The will in five steps | Mafia Game Academy

The will is the last word of a departing player, his firm position: he leaves a confident red or black colour on one or several players. At the first level we went through the structure in general terms (the lesson "The first night and the first death"). Here we go through each step separately, show scenarios of different rounds and roles and give exercises. The author of "50 Shades of Red" calls the will a strongly underrated tool of the town for compensating a physical absence from the table at the moment of the key vote.

Why a will deserves belief

The will is the position of a civilian: he will not deceive you. He can be mistaken, but not deceive. If you were killed and have not worked things out, there is no point leaving a firm will. But in a tournament aiming at bonus points a firm position on one or several players must be left. Even outside the race in the tournament table, the will is a seizing of the initiative from murky, unclear players in favour of a certainly red one.

The blacks kill players for a definite purpose: either they are reds who cannot be played against, or they play against the mafia and have worked it out. Killing a bought hand is disadvantageous, because people tend to keep their position rather than change it. So it makes sense to orient yourself on the last word of the killed. The author reminds us: every player can recall many games in which a correct will is ignored by the town, and the civilians lose three on three, two on two or in the guessing round. The reason, most likely, is that a key component was not taken into account in the minute.

Step 1. Attracting attention

The whole will will "go down the drain" if the player's attention is focused on his own thoughts or on a non-verbal dialogue between players. Then the speech will not be perceived and the influence will pass by. So the first key stage is to attract attention to yourself and to your last minute.

How to do it:

address the one who will make the decision by slot number or by name;
make sure he is looking at you and listening;
the author's example: raise a finger and take a one-second pause.

Start to persuade only after making sure the attention of the players making the decision belongs to you. If the decision is made not by one person but by two (for example, two civilians in the guessing round), attract the attention of each separately.

Step 2. Facts

The author optimistically hopes that you fix your attention on facts and moves, and so can cite them in the speech to strengthen your position. This is the first part of persuasion by the "rocket", and you cannot do without it. Practical advice of the Academy: pick the two or three most convincing facts, not all of them. Facts without interpretation are forgotten by the listener; facts that cannot be checked are ignored.

Step 3. Interpretation

You have given the facts, so kindly draw from the material the needed conclusion about colour or role. Interpretation shifts part of the listener's work onto you: you make the game easier for him. The author adds that with the link "fact plus interpretation" you also take bonus points from other people: whoever used it first got the "pluses" from the host. So do not leave the conclusion to the listener: say it out loud ("so no. 2 is mafia, no. 5 and no. 7 are red").

Step 4. Call to action

The third, closing stage of the "rocket". Give the suggestion to put a vote for the removal of the player who is black for you, or not to remove a red. Put as a request or a direct order the sequence of actions that the player making the key decision must carry out:

"Remove player no. 3."
"Player no. 4 is red and will choose between no. 5 and no. 7."
"In the vote put your hand for the removal of no. 8."

The call must be concrete: whom to nominate, whom to remove, where to put the hand, in what order. A vague "look at the seventh" is not a call.

Step 5. Taking commitments

The author warns: even if you attracted attention, gave facts, explained literally on your fingers who is mafia and pointed to the removal, the will may not work. You have not closed the circle. After you leave the table at least three minutes will pass, during which the player making the key decision is being "processed". (The author explains in a footnote: three minutes is an example for the guessing round; there are three speeches, and besides two players you must take the inner dialogue into account.) Memory tends to forget and blur information, so your contribution may be drowned out by someone else's influence.

To fix the position you must take from the person a commitment to carry out your will and wait for confirmation. If the player confirmed with a nod that he will put his hand according to your will, the structure is closed. If no promise was taken, there can be no demand on the player: it is his responsibility, not yours (and therefore his bonus points).

A live example: killed before the guessing round

The host gives you your last 60 seconds. The author offers this model (the numbers in brackets show the step):

(1) We raise a finger and take a one-second pause. (Start of the speech, a mini "rocket") "Player no. 5 removed everyone from the game table, the only sheriff revealed himself to him at nine, and the mafia did not shoot the leader of the civilians. So you must understand that no. 5 is red and chooses between players no. 2 and no. 7. He must not be voted." (2) "Player no. 2 spoke like a sheriff and gave over the game two confident colours without arguments. And we have one sheriff in the game. No. 2 has red no. 7 and black no. 10. And no. 7 is still at the table." (3) "So no. 2 is mafia. No. 5 and no. 7 are red." (4) "Players no. 5 and no. 7, nominate and remove no. 2, you can even skip the speech. This is my confident will for the town's victory." (5) "Player no. 5, you will remove no. 2, can I count on you? (we wait for a nod). Player no. 7, you will put your hand with no. 5 on no. 2, can I count on you? (we wait for a nod). Good. Thank you, pass."

The author writes that it is the combination of all five stages that gives the maximum chance for the will to be carried out, and adds: if such confident wording and taking of commitments seem to you harsh, excessive, "bicep-flexing" and "ego-driven", reread the principles of playing for bonus points from the first section of his book.

Feints and recommendations by role

For the first shot. First state the trio clearly in your best move. Then apply the five-step "rocket" to the player closing the table (usually no. 1) with a call to remove the stated mafia trio at nine.
For the red. If your position coincided with the position of the killed, do not say you vote by the will: you will lose potential bonus points from the host. Justify the position with your own arguments.
For the sheriff. Use the rhetoric about shots that paint you: "The mafia killed the player who would certainly have put a hand with me. I am the real sheriff, I have no motive to shoot someone who plays my line."
For the false sheriff. Use the same rhetoric in your favour: "The mafia killed a bought vote so that he would leave a wrong will and the town would lose."
For the black. If you sit very well and by the logic of the game should be shot (you will not live to the guessing round), then when the sheriff is killed you need to get from him a red check on yourself. In the next round you will kill exactly that, and your presence at the table will be justified. The second point: firmly paint one of the slots so that you can shoot it later.

Three scenarios to work through (compiled for the Academy)

Scenario A. Killed in the night after zero, the sheriff alive and hidden. You do not know who the sheriff is. What to leave? A firm colour only on those you are sure of by moves and position; for the rest a soft "I would not play". Call: do not remove reds in the round at nine.

Scenario B. Killed in the round at six, three reds on the table and two lines. You can name who chooses: a checked red or a player you consider certainly red. Call: "choose from those who have not been played with by either sheriff".

Scenario C. Killed before the guessing round. The classic case from the author's example: two deciding players, a commitment must be taken from each.

In each scenario check your minute against the five steps: what you have on each and what is missing.

Training

For each of the three scenarios write a draft will in five steps and read it aloud in 60 seconds.
Ask a partner to play the deciding player: let him deliberately look aside, and you must win his attention back at the first step.
Record your minute and find the step you skip most often.

Self-check questions

Why can a will be believed more than an ordinary minute?
Which step is skipped most often and what does it risk?
How will you justify a position if it coincided with the position of the killed?
What should a black do who by the logic of the game is about to be shot?

Typical mistakes

Spending the will on emotions.
Leaving a will without a call or without a commitment.
Speaking unsurely ("maybe", "possibly").
Attracting the attention of one of two deciding players and forgetting the other.
Referring to the will instead of your own arguments, losing bonus points.

Source of the idea. The section "The five-step will" with the example and feints from Dmitry Novik's book "50 Shades of Red" (2021). The values of bonus points are tied to the rules the author describes for 2020 and may differ. Scenarios, questions and training were compiled for the Academy.