How many players do I need for Mafia in Telegram?

At least 4, and at most 12 on the free plan. Pro for the group raises the maximum to 20.

Why did a player get no role?

Each player must open the bot in a private chat first and press Start, because a bot cannot write first to a person. The Join button opens that chat. The bot names the players it could not reach, and they can play in the next game.

Does the bot need admin rights?

No. It runs in any group without admin rights. The host or an admin can end a game with /stop.

Yes, for 4 to 12 players. Pro is optional, per group: 150 Stars one time or 100 Stars every 30 days, for up to 20 players and Bunker mode.

How to Play Mafia in a Telegram Group

Mafia is a game of hidden roles. A few players are the Mafia and know each other. The rest are the town and know nothing. Each night the Mafia remove one person, and each day the group talks and votes out the person it trusts least. The town wins when all the Mafia are gone. The Mafia win when they are as many as everyone else left.

In a real room a moderator hands out the roles and runs the nights. In a chat that moderator is the problem, because the moderator knows everything and cannot play. @MafiaNightProBot takes that job in Telegram. It sends each player a secret role in a private message, collects the night choices there, keeps time and posts the results in the group.

This guide shows a full game from the lobby to the last vote, who gets which role, and the limits of the bot.

Keep reading

Steps

Add @MafiaNightProBot to the group. Use the button on this page or add the bot from its profile. It needs no admin right. A game needs 4 to 12 players on the free plan.
Send /mafia and let everyone tap Join. The bot posts a lobby card with a list of the players. Each player taps Join, which opens a private chat with the bot, and presses Start there. This step is necessary: a Telegram bot cannot write first to a person, so a player who skipped it gets no role.
The host taps Start. The person who sent /mafia, or a group admin, starts the game when at least 4 players are in. The bot sends each player a role by private message. If fewer than 4 players could be reached, it cancels the game and names the players it could not message.
Play the night in private messages. A night lasts 90 seconds. The Mafia pick who to remove, the Doctor picks who to protect, and the Detective picks who to check. The Detective gets an answer at once: that person is Mafia or is not. The group chat stays quiet.
Read the morning and talk. The bot posts who was removed and which role they had, or says that nobody was removed, for example when the Doctor protected the person the Mafia picked. Then the day starts. Players accuse, defend and question each other in the group chat.
Vote, and repeat until someone wins. A day lasts 120 seconds. Every living player votes with the buttons on the bot's message, or skips. The person with the most votes is out and their role is shown. A tie means nobody is out. The night follows, until the town removes all the Mafia or the Mafia match everyone else.

Good to know

There is one Mafia for every 4 players. The Doctor plays from five players and the Detective from six, and everyone else is a Civilian. A game of four has one Mafia and three Civilians.
The Mafia cannot pick another Mafia. The Doctor can protect themselves, and the Detective cannot check themselves. A night ends sooner when every role with a task has chosen.
The bot cannot stop a removed player from writing in the group, because it has no admin right. Agree in your group that removed players stay quiet.
The bot closes any game after 3 hours at most, and a lobby that nobody starts also closes by itself. The host or a group admin can end a game at any time with /stop. /report sends a problem with a game or a player to the maker.
Pro is per group and optional. An admin pays in a private chat: 150 Telegram Stars one time, or 100 Stars every 30 days. It raises the maximum to 20 players and opens Bunker mode, a second game with a survivor card for each player and 6 catastrophes. Start it with /bunker.
The bot keeps one record for a game in progress, with the players, their roles and their votes, and a timer closes the game after 3 hours at most.

Add to a group See MafiaNightProBot About the bot

FAQ

How many players do I need for Mafia in Telegram?: At least 4, and at most 12 on the free plan. Pro for the group raises the maximum to 20.
Why did a player get no role?: Each player must open the bot in a private chat first and press Start, because a bot cannot write first to a person. The Join button opens that chat. The bot names the players it could not reach, and they can play in the next game.
Does the bot need admin rights?: No. It runs in any group without admin rights. The host or an admin can end a game with /stop.
Is the game free?: Yes, for 4 to 12 players. Pro is optional, per group: 150 Stars one time or 100 Stars every 30 days, for up to 20 players and Bunker mode.

Related guides

Related bots

MafiaNightProBot — The Mafia party game in your Telegram group, with secret roles sent in private.
AnonInboxProBot — A personal link where strangers write to you anonymously; you reply and can block.
AnonSayProBot — Post anonymously into a Telegram group through the bot.
JoinApproveProBot — Approves every join request at once and sends each new member one welcome message.

Curious what the Pro features cost? See pricing.