Rules Mafia Guide by Rohan

[AL sama]

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Introduction to the Mafia Game -
Mafia was originally a party game, typically attributed to Dmitry Davidoff and cited as being created in 1986. The game models a conflict between a small group of informed players (the Mafia) and a large group of uninformed players (the Town) and was designed to analyze the psychology of players when placed in either group, especially as a study of the mob mentality. It made the jump to forums much later in the mid-2000s. The electronic medium allowed the game to evolve somewhat, featuring more complex setups and a slower pace that allows players to really consider their options, though it obviously lacks the necessity of a poker face found in the original form.

You can get a description of Mafia Game on Wikipedia and a Mafia Wiki.

Global Mafia Game Rules -

Rules for players:

• You are not allowed to spam the Game Thread and get lots of post counts. Mafia is not a post-farming game.
• You are not allowed to delete your posts in the Game Thread and Voting Thread you are playing in.
• You are not allowed to edit your posts made in the Game Thread and Voting Thread you are playing in.
• To the above, since you cannot edit posts, If you have made an error or left out information from your post, you are allowed to multi-post and include the information and corrections there.
• Multi-posting is allowed, but all such posts must have reasonable information or corrections to the original post.
• You are not allowed to share quotes or screenshots of the Private Messages between the host and you publicly in the game thread or to other players privately. If you do this you will be mod-killed.
• You are not allowed to contact other players through Private Messages or other mediums for discussion purposes. Keep all discussion to the game thread. The exceptions to this rule are the hosts themselves giving you a private means of communication or the particular game format allowing it.
• Angleshooting is not allowed in Mafia Games.
• Out of Game Information (OGI) is not allowed in Mafia Games.
• You are not allowed to change your username when the game is ongoing without informing the host.
• Flaking / Going Inactive in a game is forbidden.
• If you are unable to play in a game you signed up for, inform the host to replace you.
• If you remain inactive for an entire day phase, the host has the right to replace or mod-kill you.
• To the above, you must make three game-related posts every Day Phase. Some game hosts might increase the posting requirement in their games. If you don't meet the requirement you will be subbed out or mod-killed.
• You are not allowed to use multiple accounts to participate in a mafia game. You may not pretend to be two separate human beings. You can only use one account in a mafia game.
• You are not allowed to sabotage your faction. You are expected to play to your win condition(s). Intentionally undermining your team is not allowed. Joining a game with the sole intent to troll is not allowed. ("Bad" or "alternative" plays, however, are allowed, if you sincerely believe in their merit)
• Discussion is not allowed during the Night Phase and the game thread might be locked. Do not post in the game thread once the Night Phase starts. Some game hosts might make an exception to this and allow discussion in the Night Phase.
• Please keep all complaints about game moderation and game balance to yourself and only post them after the game ends.
• If you get force replaced or mod-killed, you will not be eligible for the prizes of the game nor will be counted towards the leaderboard.
• All questions about the game must be asked to the host through Private Messages/Conversations. Avoid asking questions to the host in the Game Thread.
• Do not discuss ongoing games outside the game you are playing in. As long as a game is ongoing, you may talk about that game only where the host gives you explicit permission. Simply mentioning ongoing games without elaboration ("I'm playing in Game Q") is potentially dangerous. You can severely compromise a game's integrity by adding a new and unwanted source of information to the game.
• Respect the spirit of the mafia game. If you notice a loophole in the game you are playing, inform the host about it. Do not abuse loopholes to your benefit.

Rules for dead players:

• Dead Players are not allowed to reveal anything they know about the game to anyone. They can, however, reveal their findings once the game ends.
• Dead people are not allowed to discuss anything in the Game thread. Once dead, a player must stop posting in the game thread.
• Some game hosts might make a Dead Players Private Conversation. Dead Players can discuss the progress of the game there.
• Dead players are not allowed to like posts.

