Hi everyone, I’m preparing to mod my first game of Mafia for some (gasp!) non-Armada players this weekend. They’ll be between 9-12 players.

To this end I’d appreciate any advice on:

- what forum/platform/system etc. we should use (sadly most are not even on FFG... yet!)

- what scenario I should pick (almost all of them will be playing Mafia for the first time)

- any general advice on how I can be a good Mod (I don’t want to screw this up!)

Thanks very much for considering!

Real life or online?

2 hours ago, LTD said:

Real life or online?

Online. So I need to know about the tech-ish stuff too (like what forum to use, scum chat etc). Thanks!

Discord is pretty flexible

The mafia setup Matrix6 is a pretty good introductory setup, both for mods and players, as the there isn't too much to keep track of. I would recommend a semi-open setup (so tell people you are using the Matrix6, but not announce which row/column). That way the players aren't completely lost in terms of what is present in the game and what roles do, but also don't have it too easy.

Speaking from my own experience, this is stuff I do/try to avoid, and often get paranoid about:

For group chats we, as you know, use Google docs. Presumably, you could make a discord forum for those, and nobody but those in it will know it exists, but I haven't enough experience with discord to be sure. Whatever you choose, be careful to double-check which forum you are in before writing anything. You wouldn't want to respond to a scum chat in a masonry, or an observer's in a scum chat, for example, and obviously double-check that you send the correct links to the correct players.

Also, never reply immediately to night action PMs. Always take a moment to make sure that no other role interferes with it. You don't want to, as I did, send a cop result before a role-blocker AND busdriver made their actions, and you don't want to respond to a cop result only to remember that the player was already roleblocked. You can't take those responses back.

Try not to accidentally confirm or deny anything, like by responding to role questions in a manner that either implies its use in game or confirms that a player is that role.

Don't go overboard in your setup, especially with less experienced players. Always test to see if the roles can stack in unknown ways before you add them. For example, I once had a hider in my game, who died when he hid behind scum. The player (Brobafett) turned this into a soft-cop role by hiding behind suspected players. This is something you would want to avoid, especially when there are already other cops in the game.

That's all I can think of for now, I hope it was useful.

@GhostofNobodyInParticular This is brilliant! Very useful because it is so practical. Especially your points about taking my time. Thank you!

Will check out Matrix 6 now.

And if you or anyone has any advice on what platform Inshould try this through I’d be most grateful! Cc: @Caldias @Madaghmire @EbonHawk

Thanks so much again!

Message me your set up before issuing role pms.

Thats the golden piece of advise.

On 11/23/2018 at 9:15 PM, Ginkapo said:

Message me your set up before issuing role pms.

Thats the golden piece of advise.

On it

Guys - do you think there would be any objection/anything wrong with asking my non-Armada friends to sign up to the FFG forum and playing the game here in Off Topic but on an invite only basis? Would that be ok or just plain rude?

Thanks for considering!

I don't think it would be a problem. I haven't played for a year and come here basically just for mafia

58 minutes ago, Lord Preyer said:

Guys - do you think there would be any objection/anything wrong with asking my non-Armada friends to sign up to the FFG forum and playing the game here in Off Topic but on an invite only basis? Would that be ok or just plain rude?

Thanks for considering!

I still recommend Discord

It might be worth it to ask your friends how they'd feel about it. After all, people they don't know will be watching them play Mafia.

And judging. Always judging.

1 hour ago, clontroper5 said:

I still recommend Discord

Would you play the whole game through discord?

7 hours ago, Lord Preyer said:

Would you play the whole game through discord?

Yes, you could do everything through discord very easily (including scum chat/ observer chat etc.) and discord is very accessible. Heck if you got fancy you could even program a bot to keep the vote tally (I don't know how to do this but know you can)

Difficult to reread discord chat.

Quicktopic.com should work

10 hours ago, Caldias said:

I don't think it would be a problem. I haven't played for a year and come here basically just for mafia

Judged and found wanting

Hi guys, just to let you know I’ve set off! Have ten players and am playing Open with 6 vanilla Town, Cop, Doc and 2 Goons. We’re playing via WhatsApp which is cool for low barriers to entry but obviously not the bells and whistles of a proper forum.

Thanks again everyone for your advice and please cross your fingers for my first modding attempt!

can we get observers??!

19 minutes ago, PodRacer said:

can we get observers??!

Ha! Not in WhatsApp alas! Also, not sure I want the pros to witness my first fumblings with command!

I t is a strange experience writing your own death scene for the first time though... Apparently I was killed by being drowned in a vat of my own spicy meatball tomato sauce!

Aaaaaanyway... I’m still hoping that @EbonHawk and I will one day be able to realise our flavourtastic Mod dreams!

10 hours ago, Lord Preyer said:

I t is a strange experience writing your own death scene for the first time though... Apparently I was killed by being drowned in a vat of my own spicy meatball tomato sauce!

A tasty way to go, at least.

Good luck!

Did this game happen in the end?

Yes! And it was a wonderful concoction of what happens when you gather really experienced gamers who are all also really good friends (our group knows each other for twenty-thirty years or so).

As such everyone Game Theory’d everyone in an epic Wine In Front of Me showdown. For example: d1 the cop claimed, Town votes no lynch so they could do follow the cop (yes this was their first game of Mafia) but the doc selfhealed that night guessing correctly that the Mafia might attack him rather than the cop who they would conclude would normally be protected. And the cop found a scum first time on N1. But this revealed the doc’s likely player to the Mafia and... so on and so on and so on...

Really fun to see the combination of new player dynamics amongst a group who know each other very well indeed.

Am modding the second game now (they wanted to play again the same night the first game ended!) so have devised a challenge for them - thanks @The Jabbawookie And @EbonHawk and @Ginkapo for lots of advice!

WhatsApp is proving to be substandard for game play of course but great for ease of access.

Am feeling the limits of WhatsApp play now and going to try to graduate them onto the FFG forum for the next game.

Question: would it be impolite/improper to play an invite-only game with the group I’m teaching at first on this forum? If so, I’ll stick with whatsApp as wouldn’t want to be rude!

Thanks for considering.

cc: @EbonHawk @PodRacer @The Jabbawookie @Madaghmire @Caldias @Ginkapo

Its your game!

I personally don't mind sitting out, but I think you should drop a couple of new faces in each game , till we are merged!