The mafia: advantages, roles and the plan for victory

The author admits he adores the black card: playing mafia is a test of yourself and of those around you, a chance to fight objective reality by changing it, declaring what is not there. You are a civilian, and the one you point to is black, although in fact it is the other way round. Remember the feeling when seven pairs of sharp eyes scan you and your words? What does a mafia victory against a strong red team taste like?

The advantages of the blacks

It is pleasant to play the black card because in almost any situation, even the most hopeless, there is a chance to snatch a win from a game that looks lost from outside. Playing mafia is more flexible, and a personal contribution to victory can save the game even after the mistakes of the other two blacks.

The viability of the team. Almost any mistake of the mafia can be turned into an advantage that is realised in a late round. Losing two people out of three is not critical for the team, and the chances of victory stay the same. (Strong play is team play, but it cannot always be realised: players are not chosen, and you may get a weak element whom it costs too much to save. There is nothing wrong with giving up one of your own. The main thing is to have a plan for victory and carry it out.)

Flexibility. Compare: the sheriff has two ways of giving a colour, the false sheriff has four. The civilians have to remove three particular players, the blacks can remove any two. The mafia can take its own player into the team, give him up, buy the vote of its own black, play against its own without pain, sell teammates, appoint anyone as the victim, move the sheriff, shoot him, shoot itself, make misses, create, develop and put out conflicts, and stay away from them. And that is not all. Flexibility allows you to improvise, break rules and create puzzles: you can do anything and any way you like as long as the table allows it.

The roles of the blacks

The don coordinates the team's actions, and it is his plan for the game that is put into effect (if there is one). Every chosen shot, check, agreed communication between the mafia or towards particular reds is decided by him at the agreement. There are two main goals (besides victory): removing the sheriff and ensuring a crossfire on the civilians.

The way the leader of the reds is removed determines the main strategy: a) removing the sheriff by vote (team against team); b) removing the sheriff at night (mixed colours).

The vote on civilians is formed by the whole mafia. But the main responsibility for removing the sheriff lies with the don. If the leader of the reds lives longer than two nights when playing mixed colours, or outplays the mafia in team play, it speaks of a low level of play by the leader of the blacks. The don is obliged to make sure the whole mafia understood not only the principle of the agreement but also the victim for the current day when online. A good black quietly signals that all is well. With a weak team they use simple agreements, up to offline ones, with a strong one, online.

The don's behaviour differs from the ordinary mafia's. The ordinary mafia strives to blend into the red team, while the don's focus of attention, especially with the function of false sheriff, is different: to take leadership of the town, not to quarrel with residents, to take a position outside conflicts, to give colours more softly (the typical line of the leader of the reds).

The ordinary mafia: not to be voted out, to understand the leader's plan and follow it carefully, to help the team with words (gathering hands) and deeds (voting). The task, depending on the game of your don/false sheriff, is to build your own strategy for victory and bring it to life.

Planning the game

The mafia's game consists of two items: drawing up a plan for victory and carrying it out. The plan and an understanding of strategies are needed for mutual understanding in the team: they allow you to understand each other's actions, act together, attack, kill and buy the players you need. Without a plan, victory simply happens, and only because the town is weak and disorganised. At a strong table any serious mistake can lead to the raising of key players and a loss for the blacks.

Eight typical mistakes of the mafia

A black called too many civilians red, and by the count he lacks mafia. He is forced to play against his own or leave, if he is caught without a trio of suspects.
The mafia killed a player who had to be removed by vote.
The mafia did not buy, or did not create the conditions to buy, a civilian's vote, that is, did not identify two candidates to remove.
The mafia began to play against each other without explanation or, on the contrary, drags out those who cannot be saved.
The false sheriff did not shoot his red check that is not playing with him.
The mafia gave as a black check someone who definitely will not be raised at the table.
The mafia does not play against those who attack it.
The mafia kills its bought vote at night.

The author suggests turning these mistakes into effective actions and then comparing with his list.

Eight effective actions

Call red no more than four civilians in round zero. It is desirable that the real sheriff is not among them. Leave the rest as potentially black and sort them out in the late rounds. When playing team against team, you can attack the reds at once, calling them mafia.
It is best to use dynamic agreements to remove problem players earlier. Those we can buy, we buy and leave alive.
Have red players who will put a vote against a civilian. In your head there must always be an understanding of who will leave with whose hands (two players) in the vote. In the absence of such players the team is doomed, so every effort must be made for such players to appear. You need to raise two players, buying at least one red vote.
If a mafia player gave a speech with "red notes", you must play with him, take him into the team with the aim of winning with the full line-up.
It is better to give those who disagree with your version as a black check, write them into a possible black team and shoot them. Red checks that disagree with the mafia's line must be killed.
Attack those civilians whom you can outplay.
Any attack on you must be answered. Ignoring is weakness. The intensity depends on the strength of your play.
Kill those who prevent you from winning: a) those you definitely will not remove by vote; b) red checks; c) those who definitely will not put a hand with your team (you either kill them for certain, or play against them if they are civilians for many).

The initial plan for victory is built and prepared by the don, the others adjust and implement. The key moment of planning is the end of the round at nine, that is, the time before the vote. At that moment all the blacks must understand: 1) in which round the mafia will win (three against three, two against two, in the guessing round); 2) with whose hands the civilian will leave in the critical round, and who that player is.

The plan is built depending on the situation. If the town is very weak and the blacks are not under threat, the plan for victory is to sit quietly and not interfere with the civilians playing against each other. More complicated games need more sophisticated strategies.

Practicum: turning a mistake into strength

Take the eight mistakes and make a winning strategy from each. Think through the plan for victory, the speech and the arguments.

Example for mistake 1. A black called too many civilians red, and by the count he lacks mafia. We raise this player at seven or nine and win two against two. Speech: "I think it is obvious to all that the one who left was mafia. He gathered hands against us, playing with his blacks. By the false sheriff's version we are all in one team. But that cannot be: he considered us mafia, and we raised him. There is no such team!"

Self-check questions

Why can no more than four civilians be called red? Explain with mathematics and logic. If you call five red, can you win? Which strategies to use?
All the items of effective planning except the third and sixth are incomplete. Complete them with your own thoughts.
The fourteen options for action in the description of flexibility: in which situations do they lead to victory, and in which to defeat?

Practice

Rewrite the plan for victory for three made-up situations: a weak town, a strong town, a town with two checks.

Typical mistakes

Having no plan.
Calling too many people red.
Not answering attacks.
Killing a bought vote.

Source of the idea. The chapters "The mafia team" and "Planning the game" from Dmitry Novik's book "Mafia in the Style of Zen" (2020).