Rules for voting:

• Some Normal Mafia Games might have a separate thread for voting with a prefix called "Voting Thread" attached to it.
• If a Voting Thread exists, you can only post your votes in the Voting thread. Votes posted in the Game Thread will be considered invalid by the host.
• If a Game has no "Voting Thread", you can post your votes in the Game Thread.
• Discussion is not allowed in the "Voting Thread".
• If you want to respond to a vote posted in the vote thread quote the voting post, copy the quote, and respond to it in the game thread.
• You should mention the game hosts in your vote post to make it easier for them to keep track of the votes.
• You should mention the player whom you are voting for in your vote post so that the voted player can make a response in his/her defense in the game thread.
• It is advised that you provide a reason for your vote.
• Votes must always be bolded by using the Bold BB Code (See vote format).
• Vote formats are of five types:-

-Vote: This format is used when you put your first vote in the day phase. The format is:​

Vote @player A​

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-Unvote: This format is used when you remove your vote against a player. The format is:​

Unvote @player A​

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-Change Vote: This format is used when you change your current vote from one player to another player. The format is:​

Unvote @player A​

Vote @player B​

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Rules for spectators:

• As a spectator, you are forbidden to post in the game thread when the game is running.
• Do not interfere by talking with the players or hosts about the game.
• Do not like posts.
• You can ask the host to add you to the dead player private chat and you can discuss the game in the private chat till the game is over.
• You can post and give your opinions of the game once the game is over.

Rules for hosts:

• The first post of the game thread must contain the names of the hosts, co-hosts, and coaches of the game.
• There must be a player list in the first post of the game thread and it must be updated regularly.
• It is a requirement to post a proper countdown that shows the time period of a game phase. You can use Holiday CountDown for this.
• You need to specify the duration of the day and night phases in your game.
• You need to specify whether you will allow role claiming or not in your game.
• You need to specify what type of lynch system you are going to use in your game and how you are going to resolve lynch ties.
• You need to specify how you will deal with inactive players in your game.
• If your game has a voting thread, it must be linked in the first post of the game thread.
• Similarly, the game thread must be linked in the first post of the voting thread. This allows players to easily go from the game thread to the voting thread and vice-versa.
• All alive players must be mentioned when you post a gameplay update. This ensures that all players are aware of the progress of the game.
• You are not allowed to change the setup of your game when it is running. Contact a coach if you consider it necessary.
• It is advised that you have at least three substitute players before you start your game.
• It is advised that you use substitute players when dealing with inactive player slots. Mod-kill should only be used as a last resort when no substitute players are available. This is because a mod-kill can imbalance your game.
• It is advised that you do not give inactive player roles to members who have been lynched or killed in your game. This gives the member an unfair advantage through prior knowledge attained through his previous role. Please contact a coach in case you want to do this.
• If you want to clarify some issues in your game, contact a coach.
• To the above, do not contact coaches who are playing in your game. You might have to give classified information and doing so will break your game.

Strikes:

• If a player or host breaks the rules of the mafia game given above he/she will receive a strike if the coaches agree that a rule has been broken.
• A strike will take one month to expire.
• If a player receives three strikes he/she will be banned and unable to sign up or play in any mafia games till the strikes expire.
• If a host receives three strikes he/she will be banned and unable to host any mafia games till the strikes expire.
• Direct bans can be given to hosts and players for breaking the rules.

Angleshooting -
Angleshooting is defined as doing things, or applying rules, in ways they weren't intended in order to gain an advantage in a game. In mafia, a common example of this is using OGI (out of game information) to exert public pressure or influence on the game, to publicly give reads based on OGI, or in more extreme cases, to use information acquired through illegitimate means to covertly influence a game. Angleshooting also covers all intentional uses of any flaws/quirks in the forum software in order to subvert the spirit of the game.
This definition is purposefully non-specific because angleshooting is more of a general idea than a specific case. Generally speaking, you know it when you see it, and it can range from relatively innocent/harmless to malicious and blatant cheating.
A good rule of thumb is if you're attempting to push a game in a particular direction, and your reasons for doing so are not based on what's directly happened in the game, or meta, you're in the danger zone.
The game of Mafia is firmly against angleshooting. If you are unsure if a particular action/read is angleshooting or not, (privately) ask the game host. If you encounter something in a game that you believe to be angleshooting, inform the game host and the game host will take a look at it.

