Game culture and dirty play: where the line is

Many do not understand the practical value of culture. This concerns not only participants of the mafia community but society as a whole. Where is the line between ethical means of winning and behaviour in which people walk over heads? This lesson looks at it through examples.

What polite communication is

Polite communication is communication in which you insult no one by your behaviour or actions. To be cultured means to respect those around. If you stop unwanted behaviour and encourage the right one, sooner or later games will become pleasant and warm for everyone. It is especially important to behave courteously at a tournament, because behaviour affects a large number of people and whole chains of games.

The main rule: behaviour that insults another person is unacceptable. If a person has himself decided that something offended him, that is another matter: the difference is important.

Three examples

Example one. Good news from the mafia. The player in the first slot says that a son has been born to him. Players congratulate him and give a red colour, and he turns out to be mafia. Is this ethical? The author thinks yes: he offended no one. People have come up with a template that saying such things as mafia is unethical, but these are social stereotypes. This is the author's personal opinion. Do it so that you are taken for red and win: that is what playing mafia consists of.

Example two. "Sheep". Red player no. 5 leaves the vote and directly or indirectly calls those who voted him "sheep". This is not only a breach of culture but also dirty reddening that can affect the final choice of line and the result of the game. Most impulsive players think that since they are red they have the moral right to humiliate those who erred: they consider themselves victims. With a black card players behave more reservedly. Insult plus reddening is an unacceptable technique for which good hosts should remove. Appeals to game image and personal qualities we also add to the bans: "You are a clever person, you will vote correctly" and "I am not so stupid as to do that" are forbidden.

Example three. Tears. A girl burst into tears after she was voted out. They decided she was red, and she turned out to be mafia. Dirty reddening through tears? The author thinks not: by the same characteristic this behaviour insults no one. Acting talent is great and should be praised, not condemned.

What dirty play is

Dirty play means unsporting actions through which a player gains an advantage over others. Those who use dubious techniques usually have two motives.

Motive one: fame and respect. Try, without searching the internet, to name two actors who won an Oscar the year before last, two Olympic champions of the last Olympics or the first master of mafia by the FIIM. If you did not manage, it is easy to grasp the author's thought: people do not care about others' successes and failures. What matters is only how you play and what kind of person you are in your company. The value of a victory gained for status does not give a feeling of fulfilment. A cup or place obtained by unfair play, with proper inner culture, can take away pride and energy. Fame is temporary, and respect must come with the prefix "self". Self-respect cannot be obtained by dirty play.

Motive two: prize and money. At the time of writing the book, mafia is not a game for earning: out of an entry fee of about two thousand roubles part goes to rent, part to the hard work of the judges, and a small part forms the prize fund. Prize money is easier to earn in the same two working days. If the winner is rewarded with a gadget or a bracelet, the value is in the memory of a significant event, not in the money equivalent. It is a symbol. Conclusion: there is no point in getting a prize place by deception.

Definition: dirty play is gaining an advantage outside the rules of the game: secret hints from participants, peeking, several players playing to advance one (for example, voting with acquaintances against a player of another club regardless of the colour of his card). For this removal of all participants, deprivation of prizes and a ban on attending games are due.

Disputed cases

The fight for first place and voting

Two players are fighting for first place, apart from the rest, by a couple of points. A red chooses whether to vote together with one of them or to play another line against him. Is it wrong to vote against this player with equal versions of the game? The author thinks not: a tournament is a personal championship, not a team one, and if you can widen the gap in your favour, it is no sin to use it. Mafia is a team game, but at a tournament your result is measured in individually earned points, not in the number of correct decisions and not in the team's win. You need comradeship to buy votes, not to show what a good person you are.

The difference between cold pragmatic calculation and dirty voting: first, the voting is beneficial only to the one voting; second, it affects the personal position in the rating (you can enter the top ten or the prizes, which is equal to pushing down the main opponents). In another case you can boldly accuse of dirty play.

May you interrupt a player, catching a foul in his minute

Permissible. Otherwise the rules would forbid shouts. The one closing the rounds has more information and chances to bring votes over. A shout can knock a person off his thought, bring a counter-argument and pull the ground from under a weak player. If you are attacked like this, the best action is to wave it off and continue the thought. This way you show the others that his speeches are not worth distraction and strengthen your position. At a tournament any advantage is better than none. A game with shouts is just a competition in a rougher atmosphere.

May you gesture a lot

Players often consciously (or not) abuse gesturing to gain the audience's attention. Usually reds use gestures to give out as much red information as possible, natural and sincere. Gestures bring imbalance into lines of play and add non-verbal behaviour by which colour is determined. Normal gesturing attracts the attention of at most two players and does not distract the rest from the speech of the one whose minute is going. It is acceptable to gesture between minutes but not interrupting. If several people do so, playing by logic without a stress on emotions becomes impossible.

Assigning a victim for the shot as a civilian

The mafia is not balanced by the actions of players. There is a device of reds that is extremely hard to adjust to: a shot-along from a civilian or the sheriff. A shout: "I am a black player and I am not joking! Only player no. ? is shot." The shot-along is assigned before going to sleep on someone who by logic should not die. For the mafia to get round such a device, the agreement needs a very complex scheme of gestures by which blacks shoot by the online, not by the shout; this is hard to implement. The author thinks such a technique must not be done and equates it with an action for which one should be removed. You must not make the entire result of the game depend on a single shout, especially under the conditions of lifting two at four for a mafia miss.

Appeals to past games

"In the last game you made a choice not by my line and lost. You have a chance to correct yourself." Such statements must not be allowed: each game is special and does not depend on others.

For the red and the black

For both: a dubious technique must not make the result depend on a single shout, an insult or pressure on a sense of guilt. For the host: remove for an insult combined with reddening.

Self-check questions

1. Which of the actions listed in the lesson do you consider unacceptable and why?
2. What is the difference between tough voting against a competitor and dirty voting?
3. How does a shot-along from a civilian differ from the tactic "I scare the mafia"?

Practice

Read the rules of the club where you play. Write out which of the described techniques it allows, which it forbids and which it does not mention. Discuss the gaps with the host.

Typical mistakes

• Taking the author's personal opinion for a club rule.
• Insulting those who leave.
• Using appeals to past games.

Source of the idea. The chapter "Game culture / dirty play" from Dmitry Novik's book "Mafia in the Style of Zen" (2020). The assessments and opinions belong to the author.