The Veteran - Get off my lawn!!

I've gotten lucky and been a Veteran quite a lot lately. I do enjoy this role, so it's about time I give you my take on the paranoid war hero. Here's the Veteran.

The role is quite simple: You get three alerts. And every night you use one, you kill any-, and everyone who visits you.

My first and most important piece of advice for all Veterans out there is this: Leave your name in your Death Note. There is no reason not to do this, as the evil roles will already know who you are by the time you've killed one of them and the townies might lynch you if they dont know it's you. So always leave your own name in your Death Note.

My Veteran's Death Note always looks like this:

Saturn the Veteran commands thee to get off his lawn!!

- sincerely, Saturn the Vet

Sometimes I add "I told you so" to it, because I give people a fair warning most, if not all of the time. Why? Because it's just more bluffs and mind games to screw over the enemies' heads... And that is EXACTLY what you want to be doing as the Vet!

Like most of my favourite roles, as the Vet, you want to try and understand the mentality of th people you're playing with. Play with traps, both figuratively and very literally too, to lure the evildoers into their deaths.

Obviously I should point out the obvious fact of obviousness first... obviously: Your alerts are best kept till late-game. 

That being said, who likes dying in the first night? I sure dont. So what I do on the first day is try to speak first. Even if you just say hello. Because for whatever reason they might have, most evil roles aim for the talky people first. Sure you could argue that it's in their best interest if the town is silent and passive, but I prefer calling it a dick move. 

Something else you could do, that I prefer doing that just saying hello, is saying something along the lines of: "Pro Tipp guys, dont visit me tonight."

In my experience, saying that on the first day got me at least one kill in almost every game as a Vet. Admitted, i did kill half the town and not a single evil role in one particular round, but in my defence, i warned them. And the rest of the town knew I was Vet afterwards because of my Death Note.

You could also use that opening line if you're not a Vet, because many people might be intimidated by a possible Veteran-bluff.

Anyhow, if you managed to kill someone, then people will know you're a Townie. So they should trust you. You might want to remind the town not to visit you ever... Because some people need reminding...

Also, if someone whispers to you saying that he's the Doctor and he wants to "heal you to save your alerts", just be slightly weary. What he says might be perfectly true, but he also may be an evil role trying to keep you from going on alert. Dont trust anyone as a Veteran, unless they reliably prove their own innocence first.

In any case, if you've proven that you're the Vet with your Death Note, then there is no reason to use your alerts in the next few nights. People will know that you're a risk not worth taking. Keep two remaining alerts for later. Occasionally give the evil roles a bluff to think about if you feel like it. 

Know that most Vets use all their alerts in the first four nights. Players know this. So if you played by my strategy so far, it should be day four and you should still have two alerts left. Brilliant. Now's the time to lure your attackers in. 

You could just lay low and hope people are thinking you're trying to not draw attention to yourself. They'll think you're being quiet because you're all out of alerts. You could also straight out be super obvious and pray that they think you're bluffing.

And if it's really late into the game. For example if it's just you and an evil role left. I suggest being super honest with him. Say that you still have alerts left and you dont mind stretching the game out for a draw. Honesty is always the best kind of deception. Just take my great Amnesiac-Jester game from a little while ago. That was hilarious. 

Different round. Assume you havent proven that you're the Vet yet. Nobody knows what role you have. You should pretend to be an investigative role. But the good kind of investigator "who'd rather double check". People will take that bait and attack you before you reveal your information. You might cause some collateral damage by killing some townies too, but if you get the evildoers, that'll be worth it.

One last thing, if you have proven that you're the Vet with your Death Note, you have made yourself a reliable townie. You have influence over the town and you have all the right to use it! Remind people to not randomly vote someone to death. Tell the jailor who to execute if you know who's evil or neutral. Do what you can to support the townies.

There you go. In short: Put your name into your Death Note and bluff your way to victory. I hope you dont mind the pile of dead bodies on your lawn..

How to play Town of Salem in real life

So for those of you who dont know, Town of Salem is not entirely made up by blankmediagames. Before it became the online hit that it is today, it was a real game for medium-sized groups like school classes. It has many different names and there are quite a few different versions. I will now go ahead and tell you about the version I know and how that is played:

The name of the game that I was first introduced to is "Werewolves". I only ever played it in real life that one time with my class at school. I remember really getting into it and enjoying it, although a fair number of the people were a little too shy to really participate.

Thats the main problem that the game in real life has. The obstacle being people's own shyness. Obviously the online version with its "anonymity" solved that rather perfectly. It's also a rather big problem if people dont know the game already. It can be quite a feat to have to learn all the roles and their abilities at once without the handy-dandy on-screen guide to help you out.

Lets get into the game irl itself. Obviously, the more people you have playing, the more roles you can throw in, so I'll go through them in order of importance. First of all though, you should prepare some playing cards, or create some for all the roles.something that can be flipped over to hide the role but still layn out in front in a circle.

The Game Master: Mostly the teacher, or whoever offers themselves to do it. Or if you have some kind of ellaborate system of alarm clocks to time things, you could use that too. Either way, the Game Master does not actually play the game, but instead manages it. Their duty is to announce the different segways of the game. "It is night time, everybody has their eyes closed. Now the Werewolves open their eyes. Without any noise, point together at the person you're going to kill tonight". After that the Game Master removes that target's card from the circle and moves on with the monologue.

The Werewolves: Depending on how many people you have in your group, you decid how many werewolves you want in the round. In my case there were around 18 people. Three of which were Werewolves. Their only role is to decide silently at night who they want to kill. Obviously during the day they do their best to either lay low, or deceive the town people.

The innocent Townies: Not everybody gets an actual role. Most of the people playing are simply townspeople. They can only pray that they arent killed at night and try to work out who is evil at day time. Much like in the online version, they can decide per majority vote if they want to kill someone during the day. Obviously a rule can be enforced saying that they have to kill someone during the day, but only if you have loads of people playing.

The Detective: This is where the cards come into play. Like said, everybody gets assigned a random role at the very beginning. The Detective gets a little time every night to anonymously look at one person's card to see their role. The Game Master can either show him very silently which card he wants to see, or if the Game Master i somewhat organised, he can show the Detective the role from a list, just so long as nobody figures out who is checking what.

