Updates to the Queues

[T-Bone]

Last year, as part of a larger queue overhaul, we shuttered our longstanding Newbie Queue. This was done in an attempt to solve some issues we felt were hampering the experience of new players. Our aim was to get newbies into games as fast as possible. While we believe we have been better able to get new players into games since the overhaul, a crucial experience for onboarding new players to this website was lost. It was clear to us that we had to update our approach to the newbie queue.

For years, MafiaScum has held periodic “Marathon Weekend” events. This is a site tradition with a deep history. But over the last few events it became clearer that the marathon weekend wasn’t meeting the needs of the event. We have tried over the years to provide shorter format games, such as the micro and blitz queues, but demand for those has been inconsistent. It was clear to us we had to come up with a better way to provide short form experiences for the queues.

Today we announce two new queues. The Newbie Series Queue, and the Sandbox Forum!

The Newbie Series Queue will feature a set selection of games that will create a predictable schedule for new players so that they no longer will have to wonder when they can play their first game. Additionally, we will be including approved open set-ups and closed normal set-ups as part of the game rotation to provide more variety. Finally, we are trialing a mentor system that will allow newbies direct access with an experienced player for their first game on-site. A more thorough explanation of the new queue can be found HERE. Players and moderators can begin signing up HERE. T-Bone will be the primary Listmod for this new queue.

Quick Games are a more freeform experience similar to Marathon Weekends instead of a formal queue. Quick games will be run in the new Sandbox Forum and will allow moderators to experiment with shorter format games, and allow members of the community to better organize live games, either on the forum or on discord. Other social deduction games such as Blood on the Clocktower or Conspiracy are encouraged to be played here. Moderators may initiate sign-ups and schedule games at any time. This space can be used by the community for more spontaneity than the traditional queue structure allows for. A more thorough explanation of the new queue can be found HERE. How players and moderators can participate can be found HERE. Skygazer will be the primary Listmod for this forum.