Sorry for coming in with this sadfaced pity post but I really want answers.
I keep getting wagoned and lynched Day 1 (or Day 2) as town and I'm exasperated at just how much I suck. Just what is wrong with the way I play? I know I'm not good at getting scumreads yet but I keep getting jumped on first whenever I try to contribute and get information from other players.
Here's a typical example of how I play: http://forum.mafiascum.net/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=39545 I know I wasn't lynched in this particular game but that's only because D1 a newbie claimed scum, and D2 the game ended really early with a cop guilty (hahaha spoiler). I always try my best to play towards my wincon so I don't know why I'm always getting scumread. Am I just that bad a player? It's particularly shitty given that I've technically been on this site for 6 years but I just can't stop being such a bad player regardless, and I don't even know why I'm so bad that I keep getting wagoned D1. If I'm making any obvious mistakes can someone please tell me? What is it that I should do better?
You were okay the game you linked, there were a few spots that I thought were fairly towny. The big thing I would say is that some of the tells you used didn't seem like they would work that well. I might have voted you for calling some early theory posts slips and I might have thought that you were trying to spew newbies. The way I read over your posts is as a scum trying to find stuff to bury you with, and honestly I think that game it would have been pretty hard, I thought you were pretty towny. In general though make sure that d1 you are more focused on getting reads and making connections for later game analysis, and try to keep a more coherent narrative so that it is easier for other town to see your thought processes to read you better. I don't do that because it takes a lot of time, but if you can go over how and why your reads change throughout a game you will probably be townread for it.
I know I'm not good at getting scumtells. But I've only played 4 games so far and I've gotten lynched early in all of them (or they ended early) and I had hardly any time to improve on it. So I'm always just confused all the time in games and tried to make sense of things by asking questions to people for the reasons behind some of their votes, but I get scumread for asking questions (because my question posts tend to be IIoA or something?).
The only reads I general get so far are that lurkers who don't contribute much are scummy, that's all. But it doesn't seem to work that way I guess. I'm just a bit bummed that I keep getting voted over lurkers who don't contribute much, and that these lurkers are who end up flipping scum in the end.
What are some of the early theory posts slips that you are talking about, itlepip?
You sound a lot like me when I started a year ago; I used to be universally scum-read in almost every game I played. Over time people will either start to recognise this is how you play as town if you play with same people a few times or you will just learn how to act as town through trial and error. Just keep playing and don't become disheartened, there are benefits to having a scummy playstyle. For one people that know your play vaguely will have a hard time reading you when you're actually mafia which is always funny.
As for ways of finding scum; once again trial and error. Ask people how they catch mafia and read some other games where town was successful and look at how they approached the game. I personally just try and look at each post/play and think why would they do this as town? and then as scum? then compare and decide which seems likelier.
I don't think this was a particularly good game, but it is a pretty good example of how to diffuse early pressure http://forum.mafiascum.net/viewtopic.ph ... 5&start=25 I also think that completing a scum game really helps your town game a lot.
"You are the Joker of mafia players" - Oversoul
"last time I was scum with Firebringer
his first post in the scum PT was "yes I rolled scum!"
I decided to post "haha just don't post that in the main thread", but to get up to date on the main thread first.
His first post in the main thread was "yes I rolled scum!" -popsofctown
Yuuuup I'm always going to get lynched on freaking D1 because I suck, and everything I say is going to be a scumtell. Is it because I'm talkative and not very aggressive while being talkative? Do I need to be more aggressive as town?
And I think getting lynched all the time has severely hampered my town game significantly because I naturally tend to move towards being wary of my actions and how they can be perceived lest I get lynched
How many games have you played? You need a large sample size of games with a variety of different players to really delve into the trends of your playstyle.
Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the bastards.
I have only played about 4, because every time I get lynched early I get discouraged and leave the site for a long while, and then come back again to think "maybe I'll be better at playing this time" and get lynched again. So no, not much of a sample size, especially since I can't mention ongoing games. But well, it's something that always happens, and I just wish that I can play better, or that I at least have the patience to stay on the site and train more even after players keep calling my towngame scumm and that I'm a village idiot. It's just... well, is it that bad? I really want to enjoy the games I play here but I can't if I just suck this bad.
Link us specific games? It's rather hard to critique you otherwise.
"i have the sickest grossest feeling that even if it's my lynch today, my townflip still won't lead to a tso lynch, and then he'll find some bullshit way to reason either shooting or lynching gm tomorrow because if there's anyone who can strongarm a mislynch despite his reads or cases being proved wrong time and again it's tso"
In post 14, Zachrulez wrote:If you worry about getting lynched, that might be part of what contributes to actually getting lynched.
Yeahh I'm worried that's what might be starting to happen. But even when I put all those worries aside and try to play as hard as I can towards my town wincon I still end up getting flak. I'll wait to play a few more games before I give more links. Thanks guys.
@T S O: The link I have above is the last finished game I have, which was in 2014. Anything else was way too early (in 2009, when I was like 13 years old) so it's a bit embarrassing to link those, heh.
"You are the Joker of mafia players" - Oversoul
"last time I was scum with Firebringer
his first post in the scum PT was "yes I rolled scum!"
I decided to post "haha just don't post that in the main thread", but to get up to date on the main thread first.
His first post in the main thread was "yes I rolled scum!" -popsofctown
Develop a reputation for looking town while remorselessly destroying anyone who even considers wagoning you and eventually you'll never ever get lynched. In fact, you'll get NK'd because unless your reads suck, scum will know they'll never be able to lynch you anyway.
Yeah, I didn't try to get kuribo mislynched as scum when his hydra-partner fake claimed masons with another townie then proceeded to get that townie lynched several days later.