View source for Mafia (party game)

{{Short description|Social deduction game}}
{{Unreliable sources|date=September 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox game
| name = Mafia
| other_names = Werewolf
|image=| image_link = File:Playing mafia game.jpg
| image_caption = Players making accusations in a game of ''Mafia''
| designer = Dimitry Davidoff
| players = At least 6<ref name="davidoff"/><br/>
10 for classic
| setup_time = < 6 minutes
| playing_time = 15–90 minutes
| random_chance =
|ages=+9 or +10| skills = [[Strategy|Strategic thought]], [[Team|team play]], [[social skills]], [[roleplay]], [[lying]]
}}

'''Mafia''', also known as '''Werewolf''', is a Russian [[social deduction game]] created by Dimitry Davidoff in 1986.<ref>{{cite web|author=Margaret Robertson |url=https://www.wired.com/story/werewolf/ |title=Werewolf: How a parlour game became a tech phenomenon |publisher=Wired |date=4 February 2010 |access-date=2025-02-09}}</ref> The game models a conflict between two groups: an informed minority (the mafiosi or the werewolves) and an [[Information asymmetry|uninformed]] majority (the villagers). At the start of the game, each player is secretly assigned a role affiliated with one of these teams. The game has two alternating phases: first, a night-phase, during which those with night-killing-powers may covertly kill other players, and second, a day-phase, in which all surviving players debate and vote to eliminate a suspect. The game continues until a faction achieves its [[win condition|win-condition]]; for the village, this usually means eliminating the evil minority, while for the minority, this usually means reaching numerical parity with the village and eliminating any rival evil groups.
{{TOC limit|2}}

==History==
Dimitry Davidoff ({{langx|ru|Дми́трий Давы́дов}}, ''Dmitry Davydov'') is generally acknowledged as the game's creator. He dates the first game of ''Mafia'' to spring 1987 at the Psychology Department of [[Moscow State University]], from where it spread to the classrooms, dorms, and summer camps of [[Moscow University]].<ref name="zarf">{{cite web| url =http://www.eblong.com/zarf/werewolf.html | title = Werewolf page ''History'' section}}</ref><ref group="Note">Plotkin quotes a 2005 email in which Davidoff explains that he brought Mafia into the Psychology department classrooms for research and it spread (as a [[meme]]) from there to dormitories and likely over next summer, through student summer camps. He credits this game-based [[methodology]] to pioneering 1920s psychologist [[Lev Vygotsky|Lev Vygotskiy]] and the [[Turing test]].{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}</ref> ''Wired'' attributes the creation to Davidoff and also dates the first game to 1987.<ref name=wired2010 /> He developed the game to combine [[psychology research]] with his duties teaching high school students.<ref name=wired2010>{{Cite magazine | last1=Robertson | first1=Margaret | title=Werewolf: How a parlour game became a tech phenomenon | url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/werewolf | access-date=2010-06-06 | magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired UK]] | issue =10 |date=4 February 2010 | volume=3 | publisher=Conde Nast Publications}}</ref> It became popular in other Soviet colleges and schools, often associated with hugely popular TV series ''[[La Piovra]]'', which first ran in 1986. In the 1990s it began to be played in other parts of Europe (in some countries under the name ''City of Palermo'') and then the United States. By the mid 1990s a version of the game became a [[Television in Latvia|Latvian television]] series with a parliamentary setting, and played by Latvian celebrities.<ref>{{cite book |location= Boulder |date=December 1998 |title= The Military and Society in the Former Eastern Bloc |editor1-first= C. P. |editor1-last= Danopoulos |editor2-first= D. |editor2-last= Zirker |publisher= Westview Press |url=https://www.questia.com/read/98923225 |page= 175 |isbn= 978-0-8133-3524-7 |quote= The objective is to discover who these [Mafia] people are even as they speak on behalf of Latvia's welfare, and before they eliminate people who suspect who they are. |oclc= 237326581}}</ref>

[[Andrew Plotkin]] gave the rules a [[werewolf]] theme in 1997,<ref name="zarf2">{{cite web | url= http://www.eblong.com/zarf/werewolf.html| title = Werewolf ''A Mind Game''}} is Plotkin's own description of the original Werewolf version</ref> arguing that the mafia had less cultural resonance, and that the werewolf concept fit the idea of a hidden enemy who looked normal during the daytime.<ref name=wired2010 /> Mafia and a variant called Thing<ref group="Note">In which the antagonists are [[The Thing (1982 film)|Things]], shape-shifting aliens that can turn humans into other Things. For the rules of the original variant, see: {{cite web | url = https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/365329/thing-werewolf-variant | title = Thing Werewolf Variant}}. For a detailed description of another variant of this game, see: {{cite web | url = http://danielsolisblog.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/alien-among-us.html | title = Alien Among Us | first = Daniel | last = Solis}}. For the most recent variant using web-enabled devices, see: {{cite web | url = https://l90.apphb.com/index.html | title = Latitude 90: The Origin}}</ref> have been played at science fiction writers' workshops since 1998,<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 February 2005 |title=David Levine's Clarion Journal: Week 6 |url=http://www.spiritone.com/~dlevine/clarion/journal/week6.html |access-date=2022-03-02 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050213083720/http://www.spiritone.com/~dlevine/clarion/journal/week6.html |archive-date=13 February 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and have become an integral part of the annual Clarion<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 March 2012 |title=st_at_clarion: Clarion, Day 33: She's mafia, I know she is! |url=http://st-at-clarion.livejournal.com/12315.html |access-date=2022-03-02 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310085649/http://st-at-clarion.livejournal.com/12315.html |archive-date=10 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and Viable Paradise<ref>See {{cite web|url=http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/005581.html#58821 |title=Making Light: Home Again }}; {{cite web|url=http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/006896.html |title=Making Light: Traditional diversions }}; {{cite web|url=http://garunya.livejournal.com/38846.html |title=Viable Paradise – Day 1 |first=Chris |last=Azure |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817011023/http://garunya.livejournal.com/38846.html |archive-date=2011-08-17 }}; {{cite web|url=http://www.squishedfrog.com/mtblog/archives/2007/10/#001249 |title=A week in paradise |first=Eric |last=Griffith }}; and {{cite web|url=http://bibsearch.blogspot.com/2006/12/viable-paradise-day-one.html |title=Viable Paradise, day one |first=Barbara |last=Gordon |date=30 December 2006 }}. Quoting {{cite web|url=http://www.archerwebsolutions.com/domains/yaboogie/blogs/parentheticals/2007/10/viable-paradise-a-travelogue-p.html |title=Viable Paradise: A Travelogue (Part 1) |first=Julia |last=Dvorin |quote=After the introductions and instructions for the next day, I thought that perhaps we'd be released and I could go see the room I was to be staying in for the week and chill out a little from the travel. But such was not to be, for the agenda now turned to the important bonding activity of playing Mafia and Thing. So I pushed away the cranky traveler's whininess that was stalking me, and sat down in a circle with a bunch of strangers and began to accuse them of lying and murder. }} Also: {{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/89986804@N00/1526104871/in/photostream/ |title=Photo: semi-mandatory Mafia |first=Steven |last=Gould |date=30 September 2007 }}</ref> workshops. The Werewolf variant of Mafia became widespread at major tech events, including the [[Game Developers Conference]], ETech, [[Foo Camp]]s, and [[South By Southwest]].<ref name=wired2010 /> In 1998 the [[Kaliningrad]] Higher school of the [[Ministry of Internal Affairs (Russia)#Russian Federation|Internal Affairs Ministry]] published the methodical textbook ''Nonverbal communications. Developing role-playing games 'Mafia' and 'Murderer''' for a course on Visual psychodiagnostics, to teach reading [[body language]] and nonverbal signals.<ref>Петров С.В., Холопова Е.Н. «Невербальная коммуникация. Развивающие ролевые игры „Мафия「 и „Убийца「». Учебно-методическое пособие – Калининград: КВШ МВД России, 1998</ref> In September 1998 Mafia was introduced to the Graduate College at [[Princeton University]], where a number of variants were developed.<ref name="princeton1">{{cite web| url= http://www.princeton.edu/~sucharit/~mafia/| title= The Graduate Mafia Brotherhood at Princeton University| url-status= dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140517121933/http://www.princeton.edu/~sucharit/~mafia/| archive-date= 17 May 2014}}.  Retrieved 2014-05-16.</ref> The werewolf theme was also incorporated in the French adaption of Mafia, [[The Werewolves of Millers Hollow]].

