Official TBT Mafia General
Use this official thread to discuss TBT Mafia on the forums in general. Want to talk about the past games? Discuss future strategy? Craft new role or theme game ideas? All of that and more is encouraged in this thread.
You'll also find information on game types, hosting a game, the current hosting queue, and the current ban list.
Introduction to TBT Mafia by KarlaKGB
Welcome to TBT Mafia. Mafia is a game of the informed minority versus the uninformed majority. To elaborate, the game is divided into two teams: the Town and the Mafia. Mafia know who each other are, and can coordinate their actions privately. Town on the other hand don't know anything other than their own role. To compensate, there are many more Townies than Mafia.
At the beginning of the game, you are PM'd your role. The game is divided into repeating phases of Day and Night. Day will generally last 48 hours and revolve around voting for a player to be lynched. Each player (including Mafia) get one vote, and players must figure out who the Mafia are, and convince others that they are correct. At the end of the day, the person with the most votes is lynched, and their alignment and role are revealed.
Night is typically 24 hours long and is reserved for Mafia night kills and players with special abilities. Usually, players discuss the results of the lynch at night, and make plans for the next day. When night ends, everyone will be informed of who died during the night. The new day will begin, and discussions for the lynch begin anew.
Mafia is a game of logic, intuition, persuasiveness, reading ability, emotion, and will. In short, its a thinking man's game. There are many different ways to approach the game and every game is a very different experience. In addition, Mafia is not for the faint-hearted or overly emotional. While not occurring every game, sometimes people can get into very heated arguments with one another. People can get very emotional playing Mafia, as it is a high-intensity endeavour. That being said, playing Mafia is an excellent to develop thick skin, improve your patience, and make yourself a stronger person mentally.
Be warned - Mafia requires a time commitment. This generally depends on the player, but at minimum 30 minutes a day of solid effort is required. As part of the time commitment, Mafia requires a great deal of reading. Most people are actually quite poor at reading comprehension and playing Mafia is a great way to improve your reading ability, as well as your writing and ability to think and argue logically.
At the beginning of the game, you are PM'd your role. The game is divided into repeating phases of Day and Night. Day will generally last 48 hours and revolve around voting for a player to be lynched. Each player (including Mafia) get one vote, and players must figure out who the Mafia are, and convince others that they are correct. At the end of the day, the person with the most votes is lynched, and their alignment and role are revealed.
Night is typically 24 hours long and is reserved for Mafia night kills and players with special abilities. Usually, players discuss the results of the lynch at night, and make plans for the next day. When night ends, everyone will be informed of who died during the night. The new day will begin, and discussions for the lynch begin anew.
Mafia is a game of logic, intuition, persuasiveness, reading ability, emotion, and will. In short, its a thinking man's game. There are many different ways to approach the game and every game is a very different experience. In addition, Mafia is not for the faint-hearted or overly emotional. While not occurring every game, sometimes people can get into very heated arguments with one another. People can get very emotional playing Mafia, as it is a high-intensity endeavour. That being said, playing Mafia is an excellent to develop thick skin, improve your patience, and make yourself a stronger person mentally.
Be warned - Mafia requires a time commitment. This generally depends on the player, but at minimum 30 minutes a day of solid effort is required. As part of the time commitment, Mafia requires a great deal of reading. Most people are actually quite poor at reading comprehension and playing Mafia is a great way to improve your reading ability, as well as your writing and ability to think and argue logically.
Game Types
We have 4 game types of Mafia at TBT: Main, Mini, Nub, and unofficial games. You can find information about each game type below. New players are recommend to start off by joining a Nub game.
We ask that players confine themselves to only playing a maximum of 2 games at a time, and likewise encourage hosts to reject player signups if the player is already alive in 2 other games. (including unofficial games) This is for the sake of keeping inactivity from being an active problem in games. The more games you take on, the less attention you can give to each game. If you're not careful with keeping up with every game you're playing in, you could find yourself banned for inactivity, so please watch how many games you join.