Out Of Game Information (OGI) -
Mafia, as a game, can only work when the players inside the game abide by a certain kind of fiction. It's not roleplaying, not exactly, but the idea that a mafia game exists inside its own little bubble is what prevents games from degenerating into rampant angleshooting, prevents games from spilling over into other games, and lets us call each other liars without making it a personal attack.
Game integrity being paramount to healthy, fair games, the game of mafia places the highest priority on preserving it. Here's the Spirit of the Game version of OGI, and the reasons the game is against OGI influencing a game:-

The spirit of the rule regarding OGI is essentially this: no one should ever post anything that isn't about the game that a second player could reasonably make an alignment read based on.

Frequently, it's the second-order effects that OGI has on the game that is so disruptive. Even if you personally see nothing wrong / nothing alignment indicative about asking the game host a question in the thread, or commenting on a player's online activity elsewhere, or making a read based on what someone who's in another game is doing in your game, it's the catastrophic ripple effect that discussing these things in the game thread has on game integrity that's the problem. Players can and will read into your OGI comments, and players will read into those comments, and so on, and suddenly the game is no longer self-contained, no longer actually about the game.

To be clear: Sometimes OGI will influence a read of yours. It happens to everyone. "Man, Person X is posting up a storm in this other game but is a complete lurker here. Wonder if they randed wolf." That kind of thinking is bound to happen sometimes; it's unavoidable to a certain extent. What is completely unacceptable is publicly bringing up that read in the game thread.
Here's the short version, the quick "how should I act in a game" version: For the purposes of a game of mafia, everything outside the bubble should be treated (publicly) as if it doesn't exist.

• What a player is or isn't doing online (outside of the game), anywhere, doesn't exist.
• The game host doesn't exist. (All communication with/about game hosts should be done privately)
• Reports don't exist (if you need to report something, just do it, don't mention it publicly, and do not threaten to report someone.) Similarly, infractions and warnings don't exist. If you get one, handle it privately, don't mention it in the game thread.

The exceptions to "the bubble" are a player's previous mafia history/mannerisms/ preferences (everything generally covered under the term "meta") excluding ongoing games, and a player alluding to their own real-life status in the context of thread activity levels. For example, saying you're going to bed, or going to miss the first 24 hours of a day for Real Life reasons are perfectly acceptable statements. When you make such a statement, however, it is required to be alignment agnostic. No one should be able to plausibly read anything about your alignment into anything you say about your RL status.
Respect the bubble. Game integrity is an ideal that only works if everyone in the game actively works to maintain it.

Flaking -
Signing up for a game is a commitment. It is unfair to the host and the other players if someone who signs up is unable to meet this commitment. You are expected to meet your host's definition of sufficient activity. If an emergency prevents you from being able to play the game, then you should contact the host and request to be replaced, while at the same time providing them with a valid explanation of why you require a replacement. However, note that replacing out is only for actual emergencies; subbing out because you are unsatisfied with your role, because you suddenly no longer feel like playing the game, because you realize that you would rather not actually play several games at once are all non-valid reasons for subbing out, for example. The Game Managers are keeping track of subbing and activity patterns, and if someone has a history of subbing out for poor reasons or not meeting the minimum activity requirements, they will be banned from signing up for games.

Mafia has a minimum post requirement of Three Posts Per Phase, meaning Players that do not post at least thrice per game phase, of any phase length, may be subject to penalty. The game host may increase this minimum requirement, but may not decrease it. Given an appropriate explanation for flaking consistently, violations may also be judged on a case-by-case basis. Our hope is that if an individual signs up to play in a game, that they will contribute to that cause.

Phases -
A mafia game primarily consists of two main phases, Day and Night. A Day Phase and a Night Phase together form a Game Cycle.

Pregame:
In the Pregame, the host randomly distributes all roles in the game to the players and sets up the private anti-town faction chat where the anti-town players can talk. The anti-town players may have a small introductory conversation in the chat. The anti-town players through the chat become aware of who is on their side and as such become informed. The anti-town faction also has fewer players, hence they are the minority. The anti-town faction is as such an Informed Minority. The host then posts the Game Thread and mentions all the players for the Day Phase.

