Free · the table you are about to read

The eight kinds
of player

Everybody at a mafia table plays like somebody. These are the eight this game deals — what each one does, what to watch for, and the question that decides every round you will ever play: when this one goes quiet, does it mean anything?

Measured over 200,000 games of these eight against each other, with every role known. It describes the players you meet in this game, which is exactly the table you are trying to read.

Silence screams Silence is loud Silence is a murmur Silence means nothing — it is their normal

Silence screams

The Record

the one who quotes you back at you

Builds every argument out of what has already been said, in order. If they cannot cite it, they will not claim it.

Watch for When The Record stops citing and starts asserting, something changed and they are not saying what.

The Record says nothing almost never when they are honest — and not often when they are not. They work harder when they are lying, which is the opposite of what a table expects.

The Record names somebody most turns when they are honest, and often when they are not. That is a big enough drop to read — with this one, the quiet is the tell.

In a three-or-four-left round the gap is at its widest: almost always when honest, almost never when not.

Silence screams

The Bulldozer

short sentences, names somebody early

Two or three words, a name, and a vote. Never hedges, never explains twice.

Watch for A Bulldozer who suddenly explains himself at length is doing something he does not normally need to do.

The Bulldozer says nothing almost never when they are honest, and slightly more when they are not. A small difference, and it points the unexpected way.

The Bulldozer names somebody most turns when they are honest, and often when they are not. It is a real difference and a small one: worth noticing, never worth a vote on its own.

In a three-or-four-left round the gap is at its widest: almost always when honest, not often when not.

Silence screams

The Charmer

deflects with a joke

Pleasant, funny, and rarely committed. Being liked is the strategy.

Watch for A Charmer who stops being charming has decided the room matters more than being liked.

The Charmer says nothing almost never when they are honest — and not often when they are not. They work harder when they are lying, which is the opposite of what a table expects.

The Charmer names somebody most turns when they are honest, and often when they are not. That is a big enough drop to read — with this one, the quiet is the tell.

In a three-or-four-left round the gap is at its widest: almost always when honest, rarely when not.

Silence screams

The Firestarter

loud, thinks out loud

Shouts, guesses early, and says so. Volume is their normal setting, not a symptom.

Watch for A Firestarter going quiet is the loudest thing they do all game.

The Firestarter says nothing almost never when they are honest — and rarely when they are not. They work harder when they are lying, which is the opposite of what a table expects.

The Firestarter names somebody most turns when they are honest, and often when they are not. That is a big enough drop to read — with this one, the quiet is the tell.

In a three-or-four-left round the gap is at its widest: almost always when honest, rarely when not.

Silence is loud

The Questioner

asks instead of accusing

Turns almost every turn into a question. A nomination from them is rare and means they have run out of questions.

Watch for The day The Questioner names somebody flat, without asking first, is the day they decided something.

The Questioner says nothing now and then when they are honest — and sometimes when they are not. They work harder when they are lying, which is the opposite of what a table expects.

The Questioner names somebody most turns when they are honest, and sometimes when they are not. That is a big enough drop to read — with this one, the quiet is the tell.

In a three-or-four-left round the gap is at its widest: almost always when honest, almost never when not.

Silence is loud

The Bookkeeper

counts the votes out loud

Reads the voting record rather than the speeches, and says the numbers back to the table.

Watch for When The Bookkeeper argues from a feeling instead of a count, the count did not say what they wanted.

The Bookkeeper says nothing almost never when they are honest, and slightly more when they are not. A small difference, and it points the unexpected way.

The Bookkeeper names somebody most turns when they are honest, and often when they are not. That is a big enough drop to read — with this one, the quiet is the tell.

In a three-or-four-left round the gap is at its widest: almost always when honest, rarely when not.

Silence is a murmur

The Careful One

hedges, and is usually right

Qualifies everything — "maybe", "I could be wrong" — and is right more often than the table expects.

Watch for Do not read the hedging as weakness. Read WHO they hedge about, because they hedge about everyone except the one they mean.

The Careful One says nothing now and then when they are honest, and slightly more when they are not. A small difference, and it points the unexpected way.

The Careful One names somebody more often than not when they are honest, and sometimes when they are not. That is a big enough drop to read — with this one, the quiet is the tell.

In a three-or-four-left round the gap is at its widest: almost always when honest, almost never when not.

Silence means nothing — it is their normal

The Watcher

silent, then decisive

Says almost nothing for a day or two, then names one person and does not move.

Watch for The Watcher is quiet by nature, so silence from them is NOT evidence. What they finally say is.

The Watcher says nothing about half the time when they are honest, and slightly more when they are not. A small difference, and it points the unexpected way.

The Watcher names somebody about half the time when they are honest, and not often when they are not. It is a real difference and a small one: worth noticing, never worth a vote on its own.

In a three-or-four-left round the gap is at its widest: almost always when honest, almost never when not.

How to read this

Read the tag before you read the card. One of these is quiet in every game they play — so silence from them is not evidence, it is just who they are. Watching it is how a table wastes a day.

The rest go quieter when they are lying — every one of them, and the ones at the top of this page by the most. A player who names somebody on most of their turns and then stops has told you something. A player who is quiet in every game they have ever played has not.

Sit down at a table →Free, no card, eight strangers waiting.