Main Series
- Large games with experienced hosts and often complex roles/setups
- Game Size: 21-35 Players
- Sign up to the queue to host
- Ban list applies
Mini Series
- Regular sized games with sometimes less experienced hosts
- Game size: 15-20 Players
- Sign up to the queue to host
- Ban list applies
Nub Series
- Beginner games for new players to get introduced to Mafia
- Players should move onto other game types after playing up to 3 Nub games
- Game size: 10-20 Players
- Sign up to the queue to host
- Ban list applies
Unofficial Games
- Generally experimental ideas, or game designed for low player counts
- Game size: 3-15 Players
- Create a thread anytime (please use common courtesy however, it's rude to start a game when there's already 4 games ongoing)
- Ban list does not apply
Bans
All official games on TBT follow our official ban list. This ban list is maintained by the mods who participate in TBT Mafia. Hosts should PM them to submit appropriate bans to the list from the categories listed below. Player can PM them if they feel they have been wrongly banned and would like to appeal their ban.
The List
Active Bans
| Banned Player | Game | Reason | Approved By | Ban Ends |
| Crazy-Gamer | TBT Nub Mafia IV | Inactivity / Quitting | Jeremy | Sep 19 2014, 7 PM EDT |
| Cherry-Blossoms | TBT Nub Mafia IV | Inactivity / Quitting | Jeremy | Sep 20 2014, 7 PM EDT |
| Kawaii Cupcakes | TBT Nub Mafia IV | Inactivity / Quitting | Jeremy | Sep 20 2014, 7 PM EDT |
| Karen | TBT Mafia XV | Inactivity / Quitting | Jeremy | Sep 22 2014, 6 PM EDT |
| Alice | TBT Mafia XV | Inactivity / Quitting | Jeremy | Sep 23 2014, 6 PM EDT |
| JellofishXD | TBT Mafia XV | Inactivity / Quitting | Jeremy | Sep 24 2014, 6 PM EDT |
| dalandanator | TBT Nub Mafia IV | Inactivity / Quitting | Jeremy | Sep 24 2014, 7 PM EDT |
| Yui Z | TBT Mafia XV | Inactivity / Quitting | Jeremy | Sep 25 2014, 6 PM EDT |
Expired Inactive Bans (removed after 6 months)
| Banned Player | Game | Reason | Approved By | Ban Expired |
| Sid2125 | TBT Mini Mafia XIII | Inactivity / Quitting | Jeremy | Sep 3 2014, 5 PM EDT |
| ShinySandwich | TBT Mini Mafia XIII | Inactivity / Quitting | Justin | Sep 6 2014, 6 PM EDT |
| MrKisstoefur | TBT Mafia XIV | Inactivity / Quitting | Jeremy | Aug 30 2014, 11 PM EDT |
| Capella/gamora | TBT Mafia XIV | Inactivity / Quitting | Jeremy | Aug 23 2014, 1 AM EDT |
| MissNiamh/Cariad | TBT Mafia XIV | Inactivity / Quitting | Jeremy | Aug 23 2014, 1 AM EDT |
Common categories of violations:
Inactivity / Quitting - 2 weeks, 1 month on repeat offences
If you are inactive in a game (as defined by the game's Inactivity rules, read them before playing!) after being issued a written warning in PM from the host, then you may be eligible for banning under the category. Quitting a game before it ends is also an offence of this rule.
Excessive Spamming - 2 weeks, 1 month on repeat offences
If you continue to excessively post useless, pointless, or short messages after being issued a written warning from the host, then you may be eligible for banning under the category.
Aggressive Behaviour - 2 weeks, 1 month on repeat offences
Forum suspensions, infractions and warnings apply as well
In accordance with the forum Rules & Guidelines. If you harass, bully, insult or attack another player with malicious intent, then you may be eligible for banning under the category. Tactic and playstyle do not act as exemption from this rule.