Day Phase:
In the Day Phase, the pro-town faction, the Town tries to weed out the anti-town players by lynching someone they suspect to be anti-town through a collective voting process. The Town, unlike the anti-town faction, has no idea who is on their side. The Town also forms the majority by having a higher number of players. Hence the Town is the Uniformed Majority Faction. Because the Town is typically the single largest faction present, it openly dominates the Day, with anti-town factions being forced to pretend that they are either part of the Town or Independent. The Town uses the lynch to eliminate players. The player with the most votes, the majority vote, or chosen by the monarchy depending on the lynch system used gets lynched and dies. the lynched player's role then gets revealed and the Day Phase ends. Most games will have a Day Start with Day Phase 1.

Twilight Phases:
The Twilight Phases are Dawn Phase and Dusk Phase. Twilights Phases typically act as buffers between the Day Phase and Night Phase allowing players to discuss the game in the game thread but disallowing the use of Night Actions and Day Actions.

Dusk Phase:​

Dusk Phase is the Twilight between Day and Night. It is the period of time between the end of the Day phase and the announcement of the Lynch. In a Majority Lynch game, this is the period of time between a majority vote being reached/a hard deadline being hit and the announcement of the Lynch. In a Plurality Lynch game, this is the period of time between a hard deadline being hit and the announcement of the Lynch. In a Monarchy Lynch game, this is the period of time between the King voting/a hard deadline being hit and the announcement of the Lynch.​

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Dawn Phase:​

Dawn Phase is the Twilight between Night and Day. It is the period of time between the end of the Night phase and the announcement of what occurred during that Night phase. Game hosts use this phase to resolve all Night Actions and as a means to inform players that no more Night actions will be received by the game host.​

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Night Phase:
In the Night Phase, all discussion stops The anti-town players, however, are able to continue discussing because of their private chat. Because Anti-Town factions tend to have abilities that can reduce the Town's player base, and because such factions are generally aware of their allies' identities, Anti-Town factions tend to dominate the Night, with the Town left groping in the dark hoping to use their Abilities on the right players. The anti-town players collectively choose a player to kill and send their target to the host. The host announces the death scene and the role of the player killed by the anti-town faction when the Night Phase ends.

Endgame:
One Day and Night together form a Game Cycle, i.e; Day 1 and Night 1 together form Game Cycle 1. The phases mentioned above keep on happening in a cyclic manner like this: Day Phase 1 -> Dusk Phase 1 -> Night Phase 1 -> Dawn Phase 1 -> Day Phase 2 -> Dusk Phase 2 -> Night Phase 2 -> Dawn Phase 2 until the Endgame. The Endgame marks the victory of one particular faction because that faction attained its win condition by eliminating all opposing factions. This marks the end of the game.

Lynch Systems -
The lynch system is used in the Day Phase to eliminate players through a Voting Process. Generally, five types of lynch systems are used in Mafia Games:

• Plurality Lynch: In this lynch system, the player with the highest amount of votes at the end of Day Phase is lynched.
• Majority Lynch: In this lynch system, a majority of votes of the player base must be reached on a certain player to get him/her lynched.
• Monarchy Lynch: In this lynch system, a single-player called the "King" decides which player will be lynched. For balance purposes, the King title switches to a different player every Day Phase.
• Deadline Lynch: In this lynch system, a majority of votes of the player base must be reached on a certain player to get him/her lynched. However, if a majority of votes is not reached by the end of the Day Phase, then the player with the highest amount of votes gets lynched. This is the most balanced lynch system.
• Variable Lynch System: In this lynch system the game switches lynch systems. For example, Day 1 is Pluarity, Day 2 onwards is Majority.

A Lynch Tie occurs when two or more players get the same highest amount of votes. A host in such a scenario can take the following actions:

• No Lynch: No player in the tie is lynched. This is the most optimal action to take as the Town has been unable to come to a consensus on who should be lynched hence no one should be lynched.
• Random Lynch: A player in the tie is randomly lynched through a Random Number Generator. This action, however, can be seen as unfair.
• All Lynch: All players in the tie are lynched. This action could break the game in small player setups.
• First Vote Lynch: The player who was voted first among all the tied players gets lynched. This action is also considered to be unfair.

