Mafia is a mock combat game for a medium number of players. The players are split into two groups, the mafia (about 20% of the players), and the townspeople (the remaining 80%). The mafia must try to kill all the townspeople. The townspeople must uncover and kill the mafia. The game shall be open to people who live for much of the time within a five mile radius of Great St Mary's Church in Cambridge city centre. However, it is recommended that those who wish to play be quite familiar with Assassins' Guild events.
If you have any questions about these rules once you have read them thoroughly, please ask for clarification from the Umpire as he will be only too happy to provide it.
Everyone who wishes to play should provide the Umpire with:
Anyone found to have supplied false or misleading details to the Umpire will be disqualified, but I'm sure it's not necessary to say that.
The main aim of the game is for everyone to have a good time. The aim of the mafia is to survive and eliminate as many townspeople as possible. The aim of the townspeople is to clear the town of the mafia menace.
IMPORTANT: Since recent events, and the public awareness of guns, and gun-related crimes, players should be very careful when using weapons in public. Any guns, or other weapons, that look realistic should be made to look obviously like toys - e.g. spraying them bright colours. Anything that looks too much like a real weapon the Umpire will refuse to licence for use. In all cases players should be careful about any weapon used in public, and should avoid themselves being seen using them.
The following gives an outline of the various weapons which can be used against enemies. It is not an exhaustive list and players are encouraged to use their imagination; however, the Umpire may make any kills carried out with an unauthorised weapon invalid, so do come and check before using your latest creation in the heat of battle. In general, all weapons must be completely safe (for both people and property) and actually do something, to indicate to the victim that he/she has been killed. All non-obvious weapons must be clearly labelled.
Messy weapons and water weapons should be used sensibly; where the rules state "with care", no large-calibre water weapons (larger than a Super-soaker XP270 or a Storm Force 2) should be used, smaller water weapons should be carefully aimed and not used to excess. Don't use messy or water weapons against people carrying something expensive or wearing formal clothes; they might get annoyed.
Weapons should be specific to the victim - killing bystanders is to be avoided even when the effect is harmless.
Guns, knives, swords, grenades and darts will kill instantly if they hit the head or torso. If a limb is hit then it can no longer be used for the duration of the encounter.
Remember that if you bear a weapon in public, you run the risk of being identified as a mafioso. After all, why would an innocent individual be carrying a weapon of that calibre?
Represented by water pistols, rubber band guns (or rubber bands fired by hand) and other soft projectile weapons. BB guns are NOT allowed.
You must get a definite hit with the main jet. If you just splash them with water (e.g. at extreme range or out of ammo) then it is only a flesh wound - they can carry on as normal. If they are hit in the head or torso then they are killed instantly.
If your private room contains expensive equipment (e.g computers) which may easily be broken by maniacs with water pistols, you may ask the Umpire and have it declared out of bounds for water- based weaponry only. Your assassin will be reminded of this. Note that other weapons may still be used, and also that you may not use water weapons out of such a room.
Water pistols may not be used in shops, or in places which contain electrical equipment.
Water and messy weapons MAY NOT BE USED in the rooms of non players, and must be used with care in staircases and other indoor areas.
If small water pistols are used, it is a good idea to confirm the kill immediately with the victim who might not have noticed the hit if wearing thick clothing. This avoids arguments later, when the water has evaporated.
Rubber bands fired from the fingers, small rubber band guns, Edison Giocattoli orange pellet pistols and all Nerf weapons are allowed. Anything else must be shown to the Umpire before use. Guns must not look like real guns. Pellet guns must not have the orange piece at the front of the barrel removed, and should be decorated in some way to make sure they look like toys.
In this term's game, pellet rifles will not be allowed.
Head shots should be avoided where possible with all forms of projectile weapon.
This won't be available.
Represented by a cardboard poster tube or a newspaper rolled up and stuck with Sellotape. Either should be clearly labelled "Cosh". The effect of a cosh depends upon the location of the hit:-
Head .......... Unconscious for 5 minutes.
Body .......... Immobilised but conscious for 5 minutes.
Arm or Leg .... The limb is immobilised for 5 minutes.
Foam, soft rubber, retractable plastic or cardboard knives
may be used. If the knife has been made by you eg. from cardboard,
it must be plainly labelled "KNIFE". Plastic ones which are more
obviously knives don't need this. Plastic swords are permitted,
but please be careful. Cardboard swords must be clearly labelled "SWORD".
A rolled up paper tube is a cosh, not a sword.
Plastic light-sabres count as swords and do not require labelling.
No metal knives may be used, including cutlery. Kills made with
these will be disallowed.
Latex weapons (as used in LARP games) will not be allowed
in this game.
Any fluffy toy will be allowed as a knife as long as it is registered
first, because Umpire like to see what embarrassing fluffy things
assassins have in their rooms.
