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Daemon
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Look here!

#1

Post by Daemon »

I have just received this private message:
Thingyman wrote:
Wed Apr 29, 2020 11:25 am
Hi there

I hope you're an appropriate person to reach out to regarding this.

Each year, I host something called the Mafia Championship. It's an international forum-based mafia tournament that's been running since 2014. This year is the seventh season of it.

I wish to invite your community to this event. In short, 165 communities will be participating - each sending one representative each to battle on their behalf. While it can sound a bit elitist, it's actually just mostly about having fun and creating new bonds between players and communities :). There's a whole wide world of other mafia communities out there, and there's usually much excitement around the Championship. The winner even gets a signed certificate from the person who created mafia ;)

So I'm hoping that this intrigues you and that you could see your community being interested in this. Should you be interested, how it usually works is that your community would discuss and agree on who to send. As a final note: I only just discovered your community today, and we're actually scheduling the games this week, so I'm not sure if that's too strict of a deadline for you? Let me know if you're interested but need more time.

Much more information here in the invitation: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E17 ... 0EZwE/edit

And if you have any questions, please do let me know :)

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#2

Post by Thingyman »

Thanks for sharing, Daemon.

I was very excited about finding your community. You seem to run some good games here. So I very much hope that someone amongst you would want to participate in the Championship :)

Again, unfortunately the deadline is super tight, so the sooner you can let me know, the better.

And if you have any questions, just let me know :D

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#3

Post by Daemon »

@Thingyman if this was a game, i'd vote you in an instant :). By 'some' good games you mean 1, and not even over yet :). We only just reunited here after many years of hiatus.

This is a very old community - about 20 years old. But truth be told, although there are definitely some that prefer classic rules, i think that most players are used to playing variations that strayed off from the original quite significantly. I had a hand in it too, because my games are super weird :p. I should probably stop calling them mafia, but something like collaborative team based puzzles instead.

However, we got a guy that's gonna win it all if he chooses to participate: @radwulf. He's the founder of the original forum and community and undoubtedly among the best players in the world.

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#4

Post by Bombaclaat »

Kewl! :D

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#5

Post by Thingyman »

Daemon wrote:
Wed Apr 29, 2020 7:29 pm
@Thingyman if this was a game, i'd vote you in an instant :). By 'some' good games you mean 1, and not even over yet :). We only just reunited here after many years of hiatus.

This is a very old community - about 20 years old. But truth be told, although there are definitely some that prefer classic rules, i think that most players are used to playing variations that strayed off from the original quite significantly. I had a hand in it too, because my games are super weird :p. I should probably stop calling them mafia, but something like collaborative team based puzzles instead.

However, we got a guy that's gonna win it all if he chooses to participate: @radwulf. He's the founder of the original forum and community and undoubtedly among the best players in the world.
Hahaha, my bad

I said it that way because I did see a note about you continuing games here, i.e. that you weren't a new community. And then I saw Mafia 1 and 2 and figured it was two games, but I see one's just in sign-ups. Anyways, any mafia community that is as well-organized as the OP of your Mafia 1 suggests and cares about flavor as much as you do, that's a good 'un to me :D

But man, amazing that this community is about 20 years old. Can you tell me more? Where did it originate?

I myself started playing in 2009.

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#6

Post by Moxy »

Go rad go rad

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#7

Post by Daemon »

Well if anybody wants to go, just say so. Check the link though.

@radwulf care to describe the beginnings?

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#8

Post by radwulf »

Thanks for the invitation, Thingyman, and thanks for the nomination, Daemon. Sadly, I'm unable to meet the time commitment required.

I first played online in what I believe to be the first online community, GreyLabyrinth, in 2001, and the second one established around that time, MafiaScum. Inspired by them, I thought of creating a similar avenue for the Romanian language. Thus, the Romanian Mafia Club was born, with the first game played in 2002. We did run English games also in our English Corner subforum. Most of the initial players were recruited on the IRC Undernet network. After about a decade and over 100 games, the activity subsided. The current activity is something of a reunion event, but maybe it will be a long-lasting revival.

One thing that is specific to our style: we like to start voting early, from page 1; we find that tends to cut the first day fluff early, building up substance faster.

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#9

Post by radwulf »

Forgot to mention, we also played in real-time on IRC Undernet channel #mafiagames. Of course, the quality of those games was inevitably lower.

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#10

Post by radwulf »

I suggest we assemble a list of willing veterans (if any).

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#11

Post by radwulf »

@Daemon, do you intend to keep secret forever your alternate, player-username? :) I remember you employed it quite successfully.