In August 2000, a user under the alias "mithrandir" of The Gray Labyrinth, a website devoted to puzzles and [[Puzzle-solving|puzzle solving]], ran a game of Mafia adapted for play on a [[Internet forum|forum board]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://greylabyrinth.com/discussion/viewtopic.php?p=217704 | title = Mafia!! | date = 20 August 2000 | website = The Grey Labyrinth | publisher = mithrandir | access-date = 21 July 2016}}</ref> Both The Grey Labyrinth<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.greylabyrinth.com/discussion/index.php | title = Forum Index | website = The Grey Labyrinth | access-date = 21 July 2016 | quote = "The Internet's First Home of Mafia."}}</ref> and sister site MafiaScum<ref>{{cite web | url = http://wiki.mafiascum.net/index.php?title=History_of_the_game | title = History of the game | date = 31 January 2007 | website = MafiaScum | access-date = 21 July 2016 | quote = "mith had been visiting [The Grey Labyrinth] since 1996, and started posting in the forums soon after they started. mith had played face-to-face Mafia with his church youth group in the late 1990s, and one day decided it would run well on the forums.}} The original thread can still be found [http://www.greylabyrinth.com/discussion/viewtopic.php?t=6074&start=0 here]."</ref> claim that this was the first game of Mafia run on a forum board. From there, Mafia has spread to numerous online communities.

In March 2006 Ernest Fedorov was running a Mafia Club in [[Kyiv]], using his own patented variation of the rules. The club organizes games, [[Elo rating system#Use outside of chess|rates players]], and awards prizes (including a [[Sicily]] trip for their tournament-series champion).<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.kyivweekly.com/?art=1141859356 | title = Intellectuals playing mafia games | date= 8 March 2006 | first = Pavlo | last = Berest | quote = Now the rules of the game are the intellectual property of Fedorov.}} The club has its own rules, see: {{cite web | url = http://io.com.ua/www.php?w=http://mafia.kiev.ua | title = Club Империя Мафии}}</ref>

In June 2006 a [[Rockingham County, New Hampshire|Rockingham]] school inquiry was launched after parents complained of the traumatic effects classroom Mafia was having on their [[Fifth grade|fifth-grade]] children. Davidoff responded to the reports, saying that as a parent who had studied [[child psychology]] for 25 years, he felt that the game could "teach kids to distinguish right from wrong", and that the positive message of being honest could overcome the negative effects of an "evil narrator" moderating the game as if it were a [[scary story]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20060804-NEWS-308049902 | title = School officials still investigating 'Mafia' | first = Aaron | last = Davis | publisher = [[Seacoast Media Group]] | date= 4 August 2006 | quote = One parent, Nicole Hollenbeck told The Rockingham News in June, My child has had sleepless nights, crying before bed because she's afraid that she'll sleep walk and relive the tragic events they talked about in class [...] We teach our kids right from wrong, and this is what they are being taught? }}</ref>

Mafia is one of the 50 most historically and culturally significant [[tabletop game]]s since 1800 according to [[about.com]] in 2005.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://boardgames.about.com/cs/gamehistories/a/timeline.htm | title = Board and Card Games Timeline | first = Erik | last = Arneson | access-date = 27 May 2005 | archive-date = 2011-01-07 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110107082446/http://boardgames.about.com/cs/gamehistories/a/timeline.htm | url-status = dead }}. About.com also includes Mafia in the Top 5 Best [[Voting system|Voting]] Games. The reason it is significant is given: {{cite web | url = http://boardgames.about.com/od/gamehistories/p/werewolf.htm | title = Werewolf / Mafia | quote = Werewolf is a favorite at game conventions and has been written about in several mainstream articles. | access-date = 2007-11-25 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071103191732/http://boardgames.about.com/od/gamehistories/p/werewolf.htm | archive-date = 2007-11-03 }}</ref>

==Gameplay==
[[File:Are you a werewolf?.jpg|thumb|Players often sit in a circle]]
[[File:Les Loups-garous 1.JPG|thumb|Cards for a Werewolf version of Mafia are held by the dealer at the beginning of the game.]]
In its simplest form, Mafia is played by two teams: the mafiosi and the villagers. Live games require a moderator who does not participate as a player, and identities are assigned by handing out cards, or by other non-verbal methods such as physically tapping players. At the start of the game, every mafioso is given the identities of their teammates, whereas the innocents only receive the number of mafiosi in the game.

In an open setup, the numbers of each power role (e.g. militia) present in the game is known to the players, while in a closed setup, this information is not revealed, and in a semi-open setup, only limited or tentative information about the power roles is revealed.

There are two phases: ''night'' and ''day''. At night, certain players secretly perform special actions; during day, players discuss and vote to eliminate one player. These phases alternate with each other until all mafiosi have been eliminated or they reach numerical parity with the innocents.

Some players may be given roles with special abilities (see below). Common special roles include [[#Investigative roles|an investigative role]], [[#Protective roles|a protector role]], and [[#Association roles|some association roles]].

Andrew Plotkin recommends having exactly two mafiosi,<ref name="zarf"/> whereas the original Davidoff rules suggest a third of the players (rounding to the nearest whole number) be mafiosi. Davidoff's original game does not include roles with special abilities.<ref name="davidoff">{{cite web |url=http://members.theglobe.com/mafia_rules/ |title=The Original Mafia Rules |website=members.theglobe.com |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990302082118/http://members.theglobe.com/mafia_rules/ |archive-date=2 March 1999 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In his rules for "Werewolf", Plotkin recommends that the first phase be night and that there be an odd number of players (including the moderator). These specifications avoid tie votes for eliminations and ensure that the game will end dramatically on an elimination rather than anticlimactically with murder as a foregone conclusion.<ref name="zarf"/>

===Night===
[[File:GLAM wiki 2018 conference participants playing Werewolf.tif|thumb|Werewolves discussing whom to kill during the night]]
All players close their eyes. The moderator then instructs all mafiosi to open their eyes and acknowledge their accomplices. The mafiosi pick a "victim" by silently gesturing to indicate their target and to show [[unanimity]] then close their eyes again.

A similar process occurs for other roles with nightly actions. In the case of the seer, the moderator may indicate the target's innocence or guilt by using gestures such as nodding or head shaking. Night may be accompanied by players tapping gently to mask sounds made by gesturing.<ref name="wunderland">{{cite web |url= http://www.wunderland.com/LooneyLabs/Werewolf/Rules.html |publisher= [[Looney Labs]] |access-date=2010-06-15 |title= Are You A Werewolf? Rules of Play |quote= Night-Noise: When everyone closes their eyes at night, it is best for people to also start humming, tapping the table, patting a knee, or making some noise. This will cover up any sounds made accidentally by the werewolves, the seer, or the moderator}}</ref>

===Day===
[[File:BarCampBournemouth 3 Werewolf.jpg|thumb|During the "day" phase, players vote on whom to eliminate]]
The moderator instructs players to open their eyes and announces who "died" the previous night. Discussion ensues among the living players. At any point, a player may accuse someone of being a mafioso and prompt others to vote to eliminate them. If over half of the players do so, the accused person is eliminated and night begins. Otherwise, the phase continues until an elimination occurs.<ref name=zarf/>

According to some rules, the role of dead players should be revealed; according to others, for example, if the protector dies, nobody should know that.<ref name=zarf2/><ref name="wunderland"/> In both cases, dead players are not permitted to attempt to influence the remainder of the game.

Because players have more freedom to deliberate, days tend to be longer than nights.

==Game theory==

===Mathematical study===
Mafia is a complicated game to model, so most analyses of optimal play have assumed both (a) that there are only townsfolk and Mafiosi and (b) that the townsfolk never have a probability of identifying the Mafia that is better than chance. Early treatment of the game concentrated on [[Monte Carlo method#Simulation and optimization|simulation]],<ref>For example {{cite web |quote=If we figure that 9 or 11 players is ideal for a two-wolf game, and we assume that these probabilities actually means anything (heh heh), then an ideal game has a human-win chance of 0.23 to 0.29. (Again, for completely stupid humans.) |title= Werewolf Statistics |url= http://www.eblong.com/zarf/werewolf-stats.html |first= A. |last= Plotkin}}</ref> while more recent studies have tried to derive closed-form equilibrium solutions for perfect play.

