Thirteen rules that save games | Mafia Game Academy

Experienced players have a set of actions that they perform almost without thinking. These are not laws of the game but habits that grew out of what happens at the table again and again. A beginner who knows these habits avoids the most painful defeats: the ones where the loss comes not from a strong opponent but from your own slip. Below are thirteen rules. Each comes with a reason, because a rule without a reason is forgotten by the second round, while a rule with a reason can be applied even in a situation that is not on the list.

Before reading, recall how victory is built. To win, the black team needs to remove two red players (while the blacks must remain no fewer than the reds). The reds need to remove all three blacks. This asymmetry explains most of the rules: the reds pay more for a mistake, and that is why their rules are stricter.

For reds (civilians)

Rule 1. Always nominate a suspect

In the first seconds of your speech name the player you are putting up for the vote. Not "we will see", not "nobody yet", but a specific number. The reason is simple: a nomination is the only action from which the table gets your position. If you nominated nobody, then by your own words there are no suspicious players, and your speech can be used neither for counting nor for comparison with others. Besides, the absence of a nomination looks no different from the speech of a black who is afraid to be wrong and so hides. You may nominate weakly and with reservations, but you must nominate.

Rule 2. Do not call yourself sheriff without a reason, and do not vote for those who said "I will sit"

A red almost never needs to call himself sheriff without being one. Such a move breaks the table's count, exposes the real sheriff and gives the mafia material. There are exceptions (they are covered at higher levels of the Academy), but a beginner is better off treating them as non-existent.

The second half of the rule concerns the words "player so-and-so will sit" or "I am not for voting". This is said by a person who may be voted out and must not be: he is the sheriff or the sheriff's red check. If you are red and hear this phrase, do not raise your hand against that player. You may be wrong about his colour, but the price of your mistake is far higher than the price of missing a possible black: a checked red will later become the pillar of the whole town.

Rule 3. In a critical round vote together with your own

A critical round is one in which a mistake can decide the game. If the reds scatter their hands across three different candidates, the option that wins is the one nobody chose, and most often that is the option that suits the mafia. This phenomenon is called vote splitting. Before a critical vote agree who raises whom, and put your hand in the same place. Even if you do not fully agree, the town's single line is stronger than your personal opinion: after a defeat there will be nothing left to argue about, and after a victory there will be no need to check who was right.

Rule 4. Do not declare a counterweight when you are civilian

A counterweight is a situation in which two players at the table call each other mafia. It is assumed that one of them must be black, but in practice this is far from always so: two reds can also end up in a conflict. Insecure players sometimes say: "Remove the one I named, and right after him I will leave." The calculation is that one mafia member will certainly go, so the round will be non-critical.

This must not be done, for two reasons. First, you may be wrong about the colour of the chosen player, and then the team will lose. Second, a one-for-one trade is bad for the reds, because the mafia needs to remove two to win, and the reds need three. Any even trade brings the mafia closer to victory faster. The paradox is that a counterweight benefits the blacks and is carried out by civilians, and the cause is misunderstanding. Usually it is an attempt to compensate for weak influence on the table: the player cannot persuade, so he offers himself as a pledge.

Rule 5. Do not cover a sheriff in a critical round if he is not the only one in town

When two people at the table call themselves sheriffs, one of them is real and the other is black. If you shield one of them with your own hand and declare him "the real one", you break the count and the logic of the game. It may well be that the one you defend is the black: it was exactly he who was revealed to you. So if you took on the role of defender and the town has a second claimant, you must give up that role before it is too late. Vote by moves, speeches and positions, not by the promise "I know who the sheriff is".

For blacks (mafia)

Rule 6. If you do not know whom to kill tonight, do not sit in silence

It happens that a player forgot or did not catch the agreement about whom the mafia kills tonight. Sitting quietly and doing nothing is not allowed, because a miss by mistake is a gift to the town. Draw the don's attention and ask him with your eyes whom he considers civilian or mafia. The first number he shows to the reds (or simply shows) is your target. If you saw a dynamic agreement, calm the team leader with a slight nod so that he understands there will indeed be shots tonight.

If you are the don and are not sure you were understood correctly, check with your eyes whether your partners know the candidate for the night. It is enough not to see incomprehension in their eyes: that is enough not to miss the shot.

Rule 7. If the vote is between a black and a civilian, vote against the red

Suppose players No. 5 and No. 6 are on the vote. No. 6 is your false sheriff, and No. 5 is the real one. Your black bought the vote of a civilian and "drew" a mafia team that includes you. You want to object: he is playing against me, so I should vote against my own. No. You deliver the fourth vote against No. 5 and win "three against three" with victory. Removing your own black instead of an instant win is considered one of the grossest mistakes in the game.

The rule works not only with seven at the table but in any critical vote where your choice closes the game with a win. When victory is on the table, personal grievances, the beauty of play and the wish to "play cleaner" do not count.

