Play Town of Salem? Give me your tips/strategies and stories!

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

So I've spent an evening playing this game, I'm thinking about paying for the steam copy to skip the ads.

I've had some fun with it, I've managed to have a win as a godfather, almost won as a serial killer but Ive still no idea how to win as a townie(if I can't communicate without revealing to the evil classes if I'm worth killing how do they catch serial killers/mafia?)

I can see a lot of potential fun in the jester, it's basically a free pass to troll the group, but at the same time I seem to just end up murdered.

So feel free to chat about the game if you play it!

 

[Schadrach]

I've gotten a win as every role except Escort, Werewolf, and Retributionist.

To be fair, I've never been Retributionist.

As far as Jester, the trick is to be subtle. You want to look suspicious, without being *too* suspicious. The best defense to give when on trial as a Jester is to be honest, because no one will believe it.

As a townie, document everything you know in your will. Including your name (this screws over Disguisers). Don't be too afraid to say what you know -- if you are the only one revealing yourself then smart Doctors/BGs will protect you. If you're jailor, play close to the chest, but again, document *everything* in your will.

If you're mafia, listing a townie's name in your own will can throw them off, if they get too used to the wrong name = disguiser reflex.

Transporters are tricky to play well -- ideally, you want to pick people you think are likely mafia and spaw them with people you think are likely mafia targets. If you get a couple of mafia kills that way, start mocking them. They're likely to attack you, so you swap yourself with suspected mafia. This infuriates them further.

If an Escort is killed by SK, lynch whoever they last visited. It's *possible* that the SK just picked them, but it's marginally more likely that Escort visited SK, and it's always better to lynch someone than not if you have any supporting evidence to make it better than chance. In classic, it's always better to lynch someone than not, unless you're running out of townies.

 

[Saetha]

I was talked into making an account by a friend. Played one game as a mafioso. Had no idea what was going on. Somehow lasted until the final four until I was killed because "The Oracle named me" or something.

Quit and never played again. Seriously, where the hell is the rulebook for this game?

 

[MerlinCross]

I was talked into making an account by a friend. Played one game as a mafioso. Had no idea what was going on. Somehow lasted until the final four until I was killed because "The Oracle named me" or something.

Quit and never played again. Seriously, where the hell is the rulebook for this game?

I find this kinda funny given your avatar is from another 'rulebook' game.

Town of Salem is one you probably should do research on before and during play. People who know of "Mafia" games and any game along those lines(here's a group of people, some bad people are trying to win, hang them and don't get outnumbered by them) should be able to pick up the rules pretty well.

 

[DarkRawen]

Most of my wins has been as mafia and jester, honestly. Town always seems to be failing in my experience. Won once as SK, though, which was neat. It's been quite a while since I was jester, but the three times I was, I managed to get hung and win.

Basically, what I did was to claim to be an unlikely role without going too far, not speaking too much, and try to offer as much (false) info as possible. Makes people dislike you, yet you're not being annoying enough for the mafia/SK to just outright murder you. Once I almost got the sheriff killed by claiming to be sheriff as well, because they believed me more than the other sheriff. Whooops. I did manage to get lynched, though.

Another time, I got lynched, died, attacked a random person during the night, who turned out to be a jester as well, which was awesome, because they were pissed.

Sadly, I don't play it anymore, but it was a great amount of fun when I did.

 

[Saetha]

I was talked into making an account by a friend. Played one game as a mafioso. Had no idea what was going on. Somehow lasted until the final four until I was killed because "The Oracle named me" or something.

Quit and never played again. Seriously, where the hell is the rulebook for this game?

I find this kinda funny given your avatar is from another 'rulebook' game.

Town of Salem is one you probably should do research on before and during play. People who know of "Mafia" games and any game along those lines(here's a group of people, some bad people are trying to win, hang them and don't get outnumbered by them) should be able to pick up the rules pretty well.

Don't Starve might require a lot of learning as you play, but the main objective and basic mechanic are pretty clear - collect shit and don't starve. I know what to work towards, even if I'm not always sure how.

I had no idea what was going on in Town of Salem. I had no idea what I wanted to do or what I could do. I spent half the game trying to help the townies find the murderer because I thought that was my job. I mean, I like games where there's a lot of trail and error, a lot of "What happens if I put X in Y?" The feeling of experimenting and exploring is great. But I also like games where I'm not wondering what the point of it all is, where I don't spend half the play-through just trying to figure out what I'm working towards.

