I'm starting this as a separate thread, because we have something to talk about.

The first order of business... Mafia 20.

As we all know, the 20th game hangs in the balance, and with my increasingly busy schedule, I have yet been unable to find the time to start the game. And looking over my schedule, I do not see an end in sight.

The soonest we might be able to host this 20th version of Mafia is this upcoming Summer/Fall, when I finally get off from school that I start next week. With that being the opportune time, I'm aiming for a mid-June to late-July start time at this juncture.

If you are looking to play in the 20th Mafia (which will only be open to players who have played at least once, as it is a special version), you will want to be online at that period of time.

The next order of business, is slightly less fun to talk about, and it's the future of Mafia on Vizzed. I have barely any time to get started on Mafia 20, which is a very important game for me. Everything equal, I have reason to believe 20 will be the last game I host for a very very long time.

As such, we need to discuss the future of Mafia.

Should it end entirely? Should I begin auditioning the successor, to find the heir to the future of the game? Any other suggestions that I might not be thinking of?

Mafia 20, as it stands, is the last game I 100% plan to do. I had this same feeling around Mafia 10, and I passed the game off to both silverthundr and the_casualty for five rounds. I've told myself for a long time, that if I were ever going to choose a new host, it would be after a set of 5 or 10 games has been completed. And if I don't choose a new host now, I won't choose one until Mafia 25. And with how long Mafia 20 is taking to start, I'm not sure it would be wise to wait that long, since it may be literal years without a Mafia game at that point.

The only thing that I care about, is that Mafia stays in Innocent Town, and that if there is a new host, long-term, it's a good successor who will embrace exactly what Mafia is all about on Vizzed. They will not be allowed to alter the rules as they see fit, and will need to have a strong understanding of the game as it presently stands.

That's not to say they won't get to inject rules at all, but all rule changes would need to be approved by me, since the last time I let someone host by their own rules, it led to the game changing, and players being confused once they changed back.

No matter how complex and complicated the game may have been, it was a lot of fun, so I feel that you should try to find someone to take over for you sp that the game can live on. I only played in 2 I think and had a blast and would hate to see something that was this fun and successful die.

I've known you have been busy for a while now, so the lack of Mafia 20 didn't come as a surprise. Nonetheless, I'm already getting excited for July.

As for the future of Mafia, I do think you should find someone you trust to hand it off to. When you've handed it off in the past, you very purposefully only chose current mods of the forum to host Mafia, which made sense at the time. Yet, I feel like those games lacked the excitement that most Mafia games have, simply because the hosts were not as invested as you always are.

With that all said, you should definitely set some strict criteria for the next host. Obviously, these will be up to you, but here are a few I think would be key...

-Previously played in multiple games of mafia (duh)
-Someone you know well enough to trust
-Someone who can devote the time to the game that it will require (and be purposeful about it, not just putting in the time to be popular or whatever)
-Someone as enthusiastic about mafia as you are
-last, but not least, someone with creativity

In my opinion, choosing someone who doesn't fulfill all of the conditions you set would be counter-productive. Don't settle. If you can't find the right person, don't hand it off at all.

mrfe :

The issue is, that by that rubric, literally everyone is disqualified.

There are a handful of people who have played in enough mafia games that I know they understand the rules and how the game works. I'm of the opinion, that if you have played in at least 8 games of my Mafia, that you likely have a solid understanding.

That would knock down the initial candidate list down to the following

mlb789 - 17
pacman1755 - 17
sonicmcmuffin - 15
MegaRevolution1 - 14
totaldramaman2 - 13
megamanmaniac - 11
silverthundr - 11
drag00n365 - 9
Fallman7 - 8
Seishiro Leonhart - 8
soxfan849 - 8

Of those 8, you can easily eliminate soxfan, Seishiro, Fallman7, drag00n, silverthundr, totaldramaman2, MegaRevolution1, and mlb789 for the reason of activity.

pacman1755 - 17
sonicmcmuffin - 15
megamanmaniac - 11

That alone knocks the list down to three people, one of which is the host of Murder Mystery, one of whom I don't trust to be nearly as enthusiastic about the game, and someone I just don't really know.

