The school of position: kinds and links

A position in the general sense is the dry residue of a speech, its essence. Having a position allows you to assemble the red team, make checks that give several colours at once, vote correctly and find the mafia by the count of the game. The initial chaos, thanks to giving a position, takes shape and turns into a convenient array of data, cutting off the unnecessary. The lesson covers terminology, kinds of position, the laws of the positional school, five reasons for being removed from the table and links in voting.

Why terminology is needed

The author of "Mafia in the Style of Zen" has repeatedly been angry that players distort positions, knowingly or not: one half of the table understands one thing, the other half another, everyone quarrels, the mafia wins. The reason is that many confuse (or do not know) the basic notions. Because the gradation of colours is not known, speech fills with parasites and meaningless qualifications. Examples:

"I will play with no. 1, no. 2, no. 3, although I allow that there is one black there."
A player says in his speech "no. 7 is red!", and after that slot is found by a black check, he excuses himself: "I played with no. 7, I found nothing black in his speech."
In round zero everyone played with no. 1, and then in the centre of the table attention went to slots from no. 3 to no. 7. At five no. 1 says: "I was called red in all the rounds, you have no right to consider the version that I am mafia."

Someone decided that positional play is the correct one, just as playing the balance is. This is very convenient for the comfort of the ego of those who take pride in superiority over those who play "incorrectly". But the very rules of positional play are known far from everyone who calls himself a player by logic.

Steps of colour

You cannot put an equals sign between "I will play" and "red", nor between "I suspect" and "black". A decoding is proposed by which other people's positions are easily understood and you can be understood.

I will play with the player. At the moment nothing has been found in the person's minute for which he could be counted mafia. Does this mean he is red? No. This player is worth watching in the following rounds. There is simply not enough information for an accurate assessment.

I will not play with the player. This person falls into the range of the most probable mafia.

A grey player. There is not enough information for feedback and a weighed opinion of the player, even to play or not play. A colour without comparison with the others: 66 percent red, 33 percent black. (The player has a civilian card; in his eyes there are six civilians and three mafia at the table, so every slot without context is 6/9 and 3/9.) By default all slots skipped in the speech remain grey. It is incorrect to count no. 1 always grey (there is a tendency not to assess the first one until a repeat speech): other players may quite well give feedback on this slot, and in the author's opinion it is better to honestly say "I did not work it out" or skip the slot.

Red. Besides you, there is definitely a civilian at the table. So the others should consider you in a link with each other, in one team. This helps to count by the remainder and to set ranges of blacks already in round zero.

Black. The player is mafia. Full stop. Giving a person a black colour, you must understand: if he turns out to be a civilian, you fly off the table. In the eyes of the attacked civilian you are mafia. That is logical, it is your responsibility.

Rather black. Mafia, but with some doubts. An intermediate stage between "I will not play" and "black". In numbers everything is individual, from 66 to 95 percent that the card is black; take into account the tone and insistence.

Rather red. Likewise, but between "I will play" and "red".

At an early stage nobody is especially upset if "rather black" and "I will not play" are mixed: there are no checks, few positions. But "red" and "I will play" are different positions, they directly affect the count of the game and the decision about the sheriff's check. There is an opinion that a grey player is rather red: mathematics says that any unknown without context is red with a probability of 66.6 percent.

Kinds of position

In the game literally everything is called a position, despite the richness of the Russian language. The position changes from round to round.

Round zero

A position is the totality of the information a player gave on the slots that spoke earlier. It is made up of seven variables (the steps of colour above).

Example one. "I will play with no. 1, in the conflict of nos. 2 and 3 the second is redder to me, no. 4 is red. It is most likely that the last two blacks sit after me." This is a position. (No. 3 thinks the second is mafia; it is logical that there is a black among them.)

Example two. "No. 1 always speaks well, between nos. 2 and 3 there is one mafia, no. 4 did not say enough for a black card." This is a player's speech, and a very bad one. There is no position here at all. Speech and position are different things: they are assessed by different schools, and the opinions are sometimes diametrically opposed. In the second case the position is very hard to understand: for this slot all who spoke before him are grey, or much effort must be spent interpreting what was said. Such speeches force you to concentrate on the player's minute, and after the tension relaxation comes and the listener loses concentration. Such speeches wear you out and interfere with analysing the more important parts.

At an early stage the strength of the position is also distinguished. The more exact colours a player gave, the stronger his position. A hard position is a strong position with a named mafia or civilian, for whose removal votes begin to be gathered. In the first case the player attacks, in the second he defends. All else equal, an attacking position is always stronger (redder). From a civilian's viewpoint, it is unprofitable for the mafia to stand in counterweights and conflicts in round zero: that way the sheriff will not make a check that gives many colours. And if a black brazenly takes a mafia into his team or plays against a red, there will definitely be a battle team against team with two sheriffs. So an attacking position reduces the number of winning outcomes for the mafia.

From the first round to the guessing round: the effect of the slot

The player who closes the round always has a greater effect on the table thanks to the last-word factor. Something is forgotten, you cannot interrupt without remarks, and the emotions and pressure of the moment are on the closer's side. It is harder for the one who opens the round to play against those who sit after. The further along a person sits, the easier it is for him to gather votes for removing someone who spoke earlier, and the more information he has. So the one who closes rounds has a stronger position.

