With the Mafia for Life. Review of the Mafia Board Game Set
Interesting fact: if you enter the line "Mafia game" in Yandex or Google, the first result will be something quite different from the gangster saga about Tommy Angelo. It will be a game with the same name, created 16 years before City of Lost Heaven by a Russian student. Even back in 1986, it boasted a non-linear plot with many dialogues, as well as stunning facial animations that required close attention to avoid losing. And all of this didn't even need a computer! The only downside is that this game is strictly multiplayer, and the more people gather, the more modes and characters will be available... Yes, this post will be about the team psychological game Mafia.
Previously, I had only played the table version (where there are only civilians, mafia, and a commissioner). But it turned out that the game also has a full-fledged tabletop version with many cards and multi-page rules. I humbly ask to allow me to talk about it in this blog, as the set from http://mafia-game.info was presented at yesterday's party 1C-SoftClub. That’s where I got this box from.
Those who remember the legendary Ostracism game on our site can easily imagine Mafia. On a global scale, it differs in that participants are initially split into two teams, and the gameplay consists of days and nights during which players gain various abilities and can vote against each other. The rules are detailed in the "Bible of the Player":
*Interesting fact: two quiz questions at yesterday's party were taken from the guidelines above. We were asked what the word Omerta means and who was the author of the last lines of the "Bible".*
Those who want to study the rules in full can download them from the website; they are presented there exactly as they are on paper. But the main element of this box, the deck of cards, cannot be downloaded. Here’s what this variety looks like:
Civilians, mafia, commissioner, and many others. The cards are not plastic; they are made of sturdy paper. Note that even the civilians have different illustrations, not to mention the other characters! There is a serious approach to it. Although, in reality, the only purpose of these cards is to inform the player of their role at the start of the game. Instead of this deck, you could very well use regular playing cards, napkins, notebook pages, scraps of paper, or even newspapers... But agree, only with these kinds of cards does the game live up to its loud name.
Additionally, this deck includes four "fortune cards," which can diversify long games. How precisely to diversify is clear from the text on them.
And the last element, which is not directly included in the set but is recommended for playing: a mask. In theory, it is needed to prevent peeking at night, but in practice, the fabric squeaks and tightly compresses the head, so during the game, it only helps to identify who takes off their blindfold earlier than others. Thus, I better use the only mask I have in public transport to block external distractions.
Mafia is sleeping, do not disturb.
Ultimately, the set looks like this:
Stylish, large packaging and a quality deck make the set from mafia-game.info a pleasant and interesting gift for a gamer. And if you were to write on the box that it's a multiplayer patch for Mafia II...
Meanwhile, only a few hours remain until the release of Mafia II...