[OLD] Open Setup Ideas and Discussion

[serrapaladin]

Here's something I've toyed around with before in private chatrooms, with fairly good feedback. If there's interest, I might run it in the Micro queue once I'm allowed. Let me know what you think:

Don't Be Yourself Mafia

5 VTs
1 BP SK
2 Goons

Several games (rounds)

are played by a group of 8 players, with the same setup and

the same role distribution

. Before each 'round'

anonymous alts are randomly distributed

among players for use in this game, such that players are newly anonymous at the start of each round, but know that everyone has kept the same role. The actual playerlist is hidden until the end (and nameclaims can be disallowed). From round 2 onwards, it is equally useful to identify people by their posts, as it is to scumhunt.

The actual setup can be anything from 3p LyLo to a standard 9p Micro, and the winner is determined by 'first-to-two' or 'first-to-three' rounds won. Replacements are a no-go, so this would need committed people, and probably something like WotC.

[serrapaladin]

Forcing 1v1 isn't enough to win it with 2 NK's though. In 5/2/1 that only gives 2 conftown, which are killed N1 unless the sk is lynched. A D1 mislynch brings it to 2/1/2. Town will want to be able to identify the SK out of scum, because mislynch + sk lynch is still a scum victory. If anything, this is scumsided unless town is good at identifying players. Also, endgame isn't revealed, so if scum wins the first, town doesn't have that option.


The only real breaking strategy is of course for all players to post some problem or riddle round 1 to which they provide the obviously only correct answer round 2, but that's basically cleverly trying to circumvent the crypto rule, so it's forbidden.

[serrapaladin]

But it's designed with the fact in mind that repeats favour town. That's why the initial setup is scum-sided. All your strategy does is bring the D1 scum-lynch odds from 1/4 to 1/3. Immediately claiming round 1's position (since players are labelled 1-8, it's enough to say "I was player 3 in round 1") isn't actually the best strategy for town.

[serrapaladin]

How good are you at telling who anonymous alts/hydras belong to?
I've been absolutely creamed several times by someone who was better at looking like me than I was... particularly in forums, where you have time to plan your posts.

[serrapaladin]

If you're town in that setup, you'd want to play exactly the same, drop easy to find tells (Saying perse a lot or some shit) that you could replicate in future games to be identified.

But if you start using or reusing unusual words/phrases, scum can either start copying some of them, or point out that "you're trying too hard to look like that player from round 1". Either way is full of WIFOM, so the only way is to do something that's not recreatable (like what Leafsnail mentioned).

Leafsnail's suggestion is indeed a possibility, but I would say that's forbidden by the proviso that you can't post anything by which one might identify your main account. The way I'm used to playing Mafia is that you're not allowed to reference anything external to the game at all, which I actually find to be quite a good way to play.

[serrapaladin]

If I suspended all rules except those defining day/night and lynching, what would you guys do to break the game as either town or scum?

[serrapaladin]

A closed one.

[serrapaladin]

Drive to someone's house with a baseball bat, a pair of pliers, duct tape, and some rope.

This is forbidden under standard rules?

[serrapaladin]

I want to run a closed setup with little to no rules except for those necessary for voting, lynching and night actions.

[serrapaladin]

Yup, thanks!

I'm mostly worried about how much help I need to give scum so things like screenshotting role PM's doesn't work.

[serrapaladin]

And I guess PMing other members of mafiascum.net wouldn't work because while you'd be allowed to talk about the game, they wouldn't

Why not? Surely I can waive that?

I do plan on stopping dead players from posting in thread.

Do you guys think something like this could work?

[serrapaladin]

Less Pressure uses white flag, so town wins with 1 scum left. That would make your game a 1 day 5p LyLo. Incidentally, since you're lynching between 2 townies and 2 scum, it should be balanced under white flag.