2019 Socky Awards

#1

Preliminary hype post

Coming in January

Voting begins when The Wire ends

Send your favorite quotes from the year of Mafia to [mention]Sockys2019[/mention]!

#2

2019 Socky Awards

We've completed the last Mafia game on The Syndicate in 2019, and that means we're going to get started with Socky Awards voting. There's no time to waste!

Voting Guidelines

~ You are eligible to vote in these Socky awards if you played in or hosted at least one of the eligible games listed in the spoiler at the bottom of this post.

~ You may place TWO votes in each category, though it is not required. There will still be only one winner named (barring unique tie scenarios); this allows for more people to be recognized.

~ All votes must be sent privately to this Sockys2019 account to count. Link

~ You are not required to vote in every category.

~ Voting will be open starting now through at least Sunday the 19th of January at 11:59 PM EST. I may extend this deadline if necessary.

~ You are allowed to discuss your votes in this thread or campaign if you so desire. Remember though that some element of surprise makes it more fun.

~ You are permitted to vote for yourself if you so desire.

If you have any questions, please direct them to me.

Games eligible for consideration (click spoiler)

*note that as usual, special games are grouped in with the most appropriate standard game types

Spoiler: show

I will describe the awards categories in the next post.

#3

Awards Categories

Categories for Indivdual GAMES
*Note that "special games" have been grouped with the most appropriate category based on size and duration.

Best Job -- Which 2019 game within the Jobs category do you feel was the most exciting, fun, and/or best built? Define this however you like. Eligible games are included in the following spoiler:

Spoiler: show

Best Side Mission -- Which 2019 game within the Side Missions category do you feel was the most exciting, fun, and/or best built? Define this however you like. Eligible games are included in the following spoiler:

Spoiler: show

Best Heist -- Which 2019 game within the Heists category do you feel was the most exciting, fun, and/or best built? Define this however you like. Eligible games are included in the following spoiler:

Spoiler: show

Best Theme -- Which 2019 game within any category do you feel boasted the best theme? Define this however you like. All games are eligible.

Best Civilian Team Victory -- Within which 2019 game do you feel the civilian faction performed the best? All games are eligible.

Best Mafia Team Victory -- Within which 2019 game do you feel a mafia team or the mafia faction performed the best? All games are eligible.

Categories for Indivdual PLAYERS

Best Host or Host Team -- Which host or team of hosts do you think provided the overall best Mafia experience of the 2019 year? All games are eligible.

Best Civilian -- Which individual player do you feel was the best performer as a civilian in 2019, either in reference to a single game performance or the full year in combination? Define this however you like.

Best Mafioso -- Which individual player do you feel was the best performer as a mafioso in 2019, either in reference to a single game performance or the full year in combination? Define this however you like.

Best Independent -- Which individual player do you feel was the best performer as an independent role in 2019, either in reference to a single game performance or the full year in combination? Define this however you like.

Best Newcomer -- Which individual player who played their first-ever game on The Syndicate in 2019 do you feel was the best performer, added the most to the community, and/or was the most entertaining? Define this however you like. Players who meet this criteria are listed in the following spoiler:

Spoiler: show

*If you feel you or someone else should be included here but isn't, please let JaggedJimmyJay know ASAP.

Best Role Use -- Which individual player do you feel used the mechanics of their role the most effectively or in the most entertaining way during a game in 2019? Define this however you like.

Most Valuable Player -- Which individual player do you feel was the best overall performer in the game of Mafia, regardless of role or alignment, in 2019? This may reference a single game performance or an overall body of work through the year. Define this however you like.

Additional Categories

Spirit Award -- This award is perhaps the most broad. Which individual player and/or contributor to the Mafia community here on The Syndicate did the most to promote a fun and welcoming playing environment for everyone else to enjoy in 2019? Define this however you like.

Funniest Poster -- Which indivdual player or contributor made you laugh the most in 2019? Define this however you like.

Best Quote -- In a post coming soon I will provide a number of quotes submitted to this account throughout the year as candidates for this award. You may select among that group or vote for any other quote you may prefer from anywhere on the site during the 2019 year.

*We had few if any banners this year, so we'll forego that award for now. Perhaps late arrivals can be eligible next year.

#4

The Lifetime Achievement Award

This is the third appearance of this prestigious award. This can be viewed as a sort of "Hall of Fame" induction, not to be confused with the Hall of Fame forum on this site where we keep statistical track of each game and player. This award does not refer only to 2019 game play. It refers to the entire body of work (referring specifically to their Mafia play and/or hosting) for a player's time on this website from the day they registered.

