But if it did, then it was born, lived, developed, changed forms and its essence, became a little Armenian, very traditional, smelled a little like “kabab and barbecue”-in a word, “Mafia Armenian-style”.

Oh, let’s not forget to mention that I’m talking about the intellectual-psychological game called “Mafia” which is widespread around the world.

No matter how much the game “Mafia” has managed to become “Armenianized”, it doesn’t trace back to Armenia at all. There are many versions of the game’s origin of which three are very popular. According to the first one, the game is like a psychological test developed by Jewish businessmen through which they are able to select their leaders, orators, people who sort their thoughts out correctly and make correct calculations. There is another version according to which the game was created by the boys from the Club of the Happy and Inventive. But according to a more accepted and correct version, one of the world’s classical writers had “something to do with” the game’s creation. The game is described in Agatha Christie’s novel “Ten Small Negroes” written decades ago. Ten people are in a big house and every night, one of them mysteriously disappears, while the rest try to understand who the “assassin” is, if they are only ten people in the house.

I will tell you who told me about all these versions, especially since he is the “advertising godfather” of the game “Mafia” in Armenia.
But before that, I must mention that there are also two other versions of the game’s origin on the Internet and according to one of them, “Mafia” is a kind of modified version of the English game “Murderer”. According to the second version, the game was created by some student of the Faculty of Psychology at Lomonosov University Dmity Davidov.

Now, some words about the rules of the game, though I’m sure that many of us are experts.

“Mafia” is role-play, that is, each person receives his “role” and plays. During this game of high intellectual and acting, you must be able to manipulate everyone-play as a “red” card when you really have a “black” one, or be the “red” and find the “blacks” and win. In classical “Mafia” there are 10 players, though there are no limitations. The seven “red” and three “blacks” have their leaders. The leader of the “reds” is the “sheriff” and the “blacks’” leader is the “Don”. The game is composed of two parts-“night” and “day”. “Night” is for the blacks, while “day” is for the reds who must try to find the “blacks”.

But no matter how easy the rules sound, in reality the game is very complicated and unpredictable and you will never know all the ins-and-outs until you don’t play the game yourself.

This was all that all “Mafia” players of the world know, but now a little about the “Armenian” game.
Mafia Clubs: how and when did they come into reality in Yerevan?

Alen Simonyan is a lawyer by profession, works as a showman, producer, lecturer, actor and is the FIRST and main owner of “Sicilia” Mafia Club in Yerevan.

How it all started

“My friends and I love this game. We used to gather at my house and play for a while and our team kept growing. They used to come to our house and bring something to drink. Then we came up with the idea of moving from the house to another place where there would also be drinks and thought of starting a business. There was a demand and I had the offer. That was 6 and a half years ago. I opened my club in a 25-30 square meter area at “Nairi” cinema. But the area wasn’t enough, so we moved to a club located on Tumanyan 33. This is where everything went “boom”. We already had nearly 300 clients who were representatives of radically different spheres, from political figures to hosts, show-business stars and students. They would form lines and we would decide who was going to participate in the next game. In a word, this was the first largest and strongest “Mafia” club and you can ask anyone.”

Obstacles

There is a very well-known, full-fledged organization in Yerevan with a rather serious, interesting and unique style. The members of this organization also used to gather “under one roof” and play “Mafia”, perhaps to spend their time. The games were held “behind closed doors” and only the members of the organization could play. But it was suffice for the Mafia Club to come to give everybody the opportunity to play and…Well, the game can’t be a monopoly. There are many games and everyone plays them, but in this case, the first idea of making money from the game and opening a Mafia club can be considered a monopoly.

“I faced many difficulties. I received threats from the very first moment I started making money from the game. There were so many notable people getting involved and interested in me that I even felt “flattered” that they had taken the time to focus on the activities of a 24-year old young man. Before opening the club, I made an offer for collaboration with the organization the members of which were playing the game behind closed doors and I was rejected. Then, they started proving that they own the rights to the game and even printed and distributed booklets showing that the “mafia” belonged to them. As a lawyer I must say that nobody can own anything that they have not thought of, for instance, chess, backgammon, etc. But I got what I wanted and started making money from the game.”

Then…

According to the so-called law “We’re Armenians, aren’t we?”, if “X” opens a gas station, then “Y”, “Z” and all the other letters of the alphabet must in no way fall behind “X”. This law also applies to all “pizza and shawrma” spots, flower shops, barber shops that have been renamed beauty salons, casinos, “Vivaro” clubs and many other similar institutions that keep growing in Yerevan. Mafia Clubs also didn’t fall behind and it all spread so quickly that “Mafia” began to be shown on television and of course, it is correct to speak about the right to monopoly in this case.

“It’s one thing to open a club and another to make it work. It all turned out to be Armenian-style-everyone opened a Mafia Club and now there are even Mafia clubs in garages. But it is not enough to have a club. You have to be able to make it work. People think having a table and cards is enough for a club to work. To me, it is very important who enters my club and it would be better to have 5 artists than 35 guys from the “hood”. I have found out about the lives of over 300 people in the past six and a half years .You have to be able to understand, work and ensure communication. The TV versions didn’t work out. As an experienced person, I can say that there was no idea of a round-table, the TV host didn’t need to appear during the game and the cameras weren’t showing all players and more flaws. It’s their problem-I am responsible for myself and with years of experience, I can still keep my position for a hundred more years.”

And it ended

The Armenian saying “The more, the better” had a negative impact this time. The more “Mafia Clubs” increased, the more the game lost its essence, order and the clubs turned into another center for “eating and drinking”. Of course, as everything, this game ended and is no longer very interesting.

“It was too much already. You have to let people miss things. As the founder of the first commercial Mafia club, I have the right to announce that “Mafia” died. But I still have many new ideas, which I will turn into a reality soon. Let them come, learn and then go and “open one in the garage” .

What is life? It’s a game!

Lilit Grigoryan