Course
Learn to read a club mafia table
206 short lessons — one idea each: a rule, a read or a move. Every lesson has its questions and ends at a table or a puzzle, and every lesson comes back once more, later and from memory — 412 lessons in all, 4–6 minutes each. 75 of the lessons are numbers this site's AI measured over 60,000 games, not opinions about mafia. Level one is free.
No account needed. No ads, no trackers, no cookies.
What you will be able to do
- Say something useful in your first minute at a club table, instead of freezing.
- Read a vote for what it is actually worth — including the 23 tells most players have learned backwards.
- Play against the town without the three habits that give a team away by day two.
- Count the endgame instead of guessing it.
- Follow the hand signs and the night agreement — the half of a club table that happens without words.
Who this is for
This course is for
- somebody going to a club table for the first time
- a player with 10–100 games who stopped getting better
- an organiser who has to teach newcomers every week
It is not for
- text mafia played online over days — a different game with a different vocabulary, and this course says so out loud
- somebody who only needs the rules, which are free in the guide
How one session works
- One idea at a time. A short read, one or two questions, and a table where the thing actually happens.
- The answers are not in this page. You are told which question you missed and why — a wrong answer is the lesson, not a score.
- A session you missed comes back later. Being made to produce an answer beats reading it again, every time it has been tested.
- It ends at a table. A measured session hands you the same deal the number was measured on — you are at that table this time, and a room that votes differently gives a different day.
Why trust the numbers
Every lesson marked measured is a statistic this engine produced over 60,000 games — not an opinion about mafia, a fact about this table. 23 of the 206 lessons reverse a tell that most players have learned backwards, which is the part you cannot get from playing more.
131 of the lessons are written — how a room reads a person, where the sources are named. 75 are measured — our AI played 60,000 games against itself and counted. The page always says which kind you are reading.
Two players who keep voting together against the room are mafia 59.3% of the time. Almost nobody looks.
The curriculum — all 412 lessons
Everything below is readable before you pay anything.
Theory and practice are the same course here: every session ends at a table dealt so its own situation comes up, and the coach then tells you whether you made the move.
1 Your first tableBeginner · 37 lessons Free
Ten people, and three of them are lying
Three players at your table know who their partners are, you and six others know nothing, and every hard thing about this game grows out of that one gap.
Nine bots, and what this table is for
This table deals nine bots and you, the same way a real club deals a table, so the habit you build here is the habit you bring there.
Somebody who pushed a player who turned out red
Ten levels, and how one closes
The course is ten levels of short sessions, and each level closes on three things at once — most of its sessions passed, one real game played, and a mixed final check.
Who is actually sitting there
Seven of the ten play for the town and three play against it, and exactly one player on each side gets a private question to ask at night.
Somebody who pushed a player who turned out black
What each card can actually do
Only two players at the table are asked a question at night, and each of them learns exactly one thing.
The evening has a rhythm, and it repeats
The evening runs in a loop — a day when everybody talks and votes, then a night when nobody speaks — and every loop hands you one new fact for free.
Two who went after everybody except each other
The first night, before anything has happened
The game opens with one silent night where nobody is removed, and then one round of talk.
Somebody who only ever follows the room
How each side wins
The town wins only by voting out all three, while the three win simply by surviving until their numbers match everybody else.
A name, then a hand
Anybody may put a name up during the day, the table then votes on the names in the order they arrived, and a hand that stays down counts for the last name called.
The last thing a dying player said
When the votes split evenly
A tie gives each tied player another half minute and then a second vote between just the two of them, and that half minute is where the tie is won or lost.
A tie that repeats is settled all at once, not name by name
When a re-vote ties again on the exact same names, the table stops voting on individuals and asks one yes-or-no question: does a real majority want every one of them gone at once?
Somebody letting whole rounds pass without naming anyone
Four fouls, and your game is over
A judge can give you a foul, and four of them end your game — three ordinary ones cost you a turn, two specific ones end it on the spot with no warning.
