Favourites and single-device games are stored only in this browser. Multi-phone rooms expire after 12 hours.
Jueguicos

Mafia

Traditional game. By Dimitry Davidoff. Published in 1986

5+ players25–55 min in totalPlayable on phonesHelper for in-person play
DifficultyEasy
What you needNo materials

On one shared phone or one each. No account.

Play now

A village tries to unmask the mafia before the mafia wipes it out. At night the mafia acts in secret; by day everyone argues and votes on whom to expel.

A game of conversation, suspicion and bluffing. Mafia players must lie naturally; villagers must read everyone else. It shines with eight or more people who enjoy debating. Players are eliminated, so some will sit out until the end.

Content notice

Eliminated players sit out until the game ends.

The essentials

People who can play
5+ players. Best with 8–14
25–55 min in total
  • Explain: 3–5 min (editorial estimate)
  • Set up: 2–5 min (editorial estimate)
  • Play: 20–45 min (editorial estimate)
What you need
  • No materials (the app provides it)

Play

Play in the app (one phone or one each)On one device passed round, or everyone on their own phone.Play now

How to play

With the app as narrator. Jueguicos variant. Rules version 1.0.

In a nutshell

How to win: Village: expel the whole mafia. Mafia: reach parity with the rest of the village.

Start right away

  1. Enter everyone's alias in the app and choose how many will be mafia (one per four or five players).
  2. Each person privately checks their role and confirms, on their own phone or, if you share one, when it reaches them.
  3. At night the app guides silently: the mafia picks a victim and special roles act.
  4. By day the app announces what happened, the group debates and votes someone out.

Setup

  1. The app secretly deals roles from a recorded seed. There is always mafia and villagers; doctor and detective are optional.
  2. Play with one phone each or a single shared one. On a shared phone the screen stays neutral between players and only shows a role after the person identifies themselves.
  3. Mafia players see who their allies are.

Turn by turn

  1. Night: whoever has a move makes it on their phone without anyone seeing. With a shared phone, it passes through every living player, villagers included, so nobody can tell who is acting. The mafia chooses whom to eliminate.
  2. A doctor, if present, protects someone that night. A detective, if present, asks about one person and the app says whether they are mafia.
  3. Day: the app announces whether anyone was eliminated. The group talks freely.
  4. Vote: each living player votes to expel someone or abstains. With a majority, that person leaves the game.

A sample round

With nine players there are two mafia. On the first night they target Laura, but the doctor protected her and the app announces nobody died. By day Marcos pushes too hard against Ana, and the group votes him out instead.

How it ends

The village wins when no mafia remain. The mafia wins when its living members are at least as many as everyone else.

Tips

  • Eliminated players stay quiet until the end.
  • In this variant the role of a voted-out player is revealed; turn this off for more uncertainty.