Mafia Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• A) Game Equipment
• B) Goal of the Game
• C) Preparation for Play
• D) Gameplay
• E) Conclusion of the Game
• F) Special Rules for Three-Player Games
• G) Special Rules for Four-Player Games
• H) Translator's Addendum: Experimental Variant for a Two-Player Game

A) Game Equipment

1. Mapboard: The game map represents Sicily and is divided into 26 spaces of different types.

    3 city spaces, two of which have airports (Palermo and Catania)
    4 telephone booth spaces
    3 roadblock spaces (posto di blocco)
    3 ambush spaces (imboscata)
    1 restaurant space
    1 assassination space (attentato)
    1 news-leak space (fuga di notizie)
    1 Antimafia Commission space
    9 “blank” spaces
   

The board also includes a calendar track (calendario); boxes for three locations that counters can be sent to – the Prison (carcere), Carabinieri Station (Stazione dei Carabinieri), and Italian continent; three spaces on which to place the card decks (Roma, SISDE, USA); and the RETURNS (rientri) and ENCOUNTERS (incontri) tables.

2. Counters: The game includes a total of 50 rectangular counters.

    1 Prefetto (Prefect) counter [man in a green suit]
    1 SISDE counter [man in a black trench coat and hat]
    3 Carabinieri counters [abbreviated “CC” in the original rules, and in this translation as well]
    4 counters of mafioso Bosses in different colors [red/rosso, black/nero, orange/arancio, green/verde]
    8 Picciotti (lower-rank mafioso) counters [2 for each of the four Boss colors]
    32 Mafia Control counters [8 for each of the four Boss colors]
    1 “trinacria” turn-marker counter
   

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE:

    Prefetto = A high-ranking public servant in Italy who serves as the representative of the national
    government in a province. The Prefetto coordinates with the local head of the State Police.

    SISDE = Servizio per le Informazioni e la Sicurezza Democratica (Intelligence and Democratic Security
    Service), the domestic intelligence agency of Italy.

    Carabinieri = The national gendarmerie of Italy who have policing powers that can be exercised in any
    part of the country. They are often referred to as "La Benemerita" (The Worthy), reflecting the
    Carabinieri’s status in the country as a trusted and prestigious law-enforcement institution.

    Trinacria = National symbol of Sicily, consisting of three bent legs (with the head of Medusa in the center,
    although that is not visible on the counter used in the game).

    (Wikipedia.)

3) Cards and Dice: There are 24 cards (eight cards for each of the three decks) and two six-sided dice.

B) Goal of the Game

One player represents the “State” and two to four other players represent Mafia “Families.”

The aim of the game is to gain control of the island of Sicily. This is achieved, for Families, by exerting influence over as many spaces on the board as possible, while the State must arrest as many mafioso as possible (see section E, Conclusion of the Game). The State player has: 1 Prefetto counter, 1 SISDE counter, and 3 CC. Each Family player has: 1 Boss counter, 2 Picciotti counters, and 8 Mafia Control counters.

C) Preparation for Play

If there are five players, one represents the State and the remaining four each represent a Family. If there are only three or four players, the rules are modified as specified in sections F (three players) or G (four players).

1. State Player setup: The three CC are each placed in separate “roadblock” spaces, the Prefetto counter is placed in Palermo, and the SISDE counter is placed in Catania.

2. Setting up the counters for each Family: Proceeding from the oldest Family player to the youngest, each Family player chooses a city that will represent his base for the duration of the game and places his Boss counter and the two Picciotti counters in the space for that city. As indicated by the colors used in the city spaces on the map, everyone can choose Enna as a base, but the black and green Families cannot choose Palermo as a base and the red and orange Families cannot choose Catania as a base. Multiple players can choose the same city as a base, so long as the color-specific restrictions are observed. Control counters begin off the map.

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE:

    [The original rules did not specify an order for the families to select their home-base cities. I added the
    thematic procedure of having the older Bosses establish their home cities first. I mention this in case you
    want to implement a different order for the selection of home cities.]

