Mafia Game
The complete Mafia Game rules: night order, the day vote, tie-breaks, and every win condition, plus answers to the most common rule disputes.
Whether you are playing the Mafia Game for the first time or refreshing your knowledge before a session, this guide has every rule you need. We cover the night order, the day vote, every win condition, tie-breaks, and the most common rule questions that come up mid-game.
Player count: 4–15 players. Fewer than 4 makes the Mafia too obvious. More than 15 and the day discussion becomes unwieldy.
Role assignment: Roles are dealt secretly, each player reads their own card privately and passes the phone on. No one announces their role during setup.
Narrator: One player is nominated as narrator before the deal. They hold the phone throughout the game and do not have a hidden role themselves (unless your group prefers a player-narrator variant).
Role balance: The recommended ratio is roughly one Mafia per 3–4 players. Our app auto-suggests a balanced count and lets you adjust it.
The night phase proceeds in this fixed order:
| Order | Role | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mafia | Silently agree on one player to eliminate |
| 2 | Mastermind | Wakes with Mafia (passive role, no extra action) |
| 3 | Serial Killer | Silently chooses one player to eliminate (independent of Mafia) |
| 4 | Detective | Silently investigates one player |
| 5 | Lookout | Silently watches one player |
| 6 | Doctor | Silently protects one player |
Key rules:
After all night actions, the narrator resolves the night using the app:
Discussion: All surviving players may speak freely. There is no enforced speaking order. The narrator may use a timer (our app has one built in) to keep the day phase moving.
The vote: When discussion time ends (or the group agrees to vote early), all players vote simultaneously, on the narrator's count, everyone points at their suspect at the same time. Simultaneous voting prevents bandwagoning on the last second.
Majority rule: The player with the most votes is eliminated. They immediately reveal their role.
Tie rule: If two or more players are tied for the most votes, no one is eliminated that round. The night phase begins immediately. (Variant: some groups hold a revote between only the tied players, decide before the game starts.)
Skip vote: Players may choose to skip the vote entirely if the group unanimously agrees there is not enough information to vote fairly. Use sparingly, skipping benefits the Mafia.
No speaking after elimination: Eliminated players may watch but cannot speak, gesture, or communicate with active players in any way.
| Winner | Condition |
|---|---|
| Village | All Mafia members and all neutral killers (Serial Killer) are eliminated |
| Mafia | The number of Mafia members alive equals or exceeds the number of surviving Villagers |
| Jester | The Jester is voted out during a day phase vote |
| Serial Killer | The Serial Killer is the last surviving player |
Important clarifications:
Q: Can the Mafia kill each other? A: No. Mafia members cannot target other Mafia members with their night kill. The app prevents this.
Q: Can the Doctor protect the same player on consecutive nights? A: Yes, unless your group plays the "no consecutive self-save" house rule, which only applies to the Doctor protecting themselves specifically.
Q: Can the Detective investigate the same player twice? A: Yes. The app allows it. In practice it wastes a night action, but there is no rule against it.
Q: What happens if all Village power roles (Detective, Doctor) are eliminated? A: The Village continues with only Villagers, they rely entirely on day voting to find the Mafia.
Q: Can eliminated players give hints or clues? A: No. Eliminated players are observers only. Any communication from an eliminated player, verbal, gestural, or written, is considered a rules violation in competitive play.
Q: Does the Jester win if the Mafia or Serial Killer kills them? A: No. The Jester must be voted out by the town to win. Night kills do not count, and the app protects the Jester from night eliminations.
Q: What happens if the last Mafia member is eliminated at the same time the Mafia reaches parity? A: The Village wins, a tie in player count only triggers the Mafia win if there is at least one Mafia member still alive.
Also try: How to Play Mafia Game · Mafia Game Roles Explained · Mafia Game Narrator Script