Not everyone is eligible to be inducted this year. This will function similarly to an athletic Hall of Fame, like those seen for professional sports. This year, only players who joined The Syndicate in the year 2015 or earlier are considered to be eligible for a Lifetime Achievement Award. Last year the cutoff was at 2014, and now we have advanced it one year. Next year the cutoff will be 2016. Again, to be eligible for the Lifetime Achievement Award, your nominee must have joined the site during or before the year 2015.

Those who have already won this award are ineligible: Epignosis, M Plus 7, S~V~S, Long Con, juliets, Spacedaisy, insertnamehere, and DharmaHelper

This link directs to the member list, ordered by date of registration. Eligible players continue into page 10.

You may vote for three players here, and three players will be inducted. In the event of ties, the Socky Awards team will convene to come to a solution.

Everyone is eligible to vote for this award, including those who are not eligible to receive it.

#5

The following quotes were submitted to the Sockys2019 account during the year as candidates for the Best Quote award:

Spoiler: show

DharmaHelper wrote: ↑Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:28 pm
nutella wrote: ↑Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:24 pm Hahhaha Nike do it bitch And the wifom one omg how did you even come up with this
Step 1: Desperately need a "Funniest Post" Socky

Step 2: Stay awake until like 3:30 AM so your brain is all "Wow that's funny say that."

indiglo wrote: ↑Mon Mar 04, 2019 7:29 pm
JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Mon Mar 04, 2019 6:23 pm Can I have y'all's thoughts on nutella please and thank you
I love it, personally. Delicious on toast, or with fruit.

MacDougall wrote: ↑Wed Mar 06, 2019 7:33 pm I find it much harder to read ladies than men. This game is harder for me than usual.

MacDougall wrote: ↑Thu Mar 14, 2019 5:36 am Every time I envision Nova posting I imagine him sitting there sipping on a drink with a smirk on his face. Everything has a snarky tone to it. His tone reeks of mischief and mayhem. He's like the guy you catch staring at you from across the room while pretending to read the paper and then goes back to the paper and pretends you never made eye contact and he has a grey trenchcoat on and a tall hat.

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Tue Mar 19, 2019 6:42 pm
Jackofhearts2005 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 19, 2019 6:41 pm Jay: Somebody give me an excuse to vote DDL
Everyone: ...
Jay: Convincing. Vote DDL
When people don't answer me I do shit myself, like always.

speedchuck wrote: ↑Mon Apr 22, 2019 10:30 pm
JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Mon Apr 22, 2019 10:11 pm
speedchuck wrote: ↑Mon Apr 22, 2019 10:11 pm A little early to tell. I have a quindar not a novadar
trade it in at your local game stop
Traded it in, but all I can get for the return price is a glorfindar

novaselinenever wrote: ↑Tue Apr 30, 2019 8:27 pm

Jackofhearts2005 wrote: ↑Fri May 17, 2019 5:46 pm
Sloonei wrote: ↑Fri May 17, 2019 3:13 pm
Ultra wrote: ↑Fri May 17, 2019 3:10 pm Sloonei comes off as a bit stiff to me, just as a first impression
What does "stiff" mean in this context? is that a good or bad thing?

Well you see, when a man really likes someone...

Fayt wrote: ↑Thu Oct 17, 2019 2:37 am reading two people who I town read fight each other is like mom and dad arguing who's fault is it when the dog shits on the carpet.

112 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 27, 2019 8:33 pm
Benson wrote: ↑Sun Oct 27, 2019 8:29 pm
112 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 27, 2019 8:28 pm I just want to acknowledge how much empathy I feel for all the scum we're going to lynch together, Mac.
Why do seemingly already know Mac is town? Enlighten
fucking hell benson enlightenment is not something i tell you. you do it yourself with my help. this is a two-way street.

it's probably because of the mushrooms i did before the game started. i'm in my super-saiyan mode now- way above what can be said through the limits of language.

go study the esotericists and stuff if you want mafia enlightenment

Evenstar wrote: ↑Sun Oct 27, 2019 1:04 am
Dragomir wrote: ↑Sun Oct 27, 2019 12:39 am
Evenstar wrote: ↑Sun Oct 27, 2019 12:00 am
Dragomir wrote: ↑Sat Oct 26, 2019 11:55 pm
Evenstar wrote: ↑Sat Oct 26, 2019 11:50 pm
Dragomir wrote: ↑Sat Oct 26, 2019 11:48 pm
Evenstar wrote: ↑Sat Oct 26, 2019 11:46 pm

Would it be crass for me to volunteer?
Dunno why you're asking me instead of her. I don't wanna sleep with you.
Aw, what a shame.
Oh shit, I just realized that you're a girl. We can hit the bed anytime then
Does that line generally work for you?
Everything works for me baby girl. Everything.
Cool. Where would you like to be branded?