The "Little Girl": This role is a tricky one. Because it carries a lot of responsibility. The little girl is allowed to open her eyes, or peek through her hands to see what is happening at night. Obviously she knows from the start who is evil and who the Detective is. But just outright saying so will spoil the fun for everybody. I remember having this role and its dilemma myself when I played it, and I chose not to spoil anything until i was accused myself, in which case I only accused the person accusing me. It should be said here, that when the townies have killed a person during the day, or after the Werewolves kill someone at night, everybody sees what role the victim had.

The Lovers: These two people have the same role. It really isnt a good one. This role should only be included is there is a real load of people playing. 15 or more I'd say. Anyways, two people are assigned as "Lovers" When one of them dies, the other dies too. It's a way of giving the evil roles a somewhat realistic chance to win.

And that's all the roles. Remember that depending on how many players you have, you can choose to assign as many roles as you want. You can have more than one detective too if you want.

Now let me just give you an example of a full day in form of the Game Master's Monologue:

First everybody sits in a circle and gets a role card. take a look at it, then lay it out in front of you, upside-down, so nobody sees what role you have. Optionally you can write the above roles on a blackboard or give everybody a sheet of paper with the rules to help learn them.

1. It is Midnight. Everybody close your eyes. The (first) Detective opens his eyes and shows me, whose card he wants to inspect.

-> shows card.

2. The (first) Detective closes his eyes again.

3. The Werewolves open their eyes. Show me together without making any noise, who your victim shall be"

-> flips victim's card over

4. Now it's day time. Everybody opens their eyes and wakes up. it seems that Thomas died last night and his role was Townie. You have a little time to discuss.

5. The sun is going down. Now you must decide if you want to kill someone, and if so, who?

-> Takes vote for the Killing and in case of majority, flips over the victim's card and announces the role.

 6. Night has fallen, Everybody goes to sleep and closes their eyes.

Have fun deceiving and murdering your friends!

Know your options; Keep your cover

This post will not be about just one role, but more about the aspect of having a good excuse to get yourself out of accusations, if you are any of the evil roles. Keeping in mind that every game will be different and how you get out of accusations and lynches is entirely your own choice, here are the roles I claim and the actions I take to defend myself:

Blackmailer: The Blackmailer can claim to be a Spy when he is accused. He will fail to pass the whisper test, unless his mafia pals are quick to fake one for you. Another way to prove spy is to say who was not visited by mafia yet, if the game is in the late stages. Of course the people you mention are entirely up to you. And of course, since you know who the mafia visits every night because you're one of them, you can also claim to be a Lookout.

Consigliere: As the Consigliere, you only have the option to claim Investigator. If anyone tells you to reveal your role, try saying that you'd rather not (yet). That might sway their judgement towards you being Investigator. But since you know people's roles too, you can say who you "investigated". Just remember what roles show as which possible others to real investigators too! If you just list the real roles, then you've messed up.

Consort: The Consort is the evil Escort. As such he can obviously claim Escort. You can roleblock someone to prove it too. And if you want to try to be really convincing: "Look, you know that I'm escort or consort.. If I block you, that proves nothing, just believe me."

Disguiser: If you havent yet disguised yourself, this guy will show up as Disguiser or Jester. You could claim to be a Jester, of course not just like that, you'd have to act like it too, or you could just say that you were transported and that they'd have to double check for your real role. Just hope the others realise this means they have to kill the accusator.

Framer: You have no backup role to claim. You are either framer or framed. Most people will immediately accuse you of being framer. Just be sure to throw out that you must've been framed. Ask them to double check and have a lookout watch you, while again having your mafia clean up. Of course you can still claim Spy or Lookout, like all the other mafia roles, because if you pay attention, you know who the other mafia visited every night...

Godfather: The good old leader among men. While most of the time its the accusation that gets you killed, keep in mind that it's also the first line in the arsenal of Executioners and Jesters to get their target, or someone random, lynched. Use this to your advantage. Do not claim to be the Mayor. Instead say that you are neither Mayor, nor Godfather and that your accusator is instead trying to get you killed. Again, claim to be Lookout or Spy, or that you were transported and that they ought to double-check.

Janitor: As the Janitor, keep an eye on the people leaving while you're scrubbing the toilets. Because the only role you can claim, other than the ones all the other mafia can, is Medium. And if you wanna pretend to be a medium, you should know who left the game and who is still in dead chat. Just make sure the genuine Medium doesnt thwart your plans.

Mafioso: The Mafioso owns guns. You can claim to be a Veteran or a Vigilante. I'd strongly recommend Vigilante, because Veterans are unique and there can only ever be one per round. Of course when accused, you could offer to shoot your accusator during the night to prove it, but I doubt they'd accept that kind offer... Again, the Mafioso, and all the Mafia can claim to be Lookout, Spy, or that they were transported. 

Arsonist: To the Investigators, you show up as a gas-enthusiast. So you're either a Transporter or an Arsonist to them. If you like the Transporter as well as me, claim to be a Transporter. If you get asked why nobody has been transported yet, say that you didnt want to ruin the Investigator's and Sheriff's checks. Say that Transporter is best used late-game. Pay attention to the people who died to. If someone left the game and was attacked in the same night, point out that you switched yourself with that person. Nobody would attack someone who left out of their own free will... People who quit before their death was announced in the day also show up as suicide and attacked. Finally a good use for them damn quitters...

Executioner: Most of the time the Executioner doesnt get outright accused. Since he shows up as either Sheriff, Retributionist or Executioner. As such he isnt an immediate danger. But if you do, just claim Sheriff and that random people showed up as Not Suspicious. Who in their right mind would then go "No, I'm suspicious, he's lying!"...

Jester: The Jester doesnt need to talk his way out. He needs to talk his way IN to getting lynched..

Serial Killer: You can claim to be a doctor too. But since people often dont want to take the risk and lynch doctors anyways, I'd suggest you claim to have been transported. People will double check and sometimes the mafia will target the accusator for you, since he's a threat to them too. Or if you're feeling ballsy, you can kill your accusator yourself. Just be ready to talk your way out of that one...

