Episode XXXVI – The rules of the game are simple – stay alive.

We had walked over to the fire and communal area at Lake Forest College, where we were staying because the dorms were drafty cinderblock dungeons. We also wanted to play our favorite pseudo-brainy game that could only be enjoyed by people starved for entertainment or people who like games. And also because Inteligente claimed that the heat helped his undisclosed injury that did not need crutches. And also to make our getaway from certain assigned roommates from other schools in the competition, but I’ll talk more about that later.

The game we played was called Mafia. I’ve since seen the game played under a variety of names, but the premise is the same. The game is played in the following manner. You need a deck of fifty-two cards, and at least eight people. There are several parties in the game, most importantly the moderator, usually chosen by whoever draws the low card in the deck. It is also a firm rule that the moderator must also complain bitterly about his appointment, because his position is really quite boring. Once the whining is complete, the moderator deals out two spades, a series of hearts, and one club in a random manner. The hearts represent the citizens of a fictional town. The spades represent two mafia “assassins”. The club represents the police. The game then moves in a series of turns.

The moderator directs the “citizens” to fall asleep, meaning that they close their eyes. The moderator then directs the “mafia” to awake, meaning that they alone open their eyes. The “mafia” then point at a party they wish to “kill”. They then close their eyes. The moderator then directs the “cop” to open his eyes; he then points at a person he suspects is the “mafia”; the moderator either agrees or disagrees by shaking or nodding their head. The “cop” then closes his eyes, and the moderator directs everyone to wake, and alerts the circle who was “killed”. At this point, the “killed” party cannot say anything, and they don’t have to open/close their eyes for the remainder of the game. The remaining members of the circle then debate who they think are the “mafia agents”.

The purpose of this discussion is to find the “mafia” and kill them before the “mafia” kills all the citizens. Obviously, during the discussions, the people that are covertly “mafia” want to throw suspicion on innocent parties, or potentially the cop, thus making their job considerably easier. The “cop” can either provide information that he or she knows, or stay silent. At the end of the debate, the selection is made by majority vote, and that person is then considered dead, and removed from the game. The game continues in this manner until either both the “mafia” are dead, or until the “mafia” have killed off all but one or two of the “citizens”.

While this game may only seem to appeal to the intelligentsia because of the endless talking, countervailing arguments and other silliness, I assure the reader that if it is played correctly, the game is quite entertaining. With this in mind, we rounded up some like minded brainiacs or patsies, depending on one’s viewpoint, and dealt the cards.