Mafia at TarValon.Net
Author: Jocasta Braithe
Published: December 15 2020 - Tar Valon Times Blog Link
Have you ever wondered about our Mafia community? Have you ever poked your head into that forum just to see what it was about and done a double take at what you saw?
“That is totally sus, you’re either vanilla like you say you are or you bussed your teammate. Talk about a WIFOM.”
You might have thought that didn’t really even look like English and wondered what kind of code we were all tossing around in there. It can be a little bit overwhelming at first, but the mafia community at TarValon.Net is intended to be a welcoming place where it’s fun to learn the game and get competitive (but not personal.)
How it works
Mafia is a game about information. At the beginning of the game each player will receive a private message letting them know which team they’re playing for, the Town (who do not know each other’s identities but usually are the bigger team) or the Mafia (who do know each other’s identities and can talk and strategize behind the scenes, but are usually outnumbered by 2-to-1 or more.)
The goal is for the Town to identify all the Mafia before the Mafia can outnumber or eliminate all the town. Each game is divided into “day” and “night” phases where the teams basically take turns being in control. During the day phases all the players talk, and discuss their suspicions about who might be a member of the Mafia team. At the end of the day there’s a vote and one player is eliminated. Because they have a numerical advantage the Town usually has an advantage during the day phase and Mafia players must try to avoid being caught. During the night phase, Mafia get to eliminate a player of their choice. These phases alternate until either all the Mafia are caught and the Town wins, or until there are not enough Town players left to vote out a Mafia player and the Mafia wins.
That’s just the most basic pieces, but once you get the hang of the base structure of the game, there are countless twists and turns a game can incorporate to keep things interesting. We play games with themes from movies and books, and games with secret powers, and even games where the mods can change the rules on the fly!
What’s special about Mafia at TarValon.net:
There are lots of mafia communities on the web, some of them really chill and some cutthroat. Our games can straddle that line, so you will find games that run the gamut from beginner friendly to fiercely competitive. But we’re first and foremost part of the community and the Game Masters on the site (myself, Alexstrasz, Aintza and Kenith) work hard to keep it welcoming and enjoyable for everybody. We are always available to answer questions by PM or in Discord.
Personally I’ve had an amazing year getting to know all the players on the mafia forum, it’s one of the special places on the site where ranks don’t matter and everyone mingles together. I got to know people that I might’ve found intimidating or not encountered at all on the rest of the forums. I have made great friends through the people I meet in the mafia boards. We’d love to have you come and play a few games with us!