Witch: People genuinely dont trust Survivors, which is the only role you can claim. So instead say that you were transported. Point out that your accusator may well be the Executioner. But of course you can try the Survivor story too...

Werewolf: As if the Survivor hadnt gotten enough distrust as it is. Now he's either a Werewolf, a Witch or a Survivor. So in the eyes of the Townies, nothing of value will be lost anyways... Dont claim to be a Survivor. Hope that a Sheriff double checks you in a normal, non-full moon, night to say you're not suspicious and leaves it at that. If someone just asks you for your role, just say you're the one among the three that isnt evil and that people wouldnt trust your revealed your either way.

In General: Any role that needs to can claim to have been transported. People mostly accept that and double check. Otherwise, all roles can also point out that the accusator is an Executioner trying to kill you. Remember that the Executioner's target is always a Townie, so that pointer may just prove your own "innocence". 

As for the Mafia, since they have their overpowered little night chat, they all know who was visited by them, so they can all claim to be Lookouts or Spies. The Mafia is overpowered that way...

Funniest Amnesiac game to date! XD

So I just went through a hilarious round of the game. And before I give you the massive chatlog image that I snipped and glued together in photoshop, let me give you a brief rundown on what happened in the round.

1. Day Two, the Mayor (ign Sheriff) decides to reveal himself

-> one player (Imp) comments that this was a stupid move

2. Mayor gets offended and starts an RDM lynch on Imp.

3. Imp turns out to be a Jester and wins

4. Night Two, I take the opportunity to remember the Jester role. 

5. Day Two, I comment on how yesterday's lynch was too silly and random and that this time they ought to lynch someone with a little more solid evidence.

6. What do you know, the Mayor gets offended again, gets me lynched and I get my win as AmneJester

7. Massive rofls

Here's the Chatlog. Like said, I mashed it together from four screenshots. I also took the liberty to highlight my own chat to make it easier to find for you guys. That game was hilarious...

My ign was Meat Dragon

The Blackmailer, pure evil...

Personally I hate this role the most, but only when I'm targetted by him. He is ridiculously strong when used right and yet is often forgotten or not even considered. Here's some tips and tricks for, as well as against, the Blackmailer.

This role has the unique ability to silence anyone he visits at night for the entire following day. No role is immune to him (Veterans on alert will kill the Blackmailer but still be silenced). 

The only thing blackmailed people can say is "I am blackmailed." And they can only do so when they are on trial. That is in most cases way too late... So I'll start by giving some Blackmailer-Counter strategies.

If you're in a game where there are Blackmailers, you may want to tell people during voting to vote for you and cancel to prove they are blackmailed. Encourage this to make sure the mafia doesnt have their way! People who stick up for others are often rewarded with trust.

In my most recent game, I was part of the mafia, and our Blackmailer was acting way too obvious. He silenced someone in the first night and then proceeded to interrogate him during the day. Asking him for his role and commenting that he wasnt replying. He then voted for the target and all the other mafias did too, except for me. 

Long story short, it wasnt enough to lynch him. The target turned out to be an Investigator and he wrote the names of the mafia who voted for him in his will when the Serial Killer got him the next round. The other mafias were vigilanteed, jailored and lynched and I was left alone to clean up their mess. (If you care about what happened after: I managed to get to the last round by doing nothing, luring everyone into the thought that the mafia was all dead, then the jailor made me help lynch the Serial Killer... and then I too got jailored. I got way further than I should have either way...)

Back to the Blackmailer. You should obviously look out for people accusing others of being silent. If such a thing happens and then a sudden mass of votes flush in, you're most likely looking at an obvious mafia strike, or at very gullible town members...

Keep an eye on the chat. Remember who the talkative ones are. If one of them is suddenly accused of being quiet, then stand up for him!

If you yourself are the Blackmailer, then that strategy is obviously the way to go, yes. But dont rush it! Visit your target at least twice before accusing them of being too quiet. But dont actually vote for them yourself. I wouldnt recommend that. Because when it turns out that the target is innocent, you'll be the first to blame. 

When your repeated target hasnt even randomly voted for anyone, you should yourself point out he may be blackmailed and hope that the others doubt it. You, the Blackmailer, should pretend to be standing up against Blackmailers. It's the ultimate plot twist that nobody expects!

Should you get accused at some point, the only role you can claim for yourself is Spy. Since you're part of the mafia anyways, it should be no problem to list all the people who were/werent visited by mafia. Just pray that nobody tries a whisper-test. In fact, hope that your fellow mafiosi do one to help you out! That's brilliant!

He's probably my favourite and least favourite evil role at the same time! So simple at first and yet so evil...

The Jailor and his very slippery soap

This guy is a mix of the Escort, the Vigilante and a Consigliere. He's usually the nicest person in the game and he normally doesnt talk much during the day. He's also one of the highest priority targets for all evil roles. Here's my take on the Jailor.

As the Jailor you have the ability to take someone into prison every night. To do so you must use your ability button (the one that looks like a Sun up next to your Will) at day time. Always remember to do that as soon as someone is suspicious because it is very easy to forget!

When you have someone in jail, you two can talk. Your prisoner will not know who you are. And if you choose to do that, you have the ability to execute your target too. 

Some things to remember:

- You cannot execute in the first night.

- If you execute an innocent, you loose all your remaining executions.

- You only have three executions.

- You can be blocked from executing your target by roleblockers.

- There is only one Jailor per game.

- If you jail a Serial Killer and dont execute him, he will kill you.

- Your prisoner is safe from harm but is also roleblocked.

Onto the playstyle. Since you cannot execute anyone in the first night, it's entirely up to you if you want to jail anyone. The only advantage is that you'd get a start on people's possible roles and may be able to make an ally. The disadvantages are that you might roleblock an investigative role. You might get killed by the Serial Killer. People may not even talk to you because you cant kill them on the first night anyways. Choose yourself if you want to jail someone in the first night.

Make sure you leave everything you know in your will. If you happen to get an investigator in there then make sure to add his info to yours too! 

