[Game Thread] HBO Rome Mafia Game
- Thread starter D2DC
- Start date
Quotes & Game Events:
I already explained the quotes/point system in-game. The game events (there were supposed to be 3 of them), simply added to your quotes point total for the day.
This was one of the most entertaining things about this game. I wasn't sure how much you all would get involved with it, but some of you grabbed on and ran with it! Some of the quotes you all dug up were inspired!
Hope they were as fun to use as they were to read!
I already explained the quotes/point system in-game. The game events (there were supposed to be 3 of them), simply added to your quotes point total for the day.
This was one of the most entertaining things about this game. I wasn't sure how much you all would get involved with it, but some of you grabbed on and ran with it! Some of the quotes you all dug up were inspired!
Hope they were as fun to use as they were to read!
Yea, you successfully targeted Zhao (Cicero), but Caesar was too "busy" in Rome with Servilia.
Hence the name...Yea, you successfully targeted Zhao (Cicero), but Caesar was too "busy" in Rome with Servilia.
Thanks for the game @D2DC, I mostly had no idea what was going on, but it was interesting!
You seemed to be laying low. I wasn't sure if that was RL, or just trying not to draw attention to yourself.
Thanks, DC!! It was a very interesting setup! Quickly scanning on my mobile and it seems like a lot of thought and planning went into this. I'm looking forward to more details later! 
Thank you for hosting!!
I LOVED the quotes!! It was hilarious!!
Thank you for hosting!!I LOVED the quotes!! It was hilarious!!
Yea, I sometimes wondered if anybody was concerned with playing the game.. everyone was having too much fun with the quotes!
Thanks for hosting the game, too bad it ended today I was considering a Skyrim role-play.
You were really getting into your Simpsons cult role! That story with Noodle at the computer was one of the best posts I've ever read!
Yes.You seemed to be laying low. I wasn't sure if that was RL, or just trying not to draw attention to yourself.
I have to admit, I was having way too much fun. It was even funnier that players weren't getting the references right away and didn't know what to make of it.You were really getting into your Simpsons cult role! That story with Noodle at the computer was one of the best posts I've ever read!
Dude I literally told DC in my PM "Zhao has jumped off the deep end and belly flopped into Christianity. I'm not sure what to make of it."
Noodle would've been so proud!!
It was a blast playing a different type of forum game. Thank you for letting me join in.
Word right out of my mouth! I was just along for the ride!
Ok, so I have seen that scene before! (hand waving out the window)
Glad everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, even if you had no idea what was going on!
If everyone is ok with it, we can open up the Role PMs again so you can read what each other's abilities were?
I think I basically posted everything in regards to the game setup, abilities, wincons etc. I did it all from memory on my cell, but don't think I forgot anything major. For anybody interested, Caesar's march would have went: Ravenna, crossing the Rubicon, then Rome. Pompey's was Corfinium, Capua, then Greece. Was really hoping to see the suicidal/sacrificial ability come into play.. @Skjolde, do you think you would have used it?
General Thoughts:
1. I really liked the election mechanic for a change. It was pretty clear that people were like.. "well, we gotta vote somebody.. otherwise so-and-so will be elected". It basically forces people into committing to something rather than our standard no-lynch days. However, I don't think I did a good enough job making it clear that you would specifically have an "elected ability" in your role PM. Players with no elected abilities seemed to be under the impression that they would be granted some unknown power once elected. Everyone that had an elected ability knew what it was before they were elected. By the time the confusion became apparent, it was too late to just correct it in the game thread. Gorny's post EoD NK message (which was a joke, as he had no NK power) I think fed into the idea that people would be granted kill abilities if elected. It may have also made Leo a bit paranoid, as she decided to RB the elected player two nights in a row!
2. The quotes turned out better than I had expected. I wasn't sure if people unfamiliar with the show would be able to make much use of them, but again, you all nailed it with some of those quotes! As I wasn't sure how much participation we'd see, I didn't want to make it amount to anything that would "decide" the game. So, using them as the tie-break seemed like a good incentive without overshadowing the game play.
3. The game events were supposed to have included a third event: the White Stallion brought to market by Timond, but I didn't have any time at work the day when I intended to post that one.. Again, whoever responded with the correct answer quickest would be given bonus "quote points" for the day. Just another way I was trying to encourage/reward more active players. I tried to be fair about the time of day that I posted them, looking at what times most players were active.
4. This is by no means a criticism, just not what I expected. The biggest surprise for me was that everyone seemed to play a bit passively. But, now that I consider how everyone was unfamiliar with the new format, I guess it's not all that shocking. While planning, I kind of thought everyone who had an "elected ability" that they knew needed to be completed for their wincon to just come right out and say it. "Yo, elect me and I'll declare Caesar a public enemy!" Then, I wondered if everyone might start making up outrageous claims/counterclaims about what they'd do if elected. It seemed like a good opportunity for players to make up all kinds of wild abilities/stories about what they could do if elected.
Thinking that the voting would go "down party lines" once people declared what their intentions once elected would be, I was very careful to balance the voting 5 vs 4, then 4 vs 5 etc to make sure each team "had the votes" to get their objectives accomplished. It would have also led to a bit of a claim-chain. For example, D1 Cato claims to have public enemy power, Antony then claims to have veto power, forcing players to take sides. If Antony won, Pompey would have to claim RB power to block Antony's Veto etc. etc. As more claims are laid down, it makes it easier for Atia to target Servilia in Phase 2, and for Brutus to target Caesar in Phase 3. Again, not criticizing gameplay, as I would probably be very careful with what I divulge in an unfamiliar format as well. Just wanted to share what I was thinking as I designed the setup.
