Reborn Mafia Club Hosting Guide

[Daniel Blackworth]

Reborn Mafia Club Hosting Guide

With the best interests of the Reborn Mafia Club, I, with the help of the other experienced Mafia hosts, have created a Hosting Guide in the pursuit of helping potential interested hosts to design their own Mafia game and be able to host it in the future time. This also is a guide that provides important information for experienced hosts in case they experience issues as it answers certain issues that may occur as a game progresses.

This guide contains the step-by-step process of hosting a Mafia game, from designing the game to starting the game to running the game  to addressing different issues that may come up while the game is going on to concluding the game.

Table of Contents
I. Designing a Mafia game
II. Preparing for your game
III. Starting the game
IV. Effectively running the game
V. Ending the game
VI. Issues

[Daniel Blackworth]

I. Designing a Mafia game

I assume everyone who's played Mafia at any given point has thought of running their own game for varied reasons: some may have thought of it because they wanted to make a game based on their interests, others may desire to try to observe the environment of players as a hosts while others may simply want to make a fun and fulfilling environment for their fellow players.

In the beginning of designing a Mafia game, you should ask yourself, "What kind of game do I want?"

Most interested hosts, when asked with this question, answer that they want to create a game based on a certain television show, book, anime, story, concept, and other forms of media. Other hosts answer this question by saying that they want to create a game with x mechanic or x roles. There are other approaches to this, but always, you must first think of the kind of game you want before you start designing.

To continue, there are different types of games featured in Reborn Mafia Club. Based on design, there are three basic archetypes:

(A) Open Setup - These are the types of games which reveal roles and their abilities at the opening post of the thread. Nothing is kept secret from players.

(B) Semi-Open Setup - These are the types of games which reveal partial information. Hosts may decide to hide certain abilities or indicate the characters present, but not their abilities.

(C) Closed Setup - These are the types of games which reveal no information. Roles and abilities are hidden, and it is up to the players to speculate the roles in the game.

Among the three archetypes, the easiest one to not worry about balance is the Closed Setup since it easily prevents massclaiming right off the bat. However, in handling it, there is still a requirement to balance roles effectively. In this guide, we will focus on Open Setups for this matter.

There are also several kinds of variations to Mafia games, but we will talk about standard Mafia games and how to balance the game effectively.

A standard Mafia game, for clarification, is a game with an intended Town and Mafia group. It is also common for such games to have a few Third Party or Independent roles.

What are the things you need to consider when designing a standard game?

(1) Ratio - It is important to balance Town and Mafia groups. For this, the preferable ratio is around 3 Town : 1 Mafia to 4 Town : 1 Mafia. In this manner, Town is given opportunities to make mistakes while Mafia is also within attaining their goal. Deviating from this ratio can often make a certain side more advantageous and this is something hosts and players both do not want.

(2) Balance of Roles - It is also considerably important to keep roles balanced, so that both sides have weapons to benefit their side while not having an unfair advantage for their own side. Balancing of roles may sometimes be a difficult thing to do, but here are some tips:

(2.1) Avoid making roles overpowered. Make sure that certain roles have deterrents to their effectivity. For example, Cop may be limited by adding Millers or Godfathers, or in other cases, multiple Cops with varying Sanities may be added. You may also utilize counterparts to Town roles such as adding Hooker when there is a Drunk or adding a Fabricator when there is a Gunsmith and/or Vestsmith.

(2.2) Add some variety into the setup. You don't necessarily always need the same Cop / Doc / Tracker / Jailer / etc Town group or the Fabricator / Silencer / etc Mafia group. In other words, add some uncommon roles in Mafia, but make sure that you know how they are utilized and how they work.

(2.3) Add some vanillas. Reborn Mafia's meta is technically night-centric, meaning it currently leans on the incorporation of night actions, but this doesn't mean that we don't need vanillas. Vanillas give a little space for the mafia to breathe and be able to lie while they also keep town at a balance. Considering adding two or more vanillas though this may not always be the case.

(2.4) Prevent massclaiming. Massclaiming tends to be an issue in Open setups with several Town roles. This often makes it difficult for Mafia groups as they have less opportunities to hide in. Aside from adding vanillas in setups, here are some suggestions:

(2.4.1) Make the role list greater than the actual number of players. In this manner, mafia has space to make reasonable fakeclaims to protect themselves.

(2.4.2) Add some Third Party elements which prevent massclaiming. This includes Cult, which although breaks balance in its own way, does prevent players from effective claiming or Werewolves, which discourage claiming as it harms everyone.

(2.4.3) Limit the information revealed per death. Games may incorporate only revealing the alignment (or none at all) of players who die to keep roles ambiguous.

