Find The Maniacci (game)

Find The Maniacci (also more simply known as Maniacci and commonly pronounced MAH-nee-AH-ch) is a card game for two to ten people, which makes it a perfect party game. The object of the game is to find the "Maniacci", the name of the ten of clubs, by selecting face-down cards from a pile one at a time.

Basic Play

Before each round of play, a player is designated the shuffler and is given a standard deck of 52 playing cards. The cards are spread out across the surface of play and shuffled in a wash to the shufflers satisfaction. The cards are left as were on the surface of play, and, in this way, the pile of cards is similar to the boneyard in the game of Dominoes.

In the first round, play goes to the person to the left of the dealer. For all subsequent rounds, first play after the shuffle goes to the winner or the last man standing. On a player's turn, he or she chooses any card from the pile of cards on the surface of play. The player then turns the card face up in front of him or her, revealing it to the other players. At this point, one or three things will happen:

*If the player selected any card that is neither the ten of clubs nor the ten of spades, the card is kept face up in front of the player and play continues to the left.
*If the player selected the ten of clubs, the "Maniacci", he or she must call "Maniacci!" and is therefore declared the winner. All the other players then throw their cards pack into the pile and say "Fanculo!" or "Vaffanculo!" (both Italian words for "fuck!"). The cards are shuffled again and new round begins.
*If the player selected the ten of spades, the "Impostor", he or she is eliminated from play for that round. The player keeps all of his or her cards that have been selected previously, but the 10 of spades is replaced to the pile. At this point, the shuffler must reshuffle the pile, and then play continues to the left of the eliminated player.

Play continues until one player is declared the winner or every player has been eliminated.

Important Points about The Maniacci

*When a player selects the "Maniacci" from the pile, he or she must reveal it to the other players and "then" call "Maniacci!"
*If the player does not make the call before another player does, then the player who did make the call is the winner.
*The first words out of the player's mouth after selecting the "Maniacci" must be the aforementioned call.

Last Man Standing

As cards are removed, the chances increase for all players of either selecting the "Maniacci" or the "Impostor". This fact becomes even more prevalent as players are eliminated and their cards, except the ten of spades, are not returned to the pile. This implies that there is a chance that all players may be eliminated from the game during a single round.

When all but one player have been eliminated, the remaining player is the Last Man Standing. He has not won per se, although no matter the outcome, he or she will have first play in the next round. Nevertheless, this player must still try to find the "Maniacci" and play continues until either the ten of clubs or the ten of spades if revealed. If the former occurs, the player wins. If the latter occurs, then no one is declared the winner, and a new round begins.

Alternative Modes of Play

Another popular variation of Find The Maniacci has the players select two cards per turn. The player uses each hand to select a card and reveals them one at a time. All normal rules apply with one addition:
*If a player at any time selects both the "Maniacci" and the "Impostor" on the same turn, then he or she is granted a Reprieve and is not eliminated, however his or her turn is over. Both cards are returned to the pile and the pile is shuffled.

Another side thought which some players may find interesting as they await their turns as play continues: try to make the best poker hand out of the cards in front of you that you have already selected.

Psychology of the "Maniacci"

The fact that all the cards are facedown seems to make a similar impression on the players in Find The Maniacci as in any Poker card game, except that players are not using their cards to get such reactions out of each other. Instead, it is as if the "Maniacci" is using this fact to his advantage against the whole of the players. There is only one ten of clubs and one ten of spades in the pile, which entails a two in fifty-two shot of picking either card. However, this ratio quickly grows from one player's turn to his or her next, especially if there are many other players in the game. This point does not fuel animosity towards fellow players, and instead creates a feeling of fear of choosing incorrectly which supersedes.

Still, the chances of picking either the "Maniacci" or the "Impostor" on a single draw at any time in the game is equally likely, even if the overall chance of picking them increases as more cards are removed. Nevertheless, some players exhibit a fear of selecting the ten of spades as opposed to the ten of clubs.

The position of the cards on the table, and some cards relations to other cards and other players, even factor into some player's decisions. In some ways, it appears that players project life onto the cards, most importantly the ten of clubs and spades. Some might find that a card which has "escaped" the pile and is lying by itself without touching any other cards might be the "Maniacci" because it "wants to be found", and so has decided to separate from the other cards as if to reveal itself to the players. On the other hand, the same card in the same position may to some appear to be the sign that "Impostor" is looking for another victim and, by observing the thought processes of the players, has positioned himself so that he will be selected.

ee also

*Card Games
*Shuffling
*Playing Card