Dom wrote: ↑Tue Nov 12, 2019 12:01 am all y'all married and i will continue to sit here like a potato.

You may vote for any of these if you like, or alternatively you may nominate a new 2019 quote from anywhere on the website.

#6

Best newbie is going to be hard to pick this year.

#7

There are a lot of new 2015 to consider for the Lifetime Achievement Award but I want to remind everyone that somehow nutella has not yet received this honor (she joined the site in June 2013). She has played consistently at a high level all these years and imo really deserves one of the three awards.

#8

juliets wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2019 1:00 pm There are a lot of new 2015 to consider for the Lifetime Achievement Award but I want to remind everyone that somehow nutella has not yet received this honor (she joined the site in June 2013). She has played consistently at a high level all these years and imo really deserves one of the three awards.

That award is basically two votes for me instead of three. One is locked.

#9

That Lifetime Achievement Award vote is nigh impossible between at least 12 deserving people and another 12 that deserve to get in at some point. Three votes just isn’t enough.

#10

I’m against the lifetime achievement award on principle because I’m not likely to win.

#11

Jackofhearts2005 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2019 9:13 pm I’m against the lifetime achievement award on principle because I’m not likely to win.

The door opens next year.

#12

Intriguing...

#13

I played some good games this year it'll be hard to choose. Are we doing the awards in game form again like we did last year? That was fun.

#14

sabie12 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 28, 2019 2:54 pm I played some good games this year it'll be hard to choose. Are we doing the awards in game form again like we did last year? That was fun.

Unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to host such a thing this year. We'll still have a ceremony night though.

#15

I'm going to make a plug:

Sloonei for Best Role Use.

It could be argued that he singlehandedly flipped that game (Fallout) from a civilian loss to a civilian win in one day phase. He was the shopkeeper, and he could use his own stock at an elevated price. After some good gambling fortune, he'd compiled materials to remove a vote from a player and separately to add a vote to a player. He used both to switch a lynch from town to mafia, which then led to the last mafioso conceding.

#16

I endorse this message.

#17

I’m in the process of writing up my memories of all the games I’ve played in but I’m going plug a player for the spirit award first.

Nutella represented us in the MU tournament and even though her faction lost in both the qualifier and WC (champs is scumsided), she remained undeterred, continuing to hunt (and well, I might add) in specchat until game end. Several new players joined our site for a chance to play with Nutella and Mac again. As a bit of an obvious wolf, she never gets sore at getting caught. As a damn near unlynchable townie, she puts her best into every game before she can be nightkilled and shows up every post game to show she was still following along. I’ve never seen her get a big head or get tilted over a game. Would that every player was as good a sport and as pleasant a person as her.

Spoiler: show

#18

Tough year for quotes. We're not as funny as we used to be.

#19

Turnip Head wrote: ↑Sun Dec 29, 2019 10:18 pm Tough year for quotes. We're not as funny as we used to be.

When "Do it bitch" is our zeitgeist, things have taken a sour turn.

#20

Jay announcing to us all that he poops himself was brilliant, come on.

#21

Novase for best Mafioso.

#22

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2019 9:36 pm
Jackofhearts2005 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2019 9:13 pm I’m against the lifetime achievement award on principle because I’m not likely to win.
The door opens next year.

oh wait im on the list for this year

my how time flies

#23

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm votes so delicious

#24

Genuinely enthused to have been nominated for two Sockys, awards I didn't even know were a thing.

#25

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Sun Dec 29, 2019 2:12 pm I'm going to make a plug:

Sloonei for Best Role Use.

It could be argued that he singlehandedly flipped that game (Fallout) from a civilian loss to a civilian win in one day phase. He was the shopkeeper, and he could use his own stock at an elevated price. After some good gambling fortune, he'd compiled materials to remove a vote from a player and separately to add a vote to a player. He used both to switch a lynch from town to mafia, which then led to the last mafioso conceding.

sad agree

#26

Juliets in Inception is another candidate for Best Role Use. She saved all her commuter shots til the end of the game, when just about every other ability in the game had been spent. She was able to avoid two deaths late in the game and prolonged town’s chance of winning the game. They came up one lynch short in the end, but they would not have been there at all if not for juliets.

#27

Sloonei wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 12:37 pm Juliets in Inception is another candidate for Best Role Use. She saved all her commuter shots til the end of the game, when just about every other ability in the game had been spent. She was able to avoid two deaths late in the game and prolonged town’s chance of winning the game. They came up one lynch short in the end, but they would not have been there at all if not for juliets.