 

[MerlinCross]

snip

Eh fair enough. Maybe it's because I have played games like it that let me understand how the game plays better than others.

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

Yeah Last Wills are actually really powerful. All your information gathered plus a definitive confirmation you are the role you claim to be is powerful.

I caught a serial killer last night as jailor by recording notes on who I jailed and when. The serial killer killed me because I let him go free but everyone immediately knew it was him.

 

[GoodOmens]

ToS is a fun game absolutely infested by horrible, horrible people. Do your best to ignore the childish, racist, homophobic, misogynistic character names and chat messages.

I have to jump on the "use the Will" bandwagon. Write down everything that is useful. Document who you contact, who you heal, who you escort, who you interrogate as Sheriff, whatever. Just keep in mind...if you are killed in the night, any changes to your will that you make during the night will not be shown. So if you change your mind about who you're going to investigate or whatever, the information can throw off your teammates.

Keep careful track of what roles are in the game, especially if you're Mafia. You need a convincing alibi. Good choices for fake roles tend to be things like Medium, where it's hard to prove that you aren't what you say you are. Medium can just claim that the dead people aren't talking. Sheriff can claim that you haven't found anyone suspicious. Making a fake will as a Mafia member can be helpful, so that you can copy/paste something quickly in case people think you're suspicious.

If you don't mind some meta-gaming, check out http://town-of-salem.wikia.com/wiki/Town_of_Salem_Wiki:Main_Page, especially the advice about roles. It's not perfect but it's a good start.

Know what roles are night immune: Arsonist, GF, SK, Executioner. Remember that just because the Mafia didn't kill on a given night, that DOESN'T mean they didn't try (same for SK). Someone might have gotten healed, someone was roleblocked, the target was immune.

If you're Mafia, don't use each other's names in chat unless you know there's not a Spy. Don't pretend to rat out your fellow Mafia members in your will and use fake names to throw off the town; it's bush league and they'll see right through it.

Seriously, horrible people.

 

[freaper]

I've found the medium to be anything but conducive to a great Werewolves experience. Not being able to see other people's faces just makes all targeting seem (even more) random. The discussion time is usually a joke, and winning is often just dumb luck, no matter what side you're on. That doesn't mean I haven't had fun with it, but I sure as hell wouldn't pay for the game.

Also, the Medium's curse is real.

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

How well does trying to tell people 'George is immune' in your death note work as mafioso? It's logical that the mafia wants the serial killer lynched but pretty much my first instinct is to use it to get a random townie lynched. It doesn't take long to think about lieing about it though.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

Are you a jester? Be as obnoxious or intentionally stupid as possible. In my experience it works pretty well. Or just be friendly and hope there's a couple big killing roles in the game while hoping you don't get killed until the end and then say how dumb everyone is. Pretty common to hang at that point. I also almost got hung by immediately claiming Jester at the beginning of the game even though it's the dumbest possible thing you can do. Luckily for the rest of the town, they weren't THAT stupid.

Honestly, I'm really bad at the game, because a lot of it is based on deception, and I have a lot of trouble actually being dishonest to people. Usually means I don't do so hot. I just try to make silly names. Though my definition of silly probably isn't always appropriate to some folks here.

[sub]needs more Escapist-only Town of Salem games[/sub]

 

[GoodOmens]

As Jester, I will usually whisper to one or two people, selected largely at random unless I can find the Investigator or Sheriff early, something like "Help me get lynched and I promise not to kill you." That way I accomplish several things...I look suspicious, so the town might decide I'm Mafia. Hopefully the person I contact decides to play along, and if so they can help me get lynched. Or, worst case scenario, that person looks suspicious and gets lynched, which speeds up the game, which I appreciate because I don't like playing Jester.

I've never gone for playing the "wacky annoying" style of Jester. It's just not for me, but it can work very well when you're NOT Jester to convince people that you are. I've survived at least one game as a Sheriff by acting like an 11 year old.

 

[EmperorZinyak]

As Jester, I find that the best tactic is to be obnoxious without being overtly so. On day one, I asked "so how's everyone doing?" and other pointless questions in chat and got lynched. Another favorite strategy is to ask what the bloody note at the top of your screen means.