Prohibited Communication I - 2 weeks, 1 month on repeat offences
If you are caught intentionally communicating privately outside of the thread in a game where private communication is prohibited, then you may be eligible for banning under the category.
Prohibited Communication II - Ban length depends on incident
If you are caught communicating with living players after your death or in turn communicating with dead players when alive, then you may be eligible for banning under the category. This also applies to observers and members that were not initially active in the game if found passing information to living players.
Playing Against Your Win Condition - Ban length depends on incident
If you intentionally act against your own team with malicious intent, then you may be eligible for banning under the category. This covers a wide variety of possiblities and ban length will be determined depending on the situaton.
Permanent bans will only be assigned on a case-by-case basis when a player has received multiple bans previously and does not improve. Please note that we reserve the right to ban players for other reasons as well if they come up, no differently than regular bans on TBT. This list only serves as a general outline for reasons you could wind up banned, and an idea of how long. Finally, minor offences will be forgiven for a player's first or second game if it is a Nub Series game. (ex. inactivity)
Players who are banned receive the following restrictions:
- Barred from signup, replacement, or observer to any official game posted, or any on-going signups and official games during their ban period*
- Barred from signing up to any hosting queue during their ban period
- Removal from any on-going official game signups
- Any current games on the hosting queue pushed back by one slot, swapped with next host if due to host next
Hosting a Game
Official Hosting Queues
All official games on TBT follow three queues: One for main series Mafia games, one for Mini Mafia games, and one for Nub Mafia games. There should ideally be one of each type of game running at a time, with small gaps when deemed appropriate.
When the currently in-progress game in a queue reaches 25% or less of players remaining (this number is listed), the signups thread for the next game in line should be posted. The game should not start until the previous game has been completed though.
If a game cannot reach 20 signups, or 15 signups for Mini Mafia, in a reasonable amount of time it may be removed from official status and the next game in line will be asked to begin signups in place of the failed game.
Main Series
- TBT Mafia XVI: Game of Thrones (hosted by Minties)
- TBT Mafia XVII: The Walking Dead (hosted by Lauren)
- TBT Mafia XVIII: PowerPuff Girls (hosted by Cariad and gamora)
- TBT Mafia XIX: Oregon Trail (hosted by Jeremy and Tom)
Mini Series
- TBT Mini Mafia XV: Mafia (Tina)
- TBT Mini Mafia XVI: Disney Villains - Poor Unfortunate Souls (hosted by Justin)
- TBT Mini Mafia XVII: Runescape Kingmaker (hosted by oath2order)
- TBT Mini Mafia XVIII: Bravely Default (hosted by tsundere and Benmjy)
- TBT Mini Mafia XIX: Open Slot
Nub Series
- TBT Nub Mafia V: A Mole in the Circus (hosted by KarlaKGB and Tina)
- TBT Nub Mafia VI: Open Slot
The queue limit for Main Series is 4, Mini Series is 5, and Nub Series is 2.
Reserved Official Games
NOTE: Currently, we are NOT using this as the Approved Hosts list is relatively small at the moment, but we will implement this in the future when it grows.
How to Sign Up
If you would like to host an official Mafia game on TBT, please check the requirements below to be sure you meet them. If you meet them, you just need to wait for an open slot in the queue. When an open slot is available, fill out the form below under the requirements and post it in this thread.
Main Series Games:
- Play through 4+ Mafia games on TBT, not counting Nub Series games. Games where you were mod killed, replaced, or WotC'd do not count towards this.
- Played on both the Town and Mafia teams. (3rd party does not count)
- Been a member of TBT for 4+ months.
- Not currently in the Main Series queue. You can sign up for another game only after your last game has completed.
- Listed on the Approved Hosts list. (see below)
Mini Series Games:
- Played through 3+ Mafia games on TBT, not counting Nub Series games. Games where you were mod killed, replaced, or WotC'd do not count towards this.
