Fucking scum hunting, how does it work?

[Gonzo]

These are open questions to anyone who has played mafia before. I would like to read what our experienced players think in a non-game thread atmosphere.

How do you approach scum hunting in mafia? How can a player scum hunt effectively?

[fragment]

I'm not a good scum spotter. I try to charge in and mix it up with a few people, in the hope that scum get unsettled and drop tells that those with better instincts will pick up on. I also go through post histories looking for cases where words don't match actions.

[Crumb]

I have no fucking clue.

[livius drusus]

Since scum have to talk shit, I like to look for vague, conflicting, grandiose statements and ask for elaboration. The more everyone talks, the better it is. Even if you don't catch scum that way right out of the gate, once a few cards have flipped that blather record can be very informative.

[Contrapposto]

Scummy's kids look just like scummy.
Townie's kids look just like townie.
Fuckin' metagamers - How do they work?
And I dont wanna talk to a scientist
Ya'll muthafucka's lyin' and gettin' me pissed!
It's a miracle!

I look for these kinds of things and don't even get me started about rainbows.

[Nightson]

To anyone playing in my game, don't like use examples from the ongoing game, but I have no problem with people posting about game theory.

[ravenscape]

I'm still trying to get the hang of scumhunting in the untimed game format.

In short games, there is a lot more pressure to participate, and the timed format forces snap judgements from town and scum. scum tend to make more mistakes for that reason. and so do town. the trick is sifting the motivation driving the mistakes.

I find it a lot harder to discern motivation in slow-paced games.

[Demimonde]

My biggest pings are when word does not match action. Scum aren't just simply liars, they are put in the position of being massive hypocrites. So the whole "do as I say not as I do" screams scummy for me.

My process is to question, question, question. It is difficult to keep a story straight if you have something to hide. Town should always be willing to answer, evasion is double plus scummy.

My observation from GMing is that scum typically ask broad general questions. Casting a wide net allows a Townie to pick a target from that set. If the person is town, the scummer can me-too while keeping the FOS at arm's length. This gives the perception they are scum hunting. Once the townie is lynched they can redirect the suspicion on the townie that picked that player among the set. Of course this observation is mostly based on raven's epic scum game and not scum as a rule.

[ravenscape]

I learned a lot about my scum tells playing that game. But, I think I tend to ask broad questions when I'm town, too. I like asking open-ended questions and seeing where they go.

I played another game as scum recently at TR. The nice thing this time was that the game only lasted about a week.

Town often loses track of stuff like voting records and sometimes town players will FoS someone early in the game and not come back to it and dig deeper as the game progresses. It's short attention span theater.

In FF games, the problem (for me) is the sheer volume of posts that mount up over time. I think the posts being in one thread also is troublesome (for me - not for people who are used to the game being in one thread). I think about games in terms of days, and I like to be able to find and reread a day from different perspectives. For some reason, the days run together mentally for me when they are physically in one thread.

[Fencesitter]

I'm very intuitive about scum spotting. In other words, I suck at it. Unlike the rest of life, I use more the more emotional side than the logical side and just get a "feel" for who sounds guilty.

I've won every game I've played, no thanks to me. And I haven't played a game here on FF before.

[divagreen]

I think that everybody has their own method.

I use a lot of meta, but I think that I rely mostly on lyrical content.

What I mean by this, is that a post should be contextual to the convo of what is happening in the thread. When it doesn't, it resonates as a clang. Scum know what is up, so they will <insert> comment in order to steer or prevaricate.

The comment does not quite mesh with what has previously followed...so I tend to look at that and pursue it.

Town will sometimes do this as well...but on day 1, I stand by that is the most likely that you will catch scum before they hit their deceptive little groove.

[ravenscape]

I think day 1 really is hard for scum. day 1 and 2 are usually the days where I feel the most ragged and out of sorts when I'm scum.

