The Syndicate

lolol

after some addendums from jay, i will vote for option 3 now

the addendum to the second option is:

"In this case I mean for “ambiguity” to mean changeable or dynamic (implied not mid-game, but from game host to game host)
A game can take many possible forms (but each one should still be clear)"

so basically option 1 is mountainous and option 2 is non-mountainous

yea thats different, adding the addendum of "u cant change stuff" changes the thing a lot

in this case, i would vote for "Mafia is neither of those at all and is something else entirely (please specify)."

let me think how i'd word what is mafia to me then

"Mafia is a game with ambiguous boundaries and rules that are shaped to a host's vision."

voting for this feels silly, the "that are shaped to a host's vision" at the end feels like an unnecessary addition just to make it sound more pleasant to read, but when you think about it it doesn't mean anything or give any credit when compared to the first option

If your Mafia game has clear rules and boundaries those are also obviously shaped to a host's vision

the only difference to me between these two is "clear rules and boundaries" and "unclear rules and boundaries"

both of these are mafia games, sure, but the first one is a well designed mafia game and the second one is a badly designed mafia game

i don't see how having rules and boundaries being unclear can ever be better than having them clear

you can have a mafia game that allows for a lot of deception and unorthodox surprises and mechanics while also having clear rules and boundaries, and that's what you should strive to do