- Played on both the Town and Mafia teams. (3rd party does not count)
- Been a member of TBT for 4+ months.
- Not currently in the Mini Series queue. You can sign up for another game only after your last game has completed.
- Co-host required if not listed on the Approved Hosts list. (see below)
Nub Series Games:
- Played through 5+ Mafia games on TBT, not counting Nub Series games. Games where you were mod killed, replaced, or WotC'd do not count towards this.
- Played on both the Town and Mafia teams. (3rd party does not count)
- Been a member of TBT for 4+ months.
- Listed on the Approved Hosts list. (see below)
Note that for the purpose of these requirements, only Official Main and Mini games on TBT are counted. Nub and unofficial games do not.
[B]Username:[/B]
[B]Co-Host:[/B]
[B]Approved Host:[/B] Yes/No
[B]Game Type:[/B] Main/Mini/Nub
[B]Game Theme:[/B]
[B]Game Setup Notes:[/B]
Approved Hosts
The following is a list of hosts who have successfully hosted an official TBT Mafia game in the past as determined by TBT Staff (primarily maintained by Justin and Tina) to qualify them for hosting a Main Series game, or a Mini Series game without a co-host. New hosts will be added to the list as they host games successfully. If a game suffers problems to their fault, they'll be asked to host another game better before submission to the list.
Co-hosts will only be added to the list if they showed a significant active role in the game. We don't want people signing up as co-hosts and doing the very bare minimum just to get a spot on the list, so don't assume you'll be placed on the list simply by signing up as a co-host.
- Feloreena
- Gandalf
- Jeremy
- Justin
- KarlaKGB
- Lauren
- LaurinaMN
- Minties
- Cariad
- oath2order
- Superpenguin
- Tina
- Tom
Hosting Tips and Guidelines by KarlaKGB
1. Game size
This is a relatively easy choice to make, and really is up to you. The smaller the player count, the faster the game will go. As a general rule of thumb, Mini Mafia games should not exceed 20 players. As for normal Mafia, there's no real upper limit. I've played in 100 player games before and they worked, but that's a LOT of work and generally unadvisable. 35 is the upper limit I'm personally comfortable with. Larger games will also let you have more roles (and more variety), but you also run the risk of having more inactives.
2. Rules and Themes
So theme, or style refers to both a cosmetic and rule deviations from the norm. For example, TBT Mafia IV: Red Revolution had a historic Russian Revolution theme, but the general gameplay and roles were standard. TBT Mini Cell Mafia on the other hand maintained standard role names, but followed a drastically different playstyle. Games like Fire Emblem Kingmaker and Animal Crossing Mafia had both cosmetic themes and gameplay changes. Themes to consider are things like multiple Mafia families, hidden role counts etc...the main thing to keep in mind is keeping the setup balanced, as often you can't use the same formula and concepts as you would for a standard game.
3. Role Counts
This is probably the most difficult part - attaining good balance, because nobody wants to play a game to realise a week later that there's no way they feasibly could have won. As a general rule of thumb, aim for a ratio of 1 Mafia per every 5 players, and roughly 1.25 blue roles per 5 players. I also rank the common blue roles as Vigilante > Doctor > Detective in terms of how many there are. I also think it's equally acceptable to have more Doctors than Vigilantes.
The standard Town roles are Vanilla Townie, Detective, Doctor and Vigilante. Standard Mafia roles are Goons and the Godfather. When you add new roles to the game, you have to consider how they will interact with other new roles, as well as the standard roles.
If you know there will be a veteran host who won't be playing in your game, you can PM them and ask them to look at your setup and give feedback.
4. The Opening Post
This is the face of your Mafia game, and is the information centre. A nice tidy layout is recommended that is divided into distinct sections: Introduction, Rules, Playerlist and Roles. There is a general OP template that is used by most hosts, which keeps things nice and consistent.
