Written by David Symonds. Original creator unknown.
This is a card game for 5 or more players, and only a standard deck of 52 playing cards is needed.
From a standard deck of playing cards, extract the following cards:
The number of royal cards and low cards depends on the number of players. A suggested mix is in the following table. Remember that the ace is also selected, so the total number of cards will equal the total number of players.
| Number of players | Royal Cards | Low Cards |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | 2 | 4 |
| 8 | 2 | 5 |
| 9 | 3 | 5 |
| 10 | 3 | 6 |
| 11 | 3 | 7 |
| 12 | 4 | 7 |
The next step is to deal the cards to all the players. This is to be done so that no-one can see anyone else's card. Players should look at the card dealt to them, then place it face-down nearby.
The card that a player receives determines the player's role in the game:
| Card Type | Role |
|---|---|
| Ace | Assassin |
| Royal Card | Mafia |
| Low Card | Pleb |
Each role has a different objective:
| Role | Objective |
|---|---|
| Assassin | Kill all the Mafia |
| Mafia | Either kill the Assassin, or kill all the Plebs |
| Pleb | Kill all the Mafia |
In a certain sense, the Assassin and the Plebs form one team, whilst the Mafia form the other team.
The overall flow of the game is a single Mafia-Identify round, followed by alternating Lynch-Mob and Assassination rounds until the game is finished. Each of these rounds is described below.
Before the main section of play commences, it is necessary for the Mafia to identify their fellow Mafia players. One player volunteers to be the initial "caller", and runs this section of the game:
Caller: Heads down.
Everyone puts their heads down.
Caller: Mafia up.
Mafia puts their heads up and visually identifies the others.
Caller: Mafia down.
Mafia puts their heads back down.
Caller: Everyone up.
Everyone puts their heads up.
At this stage of the game the Mafia know who each other are, but no-one else knows anyone else's role. The game then moves on to the first Lynch-Mob round.
All players who are still alive participate in this round. The goal is to select one player who will be killed ("lynched"). This is achieved by a player suspecting someone else as being a Mafia, and a vote being held. The accused player is not permitted to vote, and a clear majority (>50%) is required for the vote to succeed. If the vote fails, another player can be suggested for lynching.
If the vote succeeds, though, the player is killed. This requires the player to reveal their originally dealt card, and they can no longer participate in the game, except to act as a "caller".
If the game is not finished (see below), an Assassination round is conducted next.
One player who is dead volunteers to be the "caller", and runs this
section of the game:
Caller: Heads down.
Everyone puts their heads down.
Caller: Assassin up and kill.
The Assassin puts his head up and points at the target.
Caller: Assassin down.
The Assassin puts his head back down.
Caller: Everyone up.
Everyone puts their heads up.
The "caller" then identifies the target, who is now considered killed. As in the Lynch-Mob round, this requires the player to reveal their originally dealt card, and they can no longer participate in the game, except to act as a "caller".
If the game is not finished (see below), a Lynch-Mob round is conducted next.
The game ends when one of the following criteria are met:
In cases 1 and 3, the Mafia players win the game. In case 2, the Assassin and Plebs win the game.
There are several different common ways of varying the game play.
You can vary the Mafia/Pleb mix, or even introduce a variable number of Mafia.
For example, assume there are eight players. You can put the ace to one side, and have eight other cards (three royal cards and five low cards) shuffled thoroughly. One of these cards is removed without revealing it, and the ace is added. These eight cards are then shuffled again, and dealt as per usual. This will result in two or three Mafia (only they will know), which can add some interest to the game.
During the Lynch-Mob round, the voting threshold requirement can be varied. Some options include:
Although not strictly a change in game play, changing the names of the roles can sometimes make a psychological difference to the way the game is played. Some variations of the Assassin/Mafia/Pleb mix are (respectively):