You should also consider using a password, or if you want to prepare for people stealing it, use several passwords. One per night. The password is for you to say when you're getting lynched, so your prisoners can vouch for your innocence. Obviously if you only use one password, one of your evil prisoners might use that to save themselves, so you might want to point out that you had one password per night.

In any case, once it's daytime again, you will want to watch your former prisoners closely. If they claim a different role than they did in jail, jail them again and execute. 

Also if nobody died, then also get the same prisoner again. And if nobody dies in two consecutive nights where you had the same prisoner, it's more or less safe to execute him.

If there are jesters or executioners proven in the town, then dont hesitate to execute them too. They arent innocent so they wont remove your remaining executions. They might also get in the way of votings later in the game.

Remember that there is always that chance you'll imprison the Serial Killer. Keep your will updated so if you do die, the other townies will know who your last prisoner was.

A good way to put pressure on your prisoner is to hit the execute button right off the bat. They will see that you're about to kill them and panic. You can always stop the execution by hitting the button again. But doing this will definitely filter out some inexperienced evil roles.

If you do die to the Serial Killer you imprisoned, the game will tell you that it was your prisoner. There wil be a message saying "You were killed by the Serial Killer you jailed." If that message doesnt show up and you were still killed by the Serial Killer, then your prisoner wasnt it! Be sure to tell the medium at night!

If someone is proven innocent by others or by people's wills, then it may be a good idea to jail them. Doing so will protect them. You can also feel free to tell them who you are, so they can vouch for you. 

Dont feel bad if someone talks trash to you when you decide to execute them. Your executions are up to you and usually they should be for pretty solid evidence. If your prisoner still turns out to be innocent, it's entirely their fault for either lying or misleading people, or the evil roles liek the Framer were exceptionally cunning. If you're a good Jailor doing his job the way he's supposed to, a dead innocent town member should never be your own fault!

The Jester; Why even..?

The Jester is such a tricky role (pun intended). And everybody seems to have their own strategy, but before I go into ones I would recommend, I'm going to start by mentioning the two idiotic playstyles that arent even worth calling "a strategy".

The Spammer: Self-explanatory. These Jesters seem to think that if they spam the chat with irrelevant nonsense, they'll get lynched. Newsflash: They dont. Rarely it just gets you muted, but because most players dont know about the /mute command, in most of the cases being a spammer just gets you killed at night.

The waste of life: These jesters are surprisingly common. For no reason or justification they simply annoy and insult everyone, interruptng people and spamming rude obnoxious junk in the chat. This guy also believes that his behaviour will get him lynched. Again, it doesnt. The highlight of one match was such a jester being killed by a Vigilante, the Mafia and the Serial Killer at the same time. I emplore everyone in a round with such a waste of life to report them, and if they are a killing role, to gang up and murder him at night. Thank you.

If you cant wait till night time, the mute command is /mute name

For example: /mute jesterguy

Now onto the more social and recommendable strategies. Remember, your target is to get lynched. If you die at night, then you loose. And when you do manage to get lynched you win the round regardless of which other faction prevails in the end. You also have the one-time ability to kill one of your guilty-voters the night after you've been hung.

The problem is that asking nicely wont get you lynched. Teaming with a side in the end isnt going to get you lynched either because neither side wants to waste their time with lynching you and nobody wants to risk dying after you've had your way.

The most reliable way to get lynched for me is to not want it. When people start voting for you then keep arguing with points why you're not guilty. That there's no proof. Refuse to give out your role. That normally does the trick once the votes start rolling.

You should at all costs avoid making yourself a high-priority night time target. Dont claim to be an investigative role directly, but pretend to be one by accusing someone who is hopefully innocent. Doing so will make the mafia realise that you're not a threat to them. it should hopefully keep you alive. If you get jailed, claim to be a Lookout, Sheriff or Investigator. Or if you're feeling confident, you can be honest and say you'll help take down the mafia if you're lynched. That worked for me once...

Anyways, my usual tactic is to accuse someone innocent, and then get lynched after said person dies. People usually go for the person that accused someone innocent after an unsuccessful lynch.

You could also try the classic whisper-fail. Fail at whispering to someone on purpose so everybody sees it. Dont make it super obvious. Say something like "I was roleblocked" or "Were you roleblocked?" when nobody died to mafia. Obviously aim the whisper at someone who hasnt yet been confirmed as innocent., or it will backfire.

Once you do get lynched, it's entirely up to you who you want to kill. If someone helped me get lynched, I never go for that person. Usually I aim for someone who was rude to me with their silly "10/10 defence" comments or for someone in hopes to end the game quickly. But remember, if the game ends in a draw, you will loose even if you got lynched! So if you have a chance to prevent a tie by killing the other neutral role who isnt helping with either side's votes, then I'd go for that.

"Playing the Jester card" is also a worthy attempt to not get lynched. if you're a mafia member or even a townie you could try to look like a jester to get yourself out of a noose. In most cases that wont work tho.

So there you have it. If you cant get help from either side then just start accusing the wrong people and see where that gets you. Remember that you're neutral, so you dont have to listen to anybody. Happy Hanging!

The Sheriff, where's my gun?!

I just had one of the more memorable round of Town of Salem in a while. I helped catch most of the evildoers and started that before the roles were even assigned! I'll start with that and then go more into the role of Sheriff in general further down.

I was having a tough day in the game. The two rounds before that one I was killed first and the townies lost in the end too. So during name selection, I pleaded to the goodness of the others and asked for a heal, jail or a protect in the first night. Doing that is a good idea in any case. No matter what role you get, there's benefits to it. 

Most of the times I've done that, I was attacked by trolls in the first night anyways. And every time, the lookout was watching me too. Sometimes even the doc or a bodyguard obliged and we managed to both prove my innocence and lynch the evildoers. Sometimes when you're not an investigative role, making yourself a target to help the others is a great way to help the townies win.

Anyways, back to my recent game. I pleaded to the goodness of the others and sure enough, I was protected by the bodyguard in the first night and the Serial Killer bit the dust.

At the same time, as sheriff, I investigated someone and found out he was part of the mafia (or framed)

Because the Bodyguard had written in his Will that he protected me, that proved my innocence to the others. Likewise, someone was proven Veteran in the same day, so I whispered to him about my lead on the mafia. I also revealed that lead to everyone but said I would double check.

