gives one person a lot of power and it just becomes a matter of picking off those who have suspicious claims.

You can easily prevent massclaims by forbidding outside communication. I'm not against it, I actually quite enjoy massclaims as they give the town an easier time, yes; you're fucked up if you're mafia but isn't that the spirit of the game?

On day 1 lynches, I tent to favor then because I think is kind of unfair to eliminate a player so early in the game; if the evidence is string enough though I'll probably go with it.

Originally Posted by Fresa

You can easily prevent massclaims by forbidding outside communication.

Right, good point. I'll have to keep that in mind for future games I host.

My main philosohpy always used to be "votes are everything", believing that using just votes you could find mafia. Probably because in the first couple of mafias I was town in I actually made myself a quick threat to the mafia with this philosophy. I actually don't know why I dropped that philosophy. Was it that it didn't work or something? I forgot. Maybe I should try it out again and see how it works out. It's why I'm generally in favour of day one lynches. Plus I like the gamble of potentially hitting a mafia at random. It's the same reason I generally just vigkill somebody at pseudo-random.

Originally Posted by America*

I'd also like to bring up nameclaiming: When you host a game, do you allow nameclaiming?

I've seen many people allow it and many people forbid it. In games I host, I always forbid nameclaiming. It gives a GIANT advantage to people who know the franchise while the mafia members who don't are struggling around for a believable nameclaim.

It depends on the theme. If the theme is "Mijzelffan's favourite characters mafia", then sure, nameclaim ahead. The possibilities for roles are endless anyway, so the mafia won't have any problems with requests for nameclaims. If my theme is Pokémon Sapphire mafia then there is almost zero room for good fakeclaims due to limited amount of characters, and nameclaiming could wipe out the mafia in one blow, so I'll forbid it.

I'm usually for Day 1 lynches. This is because of the games of old times I played before Bulba, where the whole day 1 lynch was made into a ridiculous show of randomness and hilariousity. Since I play for FUN (Though, part of the fun is definitely playing seriously and aiming to win), doing this early on makes up for the usual slence in the start of the game, as well as the possibility of digging up things.

I avoid random Day 1 bandwagons a lot of the time. It usually ends up giving the Mafia a headstart and allows them to kill another townie at night therefore having 2 townies down by Day 2. While I agree votes are a way of getting info, On Day 1 it's really just a random lynch most of the time.

I usually hate mass claims a lot too. I usually host games with themes that are well known ( ex Hunger Games) where it's way too easy. It usually makes it too easy for mafia to win and I like both sides to have an equal chance at winning.

I think Day 1 lynches are good for info, but I generally don't like to participate in them. I don't wanna risk getting lynched/be responsible for a town getting lynched.

Mass claims are always annoying when I'm mafia. When I host, I generally don't like to allow nameclaiming, as it makes it harder for the mafia.

I think there's a misconception on the subject of day 1 lynches, in that people usually refer to them as random lynches. Most of the time on day 1 I'll wait a few hours for people to post and after that I'll get back to the thread, quote the posts that spark my interest and start getting reads on people that way. Sometimes just because of strange wording coupled with an odd vote I'll have enough basis to place my own vote. If people decide to follow on it, then the bandwagon won't really be random.

Either way, I think it's always better to debate stuff and vote on day 1, even if a townie gets lynched as a result, because there's always something more you can analyse afterward than when you decide to leave it at no lynch and wait for the mafia to kill someone. Two dead townies instead of one on day 2 isn't really giving the mafia a head start; the town is more numerous than the mafia for a reason.

Originally Posted by Exor

I think Day 1 lynches are good for info, but I generally don't like to participate in them. I don't wanna risk getting lynched/be responsible for a town getting lynched.

That's really against the spirit of a day 1 lynch though xD

For example I've seen people in support of day 1 lynches and then when they get votes, say "But not me". A townie wanting info from a day 1 lynch has to be prepared to be the one and if they insist on it not being them without any good evidence then they've screwed themselves over and in theory don't want to help the town.

Personally, I prefer having a day one lynch, but having no lynch is okay, as it saves a potential townie death. However, if you go without a lynch, it doesn't give the game a very exciting start, and basically lets the mafia make the first move. Which, depending on what alignment you are on, can be help or hinder. Day one lynches on the other hand, help with finding information and can possibly get a mafioso out of the way, which is always awesome.

Originally Posted by Iteru

Originally Posted by Exor

I think Day 1 lynches are good for info, but I generally don't like to participate in them. I don't wanna risk getting lynched/be responsible for a town getting lynched.

That's really against the spirit of a day 1 lynch though xD

For example I've seen people in support of day 1 lynches and then when they get votes, say "But not me". A townie wanting info from a day 1 lynch has to be prepared to be the one and if they insist on it not being them without any good evidence then they've screwed themselves over and in theory don't want to help the town.

:I

I just don't wanna be killed. I prefer just sitting back and watching rather then getting involved myself.

Originally Posted by Exor

Originally Posted by Iteru

Originally Posted by Exor

I think Day 1 lynches are good for info, but I generally don't like to participate in them. I don't wanna risk getting lynched/be responsible for a town getting lynched.

That's really against the spirit of a day 1 lynch though xD

For example I've seen people in support of day 1 lynches and then when they get votes, say "But not me". A townie wanting info from a day 1 lynch has to be prepared to be the one and if they insist on it not being them without any good evidence then they've screwed themselves over and in theory don't want to help the town.

:I

I just don't wanna be killed. I prefer just sitting back and watching rather then getting involved myself.

I'm assuming you don't want to be killed because you want to win -- a 'personal' win, rather than a 'faction' win.

The thing is with mafia games, people are very focused on personal wins rather than faction wins, when it should really be the other way round. I know I'd like to have a personal win more often than I actually do, but it's not really that practical. The main point of the game, however, is to get your side to win the game, rather than just you -- you have to think of the team, so to speak, rather than yourself. If you really want your team to win, you're in the game spirit, and, if you want your team to win, sacrifices do need to be made sometimes. If you're the one on the chopping block for a D1 lynch and you don't have an extremely useful ability or you know/feel you won't contribute much to the game, let yourself be lynched. Afterwards, people can analyse the voting patterns and posts that were made in D1 and thus pick out who's more likely to be mafia. No lynches to start off a game are nearly always followed by more no lynches. Of course, if you have an important ability like cop or doctor, try to get out of being lynched, by all means, but not if you're, say, a vanilla townie or a doublevoter.

My mafia philosophy is to try and keep the faction in mind -- a lot of the time, people are focused on trying to keep themselves alive, and that can force their hand into making rash decisions that can be detrimental to their side.

jk, I don't have a mafia philosophy. I mostly just spout a lot of random nonsense in mafia games and hope it sounds sort of logical.