- In mafia, there are 2 teams: the mafia and the townspeople. The mafia try to eliminate the townspeople while the townspeople try to guess who’s in the mafia.
- Each mafia game includes a detective and a doctor. The detective can guess a mafia member each turn while the doctor can save a townsperson each turn.
- Mafia is played in night cycles and day cycles. In night cycles, mafia members eliminate (or “kill”) townspeople while everyone’s eyes are closed.
- In day cycles, players accuse and eliminate people they think might be a part of the mafia. Accused players are allowed to give defenses and a vote takes place.
Setting up the Game
Gather 7 or more people to play. Have your players sit around a table, on sofas and chairs, or on the floor. Choose a space that is large enough for everyone to comfortably occupy without outside noise or distractions. 12 to 16 is the ideal number of people to play mafia. If you have a group of 20+ people, consider playing 2 separate games.
Choose a moderator. Select a moderator (or “mayor”) from your group to mediate the game. While the mayor does not partake in any official rounds of gameplay, they oversee each round and add unique stories to explain players’ actions. Choose a moderator with a knack for organization and storytelling. Other moderator duties include: Distributing cards Telling people when to “sleep” and “wake” Timing discussions Informing people if they have been eliminated Declaring the winner
Split up a deck of cards so that there is 1 card for each role. Use a deck made up of as many cards as there are players. Set aside 1 king, 1 queen, 1 card of a certain suit for each mafia member, and enough additional cards of another suit to represent the remaining townspeople. Set aside 1 “mafia” card for every 3 townspeople. For example, when playing with 12 people, use 3 mafia cards, 1 king, 1 queen, and 7 regular cards. When playing with 16 people, use 4 mafia cards and so on. Always round down when assigning mafia cards You may assign any suit to be the mafia suit, such as hearts, clubs, or spades. If you don’t have a deck of playing cards, assign roles by writing them on pieces of paper and letting players draw out of a bag or hat. The mayor can also hand-pick the various roles by telling players to close their eyes and tapping them a certain number of times on the shoulder.
Let each player take 1 card. Shuffle the deck and hold it out face down to each of the players. After players have each grabbed a card, instruct them to look at their cards, but to keep their cards hidden from the other players. Once players have read their roles, remove all cards from sight or let the mayor collect them back
Assign roles to players based on their cards. All players who draw cards of a different suit from the rest of the deck are the mafia. The player that draws the queen card is the doctor. The player that draws the king card is the detective, and all remaining players are townspeople. The mafia is responsible for killing 1 player every round, after players close their eyes. The doctor may point to 1 person who they wish to save each night cycle. If the mafia tries to kill the person the doctor chooses, that person is saved for the round. The doctor is allowed to save themself. Throughout the game, the detective is allowed to guess if players are members of the mafia. If the detective guesses correctly, that mafia member is eliminated. If the detective guesses incorrectly, nothing happens. The detective should be allowed a number of guesses equal to the number of mafia players. For example, if there are 3 mafia members, the detective gets 3 guesses per game. If there are 4, the detective gets 4 and so on. Townspeople do not have any special abilities. If you only have 5-6 players for Mafia, consider cutting all other non-mafia roles like the detective and the doctor.
Playing the Night Cycle
Start the first night cycle. The night cycle is the round of gameplay that takes place when players close their eyes. (This cycle simulates the townspeople in the imaginary village going to sleep.) To begin a night cycle, have the moderator instruct all players, no matter their role, to close their eyes and put their heads down.
Let the mafia choose a victim. Have the moderator instruct all mafia members to open their eyes and see what other players are a part of the mafia team. Give the mafia a set amount of time (ideally about 60 seconds) to silently decide who they want to “kill” (eliminate from the game.) When they reach a decision, have them point out their choice to the moderator. All players who are not mafia members must keep their eyes closed while the mafia makes their selection. Any non-mafia players who open their eyes are eliminated. If the mafia cannot come to a unanimous decision about who to eliminate, then they forfeit their turn and no one will be eliminated during that round.Tip: If you want to make the game a little more kid-friendly, give the mafia another, less violent action like stealing a player’s cookie jar or sending them on a trip out of town.
Tell the mafia to go back to sleep. Once the mayor has confirmed who the mafia wishes to kill for their turn, have the mayor tell the mafia to go back to sleep and close their eyes again. Wait until all mafia members have closed their eyes to continue the game.
Let the detective make a selection. Have the mayor say out loud that it’s time for the detective to wake up. Detective: Once you’ve opened your eyes, point at someone you think is a member of the mafia. Since there is only 1 detective in the game, you will have to rely on your instincts and any other hints you’ve received.
Indicate if the detective was right or wrong and tell them to sleep again. Have the mayor silently indicate if the person the detective identified is a member of the mafia, such as by nodding or shaking their head. Have the mayor instruct the detective to go back to sleep after they make their selection. If the detective was right, the person will be eliminated. However, if the person was wrong, then the detective knows who another one of the townspeople is and can choose someone else on their next turn. For an alternate, more difficult style of gameplay, do not automatically eliminate the mafia member if the detective guesses correctly. Have the mayor confirm or deny the detective’s choice, but make the detective convince the townspeople the next day who the mafia member is.
Let the doctor save someone. After the mafia and detective have made their choices, have the moderator tell the doctor to wake up. Have the doctor point at the player they wish to save. If the person the doctor saves is the same person the mafia chooses, they will survive this round and not be eliminated. Otherwise, nothing will happen to the person saved and the mafia’s choice will be eliminated. If the doctor dies, the townspeople can no longer be saved from the mafia in subsequent rounds.