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#12

Post by EscapedConvict »

Oh the IRC games...so painful :D
But the real time factor that resembled the real life games was cool.

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#13

Post by radwulf »

If I recall correctly, EC and Daemon (under his alternate username) were two of the people with most moderator's awards on the old forums, so I would nominate them first, if they can spare the time.

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#14

Post by Daemon »

I'm sorry to disappoint but i simply dislike the standard mode :).

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#15

Post by Thingyman »

radwulf wrote:
Thu Apr 30, 2020 1:01 pm
Thanks for the invitation, Thingyman, and thanks for the nomination, Daemon. Sadly, I'm unable to meet the time commitment required.

I first played online in what I believe to be the first online community, GreyLabyrinth, in 2001, and the second one established around that time, MafiaScum. Inspired by them, I thought of creating a similar avenue for the Romanian language. Thus, the Romanian Mafia Club was born, with the first game played in 2002. We did run English games also in our English Corner subforum. Most of the initial players were recruited on the IRC Undernet network. After about a decade and over 100 games, the activity subsided. The current activity is something of a reunion event, but maybe it will be a long-lasting revival.

One thing that is specific to our style: we like to start voting early, from page 1; we find that tends to cut the first day fluff early, building up substance faster.
Thank you. That was very interesting. What was the URL for where you played, does it still exist, or would you need to crawl through internet archives? I'd be curious to take a gander.

As for your style of voting early, I'm a fan. We do it the same way on Mafia Universe where these games are hosted - or at least games with "regulars" do it that way. In the Championship games people of course play very differently.
Daemon wrote:
Thu Apr 30, 2020 2:40 pm
I'm sorry to disappoint but i simply dislike the standard mode :).
What is meant by "standard mode"?

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#16

Post by Thingyman »

I should mention, as this might excite you guys, that the host site offers a lot of custom-made features for playing mafia. So the games are completely automated from the roles being sent out, actions being handled, roles being revealed (of course, we post flavor as well), thread being locked, votes being tallied and posted upon the click of a button, note-taking features, and much more.

If you're curious to look through some example games to get a sense of the flow and rhythm, you can find the games from season 6 here: https://www.mafiauniverse.com/forums/fo ... p-Season-6


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#18

Post by radwulf »

That's quite an amazing platform you've built there @Thingyman. I'm surprised I haven't heard of it until now. I'm also surprised you haven't heard of mafiascum.net. Looks like the internet is not at all a small world after all.

If I understand correctly, your online games do not follow the original, live-game idea of requiring mafia to target the same person for a successful kill (with no night-time communication), correct? That'd be a hard rule to enforce/control, relying on the mafia players' honesty. Nevertheless, I'm planning to mod a game with that feature here soon.

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#19

Post by EscapedConvict »

radwulf wrote:
Thu Apr 30, 2020 2:13 pm
If I recall correctly, EC and Daemon (under his alternate username) were two of the people with most moderator's awards on the old forums, so I would nominate them first, if they can spare the time.
You're being generous but that happened only because you moderated most of the games and didn't play as much ;)

Anyhow, contrary to Daemon I don't dislike the original game and if the games are not too long I might join if noone else is interested but I'd still take @radwulf or @Daemon first.
@Clemens is q good nomination also.

There are many worthy players, old and new.

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#20

Post by radwulf »

Also, I see a problem with the current format (our and yours) of tight deadlines and posting around the clock for people who play-at-work.

I wonder if a lazy format, with no deadlines, giving the town full control of day end, and multiple lynches per day (again, a strict adaptation of the original live-game) might work better in that sense. Games would be longer, the pace slower, but people wouldn't necessarily feel obligated to post around the clock. It'd be something more like chess-by-correspondence in spirit. I envision something where someone can commit to reading and posting one time per real-day and still be a successful participant. My upcoming game will test this idea as well.

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#21

Post by EscapedConvict »

radwulf wrote:
Thu Apr 30, 2020 3:47 pm
Also, I see a problem with the current format (our and yours) of tight deadlines and posting around the clock for people who play-at-work.

I wonder if a lazy format, with no deadlines, giving the town full control of day end, and multiple lynches per day (again, a strict adaptation of the original live-game) might work better in that sense. Games would be longer, the pace slower, but people wouldn't necessarily feel obligated to post around the clock. It'd be something more like chess-by-correspondence in spirit. I envision something where someone can commit to reading and posting one time per real-day and still be a successful participant. My upcoming game will test this idea as well.
I like that!
But a balance needs to be reached where the game is still exciting and does not become too jaded and forgotten.

After all I do love my 10 minute chess games and hate games that last for days 😁

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#22

Post by Daemon »

We gotta select someone today, either way.