The four sentences a new player needs
A first-time player freezes at the table not because mafia is hard, but because the room expects four exact phrases nobody explained — nominate, end your turn, address the judge, and hold your vote.
Two who keep voting together against the room
Three questions to ask before your first game
Every club plays a slightly different game, and three short questions remove almost all of the confusion.
A second sheriff claim — one of the two is lying
Your first game: what to actually do
Name one player and give one reason — that is a complete first game, and it is enough.
Remember the table without a single note
A written record rarely survives a real table, but a seat already known by heart does — hang one fact on each chair, and test the hook a few seconds after every speech.
A sheriff claim nobody has challenged
Reading a player by their normal, not by one quiet round
The same nine kinds of player show up at almost every table, and a quiet round means something different for each one — read the kind before you read the silence.
Leaving the table is still a move
Whoever is voted out or shot gets a full minute to speak, and under tournament rules their card is never shown.
Somebody who only ever follows the room — on day two
Three names from the first player shot
The first player removed at night gets twenty seconds to name three players they believe are against the town.
Somebody who pushed a player who turned out red — on day one
When there are more than four cards
Many clubs add a role or two, and the extras are usually about protecting somebody or acting alone.
Your hands can foul you before you say a word
At a real club table people talk with their hands too, and the first rule is simple: hands moving outside your own minute count as excessive gesturing, and that is a foul.
The last thing a dying player said — on day two
Reading a seat number off a hand
A number held up at chest height names a seat, and because one open palm always means five, anything above five takes two hands.
Each of the four cards has a hand sign
Each of the four cards has its own hand sign, and a sheriff who comes out often shows the sign as well as saying the word.
Somebody letting whole rounds pass without naming anyone — on day two
An English-speaking table plays a different game
Most English mafia writing describes a version played in text over several days, so its vocabulary only half fits a live table.
2 How to sit at a club tableAdvanced · 24 lessons
The lessons of this level. They open with the course.
Nobody can take your minute
Two who keep voting together against the room — on day two
The mistake everybody makes in their first hour
The name inside a sheriff claim — on day two
Never ask the table to believe you as a person
How to vote so nobody has to correct you
Somebody who pushed a player who turned out red — after a civilian flips
Disagreeing with the judge without paying for it
How to disagree with a ruling — on paper, not at the table
Somebody who pushed a player who turned out red — after a mafioso flips
What happens behind the mask at night
What actually counts as a foul
Somebody who only ever follows the room — after a mafioso flips
Three fouls, then a fourth that removes you
Two who keep voting together against the room — after a mafioso flips
An insult or a swear word ends your game on the spot
Switching languages to hide a sentence ends your game
Somebody who only ever follows the room — after a civilian flips
What the first player shot earns in twenty seconds
Say what you checked before you leave the table
Somebody letting whole rounds pass without naming anyone — after a civilian flips
Nobody at the table is owed your role
The name inside a sheriff claim — after a mafioso flips
The words that cost you before anyone has doubted you
3 Your first ten gamesAdvanced · 18 lessons
The lessons of this level. They open with the course.
Your first ten games are reconnaissance
A second sheriff claim — one of the two is lying — after a mafioso flips
Look at who was pushing them yesterday
Saying nothing is the loudest thing you can do
Two who went after everybody except each other — by day four
Two columns that out-argue memory by day three
Where you sit in the order is information
The last thing a dying player said — on day three
What the night just handed you for free
Somebody who pushed a player who turned out red — by day four
What to say when you have nothing to say
Say why before you say who
Somebody who only ever follows the room — on day three
The question that is hard to fake
Going out first says something about the night, not about you
Somebody who only ever follows the room — by day four
An early vote nobody can explain is still a vote that removes somebody
Somebody letting whole rounds pass without naming anyone — on day three
4 How you come acrossAdvanced · 18 lessons
The lessons of this level. They open with the course.
You are not being read. Your demeanour is.
