Minimum 4 players are required to start a game, with at least 6 players for optimal gameplay. The maximum number of players who can join a game is 12.
- For a 4~8 player game, players are divided into the Mafia and Citizen teams, and each player is assigned a special occupation.
- For a 9~12 player game, besides the Mafia and Citizen teams, one player will be assigned as a Cult Leader, the only starting member of the Cult team.
While playing the game, players used to call each other by number. The numbering will depend on the slot of player's profile. The numbering starts from top left slot. This is to reduce the time wasted in typing the nicknames of players.
The game consists of two phases, Day and Night, starting with Night 1.
- Night (25 seconds)
- During the night, only the Mafia team, the Lovers, the Psychic and the Cult Leader may chat.
- Mafiosos can chat with each other and the recruited members of the Mafia team (such as the Spy and the Hostess). Mafia conversation cannot be seen by citizens and can only be seen by dead players.
- The Mafiosos will debate and choose a player to kill.
- Depending on the occupation, some players can also use their abilities at night. For example, the Doctor can select one player at night to protect them from the Mafia attack.
- Once every 2 nights starting from Night 1, the Cult Leader can convert 1 player into the Cult Team.
- Day (the # of players remaining x 15 seconds)
- At the start of each day, the player that was murdered by the Mafia will be announced. If the Mafia did(could) not murder a player, the message that says night has passed quietly will appear.
- The results of certain occupations' night abilities, if they came into effect, are also announced at the start of the day (For example, if the player whom the Doctor chose to heal was attacked by the Mafia on the previous night, a message will announce that the player survived the attack thanks to the Doctor's skill).
- During the day, all players can participate in the chat. The Citizen team should discuss the results of the last night and track down the Mafia through logical reasoning. The Mafia, on the other hand, should deceive the citizens and try to lynch them off.
- Cult Leader is the common enemy of both the Mafia and the Citizens, the Cult Leader must hide their identity while any converted Cult members must assist and protect the leader.
- Players can reduce or extend the remaining time by 15 seconds. Each player can adjust the remaining time once.
- Voting (15 seconds)
- Voting starts when the day ends.
- Each player gets one vote which may be used to vote against one player. The politician, however, can exercise two votes, although to other players it is shown as one. Players can also vote against themselves if they wish.
- The player that receives the most votes will move on to the Last Argument, and other players will vote whether to lynch that player or not. (If no one receives any votes or if there is a tie, the game moves on to the next night.)
- Last Argument (15 seconds)
- The player that received the most votes will be given time to make their final appeal, which is called the Last Argument.
- During the Last Argument, only the selected player can send chats. All other players are restricted from chatting, and can only see the Last Argument.
- No spamming restrictions are imposed during the Last Argument.
- The length of the Last Argument may be extended/reduced if a player has a nameplate affecting it.
- Lynching (10 seconds)
- After the Last Argument, players vote whether to lynch the selected player or not. If more than half the remaining players agree, the player is lynched. If not, the game moves on to the next night.
- If a player does not vote, their vote is counted as a disagreement.
This process is repeated until a team reaches the conditions for victory. A normal game takes about three to five in-game days on average.
Each team has different victory conditions. See The Mafia Team, The Citizen Team, The Cult Team pages for detail.