    Palermo = The capital of Sicily, noted for its history, culture, architecture, and gastronomy. The city is
    over 2,700 years old. It is the home of the Sicilian Mafia, traditionally the most powerful group in
    Palermo. The Italian state has effectively had to share control of the city, economically and
    administratively, with the Mafia.

    Catania = The second largest city in Sicily, after Palermo. It is located at the base of the active volcano,
    Mount Etna, and is the capital of the region known as the Metropolitan City of Catania.

    Enna = A city located roughly at the center of Sicily. It has earned the nicknames belvedere (panoramic
    viewpoint) and ombelico ("navel") of Sicily. Enna towers above the surrounding countryside. At 931m
    (3,054 ft) above sea level, it is the highest Italian provincial capital.

    (Wikipedia.)

3) The turn marker: Place this counter on the calendar (calendario) in the box marked R (corresponding to the red/rosso Family). The calendar is used to track which player is currently taking a turn.

4. The cards: The three decks of cards (Roma, SISDE, USA) are each shuffled and placed in their designated boxes on the map. The card decks are used to represent, respectively, the result of the Prefetto calling Rome, the findings of an SISDE investigation, and the result of a mafia Boss contacting criminal allies in the USA.

D) Gameplay

1. Sequence of play: As shown by the calendar, the red Family (R) will be the first to take a turn. Proceeding clockwise around the calendar, the red Family will be followed by the black Family (N), the State (stato), the orange Family (O), the green Family (V), the State again, then back to the red Family – and so on, until one of the game-ending conditions set out in section E has been met.

2. Phases during a player’s turn: Following the turn order established by the calendar, a player performs these three phases in sequence, after which it becomes the next player’s turn.

a) Roll for returns (rientri) to attempt to bring back into play any of the player’s counters that are in the “Carabinieri Station,” “Prison,” and “Continent” boxes. The returns phase is described in rules section D3;

b) Roll two dice for movement, then move one or two counters as described in rules section D4;

c) Carry out the activities pertaining to the counters that were moved, according to the space(s) in which they arrived, and any other counters contained therein. The activities phase is explained in section D5.

The details of the phases are as follows.

3. Returns (rientri) phase: At the beginning of the turn, the player will try to recover any of the player’s own counters that may be contained in the “Continent,” “Prison,” and “Carabinieri Station” boxes. The player rolls a die once for each of the player’s counters that are in these boxes at the start of the player’s turn. The player consults the “RETURNS” table (tabella rientri) to determine if the counter is returned back into play. If the roll is successful, the counter is returned to its home city, for the Families, or to Palermo, for the State.

4. Movement phase: The player rolls two dice. The player may then move one counter (using the sum of two dice) or two counters (using the result of a die for each). The player must move the full amount indicated by the die roll. Movement always takes place in a clockwise direction, following the indications of the arrows (information signs) printed on the map. However, the four spaces running through the center of Sicily (which includes the space where Enna is located) may be traversed in either direction.

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE:

    The rule allowing the four center spaces to be “traversed in either direction” seems a bit ambiguous. I do
    not believe this was intended to allow a counter to change direction in the middle of a move. It also
    seems unbalanced for counters to switch direction, at will, from turn to turn. My proposed clarification is
    as follows: Movement on the center track continues in the direction a counter entered the track. Use the
    “face” of the counter to indicate the direction. Counters that start the game in Enna (or return by means
    other than movement) are positioned so that they “face” east or west, and they may exit Enna to either
    the north or south. However, once a counter ends movement on any of the center four spaces, it must be
    turned to “face” the direction it was moving. A counter also retains this facing if it ends movement on
    either of the spaces immediately north or south of the center track when exiting the center track (i.e. two
    spaces south or three spaces north from Enna). On the other hand, pieces on the outer track that end
    movement on these two spaces need not elect a north/south direction of travel until their next move.