To my surprise, someone defended the person, saying they were in a call together and both innocent. I took note of that. At that point, the framer was obviously going to go for the same person again, if I said I would double check. Any good framer would do so. So I instead checked out the guy who defended my first suspect, who also turned out to be mafia. The game ended quickly.

Anyways, the Sheriff. This guy is apparantly the local law enforcement. No wait, just the law. He has no weapon to enforce anything. Once a night you can find out if someone is Mafia, Serial Killer or not suspicious.

Some things to remember: 

- If your target was framed, it will appear as if he is mafia.

- The Godfather and the Arsonist will appear to be not suspicious.

- If there is a Transporter in the round, you might need to double check because he might switch your targets without you knowing it.

- If there is a Witch controlling you, she too will switch your target to someone else without you knowing who.

As the Sheriff you're always off double-checking someone if you find someone who is mafia. Afterall you've got the above points to remember. Mainly the Framer. You're safer if you dont say anything about your target until you've checked twice. But you could try setting a little honey trap like mine if you want to, although I'd recommend only to do that if you've been proven innocent already...

If the game has reached the point where only a Godfather or Arsonist is left, your ability is useless. You'll want to remind the other roles, such as the Doctor or Bodyguard, so they dont let someone who is still important die and protect you, who cannot help anymore.

Should you however be in a game with new-ish players who may not know they are undetectable, you could try trapping them and having the Lookout watch you, or the Bodyguard protect you...

So that's the Sheriff. There really isnt much to him. Remember to always double-check possible mafia and more than anything, use logic and try to outwit your opposition.

The Executioner, a key player!

So I had a very fun round yesterday. I was part of the Mafia and despite our framer leaving before the round even started, we managed to pull out a win because we managed to identify and ally with the Executioner towards the end.

One particular player was not pleased at all with this evil alliance and proceeded to report us for "not playing the game the way it's meant to be played" before we lynched him. I was later told that the dead chat then gave him a royal scalding and he quit.

Despite that particular player's obvious ignorance and probable mental age of six and a half, I feel I should address the neutral roles in general in this post about the Executioner. So let's go!

The Executioner is yet another role that is really strong and yet still unpopular. Barely anyone would want to be the Executioner, but during the round it's important to find him quickly.

Your one and only condition to win the game is to lynch a randomly-assigned town member. Once that townie is dead, you win, regardless of the round's outcome and of your own survival. Should your target get killed at night, you will become a jester. You will not become a jester when your target is lynched, in that case you will remain an executioner for the remainder of the round.

(I should probably mention this too: If the round ends in a draw, you will loose even if your target is lynched. But you can disregard that as draw's are extremely rare).

As this guy, you are a neutral role. You can choose to side with any faction you want. Whichever one seems the most likely to help you achieve your goal. And yes, in rare cases the townies will help you too. Very rare cases. But before I get into alliances, I'll list a few tips for the Executioner on his own.

Dont jump the gun and accuse someone on day two. People will always have the possibility of Executioner in mind when they see random accusations. If you're feeling ballsy however, you can say that you have a lead that you'll be followin up the next night. Sometimes people ask to reveal said lead anyways and sometimes that even gets your target lynched immediately, since the evil roles never miss out on an opportunity to make townies look bad..

At night time, for a change you dont need to worry about being killed. The Executioner has immunity and doesnt risk being shot by the Veteren either, because he doesnt even visit people. There is a chance that you'll get attacked though. In that case the mafia will easily believe you're the Serial Killer. And he will easily make the assumption that you're the godfather. And if you're playing in a round with arsonists, you'll be mistaken for one of those too. Not good.

That little honey trap i mentioned above, the simple mentioning of a lead you'll follow up, is a great start to the game in any case. If you do use that line, you will be mistaken for an investigator and likely be targetted in the night. The next day, when the evil roles failed to kill you, and assuming they're somewhat open-minded, they should come to the realisation that you're the Executioner when you reveal your made-up confirmed lead on your target and help you vote him onto the gallows.

And should that plan fail because your target was killed at night, simply accuse some random person and if he dies, you'll be the next to lynch. But you'll get your fair share of jester tips when i make the post about him.

Sometimes to get your evil allies, my little honey trap will work as follows: Day Two, you say you have a possible lead. Day Three you reveal your target is an evil role. If the lynch isnt successful, there's the mafia mentality of "If i attack the guy accusing someone, then that second someone will be suspected and lynched". The mafia will target you and find out you're immune. Again, assuming the mafia are somewhat open-minded, they'll realise you're the executioner and try to get your target lynched with you.

When the executioner really comes into his element is when there's an equal amount of townies and evil roles left. When you are the deciding vote in overpowering a side. Before you do this next thing, make sure the jailor is dead. He is the destroyer of your world because he is the only one that can kill you whenever he sees fit.

As soon as the game reaches the point of equal sides, the executioner can reveal who his target is. Promise the mafia to help them end the game quicker if they spare your target at night. If they refuse and kill your target anyways, they're just being dicks.

But normally this will work and the game should end within the next two days and you'll win alongside them.

So to summarise, just like most neutral roles, you side with who you see fit to best help you get what you want. When the game reaches the point of equal sides, you can afford to openly assure your allies who you are in chat because there's nothing the townies can do to outvote you anymore anyways. 

Yes, that will seem unfair to the remaining townies, but that's not your problem. The game is over, all that remains is to kill them to end it. The evil alliance wins. That is "the way the game is meant to be played"!

The Medium, why so disappointed?

Well the medium is an unpopular role. You can talk to the dead, or to the living once when you're dead. Big Whoop, right? But think of it this way: 

- You're one of the few roles that can make allies somewhat reliably. 

- You're one of the few roles that can prove your role, to some extent. 

- You can also help convey what the dead didnt manage to! 

- Should you die, you can gather information from the dead and deliver it to the living later in the game. 

The medium is versatile! Let me talk you through those things...

Making allies: Lets assume that the game started horribly. Sheriff and Investigator got murdered and the Doctor was shot by a Veteran he visited. That is an awful start to any game.

