GAME OVERVIEW"Werewolf", aka "Mafia" is a game of lies and deception. Typically, the game consists of two warring groups: The
Villagers and the
Wolves.
The villagers make up a majority of the players. The wolves, while a minority of the players (usually about 1/3 or 1/4 of the total player count), they know who their teammates are, and can usually converse in an area outside of the thread. Their goal is to kill enough of the villagers so that their faction makes up at least half of the remaining players.
The game is made up of two phases, referred to usually as the Day and the Night. During the Day phase, players can talk in the game thread. They can discuss the game, and the day usually ends with a player being "lynched", or killed, and removed from the game. This player is chosen by the players voting for who they think is the most likely to be wolves, usually stylized in bold. For example:
Vote: WintermootThe second phase is the night phase, which is usually shorter than the day phase. During this time, "Power Roles" (players with special powers) have the ability to use their power. These powers can include killing other players, learning the alignments of other players, and that type of thing. I'll go into more detail on this later.
Be warned: this game will require intense scrutiny of your words and strategies, as well as the words and strategies of others. Don't take offense to it, or let the game affect your relationships out-of-game. After all, it's only a game.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU'RE A VILLAGERIf you're a villager, your goal is to find the wolves. It's very much an offensive game on this side of the coin. You have great power in your vote, and can use it to show suspicion on others. You must read the words of others carefully, and take them with a grain of salt. Trust no one. Watch for inconsistencies. Trust your gut. The only thing tipped in your favor are the numbers, but that won't last long.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU'RE A WOLFPlaying a game as a wolf is very different. You play a more defensive game. You have to lie to and charm other players into believing you to be one of their own. You have great power in your vote as well, though you use it not to find your enemy, since you already know them, but instead to let your enemies kill each other. You have a secondary goal, to protect your comrades, but be aware that, sometimes, sacrifices have to be made for the betterment of the pack. The best way for you to win is act like a villager, but be on the watch for ways to allow villagers to die.
SPECIAL ROLESThere are a number of special roles in this game. I'll go over only a few of the more common one, but there are plenty out there, and I know that members of Wintreath tend to come up with their own roles as well, so don't be afraid to do so.
Villager Roles:
- Vanilla Villager: There are often multiple Vanilla Villagers in a game. They have no special power, but are members of the village.
- Defender: A villager role that can target one player every night and protect them from death if they're targeted for a kill that night.
- Seer: A villager role that can target one player every night and check their alignment (villager or wolf).
- Vigilante: A villager role that can target one player every night and have them killed.
- Roleblocker: A villager role that can target one player every night and cause their action that night, if any, to fail.
Wolf Roles:
- Goon: The equivalent of a Vanilla Villager for the Wolves. They have no special power, but are members of the pack. There can be multiple in one game.
- Alpha Wolf: The "leader" of the pack, they tend to have at least one of two modifiers: bulletproof (unable to be killed at night) or investigation-proof (come up as villager when investigated by a seer)
- Roleblocker: The same as the Village Roleblocker, but aligned with the wolves.
A number of other, less common, roles can be found here:
http://wiki.mafiascum.net/index.php?title=Category:Roles_Main_PageI apologize if my wording for these are off. Most of my experience of the game can be found on forums that use the "Mafia" terminology instead of the "Werewolf" terminology. Because of this, most of my terms come from that mindset.
Also, if you want to play a quick version of the game (15 minutes or so) online, you can play at
http://blankmediagames.com/TownOfSalem/Any suggestions for additions or questions? Feel free to reply to the thread.