(2.4.4) Have a Semi-Open or Closed Setup. Revealing partial information from the start allows better room for fakeclaiming and effective scumhunting.

(2.4.5) Have role ambiguity. You can also craft a game which has roles which may be of either alignment. In this manner, massclaiming isn't as dangerous and it gives room for mafia to breathe.

(2.4.6) Limit the amount of claims per day. It is uncommon, but it works in some cases.

Remember, Mafia is all about looking for the mafia players with the use of analysis and deduction, and not merely with the use of claims and night actions.

(2.5) You may also consider limiting the number of times someone can perform an action. For example, Town can have a 2x Shot Tracker or a 2x Shot Vigilante. In this case, Town still has weapons but not be too overpowered. This also applies to Mafia.

(3) Role Interaction - Hosts may often be confused on how roles interact with each other. Sometimes, this boils down to how x role would affect y role. To organize this effectively, it is appropriate to analyze the setup carefully and address these questions before the game starts. 

(4) Role Priority - Hosts may be confused with the concept of Role Interaction when there isn't an established order of actions. To alleviate this, it is necessary for hosts to plan out the flow of actions before the game starts. This may be organized in different ways such as (a) actions may be time-based meaning actions flow based on who submitted what first, (b) actions may follow a consistent priority lane such as mafia kill being before cop investigation, and (c) actions may all happen at the same time, meaning all actions can happen as long as there isn't anything to prevent it. It is deemed necessary to make this clear before the game starts.

(5) Independents or Third Parties - It is important to consider the position of Third Parties. Often times, there may be problems that arise when Third Parties may lean to supporting a specific side between Town and Mafia. It is often recommended to set a distance between the two by establishing a clear win condition; however, in some cases, you may go for a joint independent - factional win to give them a chance to succeed.

(6) Role PMs - Somewhat minor, but it is always great to explain how the role and abilities of a player works and is utilized in the Role PM clearly. Win conditions should be clear and additional background may be applied if the game is based on a certain theme.

[Daniel Blackworth]

II. Preparing for your game

Before you are able to start a game, it is necessary to prepare certain materials. Having good preparations ensures an effective and smooth experience for the game as a whole. Before a host can queue a game, they are expected to submit the opening post of their game for analysis and checking. Here are some recommended preparations:

(1) The Opening Post - A good host prepares important information straight up from the Sign-up Thread. This may include the following:

(1.1) An explanation of Mafia and how it is played; if you are using different mechanics, you may explicitly state these here

(1.2) Specific mechanics to remember such as what is revealed upon death, what kind of voting is followed, what makes it different from other Mafia games, etc.

(1.3) An Opening Narrative or a Synopsis of the Story of the Game (optional if non story driven)

(1.4) Factions and Roles with sufficient descriptions

(1.5) Rules of the game (a host may use other host's rulesets, given that they are sure that these apply to their game while they may also create specific rules to go by)

(2) Role PMs - A good host prepares the details of the Role PM beforehand. This includes the role, ability, alignment, win condition, method of contact with the host, etc.

(3) Specified contact areas - A good host prepares specified channels of communications for roles that need it such as mafia or cult groups which often share private channels where they may converse in. It is common for Mafia games in Reborn Mafia Club to utilize Discord as it is an effective grounds for real time planning and interaction.
 

[Daniel Blackworth]

III. Starting the game

Before you can start a game, hosts are requested to submit the opening post to the moderators of the Club, preferably me or Alistair. When it is their turn to be on queue, they are expected to prepare the other materials needed for their game such as Role PMs and specified chats.

In order to start a game, hosts are asked to post their Sign-up Threads in the General Mafia Forum of the Reborn Mafia Club. Hosts wait for a set period of time before they start their games. There are three important things that may be done in this phase:

(1) Announcing the game
  - At times, it may be difficult to find players who are willing to play the game. This may be addressed by making use of the game's thread and advertising it to other potential players. Methods may include (a) making use of the announcement board in the Discord channel, (b) organizing a status update in the Main Forums, (c) announcing it on the Reborn Discord Channel, and (d) asking people you are close with or who may have interest in the game subject.

(2) Adding / Subtracting Roles
  - It is common for the intended number of players to either exceed or be lesser than the host's expectations. In such cases, hosts are required to add/subtract roles to accommodate the player base. When adding/subtracting roles, it is recommended to keep the game balance as projected in the initial section. Hosts may modify usage of actions if they deem it suitable for the game size.

(3) Assigning Roles
  - Hosts are expected to assign roles using RNG or Random Number Generator sites or applications to keep things neutral. After they have assigned a role to each individual, they are to send out this information to the players concerned via PMs or DMs, whichever is more preferable for hosts. When this is done, the game will now be ready to begin.