Also very valid.

#28

Disclaimer: I’m mostly giving shoutouts to players who may win awards. So if I emphasize LC’s play over Eva’s in Inception, it’s not because Eva didn’t play a good game but rather that LC has played several good games this year and that’s noteworthy whereas Eva played one game total. Also, this is based off my memory and some skimming. If you played a damn good D1 and then got nightkilled and I lasted until lylo (or vice versa), I may have forgotten your play.

Jerbs
The Game of Champions 2018
MU Season 6 Scrimmage
Didn’t play in these games.

Mafia: A World Asunder
Standout for best theme and role design by LC. The roles were spectacular with great theme, hidden alignments, duplicate roles, fake roles and roles not appearing on the list. Fun and memorable events like the triplets trying to get lynched, the race to recruit the statue, btsc between factions and the world literally breaking and burning down. Strong indy performance by DH, who convinced other factions to vote against their best interests even though he was a known nontownie. I think Mac lead his scumteam to the win late game but I was dead by then. Leetic fooled me as well.

World Flags Mafia
Jay + massclaim lead to a pretty crushing town win.

Arrowverse Mafia
Probably my vote for town of the year. Town one by one teed up on the scumteams with wolf lynches on days 1, 3 and 4. None of the last ~10 players were wolves or cult. General good play from town vigilante Macdougal along with his endgame pals, Epi, Colin, LC and Jack. Sprityo and DDL both helped the town early on but had to be eliminated late game via poe. As always, DF designs an entertaining and thematic game. Iirc, Sloonei played a decent 3P game but the town won too quick for him to claim victory.

Zootopia Mafia
Troll game from yours truly. LC pulled off an impressive wolf win after his teammate was eliminated early.

Escape from Sockville Penitentiary
I replaced into this game and coasted to wolf win with Sprityo.

Don’t remember all that much about it. Cute role list from Sloonei.

Girl Genius
Frustrating game from my perspective but that’s mostly cause I played poorly.

Good scumplay from Dys and Juliets with help from Michelle allowed the scumteam to go far. Some bastard mechanics probably keep this game from getting my vote for a best job, theme, etc but the game was undeniably crafted with love by DDL. I never really enjoy endgames that come down to town vs wolves vs 3P when I’m town because it feels like the town gets some extra time to solve past the point where they can effectively lynch all the baddies, which is what happened here. The game also suffered from certain roles being hindered from Quin’s well designed 3P role being neutered by which roles happened to not get killed off over the course of the game and by the serial killer not being very active in endgame. What I’m saying is that if you run this game 10 times, you’ll have a great time 8-9 of those times so it maybe deserves awards over the fun I personally had.

Inception Mafia
This is another well designed game from Jay and Sloonei and a strong contender for best overall job. The dream level mechanics were interesting and fun and the game itself was so close it came down to a coin flip in the final four. We had a bunch of talented newcomers here and overall, a damn strong performance by all factions. All Syndicate posting records were absolutely shattered. I probably will vote here for best wolf team as the wolves went unlynched on every dreamlevel (ie with multiple lynches per day) from iirc day 2 to day 5 and went unlynched at “lylo” twice. For the third time this year, I survived lylo ftw as a lone wolf so maybe keep that in mind when voting.

This game is also a feather in the caps of Juliets (town), Nutella (town), LC (scum) and Mac (scum) if you’re considering them for a best player award.

The Wire Mafia
Another standout design, this time from Nova. Roles were thematic and had rarely or never before seen modifiers. Hard bussing and a don cloak allowed wolves Jack and Nanook to go into endgame with very little chance of being lynched.

#29

Next person to submit votes gets a special surprise

#30

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Sat Jan 04, 2020 1:29 pm Next person to submit votes gets a special surprise

What kinda surprise?

#31

Jackofhearts2005 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 05, 2020 6:20 pm
JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Sat Jan 04, 2020 1:29 pm Next person to submit votes gets a special surprise
What kinda surprise?

#32

Side Missions
2018 Socky Awards Mafia
Community Mafia
Gossip Girl Mafia
Better Off Ted
Dogs vs. Cats
Didn’t play in these games. I heard Nova put in a good wolf performance in cats vs dogs.

Vault Hunt
Per D3 wolfchat “Whatever, this setup is townsided anyway...if the town outplays the mafia like crazy.” Mac immediately finds flaws with the soupkill mechanic by claiming early and surviving the game so that’s a fair use of mechanics vote choice. MVP goes to townie Sprityo if memory serves.

Steely Dan
Dunya and Eloh play well and defeat the town. Idk about “best wolf team” but I had a loooooot of fun with them and Mac in scumchat.

