Post by Snaq ◢ ◤ on Jul 19, 2017 18:24:15 GMT
Lets talk about simple Mafia games! Mafia is in and of itself a pretty complicated game, due to the many ways it can be played, so what constitutes a good setup for new players?
Simplicity
A game for new users has to be simple. The roles have to be easy to understand and not conflict too much with each other, otherwise it gets too confusing. There should not be so many roles that they may forget what some do during the game. Thus, it is generally best to only have Mafia and Town as the factions. Additionally, the game has to be relatively simple itself. Having some way to help town (clears, information roles) can be good, so that it's not 100% scumhunting, which can be very hard at first.
Balance
A newbie game has to be balanced. Of course Mafia and Town need similar win-chances, else it is not fun to play. But it shouldn't be boring to play any role (role balance), as otherwise it doesn't give a good first impression. Finally there needs to be a good balance between scumhunting and information gained at night. Making it too much scumhunting makes it relatively complicated to play, while making it too much about information at night makes it stale.
Strategy
It should teach the users strategies we want to promote! One reason 2 Mafia / Doc / Cop / 4 VTs is mediocre is because it promotes follow-the-cop and not much more. There should be no overwhelming and broken strategy, but teaching the users about scumhunting, clears and smart night actions is always appreciated. There need to be multiple way to use the night actions, and not be required to claim!
What to do here?
Discuss what theme you think is the best for new users, why, and post your own ideas.
My idea was an 8p theme.
1 Mafia Framer
1 Mafia Goon
2 Journalists (Inspect someone (Mafia / Not Mafia). When they die all their results are posted. They don't know their results.)
4 VTs.
It's fairly simple, with the only power roles being the Journalists, and the Mafia Framer to counteract that. It can give town clears, but Journalists do not want to claim Day 1 (they can die Night 1 before they inspect). And shouldn't let town know who they are going to inspect next, otherwise they can be framed. Additionally, you cannot play follow-the-cop, as you must make a trade-off! You can either NL and lynch a Journalist Day 2, or don't claim until LyLo and hope Mafia kills them accidentally. The Framer is there to make the results not 100% reliable. This means that Mafia are not completely ruined when killing a Journalist, it will be much harder. And by good play, they may frame a town (although the chance they target the same person isn't large anyway!).
Simplicity
A game for new users has to be simple. The roles have to be easy to understand and not conflict too much with each other, otherwise it gets too confusing. There should not be so many roles that they may forget what some do during the game. Thus, it is generally best to only have Mafia and Town as the factions. Additionally, the game has to be relatively simple itself. Having some way to help town (clears, information roles) can be good, so that it's not 100% scumhunting, which can be very hard at first.
Balance
A newbie game has to be balanced. Of course Mafia and Town need similar win-chances, else it is not fun to play. But it shouldn't be boring to play any role (role balance), as otherwise it doesn't give a good first impression. Finally there needs to be a good balance between scumhunting and information gained at night. Making it too much scumhunting makes it relatively complicated to play, while making it too much about information at night makes it stale.
Strategy
It should teach the users strategies we want to promote! One reason 2 Mafia / Doc / Cop / 4 VTs is mediocre is because it promotes follow-the-cop and not much more. There should be no overwhelming and broken strategy, but teaching the users about scumhunting, clears and smart night actions is always appreciated. There need to be multiple way to use the night actions, and not be required to claim!
What to do here?
Discuss what theme you think is the best for new users, why, and post your own ideas.
My idea was an 8p theme.
1 Mafia Framer
1 Mafia Goon
2 Journalists (Inspect someone (Mafia / Not Mafia). When they die all their results are posted. They don't know their results.)
4 VTs.
It's fairly simple, with the only power roles being the Journalists, and the Mafia Framer to counteract that. It can give town clears, but Journalists do not want to claim Day 1 (they can die Night 1 before they inspect). And shouldn't let town know who they are going to inspect next, otherwise they can be framed. Additionally, you cannot play follow-the-cop, as you must make a trade-off! You can either NL and lynch a Journalist Day 2, or don't claim until LyLo and hope Mafia kills them accidentally. The Framer is there to make the results not 100% reliable. This means that Mafia are not completely ruined when killing a Journalist, it will be much harder. And by good play, they may frame a town (although the chance they target the same person isn't large anyway!).