[Jerome]

How have you been feeling recently Raven?

intended for humor purposes only

[ravenscape]

actually pretty crappy. I caught a bad cold before Labor Day and it developed into bronchitis.

I also often feel ragged and out of sorts as town on day 1. but, I'm usually at my most out of sorts as town after the game has developed a bit. I tend to wifom myself to the point where I am spinning like a top somewhere in the midgame.

[Jerome]

I do hope you feel better soon, I know you have been fighting it for a while now. Take some time off, 36-48 hours, just do nothing but relaxing, tea and honey maybe. Watch a couple of movies you haven't seen in a while. Don't let us internets goobers keep you from healing.

[Gonzo]

goobers

[Demimonde]

Okay, quick question from a player who just doesn't get it.

What is the game theory behind the "why don't you lynch me then?" ploy? Insert "lynch me" with "vote me" or whatever. I have seen this from multiple players across multiple games and it has me wondering. Is it a cultural thing? Typically it occurs when one player asks another a question, or offers an explanation concerning that player. The player involved in the discussion offers this in lieu of actual feedback.

The image I get in my mind, when someone posts that, is Tony Montana with cocaine spilled down his shirt, screaming "Ju wanna piece of me?!!" with a machine gun in one hand and his penis in the other.

I am not certain what the rhetorical expectation is of the person speaking, nor what they intend to evoke in their audience. The above is my response, so I am curious about this phrase, what they mean, and how others take it. As a rhetorical situation, I am at a loss. And that is kinda my thing.

[Jerome]

its a call to throw the first punch, school yard ball grabbing nonsense

that's my read from where and when i have seen it

[Deadlokd]

Originally Posted by Demimonde

Okay, quick question from a player who just doesn't get it.

What is the game theory behind the "why don't you lynch me then?" ploy? Insert "lynch me" with "vote me" or whatever. I have seen this from multiple players across multiple games and it has me wondering. Is it a cultural thing? Typically it occurs when one player asks another a question, or offers an explanation concerning that player. The player involved in the discussion offers this in lieu of actual feedback.

The image I get in my mind, when someone posts that, is Tony Montana with cocaine spilled down his shirt, screaming "Ju wanna piece of me?!!" with a machine gun in one hand and his penis in the other.

I am not certain what the rhetorical expectation is of the person speaking, nor what they intend to evoke in their audience. The above is my response, so I am curious about this phrase, what they mean, and how others take it. As a rhetorical situation, I am at a loss. And that is kinda my thing.

I've seen it from town and scum but more often from scum. Take raven in the GitS game. How many times did she tell town to lynch her?

The meme I hate is the self-voting meme.

[Gonzo]

It's usually a revenge FOS for calling someone scummy without actually voting them. Essentially, 'if you think I am so scummy, why aren't you voting for me right now?'.

Used by scum it can be made into a tool to direct a player's votes around and to progress WIFOM/ suspicion on a player for a future lynch.

I think players say it to you, Demi, because they'd rather evade your questions than answer them sometimes. Especially when it comes down to semantics in an argument that has been underway for awhile and you are questioning a few people at one time (obviously only having one vote).

[Jerome]

Originally Posted by Demimonde

Okay, quick question from a player who just doesn't get it.

What is the game theory behind the "why don't you lynch me then?" ploy? Insert "lynch me" with "vote me" or whatever. I have seen this from multiple players across multiple games and it has me wondering. Is it a cultural thing? Typically it occurs when one player asks another a question, or offers an explanation concerning that player. The player involved in the discussion offers this in lieu of actual feedback.

The image I get in my mind, when someone posts that, is Tony Montana with cocaine spilled down his shirt, screaming "Ju wanna piece of me?!!" with a machine gun in one hand and his penis in the other.

I am not certain what the rhetorical expectation is of the person speaking, nor what they intend to evoke in their audience. The above is my response, so I am curious about this phrase, what they mean, and how others take it. As a rhetorical situation, I am at a loss. And that is kinda my thing.

This was worth bumping.