For the Bosses and the Prefetto only, the two spaces with an airport (Palermo and Catania) are considered to be adjacent (connected to each other by air travel) at the cost of one movement point. A counter may not be moved directly back and forth between Palermo and Catania on the same turn, only from one of the airports to the other.

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE:

    The rules do not explicitly prohibit a counter from moving back and forth between the two airport spaces
    on the same turn, but I felt that such a limitation was appropriate to add.

A counter moved by a player may only carry out activities in, or suffer the effects of, the space (and its contents) where the counter ends its movement. The counter is not affected by, and may not conduct actions in, the spaces it transits during the movement phase. Counters that remained stationary during a player’s movement phase do not carry out any actions on their own initiative during the player’s turn and are not affected by the space(s) on which those non-moving counters are located.

5. Activities phase: As noted above, the only counters that can carry out actions on their own initiative are those that the player moved during the movement phase of the same turn. Permissible actions are described below in subsections b, c, and d – first with reference to the different types of counters; then by a description of each type of action; and finally, by reference to the effects of the different types of spaces on the board.

a) The order in which the various actions and effects are carried out in a space during the Activities Phase is as follows:

    i) any effect inherent to the space is applied first (roadblock, ambush, etc.)

    ii) actions permitted for counters already present in the space are carried out (arrests, shootouts, etc.)

    iii) actions allowed for the moving counter are carried out (asserting control; conducting investigations,
    etc.). Which activities are allowed is summarized in the “ENCOUNTERS” (incontri) table.

b) The actions that the different types of counters can perform in the Activities phase are:

PREFETTO (PREFECT) – Automatically controls the space he occupies at the end of his movement. Arrests all Picciotti located in that space or that arrive in that space. May detain any Bosses located in that space, or who arrive in that space. He can arrest a Boss located in the space if the SISDE has already provided him with the relevant pair of evidence cards (see rules section D6, Card play). If the Prefetto is in a space where a shootout occurs, he can shoot back. The Prefetto can call Rome if the space he occupies contains a phone booth.

SISDE – Can only perform the investigation action. Is not permitted to return fire in shootouts. When the SISDE counter ends its movement in a space containing mafioso (Bosses or Picciotti), the investigation action allows the State player to draw as many SISDE cards as the number of mafioso counters present in the space.

CARABINIERI – A CC can remove a Mafia Control counter from the space where the CC ends its movement by rolling the die once more and getting an even result. A successful die roll allows the State player to remove one control counter from the space. CC can conduct detention actions against Bosses and arrest Picciotti that are in the space where the CC ends its move. In the event that the Picciotti oppose the arrest, provoking a shootout, the Carabinieri must defend themselves. If both sides survive the shootout, the CC can proceed with the arrest. CC cannot use the investigation or telephone actions.

BOSS – Automatically controls the space in which he ends his movement. Can prevent Picciotti located in the same space as the Boss from carrying out any type of activity. Can engage in a shootout with an opposing boss, but can only return fire in a shootout where the attack comes from another Boss. Can call the USA if the space he occupies contains a telephone booth. Bosses cannot use the arrest, detention, or investigation actions.

PICCIOTTI – These counters can assert control over the space in which they end movement by rolling the die once more and getting an even result. See the “control” rule immediately below for the details of this process. Picciotti can also initiate shootouts with other Picciotti, if they deem it appropriate, or by choosing to oppose Carabinieri who are attempting to arrest the Picciotti. They cannot use the arrest, detention, investigation, or telephone actions. (Per the ENCOUNTERS table on the mapboard, it appears Picciotti can also initiate a shootout with the SISDE, even though the SISDE cannot fire back.)

c) The possible actions a player may take during the Activities phase are:

CONTROL – Allows the player to place a Mafia Control counter on the space. If the space already contains a single control counter for another Family, the existing control counter is removed and returned to the owning player at the time that the moving player’s control counter is placed.