Fallout: A Post-Nuclear Mafia Game
Fairly strong town victory. Last wolf conceded, unable to find a way to win at 1 vs 3 vs 1. Interesting setup and mechanics from Jay. I would get town points for calling out Mac’s recruitment into the mafia except I was 3P and needed Mac to last longer to win.

Sloonei was probably town mvp.

Kirby Mafia
Close game where the wolves almost won but Drago insisted to not do the (at face value) mechanically correct no lynch at 3 vs 1 since he was a princess (which lone wolf me knew), saving the town.

#33

Heists
Vanilla Mafia
One Post Mafia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Phenon: Origins REDUX
^I don’t think I played in these.

Shockheaded Peter Mafia
Jay calls out the entire mafia D1. Jack hard busses Luna and Speed and then proceeds to systematically mislynch for the rest of the game.
Mac: Jack was insane. I would never have lynched him. One of the most impressive scum performances I have ever seen.

The Addams Family Mafia
Jack finds both wolves on D1, lynches one of them, somehow manages to get mislynched on D2 and the town follows up later ftw.

Persona 5 Mafia
SMT is better than Persona, which is for casuals. Rej gets funniest big brain play of the year by accidentally lynching himself. Strong town performances from Drago, Jay, Jack, Nutella, Mac, and Sprityo. This game should be in the running for best town team.

An Australian Country Murder Mystery
Jack catches Nutella D1 but town doesn’t feel like lynching her until later. Dom puts forth a valiant attempt to save the wolf team but ultimately can’t stop the town as lead by iirc LC and Epi.

So apparently, I kill at jobs and heists and suck at side missions.

#34

Jack’s shortlist

Best job:
World Asunder
Inception

Best Side Mission:
Steely Dan
Fallout

Best Heist:
Shockhead Peter
Persona 5

Best Theme:
World Asunder
Arrowverse
Fallout

Best Civ Team:
World Flags
Arrowverse
Inception
Vault Hunt
Fallout
Australian Murder

Best Mafia Team:
Inception
Steely Dan

Best Host:
Jay (Inception, Fallout)
Epi (Shockhead Peter, Steely Dan, Kirby)

Best Civvy:
Jay (Shockhead Peter, Persona, Flags)
Mac (Arrowverse)
Sprityo (Vault Hunt)
Drago (Kirby, Persona)
Juliets (Inception)
Jack I guess (Australian, Addams Family)

Best Wolf:
Mac (Inception, World Asunder)
Nova (Cats vs Dogs)
Dunya (Steely Dan)
LC (Inception, Zootopia)
Jack did alright (Shockhead Peter, Inception, The Wire)

Best Indy:
DH (World Asunder)

Best Newcomer:
Drago
Michelle
Rej
(Killed a lot of players I personally enjoyed playing with that played less than 3 games. It’s a vague award.)

#35

If I get multiple votes that’s not much of a shortlist. Oh well.

#36

HELP! I AM ALLERGIC TO TIES! THERE ARE SO MANY!

#37

You asked for move votes and I gave you more votes.

#38

Jackofhearts2005 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 06, 2020 2:26 pm You asked for move votes and I gave you more votes.

#39

Sockys2019 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 06, 2020 12:34 pm HELP! I AM ALLERGIC TO TIES! THERE ARE SO MANY!

Socks are an item designed principally for comfort, whereas ties create naught but discomfort and tacky ornamentation. I feel for you, Sockys.

#40

Just over a week remaining, gang.

#41

Ties look fabulous. Socks are just these silly foot mittens , aka shoe underwear

#42

2019 Tiey Awards

#43

I plan on putting votes in sometime this weekend.

#44

Even if I vote for what I played or followed last year, I won't be able to vote in many categories. I'll throw my two cents in tomorrow night.

#45

Just sheep my votes. Clearly, I caused all of the ties so my votes are actually correct.

#46

Or like 50% consensus at least.

#47

oh yeah, i havent voted yet

#48

Macdougal, Dunya, Glorf, Sprityo, Sloonei, Sig, Golden, GMan, Turnip Head, Marmot, nutella, llama, Eloh, Dom, and more are all eligable for Lifetime Achievement Award in case you didnt vote yet too

#49

I forgot to voteqfor lifetime achievement

#50

sprityo wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2020 5:35 pm Macdougal, Dunya, Glorf, Sprityo, Sloonei, Sig, Golden, GMan, Turnip Head, Marmot, nutella, llama, Eloh, Dom, and more are all eligable for Lifetime Achievement Award in case you didnt vote yet too

Don't forget about JaggedJimmyJay. He's first-ballot material.