BEST IN-GAME TEAM
Town of White Flag
BEST INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE, TOWN
Cogito Ergo Sum
BEST INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE, SCUM
JasonT1981
and...
WINNERS OF TEAM MAFIA
THE CAPTAINS with 412 points
Tammy, Trojan Horse, and Oversoul win with 412 Points.
Serious Honorable Mention
The Kliq II with 404 points[/size]
(That's zachrulez, Sotty7, Debonair Danny DiPietro, JasonT1981)
Both of these teams were PERFECT 4/4. Last time around, that would have made them co-champions. This time the point structure made it so that even though The Kliq won their games, they did not do quite as well as The Captains.
Given that both were perfect, BOTH teams will (if it's run again next year) get automatic pre-ins in the game. As last year, in order to defend your crown (or runner-up to the crown), you must maintain at least three of your members (in the case of The Captains, that'll be everyone).
Thoughts
1. I hope everyone had fun.
2. The games were not perfectly designed. That's ultimately my fault. As many of you read in the Seriously Dead QT (http://www.quicktopic.com/47/H/xxmgpN6jEfH), I think this is largely asking people to force produce theme games on demand. Time was an issue to an extent, but it was not the primary problem.
3. Design Comments: I think WF is a great game for this. The Closed Normal leaned scum and could have used a stronger power role than the Tracker, but it wasn't terrible, and in a game where there are theoretically 40 people scum hunting, that's okay. Almost Normal was seriously flawed due to some confirmation problems and an ill-advised inclusion of light theming, but both sides could have won it. Scummies could have used another town positive role, and town did not benefit from the scum landing in the Cop Power D1, but random is the only way to do this. Outguessing the mod on this point got punished, and I do not feel badly for those who advanced that idea. Back Room was an interesting game that was actually, I think, pretty well balanced. It was, however, swingier than ideal.
4. Given the previous two comments, my serious consideration for any future iterations is to run far more basic games, either 4 normalish games with a few more players in each or 5 normalish games with team of 5 (though I hesitate given that covering 4 games is a lot for most people). I think while it's nice to have a gamut of different games that will reward theme players, etc. it hasn't worked as well as might be hoped in the end. And by now, I think most of the fun people are finding is in the pure MAFIA of it, it doesn't really need the additional bells and whistles. That said, the games can still be somewhat different (Smalltown, Closed Normal, WF, etc.)
5. The Captains deserved this win. I know there will be some bitching about it, and it's sad that the team that won was also one that had so many replacements. But they actually played as a team well once those replacements went through.
6. While the Captains deserved to win it, so did The Kliq.
7. I was seriously disappointed when random.org gave SDC three scum roles. Although there was something really interesting in them getting the inverse of last year's roles, one of the most fun things I did last year was watch their very active scum hunting QT. While they weren't silent, it was a much different watching experience.
8. I thought lots of teams performed well. Town this time did pretty well, although Closed Normal was totally bamboozled. I think DeasVail (and Slandaar behind him in the QT) deserves a special shout out for almost "solving" the T-Bone/Reck connection in a way that would have won.
9. The scoring is the single-most frustrating thing to try and figure out as the mod. I don't think we've done it right in either instance. To the drawing board, as they say.
10. I don't know if there's interest in this being run again in the future. I'd understand if people feel that they're rehashing the experience. But if it does get run again by me, it'll have to be timed differently as my honeymoon will be in May. I think a Fall 2013 Team Mafia game might be interesting, and at least it'd avoid summer meetups. Feel free to let me know here or by PM what you think on this point. I'll only run the game if people remain interested.
Spoiler: RGAM
Anyway, so much more I want to say about this game, and believe me when I say this was a learning experience. But I'm tired, and I think 10 points is enough to make you read. Feel free to congratulate people, suggest things, etc. But if you're going to talk bad about other teams, I suggest keeping it to yourself in your Team QT.
I hope you had fun. It's always a blast to see teams help each other out. It makes me glad to be a part of this community. From the players who I expect good things from to the players who I don't, all impressed me. Thanks for being awesome.
FINAL THANK YOU
Thank you to Faraday, Mina, Vi, cow, and Equinox for helping me do this. I know I didn't give you a ton of time, and I know given the high profile of this game that you're under a lot of scrutiny. Thank you. You all did terrific jobs.
