How to Play Mafia: Rules & Complete Guide

Mafia (also known as Werewolf) is the greatest party game ever invented: a social deduction game of deception, accusation, and dramatic betrayal. Here are the full Mafia game rules — you'll be playing in five minutes.

The premise

A small town has been infiltrated by the Mafia. Each night, the Mafia secretly kills a townsperson. Each day, the town gathers to argue about who the killers are — and votes to eliminate a suspect. The catch: nobody knows who anyone really is.

The game loop

🌙 Night

Everyone "sleeps." In Mafia Night, this happens silently on each player's phone — the Mafia choose a victim, the Detective investigates a suspect, and the Doctor protects someone. No narrator, no closed eyes, no peeking.

🌅 Dawn

The town wakes to discover what happened. Someone's dead — or the Doctor made a save. Dead players are out of the game, but they become ghosts who can see everyone's secret roles.

☀️ Day — the heart of the game

This is where Mafia becomes magic. Talk. Accuse. Defend yourself. Watch for hesitation, over-explaining, or someone who's a little too quiet. The Mafia are lying to your face — and they're good at it.

⚖️ The vote

When the arguments peak, the host calls a vote. Everyone votes on their phone. The player with the most votes is eliminated and their role is revealed. Then night falls again, and the cycle repeats until one side wins.

Strategy tips

Playing as Town

• Watch behavior, not just words. Who avoids making accusations? Who echoes others instead of thinking aloud?
• Track voting patterns. Mafia members often avoid voting for each other — the vote history is evidence.
• Detectives: don't reveal too early. Claiming Detective paints a target on your back. Share findings when it matters.

Playing as Mafia

• Participate. Silent players look suspicious. Accuse people — confidently and early.
• Don't defend your partner. Sometimes the best move is voting out your own teammate to build trust.
• Kill the quiet threats. The player quietly taking mental notes is more dangerous than the loud one.

House rules & variants

Once your group masters the basics, open the role editor and add a Serial Killer, Jester, or Vigilante. Each one bends the game in a new direction — the Jester alone (who wins by getting voted out) will make your town paranoid about its own paranoia.

Prefer to run the game the classic way, with one person narrating? Grab our free Mafia narrator script and printable role cards — everything a human moderator needs to read aloud.

Free · no sign-up · 4–16 players on their own phones