However, a Family can, by moving multiple mafioso counters to the same space on the same or successive turns, overlap several of the Family’s control counters in a single space. In this case an “opposing Family” will only eliminate one Mafia Control counter for each “opposing Family” counter that conducts a control action in the space. The “opposing Family” does not place a Mafia Control counter until all of the other Family’s control counters have been removed from the space. A space may not contain Mafia Control counters of different colors at the same time.

The three city spaces may not be controlled by any Family, so no Mafia Control counters can be placed on a city space. Spaces without a Mafia Control counter are considered to be controlled by the State.

TELEPHONE – Allows a player to draw an event card from the Roma deck or the USA deck, depending on who makes the call (Prefetto or Boss, respectively).

SHOOTOUT – These can occur in three cases: (i) where Picciotti end a move in the same space as opposing Picciotti and elect to use the shootout action, (ii) where a Boss ends his move in the same space as an opposing Boss and elects to use the action, and (iii) when Picciotti elect to resist an arrest action by Carabinieri. The State player can never initiate a shootout and the SISDE never returns fire in shootouts.

When a shootout occurs, both sides roll a die for each involved counter. An odd die result indicates a “hit” made against an opposing counter. Each counter hit during the shootout is considered “eliminated” and placed in the “Continent” box. Note that the Prefetto and Bosses may be allowed to roll for a hit during a shootout, as specified in the paragraphs of section D5b that describe actions permitted for those two types of counters.

INVESTIGATION – Used by the SISDE to gather evidence against the four Bosses. Sufficient evidence to support an arrest by the Prefetto exists once the State player has acquired the two SISDE clue cards naming a particular Family. See rules section D6c for the details of how the SISDE cards are used.

ARREST – The arrested counter is automatically placed in the box marked “Prison.”

DETENTION – The detained counter is automatically placed in the box marked “Stazione dei Carabinieri.” See section D5d for an explanation of how detentions can also result at roadblocks.

d) The different types of spaces on the board will affect actions as follows:

CITY – The Palermo, Catania, and Enna spaces. Control: These spaces can never be controlled by a Family. Arrests and Detentions: A Boss cannot be arrested or detained in the city that was chosen as the home base for his Family at the start of the game, except through the use of certain cards (see rules section D6a).

TELEPHONE BOOTH – Allows the Prefetto to call Rome and Bosses to call the USA. Draw a card from the respective pile to determine the result of the telephone call.

ROADBLOCK (posto di blocco) – Bosses or Picciotti who end their movement on one of these spaces must roll a die. If the result corresponds to one of the numbers shown on the roadblock space, the counter is automatically “detained” and placed in the box marked “Stazione dei Carabinieri.”

AMBUSH (imboscata) – If a counter ends its move in an Ambush space, the player rolls a die. If the result matches a number shown on the space, the counter (whatever type it is) is “eliminated” and placed in the “Continent” box.

RESTAURANT – Resolved similar to the Ambush spaces. The only difference is that all counters present in the space are targeted by the attack on the restaurant, even those that survived after arriving on an earlier turn. Roll separately for each counter in the restaurant space. Only resolve the restaurant attack one time during a single turn, even if more than one counter arrived at the restaurant during that turn’s movement phase.

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE:

    I added the requirement of a separate die roll for each counter. I also added the limitation specifying that
    the restaurant attack die roll only occurs once per turn (since it affects all counters in the space). I
    believe these clarifications reflect the intent of the rules, but these are assumptions on my part.

ASSASSINATION (attentato) – If a Boss or the Prefetto ends his movement on this space, resolve the attack on the counter in the same manner as an Ambush space.

ANTIMAFIA COMMISSION – If a Boss or the Prefetto ends his movement on this space, the controlling player rolls a die. If the result matches one of the numbers shown on the space, none of that player’s counters are allowed to move during the subsequent movement phase for the Family (or the State, if the roll was made on behalf of the Prefetto).