As Exe, I usually claim to be a medium, since from my experience claiming to be a lookout, sheriff, or investigator leads to the real one discrediting you. Mediums are usually quiet in my experience and won't challenge you. An interesting strategy is to claim right away that you're the exe, reveal your target, and say you'll vote with town. Sometimes, the town will lynch your target and let you live since you're night immune and can help against the mafia.

 

[Schadrach]

Don't Starve might require a lot of learning as you play, but the main objective and basic mechanic are pretty clear - collect shit and don't starve. I know what to work towards, even if I'm not always sure how.

I had no idea what was going on in Town of Salem. I had no idea what I wanted to do or what I could do. I spent half the game trying to help the townies find the murderer because I thought that was my job. I mean, I like games where there's a lot of trail and error, a lot of "What happens if I put X in Y?" The feeling of experimenting and exploring is great. But I also like games where I'm not wondering what the point of it all is, where I don't spend half the play-through just trying to figure out what I'm working towards.

They give you a role card on the top right that lists your abilities (admittedly often a bit vaguely) and your goal. In your case, if you had read it you would have seen "Goal: Kill anyone who will not submit to the Mafia" and that you can kill people at night, and if you'd put your mouse over it it would have outright said that you don't win with town, SK, werewolf or arsonist, but do win with mafia, survivor and witch. Since you were mafia, you also got a little window listing other mafia members.

I have to jump on the "use the Will" bandwagon. Write down everything that is useful. Document who you contact, who you heal, who you escort, who you interrogate as Sheriff, whatever. Just keep in mind...if you are killed in the night, any changes to your will that you make during the night will not be shown. So if you change your mind about who you're going to investigate or whatever, the information can throw off your teammates.

Are you sure you're right about that part? So long as you close your will before the night's out, you should be able to write in it the night you die. Minus a couple of seconds for lag, that is.

Keep careful track of what roles are in the game, especially if you're Mafia. You need a convincing alibi. Good choices for fake roles tend to be things like Medium, where it's hard to prove that you aren't what you say you are. Medium can just claim that the dead people aren't talking. Sheriff can claim that you haven't found anyone suspicious.

All good advice, though how difficult a good alibi is depends on game mode. For example, it's much easier in all/any where your alibi doesn't fall apart the moment you kill the real $ALIBI. Know which roles are clumped together for investigator, that way you can hold up to at least one kind of scrutiny.

Making a fake will as a Mafia member can be helpful, so that you can copy/paste something quickly in case people think you're suspicious.

Also true. See also the thing about putting a fake name on your actual will because town are often stupid, and once someone mentions that a person was "disguiser due to the will" often they won't bother to check whose will it was. Likewise, if a fellow mafia does this, be the one to mention the proof of disguiser. Worst case you come off as uninformed or stupid, best case you get a townie lynched.

Know what roles are night immune: Arsonist, GF, SK, Executioner. Remember that just because the Mafia didn't kill on a given night, that DOESN'T mean they didn't try (same for SK). Someone might have gotten healed, someone was roleblocked, the target was immune.

In addition, once per game a BG can be immune, and 4 times per game a survivor can be.

If you're Mafia, don't use each other's names in chat unless you know there's not a Spy. Don't pretend to rat out your fellow Mafia members in your will and use fake names to throw off the town; it's bush league and they'll see right through it.

Alternatively, use names in chat, but use mostly wrong names. As in, use some real names but mostly fake names, and make absolutely sure to call somebody by a name mafia is going to visit that night. That way, the spy sees that at least one name is fake for certain, and then assumes you're using all fake names to mess with him. Bonus points if you use more total names than there are actual mafia members, because then you'll just confuse the spy to where he ignores chat because you're just fucking with him. The only thing better than making mafia chat useless to a spy is making it *actively* unhelpful.

Also alternatively, *do* pretend to rat out your fellow mafia in the will using fake names. It can't hurt. Bonus points if you list a real mafia who's already dead on the list, so they think you are gamethrowing. Or if you use some obvious fake names in addition to real ones -- if it's "obvious" you're listing fake mafia, it'll throw suspicion off the real ones.

Another piece of general advice if you're a bad guy -- don't be quiet, and be actively "helpful" in tracking down any bad guys that aren't you. Ask if anyone has leads each day, involve yourself in "saving" the town no matter what role you are -- because quiet folks look suspicious, and are usually priority targets for killing roles too. Being quiet is almost always the wrong strategy.

