by Tom Stewart

Created on: October 06, 2009

Mafia Wars is one of the more fun and addictive games on Facebook. Played by thousands every day, it's a great simulation of running a mafia family and battling other families. Playing the game successfully requires a daily commitment if not more and an understanding of a few strategies. One aspect of the game to give concern is avoiding being robbed by rival families. There are several different things you should do to prevent this.

First make sure your defense stat is high. Your defense rating should be close to or equal to your level rating. Remember your rival can't see what your defense rating is, so make sure its high. If the two of you are around the same level, your defense may be the only thing that saves you and keeps you from losing a valuable piece of property.

Another clever strategy to ward off attempted robberies is changing your title and property names to something that will keep them from attacking. Use a little psychology by naming things with something that makes you seem high leveled and tough to beat. Most rival mafias are looking for a sure win, so if your family seems tougher to beat, they'll most pick on someone else.

You'll also want to keep your family size as large as possible. The more members you have in your family, the more likely rival families are to avoid robbing you. A good rule of thumb is to keep your number of family members the same as your level rating. The more people you have in your family the more people you have defending you. Always expanding your family is the main point of the game to begin with. But it's also a great way to avoid being sidetracked or allowing rival families to out grow you.

Keep your inventory updated as well. Having a large family is useless if you don't provide them with the needed weapons to help defend it. One of your main priorities should be spending your money on purchasing and gathering guns, ammo, armor, and vehicles to help keep your mafia family well equipped. The more your family grows, and the more properties you take over, the more weapons you're going to need to defend. So make sure you keep a fully stocked inventory for your family.

Stay active in the game. Spend time improving your family every day. Win fights and rob other families in order to keep your family growing. By boosting your win ratio, you'll have an advantage over other families who don't put as much time into their mafia family. The more you win, the more other families will respect you and pick on someone else.

Overall the key to success in Mafia Wars is to stay on top of things and be organized. Like many other simulation games on Facebook, the game is an addiction and you need to be addicted to do well. The most successful Mafia Wars families are the ones that have daily or more activity and maintenance. In the beginning you'll find it a little tough to get over the hump. But once you do, the game can be fun and entertaining as you become one of the most notorious mafia families on Facebook.

Learn more about this author, Tom Stewart.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.