GamesSocial Deduction

Social Deduction (Mafia)

Social Deduction is a text-based hidden-roles game where the Mafia secretly eliminates Citizens while the town debates and votes to identify and eliminate them. Deception, reasoning, and community trust are the real weapons.

Players: 5–20 | Duration: 10–30 minutes | XP: 200–2,000

Requires a minimum of 5 players to start.

How to Start

/mafia

The bot opens a 60-second lobby. Players tap Join to enter. The host taps Start Early to begin immediately once 5+ players have joined, or the game auto-starts when the lobby closes.

Roles are assigned privately via DM by the bot. Role assignments are never revealed in the group chat until the game ends.

Roles

Core Roles (all game sizes)

Mafia

  • Assignment: 1 Mafia member per 3–4 players.
  • Ability: Each Night Phase, the Mafia group collectively votes to eliminate one Citizen. The bot runs a private Mafia chat for coordination.
  • Win Condition: Reach equal numbers with the remaining Citizens (e.g., 2 Mafia, 2 Citizens = Mafia wins).

Citizen

  • Assignment: All remaining players who are not assigned a special role.
  • Ability: Vote to eliminate suspected Mafia members during the Day Phase.
  • Win Condition: All Mafia members are eliminated.

Special Roles (assigned based on player count)

Detective (5+ players — 1 per game)

  • Each Night Phase, the Detective sends the bot a private /investigate @username command.
  • The bot DMs back: “@username is [Mafia / Not Mafia].”
  • The Detective’s identity is secret. Revealing yourself is a strategic choice — the Mafia will target you.

Doctor (7+ players — 1 per game)

  • Each Night Phase, the Doctor sends /protect @username to the bot.
  • If the Mafia targets that player, the elimination is blocked. The group is told “The town was protected tonight.”
  • The Doctor cannot protect the same player on consecutive nights.

Additional Roles (10+ players)

RoleCountAbility
Vigilante1Once per game, may eliminate a player during the Night Phase independently of the Mafia. If they kill a Citizen, the Vigilante is revealed and eliminated.
Jester1Wins if they are voted out during a Day Phase. Loses if they survive. Changes the incentive structure significantly.
Mayor1Their vote counts as 2 during Day Phase eliminations. Identity is secret until they choose to reveal.

Game Phases

Setup

  • Players join the 60-second lobby.
  • Bot assigns roles via private DM.
  • Each player receives their role card with win conditions and available commands.

Day Phase (5 minutes)

  • All players discuss in the group chat. There are no restrictions — accuse, defend, form alliances, lie.
  • Any player can nominate a suspect: /vote @username
  • The bot tracks nominations. When a player accumulates votes from the majority (50%+ of remaining players), voting moves to a final confirmation round.
  • Confirmation vote: 90 seconds for everyone to vote Eliminate or Spare. Majority decides.
  • Result: Eliminated player’s role is revealed to the group.

Voting Tie Rules

  • If no player reaches majority by the end of the 5-minute discussion: 2-minute extension.
  • Second tie (end of extension): No elimination this Day Phase. Night Phase begins.

Night Phase (60 seconds)

  • The group chat is “silent” (bot posts a Night Phase message; player messages during this period are ignored for game purposes).
  • Mafia: Vote privately in the Mafia chat to choose a target. /kill @username
  • Detective: Send /investigate @username to the bot.
  • Doctor: Send /protect @username to the bot.
  • After 60 seconds, the bot resolves all Night Phase actions and announces results in the group.

Repeat

Day and Night Phases alternate until a win condition is met.

Win Conditions

FactionWin Condition
MafiaMafia members equal or outnumber surviving Citizens at the start of any Day Phase.
CitizensAll Mafia members are eliminated.
JesterJester is voted out during a Day Phase.

XP Rewards

AchievementXP
Participation (any game)50 XP
Correct Mafia vote (voted out a real Mafia member)100 XP
Winning side200 XP
MVP — Detective correctly identified all Mafia500 XP
Jester win300 XP
Survived the whole game without being targeted150 XP

Achievements

AchievementCondition
First BloodBe the first player to nominate someone who turns out to be Mafia
Mafia DonWin as Mafia 10 times
True DetectiveCorrectly identify all Mafia members in a single game as Detective
SurvivorWin a game as Citizen without ever receiving any elimination votes against you
Town SaviorProtect the Detective as Doctor in a game where the Mafia was trying to eliminate them
Master of DeceptionWin 5 games as Mafia while being nominated and surviving each time
Jester SupremeWin as Jester 3 times

Strategy Tips

As Mafia

  • Coordinate elimination targets in the private Mafia chat during Night Phase — prioritize the Detective early if you suspect who it is.
  • During Day Phase, blend in. Participate in discussion; accusers who are too quiet get targeted.
  • Create controlled chaos: accuse a Citizen early to redirect suspicion.

As Citizen

  • Track who accuses whom. Mafia often avoid accusing each other.
  • Pay attention to Night Phase survival patterns — if the same cluster of players keeps surviving, investigate that cluster.
  • If you are the Detective, share information strategically — revealing too early makes you a Night Phase target.

As Doctor

  • On the first Night Phase, protect whoever the group suspects might be the Detective.
  • Vary your protection targets — the Mafia observes patterns too.
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