Rules
Town finds and votes out all the mafia. Mafia wins when it is as many as everyone else.
Roles
At night choose a victim together with the other mafia. You win when the mafia equals the rest.
At night heal one player – they will not die tonight. Not the same player two nights in a row.
At night check one player: mafia or not.
No night action. Find the mafia during the day.
At night choose a player who can neither speak nor vote the next day. You win if you survive.
You win if the town votes you out during the day.
One round
Who wins
At the table
Detailed rules
Version 0.5.0 · 2026-10-30 · matches the app's rules engine
In short
The mafia hides among the townspeople. At night the mafia secretly picks a victim; during the day everyone discusses and votes on whom to eliminate. The town wins when all mafia are found; the mafia wins when it is at least as numerous as everyone else.
Players
| Minimum | 5 people: the narrator and 4 players (the narrator does not play) |
|---|---|
| Recommended | 7–15 players |
| Maximum | 20 players |
Ways to play
- There is always a narrator. Chosen at random or picked in advance. The narrator gets no role: they read the story, run the game and decide when the next phase starts. Timers only help.
- Online (main mode) – everyone on their own phone. Join with a code, QR code or link. The narrator's phone shows all roles, the story text to read aloud and the buttons "End the night", "Start voting", "Close voting".
- One phone – every player looks at their character and role, then the narrator keeps the phone. At night the narrator wakes the roles one by one, they show their choice and the narrator taps it. No internet needed.
Roles
| Role | Team | At night | Wins when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mafia | Mafia | Picks a victim together with the other mafia (they see each other and each other's votes) | Mafia ≥ everyone else |
| Doctor | Town | Saves one player (may be themselves); not the same person two nights in a row | No mafia left |
| Detective | Town | Checks one player and immediately learns whether they are mafia | No mafia left |
| Townsperson | Town | Only guesses who the mafia is – the guess changes nothing (see below) | No mafia left |
| Seductress | Neutral | Picks a player who stays silent and cannot vote the next day | She is alive when the game ends (whichever team wins) |
| Jester | Neutral | Only guesses, like a townsperson | He is voted out during the day |
Why does everyone tap something at night? So nobody can tell from body language who has a special role. Guesses of townspeople and the jester have no effect; at the end the app shows who guessed the mafia correctly.
The detective sees the seductress and the jester as "not mafia".
Recommended setup
The app suggests a setup for the number of players (you can change it; the app shows whether it is balanced):
| Players | Mafia | Detective | Doctor | Seductress | Jester |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – |
| 5–6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – |
| 7–8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – |
| 9–11 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – |
| 12–15 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 16–20 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Everyone else is a townsperson.
How a game goes
0. Roles
Every player gets a character from the story (e.g. "Blacksmith") with a short description. The character is neutral and says nothing about the role – even a mafia member gets an ordinary character. You see your real role while holding a finger on the card; release and it is hidden again. Do not show your role.
1. Night 🌙
Everyone acts in secret: mafia picks a victim (on a tie between mafia votes the victim is chosen at random among the tied), doctor heals, detective checks, seductress seduces, the others guess. Online, everyone sees the same "Choose a player" screen at night; what the choice means is visible only while holding the card. The narrator ends the night.
2. Morning ☀️
The app announces who was killed – or that nobody died if the doctor saved the victim – and who is silenced today (by the seductress). The killed player gets a last word (default 30 s).
3. Day – discussion 🗣️
All living players discuss who might be mafia (default 4 min, adjustable). Skip discussion: presses are shown to the narrator; the narrator starts the vote. The silenced player does not speak today.
4. Vote 🗳️
- Everyone alive votes, except the silenced player. Secretly on the phone (online) or by show of hands. You may abstain.
- The player with the most votes is eliminated and gets a last word (unless silenced).
- Tie: revote only between the tied players. Tied again → nobody is eliminated today.
- Abstentions equal to or more than the top candidate's votes → nobody is eliminated.
- If the jester is voted out, he wins; the game continues (unless the setting "jester ends the game" is on).
Then night falls again.
Eliminated players
Killed or voted-out players stay as spectators but stay silent: no hints, no reactions, no revealing roles.
End of the game 🏆
- Town wins when no mafia is left.
- Mafia wins when the mafia is as many as or more than all other living players.
- Also winning: the seductress if she is alive at the end, and the jester if he was voted out.
At the end the app reveals all roles and who guessed the mafia correctly.
Online – good to know
- Only the narrator sees all roles. Each player sees only their own character and role; the mafia also sees the other mafia.
- Closed the app? On the home screen tap "Return to game" – same place, same role.
- If nobody does anything for 5 minutes, the game closes and is deleted automatically. Every game is deleted within 24 hours at the latest.
- Invite with the code, the QR code or "Share invite".
Table manners
- Don't show your screen; lying about your role is part of the game.
- Make night choices calmly so nobody can read your movements.
- After your last word – silence.
- No real insults – mafia is a role-playing game.
MAFIA by Perkuno – Party Game · perkuno.eu · info@perkuno.eu