Mafia Game
Learn how to play the Mafia Game step by step, roles, night and day phases, win conditions, and a free no-cards way to play on one phone.
The Mafia Game is one of the best social-deduction party games ever invented, and for good reason. All you need is a group of friends, one phone, and a little bit of nerve. No cards. No board. No printing. In this guide you will learn exactly how to play the Mafia Game from setup to the final reveal, including every role, every phase, and every win condition.
Ready? Let's get into it.
The Mafia Game (also known as Werewolf) is a pass-and-play social-deduction game for 4 to 15 players on one shared phone. Players are secretly dealt roles at the start. Some are Mafia, they know each other and want to eliminate the town. Everyone else is the Village, they must use discussion and voting to figure out who the Mafia are before it is too late.
A human player acts as the narrator (host). They hold the phone, read the script aloud, and guide everyone through the night and day phases. Our free app gives the narrator an on-screen dashboard with the exact lines to read, tracks who is alive, and automatically detects the winner, so anyone can run a perfect Mafia Game on their very first try.
Play the free Mafia Game now, no sign-up, no app install, runs in your browser on one phone. Start playing →
| Requirement | What you actually need |
|---|---|
| Players | 4–15 people |
| Device | 1 shared phone or tablet |
| Cards / board | Nothing, the app deals every role secretly |
| Narrator | 1 player holds the phone and reads the script |
| Install | None, runs in the browser, free |
That's it. The Mafia Game is designed to start in under 60 seconds.
Before you play, everyone needs to understand the core roles. The Mafia Game has four roles in the standard setup:
The Mafia are the secret killers. They know who each other are. Every night, they silently agree on one player to eliminate. During the day they must act like innocent villagers. The Mafia win when their numbers equal the remaining villagers.
Villagers have no special power. Their only weapon is observation, conversation, and the daily vote. If they can identify and vote out all Mafia members, the village wins.
Each night, the Detective secretly investigates one player. The app privately tells the narrator whether that player is Mafia or not, and the narrator gives a discreet signal (a nod or shake of the head). Use this information wisely: if you reveal yourself too early, the Mafia will target you.
Each night, the Doctor secretly chooses one player to protect (they can protect themselves, but usually only once per game). If the Mafia targets the same player the Doctor saves, that player survives the night. The Doctor is a crucial counter to the Mafia's kill power.
The app automatically recommends a balanced number of each role based on your group size, you can always adjust it in the setup screen.
A Mafia Game alternates between a Night Phase and a Day Phase until one side wins.
The app deals roles secretly. Each player takes the phone in turn, reads their role privately (the screen shows only their card), then locks it and passes it on. No one sees anyone else's role.
Players with the Mafia role now know silently who their Mafia teammates are, the screen showed them.
After every player has seen their role, the narrator takes the phone and announces: "Everyone now has a secret role. The narrator holds the phone for the rest of the game."
The narrator's dashboard shows who is alive, what the roles are, and the exact script to read. Players never see this screen again.
Everyone closes their eyes. The narrator reads the night script from the app:
The app resolves the night automatically: if the Doctor saved the Mafia's target, no one dies. Otherwise the targeted player is eliminated.
Everyone opens their eyes. The narrator announces what happened overnight:
The eliminated player is now out of the game. They may watch but cannot speak.
This is where the game really lives. The town debates, accuses, and defends for a set discussion time (the app has a built-in timer). Everyone tries to figure out who the Mafia are based on:
After discussion, the town votes. Everyone points at the person they believe is Mafia. The player with the most votes is eliminated (lynched). In a tie, no one is eliminated that round.
The eliminated player reveals their role, were the town right?
Return to the Night Phase and repeat until one side wins:
The app detects the win condition automatically and announces the result.
| Team | Win condition |
|---|---|
| Village | All Mafia (and neutral killers) are eliminated |
| Mafia | Mafia members equal remaining villagers in number |
| Neutral (Jester) | Gets voted out by the town during a day vote |
| Neutral (Serial Killer) | Last player standing, alone |
Once your group has played a few rounds, you can add optional roles in the setup screen:
A Mafia member who reads as innocent to the Detective. This counteracts the Detective's power and adds a layer of doubt to claimed Detective results.
A neutral player who wins only if the town votes them out. The Jester must act suspicious enough to get lynched, but not so obviously that the Mafia eliminates them at night instead. This role creates hilarious chaos.
A neutral third faction who acts alone. Each night, the Serial Killer secretly eliminates one player, independent of the Mafia. The Serial Killer wins only if they are the last player standing. They are a threat to both the Village and the Mafia.
Each night, the Lookout watches one player and finds out who visited them (Mafia kill, Detective investigation, or Doctor save). A skilled Lookout can piece together who's who.
1. Pay attention to who stays quiet during discussion. Mafia players often deflect rather than accuse, they don't want to be remembered as aggressive.
2. If you're the Detective, share your results carefully. Revealing yourself makes you the Mafia's top target the following night. Consider sharing anonymously ("I have reason to believe X is Mafia") or waiting until you have multiple results.
3. If you're the Doctor, protect yourself on the first night. You're one of the most valuable players in the game, you become a target once people suspect your role.
4. Listen to the Mafia's day-phase arguments. They will often subtly defend each other. If two players consistently agree and redirect suspicion onto others, that's a pattern worth noticing.
5. Don't overthink your first game. The Mafia Game rewards experience. Play a few rounds, get a feel for the rhythm of night and day, and the strategy will come naturally.
Q: How many players do you need for the Mafia Game? A: The Mafia Game works with 4 to 15 players. For your first game, 6–8 players is the sweet spot, enough for interesting debate, few enough that the game stays fast.
Q: Do you need a dedicated narrator for the Mafia Game? A: Yes, one player holds the phone and reads the script aloud. Our app gives the narrator every line to read, so they don't need to memorise anything. Even a first-time narrator can run a smooth game.
Q: Can the Doctor save themselves? A: Yes. The Doctor can choose to save themselves on any night, though experienced players typically treat self-saves as a one-time option to avoid making it too powerful.
Q: What happens when the Mafia and Village are equal in number? A: The Mafia wins at that point, they have enough influence in the day vote to guarantee no Mafia member is ever eliminated.
Q: Is the Mafia Game the same as Werewolf? A: Yes. Mafia and Werewolf are the same social-deduction game with different themes. Our app works as both a Mafia game and a Werewolf game, same rules, same roles, different name.
Q: How long does a Mafia Game take? A: A standard game with 6–8 players runs 15–25 minutes. Larger groups or extra roles can stretch to 40 minutes.
You now know everything you need to run your first Mafia Game. Grab 4 or more friends, open one phone, and start in under a minute, no cards, no setup, no install required.
Also try: Mafia Game Roles Explained · Mafia Game Narrator Script · Mafia Game Strategy Tips