All Youth Group Games

Mafia 🤫

A murder mystery game where players must try to identify the mafia membes.

Materials
None
Ages
11 to 14 15 to 17 18+
Group Size
6 - 15 16 - 30
Categories
Circle Indoor Quick and Easy Elimination
Duration
16 - 30 31 - 60
Players sit in a circle and one player is the facilitator. The facilitator tells everyone to go to sleep (put their head down) and selects (taps on the head) 2 mafia members. The facilitator does the same for 1 doctor and 1 detective.

The facilitator then tells the mafia members to wake up (put their head up). The facilitator asks the mafia members who they want to kill and the two, using non-verbals, decide upon one person. The facilitator then tells the mafia to go to sleep.

The facilitator then tells the doctor to wake up. The facilitator asks the doctor who he or she wants to save, the doctor points, and then the facilitator tells the doctor to go to sleep.

The facilitator then tells the detective to wake up and asks the detective who he or she wants to arrest. The detective points, and then the facilitator tells the detective to wake up.

The facilitator then tells the townspeople (everyone) to wake up. The facilitator then tells the story of what happened last night. The facilitator can come up with an elaborate story of what happened but the basic storyline is one of the following:

- The mafia killed someone
- The doctor saved someone
- The detective caught someone

The townspeople can then vote on who they think the mafia member in the circle is. After making an accusation, the facilitator can call for a vote. If more than 50 percent vote to remove that member, then that member, regardless of if he or she was the mafia, is killed. From that point on, that member watches the game and sees all the actions that occur while the townspeople are asleep.

If one or two of the mafia members are the last in the game, the mafia win. If the mafia members are eliminated before the townspeople, the townspeople win.
Compiled & designed specifically for you by Jon VerLee