Making wild accusations toward a specific player you think is a townie day 2 is sometimes a useful ploy too -- people will often think you are a very bad executioner, and then ignore you because you are clearly both night immune and don't effect their chances of winning..

How well does trying to tell people 'George is immune' in your death note work as mafioso? It's logical that the mafia wants the serial killer lynched but pretty much my first instinct is to use it to get a random townie lynched. It doesn't take long to think about lieing about it though.

The thing about lying about that is that you can only do it once, and then you won't be trusted for certain. If you're playing in a mode where there should be multiple bad-bad immune people (such as All/Any), doing it honestly , *then* lying about it can work beautifully. Then you've got both a competing bad guy and a townie out of the way.

 

[Saetha]

Don't Starve might require a lot of learning as you play, but the main objective and basic mechanic are pretty clear - collect shit and don't starve. I know what to work towards, even if I'm not always sure how.

I had no idea what was going on in Town of Salem. I had no idea what I wanted to do or what I could do. I spent half the game trying to help the townies find the murderer because I thought that was my job. I mean, I like games where there's a lot of trail and error, a lot of "What happens if I put X in Y?" The feeling of experimenting and exploring is great. But I also like games where I'm not wondering what the point of it all is, where I don't spend half the play-through just trying to figure out what I'm working towards.

They give you a role card on the top right that lists your abilities (admittedly often a bit vaguely) and your goal. In your case, if you had read it you would have seen "Goal: Kill anyone who will not submit to the Mafia" and that you can kill people at night, and if you'd put your mouse over it it would have outright said that you don't win with town, SK, werewolf or arsonist, but do win with mafia, survivor and witch. Since you were mafia, you also got a little window listing other mafia members.

I wasn't the mafia guy who killed people. I was the forger or something like that. And yeah, the game told me who my fellow mafia was, but they were utterly unhelpful. All they did was yell at me for not doing my job, and I didn't know how to talk to individual players (And didn't want to openly communicate with them in chat) so I could only sort of sit there and take it. Probably didn't aid matters that my friend was the sheriff and kept trying to get me to help him.

Seriously, I think the only reason I lasted so long is because, when one of the other mafia members were killed, they wrote "Fuck [Saetha] they're shitty mafia" in their will, which ended up making everyone think I was innocent. And I still don't know what a forger does. Was I supposed to mess with people's last wills or something?

I just... I never had any idea what the game wanted me to do.

 

[GoodOmens]

The Framer does this: pick a person at night. The next day, that person will appear to be a Mafia member if someone investigates him or her. Specifically, the Sheriff will see that person as suspicious, and the Investigator will see that person as the Framer. Hopefully, the town will end up lynching that person, or at least ignore his or her ideas.

Of course, if nobody happens to investigate that person the next day, your action was useless. It can be helpful to target someone who people are already a little leery about. You can decide for yourself whether to keep framing one person over and over again, or change your target in order to sow discord.

 

[Schadrach]

Don't Starve might require a lot of learning as you play, but the main objective and basic mechanic are pretty clear - collect shit and don't starve. I know what to work towards, even if I'm not always sure how.

I had no idea what was going on in Town of Salem. I had no idea what I wanted to do or what I could do. I spent half the game trying to help the townies find the murderer because I thought that was my job. I mean, I like games where there's a lot of trail and error, a lot of "What happens if I put X in Y?" The feeling of experimenting and exploring is great. But I also like games where I'm not wondering what the point of it all is, where I don't spend half the play-through just trying to figure out what I'm working towards.

They give you a role card on the top right that lists your abilities (admittedly often a bit vaguely) and your goal. In your case, if you had read it you would have seen "Goal: Kill anyone who will not submit to the Mafia" and that you can kill people at night, and if you'd put your mouse over it it would have outright said that you don't win with town, SK, werewolf or arsonist, but do win with mafia, survivor and witch. Since you were mafia, you also got a little window listing other mafia members.

I wasn't the mafia guy who killed people. I was the forger or something like that. And yeah, the game told me who my fellow mafia was, but they were utterly unhelpful. All they did was yell at me for not doing my job, and I didn't know how to talk to individual players (And didn't want to openly communicate with them in chat) so I could only sort of sit there and take it. Probably didn't aid matters that my friend was the sheriff and kept trying to get me to help him.