Instruct the doctor to go back to sleep. Once the doctor has pointed out someone to save, have the mayor note who it is and then tell them to go back to sleep. Once their doctor closes their eyes, the night cycle is complete.
Playing the Day Cycle
Wake up and go over the events of the night. Have the moderator instruct everyone to open their eyes and tell a short story about the choices made during the last night cycle. Mention who the mafia selected, if the detective caught a mafia member, and if the doctor chose the right person to save. The moderator can add details to their story or keep it short and simple. For example, the moderator could say something like: “The mafia attacked John last night, but the doctor was able to save him, so John is still alive. Unfortunately, however, the detective was unable to catch any of the mafia members in the act. They’re still on the loose!”
Discuss the events of the evening for 5 minutes. Once the night cycle has been described, let players (including the doctor, detective, and mafia members) discuss what happened and try to pinpoint mafia members. Mafia members can try to convince the other players that they are townspeople or accuse other players to throw them off the scent. Have the mayor set a timer for 5 minutes to ensure that the discussion doesn’t get out of hand or go on too long. For example, players may say something along the lines of “Joey hasn’t said much, which seems pretty suspicious.” Then, Joey might say something like, “I don’t feel the need to say much because I haven’t done anything wrong. However, if I was guilty of something, then I might point fingers at other people.”Tip: You may set a longer time limit for the discussions if desired, such as 10 or 15 minutes.
Allow players to make accusations. Once the discussion is complete, allow players to accuse each other of being a member of the mafia. Once an accusation has been made, it must be seconded by another player to move into the defense phase. For example, someone might accuse another player by saying, “I think Jennifer is in the mafia!” If someone else seconds the accusation, then it goes forward to the defense phase.
Explain the accusation and allow the accused to defend themselves. The accuser gets 30 seconds to explain why they think the person they accused is in the mafia. After they’ve made their case, the accused also gets 30 seconds to defend themselves. The accuser may draw on their observations or invent reasons why they think the person is guilty. Players can lie about their roles to prove their innocence. However, players are not allowed to show their cards to confirm these statements. To make the game more fun, players might consider adding accents or creating silly backstories to develop their character. The more seriously players take their parts, the higher the stakes!
Instruct the players to vote. After an accused player has given their defense, the mayor asks who thinks that the accused is guilty and instructs everyone to vote. Players indicate their vote by a thumbs up (for guilty) or thumbs down (for not guilty). If the majority of players vote thumbs up, then the person is considered guilty and eliminated from the game, even if their card proves they were not part of the mafia. If the majority votes thumbs down, then the person is saved. The vote may take place anonymously (with players closing their eyes) or openly (with players’ eyes kept open). Everyone gets to vote, including the accused and the accuser.
Start a new accusation round if the player is voted “not guilty.” Each day cycle must have a player declared guilty and eliminated. So, if there is not a majority vote of not guilty (thumbs down), the accusations begin again. Allow someone else to make an accusation and progress through the accusation, defense, and voting as before.
Begin the night round again. Once a player has been declared guilty, the accused shows their card and is now considered killed. They are eliminated for the rest of the game and may no longer participate in discussions or votes. After this happens, the night round begins again. The person who is eliminated may keep their eyes open and observe the rest of the game, but they must do so silently and they cannot interfere or give the players any information. The game continues until all of the townspeople or the mafia are eliminated. The team with players left is declared the winner by the moderator.
Rule Variations
Change the name of the game for a political twist. In a leftist version of the game, the detective is replaced by a revolutionary hero of the people such as Assata Shakur, Emma Goldman, or Ernesto Che' Guevara. Likewise, the Mafia is replaced by the FBI and winning the game involves eliminating all the FBI agents. Folks that play these versions of the game generally call the game "Emma" or "Assata" instead of "Mafia". For a less political, more fantastical twist, you can also change the name of the game to “Werewolf” and play with the same rules.
Include extra roles for players to enliven the gameplay. Extra roles are optional, but they can make the game more complex and interesting. Have the moderator assign different cards to indicate additional roles they want to incorporate into the game. Some options you might try include: The Informant, who gets to know who the mafia is without them knowing who they are. The Lawyer, who chooses someone to defend. The person who the lawyer defends cannot be voted out the following morning. The Peeping-Tom, who is allowed to open their eyes at any moment. This person may find out who plays each role in the game, but this makes them more likely to be killed by the mafia. The Grandma With a Shotgun. If the Grandma with a shotgun is visited by anyone during the night cycle, that person dies, but the Grandma cannot be killed. The Mafioso who works with the mafia. Every night, they reveal a townsperson's role to the mafia. The Jailer who, once every game, can put any person in jail. The jailed player is unable to perform their role for the night. The Vigilante who, once every game, can shoot anyone. If their victim is not the mafia, the vigilante dies of guilt. The Mayor who is allowed to reveal their card whenever they want. Once they reveal their role, their vote is doubled. Revealing their role may make them a target for the mafia. The Jester whose whole objective is to be voted off by the players. If they are voted off, they may choose to kill a player who voted to execute them in the following night. Cupid can make 2 players fall in love, which will put both of them at a higher risk of being eliminated. On the first night cupid picks 2 people to be the lovers. If 1 of the lovers dies, the other dies of a broken heart instantly.
Create 2 competing mafias for an extra-large group. For large groups of 20 or more players, create 2 separate, competing groups of mafia members and play the game with 2 night cycles. These 2 sets of mafia will be working to kill the townspeople as well as their rival mafia members. You can give them names like East Side and West Side Squad, or Blue and Red Team Mafia.Tip: The larger the group you have, the more roles you will want to include. This will make for a more complex game and give more players interesting roles and abilities to use.
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