The object of Mafia is for each team (Mafia and Citizens) to eliminate the opposite team by any means. The Citizens accomplish this by deliberating in Open Floor and attempting to collectively vote one mafia member out of the game in each round. The Mafia accomplishes the same goal by secretly killing one citizen per round during Sleep Time.

Note: Mafia is a team game, expelled players still win when their team wins. A team or team member may use a strategy that sacrifices a player on their team to win a game or create better odds of winning. We call this "taking one for the team". It’s a temporary cost to get your team a victory. Players who play with their team as the priority usually make the best players.

Identity Concealment - An active player may never expose their card at any time during a game unless the moderator has instructed them to do so.

Communication - During Open Floor deliberations, there are no rules to what is said by any player. However, no communication of any form may be engaged with non-active players or spectators.

Covert Operations - During Covert Operations all active players must go to sleep and remain asleep until the moderator instructs otherwise. This is when all special characters execute their roles in secret.

Voting - Once the voting process starts, the floor is closed and communication between players must cease.

1. Voting is optional for all players from round to round.
2. A player may not change who they nominated once voting starts.
3. Each player may only nominate and vote for one player.
4. Players are not obligated to vote for who they nominated.
5. In cases of a tie between the votes of the highest two candidates the audience may vote for those two candidates.

Governance - The moderator has complete game control and the final word over all game-related issues.

Citizens
are the enemy of the Mafia and have the task of locating and voting out all Mafia members. The citizen’s advantage at the start of the game is the number of members they have. However, they don't know the identity of any other players. For the citizens to succeed, they must listen, observe, and make decisions with the team in mind rather than surviving individually. This is often harder than it sounds.

Note: The Doctor and The Sheriff are both Citizens.

The Mafia
is the enemy of the Citizens and has the task of killing all Citizens before the Citizens find and eliminate them. The Mafia's advantage at the start of the game is the knowledge of their teammate’s identities. For the Mafia to succeed, they must make smart decisions about who they kill from round to round.

The Sheriff is a Citizen who has the ability to investigate other players by inquiring about one suspect per round during Covert Operations. The moderator silently communicates with the Sheriff to inform them if the suspected player is a citizen or Mafia member. It is the Sheriff’s responsibility to remember the information collected from the Moderator from round to round. The Sheriff must use a round to repeat an inquiry about a player if they forgot the Moderator’s prior response for the player.

Always use good judgement about when you disclose your indentity and tell citizens who you are and what you know. Often times, the Sheriff holds on to valuable information too long, fearing Mafia retaliation. Making this mistake allows the Mafia to get lucky and kill you before you can help your team. Remember, its a team game. At some point it will be better to take the hit for the team and give them the data they need to win, than to die leaving them with nothing.

The Doctor is a citizen who selects one player to heal/protect per round during Covert Operations. The Doctor silently communicates with the Moderator to inform the Moderator who they wish to protect/heal. If the Doctor chooses to protect the same player the Mafia targeted for termination, that player is not expelled for that round and the mafia wastes a hit attempt. If the Doctor unknowingly protects a Mafia member, it is simply a wasted effort. As a rule of thumb, the Doctor should heal/protect themself until they find a player they deem more valuable than themselves, which is usually the Sheriff.

The Shifter is a normal functioning citizen when the game starts and remains that way unless they choose to shift into the role of a special character (Sheriff, Doctor, Mafia, Hero etc.). The Moderator must ask if a Shifter wants to shift each round during Covert Operations. The shifter may only shift into a vacant role, meaning a special character has been eliminated.

Once the moderator has confirmed who the shifter wants to become, the moderator announces the new character to the sleeping players and allows the shifter to immediately execute their Covert Operations. A shifter may only shift once per game and must remain in the role they chose for the remainder of the game.

Stay under the radar by behaving and responding exactly the way a citizen would in every moment of the game, even with non-verbal gestures. Eyes are watching and ears are listening for you to slip, and it's very easy to do so when skillful players are hunting you.

Don't eliminate players you know are strong just because you fear them tracking you down. Strong players can often pursuade others easily. It is also an absolute fact that all players are wrong more often than right about who they think is Mafia. Use those players to help you eliminate citizens when they are wrong.

Eliminate citizens in a way that causes maximum damage to their team. This is known as Progressive Damage, something we will teach more about in the future along with many other advanced terms and tactics.

As a citizen, not knowing who your teammates are in the beginning is your greatest handicap. So, your Sheriff is the most valued asset to eventually minimize that handicap. Do everything in your power to keep your Sheriff hidden and alive until the Sheriff has valuable information, he/she can share with the citizens to work with. Being a special character is exciting, but they can't win a game without the citizens voting and deliberating wisely. The citizens are the muscle behind the Sheriff and Doctor. Don't take that lightly. Citizens can make or break a good Sheriff or Doctor.

Be very careful about dividing votes between too many suspects. Listen closely to the accusations about all candidates being nominated for elimination. If there is a more credible argument against a player than your argument against another player, vote with the player whose argument is more credible. You can always circle back and make your argument again.

This character is an advanced character and will be taught when the full curriculum is available.

These characters are advanced characters and will be taught when the full curriculum is available.

The Moderator is not a player, character, or spectator. He/She is the game official. A good Moderator pays close attention to the details of the game and what is said among the players. Moderators should never give their opinion or information about elements of the game that can persudade a players decisions or behavior. You may however, answer official questions from players during open floor deliberations. Only allow questions that can be answered from the official rules or house rules that are commonly known or easily accessible to all players. Otherwise, remain minimal and neutral in your communication and expressions.

The area where players are playing the game is called the game floor. Players should sit on the game floor in a format that allows each player to have a reasonable view of other players. It is also important for players to be able to hear each other well.

Ideally, each player should have their own chair, although we understand if this is not possible based on the resources available. Sofas or other furniture may be used as long as players know that physical movement can expose their identity to others sitting close to them during covert operations.

Example: Feeling a player move when the moderator asks for the Mafia to wake is a common problem for Mafia members sitting too close to other players. However, that can also add another layer of intensity to the game if you choose to make close proximity part of the challenge.

Resources

1. 12-20 players (recommended)
2. A room or area that comfortably holds all players and any spectators.
3. An environment quiet enough for verbal communication between players.
4. A Moderator who understands all the game rules.
5. A set of We Play Mafia game cards.