Seriously, I think the only reason I lasted so long is because, when one of the other mafia members were killed, they wrote "Fuck [Saetha] they're shitty mafia" in their will, which ended up making everyone think I was innocent. And I still don't know what a forger does. Was I supposed to mess with people's last wills or something?

I just... I never had any idea what the game wanted me to do.

You'd said you were Mafioso, so I used what it tells you as mafioso. Forger isn't in game yet (it's on the to-do list, though they'll probably merge the concept into disguiser since disguiser is so underpowered in all but the worst towns).

Framer maybe? Or Blackmailer? Either way, your role card would have said "Goal: Kill anyone who will not submit to the Mafia", and have told you that you win with survivors, witches, and mafia but not with town, SK, arsonists, or werewolf. It would also have said either "Ability: Choose one person at night to blackmail." or "Ability: Choose one person at night to frame." Those are admittedly more vague than "Ability: Choose one person at night to kill."

For reference, when you blackmail someone, they can't talk the following day, the only exception being that they can say "I am blackmailed." when put on trial. When you frame someone, they appear to themselves be a Framer to investigative roles that look into them that night, making Investigator and Sheriff less useful.

CAPTCHA: upvote this. If only we were on Reddit or Voat, CAPTCHA. =p

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

Don't Starve might require a lot of learning as you play, but the main objective and basic mechanic are pretty clear - collect shit and don't starve. I know what to work towards, even if I'm not always sure how.

I had no idea what was going on in Town of Salem. I had no idea what I wanted to do or what I could do. I spent half the game trying to help the townies find the murderer because I thought that was my job. I mean, I like games where there's a lot of trail and error, a lot of "What happens if I put X in Y?" The feeling of experimenting and exploring is great. But I also like games where I'm not wondering what the point of it all is, where I don't spend half the play-through just trying to figure out what I'm working towards.

They give you a role card on the top right that lists your abilities (admittedly often a bit vaguely) and your goal. In your case, if you had read it you would have seen "Goal: Kill anyone who will not submit to the Mafia" and that you can kill people at night, and if you'd put your mouse over it it would have outright said that you don't win with town, SK, werewolf or arsonist, but do win with mafia, survivor and witch. Since you were mafia, you also got a little window listing other mafia members.

I wasn't the mafia guy who killed people. I was the forger or something like that. And yeah, the game told me who my fellow mafia was, but they were utterly unhelpful. All they did was yell at me for not doing my job, and I didn't know how to talk to individual players (And didn't want to openly communicate with them in chat) so I could only sort of sit there and take it. Probably didn't aid matters that my friend was the sheriff and kept trying to get me to help him.

Seriously, I think the only reason I lasted so long is because, when one of the other mafia members were killed, they wrote "Fuck [Saetha] they're shitty mafia" in their will, which ended up making everyone think I was innocent. And I still don't know what a forger does. Was I supposed to mess with people's last wills or something?

I just... I never had any idea what the game wanted me to do.

Keep the town of salem wiki open in a tab, it's basically your manual. You've got time to quickly check it mid game. That's what I've been doing.

 

[Saetha]

You'd said you were Mafioso, so I used what it tells you as mafioso. Forger isn't in game yet (it's on the to-do list, though they'll probably merge the concept into disguiser since disguiser is so underpowered in all but the worst towns).

Framer maybe? Or Blackmailer? Either way, your role card would have said "Goal: Kill anyone who will not submit to the Mafia", and have told you that you win with survivors, witches, and mafia but not with town, SK, arsonists, or werewolf. It would also have said either "Ability: Choose one person at night to blackmail." or "Ability: Choose one person at night to frame." Those are admittedly more vague than "Ability: Choose one person at night to kill."

For reference, when you blackmail someone, they can't talk the following day, the only exception being that they can say "I am blackmailed." when put on trial. When you frame someone, they appear to themselves be a Framer to investigative roles that look into them that night, making Investigator and Sheriff less useful.

CAPTCHA: upvote this. If only we were on Reddit or Voat, CAPTCHA. =p

I went and dug up the old facebook messages I had with my friend during the first game. Apparently I was the framer, and all he said on the matter was "Unfortunately you got a complicated role." ...Though I'll admit, it is funny to back and read through my fumbling attempt to figure out this game. There's an awful lot "I have no idea what's going on" in there.