 

[AL sama]

Win Conditions and Alignments -
The win condition is a condition when attained causes a player to win the game and is explicitly stated in a Role Private Message. The win condition is always factional, not individual. Hence a player can win the game if his faction wins regardless of whether he is dead or alive. An Alignment represents the win condition a player has been assigned. Alignment is normally indicative of which faction a player is a part of. The alignment is always determined by the game host on the win condition of the player, not his/her playstyle in the game.
The three alignments in a mafia game are as follows:

• Pro-Town Alignment- When the victory condition of a player or faction when fulfilled causes the victory of Town. The players with this win condition are known as Townie/Townies. These players as such have a Pro-Town Win Condition. The Town faction has a Pro-Town alignment.
• Anti-Town Alignment- When the victory condition of a player or faction when fulfilled causes the loss of Town. The players with this win condition are known as Wolf/Wolves. These players as such have an Anti-Town Win Condition. The Mafia, Cult and Serial factions have Anti-Town alignments.
• Neutral Alignment- When the victory condition of a player or faction is not related to the victory or loss of Town. The players with this win condition are known as Indie/Indies. These players as such have a Neutral Win Condition. Independent factions have neutral alignment.

How these alignments work in a game:

• Pro-Town and Anti-Town factions are inherently at odds with one another and typically cannot win together.
• Anti-Town factions are typically also at odds with each other, and similarly cannot win together
• The defining difference between Pro-Town and Anti-Town factions is that Pro-Town factions are represented as an uninformed majority, while Anti-Town factions are represented as an informed minority.
• The conflict between Pro-Town and Anti-Town factions mainly centres around the number of votes.
• Neutral alignment factions function entirely outside of the Pro-Town vs Anti-Town struggle and can win alongside any Pro-Town or Anti-Town faction, given that certain specific conditions are met as stated in their win conditions. They are not involved in the conflict over the number of votes.
• If in a game no Town is present, then all factions who have a conflict over the number of votes will be Anti-Town factions.
• If a game has multiple Town Factions then all the votes of the Town factions must be shared and count as the votes of one faction. Together these Town factions must comprise above 70% of the playerbase. These Town factions win and lose the game together. Essentially the Multiple Town factions would be like sub-factions of a mega Town Faction.
• Custom factions have variable alignments and this is decided by the Game Host.

Multiple Win Conditions:
In a majority of mafia games, players generally have only one win condition. This is known as a Singular Win Condition. This leads to the player having one alignment only.
However, in some mafia games, players can have multiple win conditions. Players having multiple win conditions generally come under Custom factions. Multiple win Conditions are of two types:-

Dual Win Conditions:
This happens when a player has two win conditions. This leads to the player obtaining two alignments. The combinations of a Dual win condition include:

• Pro-Town and Anti-Town.
• Pro-Town and Neutral.
• Anti-Town and Neutral.

Triple Win Conditions:
This happens when a player has Pro-Town, Anti-Town, and Neutral win conditions. This leads to the player obtaining all three alignments.

How Multiple win conditions work in a mafia game:

• Achieving the Pro-Town and Anti-Town win conditions simultaneously is impossible unless the game ends in a draw, thus the one which is achieved first gives the player victory.
• However, the Neutral win condition is compatible with the Anti-Town and Pro-Town win conditions. In other words, A player can obtain a victory by achieving a "Pro-town and Neutral win condition combo" or an "Anti-Town and Neutral win condition combo".

The Types of Factions in a Mafia Game -

There are six types of factions that are universally accepted in Mafia Games:

Town
The Town is an Uninformed Majority Pro-Town faction. It always constitutes more than half of the players in a game, i.e; above 70 % of the playerbase in a game. This makes it the single largest faction present in a mafia game, but no extra information is given to members of the Town faction outside of their Role. It wins when it eliminates all the Anti-town factions in a game. It can win with Pro-Town and Neutral alignments. It as such has a Pro-Town win condition and a Pro-Town alignment.

