Mafia- "Good" players.

[Double A]

You're forgetting trust, Pizza. You have to trust people enough that they're townies if you're a power role, or that the doctor you know is really a doctor, so that you can reveal you're a cop. That might seem like persuasiveness, but it's not the same. Try to remember a case where you rightfully trusted someone for some inexplicable reason, that's what I'm talking about.

[Askthepizzaguy]

You're forgetting trust, Pizza. You have to trust people enough that they're townies if you're a power role, or that the doctor you know is really a doctor, so that you can reveal you're a cop. That might seem like persuasiveness, but it's not the same. Try to remember a case where you rightfully trusted someone for some inexplicable reason, that's what I'm talking about.

Choosing to trust someone based on no reasons is also related to luck.

If you have no reason to trust them, but you're doing it anyway, the outcome is good or bad based on what the random number generator that picked the roles had to say. Anything you can't chalk up to skill, is going to be random chance, and even the skill-based stuff relies on a lot of factors outside your control. That's why my thesis was mostly about luck, and why folks should not beat themselves up over good or bad results. It's a glorified guessing game that starts off essentially involving dice. A good player is one that is willing to roll the dice, that's all you can do.

[Double A]

Stop acting so pessimistic, Pizza, it doesn't suit you.

[Askthepizzaguy]

Stop acting so pessimistic, Pizza, it doesn't suit you.

It's not pessimism. It would be if I said there was no point in trusting people, but what I am saying is it's a risk, and your success often depends on luck alone.

Also, speaking to game complexity.

In one recent game, and others like it, I've seen folks get bogged down by a game's complexity. Too much is going on, too much information is available, and there are side goals that are distracting. Often times people have trouble following it all, especially if they don't know the backstory or the characters. One of the few things I said that game that was meant to be taken seriously, was that it's still a mafia game. You still vote for who you think is guilty, and if you're guilty, you try to avoid death. I've found myself floating in games on other sites, like Night of the Werewolf games, with backstories too complicated for me to follow and characters I couldn't roleplay as. But, the game was still about voting for the guilty people.

Too much going on can be intimidating. But, at the core of things, as long as people are voting, the basic game is still being played. I think it helps folks to remember that's their main objective in mafia; vote for the right people. All else could even be ignored if it is too complicated.

[Double A]

Oh, I see. It just seems to me like you're reducing mafia to its base components because you're upset.

[Askthepizzaguy]

Oh, I see. It just seems to me like you're reducing mafia to its base components because you're upset.

Me? I'm not. Not sure where you're getting that impression from.

It's mostly aimed at folks I've spoken to recently who put stock in whether they lose these game, and think it makes them a bad player. It does not.

[Chaotix]

Me? I'm not. Not sure where you're getting that impression from.

It's mostly aimed at folks I've spoken to recently who put stock in whether they lose these game, and think it makes them a bad player. It does not.

Totally true.

I lose games all the time, and I'm the best player on this whole forum!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Double A]

Me? I'm not. Not sure where you're getting that impression from.

It's mostly aimed at folks I've spoken to recently who put stock in whether they lose these game, and think it makes them a bad player. It does not.

I don't know either, I just got it somehow.

Derp.