At this point I'd start writing my will.Write down the dead roles with space for what they said next to them. And at night, question the dead. What did the Sheriff and Investigator find out? Maybe they found a person who is 100% innocent. Like the Doctor. He should know who the Veteran is that he visited..

Either way, you should have a few names from them. Hopefully some innocent people's names. The next day you should immediately whisper to those and say that you know they're innocent and that you'll stand up for them. Tell them you're a medium, there's nothing wrong with doing that in whispering. When you've made allies, tell them who is guilty, if you know any. That's how to make allies as the medium. You may not reliably be able to get people's attention as a medium, but the people you ally with can try to gather actual evidence to do that for you...

Should you get lynched dont insist on shouting out your role. Medium is probably the most used lie there is because you can just claim anything without people being able to check the validity of it. Instead try to name the other innocents or what the dead told you. With some luck, assuming the leftover survivors are somewhat smart, you should get spared. 

People who stand up for others are more than likely to be innocent as well. Afterall the mafia already have each-other as allies, Only very rarely do they bother allying with innocents as well... 

And if you do get killed, you left your will with all the info, right?

When you're dead early on, dont leave. When other people die, they can tell you who is reliable and you can contact that person later in the game with information they need to win!

But dont worry. for whatever reason the medium isnt considered a high priority target by the evil roles. If you do have to give out your role, you're mostly not targeted the night after. You can also somewhat rely on people taking care of, or watching you if you did have to give your role out. So concentrate your effort on getting as much info as possible from the dead into your will.

And remember that there is nothing wrong with telling the dead who you are. There's nothing they can do with that info that'd get you into trouble and it'll help them better judge who is and who isnt evil.

Failing everything, if you're dead and the game looks to be over, you can use your ability for a little fun. Why not contact the Serial Killer at night and joke around with him? He might give up his evil ways for you if you ask nicely... 

People do enjoy some company at night if they've been alone all game...

The Transporter, smells of gas, eh?

This role is quite powerful late-game and usually quite annoying earlier in the round. Here's my take on the Transporter.

The Transporter has the ability to switch two people's places, thus swapping all their incoming targets too. You can choose yourself to be one of those too. The people who are switched will know they've been transported.

Although this role doesnt sound very impressive, the possibilities are vast. The first thought that comes to mind is to protect yourself by switching with anyone random. Of course this works.

However I would suggest not to use your ability too early in the game. The first few nights you should really only use your ability if you really have to. Remember that you're swapping around the targets of investigators too. If a Sheriff targets you, and you accidentally switch with a mafioso, you'll be suspected as a mafioso!

That goes for anyone else too. The transporter can be a real pain for the townie investigators! So really try to keep the use of your ability to a mimimum. Use it to protect the mayor, or when the evil people start being identified.

Once the town starts figuring out who is evil, the transporter can start having fun. Switch the evil people with high priority targets to hopefully get them killed by friendly fire. Or switch the targets with night-immune people to protect them instead.

People who have left the game are good for the transporter. If you want to just survive the night, you might want to consider swapping places with a quitter, since they are the least likely to be targetted.

To the sheriff, you'll be reported as innocent. However the transporter may get into a little trouble with the investigators because he smells like gas. Much like the Arsonist. You might need to prove your role by swapping your accuser with yourself or someone at night.

Because the transporter is such a problem with the investigators, if you do use your ability, make sure to keep a record of it. You and others will need to be able to figure out who was really targetted.

So in short: Dont overuse your ability too early and when you do, keep a record of it; Enjoy transporting!

On a side note: If you're playing as an Arsonist, a good defence is claiming to be a transporter. If people say that nobody was transported all game, simply say that you didnt want to confuse the investigators and that your ability is best late-game. That trick has gotten me out of quite a few close calls.

Pointers and Help

Here's some things you might want to know. They might be obvious to some, but some of these are quite unknown and might help improve your playstyle.

- You can whisper to people with the command /w name or with their number in the round with /w number. Use it to get allies if you find out someone is innocent.

- If someone is being a very bad jester, simply spamming chat with obnoxious messages, try muting him with /mute number. So far this only works if you're alive.. I'm afraid the dead people will just have to bear it. You might want to report the person too, to prevent him from continuing his bad-kiddie playstyle...

- You can look back at the entire happening of the round by clicking on the speech bubble up next to your Will. Dont worry if you missed something, just scroll up and double check. Maybe dont do it at day time though, you'll miss other things.

- As the Jailor, you may want to give every prisoner a pasword. When you're about to be lynched, say it and they should vote you innocent. Such a minor detail could save your life...

- People who leave the game at day time have their name in brackets like so [Lucy]. If you're a transporter, you can still put them to good use. Try switching people with them, as the quitters are more than likely not going to get targetted...

- Watch out for traps. If people reveal an investigative role, they are likely using themselves as bait for the Lookout, or they are in fact a veteran that will shoot anyone who visits them.

- Try to understand who you're playing with. People have a unique way of writing. Maybe there was a Smiley in the DeathNote that someone used in the pre-game lobby or during the round? Little things like that can make a difference.

Likewise, if somebody silent suddenly becomes a talker, it may be an Executioner who turned into a Jester or even a Mafia Disguiser!

- Never give out your role unless it is absolutely necessary! Jail is an exception, but during the day you can often just point out that the person accusing you could be an Executioner, and you don't want to reveal your role to not become a target.

- Revealed Mayors cannot be healed by doctors. Many people dont know this. And as the Mayor is such an obvious target, it may be worth attacking him anyways since the town may think an attack would be too obvious!

- The neutral roles are not evil! Jesters and Executioners don't have to be killed to win the game. But they might try to side with the mafia if they promise to help them get their goal.

- When you are on trial, don't be rude. Try explaining with logic or reasoning why you're "innocent". Point out for example that you havent found anyone evil yet, but you know that A and B are innocent. The evil roles very rarely stand up for others and doing so might just save you from being lynched.

A brief look at all Roles

The following is a list of all current roles in the game and their abilities. More in-depth detail and strategies will be added in later posts. The order is alphabetical.

Townies:

BodyGuard: Your job is to protect the others. You can protect one person per night, or choose to wear a bullet-proof vest yourself instead. If you successfully protect another person, you will die along with your attacker, you can still be saved if the doctor healed you that same night though. Any normal person would naturally just keep the vests every night. However, you only get one.