In short, I can't hand the game off to any one of those three.

Even if I were to relax my standards a bit, and open the field to people who played at least five times, I'm left with the above list plus:

AuraBlaze - 7
crazycatpup - 7
earthwarrior - 7
Morsalbus - 7
Surgiac - 7
alexanyways - 6
darthyoda - 6
KG - 6
Snowdeath - 6
tj4bigred - 6
mrfe - 5
patar4097 - 5
Someone70 - 5
the_casualty - 5
UserMike - 5
WarpStarFerret - 5
Xenthou - 5

AuraBlaze, crazycatpup, earthwarrior, Morsalbus, Surgiac, alexanyways, darthyoda, KG, tj4bigred, Someone70, the_casualty, UserMike, WarpStarFerret, and Xenthou are all too inactive to be a reliable host, which just leaves a handful of people left:

Snowdeath - 6
mrfe - 5
patar4097 - 5

And of those three, one I again, don't know at all that well, one I'm not sure I could trust with the game, and one I don't think has the time that I think it would require.

In short, there's nobody who would fit those qualifications, even though those are probably the ones I'd roll with.

legacyme3 : By your own admission, though, it will be a while until Mafia 20 starts, and therefore a while until it completes. Perhaps someone on the list will better fit your criteria by then.

To make clear the point of my previous post, though, I was merely encouraging you to set clear standards for the next host. If you don't pick the right person, as determined by a number of factors, then you'll regret it later on.

As for solid understanding of the mechanics of the game, I feel like you can play 5 games and still have a relatively sufficient understanding. Receiving a PM from you that clearly outlines the rules and mechanics of the game (which, knowing you, is likely to come regardless of experience) will make up for any lack of experience that 3 games allows.

mrfe : I think leggy is capable of knowing what is needed for the next host to be successful... 

Another factor is the state that vizzed will be in 6 months... You never know it might cease to exist... or if some members will return etc...

there's too many variables to think about the successor at this moment in time. 

Heck leggy might have changed his mindset by then.. but meh... it does well to not dwell on small things like this

Let's just enjoy the games and the memories.,.. regardless of what happens. 

Tyrian Delirium :

Right, a lot can happen between now and just next month, let alone six months from now, when all of what I'm talking about will most likely come to pass.

But I like having contingencies in place, and having an active dialogue this early can only help us come to a clearer resolution as a unit.

And that's what IT is. It's a unit. A unit that has always thrived on the community togetherness and being honest with what is to come and what currently is.

I'll be here for twenty whenever it is. I doubt the board will double over and die from inactivity by then.

I'm down for #20. I know I haven't done many of these but I always found the complexity to be quite interesting.

Also, I think it should retire after this until you have time to do another one. I don't see any point in passing it off to someone who isn't going to understand or do as good of a job as you have.

I hope mafia isn't discontinued. Mafia and Murder Mystery are the two main reasons I'm still on vizzed. I suppose mafia #20 would be a nice way to end it, but I'd still like to see it be continued by more mafia games. I think you should pass Mafia onto a successor.

Popeye116 :

After discussions with people I would even consider for hosting duties, I've come to the conclusion that I will not be passing off the game.

If no one steps forward that I trust to carry the legacy, I will just as soon end the series after Mafia 20, unless I suddenly come into more time, which I don't plan on happening.

I'm now too busy with college and work, and my other hobbies. This is literally the first time I've been free for a couple hours for a full week, and Mafia requires me to be paying attention at all times, to best tell a somewhat cohesive story with all the variables given.

TL;DR - I don't trust anyone who is active, and all the non-active people I do trust won't become active, so the game is staying with me, and whether it lives or dies, is based on whether or not I have time.