In 2006, the computer scientists Braverman, Etesami and Mossel proved that without detectives and with [[homo economicus|perfect players]] the randomized strategy is [[Nash equilibrium|optimal for both citizens and mafia]]. [[Asymptotic analysis|When there is a large enough number]] of players to give both groups similar probability of winning, they showed that the initial number of mafiosi ''m'' needs to be proportional to the square root of the total number of players ''P'', that is <math>{\textstyle m \propto \sqrt{P}}</math>.<ref name=Mossel2008>{{cite journal |journal= Annals of Applied Probability |first1= M. |last1= Braverman |first2= O. |last2= Etesami |first3= E. |last3= Mossel |url= http://projecteuclid.org/DPubS?verb=Display&version=1.0&service=UI&handle=euclid.aoap/1211819786&page=record |title= Mafia: A Theoretical Study of Players and Coalitions in a Partial Information Environment |volume= 18 |issue= 2 |year= 2008 |bibcode= 2006math......9534B |pages= 825–846 |arxiv= math/0609534 <!--|class=math.PR--> |doi= 10.1214/07-AAP456 |s2cid= 14668989 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120316141443/http://projecteuclid.org/DPubS?verb=Display&version=1.0&service=UI&handle=euclid.aoap%2F1211819786&page=record |archive-date= 2012-03-16 }}</ref> With a simulation, they confirmed that 50 mafiosi would have almost a 50% chance to win among 10,000. The Mafia's chance of victory is

<math display=block>
    W(m, P) \approx \frac{m}{\sqrt{P}} ,
</math>

which is a good approximation when the right hand side is below 40%. If any detectives are added to the game, Braverman et al. proved that the number of Mafiosi must remain at a [[Linear equation#Linear equations in two variables|fixed proportion]] of the total number of players for their chance of winning to remain constant.<ref group="Note">The single detective publishes a large list of innocents, and asks to be lynched to guarantee its veracity (under the standard rules in which the detective's role is revealed after she is killed, no strategic interference from the Mafia is possible): {{cite journal |journal=Annals of Applied Probability |first1= M. |last1= Braverman |first2= O. |last2= Etesami |first3= E. |last3= Mossel |arxiv= math/0609534 |title= Mafia: A Theoretical Study of Players and Coalitions in a Partial Information Environment |volume= 18 |issue= 3 |year= 2008 |page = 12 |bibcode=2006math......9534B |doi=10.1214/07-aap456|s2cid= 14668989 }}</ref>

In 2008, Erlin Yao derived specific analytical bounds for the mafia's win probability when there are no detectives.<ref name=Yao>Derivation is by recursion on decreasing numbers of players in the following round, see: {{Cite arXiv|title= A Theoretical Study of Mafia Games |last= Yao |first= E.|year= 2008 |page= 7 |class= math.PR |eprint= 0804.0071 }}</ref>

In a paper<ref>{{cite arXiv |eprint= 1009.1031 |title= A mathematical model of the Mafia game |last= Migdał |first= Piotr |class= math.PR |year= 2010}}</ref> from 2010, the exact formula for the probability that the mafia wins was found. Moreover, it was shown that the [[Parity (mathematics)|parity]] of the initial number of players plays an important role. In particular, when the number of mafiosi is fixed and an odd player is added to the game (and ties are resolved by [[Coin flipping|coin flips]]), the mafia-winning chance do not drop but rise by a factor of approx. <math> \sqrt{\pi/2}</math> (equality in the [[Limit (mathematics)|limit]] of the infinite number of players).

===Results in live play===
In live (or [[videoconference]]<ref>{{cite book |isbn= 978-1-59593-593-9 |year= 2007 |doi= 10.1145/1240624.1240751 |last1= Batcheller |first1= Archer L. |last2= Hilligoss |first2= Brian |last3= Nam |first3= Kevin |last4= Rader |first4= Emilee |last5= Rey-Babarro |first5= Marta |last6= Zhou |first6= Xiaomu |title= Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems |chapter= Testing the technology: Playing games with video conferencing |pages= 849–852|s2cid= 5230409 }}</ref>) real-time play, the innocents typically win more often than [[game theory]] suggests. Several reasons for this have been advanced:
* The physiological stress of sustained lying degrades the initial ability of mafioso to deceive the innocents, much more than a model of [[mixed strategy|perfect play]] would predict, especially if the innocents can get the town emotionally involved in the game's outcome:
{{blockquote |text=If you're trying to feign shock or anger, it's much harder to do over a long period. People accused of something they're trying to hide will start out feigning outrage – 'How dare you ask me that?' But that will start to change to objection rather than shock, as it's psychologically very difficult to mimic emotion.|source= [[Wired (magazine)|Wired UK]]<ref name=wired2010/> |sign= Dr Simon Moore}}
* The information revealed by the mafiosi voting patterns tells against them later in the game. One of the game's fans, [[Aardvark (search engine)#History|Max Ventilla]], has said that "If the villagers are allowed to keep a pencil and paper, they always win."<ref name=Ventilla>{{cite web |title= Why do young techies want to be werewolves? |first1= C |last1= McCarthy |date= 24 April 2009 |publisher= [[CNET News#CNET News|CNET News]] |url= http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10225896-36.html }}</ref>
* As players get more experienced, their strategic sophistication and ability to spot and use deception [[learning|increases]].<ref>{{cite journal |journal= [[Vice Magazine]] |title= Mafia Party EXTRA TIPS |date= June 2005 |first= D. |last= Cross |author-link= David Cross |url= http://www.viceland.com/int/v12n5/htdocs/mafia.php |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081120085327/http://www.viceland.com/int/v12n5/htdocs/mafia.php |url-status= dead |archive-date= 20 November 2008 }}</ref> They will typically get better at the skills needed for playing innocents faster, being villagers more often than mafiosi.
* The [[Metagame]] aspect: Dimma Davidoff has said past connections will always lose to future collaborations.<ref name=wired2010/> When playing [[Repeated game|several]] Mafia games with the same people, it's more helpful to be known for [[honesty]] than for deceit. Davidoff considers that so important that he thinks the advantages of playing the mafioso role honestly outweigh the disadvantages.

But the Mafia ''can'' win in live play; their best chance of winning occurs when mafioso [[Human bonding|bond]] with their innocent [[Propinquity#Propinquity effect|neighbours]] and convince those neighbours to value that bond over dispassionate analysis.<ref name=Ventilla/><ref>{{cite book |quote= the emotional authenticity of the alliances, the felt pleasure of trusting another, is startlingly, frighteningly real. You and George against the Mafia – but then the quick nightly shadow intrudes: What if George ''is'' the Mafia? Yet the proper suspicions, though they rise, rarely override these instant bonds. |title = Through the Children's Gate: A Home in New York | first = Adam | last = Gopnik | year = 2006 |isbn = 978-0-676-97827-8 |page= 245|publisher = National Geographic Books }}</ref> The game designers Salen and Zimmerman have written that the deep [[Emergent gameplay|emergent]] social game play in Mafia (combined with the fear of elimination) create ideal conditions for this.<ref>{{cite book |title= Rules of play: game design fundamentals |first1= K |last1= Salen |first2= E. |last2= Zimmerman |pages= 468–469 |publisher= MIT Press |edition= illustrated |date=October 2003 |isbn= 978-0-262-24045-1}}
</ref>

==Optional roles==
{{more citations needed section|Role names need to be cited to where they appear|date=November 2017}}
These additional roles are named differently in the many versions of Mafia, for [[Setting (fiction)|thematic flavor]], or historical reasons. Also, the same role-name can have differing functions across different versions of the game.<ref name="Sorcerer">For example, [[Bezier Games]]' Ultimate Werewolf [http://gamerhotsheet.com/2007/03/ultimate-werewolf-complete-cardset-now-available/ ''Sorcerer'']{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} has the ability to detect the Seer role. (The sorcerer is granted different powers in other rule-sets, like Princeton University's, in which the Wizard has the ability to detect the Seer.) Whatever name this role is known by, the Detective-detector is typically aligned with the Mafia (for example, see: {{cite web | url= http://boredgamegeeks.blogspot.com/2005/09/9-player-werewolf.html | title= 9 Player Werewolf Evil team | year= 2005 }})</ref> What follows is a general list of role ''types'' found in Mafia variants; since the specific names vary by [[Social environment|milieu]] it must be non-exhaustive.
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Please read this list before adding new characters to it to prevent duplication.
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===Investigative roles===
Players with these roles use their own night-phase to discover something about other players. Though the standard game now includes the basic Detective, these roles are optional, and games can exclude them entirely (such as the stool pigeon variant, or Davidoff's original rules).