While most hosts have a beautiful looking OP when they first put their game up, they often neglect it and don't keep it updated. This is bad as it's much easier to check the status of a game when you have links to the relevant Day/Night posts, and you can see which roles have flipped. Links to player profiles are useful (I prefer to link to filters, which I believe are even more useful to players).
5. Your role as a host
As the host, your job is to answer player questions and keep the game moving along by making the relevant Day/Night posts. Oh and enforcing the rules. Other than that, you should have a minimal thread presence. Nor should you attempt to influence a game (eg. by choosing night actions for inactive players, helping Mafia pick targets).
Players will attempt to get information out of you. Avoid discussing the game with players (I am guilty of this myself as I spend a lot of time in IRC, with the other players). Do not give them any information. They will try all sort of tricks to tease information out of you. Also, do not volunteer information unless explicitly asked for. This is more applicable to crazier setups as you get more interactions between roles, but it's up to the players to ask the right questions, not for you to deliver the result they expect.
If you are asked a question in private, reply privately as well. The only exception is if you think the question is so critical to the way the game will play out, that in the interests of fairness you need to inform everyone. This is largely down to your judgement, but it's rare that a situation like this will come up.
6. Big Don'ts
NEVER hand out the role list. To anyone. Everything leaks. The risk is not worth it.
DON'T rush the Day/Night posts. Double, triple check everything. The votelists. The actions. Make sure you resolve them correctly. Nothing will mess a game up more than killing the wrong player. As there's never a solution to these that will satisfy both parties, you're better off just avoiding this situation.
DON'T change the rules halfway through a game. This includes how certain roles behave. It's really annoying to deal with as a player. Taking the time to make sure you have a balanced setup before the game starts is the best way to avoid having to make big changes.
7. Final words
Hosting is generally a thankless task. You get people badgering you to put posts up. You get people questioning why certain things didn't happen as they expected. And god forbid you screw up. You WILL screw up at some point, if you host enough games. When that happens, take a step back, freeze the game if you have to, and think about the best way to resolve it. Consult other veterans who are not part of the game. Most ****ups are salvageable, so just remain calm and work through it. Every game is a learning experience for everyone, host(s) included. Have fun
This is a relatively easy choice to make, and really is up to you. The smaller the player count, the faster the game will go. As a general rule of thumb, Mini Mafia games should not exceed 20 players. As for normal Mafia, there's no real upper limit. I've played in 100 player games before and they worked, but that's a LOT of work and generally unadvisable. 35 is the upper limit I'm personally comfortable with. Larger games will also let you have more roles (and more variety), but you also run the risk of having more inactives.
2. Rules and Themes
So theme, or style refers to both a cosmetic and rule deviations from the norm. For example, TBT Mafia IV: Red Revolution had a historic Russian Revolution theme, but the general gameplay and roles were standard. TBT Mini Cell Mafia on the other hand maintained standard role names, but followed a drastically different playstyle. Games like Fire Emblem Kingmaker and Animal Crossing Mafia had both cosmetic themes and gameplay changes. Themes to consider are things like multiple Mafia families, hidden role counts etc...the main thing to keep in mind is keeping the setup balanced, as often you can't use the same formula and concepts as you would for a standard game.
3. Role Counts
This is probably the most difficult part - attaining good balance, because nobody wants to play a game to realise a week later that there's no way they feasibly could have won. As a general rule of thumb, aim for a ratio of 1 Mafia per every 5 players, and roughly 1.25 blue roles per 5 players. I also rank the common blue roles as Vigilante > Doctor > Detective in terms of how many there are. I also think it's equally acceptable to have more Doctors than Vigilantes.
The standard Town roles are Vanilla Townie, Detective, Doctor and Vigilante. Standard Mafia roles are Goons and the Godfather. When you add new roles to the game, you have to consider how they will interact with other new roles, as well as the standard roles.
If you know there will be a veteran host who won't be playing in your game, you can PM them and ask them to look at your setup and give feedback.
