Trust No One: MAFIA

In Mafia, the town sleeps at night. This one doesn't.

Trust No One: MAFIA is a first-person social deduction shooter for 7 to 15 players, and most of it happens at night. The lights go out over a Victorian district, the Mafia go hunting, and you're out on the street, not sure which of your neighbors you can trust. On a full server, three players are Mafia and one is a Maniac who kills everybody, the Mafia included. Everyone else has four nights to work out who's who, or at least to live through them. A match takes about half an hour.

The dark form

Most of the time the Mafia look exactly like everyone else. For twenty seconds at a time they can become a dark silhouette: their steps get quieter, their name disappears, and nobody hears a word they say. They don't need the dark for it, but in the light the silhouette is easy to spot, so they pick their moment. If someone in the dark won't answer you, don't wait to find out why.

Proximity voice only

Your voice is the only way to talk, and only people close to you can hear it. Nobody has a team chat, not even the Mafia. So every accusation happens face to face. Get the whole town in one place and shout your theory until someone shouts louder, or pull one person aside and whisper it. Just make sure you know who you're whispering to.

Keep the lights on

Two generators light the district, and the Mafia like it dark. If nobody's watching, they can break one in three seconds. They can also fix one, just to look like good citizens. A hand lantern costs money, but it stays lit when the generators go down. Guns are sold at the fair or found around town, and anyone can pull a trigger. Deciding who to point it at is the hard part.

Dawn at the fair

At dawn the town gets a little time to gather at the fair, and the walk there is where the Mafia like to set up an ambush. Make it to the fair and you're safe for a while, because nobody can shoot there. Argue, vote, shop. Or skip it and keep looting while everyone else is busy. Then the lights go out again.

Wanted

The vote decides whose role gets revealed the next night. If he turns out to be one of the Mafia, his name turns red, wanted posters go up around town, and he can't come back to the fair to vote or shop. And there's a price on his head.

Who's who

• Mafia. Kill without getting caught. They know each other, and they can spend the whole night looking like everyone else. Until they don't.
  
• Maniac. Plays alone and starts with a knife. Has no friends in this town.
  
• Sheriff. The deadliest revolver in town and more health than anyone. The Mafia's biggest problem.
  
• Doctor. Can bring one player back each night, but never knows their role. Sometimes it's a killer.
  
• Civilians. No powers. Just their voice and whatever they can get their hands on.

Die and you stay to watch how it ends. Or wait for the Doctor.

You'll need a microphone. And friends you don't mind shooting.