====Investigative roles (standard)====
''Detective'', ''Seer'', ''Commandant'',<ref name=Gopnik>{{cite book|chapter= Fourth Thanksgiving: Propensities |title = Through the Children's Gate: A Home in New York | first = Adam | last = Gopnik | year = 2006 |isbn = 978-0-676-97827-8 |pages= 242–253|publisher = National Geographic Books }}</ref> ''Sheriff'',<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.puzzlers.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=gamerules:mafia | title = Mafia (con) | quote = Knight Commandant / Sheriff – a townsperson who investigates mafia members | access-date = 20 December 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071118105651/http://www.puzzlers.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=gamerules:mafia | archive-date = 2007-11-18 | url-status = dead }}</ref> ''Police'', etc.
: Allied with the Innocents, the Detective can detect whether a player is a mafioso. They will typically wake up, and point at one person; the Narrator will silently indicate to the Detective whether that player is Mafia or Innocent. In some versions of the game, the Detective's investigation result is announced publicly by the Narrator, for example ''the Detective found a Mafioso!''. More commonly, no announcement is made. As with other roles, which player is the detective is not generally known, leaving anyone the option of pretending to be the Detective.
: A Detective is usually included in modern games. For example, somebody is ''always'' assigned this role in all commercial [[card game]] versions,<ref group="Note">As of November 2007, five card-based versions of this game are sold, and all require one player to become a Seer. The {{cite web | url = http://www.toyvault.com/cthulhugame/Cthulhu%20Game%20Instructions%20Front.jpg| title = Do you worship Cthulhu ''Deck Setup''}} specifies that a Seer card be dealt to someone even with the (minimum) five players. Similarly, the ''Lupus in Tabula'' Preparation calls for the Seer card to be dealt to somebody even if the game is played with the minimum number of players (eight). Getting Started with ''Ultimate Werewolf'' Role Selection advises that even the introductory game should include the Seer (with further optional roles being added ''in addition to the seer'' in later games). ''Werewolves of Millers hollow'' uses the Fortune Teller name for the Detective but the role is identical to the standard seer/angel/detective, and is again mandatory, having its own phase of the night in the basic rules. (As does the Seer in ''[[Are You a Werewolf?]]'' – though it is after the werewolves' phase.)</ref> and almost all internet-based, and most face-to-face games start with at least one detective.<ref group="Note">For example, {{cite web | url = http://web.mit.edu/ceu/www/spielregeln_eng.html | title = The Mafia rules (MIT) }}, from [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], are very simple, and specify roles for 7–20 players, always including at least one Detective. Andrew Plotkin's original ''Werewolf'' always includes a Villager (Seer), and he mentions that in 1997 Mafia was played in the [[National Puzzlers' League]] convention with a Knight Commandant. (The role of the Knight Commandant or Knight is described in detail as having the standard Detective powers in: {{cite web | url = http://www.puzzlers.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=cons:1997:conreport1997 | title = National Puzzlers' League – 1997 Convention Reports | access-date = 24 November 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071208204055/http://www.puzzlers.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=cons:1997:conreport1997 | archive-date = 2007-12-08 | url-status = dead }}) Plotkin describes [https://web.archive.org/web/19990302082118/http://members.theglobe.com/mafia_rules/ Davidoff's original game] (which had [http://fringe.davesource.com/Fringe/Entertainment/Games/Indoors/Mafia/v23.htm no Detective]) as well off the current average. A rare modern rule-set with No [[Inspector]] is: {{cite web | title = The Game ''Player Constellations'' | url = http://org.ntnu.no/mafia/ | first = Vegard | last = Engstrom | year = 1999 | access-date = 2010-06-15 }} but only when starting with five, larger groups get at least one inspector.</ref> Multiple detectives either act in separate night phases (unaware of the identities of other detectives)<ref>{{cite journal |journal= [[Vice Magazine]] |title= Mafia Party THE SETUP |date= June 2005 |first= D. |last= Cross |author-link= David Cross |url= http://www.viceland.com/int/v12n5/htdocs/mafia.php |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081120085327/http://www.viceland.com/int/v12n5/htdocs/mafia.php |archive-date= 20 November 2008 }}</ref> or work together as the police (an [[#Association roles|association role]]).
: In the online Mafia variant ''[[Town of Salem]]'', the Sheriff is a role which can interrogate people at night to discover their possible innocence. Generally, most Town roles appear innocent; and most roles that are considered evil appear suspicious to the Sheriff.

====Investigative roles (less common)====
''Psychic'', ''Wizard'', ''Fortune Teller'', ''Oracle'', ''Tracker, Watcher,'' etc.
: [[Psychic]], Psychologist, or Sorcerer-type investigators can determine other players' roles, rather than their alignments.<ref name=Sorcerer /> Roles which detect other roles are usually implemented in the same way as the Detective's ability to determine alignment. For example: the Psychologist points to a player (at night) for a Thumbs-up from the moderator if the Vigilante is pointed to.<ref group="Note">For example, Vigilante in the {{cite web | url = http://fringe.davesource.com/Fringe/Entertainment/Games/Indoors/Mafia/v26.htm| title = Princeton rules}}</ref> A Tracker may see what someone's night action was, or the target of their action, while a Watcher may see all those who visited someone at night.
: Information revealed to investigators is fallible (in more complicated variants). Online versions can give information with a [[probability|confidence]] level, and in other variants the Narrator deceives the Detective by showing all players as Innocent, all as Guilty, giving reversed results, or random information (these can be termed as Naive,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.sitesled.com/members/mikeburnfire/mafiascum04.swf | title = Name: Naive Cop | quote = Description: A type of cop that always gets innocent results regardless of who they investigate | access-date = 16 December 2007 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070227221131/http://www.sitesled.com/members/mikeburnfire/mafiascum04.swf | archive-date = 2007-02-27 }}</ref> Paranoid, Insane, or Random respectively). Additionally, some Alignment roles give immunity to successful investigation.<ref group="Note">For example, The Oracle in Werewolf chooses one person to investigate every night, and are shown their card, unless they pick the Master Werewolf – when the Oracle is shown an (innocent) villager card.</ref>
: In some games, there are Mafia Detectives, who have the power of a normal detective but are on the Mafia side. The Super Commandant has the standard power of a Detective, while also protecting the ''investigated'' from night-time attack.

===Omniscient roles===
''Witness'', ''Child'', ''Little Girl'', etc.
: Instead of having to investigate, some innocent roles give complete information on the entire mafia: The [[witness]] is told who the mafia are during the first night, while the mafia are not told the witness's identity (differing from the stool pigeon in not being a part of the mafia). 
: The Little Girl in ''Werewolf'' and ''Werewolves of Miller's Hollow'' is allowed to secretly peek and watch as the werewolves choose their victim; if discovered doing so by the Werewolves, she dies of fright.<ref group="Note">For example, as described on Ultimate Werewolf's ''Little Girl'' Card, and in the first non-introductory role [https://www.wired.co.uk/article/werewolf-extra-materials suggested by ''Wired'']: The Child spies at night when the werewolves are killing, and only when the werewolves are killing, by opening her eyes ever so slightly</ref>

===Protective roles===
''Guardian Angel'', ''Doctor'', ''Bodyguard'', ''Hero, Jailer'', etc.
: Allied with the Innocents, the Doctor-type role defends others at night.<ref group="Note">Depending on the variant, they may know the identities of the Mafia, but this isn't required; they usually indicate the player to protect in a separate phase of gameplay (a separate part of the night) than the Mafia's killing phase. The Mafia-Doctor ''is'' a mafioso, and a more obscure variant role, with the opposite power (from the Doctor) of protecting the guilty from attack during the day.</ref> Typically, they will awaken at night after the Mafia have gone back to sleep and point at one person to protect; that person will survive any night-time attack.<ref group="Note">The protected player gains complete invulnerability during the night they are visited by the Doctor or [[Bodyguard]]. The Mafia do not usually know the identity of the protected player, nor get a chance to select another victim, so this attack is wasted if the Mafia target a protected player (e.g., {{cite web | url = http://www.davincigames.it/download/LupusInTabula_rules.zip | title = Bodyguard, Lupus in Tabula | access-date = 13 November 2007 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051224043920/http://www.davincigames.it/download/LupusInTabula_rules.zip | archive-date = 2005-12-24 }}).</ref> They are typically allowed to protect themselves, and are commonly barred from protecting the same target on successive nights.<ref name=NM>{{cite magazine| title= Characters from the New Moon expansion set |magazine= Wired UK |access-date= 13 June 2010 |url= https://www.wired.co.uk/article/werewolf-extra-materials |year= 2010 }}</ref> A Guardian Angel can only protect others. The Nurse gains the Doctor's abilities if the Doctor dies.<ref group="Note">For example, see the [[Two Plus Two Publishing|2+2]] rule-set describing the Nurse: {{cite web | url = http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=5547619&an=0&page=2 | title = Mafia rules}}</ref> The Jailer protects innocents just like the doctor, but also simultaneously blocks their night action. The Firefighter,<ref>{{cite web | url = http://mikeburnfire.sitesled.com/mscumB.swf | title = Various Mafia Roles: Third Party Roles: Arsonist & Firefighter | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070220101055/http://mikeburnfire.sitesled.com/mscumB.swf | archive-date = 20 February 2007 }}</ref> or the [[Herbalist]] can protect from some night-time attacks but not others (in Werewolf, for example, they choose one person to protect with [[Aconitum#In media|wolfsbane]], but that person may still be killed by the Serial Killer). Other games limit this ability to a certain number of times.<ref group="Note">For example, the Witch in ''Werewolves of Miller's Hollow'' has only one use of her protective potion. She is allowed to see who was killed by the werewolves before applying the protective potion, so this character is more typical of the [[#Reanimation roles|reanimation]] than the protective type.</ref>
: Bodyguard-type roles sacrifice themselves to prevent (and sometimes kill the corresponding attacker) a single attack on a player.

