The Godfather: An Offer You Cant Refuse Review

"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse." is a line that hits you right in the gut. Mark Watney plucking potatoes out of Martian soil is fine and dandy but few moments in cinema are as iconic as Marlon Brando's impeccable performance as Don Corleone. Yes, nary a soul can claim they don't enjoy the first two Godfather films and we finally have the opportunity to bring this passion to the tabletop with IDW's newest release. While everyone was wrestling over their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Kickstarter, this little social deduction game slipped into the market from newcomers to the design scene, Nathan McNair and Nate Murray.

When you hear the pitch - "It's the classic Mafia game, but directed by Francis Ford Coppola" you can't help but smile. While this isn't the last game we'll see from IDW utilizing this intellectual property, it's fitting that their first leans on such an old-school and influential design that thematically is already apropos. It's one of those beautiful moments where it just lines up and fits and works so cleanly that you can just stare at the result and nod along to the score.

Mafia, and its successor Werewolf, are of course the social deduction OG. They spawned a bevy of contemporary members of the family that include One Night Ultimate Werewolf and The Resistance. In many ways Mafia is the roots of a long and flourishing family tree. The Godfather: An Offer You Can't Refuse looks back to the soil that spat all this into the sky and brings a few tricks of its own to the table.

Like Mafia, The Godfather relies on a moderator dealing out secret roles to the rest of the players. There's no app or automated system here, rather a living and breathing person needs to lead the orchestra. The rest of the players will come together, a meeting of the families, to discuss the ensuing violence that's been bubbling to the surface like a body found on Long Island. The rub is that some of the players will represent undercover coppers and conniving spies, looking to tear the Achilles tendon of the Corleone's and claim their pound of flesh. This situation of tumult with the entire operation teetering on destruction, is the social backdrop to the lying and shenanigans that players will conduct.

Play is very straightforward and leans on conniving and manipulation for excitement. The Negotiation phase kicks off first with the table openly discussing who they think is a traitor and who they want to off. The moles will want to misdirect and throw suspicion on others as they try to needle away at the Mafia’s inner trust. One or more players may be nominated to be wacked and if a majority is reached, death will commence and the participant will be removed from the game with their role revealed. When this happens to a Corleone everyone will groan, some for real and others competing wholeheartedly for an Academy Award.

The Secret Action phase occurs next with the moderator instructing the traitors to come to an agreement on who they should cuff and arrest, removing them from play. They do this in silence, perhaps hilariously flailing arms and attempting to communicate like the world’s most flamboyant mime. The moderator looks on perhaps chuckling as they’re in on the joke while the helpless mobsters grit their teeth hoping to make it another day.

This process goes back and forth until all of the traitors are eliminated or they outnumber the remaining Mafioso. At this point the structure I’ve described is completely identical to the classic Mafia/Werewolf. Where The Godfather diverges is with its clever selection of roles.

10 special roles exist that have a huge effect on the ensuing chaos. You’ll always want to include the Godfather himself, Don Corleone, who once per game gets to place the iconic horse head token (seriously) next to a player. This player will meet his end if no majority is reached during the negotiation phase. The Consigliere will always be mixed in as well as they are vital to securing information for the Family. During the Secret Action phase the Consigliere will point at another player and the moderator will give the thumbs up or down to signal whether they are solid or an infiltrator.

You’re also given thematic options like the Accomplice who can place a gun in front of another player allowing them to shoot someone and eliminate them from the game. You’ll be hard pressed to escape a session without hearing someone suggest you leave the gun and take the cannoli.

The Saboteur is a crowd favorite – if they’re voted out they immediately get to kill the player to their left or right. Hopefully they’re sitting next to the fuzz. The Hit Man gets to try to eliminate the Godfather once per game but if he guesses wrong then the tides turn and the Hit Man is offed instead. Another memorable option is the Inside Man who appears a Family member to the Consigliere but is actually a traitor.

The beauty of roles such as these is in the manufacture of a complicated metagame. Part of this relies on the buy-in from players but the payoff is enormous when everyone is on the same page and strategy level. You will have players claiming their a Godfather and asking whose bed they should place the horse head in, while in actuality they’re just a mobster and the Godfather sits to the side studying the reaction of the other players. Then the coppers need to figure if what kind of chicanery is going on and you have layers of double-bluffing going on as play and tactics evolve over play. It feels organic and alive, right alongside the giants of this sub-genre.

In addition to the wide array of roles a really interesting variant exists utilizing coin tokens. When eliminated a player can pass a coin to the person seated at their left or right. Players owning coins may spend them to get one word clues via written note from eliminated players during the Secret Action phase. Yes, that’s definitely as interesting and wrought with possible miscommunication as it sounds. It’s like you’re playing telephone with Patrick Swayze but no matter how hard you try that pottery wheel is never gonna show.

From a gamer’s perspective I think The Godfather is an easy call. You’re either on board with Mafia and Werewolf or you’re not. The whole player elimination and moderator baggage is definitely there and that may be the tipping point for you. This is definitely a very sleek version of its predecessor with some new tricks and a pile of gutsy movie quotes. In a convention or party type atmosphere this game kills it, allowing everyone to exhibit their practiced Brando impression and lament Sonny’s ambush. You trade quotes and smiles like everyone’s in on this awesome joke and it’s all wrapped up in a competent design that connects with the fastball, placing it right where it wants it.

On the other hand I do of course think the push towards quicker, non-elimination social deduction games fits naturally into gamer’s lifestyles. The Godfather recognizes this audience and includes a solid moderator-less variant that plays like a more sophisticated win/lose/banana. It’s actually worth a try and will produce the laughs – which is important for this kind of game.

While old-school social deduction may not be as sexy as One Night Ultimate Bat-boy, The Godfather certainly carves out a place in the market and still delivers the fun. For those who live for those Werewolf convention games or who simply want to run a big party game for their friends, “leave the gun and take the game-oli.”