The Game of Mafia: A Meandering Exposé, Pt I.
Excitement stirs in the forum. The moderator has updated the game! The players pry their way into the thread, and quickly scroll their way to the newest post. There they find a lengthy and deliciously composed post, and tearing the sentences apart with their eyes and minds, discover the facts that might propel the game from the silence and confusion of the last few days. One player cries out in shock, perhaps disappointed, or even upset. Another silently smiles, and adds a blithe comment. Others pounce with responses, and once again, chaos and conflict break out in full force.
In fora across the internet, people young and old are enjoying games of Mafia. This author now sets upon the daunting task of assessing the secret of its success, with the FPH community as the focus of his studies. Complex community dynamics, a unique comedic culture, make this community an especially interesting study. He hopes, if he may set his star so high, to answer such long-standing questions as: Why do people play (by the rules)? How do they know who to trust? What makes a winner?
To begin our exposé, we fix our eyes to the ground, piercing the heart of the humble newbie, The Cheese Man.
PoE: Tell us about your FPH Mafia career.
TCM: Well, I am really quite awful at the game. I’ve never won.
PoE: And why do you always fail?
TCM: I can’t handle the responsibility. It’s a daunting task, concealing my role, discovering information, not cracking under the pressure of their… inquisitions. Sometimes I wonder if I’m cut out for it.
PoE: Interesting, go on.
TCM: I can write and direct the stories alright, but when you get thrown into the ring it’s an entirely different game. People scrutinize what you say, because they know as much as you do. You lose control over how things precipitate from a single mistake. I really want to win a game, but that sort of tension just kills me.
PoE: Would you like to tell us more about that?
TCM: Well, Doc, I feel that everytime I’ve lost, it’s been a mistake that I made. I don’t know what the right thing to do is. I just want to know that I’m playing it correctly, and I want other players to understand that I’m trying. It’s so difficult, I know that just one false step could send me over the edge. It’s such an unforgiving game. I’m trying to figure out, but I need help, I can’t figure out how to win. It’s like there’s this secret that everyone else is in on, Doc, and I can’t get to it. I feel so left out.
PoE: How did you know they called me ‘Doc’?
TCM: Beg pardon?
PoE: Doc. You called me ‘Doc’ twice just now.
TCM: I did?
PoE: Yeah. My parents call me Doc sometimes, you know, like in the Bugs Bunny cartoons. But how did you know?
TCM: Well I guess I probably heard your mom call you that.
zing! The Meandering Exposé continues sometime, hopefully it will be less embarrassing then.