4. The Opening Post
This is the face of your Mafia game, and is the information centre. A nice tidy layout is recommended that is divided into distinct sections: Introduction, Rules, Playerlist and Roles. There is a general OP template that is used by most hosts, which keeps things nice and consistent.
While most hosts have a beautiful looking OP when they first put their game up, they often neglect it and don't keep it updated. This is bad as it's much easier to check the status of a game when you have links to the relevant Day/Night posts, and you can see which roles have flipped. Links to player profiles are useful (I prefer to link to filters, which I believe are even more useful to players).
5. Your role as a host
As the host, your job is to answer player questions and keep the game moving along by making the relevant Day/Night posts. Oh and enforcing the rules. Other than that, you should have a minimal thread presence. Nor should you attempt to influence a game (eg. by choosing night actions for inactive players, helping Mafia pick targets).
Players will attempt to get information out of you. Avoid discussing the game with players (I am guilty of this myself as I spend a lot of time in IRC, with the other players). Do not give them any information. They will try all sort of tricks to tease information out of you. Also, do not volunteer information unless explicitly asked for. This is more applicable to crazier setups as you get more interactions between roles, but it's up to the players to ask the right questions, not for you to deliver the result they expect.
If you are asked a question in private, reply privately as well. The only exception is if you think the question is so critical to the way the game will play out, that in the interests of fairness you need to inform everyone. This is largely down to your judgement, but it's rare that a situation like this will come up.
6. Big Don'ts
NEVER hand out the role list. To anyone. Everything leaks. The risk is not worth it.
DON'T rush the Day/Night posts. Double, triple check everything. The votelists. The actions. Make sure you resolve them correctly. Nothing will mess a game up more than killing the wrong player. As there's never a solution to these that will satisfy both parties, you're better off just avoiding this situation.
DON'T change the rules halfway through a game. This includes how certain roles behave. It's really annoying to deal with as a player. Taking the time to make sure you have a balanced setup before the game starts is the best way to avoid having to make big changes.
7. Final words
Hosting is generally a thankless task. You get people badgering you to put posts up. You get people questioning why certain things didn't happen as they expected. And god forbid you screw up. You WILL screw up at some point, if you host enough games. When that happens, take a step back, freeze the game if you have to, and think about the best way to resolve it. Consult other veterans who are not part of the game. Most ****ups are salvageable, so just remain calm and work through it. Every game is a learning experience for everyone, host(s) included. Have fun
Glossary
A list of common terms or abbreviations used by players in TBT Mafia games.
Scum or Scummy: Mafia or acting like Mafia.
DT: Detective or Cop, a town role that allows you to inspect another player's role during the Night
Vet: Veteran, a town role that allows you to take two hits during the Night
Vig: Vigilante, or a town role that allows you to kill another player during the Night
PM: Private Message, either on the forum or on the IRC
Role Claim: Revealing your in-game role to another player, unless it's iLoveYou in which case don't do it.
Fake Claim: Lying about your in-game role to another player.
NL: No Lynch, or voting to lynch no player in a day.
Flip: What someone will or claims they will be revealed as. (example: You'll see when I flip Town)
Green: A regular town player with no powers, referred to by the colours of roles.
Blue: A town player with a power ability (the Detective for example), referred to by the colours of roles.
Red: A mafia player, referred to by the colours of roles.
Bandwagoning: Jumping on other another player (usually by voting) because other players are without offering much of your own reasoning, if any.
Feel free to suggest anything to add or change to this list!
Useful Links
The 2013 TBT Mafia Scummies
The 2014 TBT Mafia Scummies
The only important award:
TBT IRC Mafia Guide
Information on the TBT IRC Mafia Bot in #belltreemafia can be found in this guide.
GIF Countdown
A useful tool for hosts to use during their games eliminating time zone confusion.
Google Docs/Drive
A useful tool for hosts to use during their games to keep track of the many actions needing to be processed. It's also fun to post publicly at the end of the game.
TBT Mafia Wiki
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