How to play Mafia

What is the Mafia game?

Mafia is a social deduction game for groups, created by Dmitry Davidoff in Moscow in 1986. Players are secretly split into two teams. The mafia are a small group who know each other. The town is everyone else, and they don't know who to trust. A narrator who doesn't play runs the game.

The game alternates between night, when the mafia secretly choose a victim, and day, when everyone discusses and votes to eliminate a suspect. The town wins by voting out every mafia member; the mafia win by outnumbering the town.

What you need

You need at least four players, plus one more person to narrate. Sit in a circle where everyone can see each other's faces. To deal the secret roles, use Mafia Setup on one phone, a deck of playing cards, or folded slips of paper.

The roles

Every game uses four roles. The Cop and the Angel are special members of the town; there is one of each.

• 

  Mafia

  Mafia team

  The mafia know who each other are. Each night they silently agree on one player to eliminate. By day they blend in, deflect suspicion and try to get innocent players voted out.

• 

  Villager

  Town

  Villagers have no night action, so they influence the game by talking and voting. Listen for stories that change, notice who defends whom, and push the town toward the mafia.

• 

  Cop

  Town

  Each night the Cop points at one player and the narrator signals whether that player is mafia (thumbs up) or not (thumbs down). The Cop must decide when to reveal what they know without becoming the mafia's next target.

• 

  Angel

  Town

  Each night the Angel points at one player to protect. If the mafia chose that player, nobody dies that night. Also called the Doctor in many groups.

Many groups add extra roles such as the Godfather, Jester or Vigilante. They are all described in the full list of Mafia roles.

How many mafia per player count?

Use about one mafia for every four players, rounded to the nearest whole number, and always keep the mafia outnumbered by the town. Every game also has one Cop and one Angel; everyone else is a Villager.

Experienced groups who are good at catching liars can add one more mafia. Mafia Setup suggests these numbers automatically when you choose your player count.

Setting up the game

1. 1Pick a narrator. They sit out this round, run the game and keep every secret.
2. 2Sit in a circle so everyone can see each other.
3. 3Deal the roles in secret. With Mafia Setup, set the number of players and mafia, then pass one phone around: each player taps Reveal, memorizes their role, and passes it on. With cards, deal one face-down to each player.
4. 4Hand the phone back to the narrator, who can view every role to run the night.
5. 5Before you start, agree on house rules, especially what happens on a tied vote and whether roles are revealed on elimination.

How to play: the night phase

Every round starts at night. The narrator calls each step aloud:

1. 1“Everyone, close your eyes.” All players close their eyes. Some groups also tap the table or hum quietly to cover small sounds.
2. 2“Mafia, open your eyes.” The mafia look up, recognize each other, and silently point to agree on one player to eliminate. The narrator confirms the choice with a nod. “Mafia, close your eyes.”
3. 3“Angel, open your eyes.” The Angel points to one player to protect tonight. “Angel, close your eyes.”
4. 4“Cop, open your eyes.” The Cop points to one player. The narrator gives a thumbs up if that player is mafia, thumbs down if not. “Cop, close your eyes.”

Call the Angel and the Cop every night even after they've been eliminated (just pause for a few seconds) so nobody can tell from the narrator's timing who is still alive.

On the very first night, many groups let the mafia only wake up and meet each other without choosing a victim, so the first day starts with a full table.

For every line the narrator says, in order, use the Mafia narrator script.

How to play: the day phase

1. 1“Everyone, open your eyes.” The narrator announces what happened. If the Angel protected the mafia's target, nobody died. Otherwise the target is eliminated, and many narrators tell a short, dramatic story about how it happened.
2. 2Everyone still in the game debates who might be mafia. Players can accuse, defend, claim roles, or lie. Mafia players pretend to be town.
3. 3Players nominate suspects. A nomination usually needs a second player to support it before it goes to a vote.
4. 4Everyone votes on the nominated players at the same time, often by pointing on the count of three. The player with the most votes is eliminated and may give a short last word. In the classic rules, the narrator then reveals their role.
5. 5Night falls again. Repeat night and day until one side wins.

How to win

How to play Mafia without cards

You don't need a special deck. Any of these works:

• Pass one phone around with Mafia Setup. It deals random roles for 4 to 30 players, each player sees only their own role, and the narrator gets the full list at the end.
• With playing cards, use Kings for mafia, the Jack for the Cop, the Queen for the Angel, and number cards for villagers. Shuffle only the cards you need.
• With paper, write each role on a slip, fold them all the same way, and draw from a hat.

House rules & variations

• Keep roles secret when players are eliminated. This is much harder for the town and suits experienced groups.
• Limit the Angel: no protecting the same player two nights in a row, and self-protection only once per game.
• Let the town vote to eliminate nobody, at the cost of a wasted day.
• Set a three to five minute timer for each day's discussion.
• Play it as Werewolf: the mafia become werewolves, the Cop becomes the Seer and the Angel becomes the Doctor. The rules stay the same.

Strategy tips

For the town

• Watch how people vote as well as what they say. Mafia often avoid voting for each other, or join a vote late once it's safe.
• Ask specific questions. Vague answers and changing stories are the best tells.
• Cop: reveal yourself only when your information can win the vote. A revealed Cop is the mafia's next target.

For the mafia

• Act like a helpful villager and keep offering theories. Going quiet draws attention.
• Don't defend your partners too hard, and occasionally vote against them to stay credible.
• Target players who are reasoning well, or anyone who seems to be the Cop.

Frequently asked questions