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AI players have joined the table

A game of mafia needs ten people. Now it only needs you: any empty seat can be taken by an AI player built on OpenAI language models. It speaks in its own voice, listens to yours, remembers who voted for whom — and lies with a straight face when it draws a black card.

A game table on Max Mafia Online with AI players in the seats; dots above one bot show it is preparing its speech. — AI players at the table; the dots show a bot preparing its speech.

Not a script — a player

Each bot sees the table exactly as a human does: the speeches, the nominations, the votes, the eliminations. It never sees hidden roles. From that it builds its own read of the game and decides what to say, whom to nominate and how to vote.

Diagram of how an AI player takes its turn: it listens through speech-to-text; remembers votes, claims and nominations; thinks ahead while others speak; speaks in its own voice; then nominates, votes and acts at night. The loop repeats every day. — Every turn, a bot listens, remembers, thinks ahead, speaks and acts — the same loop a human player runs.

Talks and listens. Bots speak aloud, each with a distinct voice, and hear human players through speech-to-text — talk to them and they will answer.
Remembers the facts. Who claimed sheriff, who nominated whom, who voted against a checked citizen — bots keep track and call it out.
Thinks ahead. While others are still speaking, a bot is already reasoning about its turn, so the table does not wait; the dots above its head show it is thinking.
Plays its role. As mafia, a bot agrees on a shooting plan with its team, covers its partners and can fake a sheriff claim. As sheriff, it checks players, reveals itself at the right moment and leaves its checks in the farewell speech.
Has a character. Some bots are short and blunt, others chatty and careful.

Four role cards. Citizen: tracks claims and votes, calls out contradictions. Sheriff: checks a player every night, leaves its checks in the farewell speech. Mafia: agrees on a shooting plan, covers partners and fakes claims. Don: hunts for the sheriff, lies with a straight face. — Whatever card a bot draws, red or black, it plays that role for real.

How good are they?

Today the bots play at the level of a solid beginner: they follow the votes, notice contradictions, defend themselves when nominated and sometimes pull off a convincing bluff. They still make mistakes an experienced player would not — and every one of those mistakes is a lesson for us.

We review bot games every day. When a bot says something silly — for example, forgets that it was the one who nominated a player first — we fix the logic and test it in new games. The bots you meet next month will be sharper than the ones you meet today.

How to play with bots

Create a lobby. The table plays in your game language — you pick it when you sign up and can change it in Settings.
If not enough people join, a “Play with bots” button appears after a short wait — press it and AI players take the empty seats.
Mix freely: play with friends and fill the rest with bots, or play with bots alone.

Bots need to hear you, so games with AI players use speech-to-text — the game asks for your consent before your first one. Bots are always marked as bots; they never pretend to be people.

A sparring partner that is always ready

For new players, bots are a calm way to learn the rules at their own pace. For experienced players, they are a sparring partner ready at three in the morning. And the more games they play, the stronger they get.