Doctor: Much like the Bodyguard, you can heal one person per night, or yourself just once. If the person is attacked that night, you nurse them back to health and in most cases, you've found yourself someone you can trust too. Afterall the people who are attacked are usually the good guys.

Escort: Not a very appreciated role, but especially effective late-game. This role can block most other roles' night activity. If you're down to only a handful of people and block the right person at night, you might just save the game. However, if you try to block the Serial Killer, you become his victim instead. So be careful who you choose.

Investigator: You can investigate one person per night for clues to their role. However, declaring your finds early is not a particularly brilliant idea. You'll become a priority target, or you'll be branded evil yourself and lynched. Also, it may pay off to check a person twice if he's said to be a framer. He could just be getting framed instead...

Jailor: During day time, you can choose one person to lock in jail for the night. There you can anonymously talk with your prisoner. Normally the jailors ask them for a role and for proof. If later in the game it turns out they lied, drag them back into jail and execute them. Remember that guy who really shouldn't have gotten away at the gallows? Get him to drop the soap for you...

Lookout: Also an investigative role, the Lookout can choose one person's house per night to sit outside of. You'll be notified of everyone who visits the person. Good or bad people. If the person dies, you'll know who did it, if he's alive, you know who may be good.

Mayor: The Mayor is an especially powerful role late-game, despite only having two small abilities. You can reveal yourself officially to everyone as the mayor. And once you do that, your vote counts as three when lynching someone. Arguably it's a good idea to reveal yourself very early too, so that the other roles have someone to trust. You'll get protected quite likely too... or not.

Medium: This role is probably the least favourite role early-game. Your ability is speaking to the dead at night. The investigators died before revealing their info? Just ask them yourself at night! And once you die, you can choose one person to contact from death to give him more info. This can be game-deciding late-game...

Retributionist: This role is unique. It has the ability to revive one dead person. Assuming they didnt leave the game already... Nobody expects the jailor to be brought back to life at the end!

Sheriff: The Sheriff is another investigator. Every night he can get clues to someone's role. But they're more exact in the case of evil people and less exact in the case of good people. Very few roles are safe from sheriff-detection however. So a non suspicious person could still be an arsonist or a godfather.

Spy: The Spy is probably the best detective in the game. He can see what the mafia are saying during the night. He can see what people are secretly whispering during the day and he sees everyone who was visited by the mafia at dawn. That's a lot of info, so be sure to write it down in your will.

Transporter: Another powerful role late-game. This one can switch around two people. All targets will be switched around too. You know who is evil? Switch them into the line of fire of their comrades! This role can decide the game. But it can mess up investigations of others too, so watch out!

Veteran: The Veteran, although harmless at first glance because he can't target, if played well, will mess people up. You can go "on alert" during three nights of your choice. You could pose as an investigator and lure all the villains into a trap, because while you're on alert, everybody who visits you gets shot. Just dont be surprised if there's a pile of bodies outside after one of your alert nights...

Vigilante: The Vigilante is the law. Someone you dont like? Just march over to him at night and kill him. Just make sure it's a bad guy, because if you kill an innocent, you'll die of guilt the next night.

Mafia:

Blackmailer: This role is pure evil. Ideal to lynch someone if done well. Whoever this person targets at night can not talk during the following day. The only thing that can be said by someone who is blackmailed is "I am blackmailed" and only when he's being lynched too..

Consigliere: This guy is the best guy for figuring out someone's role. He visits one person per night to find out what they are. He's your man for reconnaissance.

Consort: The consort is the evil escort. He distracts one person every night, so they cant do their night time activity. Those pesky investigators wont get anything. 

Disguiser: Not an easy role to master at all, but exceptionally powerful if done right. This guy can disguise himself as someone his fellow mafia kills. Make sure that the target leaves no will though, because if there's a will, its mostly over for the disguiser in seconds. The best way to use this role would be to disguise as someone who has already proven their innocence, like the mayor.

Framer: The framer is like a circumstancial blackmailer. He targets one person at night and if said person is investigated, he will appear to be a framer. If someone orders to check someone at night, you should probably slip in some of your illegal documents...

Godfather: As the leader of the mafia, you are immune to attacks, undetectable to the sheriff and you overrule the choice of your mafioso underlings when it comes to choosing a kill. 

Janitor: Dont worry. You dont need to go anywhere near toilets. The janitor is best teamed up with the disguiser, because you can hide one target's role and destroy their will, assuming they die. It's quite good to buy your friends an alibi when one dead role is unknown.

Mafioso: You are the godfather's underling. You can choose who you want to kill, or you can be ordered to kill the godfather's target. If the godfather chooses a target, the mafioso will have to march over there and do the dirty work. Any other role in the mafia will be promoted to Mafioso if there is no godfather or mafioso left alive.

Neutral:

Amnesiac: You dont really remember who you are. But you think you were like one of the dead people. You can choose one of their roles to assume. This only works once. When you take their role, the whole town is told that an amnesiac has assumed that role. If anyone knew you were the amnesiac, they'll know that you took the role. Be a good guy or be a bad guy. Or you can just stay the way you are and just try to survive until the end to win.

Arsonist: You need to kill everyone except for other Arsonists, witches and survivors. They can all win alongside you. In addition, you're immune to attacks at night and nobody is immune to yours. You can choose one person at night to douse in gas. The target will know they're doused. The following night you can either add another victim to your list or select yourself to ignite all your targets, as well as the targets of other arsonists! This guy is a threat to everyone and needs to be found and stopped fast!

Executioner: You are immune to attacks at night and your only goal is to get a certain innocent town member lynched. Once your target is lynched, you win, regardless of the outcome of the round. You might want to ally with the mafia by promising them your vote in lynches in exchange for your target. However, if your target dies at night, you will become a jester.

Jester: The jester, also a former executioner, only has one objective and no abilities. You want to be lynched. If you're lynched, you win, regardless of the round's outcome. Oh, and if you are lynched, you can also kill one of your guilty-voters the night after. This can often decide the outcome of the game. You're going to have to try quite hard to get lynched though. The townies will not just hang you because you ask nicely. You should try either accusing an innocent townie to get lynched the day after, or maybe just make a poor excuse when you're randomly accused of something. It's quite tricky...

