Description
You need to pull from a deck of cards, one Ace, one King, and one Queen and enough number cards so that the total cards you have (including the A, K, Q) is the whole size of your group.
You will have one leader sitting out the game as a narrator. The narrator will hand out one card to each player while instructing them to keep the card to themselves.
The card each player receives tells them of the role they will play in the game. The player with the Ace is the Mafia. The player with the King is a cop, and the player with the Queen is a nurse. Everyone else with a number card is a Townsperson.
The goal of the game is to catch the Mafia while the Mafia is trying to become the last person standing.
A game round will begin with the narrator instructing everyone to go to sleep. Once all eyes are closed, the Mafia will be instructed to open his/her eyes and indicate a person to “kill.” The narrator should remember this but not announce yet.
Next, after the Mafia member has gone to sleep, the Copper is told to wake up. The Cop should indicate a person who he/she believes is the Mafia and the narrator will nod yes or no.
Finally, once the Cop is asleep again the Nurse will be instructed to awaken. The nurse will indicate a player to “save” from being killed that round. The player he/she points to cannot be killed in this round.
After that is done, the narrator will tell everyone to wake up. Now is the time to inform everyone about who the Mafia member “killed” overnight (it is more fun if you make up ridiculous stories to go along with the killings) and whether or not the nurse saved him/her. When killed, the player is out of the game and sent to the “graveyard.”
The Townspeople now have a chance to remove the Mafia from the town Survivor style. The narrator should choose one player to make an accusation. That player should also tell why they think so-and-so dunnit. Next, the accused player has a chance to defend him/herself. Then, the whole town remaining votes to banish the player out of the game.
This game, if played properly, develops its own strategy and intrigue. To up the excitement, add a reward pot. Begin the game with a piece of candy for each player in the middle of the circle and each time a player is killed or banished remove a piece and add it to the Mafia’s pot. That will motivate the townspeople to vote more strategically and the Mafia to act more deceitfully.
