Yesterday indicated to me that there are some town in this game who would benefit from some guidance. So I sincerely hope this is helpful and utilized in this game!

How To Find Scum and Case People Better, part 1:

1. Don’t rely on “meta”
Thinking ‘x acted like this in a past game where x was y alignment’ isn’t very helpful for at least 4 reasons:
a. Players generally act the same no matter what their alignment. Additionally, they will probably go through phases in the same game. Their posting will often be affected by timing and irl emotions more often it will be affected by alignment.
b. Sometimes players of both alignments will try to “switch up their playstyle” if they see too much reliance being paid to meta.
c. It’s an easy argument for scum to make, so it won’t convince anyone of your towniness.
d. It can distract you from focusing on better information.

2. Reread with focus
Its D5. You have lots of information that you didn’t on D1! Your D1 reads probably weren’t amazing, so it’s important to reread. Don’t just reread hoping something jumps out at you. Make a list of all the things you know now that town didn’t know D1. This includes flips, claims, results and set-up info. You might get lucky and spot someone who knew something they shouldn’t. More likely, you will have to keep in mind motivation. Who would the scum have wanted lynched at this point? Note who is working towards that objective. Ask yourself why your suspected posted what he did and wonder if your suspect’s actions reveal a scum motivation.

Don’t feel compelled to find evidence your suspect is scum or feel disappointed if you don’t. Post your findings and thoughts anyway- it might trigger a teammate to catch something you didn’t. Remember that finding evidence that can clear someone as town is just as important as finding scum. Calling someone town might be easier than calling them scum, but if you’ve done the work to show why they’re town, you’re doing your job.

3. Analyze interactions with flipped scum
Try to determine if there is a difference in how the suspect interacted with flipped scum and known town. Ask yourself what the purpose of their interactions were. Scum generally lack nuance in their relationship in thread. They have a doc, so they don’t tend to misinterpret something another scum said, or ask for clarification or correct each other about something. Their interactions are generally more simple- bus, ignore, piggyback.

4. Respond to every case
Even if it is only to say that you agree. This lets the poster know he should continue on this case. Really consider if the case follows a logical progression and, when appropriate, try to be critical or ask for clarification. Good town will appreciate critique and will refocus accordingly. Scum will often post ambiguously worded or vague cases but will show weakness in providing supporting details. Don’t back off if someone calls you scummy for pressing an issue. Follow your gut- they could be trying to scare you off a hot lead!

Likewise, demand reactions to your cases and be suspicious of anyone trying to avoid interacting with your case.

5. Post more
This thread is the only way non-masons can communicate with each other- the more you post, the more your teammates have to work with! If you are following the above steps you are acting like a good town and in a way that is difficult for scum to convincingly imitate at a high volume. Imagine scum trying to hide in a game where all townies are consistently casing and replying to each other and not tolerating lazy casework!

I think if you follow these tips, you’ll have more success at mafia, become more engaged in the game and have more fun!!