BluGame games · Rules and features

Mafia — rules and features in the BluGame app

4+ players

A hidden-role game in a mafia setting. Night actions, morning votes, and less certainty by the round about who you can trust — and the mafia has its own hierarchy: the Godfather decides the night's victim, and the Consigliere takes over when he is gone.

Rules

How to play Mafia

These are the same rules the app shows players in the game menu.

Goal

Two teams, hidden from each other: Townsfolk (the majority) versus the Mafia (the minority, who know each other from the start). Townsfolk win when they eliminate the entire mafia. The Mafia wins when its number equals (or exceeds) the number of remaining living players — it doesn't need to eliminate ALL the townsfolk, just outnumber the rest.

Roles and abilities

Roles are dealt once, at the start of the game, and never change for the rest of the match. The host sets the table's composition before starting — the number of Councilmen, the size of the mafia team (1-4 people), and whether Commissioner Cattani and the Doctor are in play. Councilman — no special action, their only power is their voice in discussion and voting. The mafia always has a hierarchy: the Godfather — the mafia's boss, his choice of victim is the one that counts every night, as long as he's alive. The Consigliere — takes over the deciding vote ONLY once the Godfather is dead; at larger mafia team sizes, Mafia Soldiers join too — with no deciding vote of their own, their strength is in numbers. All mafia members know each other from the start of the game. Commissioner Cattani (optional) — every night privately investigates one chosen player's role; only he sees the result, and he doesn't have to (and usually shouldn't) reveal it right away. Doctor (optional) — every night can pick one player to protect; if that player happens to be the mafia's target that night, they survive.

Night phase

Everyone "sleeps" — each screen shows only what's relevant to your own role. The Doctor (if in play) picks who to protect tonight. Commissioner Cattani (if in play) privately investigates a chosen player's role. Every living mafia member secretly proposes a victim — everyone in the mafia sees each other's proposals, the rest of the table sees nothing. The hierarchy decides: if the Godfather is alive, his proposal counts, no matter what the others proposed; only once he's dead does the deciding vote pass to the Consigliere. If the chosen victim happened to be protected by the Doctor, they survive the night with no visible sign of the attack.

Day phase

The table finds out who (if anyone) died overnight, then all living players vote secretly on who to eliminate. Whoever gets the most votes is eliminated from the table and their role is revealed to everyone. On a tied vote, or if most players abstain, no one is eliminated that day — night falls again.

Winning

The game ends immediately once one team's win condition is met — checked after every elimination, night or day, so a match can end right after the first night. The final screen reveals every player's role, not just the eliminated ones.

If a player disconnects

Losing connection is treated as eliminating that player, but — unlike a night or day elimination — their role is NOT revealed (they can no longer announce it themselves). The game can still determine a winner in this situation, but only once the result is certain regardless of which side the disconnected player was actually on — in rare cases this means a match can remain undecided.

Example

What a game looks like

Step by step, the way it plays out at the table.

Setting the scene

Five friends sit down at the table — three Councilmen, a Godfather, and a Consigliere, plus phones in hand. The host sets the composition (3 Councilmen, a two-person mafia team) and creates the table. After the silent SRA shuffle, everyone glances at their own screen: Kuba sees he's the Godfather, Ola sees she's the Consigliere, and that they belong to the same mafia — the rest of the table has no idea who's who. Out loud, at the table, nobody knows anything yet.

The first night

Screens dim into night mode — everyone sees only what concerns their own role. Kuba (the Godfather) and Ola (the Consigliere), knowing each other, quietly point at victims on screen — Kuba picks Marek, Ola initially picks Zosia, but since the Godfather is alive, only Kuba's proposal counts. The rest of the table just waits, staring at their phones, unaware that anything is happening.

Dawn and discussion

The screen announces: Marek is dead. That's all the app says — the ENTIRE rest of the morning happens at the table, out loud, not on screen. Who stayed quiet, who started suspecting first? Zosia notices that Ola suddenly went silent last night. Ola defends herself by pointing at Kuba. None of the players see any hints on screen — the whole social game, the bluffing and persuading, plays out between the people at the table, not in the phone.

Vote and resolution

After the discussion, everyone casts a secret vote on screen. Votes split between Ola and Kuba, a tie — no one is eliminated that day, night falls again. The following night the mafia picks a victim again, and in the morning the table votes once more, this time landing on Kuba — his role (the Godfather) is revealed to the whole table. Only Ola is left on the mafia's side — once she's eliminated too, the screen announces the Townsfolk's victory.

In the BluGame app

What the app does for you

What happens in the phones and what stays at the table.

The app is the narrator

The app runs the night and the day — nobody has to be the narrator or moderator, so everyone gets to play.

The app settles the hierarchy

The app itself decides whose choice of victim counts — the Godfather's, and the Consigliere's once he is gone — so the mafia doesn't have to argue at the table.

Roles only on your own screen

Roles are dealt quietly and everyone sees only what concerns their own role on their phone — mafia members see each other, the rest of the table sees nothing.

Secret votes

By day you vote secretly on screen; on a tie nobody is eliminated. Discussion, suspicion and bluffing stay at the table — the app only counts votes.

A disconnect counts as an elimination

Losing connection is treated as eliminating that player, without revealing their role; the app only declares a winner when the result is certain.

Composition and the final screen

The host sets the role lineup before the start, the app warns about an unbalanced lineup, and at the end it reveals everyone's roles.

Platform

The same in every BluGame game

No internet, no server

Phones connect directly over Bluetooth — game data never reaches the internet.

No account

You don't create an account or log in — you sit down and play.

Everyone in their own language

Each phone picks up its own language, so at one table everyone plays in theirs.

Custom

Standard and Custom

Standard is the full game for everyone. Custom is an option for venues and events — it adds the venue's logo and welcome text and a few extras.

In the Standard version

  • The full game, freeAll the rules described on this page, tables over Bluetooth, no account and no internet needed during play.

With Custom enabled

  • Venue logo and welcomeThe venue's logo and its own welcome text on the app's home screen.
  • Your own text on the gameA banner with the venue's own text (e.g. house rules, notes for players) on this game's screen.
  • App themeA ready-made visual theme for the whole app during a session at the venue.
  • Featured gameThe venue can highlight this game on the app home screen.

Custom doesn't change this game's rules — it adds the venue's logo, welcome text and house rules shown in the app.

Learn more about Custom →

More games

See the other games

Play Mafia

The app is free, with no account and no internet needed during play.

Get it on Google Play