[Daniel Blackworth]

IV. Running the game

As the game progresses, it is the host's duty to manage the game both within the scene and behind the scenes. The host is delegated to update the participants of phase changes and announcements, to manage role interactions between players, and to keep the fun environment for players. The game officially begins once the host posts the Night 0 (or Day 1, in other cases) post. There are two major phases to keep track on:

Day Phases: During the Day Phase, players discuss and discuss on whom they should eliminate for the day while they also try to analyze the game's events and disposition of other individuals. In this phase, the host's duty is to monitor discussion and ensure that no rules are broken in discussion. The host is also delegated to post tallies of votes to keep track of whom voted for whom and the number of votes each player has. When the phase ends, hosts are incentivized to update the title of the thread, the players who have died and their roles, and inform all players of the phase change. 

Night Phases: During the Night Phase, players are typically not allowed to discuss in the thread. However, they are tasked with sending night actions via PM or DM to the host, which allow them to perform an action benefitting their respective factions. The mafia also discuss on whom they should kill for the night.

Hosts monitor these actions and create appropriate logs to be able to manage these actions well. Before the phase ends, hosts are to submit the results of the player's actions to concerned players. This, however, does not apply to all roles as some roles are not informed of results. Ask concerned game moderators for any uncertainties or consult the role itself from other sources.

By the end of the phase, hosts do the same as with the Day Phase wherein they update the thread title and list of players, indicating who died in the previous phase.

V. Ending the game

Once a faction has fulfilled its win condition, the game comes to its conclusion and the host provides the ending narrative. The host also places a list of the members of the faction who won and reveals all unrevealed roles to the public. The host may also reveal a log of the actions performed in the nights.

Along with this, the host selects a player who will be the Most Valuable Player. This player, by all means, is the player whom the host deems to have made the greatest contributions in the game. This player does not necessarily have to be from the winning faction. The host explains the reason for placing the award on said player.

Moreover, the host may also take this opportunity to give feedback on the performance of the players and explain if the roles were utilized well or not. Alternatively, they may point out contributions of each player. Players may also give feedback by showing their opinion to the setup, the host, and their suggestions for next games. This is to be done with respect, of course.

[Daniel Blackworth]

VI. Issues

It is inevitable for hosts to encounter some issues within the proceedings of the game. This may be minor or major and in this part of the guide, we address some common issues present in Mafia games.

Making mistakes

Sometimes, hosts perform accidental mistakes such as giving the wrong information to the wrong person or affecting the game flow accidentally by a mistake in role priority. In such cases, the host must not panic and must take responsibility for the mistake by performing damage control. Some cases may include giving information supposed to be received by x to y. In this case, the host may try to remove the information before it is seen; however, in instances where it is seen, the host should erase the information and tell the player to forget it or simply do what has been done. Another case might be that player x should have died instead of y. In this case, you may offer a spot in case of inactives or conduct replacements. This depends on the host. What is important is to apologize for said mistakes and try to repair them. You may contact moderators if you are unsure of what action to take.

Inactivity and Substitution

It is not uncommon for players to be inactive within a game's progress. Inactivity means that they post below post requirements, do not communicate with hosts to inform them of actions, and simply contribute very little to the game. As a host, you must enforce rules properly and communicate with concerned individuals. You must have a set number of phases wherein they perform lesser than the requirement and if this passes, you are to notify them immediately and give them a warning.

If the player has a valid explanation for the inactivity and is willing to participate better soon, accept their explanation if possible. However, it is still upon you to decide in these cases. If the player still is inactive despite the warning, you are free to ask for someone else to substitute the player. This may be done by posting an announcement or asking players who may be ready to substitute in the game. These players may preferably be not part of the game while it is still possible to ask players who were part of the town but died. Appropriate announcements to player substition should be done. 

If no substitutes are found, modkilling the player is to be done. However, this gives a disadvantage to the concerned alignment, so use this only as a last resort solution.

Delays in Updating

If you cannot update in the supposed time for phase change, do inform the players for this change and update it at the promised time. If you require an extended absence, inform not only the players, but also the moderators, so that they may keep the thread from being locked. Hosts who do not update for long periods of time or delay updates for several phases will be notified of such cases.

Violations

Players may tend to commit violations pertaining to the rules you set them. Based on the offense, players are to be penalized with a warning for the first offense and disqualification for the game in consecutive offenses. Some offenses, such as gamethrowing or illegally revealing information, may be penalized with disqualification from the game right off the bat if it affects the game largely.

In such cases, it is best to discuss it first with the moderators before proceeding to an action.  However, as a host, you must be firm with your stand.