Mafia Wars is an adaptation of the Browser game with the same name.
Most of the game play elements are more or less identical. Players still take on the role of a Mafia Don and perform jobs to earn money, items and experience. The player can fight other mafioso and create his or her own family by inviting other mafioso to join their mafia. The player can buy properties to earn additional income. Jobs and fights earn the player experience points. Earning enough points earns the player a level which allows him or her to assign additional points into his statistics.
The iPhone version has a simpler interface to compensate for the smaller screen and features less content (items, cities, etc.) than the Browser version.