As a slight alternative to Mafia next international breaK.
Not sure how to make day 1 more exciting. May need some tweaking... But as a basic idea for a game in the Mafia vein how does the general idea sound?
- Cluedo. Very vaguely based on the boardgame- but not really- it's actually more similar to an old game I had on the Spectrum as a kid that I think was called Murder.
Basically the premise is- everyone is summoned to an old mansion in the country. The mansion has various rooms (how many there are depends on number of players) - use traditional Cluedo sounding rooms. "Ball Room, Kitchen, etc" - I suggest not too many rooms.
People are divided into two groups. Guests and Murderers. There will be a disproportionate number of murderers (maybe 5 in a game of 16 players) but they are all independent- not on a team. Murderers will be secretly assigned names like "Professor Plum" or "Miss Scarlet".
Beginning of each day the Murderers will be given a list of victims they are assigned to try killing that night (just a couple). Each day there will be a lynch.
Before nightfall every player gives a list of three locations they will visit during the evening before bed.
6pm
7pm
8pm
If a murderer and a guest he is targeting end up in the same room at the same timeslot then in the nightly log it will be written something like: (assuming Colonel Mustard is told to kill Tobes and they both pick the library in their 6pm slot).
"6pm In the Library the lights go out- there is a scream. Colonel Mustard has killed Tobes in the Library with the poison". (murder weapon just chosen at random just for effect).
Everyone who was not in the Library are told who their alibis were at that time (who else was in the room that they were in at the time of the murder). By everyone combining their alibis they need to eliminate who was missing- murderers of course can bluff and make up a fake room they were in.
It might be easier than normal to locate and hang a murderer- that's why you need more of them. Probably more work for the host than normal- but I could probably write a quick computer program that will automatically say what the output to everyone should be based on their locations to help out.
Players couldn't coordinate a strategy of where to go because that would let their would-be murderers know where to go to kill them. Guests don't have special roles but I don't think they will feel left out because they all get told their alibis when a murder occurs and all get to pick what rooms to go to each night... so in a way it's like everyone has a special role.
Unless we got a lot of people playing- I wouldn't suggest more than 4 or 5 rooms. Could increase the # of timeslots to increase liklihood of murderer finding their designated target for the night (or reduce # to lessen chance of murder).
Not sure how to make day 1 more exciting. May need some tweaking... But as a basic idea for a game in the Mafia vein how does the general idea sound?
