8-Bit Mafia (2013)

8-Bit Mafia is played with two teams. Mafia vs Civilians.

Set Up:
For 7-11 players use 1 narrator, 2 Mafia, guardian angel, detective, and the remaining as civilians.
For 12-20 add 1 more Mafia and the vigilante.
For 20 plus use all the Mafia.
Remove the extra civilians and players randomly pick their own cards. Players do not share their identity with the other players.

When the game begins the civilians only knowledge is the number of members of the Mafia. The game switches back and forth between day and night. At night the Mafia eliminates one player. During the day all the players converse about the murder and force a vote to lynch one suspect. The game continues to switch between night and day until all the Mafia have been eliminated, or until the number of the Mafia outnumbers the civilians.

Included Characters:

Narrator
The Mafia
Guardian Angel
Detective
Vigilante
Civilians

The narrator runs the flow of the game and does not participate as a member of either party. The narrator’s job is the most important. The feeling of the game entirely depends on their ability to keep the game interesting. It is the narrator’s job to tell the story of what happened the previous night. A narrator should make it interesting, share a story that will invoke suspense, horror, humor, and lead to a great debate. While the debate ensues the narrator should keep to themselves unless they need to step in for clarification. A narrator should never do anything to sway a vote or influence any of the players.

The detective is a civilian that chooses one player to investigate every night.

The guardian angel is a civilian, they are allowed to protect one player from the Mafia every night.

The vigilante is a civilian who has a bow with a limited number of arrows. They are allowed to kill 1 player per night with each arrow.

The game starts during the day, it is best to have an odd number of players, to prevent tying votes.

Game Flow:

Day 1:
The narrator invites all players to the game describes the setting and allows the discussion to begin. Players begin to accuse each other of being in the Mafia. Anyone can accuse any player of being part of the Mafia and try to persuade others to lynch them. Players are allowed to say whatever they want. They can lie about their role, bluff others in to thinking they are someone they are not. This is all to motivate the mob to join their cause. At any time during the discussion if a majority votes to lynch someone the round is over. The accused player is eliminated and they must reveal their true identity. They are not allowed to say anything else for the rest of the game. The game turns to night.

Night:
The narrator asks all the players close their eyes and tap one hand continuously on their leg to prevent someone hearing movement. The narrator begins by asking the Mafia to open their eyes. When the members of the Mafia open their eyes they acknowledge their partners in crime. The Mafia picks their victim by silently pointing to the target, the narrator acknowledges that the Mafia agree on who they will kill and asks them to close their eyes.

The narrator moves on and asks the vigilante to open their eyes. The vigilante has 1 arrow if there are under 10 players and 2 arrows if over 10 players. The vigilante can only kill with the number of arrows they have for the game. The vigilante points to a player if they want to kill during the night. They can also nod their head no if they don't want to use an arrow. The narrator takes note and asks them to close their eyes.

The narrator then asks the detectives to open their eyes and they are allowed to point to one player who they believe to be Mafia. The narrator acknowledges the players guilt or innocence by nodding. The narrator asks the detectives to close their eyes.

The narrator asks the Guardian Angel to open their eyes. The angel points to one player who they wish to guard for the night. The narrator asks the angel to close their eyes then asks all players to open their eyes.

Day:
The narrator announces who died the previous night with a short story (It often becomes a contest to see which narrator can come up with the best stories). If the angel chose the correct player the player survives the near death experience and continues in the game. If the player dies they must sit silent, they are not allowed to influence the game.

After the narrator speaks a discussion begins and players begin to accuse each other of being a member of the Mafia. Anyone that is still alive can participate. When the majority votes to lynch someone again the round is over. The accused player is eliminated and they must reveal their true identity. The game reverts to night.

Night continues just as the previous night....

The game is over if the number of Mafiosi outnumber the civilians or if all members of the Mafia are lynched.