Btw, if i will not be stuck on ancient phpBB code for the 10th time, we will have automated voting and counting by tonight!

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#23

Post by Clemens »

That's pretty cool.
Whoever you send, good luck. :p
I'm not up for it myself, I barely even joined the current ongoing one. :D

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#24

Post by EscapedConvict »

I think it'd be too big of a commitment from me too (time wise) ...sorry

Who else wants to go?

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#25

Post by Moxy »

Daemon wrote:
Thu Apr 30, 2020 5:07 pm
Btw, if i will not be stuck on ancient phpBB code for the 10th time, we will have automated voting and counting by tonight!
Cool

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#26

Post by Thingyman »

radwulf wrote:
Thu Apr 30, 2020 3:41 pm
That's quite an amazing platform you've built there @Thingyman. I'm surprised I haven't heard of it until now. I'm also surprised you haven't heard of mafiascum.net. Looks like the internet is not at all a small world after all.

If I understand correctly, your online games do not follow the original, live-game idea of requiring mafia to target the same person for a successful kill (with no night-time communication), correct? That'd be a hard rule to enforce/control, relying on the mafia players' honesty. Nevertheless, I'm planning to mod a game with that feature here soon.
Thanks. Oh, I've heard of mafiascum and have also played there myself. They've participated a few times as well and will be participating this season too.

Hmm, not sure I understand your last question. There is no night-time communication, and how the nightkill works is that everyone on the mafia team can submit the nightkill on the team's behalf - and the last submission is the one that counts.

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#27

Post by Thingyman »

Thingyman wrote:
Thu Apr 30, 2020 9:11 pm
radwulf wrote:
Thu Apr 30, 2020 3:41 pm
That's quite an amazing platform you've built there @Thingyman. I'm surprised I haven't heard of it until now. I'm also surprised you haven't heard of mafiascum.net. Looks like the internet is not at all a small world after all.

If I understand correctly, your online games do not follow the original, live-game idea of requiring mafia to target the same person for a successful kill (with no night-time communication), correct? That'd be a hard rule to enforce/control, relying on the mafia players' honesty. Nevertheless, I'm planning to mod a game with that feature here soon.
Thanks. Oh, I've heard of mafiascum and have also played there myself. They've participated a few times as well and will be participating this season too.

Hmm, not sure I understand your last question. There is no night-time communication, and how the nightkill works is that everyone on the mafia team can submit the nightkill on the team's behalf - and the last submission is the one that counts.
Ah, I understand the confusion now. With the URL I meant for the Romanian mafia club. Or did those games take place on either of those forums?

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#28

Post by Thingyman »

EscapedConvict wrote:
Thu Apr 30, 2020 3:41 pm
radwulf wrote:
Thu Apr 30, 2020 2:13 pm
If I recall correctly, EC and Daemon (under his alternate username) were two of the people with most moderator's awards on the old forums, so I would nominate them first, if they can spare the time.
You're being generous but that happened only because you moderated most of the games and didn't play as much ;)

Anyhow, contrary to Daemon I don't dislike the original game and if the games are not too long I might join if noone else is interested but I'd still take @radwulf or @Daemon first.
@Clemens is q good nomination also.

There are many worthy players, old and new.
With regards to how long the games are, you can choose between the following day lengths:
12-hour day phases / 12-hour night phases
36-hour day phases / 12-hour night phases
48-hour day phases / 24-hour night phases
72-hour day phases / 24-hour night phases

Games with shorter phases are over faster, but esp the 12/12 variant is typically occupied by VERY active players. The two middle variants will usually last a couple of weeks.

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#29

Post by Thingyman »

radwulf wrote:
Thu Apr 30, 2020 3:47 pm
Also, I see a problem with the current format (our and yours) of tight deadlines and posting around the clock for people who play-at-work.

I wonder if a lazy format, with no deadlines, giving the town full control of day end, and multiple lynches per day (again, a strict adaptation of the original live-game) might work better in that sense. Games would be longer, the pace slower, but people wouldn't necessarily feel obligated to post around the clock. It'd be something more like chess-by-correspondence in spirit. I envision something where someone can commit to reading and posting one time per real-day and still be a successful participant. My upcoming game will test this idea as well.
With multiple lynches per day do you mean people lynched at different times throughout the game day, or are several people lynched simultaneously at day end? I've seen the latter variant, but never the former :D

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#30

Post by Daemon »

We are experimenting with that right now in Mafia 1. Day 3, they lynched 6. It was bloodshed spread over 1200 posts in 4 RL days.

