- Published by: Asmodee
- Distributed by: Esdevium Games
- RRP: £19.99
- Players: 6 to 12
Mafia de Cuba is a social deduction game in which five to eleven players seek to help or fool a player assuming the role of the Godfather. Sometimes though, helping is fooling and fooling is helping.
The game box, as well as being an awesome looking storage box, actually serves as part of the game.
The game box is filled with a combination of diamonds and roles that players can assume. The game starts with fifteen diamonds and a collection of roles (which roles depend on the amount of players in the game) in the game box. The godfather secretly removes an amount of diamonds (between zero and five) and then passes it clockwise around the table. Players then secretly remove either a character role token or some diamonds until the box gets passed back to the Godfather.
If you took diamonds out, you’re a thief, if you took a role (of which there are five), then you’ve got a specific goal to ensure you win. For example, if you’re an Agent (CIA or FBI) your goal is to get the Godfather to accuse you. If you’re a loyal henchman, your goal is to get the Godfather to win and if you’re the driver, you win if the player to your right wins.
The godfather then begins his interrogation to gather information and makes his accusations to try and find all the thieves.
Mafia de Cuba is a game best played with more than less players. Playing with six is great, but more adds much more atmosphere and room for deception. The more players there are, the more roles are added to the mix and that increases the intrigue tenfold.
Being a social game, you get out what you put in to it. Roleplaying the Godfather a little and putting the other players under pressure is encouraged and one enthusiastic person can inspire the rest towards a very memorable game.
The product is high quality and everything is contained nicely in the portable box, making it an awesome travel companion. Not everyone however has access to between six and twelve players easily and while Mafia de Cuba is very enjoyable to play, the games can be very quick.
Mafia de Cuba is a very polished social game that after the first few games (if you have enough players) is a very easy pick up and play game. Because of its easy rules (which as long as one player knows, the rest can be taught in their first game), condensed components and sharp game length it makes a fantastic party or filler game. If social games are not your thing, or you don’t have access to the required amount of players, then this game really isn’t for you. Player participation is key to everyone’s enjoyment in Mafia de Cuba.
4 out of 5 Nerds
Irwin Fletcher
I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.
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