The survivability of the black team and the author's wishes

The epilogue to the section on the mafia in "Mafia in the Style of Zen" is called "Survivability". The epigraph: "Cockroaches, unlike people, are afraid to congratulate each other on the coming holiday". Before this the author gave an arsenal for winning as the blacks; in the epilogue he considers the mafia team as a single organism with principles analogous to the civilians'. Two postulates are mirrored in both teams, and with them the author completes the base of understanding of the processes at the table. The mafia game, he writes, is a superstructure over the civilians' game, so both concepts must be considered together to weld everything into one picture.

Two mirror postulates

First: the more blacks, the easier to win; the more reds, the stronger they are

A full team saves each other and brings arguments in defence of its own. Each participant fills in the weak sides of the others and gathers hands. Each vote of the mafia team may be the deciding, "sweet" one and bring the win. The civilians are more numerous, so their united vote cannot be stopped by the black team.

Second: the more blacks, the harder to win; the more reds, the weaker they are

A large number leads to vulnerabilities. The more team members at the table, the higher the probability that somebody will be driven out for a bad speech. A mafia player can miss or let the leader down with a bad speech. Every civilian can become the winning hand of the mafia team.

The black team is more flexible, and that is its strength. The author asks us to remember this and understand how to apply it. He describes flexibility in the chapter on the advantages of the blacks: the mafia can take its player into the team, give him up, buy the vote of its own black, play against its own painlessly, sell teammates, assign anyone as a victim, run over the sheriff, shoot him or itself, make misses, create, develop and extinguish conflicts, stay aside from them. Flexibility allows improvising, breaking rules and creating puzzles while the table allows it.

How the postulates read for reds and blacks

Reds. Their strength is in numbers and in uniting around the red check or the sheriff. Their weakness: every red can err with a vote, and one is enough for the mafia to win.
Blacks. The strength is in flexibility and in the fact that losing two players out of three is not critical: almost any mistake can be turned into an advantage in a late round. The weakness: every extra black at the table is one more chance to be voted out.

The author also notes that strong play is team play, but it is not always possible to realise it, because players are not chosen: there may be a weak element who cannot be kept, and saving him costs more. There is nothing bad in giving up your own, the main thing is to have a plan for the win and carry it out.

Levels of thinking

To win, the mafia needs to be one level of thinking above the reds. The level of thinking is the depth of logical assessment of the opponent and his actions, whose aim is to think one step ahead and make the right decision. Adjusting to the town is obligatory. If the reds think "a black would not say that", you think: "They think so, so I can". (This is the Academy's illustration of the author's definition.)

Rules based on the postulates

With a strong team we support each other and make the efforts add up and snatch the win. We are not afraid to call our players bright red and to attack opponents.
If one of your players speaks badly, we give him as a black check, drawing a team of a sheriff, a civilian and our own black player.
If the weak link is the false sheriff, we play mixed colours with the shot of the real sheriff. The author: "Simple as five kopecks".

With which arguments, devices and checks to win, choose yourself: everything necessary for the game is given. "Or not everything?" (so the author ends the thought, preparing the transition to the tournament part).

The author's wishes

Play brightly, unusually, interestingly. Make the games you played tellable to your grandchildren, and let your presence at the table make a holiday for those around. Spread technical competence and effective strategies so that games gain meaning and structure: a real game begins exactly in the absence of technical errors.

The "1-2-3" trap

As a black you can give all reds as red, including the opponents of your team. This will colour you, because it would not be to your advantage to give such a check. This is an example of the metagame the author thinks we should strive for. When on slot no. 4 you can make the agreement "1-2-3", call everybody red and in the guessing round snatch the win by saying that you cannot be black in this situation, it is a trap: the snare into which falls the red you are betting on.

The author ends the section with the words: "Play beautifully, interestingly and brightly. That is all". And adds that the journey through the world of mafia continues in a different key: strong, powerful play, with the emphasis not on pleasure but on result. So he moves to the tournament part (see the lesson "Tournament strategies: how a tournament differs from a club game").

How to raise survivability (the Academy's practice)

Keep a spare plan: every version has a second one, in case the first collapses.
Do not get attached to one scenario. If your black has gone, rebuild the plan to "two to two" or "the guessing round".
Watch the reds and not only your own: a red's mistake is your resource.
Take care of the don: he coordinates the plan and holds the agreement.
Analyse how a remaining black won games after losing two players (see the next lesson "Mafia: there are no losing situations").

For the red

Remember: even removing two blacks does not guarantee victory, the remaining one may win. Do not lose vigilance. If the remaining black calls everybody red, ask why he needs such generosity: the "1-2-3" trap works exactly on those who take generosity for proof.

Example (compiled for the Academy)

Of the black trio two have left. The remaining one says to the reds: "I am red, and you see that the blacks were those two. I checked nobody and I call everybody red". In the guessing round remain he, two reds and the sheriff, the sheriff is dead. The reds believe him because he is "too generous to be black", and vote in order, erring. The mafia wins.

Self-check questions

What are the author's two mirror postulates?
Why does flexibility make the black team stronger?
What does it mean to be one level of thinking above the reds?
What to do if the weak link is the false sheriff?
How does the "1-2-3" trap work?

Practice

Analyse three games where the mafia lost two players but won. Find how the remaining one managed to win and write out his actions in each round. Then devise a spare plan for your team in case the false sheriff is lost on the first night.

Typical mistakes

Panic after losing a player.
Ignoring spare plans.
Underestimating the reds.
Attachment to one scenario.
Defending the weak link at any price.

Source of the idea. The epilogue "Survivability" to the section on the mafia and the chapters on the advantages of the blacks from Dmitry Novik's book "Mafia in the Style of Zen" (2020). The Academy's practice, examples and questions were compiled for the Academy.