In this part of the Gameplanation series, I’ll be focusing on the online multiplayer browser game, Town of Salem. There are different variations of this game, I’ll be primarily focusing on the classic version. Set during the Salem witch trials, Town of Salem will test your ability to lie to others while simultaneously detecting which players are telling the truth. This game will require you to be sneaky and smart to come out on the winning side. If this sounds like a challenge you’d like to accept, then read on to find out more about the game.
Gamesplanation of Town of Salem
Inspired by the party games Werewolf and Mafia, Town of Salem (ToS) is a game of murder, mystery and deception. In this browser-based game, you’ll be challenged on your ability to convincingly lie to your fellow townspeople.
On top of that, you’ll also be tested on your ability to detect when the others are lying. In each game, you’ll be playing with 7 to 15 other people that will be divided into alignments. Depending on your alignment, your objective will vary.
The big catch to this game is that you don’t know what anyone else’s role is. Your neighbour could be out to kill you, and it’s your job to find out before it’s too late. But of course, it’s not as simple as that. Once you do find out which players are the villains, you’ll have to convince the other townspeople to join you in the witch hunt. Easier said than done.
Objective
The objective of the game changes depending on the role that you get at the start of the game. Your town will be divided into three factions: Town, Mafia, Neutral (four factions if you include the DLC add-on Coven).
You wouldn’t know what roles the others will have. This is what makes the game interesting. You’ll have to use the power of your own role and deductive reasoning to figure out who you can and can’t trust.
Day and Night
There are two phases in the game, day and night time. During the day, you and your town will be given the ability to vote on who to lynch. This is the perfect time for the townspeople to come together and eliminate members of the mafia or the serial killer. However, it requires the townies to come to a majority vote on who comes across as suspicious. You don’t know who you can and can’t trust, so this will be easier said than done. Beware, there are plenty of townspeople whose main objective is to ensure that the townies hang their own.
At night time, you’ll be given the opportunity to use your ability. This could range from healing another townsperson to taking justice into your own hand and shooting another member of the town. Careful though. During the night is when the mafia and serial killers choose their next victim. This means that you might not live to see the next day.
Slowly, there will be fewer and fewer players alive, making it harder for the survivors to vote to lynch the mafia and serial killer. However, as you progress through the game, you’ll learn the secrets that your fellow townies are trying to hide. Others will start to point the finger and make bizarre claims based on what they discover during their nightly activity. It’s up to you and the others to believe them and work together.
Roles/Factions
There are many different roles that you could get from the wheel. You can equip scrolls that will increase your chances of gaining a particular role you might like. As previously mentioned, a classic game of ToS contains the factions town, mafia and neutral.
Town
The “good” side. The aim of a Townie is to “Lynch every criminal and evil-doer”. Town can win the game without eliminating all neutral roles. However, it is usually best to get rid of these players because of their wildcard nature.
The main way for the Town to eliminate evil-doers is to vote and lynch those that come off as suspicious. Be careful, as everybody will be claiming innocence and it’s up to you to weed out the liars.
Town roles in classic include:
- Sheriff
- Doctor
- Investigator
- Jailor
- Medium
- Escort
- Lookout
- Veteran
- Vigilante
Mafia
The Mafia is the main rival to the Town. The goal of the members is to kill anyone who will submit to the Mafia. The major difference between the Town and the Mafia is the numbers. Mafia can only have up to 4 members. However, they have the ability to fake their role and disguise themselves as a normal Town member.
If you play your cards right as a member of the Mafia, you can easily sit back and watch the Town slowly lynch their own.
Mafia roles in classic include:
- Godfather
- Mafioso
- Framer
Neutral
Neutral roles are only worried about themselves. They’re not interested in eliminating all evil-doers, and they’re not fussed over total town domination. Neutrals have a diverse set of goals each unique to different roles. Neutrals are split into 4 different subcategories: Killing, Chaos, Evil, Benign.
Neutral roles in classic include:
- Executioner
- Jester
- Serial Killer
Where to Play Town of Salem
You can play Town of Salem for free on your browser. It is also available on steam for US$4.99. This doesn’t give you an advantage over the other players, but it does support the developer and you get a nice character skin out of it.
