The passenger and star fever

In most groups you meet two types of players who are hard to play with. The first are not involved in the game and drift with the current. The second are involved too much and think that everything is permitted to them at the table. Knowing these types is useful for three reasons: so as not to become one of them, to determine their colour in time and to build an approach that turns a weak link into a strong one.

The passenger

A passenger is usually the name for a civilian who does not understand the situation at the table well. And in most games. All would be well, but the level of such players either does not grow or grows at a tortoise's pace.

The word "passenger" is often thrown left and right as an outburst of emotion after a lost game. If in a moment of disappointment you were called that, do not take offence. Some people can free themselves of stress only by discharging accumulated negativity, and that is normal: understand and forgive. But a real passenger in real games has quite definite signs.

The one with his head in the clouds

Decisions are based on an invented world or insignificant details. Such a player may think all round that No. 1 is a civilian not because of his speeches, position, votes and moves but because he had sleepy eyes or a smile "like a red, carefree player". Another variant: emphasis on the fact that the player "did not sink" him when he could have voted him out.

Many passengers cannot view a situation through the prism of three blacks. At any moment they have one or two mafia members in their heads, and they do not see the picture comprehensively. So they cannot insure themselves against a chance mistake. Roughly speaking, the hero draws conclusions from one minor criterion, ignoring the important ones.

The one who came to sit for company

An unwillingness to figure things out and give adequate feedback on the game. Because of this it is hard to tell from such players whether they drew a black or a red card: too little information comes from them on the basis of which a role could be determined.

The apathetic one

Sluggishness and unwillingness to make the game. Making the game means filling it with content. Every more or less strong player changes the course of the game and the atmosphere by his presence. Passengers, however, are almost always alike: here they laughed during someone else's minute, there they got bored and lost concentration. Somewhere else they trusted a player without grounds, in a third place they did not work it out. And hello, another mafia victory.

Black players are almost never called passengers. The mafia can spit at the ceiling for all anyone cares, as long as the team wins. Besides, there are fewer blacks, and there is nobody to reproach each other for bad play.

What to do with a passenger

If you have a black card

Either you play against such a player, removing him from the table, or, on the contrary, you buy his deciding vote with all your strength. There is no third way. Sometimes in early rounds buying a passenger's hand is equal to another civilian leaving, and for the mafia this is a "won in any case" position.

After the game, softly and kindly tell him how he could have played better. Under no circumstances spoil relations with such a player: he may close up and stop taking in arguments and position in later games.

If you have a red card

The main task: to understand this player's colour and lead him along with you. In a defeat try to keep good relations; they will help greatly in the long run. A player who is well disposed to you will become your reliable hand on the vote.

The fewer weak players at your table, the more drive in the games. So sow the seed of knowledge and understanding of the game in empty passenger heads.

Star fever

The antipode of the passenger is the star. Usually a fairly skilful player (by his own assessment) who has already achieved something and become an authority for the local tables. Few play against him, and out of boredom or the wish to show off and complicate the game he starts to create inconveniences for those around him.

How? Usually he balances the red line with inadequate speeches and black actions, probing the limits of what is allowed. The author quotes a conversation with an acquaintance, a player: "Everything I tell them, they swallow. They do not play against me. Will a break from me go through in round zero? And if I assign a shot at the real sheriff? Will I be able to survive? That will be interesting!" (Here "balancing the lines" means actions whose aim is not to let those around you determine your black colour with high probability.)

If the table continues to treat the moves of such a "supernova" with reverence, the mafia's win percentage grows. The player wants to grow, but the table simply does not allow it, because it indulges his inadequate actions.

What to do

You need to play against the star: where possible, collect votes before the critical round, especially at nine players. Always think with your own head, without relying on authority. Most likely, the first few times you will not manage to raise such a player, but through the attempts your level will grow. Remember: if stars have no competition, they will not play at full strength. It is precisely your indulgence that creates crowned heads.

If you are the Don, and the star with a couple of civilian hands plays against you, victory is decided by whether you manage to remove them one by one in different rounds, not letting them unite. Detailed schemes are covered in the lessons of the second and third levels.

Four working rules

1. Simply take and stop being a passenger yourself. Then neutralise this ailment in those around you.
2. In ordinary, non-tournament games punish weak players for their mistakes, but without mockery.
3. Play against passengers and stars. Always think with your own head and make decisions with it.
4. Look for the black trios, perceiving the situation at the table comprehensively.

Example

Player No. 4 repeats all round: "No. 9 seems red to me, he has kind eyes." Asked "what did he do" he answers: "I do not know, just so." This is a passenger with his head in the clouds. Red No. 2, instead of "you are a passenger", asks: "How did he vote in round zero? And how many blacks are in his possible trio?" The questions return the player to facts. After the game No. 2 briefly goes over the mistake, and the next time No. 4 already brings one argument from a vote.

Questions for self-check

1. Name weighty factors for making a decision besides speech, position, votes and moves.
2. You are the Don, and a star with a couple of civilian hands plays against you. What do we do to win?
3. Which ways of buying a passenger do you know, other than a kind attitude and saving him from removal on a vote?
4. How will you understand that the player himself is being a passenger and not that his colour is such?

Practice

In the next three games pick for yourself one player whom you would call a passenger, and once per game try to involve him with a question about facts. Write down the result: did he begin to answer to the point?

Typical mistakes

• Calling someone a passenger right after a defeat.
• Thinking that "passenger" means "red". He may be anyone, and colour cannot be determined by this word.
• Stopping playing against a star out of respect for his past victories.
• Forgetting that you yourself were a passenger in some game.

Source of the idea. The chapter "Passengerhood and star fever" of Dmitry Novik's book "Mafia in the Style of Zen" (2020). The example, questions and practice were written for the Academy; the description of the player types belongs to the author and reflects his observations.