These will not be available for this game.
No bombs. Sorry.
Poisoned umbrellas may be used to transfer contact poison on to a player (as in the case of the Bulgarian Georgi Markov). However, you should be careful to avoid actual injury to the participant, and may well need to cover up the tip of your umbrella with something softer.
It is possible to use 'novelty' weapons which aren't in this list. Previous unusual weapons have included buses (used to run someone over) or poisoned lipstick. Email the Umpire before using such a weapon. A kill using a non-sanctioned weapon may not be accepted!
Deaths should be reported to the Umpire as soon as possible after the event, stating all salient details (when, where, how, and whether any innocent bystanders were killed). It is best if both assassin and target report the death to make sure there is no mistake. Creative/amusing reports are encouraged.
The standard kill-reporting procedure will be to place a report detailing the individual killed, and the manner in which their body was found. Time and place of death will be recorded. If the killer wishes to "leave a note", this may be emailed to the Umpire and will be added to the kill report. More full reports may go up after game end.
In the event of a dispute, a "discussion phase" can be declared. A no-kill zone surrounds the players involved while this is taking place. Please be discreet. It's for your own good.
Dead players may UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES pass information to live players, apart from the fact that they are dead. This is vital to the running of the game and cannot be stressed enough.
At the beginning of the game, a very small number of randomly selected townspeople will be told that they are members of the Ancient and Illuminated Seers of Bavaria, an organisation dedicated to exposing the mafia as a cover for the nefarious Guild of Assassins. The Illuminati will be identified to each other, but not publically.
To begin with, the Illuminati may investigate a live player every two days. They must jointly decide on a target and inform the Umpire of their decision. The Umpire will then inform them of the mafia status of that player. The rate at which investigations are allowed will be controlled by the Umpire.
You may legally kill any player or witness, within reason. If you try and kill the entire market square, you're on your own.
No assassination attempt may be made if victim or assassin is in an out-of-bounds area. The following are always out of bounds:
Assassinations CAN take place in the Phoenix User Area, Cockcroft 4, departmental/college computer rooms etc, but only as follows:
Should the situation occur again, computer rooms in libraries are defined as computer rooms, not libraries. A computer room is, in general, defined as a place where the public (or any clearly defined group, e.g. members of a college) are permitted to use computers. Players' private rooms do NOT count.
"Formal college dining halls" shall be taken to mean in a hall
for the purpose of eating food which is served to the table. We are
aware that this applies to some colleges' informal dining arrangements.
Any meal where you get the food yourself from a servery is in bounds.
The Umpire would like to encourage people to keep their playing to University grounds if at all possible. If you must attack on an open street, then please be careful about showing visible weapons where members of the public might see them, and call the police.
Any further suggestions should be communicated to the Umpire as soon as possible. Please use your common sense!
Whenever you make an attempt on the life of another player or an innocent, successfully assassinate him or her, are attacked yourself, or become involved in any other game related incident, you must notify the Umpire as quickly as possible. If you can, confirm the exact details of the event with the other assassins involved — though be careful about exposing yourself to danger, when doing this.
Players may gather after an incident to discuss what happened, and will be under a no-kill zone during the discussion, until the players disperse.
In general, all players concerned should submit reports; the Umpire can update the game news more quickly and with fewer problems if this is done.
A witness is any player or non-player who is in a position to see an assassination take place. Witnesses can, of course, talk about the assassination to other players. It is asked that all those non-players who wish to be able to act as witnesses should contact the Umpire before the game begins. The same rules about dead men, tales and not telling apply to non-players as to players.
This term's Umpire is Martin O'Leary of St John's College. (mewo2@srcf.ucam.org)
The primary method of contacting the Umpire is through email, though players are welcome to visit. The Umpire is immortal. Martin O'Leary lives in A2 North Court, St John's College. Both the staircase and the room are no-kill areas. They are also non water zones. The Umpire will however take a dim view of players who run into his staircase in order to escape an attacker.
If you have any queries, send mail or visit the Umpire (but try to arrange the meeting beforehand), preferably before the query becomes a matter of life and death (yours or anyone else's).
Player-Umpire communications may be made public at the end of the game for everyone's enlightenment and amusement. If you do not wish a certain communication to be made public, please tell the Umpire.
NOTE: It is the responsibility of players to read their e-mail and read the news. Players are deemed to know information as soon as the Umpire send e-mail to that effect or publish the details on the website.
This may seem a bit unfair, but is less so than expecting the Umpire to guess if a player has logged on recently.
The game has its own World-Wide Web pages, which will host these rules and game news:
<URL:http://www.srcf.ucam.org/assassins/mafia/>
To avoid waste of bandwidth, game news will not be distributed by email.
The history of this set of rules is thought to be:
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