Mafia Game
I was really worried about trying this, but I did it successfully today, and it absolutely thrilled me to watch it click with the students. If you’ve ever played the group game called Mafia, created by a professor at Moscow University in 1986, then you know how fun it can be. It’s a really simple game once you understand the rules, but it can become quite complicated too if you get past the initial explanations. I played a simplified version with the kids. It works with groups of 8 or more. You need to adjust the number of special players depending on the size of the group. Otherwise the game drags on or ends in just a round or two.
Things to emphasize before play: silence is golden (and highly necessary), cheating ruins the game, you must follow the instructions of the Narrator, and review “go to sleep” and “wake up” as commands. I make them close their eyes and lower their heads for “sleep,” but that’s me.
Three Types of Players / Two Groups
1) Mafia / Mafia
2) Detective / Townspeople
3) Normal / Townspeople
Two Types of Spectators
4) Narrator
5) Victims (dead people)
I participate as the Narrator, not as a player. I am effectively the same as a dead person who can speak. It’s important that the Narrator understand the rules. It’s also important to be able to say all of the necessary things in English without giving anything away.
PREPARATION
0. Selection of special players – all players form a circle of chairs and “go to sleep.” The Narrator walks around mumbling the instructions repetitively to mask any giveaway noises they might make while tapping 2 Mafiosos and 1 Detective. (First the Mafia members, then the Detective.) I say “If I touch you, you are a Detective. If I touch you, you are a Detective. If I touch you, you are a Detective.” I do this over and over while making one complete circuit. If it’s tedious, try screwing with your voice, and it becomes entertaining to them while still serving your purpose.
NIGHT PHASE
1. All players go to sleep.
2. Mafia members wake up and select someone to kill by pointing at them. The mafia goes back to sleep.
3. Police wake up and select someone by pointing. Narrator confirms or denies Mafia status with a silent head movement. Police go back to sleep.
DAY PHASE
4. Narrator announces the death of the Mafia-chosen person during the night, and optionally discloses whether the person was a defense or not. (This outs any liars claiming to be the detective in defense.)
5. Narrator asks everyone to choose one or more suspected Mafia members.
6. If there is more than one person, a vote will take place. The suspects may defend themselves if they have anything worth saying.
7. Vote. The accused is killed. Once killed, they must announce whether or not they were guilty.
8. Begin the night phase again, from step 1.
Note 1 = You can choose whether or not to keep the dead people in the circle. I do, because it maintains order and it’s frankly easier than scooting chairs around.
Note 2 = DEAD PEOPLE MUST NOT SPEAK OR GIVE HINTS. However, they can watch everything once “dead.” It’s nice, because people don’t feel too bad when they’ve been killed. Some are even relieved!
When there are more Mafiosos than Townspeople, the Mafia wins. When the Mafia is killed off, the townspeople win. Switch it up between rounds. The kids seem to really enjoy it. After they understand the basic rules and the game play, they begin to understand the strategic opportunities in the game. Emphasize that they may lie when defending themselves, for instance. Explain that people who are quick to accuse may be Mafiosos. Explain that people who are on the right track are usually killed off quickly. They’ll begin over-analyzing everything. It’s great. If you have enough people, you can add a “Doctor” who will participate right after the Detective. He wakes up, protects one person, and goes back to sleep. If that person was the same one “killed,” he survives. The problem is that many times people just save themselves… I leave the good Doctor out.
Let me know if any of this was unclear. Do you have any good ideas for small class games? I frequently have classes of less than 20 people on the islands. And let me know any custom tweaks you give this game. 
(Some play a similar game called Assassin where everyone stays awake the whole time, and the Assassin kills people by winking at them when they make eye contact – simultaneously avoiding detection by the other players. Anyone can guess at any time, but guessing incorrectly kills you. It works better with larger groups.)
