I also don't understand why he waited this long to say this. I'm skeptical.
Well probably because he recognised that claiming town roleblocker is a stupid move, but he felt confident and desperate enough that I was scum, that he came out with it.
- - - Post Merge - - -
Mafia is a game of information. It's a game of the uninformed majority vs the informed minority. The only advantage scum has over town is knowledge. As the game progresses, and there are votelists and flips to look at, mafia begins to lose the information advantage. Therefore, any move that close the information gap between town and mafia is good.
Now let's look at that roleplay I posted again.
Me: "Hey guys, I took a hit during the night"
Ok, what information does town get from this?
That I was hit.
That I was either protected, or I am a veteran.
That is literally all you can deduce from that. You don't know if I'm a VT, or veteran, or other blue, or even scum.
Ok, what information Mafia deduce from that?
That I was hit.
That I was either protected, or I am a veteran.
But the important thing here is, before I claimed, Mafia already knew that I was hit. They had this information that town did not. By giving town information that Mafia already has, I am closing the information gap. I haven't given Mafia any more information.
Note that I did not say to claim your role. I only said to claim that you took a hit. This is because Mafia don't know why you didn't die, and you should keep them in the dark about that.
In a no PM game, it is near impossible to give information only to town. But that's fine, because as town you only need to equalise the information disparity between the two teams in order to win. Town's advantage is in its numerical superiority.
I recognise that if there was a serial killer, then yes, Mafia would not have already known I was hit. This is a small exception and it should not detract from the overall strategy of town. If you get caught up in the tiny 'what-ifs', you won't get anywhere. Make the play that makes sense under most situations. It's like a messed up Occam's razor, but the concept is still good.