NEWS LEAK (fuga di notizie) – If a counter ends its movement on this space, the player loses one card (Roma, SISDE, USA) of the player’s choice from any that the player is currently holding. The card is returned to the respective deck and the deck is reshuffled.

6. Card play: There are three types of cards: Roma, USA, and SISDE. The first two types of cards can be used at any time during the game by the player holding the card. These cards allow you to carry out activities that are normally prohibited, aid another player, or inhibit an opponent’s activities. The SISDE cards, on the other hand, can only be used by the Prefetto to secure the arrest of a Boss.

Every time a card is played and returned to its deck, the deck is reshuffled. If a Boss or the Prefetto is “eliminated,” all the cards in the controlling player’s possession are returned to their respective decks, which are then reshuffled.

a) The effects of the Roma cards are:

SUPPORT OF THE JUDICIARY (appoggio magistratura) – The release of an arrested person from Prison is prevented by playing this card, blocking any affirmative exit attempt.

THE GOVERNMENT FALLS (cade il governo) – This communication has no effect on mafia events in Sicily.

WIRETAP (intercettazione telefonica) – This card prevents a telephone call to the USA.

ANTI–MAFIA OPERATION (operazione anti-mafia) – Playing this card temporarily turns any space into a roadblock which will be successful on a roll of 1-2.

HELICOPTER OPERATION (operazione in elicottero) – Play this card to add or subtract up to 2 points from each die rolled in a movement phase.

DISCOVER A LAIR IN THE CITY (scoperto un covo in citta) – Allows you to detain or arrest a Boss in his home city. In the case of an arrest, you must also have the SISDE cards that would normally be required.

ATI STRIKE (sciopero ATI) – Play this card to prevent an “air travel” move between the two airports.

LEATHERHEADS (teste di cuoio) – Play this card in a shootout to automatically “eliminate” the target you are shooting at. The eliminated counter is placed in the Continent box, as normal.

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE:

    ATI = Aero Trasporti Italiani, a domestic airline that operated in southern Italy.

    Teste di cuoio (Leatherheads) = Nickname of the Special Intervention Group (Gruppo di Intervento
    Speciale or GIS), an elite police tactical unit formed in 1978 as part of the Carabinieri.

    (Wikipedia.)

b) The effects of the USA cards are:

GOVERNMENT PROTECTION (protezione governativa) – An arrested person can be released from prison immediately without rolling the die. May only be applied to one counter.

PROTECTION OF A NOTABLE PERSON (protezione del notabile) – A detained counter, chosen by the player drawing this card, is immediately freed without the need for a die roll. May only be applied to one counter.

KILLERS FROM LAS VEGAS (killers da Las Vegas) – Only by playing this card can a Family initiate a shootout against the Prefetto. The attack requires Picciotti of the Family to be in the same space as the Prefetto.

VISIT OF AN AMERICAN BOSS (visiti di un boss USA) – Play this card to add another Mafia Control counter to a space that is already controlled by a Family. The added control counter must be from the same Family.

SPECIAL WEAPONS (armi speciali) – If you play this card during a shootout, your counter(s) will only be eliminated if the opponent rolls a “1” on the die.

MOLE IN PREFECTURE (talpa in prefettura) – By playing this card you are allowed to see all of the cards currently held by the State player.

BOMB AT AIRPORT (bomba all'aeroporto) – Play this card to prevent an “air travel” move between the two airports.

YOUR WIFE CHEATS ON YOU (tua moglie ti tradisce) – This news has no influence on the course of the game.

c) The SISDE cards are used as follows.

There are four pairs of SISDE cards. Each pair is labeled with the color of one of the four Families (red/rosso, black/nero, orange/arancio, or green/verde). Each SISDE card contains a “clue” that is not incriminating by itself. However, when the State player holds both SISDE cards containing clues about a Family, the combined information provides the State with sufficient evidence to make an arrest of the Family’s Boss.