The room believes a person it likes
Two who keep voting together against the room — on day three
Pressing somebody without turning the room against you
Play the same way whatever card you are holding
The name inside a sheriff claim — on day three
How you sound is doing half the work
Eye contact tells you nothing, and everybody uses it anyway
The name inside a sheriff claim — by day four
The four other reasons a table believes you
Somebody who pushed a player who turned out red — and two who went after everybody except each other
Two theories about who is allowed to be nervous
Three speech habits that separated mafia from bystanders in a real count
Somebody who pushed a player who turned out red — and somebody who only ever follows the room
A room believes people by default, and that is the mafia's biggest asset
What to do in the minute after you are accused
Somebody who pushed a player who turned out red — and the last thing a dying player said
The game after the game you lost badly
5 Between the gamesAdvanced · 21 lessons
The lessons of this level. They open with the course.
A good move and a good result are different things
Somebody who only ever follows the room — and two who went after everybody except each other
Losing five in a row means almost nothing
Somebody who only ever follows the room — and the last thing a dying player said
Three questions after every game
Know what the table already thinks of you
Two who went after everybody except each other — and somebody letting whole rounds pass without naming anyone
When to stop guessing what they think you think
What a bad loss does to your next vote
Somebody who pushed a player who turned out red — and two who keep voting together against the room
Keep one running note on every seat, never a fresh guess
Somebody who pushed a player who turned out red — and the name inside a sheriff claim
Your suspect list has a size, and it is not infinite
What a rating actually measures
Somebody who only ever follows the room — and somebody letting whole rounds pass without naming anyone
Part of your score is somebody's opinion
A season pays back a run of bad luck
Somebody who pushed a player who turned out red — and a second sheriff claim — one of the two is lying
When two ratings tie, what breaks it
Preparing for a tournament is mostly not about mafia
The name inside a sheriff claim — and two who went after everybody except each other
6 The day, minute by minuteVeteran · 16 lessons
The lessons of this level. They open with the course.
The first seconds of the morning
The last thing a dying player said — and somebody letting whole rounds pass without naming anyone
Opening the table before evidence exists
What your minute is actually for
Somebody who only ever follows the room — and a second sheriff claim — one of the two is lying
A vote is the only thing you cannot take back
Splitting the vote, and when it is a mistake
Two who went after everybody except each other — and two who keep voting together against the room
Speaking early: give the room something to react to
Two buckets for every tell you notice
Somebody who pushed a player who turned out red — and somebody letting whole rounds pass without naming anyone
Read which name a hand went to, not just whose it was
The last thing a dying player said — and two who keep voting together against the room
When the word and the hand disagree, trust the hand
Building a team when you get no night to plan in
Somebody letting whole rounds pass without naming anyone — and two who keep voting together against the room
7 The cards, playedVeteran · 22 lessons
The lessons of this level. They open with the course.
The sheriff's first check, when nothing is known
Who a sheriff should not bother checking
The name inside a sheriff claim — and a second sheriff claim — one of the two is lying
Pointing at a check without claiming
The name inside a sheriff claim — and somebody letting whole rounds pass without naming anyone
A sheriff comes out at one of four moments, not whenever it feels right
The circle where everybody passes on purpose
A second sheriff claim — one of the two is lying — and somebody letting whole rounds pass without naming anyone
Why the don makes the most convincing fake sheriff
How to test a claim without arguing about it
The name inside a sheriff claim — and two who keep voting together against the room
When the game restarts in the middle
A cleared seat still owes the table a voice
A second sheriff claim — one of the two is lying — and two who keep voting together against the room
What a sheriff says, and in what order
Somebody who pushed a player who turned out red — with two sheriff claims
How a claim has to sound to be believed
The don is looking for one person, and it is not a civilian
Somebody who only ever follows the room — with two sheriff claims
Two sheriffs, and one of them is lying
The claim nobody argued with
Somebody who only ever follows the room — with a sheriff claim standing
8 Playing against the townVeteran · 17 lessons
The lessons of this level. They open with the course.
