Alright, since we're not waiting for Vector, here's the deal: I'm going to tell you how to play. Everything I say in the top half of my posts is going to be in my "I can't lie" voice. That means I cannot play the game up here, above the horizontal line. If my post has no horizontal line, feel free to distrust everything about it.
At it's core, Mafia is a game about truths and lies. There are two players that know each other is Mafia, and three players that do not know each other is Town.
The Mafia know that the Town are Town, though, so this makes them an "Informed Minority". This allows them to use that information against everyone else. They must lie to the Town about what they know, inherently. It is a game of making truth from lies, and of getting the players to believe that you are Town. That is your goal as Mafia.
The Town do not know who the other Town are. They are the "Uninformed Majority". This means that they are unable to inherently trust the words of all the other players, since their knowledge of who they can and cannot trust is limited to what they can discern from a player. It is a game of finding truth, and of getting the players to believe that you are Town. That is your goal as Town.
Notice that these two goals are similar, in a way, but that does not make them the same. Both teams have allies, but only one can fully discern them.
And now onto the game.
This game has a bit of a unique twist to it. There are actually two routes we can go down. We can cement the trust of someone we wish to know to be Town (which may be useful towards the more experienced players), or we can test the alignment of another player (which may more likely find scum).
Luckyowl, Rose, and Secretdorf: Which of these routes more interests you, and why?
Vector: Take your time joining us. I won't be asking you questions while you're not here simply because it would be silly to give you homework.
Feel free to ask me questions. While this is technically my rodeo, but I want you to remember that the only words you can truly trust from me are above that fancy line in my post. I'm going to be acting more as a coach here, and correct any bad behavior or act as a model for you three.
Something such as this:
Rose is in my scumlist. Secretdorf's opening gives off an earnest claim where as rose post above felt reactive and fake. But prove me wrong. This game requires for all of us to talk so defend yourself.
Luckyowl, if I had said, "Darn, and I was mafia, too.", what would you be thinking then? What exactly stands out in that post that lets you believe Secretdorf? Which part was reactive and fake about Rose? Remember that while you're giving some defense here, your goal is also to get other people to believe you.