Mafia
The Mafia is an Informed Minority Anti-Town faction. It is not required for a game to be "Mafia" (provided that there is an alternative Anti-Town faction included). It is an Informed Minority, meaning it has information outside of it's individual roles, this being the identity of other members of the faction and has a minority of players included. It usually has a Destructive action as a factional ability which kills players. It usually has a means of communication between members outside of the game thread to communicate with each other. It wins when it eliminates all the Pro-town and Anti-town factions in the game. It can win with Neutral alignments. It as such has an Anti-Town win condition and an Anti-Town alignment.

Cult
The Cult is an Informed Minority Anti-Town faction. Where it differs from a Mafia, however, is in it's main ability. Where a Mafia kills players, a Cult can recruit them into the faction making the recruited player abandon his faction and join the Cult. This means that the starting numbers of a Cult are usually small, with the idea of them growing the longer the Cult survives in a game. A Cult cannot recruit players belonging to Mafia factions and other Cult factions. The nature of how the Cult works means that they are harder to balance and roles typically change upon being recruited into the Cult to prevent them from being overpowered. It may sometimes have a Destructive action as a factional ability which kills players. It usually has a means of communication between members outside of the game thread to communicate with each other. It wins when it eliminates all the Pro-Town and Anti-Town factions in the game or if it obtains a majority of the votes. It can win with Neutral alignments. It as such has an Anti-Town win condition and an Anti-Town alignment.

Serial
The Serial is an Informed Minority Anti-Town faction. Unlike other anti-town factions, however, a Serial can only be solo / one-strong, i.e; the Serial can only be one player. It usually has a Destructive action as an individual ability that kills players. Given the very small size of the faction, Serial roles tend to be the most powerful roles in the game. It wins when it eliminates all the Pro-town and Anti-town factions in the game. It can win with Neutral alignments. It as such has an Anti-Town win condition and an Anti-Town alignment.

Independent
The Independent is a Neutral faction which means that it can win with either Pro-Town, Anti-Town, or Neutral factions as their win condition is not related to the victory or loss of the Town. It can be Pro-Town or Anti-Town sided even, provided that nothing inhibits it from winning with both alignments. It wins when the faction achieves the neutral win condition and as such has a Neutral alignment.

Custom
Custom factions have faction mechanics that do not fit in any of the five faction categories above. Custom factions only appear in modern games or unpredictable mechanical games. The win conditions of Custom factions vary with each game and are decided by the game host.

Role Abilities in a Mafia Game -
A role in a Mafia Game can have abilities to influence the flow of the game. These types of roles are called "Power Roles". The abilities in a Mafia Game are of two types:

• Passive Ability: A passive ability is an ability that will work automatically without any input from the player. This means that the effects from any passive ability will automatically take place when valid.
• Active Ability: An active ability is an ability that requires player input to work. In other words, an active ability requires the player to opt to use the ability for its effects to take place.

Mafia Game Ability Types
The following is a list of Mafia Game Ability Types and what they mean.

Destructive - A destructive ability is an ability that kills a player (or players). The most iconic Destructive Ability is the Vigilante/Hitman/Killer, but other common Destructive Abilities include the Poisoner and Executioner. Destructive Abilities are generally more useful for Anti-Town factions than for the Town, as Anti-Town factions generally already know which players are friends and which are foes, and so can use Destructive Abilities more precisely without the risk of friendly fire. The use of a Destructive Ability is typically called a Kill. For write-up purposes, a player killed with a destructive effect should be displayed as having been "killed", whereas a player who died through a non-destructive effect should be displayed as "died".

Investigative - This refers to any ability which provides information. The most iconic Investigative Ability is the Cop, but other common Investigative Abilities include the Tracker, Watcher, and Thief. Investigative Abilities are generally more useful for the Town than for Anti-Town factions because Anti-Town factions are typically already better informed than the Town. The use of an Investigative Ability is typically called an Investigation.

