Nominating Something_Smart's XP Mafia for BOTH Best Setup and Best Mechanic/Mutation
. (Because both apply for the same reasoning.)Many, many times has an attempt been made to hybridize an RPG mechanic of evolving powers and the game of mafia...but few ever materialize into an actual game, and of those that do, even fewer still manage to pull it off so successfully.
And yet Something_Smart did so magnificently. It's so easy to screw something like this up--yet he DIDN'T. He got everything right, nailing it down perfectly, and created a game which featured unique mechanics that were interesting and forced the players to think, town and scum alike.
The players had to make decisions on paths for what to choose, akin to choosing paths in an RPG for characters. The players had to choose how to use their XP. Everyone had an upgraded role they could unlock. Everything was just done so well.
The game was balanced incredibly well with multiple anti-swing features built into the game. While the nature of the complex mechanics meant some swing was inevitable, the game was incredibly well-designed such that it would never be overwhelming.
While good townplay would be rewarded just as good scumplay would be rewarded, and poor townplay would be punished just as poor scumplay would be punished, it was never impossible for one side to be left utterly screwed over because it was always possible to recover, something demonstrated magnificently in the game where both town and scum were forced to recover from setbacks.
This is EVERYTHING a game moderator should strive for when creating something unique, original, and ambitious. The result was immensely satisfying, owing to the feeling of the game having been handled with the incredible delicate care necessary for a good game.