===Killing roles===
''Vigilante'', ''Veteran,'' ''Hunter'', ''Bomb'', ''Woodcutter'', etc.
: Aside from Mafia, Werewolves, and Serial Killers (solitary guilty parties), the Innocents may have some roles with the ability to kill at night. The [[Vigilante]] is an innocent who kills every night, in their own night-time phase sometimes.<ref group="Note">{{cite web | url = http://www.toyvault.com/cthulhugame/Cthulhu%20Game%20Instructions%20Back.jpg | title = Do you worship Cthulu ''Roles'' and ''Quick Reference Script'' | access-date = 21 November 2007}}. This makes the vigilante as lethal as the entire Mafia, potentially overbalancing the game, which has led to the introduction of roles that limit his effectiveness, such as the ''Walrus'' role-blocker.</ref> In some variations, the Vigilante has limited ammunition. Some variations introduce a time limit of two nights before the player in the Killing Role can kill again. Other variations add the trait that if the Vigilante kills an innocent they either lose the ability to kill or die from [[Guilt (emotion)|guilt]] the next night. The Veteran has a finite-use ability (usually 3); if activated, anyone who targets them (friend or foe) will be killed. The Bomb may only trigger if targeted at night (not necessarily for death) by another role. Variants exist where this person can kill during the daytime cycle (e.g., the Terrorist / Gravedigger), sometimes only if executed during the daytime. The Woodcutter or [[Hunter]] can take one other person with them whenever they die.<ref group="Note">The Hunter appears in ''Werewolves of Miller's Hollow'', for example. The Woodcutter is a (less common) [[Little Red Riding Hood|equivalent]] name for the role. ''Wired'' recommends including the hunter in even the most basic games: {{cite magazine| title= Original Werewolf characters |magazine= Wired UK |access-date= 13 June 2010 |url= https://www.wired.co.uk/article/werewolf-extra-materials |date=January 2010 }}</ref>

===Alignment roles===
''Miller'', ''Godfather'', ''Alpha Wolf'', ''Wildcard'', etc.
: Some roles can fool [[#Investigative roles (standard)|investigations to determine their alignments]]: the Miller is an Innocent who appears guilty (usually because they are an outsider); the Godfather, on the other hand, appears innocent despite being the Mafia leader.<ref group="Note">The Godfather role is played differently between variants. If immunity to detection is the Godfather's only power, his leadership of the Mafia need only be nominal: {{cite web | url =http://www.sitesled.com/members/mikeburnfire/mafiascum04.swf | title =Name: Godfather | url-status =dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070227221131/http://www.sitesled.com/members/mikeburnfire/mafiascum04.swf | archive-date =2007-02-27 }}</ref> The Alpha Wolf or Master Werewolf have the same role as the Godfather in ''Werewolf'' settings.

===Double-agent roles===
''Traitor'', ''Possessed'', ''Undercover Cop'', ''Godfather'', etc.
: The Traitor is not a mafioso (in that he does not awake at night and is not revealed as a mafioso by Detective type roles), but works to protect them and hamper the town during the day cycle, and wins only with a Mafia victory.<ref>A typical Traitor-type role is the [[Spirit possession|Possessed]] ''Special Character'' from {{cite web | url = http://www.davincigames.it/download/LupusInTabula_rules.zip | title = The LUPUS IN TABULA (2nd edition) rules | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051224043920/http://www.davincigames.it/download/LupusInTabula_rules.zip | archive-date = 24 December 2005 }}</ref> Conversely, the Undercover Cop is a [[Mole (espionage)|mole]] within the Mafia group who acts with the Mafia but wins with the innocents. The stool pigeon may be the only optional role in play, and must inform villagers of the mafia while appearing as mafiosi;<ref>{{cite journal |journal= The Johns Hopkins News-Letter |date= 26 October 2001 |url= http://media.www.jhunewsletter.com/media/storage/paper932/news/2001/10/26/Focus/Mafia.Game.Indulges.Fantasy.Avoids.Jail.Term-2247440.shtml |title= Mafia game indulges fantasy, avoids jail term |first= L. |last= Fraade-Blanar |quote= One person out of the circle finds themselves tapped twice, making them the [[stool pigeon]]. He must inform the townspeople, i.e. everyone who was not tapped, of the identity of the Mafia members while not being killed himself... The game shows a historical conflict between the accusers and the accused. It could well be the [[Witch trials in Early Modern Europe|Europeans accusing witches]] }}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> it makes up one of the few modern game forms to be played without an investigative role.
:Distinct from the alignment-role Godfather, the double-agent Godfather behaves as a standard mafioso, but wakes again (after the Mafia sleep) to perform an extra kill. This Godfather-role wins only if he survives.

===Role manipulators===
''Role-blocker'', ''Bus Driver'', ''Thief'', ''Barman'', ''Witch,'' etc.
: These roles can stop or alter the night actions of others; for instance, they may prevent a protection or investigation from occurring, or they may change the target.<ref>The Witch for example has this ability in [[Bézier Games|Bezier]]'s game "Ultimate WereWolf"</ref> The Role-blocker can block the Vigilante for a night, while the Thief, Prostitute or Hypnotizer might be able to disable the powers of any selected target.<ref group="Note">The [[thief]]'s action usually applies for a single night, as in: {{cite web | url = http://users.wpi.edu/~tachase/mafiairc.html | title = Mafia Game: IRC Version | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071215001810/http://users.wpi.edu/~tachase/mafiairc.html | archive-date = 15 December 2007 }}. The thief sometimes has a purely investigative function – being only able to determine the roles from stolen items.{{cite web | url = http://www.sitesled.com/members/mikeburnfire/mafiascum04.swf | title = Thief | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070227221131/http://www.sitesled.com/members/mikeburnfire/mafiascum04.swf | archive-date = 2007-02-27 }}</ref>
: When the thief is used in ''Werewolves'', an additional townsfolk card is added before dealing, and the Thief may choose on the first night to steal the role of another player or to take the unused role card. The player whose role was stolen gets the unused role card and the Thief card is discarded.
: Rerouting-type roles, such as those in ''[[Town of Salem]]'' (like the Witch and Transporter), may control the visiting target of a player.

===Recruitment roles===
''Godfather'', ''Psychiatrist'', ''Piper'', ''Cult Leader'', etc.
: The Mafia [[Boss (crime)|Godfather]] may be able to recruit innocent players into their faction under certain circumstances. The [[Yakuza]] is a regular mafia player with an extra power: they may sacrifice themselves from the second night (during the night) and choose an innocent to join the mafia.<ref group="Note">{{cite web |url= http://7-0-7.co.uk/Miscellaneous/MafiaRules.pdf |title= Mafia: Advanced rules |first= J. |last= Bennet |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110810215310/http://7-0-7.co.uk/Miscellaneous/MafiaRules.pdf |archive-date= 10 August 2011 }} In other variants, the mafia can't kill anyone else on the night this power is used. The potential existence of a Yakuza makes innocents with protective roles less inclined to reveal their roles for fear of being converted (or more inclined to reveal themselves if they expect the Mafia to win and wish to be converted).</ref> Vampires may convert selected players (usually innocents only, to prevent evil factions from exposing converted among them) to other Vampires.
: Each night, the scientist selects a player to [[Werewolf#Remedies|cure]]; if a mafioso is cured, they awaken as an innocent.<ref name=WC/> The [[Psychiatrist]] is an innocent with the ability to convert the [[Serial Killer]] into a normal innocent.<ref>The Psychiatrist can 'cure' the Serial Killer according to the Pub Game rules: {{cite web | url = http://www.dslreports.com/faq/15594 | title = Serial Killer }}. When 'the psychiatrist' is in play, the Serial Killer may be The [[Psychopath]], as in: {{cite web | url = http://www.sitesled.com/members/mikeburnfire/mafiascum04.swf | title = Name: Psychiatrist (Various Mafia Roles: ''Third Party'' at MafiaScum.net) | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070227221131/http://www.sitesled.com/members/mikeburnfire/mafiascum04.swf | archive-date = 27 February 2007 }}</ref>
: [[Cult|Cult Leaders]] recruit followers at night instead of kill; they act as an independent faction, usually with the ability to talk at night. 
: The [[Pied Piper of Hamelin in popular culture|Piper]] wins by charming every surviving player; she charms players at night, who then know each other (but not the piper) but are otherwise unaffected.<ref name="NM" />

