| Chinanews, Shanghai, Dec. 12 – The renowned1 party game "Mafia" currently is no longer favorable in Shanghai now. Many mafia playing clubs have closed, and only three can still enroll2 new members.
According to Xinmin Evening News, most of these clubs were set up in late 2005, and then made a lot of money. The most popular one, You You Club, was the first to register membership among young people. When the game reached its climax3 in early 2006, nine of such clubs could be found in Jing’an District.
The party game "Mafia" was invented by a student from Moscow State University in 1986, and was quickly introduced to most colleges of the former Soviet4 Union in the early 1990s. Now it is played everywhere in the world. At least five people are involved in the game, and are divided into two groups, “Mafia members” and “Town people.” Their basic goal of both groups is to eliminate the other.
In last March, the clubs started developing other services like movies, TV series, dramas, costumes, masks and journals, all related to the game. Software designers accidentally became the greatest winner of the game. Their online Mafia game cost people hundreds of thousands of yuan.
At that time the gaming itself even became one of the most profitable businesses. Small tea houses also provided some basic services for people who were willing to play the game there.
However, the game has lost its past popularity since last June. Less people now visit You You, and its manager, Ms. Cheng, says that the club now is full only on days when extra favorable services are offered. On the other hands, the less famous clubs now find their going harder and harder. In fact, many of them have been kicked out of the market.
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