Five scenarios for a black team victory

Inside a game there arise many logical links, arguments, relations and conflicts, so there are no two identical games. But most black team victories fit a few schemes: one was checked, another removed, and so on. The author of "Mafia in the Style of Zen" estimates that the main scenarios cover about 80 percent of games (this is his estimate). The lesson goes through them in order.

The scenarios are divided into three groups: games without a sheriff, team play and play on mixed colours.

Group 1. Games without a sheriff

Scenario 1. Three on three: the sheriff is killed on the night after round zero

What happens. One of the blacks seizes leadership and becomes the "attacker". He advises checking a red player who has not understood the game well. The sheriff is killed, and our mafioso consistently gathers hands against those he himself "considers" black. Or the blacks sit quietly, letting conflicts among the civilians destroy the town's unity.

The main rule. It is important for the mafia not to give away leadership and the "reins" of the game to the civilians. It is always better to take the choosing position yourself than to adapt to the agreements of those around. It is hard to play against the leader of the game table, and with each round his advantage grows.

If someone suddenly "wakes up" by the critical round and starts speaking about counterweights or about our attacking player being black, we remove him with the support of the whole team. A decent argument for this case: the player is mafia because he understood he had nobody to play on, and began gathering hands against the one who threatens his team.

Especially bold blacks can raise three civilians at nine.

Scenario 2. Two on two: the sheriff is killed in round zero

All the same, only the leader of the reds finds a black, or a counterweight is created between a mafia player and a civilian. In the critical round a hand is bought.

Group 2. Team play

Scenario 3. Three on three with guardianship of your own blacks

The one whom the sheriff finds as mafia reveals himself as the false sheriff and is not voted at nine. If the black sheriff designated in advance is not the one who was given as a check, then the next morning our hero shows that he is not the leader of the reds but simply did not want to become a victim of the mafia's balance.

What to do if the town does not forgive such behaviour. Stay the sheriff to the end, possibly shooting the real one through mixed colours. If the town almost always plays the balance, the civilians' line of play becomes very exploitable: voice that there is a black check, remove him and shoot the sheriff.

With any check of the real leader of the civilians you can give your weak black as red. Then two mafiosi out of three "sit out" at nine, and the removal of a civilian is almost guaranteed. It is not necessary to give precisely your own as a red check. The main thing is to understand from the dynamics of the game whether your blacks will be under threat in the round at nine. If yes, you give your own as a red check. If not, you give one of three options:

1. a black check of the sheriff;
2. a red who was killed that night;
3. a red who will die the next night.

These three options reduce the civilians' count of the game, so they are the best. In fact you can give any red check of a non-role card or not voice a black one; the main thing is not to start a balance. In the critical round it is enough to buy a single vote and you win three on three.

Scenario 4. Two on two: team play

The sheriff does not die at night. After a balance at five, a civilian's hand is bought. It is not the most profitable variant: the probability of winning is 50 percent. The chances can be increased by raising the real sheriff into a balance on his black check in the round at seven. For this the false sheriff must give the real one as black (that is, red for the town but black on the false sheriff's version) or consecutively give two players as red checks.

After the leader of the reds is removed in a balance we win, staying at five with a team not found on his version and using a sweet player who was not found earlier (the real sheriff has not found the whole team). It is an easy game with a win in late rounds.

Group 3. Play on mixed colours

Scenario 5. Two on two: the false sheriff is the weak link, the sheriff dies on the second night

The algorithm is simple to the point of indecency: the blacks play against their own leader, he sits at nine, and then the remaining mafia wins in a late round. Playing against your own false sheriff is profitable when there is no way to drive over the real one: your black sheriff will not be voted, and the rest is a small matter.

Two nights and two checks. Even if the real sheriff finds a mafia pair, the remaining strongest black wins in the guessing round.

In this case the false sheriffdom can be passed to a beginner or a weak player. It makes sense not only to assign the role but to indicate a series of checks: black, red, a particular player or a choice. A weak player will have more chances of sitting it out: in the town's eyes he is bad but the real leader of the reds. Then as the situation goes.

What unites the scenarios

1. Protect the blacks with checks.
2. Have a sweet player in the team who will add the deciding vote.
3. Attack wisely.
4. Try not to fly out for the sheriff into a balance.
5. Seize leadership.
6. When playing mixed colours, play against your own don more relaxed.

For the red

The scenarios show what the mafia expects from the reds. If you see that the leader of the reds is killed and no black is found, do not allow a three on three victory: say at once that the blacks may not belong to the lines, hold the candidates and count. Against mixed colours there is a defence: do not accept unconditionally the red check of a departed sheriff and compare it with the behaviour of the second line.

Questions for self-check

1. A scenario: the sheriff was killed on the night after round zero. A win came in the guessing round. How did the game develop and why was it impossible to win even two on two? Describe the reasons.
2. Recall a technique of the civilian town that protects against a three on three victory when the leader of the reds dies without a black player found.
3. How do you stop the mafia from profitably playing mixed colours with the removal of a red player? What does the town have to defend against this technique?
4. Which schemes are not described here? Give five scenarios. A game with a break at ten and misses is not counted.
5. Why must the sheriff not be killed when a black pair is already found? And in which case can he be?

Practice

Take five games you have analysed and determine which scenario each fits. If a game does not fit, record it as a new, sixth scenario.

Typical mistakes

• Going into a balance with a weak false sheriff line.
• Giving a red check when it is enough not to voice a black one.
• Giving the false sheriff's role without explaining which checks to make.
• Giving leadership to the civilians.

Source of the idea. The chapter "Five classic scenarios of a black team victory" from Dmitry Novik's book "Mafia in the Style of Zen" (2020). The 80 percent estimate belongs to the author.