===Association roles===
''Freemasons (Masons)'', ''Siblings'', ''Lovers'', ''Police'', etc.
: Possessors of these roles know one another and what their roles are. On the innocent's side, a [[Freemason|Mason]] usually has no special abilities, but knows the identity of all other Masons and that all Masons are also innocent.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Big Book of Rules  |last= Spadaccini |first= S. |date=September 2005 |isbn= 978-0-452-28644-3 |publisher= Plume }}</ref> Every member of the detectives or the [[Criminal investigation|police]] knows all the rest, because they collaborate at night to investigate someone (sharing the powers of the Detective role between them).<ref>As in the Mafia Games setup described by group-games.com, requiring only mafiosi, police, a doctor, and the townspeople. Or, a simple version using only citizens, mafia, and ''detectives'', as described in: {{cite book |title= Great Games! |last= Toone |first= M. |date=July 2009 |isbn= 978-0-9798345-5-4 |publisher= MVT Games |page= 41 |quote= The ''detectives'' now guess who they think might be one of the ''Mafia'' -no talking allowed, they simply point to one person.}}</ref>
: Sibling pairs typically consist of one Mafia and one Innocent; in most versions, if one is killed, the other also dies.<ref>{{cite magazine| title= Werewolf: Extra Materials |access-date= 13 June 2010 |url= https://www.wired.co.uk/article/werewolf-extra-materials |magazine=Wired Magazine|quote= ''Optional rule:'' if the Lovers die and Cupid is still alive, Cupid chooses a new set of lovers.}}</ref> [[Cupid]] in ''Werewolf'' chooses a pair of Lovers on the first night.<ref>The ''Cupid card'' in [http://games.bezier.com Bezier Game's] ''Ultimate Werewolf'', for example.</ref> In this variant, the Lovers can also win the game (regardless of whether they are Mafia, Innocents, or both) by being the last two standing. Like Siblings, however, if one of the pair dies, the other dies as well.
: In a modded variation of the games ''[[Town of Salem]], and [[Town of Salem 2]],'' the Jackal is a role that is given two recruits from normally opposing factions at the start of the game, and has to win with them both of them together as a single faction, knowing who they are. The recruits do not know the Jackal, but know each other, and cannot communicate with each other or the Jackal at night.

===Election roles===
''Doublevoter'', ''Priest'', ''Rabble Rouser'', ''Lawyer'', etc.
: Until the [[wikt:rabble rouser|Rabble Rouser]] dies there are two eliminations per day.<ref name=NM/>
: In some games there are players who can change the vote count. Some players have 2 votes (Doublevoter); some players can only cast the final vote to kill a player (Actor); cannot vote to eliminate (Voteless Innocent);<ref>Alternatively, they may have a vote, but be mandated to always vote against eliminations, as is the [http://gamerhotsheet.com/2007/03/ultimate-werewolf-complete-cardset-now-available/ Village Ethicist]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> must delegate someone else to vote for them (Fool),<ref name=Extras/> or require one fewer vote to eliminate (Hated Innocent). The Priest cannot place the final vote (this role is not necessarily the same as the Reanimation-role priest). The ''lawyer'' selects someone during the night, and if that person tops the elimination vote the next day, saves them (a different ''lawyer'' role releases the [[Will (law)|wills]] written by players killed up to that point, when she dies).<ref name=Extras>{{cite magazine |url= https://www.wired.co.uk/article/werewolf-extra-materials |title= Werewolf: Extra Materials |magazine= Wired UK |date= 29 January 2010  }}</ref> The Monarch is a role in ''[[Town of Salem|Town of Salem 2]]'' which can grant extra voting power to any player of their choice, twice per game.

===Public roles===
''Mayor'', ''Judge'', ''Sheriff'', ''President'', etc.
: This role is taken in addition to the assigned role, and it endows the player with additional, overt, powers (particularly during the daytime). Empowerment can be random, but is usually made by vote. For instance, the Mayor or Sheriff can be elected each morning, and gain two elimination votes,<ref>{{cite magazine |url= https://www.wired.co.uk/article/werewolf-extra-materials |title= Character references |magazine= Wired UK |access-date= 14 June 2010 |date= 29 January 2010 }}</ref> or a Judge could moderate discussion in [[parliamentary procedure|parliamentary]] fashion (to the advantage of their team). The elected [[President (government title)|President]] has the sole elimination vote.<ref>{{cite web|url =http://www.mafiaspiel.de/ | title = Mafia variant: ''President'' }} described by MafiaSpiel.de, for example.</ref>

===Handicapped roles===
''Drunk'', ''Village Idiot'', ''Teenage Werewolf'', etc.
: This may be a secondary role, taken in addition to the assigned role. However, it has the opposite effect, giving the bearer a handicap, like speaking only [[gibberish]] in the case of the Village Drunk, etc.
: Alternatively, it may be a standard role with a particular constraint, such as the teenage werewolf who must say the word werewolf at least once each day.<ref>A role introduced in [[Ted Alspach]]'s 2010 [[Ted Alspach#Game List|''Ultimate Werewolf: Classic Movie Monsters'']].</ref>

===Handicapper roles===
''Silencer'', ''Dentist'', ''Prostitute'', ''Fog'', etc.
: The Dentist may select any other player at night, and prevent them speaking during the following day.<ref name=NM/> The Silencer is a mafioso with the identical power, except that they may not silence the same player on successive days. The silenced individual wakes in the morning and is immediately instructed not to talk until the end of the day. They can still raise their hand to vote in live games (although, if they were silenced by a prostitute, they are not allowed to vote).<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.smogon.com/smog/issue5/mafia_roles |title= Common Mafia Roles |access-date= 14 June 2010 }} – The Silencer is typically aligned with them and knows their identities, but (in some variants) in unknown to them, not participating in mafia killings.</ref>

===Post-mortem roles===
''Dark Background'', ''Priest'', ''Medium'', ''Coroner'', etc.
: The dark background roles are [[wikt:vanilla|standard]] (mafia or innocent) except for revealing a deceptive alignment when killed. The [[Medical examiner|M.E.]] gathers information from the killings that can help the innocents, while the Priest learns about the alignment of the dead in the same way that the Detective learns about the living.<ref>The Priest alone knows whether the dead were innocent in the [[World Boardgaming Championships]] game described by Bruno Wolff in {{cite web | url = https://wolff.to/bruno/werewolf.html | title = Werewolf rules | access-date = 19 November 2007}}</ref> The [[Mediumship|Medium]] can interrogate dead players.<ref group="Note">The Medium function varies, for example see summarized '[[seance#Leader-assisted seances|Medium-enabled seance]]' rules from ''Werewolf'' at: {{cite web| url = http://boredgamegeeks.blogspot.com/2005/09/9-player-werewolf.html | title = boredgamegeeks | date = 8 September 2005 | access-date = 14 November 2007}}, as opposed to the ''Lupus in Tabula'' Medium, who alone can uncover the alignment of the deceased (see: {{cite web | url = http://www.davincigames.com/page.cfm?sez=01&gioco=lit | title = Lupus in Tabula (English rules) ''Special Characters''}}).</ref> While the [[coroner]] survives, the narrator will explain the means of death in all night kills.<ref name=WC>{{cite magazine| title= Characters |magazine= Wired UK |access-date= 13 June 2010 |url= https://www.wired.co.uk/article/werewolf-extra-materials |date=January 2010  }}</ref> In the games ''[[Town of Salem]]'' and ''[[Town of Salem 2]]'', the Jester is a Neutral role that may kill once after being voted out.

===Reanimation roles===
''Reviver'', ''Governor'', ''Martyr'', ''Witch'', etc.
: Revivers and Master Revivers are able to [[resurrect]] dead players, Master Revivers can bring the revived into their association (e.g., the Masons: see Association roles). The players resurrected by a [[Necromancer]] are converted to the Necromancer's alignment; those revived by the [[Bokor|voodooist]] join a separate zombie group.<ref name=WC/> The Governor can [[Clemency|reprieve]] those killed during the daytime, as can the Martyr if he sacrifices himself. The Witch has a (single-use) [[Elixir|revival potion]]. At night, she's shown who will die in the morning, and can choose to save them.<ref group="Note">The Witch was introduced as a special character in ''The Werewolves of Millers Hollow'', where she also has a single-use killing potion. She may be able to revive herself with the "reanimation potion", see: [https://www.wired.co.uk/article/werewolf-extra-materials Original Werewolf characters]</ref>

===Rule-immune Roles===
''Bulletproof'', ''Oracle'', ''Elder'', etc.
: The Bulletproof innocent is [[Invulnerability|invulnerable]] at night,<ref group="Note">The bulletproof effect typically applies to night-time killings and is usually temporary, for example, the'' Ultimate Werewolf'' Amulet of Protection ([[bulletproof vest]] equivalent) protects over only a single night. Rare optional roles do give permanent protection from mafia attack, such as the Lupus in Tabula [http://www.davincigames.it/download/LupusInTabula_rules.zip Werehamster] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051224043920/http://www.davincigames.it/download/LupusInTabula_rules.zip |date=24 December 2005 }}</ref> though usually with limits; for example, the Elder will survive the first night attack, but not the second.<ref name=NM/>
: The [[Oracle]] has an [[#Investigative roles|investigative role]] similar to a Seer but also has the power to talk when inactive (talking in a sleep phase is usually a rule infraction).
: The games ''[[Town of Salem]]'' and ''[[Town of Salem 2]]'' rely on a system consisting of several levels of night immunity and attack. Lynching (or voting out) is considered to surpass all night immunity.

