As the Ultimate Mafia Game Master, it is your role to create an interesting deck combination, facilitate gameplay, story tell, and build excitement around the action of the game. Enjoy pairing your favourite cards, surprising players with shocking twists, and making memories with friends! Here are some of our favourite deck creations and Game Master tips and tricks to create a memorable Ultimate Mafia experience.
Creating a deck for Ultimate Mafia is one of the most important parts of the game. Creating even teams, adapting to your audience, and building a deck that YOU enjoy and can confidently facilitate will have a significant effect on the enjoyment of the game.
Symbols: Cards are divided into black ALLEGIANCE cards and white POWER cards. On the black Allegiance cards, there is an M, T, or N on the left side of the card. This symbol indicates the team that the player is working for: M=Mafia, T=Townsperson, N=Neutral).
On the white Power cards, there is a plus or minus sign on the left side. A plus indicates a power that strengthens the character. A minus indicates a weakness that limits a player. The difference between the cards is only relevant if you own the Underworld expansion.
On the right side of each card there is a star. The number of stars indicates the difficulty rating for the Game Master. Ranging from one to five, a one-star rating indicates a simple card that is easy to facilitate; and a five-star rating indicates a more complex card.To create an evenly balanced game, we recommend that between 33% and 50% of the characters Allegiances should be Mafia. Neutral cards can also be a great way to balance the teams. For example, if you have 8 players and think that 4 Mafia allied cards are too powerful, we recommend using 4 Townsperson cards, 3 Mafia cards, and 1 Neutral card. However, there is no perfect formula as some cards are more powerful than others. Use your discretion to determine what will be an interesting and balanced game.
Mafia cards like the Traitor, Sympathizer, and Sleeper Agent are much less powerful than a normal Mafia card. Likewise, Townsperson cards such as the Renegade or Archangel are much more powerful than a Mason. Use this knowledge to create a fair game with equal chance of either team winning.
When the deck has been created both the Allegiance and Power decks are shuffled separately and distributed. The Allegiance deck should contain ONE black card for EACH player. The white Power deck is up to you, though we recommend starting with one Power card each. Once the group is familiar with the game it increase the level of fun to use two or three Power cards!
- With a beginner group, we recommend that you briefly teach them each card before starting the game. To avoid confusion, after distributing cards ask for questions and answer them privately to give each player confidence and clarity in their role.
- Ensure that you know all the nighttime actions in the deck, so you know who to call upon during gameplay. If you struggle to keep track of the nighttime actions, write them all down.
- We recommend not using too many cards that grant nighttime actions, because long drawn-out nighttime’s tend to disengage players.
- Instruct each player to put their cards face down in front of them, or somewhere easily accessible to the Game Master. This will allow you to manipulate the cards throughout the night quickly and efficiently as required by cards such as the Detective or Magician.
- When facilitating the first night, start by calling upon partnered cards such as the Star-Crossed Lovers, Musketeers, or Masons. These characters need only be called upon once during the game to see their partner(s). Be sure both partner cards are in the deck.
- With novice players, we recommend revealing to all players which cards are in play to reduce confusion. However, with a more experienced group, it can be exciting to surprise the players with your deck combination and not reveal which cards are in play.
- Dramatic storytelling can be an exciting way to reveal the nighttime elimination and heighten interest in the game. However, a more strategic group may prefer to just be informed who was eliminated and quickly continue the game.
- If you have a small group, you can play too. You can be Game Master and play by considering yourself permanently silenced which means you can’t talk about gameplay or vote. In this way, you can narrate and facilitate the game while still being a passive player. During the nighttime, you may perform actions as normal.
BEGINNER DECK – 8-12 PLAYERS:
Allegiance Cards (black): Angel, Mafia x3, Mason x2, Renegade, The Boy Who Lived. For 10-12 players add: Mafia x1, Little Girl, Mole, Jester.
Power Cards (white): Star-Crossed Lover x2, Vigilante, Cat, Detective, Mayor, Silencer, Lawyer. For 10-12 players add: Head Musketeer, Musketeer x2, Dynamite.
Undercover: With a small group, surprise the players by using both the Double Agent and Little Girl. This means nearly every player will raise their head when Mafia are told to wake up. Confusion, intrigue, and distrust within the Mafia leads to a hilarious game.
CHOOSE YOUR ALLEGIANCE:
In a game with experienced players, use the full deck and deal each player TWO Allegiance cards and THREE Power cards. Each player may then choose their allegiance and two powers while discarding the rest of their cards. If a player draws a minus power (or Head Musketeer) card, they must keep it as one of their Powers. This variation is interesting for expert players as no one knows the distribution of Townspeople and Mafia.
Make your Own!
Part of the fun of Ultimate Mafia is the endless combinations of cards that lead to a thrilling game! Choose your favourite cards to play with and imagine the possibilities