Protective - This refers to any ability which provides some form of immunity. The most iconic Protective Ability is the Doctor, but other common Protective Abilities include the Commuter, Jailer, and Bodyguard. Protective Abilities are generally more useful for the Town than for Anti-Town factions because Town is far more likely to be targeted by harmful abilities from which one would want immunity. The use of a Protective Ability is typically called a Protection.

Manipulative - Also referred to as "Chaotic". This refers to any ability which aims to misinform or misdirect. This is used primarily as a counter to Investigative actions. The most iconic Manipulative Ability is the Bus Driver, but other common Manipulative Abilities include the Framer, Redirector, and Politician. Manipulative Abilities are generally more useful for Anti-Town factions than for the Town, because misinformation is normally harmful to the Town's ability to identify Wolves. The use of a Manipulative Ability is typically called misdirection.

Creative- This refers to abilities that alter or add to base roles. For example, a role that can Gift abilities to other players (For example, Inventor) is considered Creative because it can add to roles. The most iconic Creative Ability is the Inventor, but other common Creative Abilities include the Eraser, Graverobber, and Kingmaker. Creative Abilities are objectively more useful for Anti-Town factions than for the Town, as there is no chance of accidentally targeting an enemy with a beneficial Creative ability or a friend with a harmful Creative ability; for this reason, such Abilities must not be given to Anti-Town factions lightly. The use of a Creative Ability is typically called a Gift.

Conversive - This refers to abilities that can convert the alignment of players, or otherwise provide a means of out-of-thread communication with them. The most iconic Conversive Ability is the Cult Leader, but other common Conversive Abilities include the Mason Recruiter, Motivator, and Psychiatrist. Conversive Abilities are objectively more useful for Anti-Town factions than for the Town, as there is no chance of accidentally targeting an enemy with a beneficial Conversive Ability or a friend with a harmful Conversive Ability. For this reason, such Abilities must not be given to Anti-Town factions lightly. The use of a Conversive Ability is typically called either a Conversion or a Conversation, depending on whether the Ability also alters Alignment.

Preventative - This refers to abilities that block or prevent the use of other abilities. The most iconic Preventative Ability is the Roleblocker/Prostitute, but other common Preventative Abilities include the Jailer. Preventative Abilities are generally about as useful for the Town as for Anti-Town factions, as they can be used by the Town as a quasi-Investigation looking for Destructive roles or by an Anti-Town faction to shut down a Protective or Investigative Role. The use of a Preventative Ability is typically called a Block.

Action Resolution -
Action resolution is the act of determining how Actions interact and then resolving what occurs overall. Because many Actions are specifically designed to inhibit or enable other Actions, it can be quite complex. The following is a guide on how to resolve action abilities.

Action Resolution for Night Actions:
Night Actions are Actions that are used during the Night phase. Night Actions are broken up into three tiers, with a higher tier resolving before a lower tier fires. Conversive, Manipulative, Preventative, and Protective Actions are Tier 1, Investigative Actions are Tier 2, and Creative and Destructive Actions are Tier 3. Tier 1 has special self-interaction rules for resolving when one such Night Action would affect another.

Tier 1 - Conversive, Manipulative, Protective, Preventative.
Tier 2 - Investigative.
Tier 3 - Destructive, Creative.

• Tier 1 resolves before Tier 2.
• Tier 2 resolves before Tier 3.
• A Tier 1 action that targets itself will resolve before any other Night Action (including Tier 1 actions).
• If a Tier 1 action targets another Tier 1 action, the latter action will resolve after the former action, unless the latter action is also affected the former action.

Action Resolution for Day Actions:
Day Actions are Actions that are used during the Day phase. Unlike Night Actions, which are generally not revealed in the game thread, Day Actions are posted in the game thread and they fire and immediately resolve based on when they are sent by the player to the host.

Claiming
Claiming is the act of revealing information about one's role in the game thread, generally at the request of the Town. A Claim, therefore, is the information that is revealed during this action.