===Special roles===
''Baker, chef,'' ''Village Idiot'', ''Cobbler'', etc.
: The baker is on the side of the innocents. During the night, the baker gives one player a loaf of bread, potentially revealing their identity. If the baker dies, the innocents have just three nights to dispose of the mafia, or the innocents [[starvation|starve]], and the mafia win. The Cobbler,<ref name=NM/> Villager, or Jester has the objective of convincing the town to kill them, or is required to vote in favor of all proposed eliminations. Sometimes, successful elimination of the Village Idiot results in the mafia being able to kill two people that night.

===Complicated roles===
Additional variations exist, sometimes with even more specialized or complicated abilities. There are many special roles, and many moderators design novel roles for each game. Some commercial variants ship with blank cards to allow this customization.<ref>[http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10583.phtml Lupus in Tabula (Werewolves at the Table) card listings]</ref> For example, neutral factions such as the serial killer could exist (the serial killer would have to kill everyone, innocent or mafia, to win).

==Variations==
The naming of various roles, factions, and other elements of play is theme-dependent and has limitless variation. Common alternative themes restyle the mafia as werewolves, cultists, assassins, or witches, with other roles being renamed appropriately.

Over the years, players have created Mafia variants that include additional rules. Some of these are listed here.

===Variations on the win conditions===
If there are as many mafiosi as innocents in the day-phase then a mafia victory is declared immediately, under the original Mafia rules. With the ability to deny a majority at an elimination vote, remaining mafiosi cannot be eliminated unless innocent/neutral killing roles exist. Other variants suspend this rule, and only declare the game after every member of one faction has been eliminated: this makes the game easier to explain, and to run.<ref name=Toone42>{{cite book |title= Great Games!: 175 Games & Activities for Families, Groups & Children |last= Toone |first= M. |date=July 2009 |isbn= 978-0-9798345-5-4 |publisher= MVT Games |page= 42 }}</ref>

===Election variants===
Nominees for elimination may be allowed to make a speech in their own defense. Usually, each player must vote, can only vote once and cannot vote for themselves. But some variants have a more complicated process of selecting players to be executed. Davidoff's original 'Mafia' allowed multiple day-time executions (per day), each needing only a plurality to action.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://members.theglobe.com/mafia_rules/ |title= The Original Mafia Rules |access-date= 15 June 2010 |year=1999 |quote= Accusations may happen any number of times during the discussion...once in a while, someone should propose to have a Mafia Night. If the majority of the players who are still in the game agrees, the Night begins. |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/19990302082118/http://members.theglobe.com/mafia_rules/ |archive-date = 1999-03-02}}</ref>

[[voting system|Voting variants abound]], but any elimination usually requires an absolute majority of the electorate, or votes cast. So the voting is usually not by [[secret ballot]] for multiple candidates with the highest vote count eliminated; it is more usual for the voting to be openly resolved either by:
* A nomination or series of elections structured to ultimately offer a [[Two-round system|choice between two candidates]], or
* An option to eliminate (or not eliminate) one suspect (with a new suspect produced if the last one survives the vote).<ref name=Toone42/>

====Tied votes====
[[Split vote|Deadlocked elections]] can be resolved by lot<ref name=Mossel2008/> or by killing the player with the [[scapegoat]] special role.<ref name=wired2010/>

The special case of one mafioso and one innocent remaining can be decided randomly<ref>The random resolution is typical in academic models of Mafia. For example, see: {{cite arXiv |eprint= 0804.0071 |title= A Theoretical Study of Mafia Games |last= Yao |first= E.<!--|class= math.PR--> |year= 2008|class= math.PR }}</ref> or be ruled a Mafia win—this is more usual in live play.<ref name="one on one">That a single mafioso wins against a single surviving innocent in the day phase is a standard live-play rule, being a sub-case of the rule that a numerical equality is a Mafia victory</ref>

====Optional elimination variant====
The Innocents can choose not to kill anybody during the day. Although commonly unsure of Mafia identities, the Innocents are more likely to randomly kill a mafioso than are the Mafia (at night). Therefore, not eliminating anyone (even at random) will typically favor the Mafia.

However, when the number of survivors is even, No Kill may help the Innocents; for example, when three Innocents and one mafioso remain – voting for No elimination gives a 1/3 chance of killing the mafioso the next day, rather than a 1/4 chance today (assuming [[Uniform distribution (discrete)|random]] elimination).

===Mafia killing methods===
Some variants require all Mafia members to choose the same victim independently for a kill to succeed. This can be achieved in the following ways:
* By waking the Mafia members up separately.<ref>The 'separate waking' method of designating victims is used in the official {{cite web |title = Mayday |url = http://www.interactivitiesink.com/minigames/mayday |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071113150015/http://interactivitiesink.com/minigames/mayday/ |archive-date = 13 November 2007 }} rules, for example. (This is a [[Soviet Union]]-themed variant with other expanded rules, released under [[Creative Commons]] licensing.)</ref>
* By calling out the names of all surviving players and requiring surviving mafiosi to raise their hands when the name of the victim is called out. In this variant, the mafiosi only "wake up" (open their eyes) at the very beginning of the game when they identify each other. This variant also allows other roles to take their actions by simply raising their hands when their target's name is called out.
* By having them write their kills. Under this variant, Innocent players write the word 'honest' on a piece of paper; Mafia members write the name of a player for elimination. If all the mafia notes have the same name on them, that player is considered killed by the Mafia.
In some online versions of the game, a particular player (the Godfather or a designated mafioso) must send in the kill.

Another variant requires the night-time vote to be secret and unanimous, but allows multiple players to be added to the execution [[queue area|queue]] to ensure unanimity.

===Multiple families===
Multiple, independent groups of mafia or werewolves<ref>{{cite web |url= http://fringe.davesource.com/Fringe/Entertainment/Games/Indoors/Mafia/v18.htm |title= Mafia and Werewolves |quote= Note – This variant was performed with great success on November 12, 1998}} – From the old Princeton variant rules.</ref> act and win independently, giving faster game-play and the potential for cross-fire between the factions.

===Attributes===
In this variant, players are given two cards: the first contains their role, the second an attribute. Attributes were originally derived from roles that could apply to both Mafia and Innocent alignments such as ''Bulletproof'' (cannot be killed at night), ''Mayor'' (has two votes in the elimination), and ''Siamese Twins'' (more commonly known as Siblings or Lovers).<ref>7–0–7, Jon Bennett {{cite web | url= http://7-0-7.co.uk/Miscellaneous/MafiaRules.pdf | title= ''Mafia Advanced Rules'' | url-status= dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110810215310/http://7-0-7.co.uk/Miscellaneous/MafiaRules.pdf | archive-date= 10 August 2011 }} Additional rules created by Jon Bennett, accepted in local Mafia circles.</ref>

===Quantum Werewolf===
This variant was developed by Steven Irrgang and used for a puzzle in the 2008 CISRA Puzzle Competition. The difference from a standard game of Mafia is that players are not initially assigned roles, but rather on each day are given the probabilities describing the game's current [[quantum state]]. Each player with a non-zero probability of being a seer or a werewolf performs the appropriate night actions (which may not be effective if it is later determined that the player did not have that role). When a player is killed, the [[wave function collapse]]s and the players are given updated probabilities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://puzzle.cisra.com.au/2008/quantumwerewolf.html |title=CISRA Puzzle Competition – Quantum Werewolf |publisher=Puzzle.cisra.com.au |year=2008 |access-date=2009-06-16}}</ref>

===Train Mafia===
Traditional Mafia re-envisioned and heavily modified by the [[Copenhagen Game Collective]] to be played in a subway metro. In this variation, players who are eliminated are kicked off the train (at the next stop), and must wait in shame for the following train – a kind of 'afterlife' train – to join a second, interwoven game.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.copenhagengamecollective.org/train-mafia/ |title=Train Mafia |publisher=Copenhagen Game Collective |date=27 September 2009 |access-date=2011-04-11}}</ref>

===Invisible City: Rebels vs. Spies===
A [[location-based game|location-based mobile gaming]] variant for [[Android (operating system)|Android]], designed for city center play. The two factions are: the Rebels, the majority; and the Spies, the informed minority. The rule-set replaces expulsions with [[score (game)|scoring]] by round. Each player is assigned an individual mission each round. Some missions are critical and if one of those fails, the round goes to the Spies, but only one player knows which missions are critical.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.invisiblecity.gr |title=Invisible City: Rebels vs. Spies |publisher=Human-Computer Interaction Group, [[University of Patras]], Greece |year=2011 |access-date=2012-11-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120627085952/http://www.invisiblecity.gr/ |archive-date=2012-06-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Ultimate Werewolf===
{{main|Ultimate Werewolf}}

In this version of Mafia, the main enemies are the werewolves, as opposed to the mafia. The werewolves wake at night to kill a player, who is usually a Villager. Other helpful roles such as the Seer, Bodyguard, and Witch exist to help purge the village of werewolves, but other neutral roles exist such as the Tanner, lovers (if Cupid is in the game and the lovers are from different teams), and a third major faction: Vampires.