The first circle decides your game
A second sheriff claim — one of the two is lying — with two sheriff claims
Build a wrong read you can defend all evening
Throwing your own partner under the bus
A sheriff claim nobody has challenged — with a sheriff claim standing
Covering a partner without standing next to them
Spotting the player who is actually doing the town's work
The name inside a sheriff claim — with a sheriff claim standing
Choosing who goes tonight
The don's first check, and what a "no" is worth
A second sheriff claim — one of the two is lying — with a sheriff claim standing
Check the target before you shoot it
Two who keep voting together against the room — with two sheriff claims
Winning some days by adding nothing at all
The kill that would only prove them right
Two who keep voting together against the room — with a sheriff claim standing
The room is not only listening to your words
9 The endgameVeteran · 21 lessons
The lessons of this level. They open with the course.
The count that ends the game
The name inside a sheriff claim — with two sheriff claims
The critical round changes what everything means
The town gets one mistake, and only one
Somebody who only ever follows the room — in the critical round
A missed night gives you a whole mistake back
Two who went after everybody except each other — with three or four left
Count the table out loud, every day
Three left, and one of them is lying to two people
Somebody who pushed a player who turned out red — with three or four left
When two votes land exactly equal
Counting the split, seat by seat
Somebody who only ever follows the room — with three or four left
Balance: voting a guaranteed pair in the right order
Somebody who pushed a player who turned out black — in the critical round
Balance is a real move. Three reasons for it are not.
Three unchanged nights end the game
Two who keep voting together against the room — in the critical round
The check that wins the game by arithmetic alone
The guessing round ends before the game does
Somebody letting whole rounds pass without naming anyone — in the critical round
10 Hands and the night agreementVeteran · 12 lessons
The lessons of this level. They open with the course.
Your hands are a second voice
Why the night agreement exists at all
The name inside a sheriff claim — with three or four left
Your hands are only legal in your own minute
The name inside a sheriff claim — in the critical round
What a hand gesture is doing
Two signs together are a sentence
A sheriff claim nobody has challenged — in the critical round
Three ways to agree, from simplest to hardest
A named system is your club's own code
A second sheriff claim — one of the two is lying — in the critical round
A night is several signs read as one chain
The first level is free
The whole first level is free — 37 lessons, no account, no card. It is the level that takes somebody who has never sat at a club table to their first game: what the game is, who is at the table, how a day runs, and the four sentences a new player needs.
Want to drill this on its own? The table-memory trainer — free, no account.
Prefer the whole rulebook in one page? The guide — or the hand signs, every sign on one page. Both free, no account.
A table after the lesson
Playing is free and unlimited, for ever — with or without the course. Nine bots deal the same way a club deals a table, and a measured lesson hands you the exact deal its number came from.
What it costs
$5.99 CAD a month, or $49 a year. That opens all 412 lessons, every crossing, the revision schedule and the practice tables. Level one stays free for ever, and so does playing. Cancel any time — the full price page.
Reviews
There are none yet, and we did not invent any. The course opened in 2026 and nobody has written one. Instead of borrowed praise, three things you can check yourself: the whole first level is free and needs no account, the entire curriculum is on this page before you pay anything, and every measured number here came from 60,000 games our AI played against itself. When real students write, their words go here with their names on them.
Questions
Do I need to know how to play mafia?
No. The first level starts at what the game is and who is sitting there.
How long is one lesson?
4 to 6 minutes: one idea, a question or two, and a table.
Is this online or forum mafia?
No — club mafia: ten seats, a judge, one evening. The course says where the two differ.
What does “measured” mean?
75 of the lessons are statistics our AI produced playing 60,000 games against itself, not opinions about mafia.
Do I need an account?
Not for the free level. For the paid course, yes — that is where your progress lives.
Which languages?
English, Ukrainian, Russian. The course switches whole, not half.
Will it make me win more?
It will make you wrong for better reasons. Nobody honest can promise a win rate at a table of ten people.
Is there an app?
Web and a phone app, the same account and the same progress.
Can I cancel?
Any time, in one click, and the free level and the game stay yours.
Start where everybody starts
Level one, 37 lessons, no account and no card.