By playing the matched pair of SISDE cards when the Prefetto is in the same space as the respective Boss, the Prefetto can arrest the Boss and place the Boss counter in the “Prison” box. In a case where the Boss is already detained at the “Stazione dei Carabinieri,” by playing the matched SISDE cards the Prefetto will immediately transform the detention into an arrest. The Boss counter is then moved from the Carabinieri station to the “Prison” box.

E) Conclusion of the Game

The game ends immediately when one of the following conditions occurs:

    1) a Family controls at least four spaces at the beginning of its turn, or

    2) the State has a total of 4 remediation points at the start of one of its turns.

Remediation points are calculated based on the circumstances that exist at the start of the State player’s turn:

   +2 points for each Boss currently in Prison
   +1 point for each Boss currently detained at the Stazione dei Carabinieri
  +1/2 point for each Picciotti currently in Prison

In the case of the first condition, the player with the Family that controls the four spaces wins the game. In the case of the second, the State player wins the game.

F) Special Rules for Three-Player Games

All the rules of the five-player game apply with the following exceptions:

1. One player represents the State, the second player takes the red and orange Families, and the third player takes the black and green Families.

2. The Family players treat each of their two Families as separate and distinct mafioso factions. These players take separate turns for each of their Families (in the order reflected on the calendar), keep the cards for each Family separated, and determine the control of spaces on the board as if the Families belonged to separate players, just as in the five-player game.

3. For a Family to win, it must control at least five spaces, modifying rules section E1.

G) Special Rules for Four-Player Games

All the rules of the five-player game apply with the following exceptions:

1. No player represents the State but each plays with a Family.

2. The SISDE counter is not used.

3. Each player moves his counters normally during his turn. In addition, after moving his Family counters, a player must reuse the number shown on one his two movement dice to move any State counter. Whenever one of these State counters carries out an action, the player who moved the counter draws a Roma card and, if he wishes, can use it. Whether he uses the card or not, at the end of his turn the card is returned to the deck and the deck is reshuffled. Whenever the Prefetto is going to detain a Boss, he must first draw an SISDE card. If this card matches the color of the Boss in question, the detention instead becomes a successful arrest. These SISDE cards, used or not, are also shuffled back into the deck at the end of the turn.

4. The victory conditions for the Families remain those of the five-player game. Should the State achieve, at the beginning of any player’s turn, a total of 4 remediation points as described in rules section E, the game immediately ends as a loss for all of the players.

CONCLUDING TRANSLATOR’S NOTE:

     Please help me improve this translation! Notwithstanding my name, I am unable to speak or read a
     meaningful amount of Italian. I therefore relied on various automated and online resources to translate
     the Mafia rules from Italian to English. If you are able to read the original Italian or French rules and note
     any errors or discrepancies in this English translation, please contact me so that I can update the
     English rules to implement the necessary corrections or clarifications. Similarly, if you are using this
     translation to play the game, please provide me with any feedback that arises from your practical
     experience with the rules.

H) Translator's Addendum: Experimental Variant for a Two-Player Game

These are expressly labeled as experimental rules because they have not been fully playtested.

All the rules of the five-player game apply with the following exceptions:

1. Allocation of the Families and Home Cities

One player takes the red/rosso and green/verde Families ("RV-player") and the other takes the black/nero and orange/arancio Families ("NA-player.") A player must choose different home cities for each of the Families controlled by that player, but opposing players may each have one Family with the same home city.

2. Procedures for Playing Two Families

The players treat each of their two Families as separate and distinct mafioso factions. The players take separate turns for each of their Families (in the order reflected on the calendar), keep the cards for each Family separated, and determine the control of spaces on the board as if the Families belonged to separate players, just as in the five-player game.

3. Responsibility for Playing the State Turns

The players alternate control over the State counters. The first State turn on the calendar is handled by the RV- player and the second State turn on the calendar is handled by the NA-player. (In other words, following the turn for the black/nero Family, the RV-player conducts the turn for the State. Following the turn for the green/verde family, the NA-player conducts the turn for the State.)

