During my formative years, my parents dragged me to dinner parties, where I was expected to mingle with other prepubescent, acne-ridden teenagers for hours on end. After the awkward small talk subsided, then came the question of how (in God’s name) we would pass the time. A moment of unwavering silence passed before a brave soul, braver than I, begged the question, “Did anyone bring cards?” More often than not, someone DID bring a card deck, in which case, we played an uninteresting card game with minimal drama. But when we were caught empty-handed, it was the bravest soul, no doubt a fire sign, who suggested the game of Mafia.
At its core, Mafia is a social deduction game with an informed minority and uninformed majority. The designated all-knowing God assigns each player a secret identity, one of four options: the Mafia, the Cop, the Angel, or a lowly commoner. As the game progresses, the players outwardly question each others’ identities, while defending their own. At the end of each round, the group votes off, or “kills,” a singular player on the hunch that he or she is the feared Mafia. Players make wild accusations and resort to overly defensive monologues in an effort to win over the mob. Understandably, feelings are hurt, and decade-long friendships are tested.
What I find most intriguing about Mafia is its unique ability to lay bare the group’s psychopaths, those individuals among us who use skillful persuasion to strategically manipulate the weakest link(s). Albeit a party game, the psychology of Mafia reflects that of mob mentality and the cult experience. A successful Mafia sways the mob to go against logic and reason and vote off a defenseless commoner in the same way that cult leaders brainwash their members to abandon their family, friends, and former ways of life. Cult leaders often “gaslight” their members, or gradually distort their realities, so much so that they no longer trust their own perception. Similarly, master Mafias condition the mob to ignore their gut instincts and trust the natural leader. The game of Mafia is perhaps one of the first avenues for such individuals to prey on impressionable minds, and so is bred a line of mass manipulators, who employ their good looks and natural charisma to achieve undying power and influence. Simply put, if you consistently do well as the Mafia, you possess the necessary skill set to be successful as a cult leader. If you do poorly as the Mafia, or you find yourself leaving the game with a host of new trust issues, you are generally more susceptible to manipulation and thus more likely to join a cult. Do with that theory what you will, and if you’d like to sleep soundly tonight, do NOT by any means read about the People’s Temple of the Disciples of Christ. Goodnight!
Unsolicited Takes 