For the sheriff

Rule 8. Do not call an unchecked player mafia in a hard way when he is leaving at nine

The round at nine players is called non-critical: a mistake in it does not lose the game at once. If you are the sheriff and hard-called mafia an unchecked player who was voted out at nine, you took a risk you do not need. Your opponent (the second claimant to the sheriff role) will count on the game ending for you at a "non-critical round", and will also point to the unjustified knowledge of colours that is typical of the mafia: how do you know what is unknown to you? If you were wrong about a player voted out earlier, you can lose the whole game. Speak more carefully: "by my information so-and-so was not checked, in my view he looks like this."

Rule 9. If they want to vote you out, say loudly that hands must not be raised against you

Any reasonable black will not miss the chance to vote against the real sheriff so that he leaves in the daytime without further checks. So before the vote you must call out the standard phrase: "Player so-and-so is not for voting" or "will sit". Thanks to this you will not leave the game in a non-critical round and will make one more check. It is a one-second pause, but it saves a whole line of play.

Rule 10. Protect your red check if he is silent

If your red check turned out to be under threat of removal and is silent, give the town a signal with a gesture or a call: this player must not be voted for. You are the leader of the civilian town, and your duty is to preserve the lives of your team, especially your own checks. There will be few known reds during a game, and after your death they will become the pillar of the team: the key link that unites the town.

Rule 11. In a critical round tell the town about your role and checks in three cases

The first case: the town contains your opponent from the opposite team. The second: a known black player was not removed in the previous vote. The third: you already announced your role earlier (then explain the logic of the checks: why and for what purpose you "went" to those particular players).

In a non-critical round revealing yourself is not recommended. In case of danger it is better to declare that you are "not for voting" or "will sit". One more detail: checking the one who named your role is forbidden, because this is definitely a known mafia player. You will get no new information and will lose a check at night.

For everyone

Rule 12. Do not give up while there is even a 0.01 percent chance

The mafia tests you for endurance. You must fight to the end, and it does not matter whether you are red or black. Resentment, weakness and anger are no reason to spoil the game for everyone. A tantrum is not a sign of uniqueness or exceptional gifts; it only betrays an immature player who cannot lose. While the game is not finished, the opponent still has a chance to err and you have a chance to use it; by giving up, you lose that chance.

Rule 13. Do not play dirty

Dirty play is play in which you learn players' colours in an unsporting way or convey your own colour in a shameful way. The lesson "Game culture and dirty play: where the line is" covers this in more detail. But the main list of forbidden actions you need to know already now:

Using and giving "night" information: talking, dancing, whispering, eavesdropping, peeking. Building arguments on non-game moments.
Insulting others for having voted for you. This includes the "finger at the temple" gesture and any negative message (in words or without words) about the mental abilities of players. In tournament play a player is removed from the game for this, and in fairness the win is awarded to the opposite team.
Not shooting at friends, women and children in the first rounds at night and not building arguments on it. Inside the game there are no personalities, only roles.
Getting information from spectators or showing emotions as an observer: this can influence the outcome of the game.
Appealing to responsibility, guilt and social image.

How to work with the rules

Rules exist to take part of the decisions out of your head: your attention is freed for the content of speeches. But a rule does not replace thinking. If the table plays under another regulation, some points need adjusting. For example, where raising two for four is allowed, the rule about a black win in a critical round looks different.

There are also two tips on application:

When you play black, punish civilians for the gross mistakes listed in the rules. But do it through play, not through mockery.
If you find yourself on a team with a beginner, do not be upset: everybody started once. Explain the mistakes after the game if the player is ready to talk.

Examples

Example 1. Beginner No. 4 says in round zero: "I like everyone, I nominate nobody." This breaks rule 1. The table loses information, and the player himself looks like a black who is afraid to decide.

Example 2. Red No. 7 hears: "Player No. 3 will sit." Despite disliking No. 3's speech, he does not raise his hand against him. A round later No. 3 reveals a red check: rule 2 worked.

Example 3. With six players No. 2 and No. 5 are on the vote. Black No. 8 has already been removed. Black No. 1 hesitates: No. 2 is his partner, but voting for No. 5 gives victory. He votes for No. 5. This is rule 7.

Questions for self-check

When can a red call himself sheriff without being one? (Think before reading the advanced lessons and write down your own answer.)
Why is a one-for-one trade beneficial to the mafia and not to the town?
How does vote splitting differ from ordinary disagreement with the team?
What must a sheriff do if he is voted out in a non-critical round?
Why is insult considered dirty colouring?
Which gesture shows the don that you understood his agreement?

Practice

Take a recording of any game, your own or a training one, and mark every case of a broken rule. Write down what it led to. Usually three or four breaches are found per game. After that play a game in which you consciously apply only rules 1, 3 and 12, and compare the feeling.

Typical mistakes

Applying the rules mechanically without checking the table's regulation.
Using the sheriff's rules while being a red civilian.
Thinking that "I will sit" is proof of a role. It is a reason not to vote, not a conclusion about colour.
Confusing a "critical round" with any vote in which you are nervous.
Breaking the team's single line for the sake of your own version.

Source of the idea. Thirteen basic points from the chapter "Simple advice for an inexperienced player" of Dmitry Novik's book "Mafia in the Style of Zen" (2020). The wording, examples and questions were written for the Academy.