Complete Guide

  1. Introduction

  2. Core Concepts

  3. Objectives and Win Conditions

  4. Roles

  5. Game Setup

  6. Game Flow

  7. Violations and Penalties

  8. Gestures

  9. Special and Edge Cases

  10. Moderator Guide

  11. Glossary

Table of Contents

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This guide does not cover information on

  • strategy;

  • tactics;

  • game theory;

  • reading players;

  • methods for improving win rates.

Those topics are covered in Game Tactics section and the Blog

1.2 What's in Scope

1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose of This Guide

This guide is the main rules and operations reference for Mafia Night game events.
The guide is designed to answer the following questions:

  • How does the game work?

  • What are the official rules?

  • What is allowed and forbidden?

  • What happens in special situations?

  • How should a moderator run the game?

1.3 Not in Scope

This guide explains how the game is played and moderated.
This guide focuses on:

  • basic game structure;

  • teams and roles;

  • win conditions;

  • game setup;

  • game flow and phases;

  • nominations and voting;

  • forbidden behavior;

  • violations and penalties;

  • moderator responsibilities;

  • special cases and edge cases;

  • gestures;

  • and other related information.

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2.2 Teams

2. Core Concepts

2.1 What is Mafia

Mafia is a social deduction game built around a simple core concept: an informed minority against an uninformed majority.

The game is played between two teams:

  • the 🔴Citizens, also called the Red Team;

  • the ⚫Mafia, also called the Black Team.

Mafia members know each other from the beginning of the game. Because of this, they also know that all other players are Citizens.
Citizens begin the game with no information about anyone else. They must identify the Mafia and find their teammates through discussion, voting, player actions, newly received information, and other events that happen during the game.

The Citizens win by removing all Mafia players from the game. The Mafia wins by surviving long enough to reach numerical equality with the Citizens, or by outnumbering them.

At its core, Mafia is not simply a game about hidden roles. It is a game about how a majority with limited information tries to find and eliminate a smaller team that begins with more knowledge.

This also means that a single Citizen cannot win the game alone. However, a single Mafia player can still win alone on behalf of the Mafia team.

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2.3 Player Roles

The game has 4 roles.

🔴Red Team (7 players):

  • 6 × regular 🔴Citizens;

  • 1 × the ⭐Sheriff (is also considered to be a Citizen).

⚫Black Team (3 players):

  • 2 × regular ⚫Mafia;

  • 1 × the 🖤Don (is also considered to be a Mafia).

Each player is assigned a role at the beginning of the game. The role puts every player to one of the teams.

There are 2 teams in the game:

  • 🔴Citizens, also called: the Red Team, good guys, peaceful citizens

  • ⚫Mafia, also called: the Black Team, bad guys

Player’s role determines:

  • which team they belong to: 🔴Red Team or ⚫Black Team

  • whether they have a special night ability;

  • what actions they may perform during the game.


Roles are not revealed publicly when the game begins.
Players do not possess any physical proof of the role they have been assigned.

2.4 The Host

The game is run by a host.

The host’s mission is to ensure that both teams have a fair and equal opportunity to win.

The host is responsible for:

  • starting and ending the game;

  • assigning or distributing roles;

  • controlling Day and Night phases;

  • managing speeches;

  • accepting nominations;

  • conducting voting;

  • resolving night actions;

  • announcing eliminations;

  • enforcing rules;

  • applying penalties;

  • resolving special situations.

During the game, the players are expected to follow host’s decisions immediately. Players may not interrupt the game to argue with the host or dispute a ruling. Any disagreement with a host decision should be raised after the game has ended.

The host may be accompanied by line arbiters, who help monitor players throughout the game. Line arbiters assist the host by observing player behavior for possible rule violations.