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#31

Post by Moxy »

Edited by Daemon: NO SPILLING ANY BEANS ABOUT ONGOING GAMES! Thank you.

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#32

Post by radwulf »

Thingyman wrote:
Thu Apr 30, 2020 9:14 pm
Thingyman wrote:
Thu Apr 30, 2020 9:11 pm
radwulf wrote:
Thu Apr 30, 2020 3:41 pm
That's quite an amazing platform you've built there @Thingyman. I'm surprised I haven't heard of it until now. I'm also surprised you haven't heard of mafiascum.net. Looks like the internet is not at all a small world after all.

If I understand correctly, your online games do not follow the original, live-game idea of requiring mafia to target the same person for a successful kill (with no night-time communication), correct? That'd be a hard rule to enforce/control, relying on the mafia players' honesty. Nevertheless, I'm planning to mod a game with that feature here soon.
Thanks. Oh, I've heard of mafiascum and have also played there myself. They've participated a few times as well and will be participating this season too.

Hmm, not sure I understand your last question. There is no night-time communication, and how the nightkill works is that everyone on the mafia team can submit the nightkill on the team's behalf - and the last submission is the one that counts.
Ah, I understand the confusion now. With the URL I meant for the Romanian mafia club. Or did those games take place on either of those forums?
The old URLs and forums are no longer active/available.

The original live-game mechanics which I want to try: although the Mafia know each other, they don't communicate at night. They each choose a target independently, and they must all target the same person for a successful kill. They can choose themselves or fellow mafia members. Whether successful or not, the targets are revealed at day break. When only one mafia player remains alive, he will kill every night. The need to converge on one target should add an interesting dimension to the day discussions.

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#33

Post by Thingyman »

radwulf wrote:
Fri May 01, 2020 1:29 am
Thingyman wrote:
Thu Apr 30, 2020 9:14 pm
Thingyman wrote:
Thu Apr 30, 2020 9:11 pm


Thanks. Oh, I've heard of mafiascum and have also played there myself. They've participated a few times as well and will be participating this season too.

Hmm, not sure I understand your last question. There is no night-time communication, and how the nightkill works is that everyone on the mafia team can submit the nightkill on the team's behalf - and the last submission is the one that counts.
Ah, I understand the confusion now. With the URL I meant for the Romanian mafia club. Or did those games take place on either of those forums?
The old URLs and forums are no longer active/available.

The original live-game mechanics which I want to try: although the Mafia know each other, they don't communicate at night. They each choose a target independently, and they must all target the same person for a successful kill. They can choose themselves or fellow mafia members. Whether successful or not, the targets are revealed at day break. When only one mafia player remains alive, he will kill every night. The need to converge on one target should add an interesting dimension to the day discussions.
Do you recall what the URLs were? Often you can find dead sites on the Wayback Machine (an archive for websites), and I'd be curious to take a look.

Also, with regards to the Championship, we are past the deadline now and all 165 spots are currently filled.

However, I really do want your community to participate, and we've never had a season thus far without a representative dropping out before their game starts, so in case there is someone out there who is still considering this, I'd love to have you on standby as #1 to replace any representative that drops out? Would be a shame to not have this veteran community represented :D

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#34

Post by radwulf »

Thingyman wrote:
Sat May 02, 2020 11:44 am
Do you recall what the URLs were? Often you can find dead sites on the Wayback Machine (an archive for websites), and I'd be curious to take a look.
Amazingly, day 1 of game 1 is still up even though it was unmanaged for 18 years.

www.quicktopic.com/12/H/ea4xdLrcnJk3G (1st day of 1st game only)
pub40.ezboard.com/bromanianmafiagames
go.ezboard.com/bromanianmafiagames (I think)
www.romafiaclub.net
www.romafiaclub.com

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#35

Post by radwulf »

Here are some of the early games (in English) that I have in my archive. Rename to html to view.
Attachments
mafia17.txt
(219.48 KiB) Downloaded 187 times
mafia10.txt
(566.36 KiB) Downloaded 200 times
mafia6.txt
(369.45 KiB) Downloaded 219 times

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#36

Post by EscapedConvict »

Oh, wow! Pretty cool to actually be able to look back on Day 1 of Game 1!
I must have changed my username 10 times all those years. Talk about an identity crisis.

Me signing up for Mafia 1
Image
(j/k, I have no clue who the dude is but that definitely looks like my first PC)

I remember playing the game sometimes on my old Ericsson phone when not home.
Probably a 1"x 1" screen, b & w with no graphics. Talk about dedication.
Image

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#37

Post by behemoth »

Haha wow.. those sure were the days. I can't believe we were playing this on Mirc.

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