• However, in doing so, the player should either not give any proof or give hypothetical proofs based upon the outcomes of Day and Night Phases to support his/her claim.
• To the above, a player is not allowed to make a claim and support it with absolute proof by posting quotes and screenshots of Private Messages between the Host and the Player in the Game Thread. If a player does this he/she will be mod-killed and receive a strike.
• Some Game hosts will not allow claiming in their Mafia Game. In such a case scenario, players should not claim nor support other players' assumptions of their role. The best response is an ambiguous one (Maybe you are correct with your assumption?).
• To the above, you can claim the roles of other players but you must support your claims from the game thread and not from any abilities that you have in your role.

Types of Claims:-

• Ability Claim: An Ability Claim is when a player states only the Abilities they received that game, generally accompanied by the Actions they have taken thus far.
• Alignment Claim: An Alignment Claim is when a player states only the Alignment they received that game.
• Character Claim: A Character Claim is when a player states only the Character they received that game and specifically does not state the accompanying flavour, which may provide clues about the Abilities that player received that game.
• Counter Claim: A Counter Claim is when a player's Ability Claim and/or Character Claim is the same as someone else's that has already Claimed. The general implication is that one of the two must be Fake Claiming, and therefore is Wolf.
• Fake Claim: A Fake Claim is when a player appears to Claim, but is actually lying about the information so revealed.
• Flavour Claim: A Flavor Claim is when a player states the only Character they received that game, generally accompanied by the provided flavour. This is sometimes erroneously referred to as a Character Claim.
• Full Claim: A Full Claim is when a player simultaneously Mechanical Claims and Flavor Claims. This is sometimes confused with a Role Claim, which is less specific.
• Mechanics Claim: A Mechanics Claim is when a player simultaneously Ability Claims and Alignment Claims. This is sometimes erroneously referred to as a Role Claim.
• Role Claim: A Role Claim is when a player simultaneously Mechanical Claims and either Flavor Claims or Character Claims. This is sometimes confused with a Full Claim, which is more specific.
• Safe Claim: A Safe Claim refers to a Fake Claim which is provided by the host. As such, they are generally not at risk of being Counter Claimed.

Types of Mafia Games -
Mafia games come in two types based on the time period of the phases in the game. This is the official mafia game distribution used in the Animebase Mafia section.

• Normal Mafia Games: Normal Games are games where the Day and Night Phases last for 24 hours or more. This means that people from all time zones can play the game. These games can take a month to complete and as such are slow-paced games.
• Turbo Mafia Games: Turbo Games are mafia games where the Day and Night Phases last from 10 minutes to 20 Minutes. These games are restricted in nature as people from all time zones cannot play this game. These games get over in a few hours and as such are rapid-paced games.

A mafia game setup is a combination of power roles and mechanics used in a game of Mafia. Mafia Games come in three types based on the setup of the game.

• Open Setup Mafia Game: An Open Setup is a setup in which the game host has revealed all the roles and mechanics present in the game they are hosting.
• Semi-Open Setup Mafia Game: A Semi-Open Setup is a setup in which the game host has partially revealed the roles and mechanics present in the game they are hosting. Some game roles and mechanics remain hidden.
• Closed Setup Mafia Game: A Closed Setup is a setup in which the game host has not revealed any of the roles and mechanics present in the game they are hosting. All game roles and mechanics are hidden.

Depending on the factions present in the game, Mafia games are of three types.

• Traditional Mafia Game: A Traditional Mafia Game features a Pro-Town faction versus an Anti-Town faction. Independent factions are rarely present in Traditional games. Example 1- Town VS Mafia, Example 2- Town VS Serial, Example 3- Town VS Cult.
• Multiball Mafia Game: A Multiball Mafia Game features a Pro-Town faction and multiple Anti-Town factions. Independent factions appear a lot in Multiball Games. Example 1: Town Vs Mafia 1 VS Mafia 2, Example 2- Town VS Mafia VS Serial, Example 3- Town VS Mafia VS Serial 1 VS Serial 2.
• Modern Mafia Game: A Modern Mafia Game generally does not follow the traditional conventions of mafia games and have new setups like having multiple Pro-Town factions, only Anti-Town Factions and the usage of Custom Factions. Independent Factions appear a lot in Modern games. Example: Custom VS Mafia VS Serial 1 VS Serial 2 VS Cult.