Each night a small Mafia, who all know each other, quietly picks off one Townsperson. Each day the rest of the table, who know nothing, argue over who's guilty and vote to lynch a suspect. It runs until one side is wiped out, with a moderator keeping the night phases honest.
Mafia is a social-deduction party game that swings between night and day under a moderator's direction. Players are secretly split into a small Mafia who know each other and a larger Town who don't. Each night the Mafia silently agree on someone to eliminate, while Town roles like the Detective and Doctor take their own quiet actions. Each day the survivors pick over the latest death, argue about who might be Mafia, and vote to lynch a suspect, whose role is then revealed. Town wins by eliminating every last member of the Mafia. The Mafia wins the instant it reaches parity with the Town. It all comes down to discussion, deception, and reading the room, and it usually needs a moderator to run the nights and call the result.
The few who know what's going on. Mafia members recognise each other from the start, pick a victim together each night, and pass as ordinary Town by day.
WinReach parity with the Town. The Mafia wins the moment its numbers equal or exceed the surviving Town members.
The majority who are flying blind, ordinary citizens plus special roles like the Detective and Doctor. They don't know who the Mafia are and have to figure it out through discussion and the daily vote.
WinEliminate every member of the Mafia, whether by night deaths or daytime lynchings.
Wake the Mafia, Detective, and Doctor in turn, collect their secret targets, and resolve the night's actions.
Reveal who died in the night (or that the Doctor's protection saved the target) and reveal the eliminated player's role.
Privately confirm to the Detective whether the investigated player is Mafia or Town.
Tally the daytime votes, eliminate the player with the most votes, and reveal their role.
After each elimination, check whether the Mafia have reached parity or have all been eliminated, and declare a winner if so.
Feint is an independent host tool. Game names and rules belong to their designers and publishers. The links above point to official or canonical references.