4. Controlling Actions Taken by the State Counters

Actions for State counters are conducted as follows: (a) during a State turn, by the player currently moving for the State; (b) during any Family turn, by the opposing player. The player moving for the State is not required to have the State counters attempt to detain or arrest that player's own Families, but a player has the option to do so if the player chooses (and a player may also initiate a shootout by resisting an arrest that the player initiated while controlling the State counters). Although it is unclear how this would be a wise course of action, it is the intent of the rules that the players have the option, but are not required, to have the State counters act just as they would if they were controlled by an independent player not connected to any of the Families.

5. State Removal of Mafia Family Control Counters

Notwithstanding any other rule, whenever the Prefetto ends his move on a space containing Family Control counters, all of the control counters are removed from that space, regardless of which player the control counters belong to. In addition, Carabinieri do not roll to remove a Family Control counter from a space in which the counter ends its movement. Instead, when a Carabinieri ends its move in a space containing one or more Family Control counters, the player who moved the Carabinieri counter may choose (but is not required to) to remove one control counter from that space.

6. Procedures for Using the Roma Cards

The State does not maintain a single hand of cards. Instead, whenever a player is taking an action for a State counter, if the player does not currently possess any Roma cards the player may draw one Roma card and can play that card in conjunction with the action, if desired. If the player does not wish to play the Roma card at that time, the player can hold it (along with any Roma cards that may have been gained from telephone booth spaces), but only until the end of the next State turn conducted by the player. At the end of the next State turn conducted by that same player, any State cards held by the player which were obtained on a prior turn must be returned to the deck and the deck reshuffled. To be more specific: Roma cards that a player draws by ending the move of a State unit on a telephone booth space are not returned to the deck at the State turn in which they were drawn, but only at the end of the next State turn handled by that player (unless the card is played before that time). Roma cards held by a player can be played at any time that the rules otherwise allow, and are returned to the deck and the deck reshuffled at the time the card is played. A player is permitted to use a Roma card on the player's own units in a way that may appear beneficial, even if that use might be contrary to how an independent State player might have used the same type of card.

7. Detentions and Arrests by the Prefetto / Using the SISDE Cards

Whenever the Prefetto attempts to detain a Boss, the player moving for the State at that time must also draw one SISDE card. If the Family named on the card matches the color of the Boss in question, the detention becomes an arrest. Unlike Roma cards, SISDE cards, used or not, are always shuffled back into the deck at the end of the same turn in which they were drawn.

8. Functions of the SISDE Counter / Undercover Operations

Because the SISDE card deck is used in the manner described above, the SISDE counter does not conduct any investigation actions in the two-player game. The SISDE counter may be moved and targeted by events and actions as otherwise described in the standard game rules. In addition, the SISDE counter is the only unit in the game that can perform a new type of action: UNDERCOVER OPERATION. When the SISDE counter ends its move on a space containing mafioso counters, the player who moved the SISDE counter may cause one, and only one, Picciotti or Boss counter to be removed from that space and placed on the home city of the counter's Family.

9. Family Victory Conditions

For a Family to win, it must control at least five spaces, modifying rules section E1.

10. State Victory Conditions

Should the State have, at the end of any State turn, a total of at least 4 remediation points (as allocated under rules section E) as to the pair of Families controlled by a single player, then the player controlling the other pair of Families wins the game. (In other words, if at the end of the State turn, the red/rosso and green/verde Boss are in Prison, the NA-player wins the game.)

11. Comments

Thematically, the players can look at the seemingly contradictory actions of the State (in alternately targeting some Families more harshly on one turn, and then targeting other Families more harshly on the State's following turn), as reflecting bureaucratic processes, changes in priorities ordered by higher authorities, as well as possible political influence and corruption that underlie the game's other mechanics.