Office Mafia

So we’ve been having a really fun time at work playing a bastardized version of the game “Mafia”, also known as “Werewolf” or other things.

The basics of the game are as follows. A group of players (hopefully around 7-10) sits in a room, and each player draws slips of paper from a hat that describes their roles in the game.

The roles are:
Mafia – there are two mafia members. They are basically one team vs. everyone else.
Investigator – there is one of these.
Businessmen – basically everyone else.

There is also someone else outside the game who runs the whole thing (call him the Moderator)

Once the roles are chosen, the Moderator has everyone close their eyes. He then instructs the two Mafia members to open their eyes and see who the other is.

There are two stages of the game, called Night and Day. At Night, everyone closes their eyes, and the Mafia members are allowed to open their eyes and decide who they want to kill. They then close their eyes. Following that, the Investigator is allowed to open his eyes, and can silently ask the Moderator about a single other player. The Moderator will give a thumbs up or thumbs down indicating if the chosen player is in the Mafia or not. Then everyone opens their eyes, and the Day phase has begun. The person who was assassinated by the Mafia during the night is revealed, and is henceforth out of the game.

The Day phase is simple: someone must be arrested for the crime that was committed. As soon as the majority of the people vote on someone to throw in jail, the Day phase ends and that player is removed from the game as well.

So, in case it’s not obvious: The Mafia members are trying to prove their innocence, possibly by casting suspicion on other players. The Investigator may very well know who one of the Mafia members is, and is trying to get everyone to vote that person out (or, conversely, if he knows someone is innocent, NOT have the person voted out). The Investigator has to be careful, however, because if they reveal they are the Investigator, they will make themselves a prime target for the Mafia the following night. The other players are simply trying to vote out Mafia members and not innocent bystanders.

Days and nights are repeated until both Mafia members are thrown in jail, or everyone else is killed off.

We’ve modified the game to be played over email (and in person), and are using a “Hacker” theme instead of “Mafia”. The email changes the game a lot, since the Hackers can openly discuss their plans and strategies, instead of just silent winks and nods.

A fun little thing that happened in this game is that one of my workboys (who works on a very different level than the rest of us) sent out a pretty cryptic email that seemed to indicate that he was a hacker. I couldn’t think of any real reason why a non-hacker would want to draw attention to himself, but I COULD think of reasons why a hacker might want to openly say he was a hacker (standard reverse-psychology, as well as bragging rights if he ended up winning (“I TOLD you I was a hacker!”)). I pressed him on it further, and was able to get him to explain that he had his message was so subtle that the other non-hackers would understand, but the hackers, because of their mindset, would be biased to NOT get it. As I said, this guy works on a different level, but I am pretty convinced that he is a Developer (ie normal player).

So, I approached him privately, and we had a talk. I said that I was looking for someone to team up with and share information with, and I thought that the Hackers had a big advantage because they could work together, and the only way for the Developers to win was if we formed an alliances. He agreed, and said that was why he sent out his email. I told him that I believed him and would trust him. I said that there was no way for me to prove that I was a Developer as well, but I just wanted him to know that I believed his story.

Of course, being a Hacker, I KNOW that he’s a Developer! :)

So I “revealed” to him that I was a fellow Developer and said I was willing to work together. The fact that I trusted that HE was a Developer I guess was enough for him to return the favor and trust me. In fact, in the middle of our conversation, I left for the restroom. By the time I got back, he said “You know, I think we can logically PROVE that we’re both Developers”. Of course, I was all ears. The proof didn’t exactly pan out, but regardless, I think we’re good.

Of course, I’ve been in contact with the other Hacker about all this. In fact, we MIGHT try to have the other Hacker “reveal” himself to this guy as the Investigator. And the way he could reveal himself is by saying that he investigated ME, and found that I was a Developer (which would reinforce my story). Not sure if that’s a good idea or not, but it’s on the table.

Unfortunately, one of the players is out until Monday (which adds its own twist to the game), so the first actual vote won’t take place until then. That’s left a lot of time for public and private chatter, which has been awesome.

It’s all very Survivor-esque, and it’s been a ton of fun. I’d really like to try it in person some time. Maybe the next game night that has enough people.