General Mafia Discussion

[Justac00lguy]

The reason we did away with Beginners Mafia wars that experienced players were playing in said games and beginners were also playing in the advanced games. In a way, it lost its meaning.

 

[Stitch]

The reason we did away with Beginners Mafia wars that experienced players were playing in said games and beginners were also playing in the advanced games. In a way, it lost its meaning.

It doesn't really seem like it lost its meaning as much as it was mismanaged. Beginner's Mafia should be there for brand new players or players that have played a few games and still don't totally have a grasp on it with maybe a few veteran players there to help them along. I think if we bring it back with small scale (10-12 people or whatever) games just for those who are relatively new and/or brand new to it (and maybe a few veteran players to help them), it would help the regular mafia games in the long run.

 

[Viral Maze]

I think we touched on this in discussions earlier in this thread when we decided to do away with the old system and go with a queue and community managed system. Like JC said, the beginners games were redundant. There was not enough interest to fill them up with beginners at all, so many intermediate or advanced players would jump in to help show the beginners the ropes. The actual beginners ranged from active players to fully inactive lurkers, just like they do in our regular games now.

With the queue system, you are the mod and manager of your own game and may label it as a beginners, keep it at a 10 player cap and only accept beginners. It's up to you.

Personally I don't think we have enough beginners to necessitate an entirely separate queue. I would go as far as agreeing to a beginners game hosted once every few months to give beginners a taste of the game on a smaller level. I believe the biggest problem is that the beginners games do not accurately represent the nuances and intricacies of the regular games. There is still a considerable gap between the beginners games and regular games.

 

[Justac00lguy]

It doesn't really seem like it lost its meaning as much as it was mismanaged. Beginner's Mafia should be there for brand new players or players that have played a few games and still don't totally have a grasp on it with maybe a few veteran players there to help them along. I think if we bring it back with small scale (10-12 people or whatever) games just for those who are relatively new and/or brand new to it (and maybe a few veteran players to help them), it would help the regular mafia games in the long run.

Yeah what Viral said. There aren't enough players [beginners] to actually make up the game even with 10-12 players. And the newer players to Mafia have now integrated in with the more experienced, so it seems redundant in my opinion.

I'm not saying don't give it a go, but I just don't see the point of it since we only have around 20-25 active players anyway.

 

[Mido]

While in theory a group for this sounds great, the group system we have is flawed and for the most part abandoned because nobody really understands it. I think this would put off more new players than it would attract. I think it would be better to have Beginner's games running in this mafia sub forum that are just for new players/relatively new players (i.e. players who have been in 1 or 2 regular games but need some extra practice and help). We could have a limited number of veteran players in these games also. The main point is that they are separate from the main mafia games in a way that they don't interfere with them (hence why I suggested them being smaller games). There would probably a whole separate queue for them because of this reason.

I agree with you that the group system, while theoretically potent, is not nearly as effective in comparison to an actual thread. Also, Beginner's Mafia games tend to be small regardless. I pursued the idea of a group mainly in relation to the hefty queue. Also, a subforum is a good plan of action. Thinking about it now, I kind of want to put the BM8 game I had planned over a year ago in the queue, but I'm not sure.

JC and Viral, I also can see why these games do not occur anymore, and heck, the number of beginners is small for the most part.

 

[Heroine of Time]

The reason we did away with Beginners Mafia wars that experienced players were playing in said games and beginners were also playing in the advanced games. In a way, it lost its meaning.

I don't think they've lost their meaning just because experienced players participated in them. I think it provides the opportunity for new players to understand the basics of mafia without complex variations on roles. They can learn the rules of the game and observe experienced players without getting overly confused. For example, you wouldn't put a Cult in a beginner's game, would you? Or use a role that could complicate things significantly, like the Dreaming God or an Inventor? Or add some kind of variation to the regular mafia concept, like a second mafia group or cops with varying sanities?

Beginner's Mafia games help because they follow mafia in a simple form. That way new players can get used to the concepts of day and night periods, lynching, and night kills BEFORE we start throwing three or four factions and role madness at them.

I understand that they're not necessary, but... I do think that they have merit. I wouldn't be opposed in the slightest if we decided to start them up again. After all, I started playing mafia in one of these beginner's games, and I have to say, I do see a definite difference between that game and the ones I play in now. Seriously, I read back through that thread sometimes, and I can't help but think.... how did NO ONE notice I was scum? It seems so obvious now! XD I think it's because a lot of people were new and still getting used to everything.

I don't think we need them as frequently as we had them before, but if we do bring them back, I'd suggest maybe one beginner's game every three or four months. That way, if someone is interested in joining mafia and is really too intimidated to try the regular games, they can wait for the next beginner's game, and then jump right in to the regular ones. And they won't be as often, so they shouldn't take away activity from the regular games as much.

 

[Stitch]

I'm not saying don't give it a go, but I just don't see the point of it since we only have around 20-25 active players anyway.

That is exactly the point of it. We only have around 20-25 players currently, so let's get more people attracted to the idea. With Beginner's Mafia people can easily learn the basics. A lot of people are put off by the idea of Mafia because they don't understand it, so let's give them a way to easily learn about the basic roles and strategy.

 

[Jamie]

I think we touched on this in discussions earlier in this thread when we decided to do away with the old system and go with a queue and community managed system. Like JC said, the beginners games were redundant. There was not enough interest to fill them up with beginners at all, so many intermediate or advanced players would jump in to help show the beginners the ropes. The actual beginners ranged from active players to fully inactive lurkers, just like they do in our regular games now.

With the queue system, you are the mod and manager of your own game and may label it as a beginners, keep it at a 10 player cap and only accept beginners. It's up to you.

Personally I don't think we have enough beginners to necessitate an entirely separate queue. I would go as far as agreeing to a beginners game hosted once every few months to give beginners a taste of the game on a smaller level. I believe the biggest problem is that the beginners games do not accurately represent the nuances and intricacies of the regular games. There is still a considerable gap between the beginners games and regular games.

Small games however (10 people) having to wait just as long as large games doesn't make much sense, considering they take less than half of the time to complete usually, and often times the day and night periods are even shortened. Perhaps there should be a "Mini mafia game" queue or something? Just one at a time? I think this would be fair, as the current system discourages people from having a small game (which can often be more fun) because they don't want to wait a long time just to have a short game.

 

[Ventus]

how do you play mafia in this game?

 

[Blackkirby]

how do you play mafia in this game?

There is a guid on this site i thinks its a sticky thread. You can also go to mafiawiki ir mafiascum these are two webstes that explain the idea of the game. There is sign ups for mafia right know. Its your choice because its a advanced game to join or not. You can always either wait for a beginners mafia game. I didnt do a beginners game when i joined but its up to you. If you want to im sure anyone here would be glad to talk to you about the game.

 

[David]

Has anyone ever played a game with less than 10 players? How did it turn out?

 

[Pen]

Has anyone ever played a game with less than 10 players? How did it turn out?

http://zeldadungeon.net/forum/threads/vem-1-police-mafia.40725/

 

[Justac00lguy]

What if we had more smaller games going on simultaneously?

 

[Mido]

What if we had more smaller games going on simultaneously?

I would say that it could work, given activity levels stay consistent. I shrunk the number of players in my Beginner's game for that reason, under David's jurisdiction at the time. I never started my game yet because I did not wish to obstruct the queue with moderators still ahead of me. Anyway, I am for it, but the dedication of ZD's player base is necessary for that to happen.

 

[Libk]

Personally,size doesn't matter to me. I won't get in more than 1 or 2 games though and others might feel the same