Serial Killer: You're evil. You attack to kill someone every night. You're also immune to attacks at night yourself. You can still be killed by Veterans or Bodyguards though, so watch out who you target. The mafia will try to find and kill you quickly too, as you need to kill them as well. You dont need to kill everyone though! You can choose to spare witches and survivors because their winning conditions dont conflict with your own.

Survivor: You're all alone in a ruthless world of maniacs and murderers. You can only win if you're alive at the end. The mafia doesnt need to kill you, the townies dont need you dead and neither do the hostile neutrals. But that doesnt mean they'll spare you. And you cant prove your innocence either. That's why you've got four bullet-proof vests to keep you alive. Try and ally with a side before you run out.

Witch: The witch is the wild card. You can cause the most confusion and mess up everything. You win once all the townies are dead. But you are a rather big threat especially to the mafia and the hostile neutrals. You can choose one person per night to control and target a person of your choice. If you happen to control the serial killer, you choose who he kills, including himself. You can make the mafia kill one another. You can make an arsonist walk onto the veteran's doorstep to get killed. There are many options. Your target will know they were possessed, so it might be worth staying low until a little later.

The Spy, my favourite role

In Town of Salem, the spy is easily the most informed person at any given time. All of his abilities are investigative and since you dont visit anyone at night either, none of the other investigative townies will have reason to accuse you of being evil. 

The Spy's abilities all greatly fit his role's name. At night he can see what the mafia is saying. He cannot see their names though. After every night the spy is shown everyone who was visited by the mafia. And during the day, the spy can read the secret messages people exchange via whispering too!

Of course with all these abilities the spy is a very high priority target for the mafia. An open revelation in chat should be avoided at the start of the game. Only reveal near the beginning if you're about to by lynched, because unlike most, if not all, other roles, the spy can actually prove his innocence! Simply tell someone to whisper to another person and repeat it. If the other innocents are somewhat intelligent, they should vote to save you.

So how does the Spy help win the game? Well first I'd suggest getting allies. Since you see who is visited by the mafia each night, you could try to gain those people's trust by whispering to them. Say that you're innocent and you know that they arent mafia. The more people you win over, the more likely it is for someone you suspect to be lynched.

Next you should of course update your Will every night. Not only does it help you keep track of everyone who was visited by the mafia, but if you die, this information isn't lost. Write down everybody who the mafia visited. Near the end of the game, this should help figure out who actually is a member of the mafia by process of elimination. After all, the mafia wouldn't visit themselves at night...

Of course not every target of the mafia dies at night. You should keep a note of those as well, as they are possibly evil as well. Serial Killers and Arsonists have immunity to the mafia's kills and if anything, need to be found sooner.

If you manage to get the trust of a Transporter, you should make him tell you who he transported at night, so he doesnt end up confusing you by making mafia visit other mafia.

"Playing the Spy card" as I call it, is a trick i came up with that is very effective late-game. If you are a member of the mafia. You can easily gain the trust of the townies by pretending to be a spy. Of course you can't prove it with the whispering method, but people never think of that anyways.

To make townies vote to lynch one another, you simply say who was visited by the mafia, which you know since you did it, and who wasnt. The Townies mostly will believe that half-truth and vote for the person you frame.

That's how I play the Spy. I love that role! I'll leave more ideas or advice for this role later as well, should i think of more.

What is Town of Salem?

Town of Salem is a game of wits and deceit. Its currently gaining a lot of attention, thanks to popular Youtubers and Streamers making it known to their audiences, which is also how I found it.

The aim of the game is simple: Use reasoning or deceit to gain the other players' trust and dont die. Sounds simple, right?

Well it gets harder. Every player in a round of 15 is assigned a role and only very few investigative roles can determine the role of others to some extent.

But dont worry, it's not a Free-for-All. The players are divided into three factions. The innocent Townies, the not-so-innocent Mafia, and the Neutrals, who can ally with either side to win.

Here's how it goes: The Mafia has the option to talk to each-other at night. They also know who the other mafia members are. They have a clear advantage. However, they are definitely outnumbered. Their goal is to kill all the innocent town members until only the mafia remains. And every night, they can target someone to kill.  

Sometimes though, you will wake up in the morning and nobody is dead. Some people have the ability to heal, guard, or block other roles.

However if you do die, dont worry! You can still be of help to the townies. You have the option to keep a Journal, or a Last Will which will be seen by everyone when you die, along with your role. Use it to leave all you've learned behind for the others.

And there can be a medium in town too, who has the unique ability to communicate with the dead at night to get their info. So dont be discouraged when you die in the first night. You can still win if the townies win!

Sometimes though, you will wake up in the morning and nobody is dead. Some people have the ability to heal, guard, or block other roles. 

Yeah, there are a lot of different roles, and memorising each one's ability can be a little overwhelming. But you dont necessarily need to. Your own abilities are displayed for you in every game to make your job so much easier!

So how do the innocent win, if only the mafia can kill? This is where the wits and deceit come into play. At day time, after determining who died and how, everyone is free to talk for a short time and exchange whatever information they were able to acquire. This time is used to figure out by majority vote, who is evil. And if enough people unite, one person a day can be "lynched", or hung.

Be wary however. There's some lunatics in town who want nothing more than to be lynched. If you lynch them, they will have the last laugh, along with their last breath.

Oh, and you should probably watch out for Witches, Arsonists and Serial Killers too. I hear they're hard to reason with. And one more thing, you don't want to get on the Jailor's bad side. That soap if pretty slippery...

The game is free to play online and requires no extra downloads. Registering is fast and easy and the website's layout and controls are easy to understand and manage.

Gameplay is limited to the chat and a few simple buttons. You dont need to be an avid gamer and be able to outplay the game's hardcore veterans! It's newcomer-friendly and relies more on intelligence and barely on gaming skill.

Without going into too much detail, that is how Town of Salem works. If I inspired you to play, feel free to head on over there right now! And if you want to show your gratitude, tell the game that DataBase90 sent you.