Critical rounds and the guessing round

Toward the end of the game, a position means the sum or part of a player's moves made and teams named. The position is stronger for the one who:

covered the real sheriff;
did not remove a red player;
did not vote together with the mafia;
removed all the mafia from the table;
played against, or asked to check, only players of the mafia team.

Why you are driven off the table in positional play

1. Taking conflicting players into the team

If one slot voices serious suspicions about a second, the attacker may be mistaken, but between them by logic there are already not two reds. Two-sided conflicts almost always say there is a mafia in the link. Reconciling the conflicting means either not following the game or covering your own black, which inclines the town to the thought that the one uniting is mafia. By defending, the player redirects attention from the one he "looks after" to himself.

2. Ignoring strong positions

No. 4 took into the team only no. 3, calling him a civilian. The latter called no. 2 red. No. 4 can be said goodbye to, because by logic he should take into the team nos. 2 and 3. Or explain to the third slot that he took no. 2 hastily and no. 2 is worth watching. You need either to dissuade one of the links in the chain or to play against the player who is giving a wrong layout. You cannot partly agree or let part of the minute pass by your ears. Inattention and unwillingness to play with the town give away the mafia. If you called someone red and another calls your protégé black, you are obliged to react. Hard positions cannot be ignored. Often in the early rounds a player who throws out of the team a slot that another civilian played with is reproached and called mafia. That is wrong.

The main rule of building teams. The team of civilians is assembled from two positions: "rather red" and "red". "I will play" and "spoke well" do not count as building: that is an approximate interpretation. It is possible and necessary to throw slots out of the "locomotive" with reasoning: that is how a team is built correctly.

3. A shortfall of mafia

If at the eighth slot a player has not heard black speeches before himself, drive him off the table. There are three black cards in the game, and after him sit two. They are definitely mafia (from his position), and since there are no others, he is the last one. The same at no. 6: if he plays 1-2-3-4-5, then after him, out of four players, there should be three black speeches. If there are none, you can raise a claim: most likely no. 6 is mafia and played with at least one of his own blacks.

4. Called a red a black

If it turns out that a player called a civilian mafia, he flies off the table. He will be removed to teach him to answer for his words.

5. "Not a critical round"

If at nine a player was removed who was checked on neither version, and at eight or seven someone says it is not a critical round, vote him out boldly. Either he knows the colour of the one who left (was in a team with him), or he does not want to set the civilians against himself by calling them mafia. By his version, removing any player will not end the game. In the mafia's understanding: calling a resident black means losing a potential vote on your side.

Analysis of links in voting (nine and later)

It is time to remove players, but there are three blacks. How do we vote? By position.

You are attacked, and the player after the aggressor agrees with him (strengthens the position). Vote only against the one who sits later. You are red no. 2, no. 3 calls you black. No. 4 agrees with no. 3 but does not gather a hard hand against you. Vote against no. 4. Reason: no. 3 may be either black or a mistaken red, and the one strengthening his position "is mistaken" twice over: he plays against a civilian (you) and potentially with a mafia (the black together with him). No. 3 initially has the stronger position, because the mafia usually does not stand in counterweights in round zero. So the most probable mafia is no. 4.
In a chain of players playing with each other, the weakest position belongs to the one who closes the "locomotive". You are red no. 8 and consider no. 7 a civilian. Player no. 6 played 1-2-3-4-5. You play only against no. 6, because without your link he has an obvious shortfall of mafia. Did not suspect blackness when he could, answer for five.
If two or more civilians called a player red, you have no right to consider the version that he is mafia. This means a conscious table with adequate people who do not throw words to the wind. Where one may be wrong, two will sort it out.
You consider a player red, he considers someone black. Take into account the position of the player you found: respond not only with speech but with the vote. Put a hand against whoever a member of your team is playing against.
You consider a player red, while someone considers him black. Vote against whoever attacks your civilian link.
You consider a player black, while someone considers him red. There is no clear position: too little information. Rely on your own opinion and vote against the one you consider black. In late rounds it is decided by the count of the game.

The red locomotive is a group of players at early slots in round zero who play with each other simply because nobody gave a clear black speech.

For the black

Use the civilians' ignorance of terminology.
Do not throw colours around for nothing: the choice is rich.
If a player before you gave a bad speech, gather hands against him: he can no longer defend himself with a minute.
Strengthen your position bit by bit toward the end of the game, playing the mafia card.
Confuse the players and do not give clear information for the mafia card if the civilians allow it.

A task for consolidation

There are five of you, two blacks. You are a civilian (no. 1), there is a live red check at the table (no. 2). No. 3 gives no clear position. No. 4 considers no. 3 red and votes against the badly speaking no. 5. Which black teams do players nos. 3, 4 and 5 have, and whom will you remove in this round?

Self-check questions

How do you confuse players of the positional school in round zero? What do you know and apply? How do you imagine the outcome?
Against whom do you vote: the one who attacks you, or the one you yourself consider mafia? Why?
What other positional links exist?

Practice

Write down your last three speeches in round zero and mark each slot by the seven steps of colour. Assess how many of your "I will play" were in fact "red".

Typical mistakes

Confusing "I will play" with "red".
Partly agreeing with someone else's position.
Reconciling the conflicting.
Giving a black colour without consequences for yourself.

Source of the idea. The chapter "Play by logic: position" from Dmitry Novik's book "Mafia in the Style of Zen" (2020). The percentages belong to the author; the examples are shortened and retold.