5. I don't know what a good balance of numbers would be, but I think it would be interesting to just play a straightforward Mafia game with this election mechanic. Whoever gets elected, chooses the "lynch" target. Mafia team still gets an NK ability. There would certainly have to be fewer scum players though. If you take our standard 7 vs 2 setup, you have a 2/9 (22.2%) chance of bagging scum with a D1 lynch. However, with an "election" setup, you only have 7/9 chance of electing a townie, and then that townie would have to choose a scum to lynch, at 2/8 odds. So, you're looking at 7/36 (19.44%) chance of getting a mafia lynch on D1 (assuming an elected Mafia is not going to lynch their partner) .. Every subsequent day would have worse odds than the standard mafia game vote-to-lynch setup.
If everyone is ok with it, we can open up the Role PMs again so you can read what each other's abilities were?
I think I basically posted everything in regards to the game setup, abilities, wincons etc. I did it all from memory on my cell, but don't think I forgot anything major. For anybody interested, Caesar's march would have went: Ravenna, crossing the Rubicon, then Rome. Pompey's was Corfinium, Capua, then Greece. Was really hoping to see the suicidal/sacrificial ability come into play.. @Skjolde, do you think you would have used it?
General Thoughts:
1. I really liked the election mechanic for a change. It was pretty clear that people were like.. "well, we gotta vote somebody.. otherwise so-and-so will be elected". It basically forces people into committing to something rather than our standard no-lynch days. However, I don't think I did a good enough job making it clear that you would specifically have an "elected ability" in your role PM. Players with no elected abilities seemed to be under the impression that they would be granted some unknown power once elected. Everyone that had an elected ability knew what it was before they were elected. By the time the confusion became apparent, it was too late to just correct it in the game thread. Gorny's post EoD NK message (which was a joke, as he had no NK power) I think fed into the idea that people would be granted kill abilities if elected. It may have also made Leo a bit paranoid, as she decided to RB the elected player two nights in a row!
2. The quotes turned out better than I had expected. I wasn't sure if people unfamiliar with the show would be able to make much use of them, but again, you all nailed it with some of those quotes! As I wasn't sure how much participation we'd see, I didn't want to make it amount to anything that would "decide" the game. So, using them as the tie-break seemed like a good incentive without overshadowing the game play.
3. The game events were supposed to have included a third event: the White Stallion brought to market by Timond, but I didn't have any time at work the day when I intended to post that one.. Again, whoever responded with the correct answer quickest would be given bonus "quote points" for the day. Just another way I was trying to encourage/reward more active players. I tried to be fair about the time of day that I posted them, looking at what times most players were active.
4. This is by no means a criticism, just not what I expected. The biggest surprise for me was that everyone seemed to play a bit passively. But, now that I consider how everyone was unfamiliar with the new format, I guess it's not all that shocking. While planning, I kind of thought everyone who had an "elected ability" that they knew needed to be completed for their wincon to just come right out and say it. "Yo, elect me and I'll declare Caesar a public enemy!" Then, I wondered if everyone might start making up outrageous claims/counterclaims about what they'd do if elected. It seemed like a good opportunity for players to make up all kinds of wild abilities/stories about what they could do if elected.
Thinking that the voting would go "down party lines" once people declared what their intentions once elected would be, I was very careful to balance the voting 5 vs 4, then 4 vs 5 etc to make sure each team "had the votes" to get their objectives accomplished. It would have also led to a bit of a claim-chain. For example, D1 Cato claims to have public enemy power, Antony then claims to have veto power, forcing players to take sides. If Antony won, Pompey would have to claim RB power to block Antony's Veto etc. etc. As more claims are laid down, it makes it easier for Atia to target Servilia in Phase 2, and for Brutus to target Caesar in Phase 3. Again, not criticizing gameplay, as I would probably be very careful with what I divulge in an unfamiliar format as well. Just wanted to share what I was thinking as I designed the setup.
5. I don't know what a good balance of numbers would be, but I think it would be interesting to just play a straightforward Mafia game with this election mechanic. Whoever gets elected, chooses the "lynch" target. Mafia team still gets an NK ability. There would certainly have to be fewer scum players though. If you take our standard 7 vs 2 setup, you have a 2/9 (22.2%) chance of bagging scum with a D1 lynch. However, with an "election" setup, you only have 7/9 chance of electing a townie, and then that townie would have to choose a scum to lynch, at 2/8 odds. So, you're looking at 7/36 (19.44%) chance of getting a mafia lynch on D1 (assuming an elected Mafia is not going to lynch their partner) .. Every subsequent day would have worse odds than the standard mafia game vote-to-lynch setup.
If anyone needs a reference to my insanity, take a gander at this:
I really enjoyed the election mechanic. It was as nice change of pace. Having it in a regular match would be interesting as well. Execution power. Would make the mafia team very cautious on which townie they would vote for.
That may be a good thing, as I think mafia has won each game this year?
That may be a good thing, as I think mafia has won each game this year?
Thank you for enlightening me, Leader!!!