====One Night variant====

In this standalone game published by Bezier Games, players only "sleep" and close their eyes for a single night at the beginning of the game. They then have a single day of discussion, with a single elimination. No players are eliminated as the game progresses. There is no moderator, so everyone gets to participate as a member of the town or village. When playing this game, three more role cards are used than the number of players; when everyone is randomly dealt out their card the three extra ones placed in the middle of the table. To begin the game one of the players, with eyes closed, will act as the "caller" on the single starting night, going through the nighttime roles once: Werewolves and Minions (if in play) will identify each other, the Seer will examine one player's card or two of the middle cards, the Robber will steal another player's role card and replace it with their own, the Troublemaker will blindly swap two players' role cards, the Insomniac wakes up to check if their role card has been swapped, etc. The game ends on a single elimination vote, with the villagers winning if a single werewolf is caught, and the werewolves winning if no werewolves are killed. This game can be played with as few as three players. Play time can be as quick as five minutes per game.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

===Town of Salem===

''[[Town of Salem]]'' is an advanced online version of Mafia that takes place during the [[Salem witch trials]]. It involves several different roles from multiple factions.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thegamer.com/town-of-salem-best-worst-roles/ |title=Town of Salem: 5 Best Roles To Play (& 5 Worst) |date=25 May 2019 |website=TheGamer |language=en-US |access-date=2019-09-05}}</ref> The game was updated on 6 June 2017, to add a new faction: the Coven, which mainly consists of witches and is similar in function and goal to the more traditional Mafia.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gamasutra.com/view/pressreleases/299329/Indie_Smash_Hit_Town_of_Salem_Gets_New_Expansion_The%0ACoven.php |title=Indie Smash Hit Town of Salem Gets New Expansion: The Coven |website=www.gamasutra.com |language=en |access-date=2019-09-05}}</ref>

A sequel to the game, ''[[Town of Salem 2]]'', was released on 26 May 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blackburn |first=Troy |date=26 May 2023 |title=Town Of Salem 2 Launches On Steam Early Access |url=https://www.mmobomb.com/news/town-of-salem-2-launches-steam-early-access |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=MMOBomb}}</ref> The game removes the Mafia faction, but repurposes the function of most roles within the Mafia into the Coven.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reviews 1 |url=https://www.townofsalem2.com/faq |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=Town of Salem 2 |language=en-US}}</ref> Gameplay remains similar to the original game.

== Online play ==
[[File:Werewolv.es screenshot.png|thumb|Online gameplay at Mark Kirschstein's https://werewolv.es server]]
Mafia can also be played online. Games can be played on [[IRC channel]]s, where a bot assumes the role of a game moderator and the interaction of players is conducted via textual communication.<ref>{{Cite web|title = MAFIA – XKCD Wiki|url = http://wiki.xkcd.com/irc/MAFIA|website = wiki.xkcd.com|access-date = 19 September 2015|archive-date = 2019-07-26|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190726032346/http://wiki.xkcd.com/irc/Mafia|url-status = dead}}</ref>

Playing mafia-like games online opens the possibility of long-lasting games, such as the ones on forums. In such games, one day in real life usually corresponds to one day within the game, so players log in each morning to see who was killed during the night phase.

Online games have several advantages. There is no need to gather many people in the same room, so organizing and playing a game of Mafia is faster and more convenient. Removing the human moderator and the need for players to close their eyes removes the possibility of accidental revelation of information. Online play also allows role mechanics which would be too cumbersome to use in a physical version of the game.

A drawback of online play is the lack of direct face-to-face communication, which many consider the most important aspect of Mafia. Some sites organize Mafia games with web cams, so that face-to-face communication is preserved. The long-lasting online mafia games that are usually played via online forums do not necessarily have this drawback. People who communicate via forums usually do not know each other in real life.

In a traditional Mafia game, all of the players are in one room. There is no way to communicate with another player in private. With online games, this is not the case. Many Mafia game forums and game sites have rules that mandate that only one channel of communication must be used for all game-related discussion.

==Artificial intelligence==
Werewolf is a subject of [[artificial intelligence]] research due to its unique features such as persuasion and deception.<ref>Bi X., Tanaka T. (2016) Human-Side Strategies in the Werewolf Game Against the Stealth Werewolf Strategy. In: Plaat A., Kosters W., van den Herik J. (eds) Computers and Games. CG 2016. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 10068. Springer, Cham</ref> The game requires several AI technologies such as multi-agent coordination, intentional reading, and understanding of the [[theory of mind]].<ref>Toriumi F., Osawa H., Inaba M., Katagami D., Shinoda K., Matsubara H. (2017) AI Wolf Contest – Development of Game AI Using Collective Intelligence —. In: Cazenave T., Winands M., Edelkamp S., Schiffel S., Thielscher M., Togelius J. (eds) Computer Games. CGW 2016, GIGA 2016. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 705. Springer, Cham</ref>

[[Deep learning]] has been used in an attempt to develop agents that can win the game as werewolves or as villagers.<ref>Kondoh M., Matsumoto K., Mori N. (2019) Development of Agent Predicting Werewolf with Deep Learning. In: De La Prieta F., Omatu S., Fernández-Caballero A. (eds) Distributed Computing and Artificial Intelligence, 15th International Conference. DCAI 2018. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 800. Springer, Cham</ref><ref>N. Brandizzi, D. Grossi, L. Iocchi, “RLupus: Cooperation through emergent communication in The Werewolf social deduction game”. In: Intelligenza Artificiale 15 (2021), pp. 55–70. ISSN: 2211-0097. DOI: 10.3233/IA-210081. URL: https://doi.org/10.3233/IA-210081</ref> [[Regular expression]]s have been used to parse utterance logs for divulgence (or "coming-out" as a role) and decision information, although one difficulty has been that a statement such as "Player A is a werewolf" could be based on either the player's ability (e.g. as seer) or just speculation.<ref>{{citation |last1=Hirata |first1=Y. |last2=Michimasa |first2=I. |last3=Kenichi |first3=T. |last4=Fujio |first4=T  |last5=Hirotaka |first5=O. |last6=Daisuke |first6=K. |last7= Kousuke |first7=S. |date=2016 |contribution= Werewolf Game Modeling Using Action Probabilities Based on Play Log Analysis |editor1= Plaat A. |editor2=Kosters W. |editor3= van den Herik J. |title= Computers and Games. CG 2016 |series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 10068. |volume=10068 |pages=103–114 |publisher=Springer, Cham |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-50935-8_10|isbn=978-3-319-50934-1 }}</ref>

==Reception==
In the 2010 book ''Family Games: The 100 Best'', [[Lester W. Smith]] commented that "the secret to the success of ''Werewolf'' comes down to human interaction. From its earliest incarnation in a university classroom in Moscow to the session of ''The Werewolves of Miller's Hollow'' I held in my home [...] the fascination is in experiencing the psychology of a justifiably paranoid community trying to rid itself of a hidden evil – and too often learning that they sacrificed an innocent instead."<ref name=laws>{{cite book| last = Laws| first = Robin D. |author-link=Robin D. Laws |contribution = Prince Valiant| editor-last =Lowder| editor-first =James| title = Family Games: The 100 Best| publisher = Green Ronin Publishing| date = 2010| location = Seattle| pages = 350–352}}</ref>

== See also ==
* ''[[The Werewolves of Millers Hollow]]''
* ''[[Among Us]]''
* [[Assassin (game)]]
*[[Gnosia]]
* [[Bang! (card game)|''Bang!'' (card game)]]
* [[The Resistance (game)|''The Resistance'' (game)]]
* ''[[The Traitors]]'', a reality game show franchise with multiple international editions, in which the game format resembles Mafia.
* ''[[Secret Hitler]]''
* ''[[Town of Salem]]''
* [[Wink murder]]
* ''[[Werewolves Within]]''

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=Note|30em}}
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
<!-- Note: Links to sites or forums in which to play Werewolf/Mafia are not appropriate here. See WP:EL for link criteria or look at featured content on how links are used. Links that do not meet wikipedia standards, or are added to advertise a website will be deleted. -->
* [https://web.archive.org/web/19990302082118/http://members.theglobe.com/mafia_rules/ The original Mafia ruleset]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050403230221/http://www.cab.u-szeged.hu/local/mensa/SIG/mafia/mafia.html Hungarian Mensa Society] – first Mafia-related page on the Internet
* [http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/925 Werewolf] at [[BoardGameGeek]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140517121933/http://www.princeton.edu/~sucharit/~mafia/ The Princeton ruleset]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mafia}}
[[Category:Soviet inventions]]
[[Category:Live-action role-playing games]]
[[Category:Games and sports introduced in 1986]]
[[Category:Works about organized crime]]
[[Category:Mafia (party game)]]
[[Category:Soviet games]]