I tend to identify myself more as a carebear than a stabber. I like to have one solid alliance that I will play out to the end of the game. the problem is, I haven't really been able to do that many times because they stab me first. And always, when that happens, a third party wins the game, which ticks me off.
However, in the few cases where my alliance works into the mid-game, I ensure that I get the win by stabbing them. I am not one to willingly let someone else get a win. Also if there is a stalemate line forming, I won't stab (usually, unless there is a grudge I hold) and will go for the draw.
That being said, I hate early stabbers because the are often so shortsighted in their strategy, and I do everything in my power to hurt them as much as possible

It is so game dependent - i've played games that i could have won easily and have drawn instead showing my carebear side, but then again i have stabbed good allies in other games either to to solo, prevent a solo, or just to switch sides.

@goldfinger - very useful, thanks!

Don't you go and use that in our game together hahaha

I'd rather play with stabbers and I identify myself as one too up to a point. Stabbing for the sake of stabbing is not good. Neither is continuing with an alliance if stabbing is the better option.

@goldfinger, of course not, ha ha.

My own self-assessment falls along the same lines as yours. I've won solo once when I declared an early ally, did not stab him, but made sure that he would be the junior partner (just barely) and I could take enough share to win. Early in the game when choosing an enemy, I don't consider going back on my word as a stab per se - I call it a stab if we've supported each other. Talk is cheap, right?

I'm a carebear but I'll stab if that will give me a high chance to solo.

If an ally has saved me from defeat I won't then stab him later, i like to keep my allies and don't stab that often.


That being said, luring them to stab then crushing their foolish attempts isn't stabbing ;)

I hardly ever stab my allies.

i never stab. it's vicious, spiteful behavior.

I LIKE to stab, but commonly find myself giving into a draw because I needed the ally more then the stab

@AndyBer - I agree. Going back on one's word in 1901 is just revealing false posturing, not a betrayal of an ally.

Honorable. Thats how I define my play of diplomacy.

Carebear all the way except for some instances.

i never admit to being a stabber, oh yes a care-bear through and through. Don't let me game history fool you! If it appears i've ever stabbed someone in the past that was clearly a misunderstanding or they agreed for me to take their home centers... vital to the war effort and all Hooray!

In conclusion, you can trust me, honest!

orathaic +1

@djbent - I can't tell if that was a joke or a straight up lie to get us to trust you :P

I think this topic has been up a few times before under the guise of a 1 to 10 scale; 1 being trustworthy and 10 being not.

On this scale, I'm a knife-wielding carebear (potentially wearing a Rambo headband) :D

I don't stab if I don't need to. Like one game I won, I was Russia, conquered Turkey, Austria, and Italy and all of Scandinavia and saved Germany so he was in debt and spared England so he was in debt.

You can't play the game if you don't stab. Go ahead start a game where no one stabs anyone else. If you know the alliances and they don't change, then draw lines are formed and the game ends with a 5-7 person draw (booooooring!)

That being said, stabbers that won't change there mind when they are being short sighted or stabbers that stab for the sake of stabbing both are unfun to play with.

I am a carebear. I feel stabbing is going back on my word and even when I do stab, which is rare, I normally fail at it.

I am erratic. Sometimes I'm a friend to the end, and sometimes I'm coming atcha the second it looks like a good idea. I mean, in my most recent win, I left two virtually undefended French SC's alone and moved past them to force the last few off the English because France had helped me in the past. But in the same game, I deliberately oscillated between helping Turkey and Russia against each other to buy myself time.

I imagine there are more than a few people on this site that follow my dictum:

Tell the truth. Scrupulously. That way, when it comes time for you to deliver the very rare lie, it will be accepted almost without question.

And it should be very rare that you need to stab.

@arathaic, i guess that indeed most of the people here that claim pure trustfulness are in fact just making it up... At least, I rockon that when time arrives, it's necesary a stab.

There is stabbing and there is lying. If you are my enemy and we haven't worked together at all, I'll lie my ass off to you. But if you are my ally and we have been workign well together, I won't stab unless it gets me the win, stop syou from winning, or I have reason to believe you were about to stab me. But that's not to say I won't lie to you to get you where I want you.

And when it comes to being stabbed, I only get truly pissed if the stab is gonna cost us both the game. But I can actually admire a good stab that gets the player the win.

Crazyter did me in recently with akilies help and, while I was pissed at akilies (his stab cost both of us the game), I was fine with Crazyter's stab. she stabbed us both in the end and got the victory and it was well earned. And I have as much blame in that loss as akilies because I saw him stab Italy, whom I had been working with and went on an agressive defense that he saw as a potential stab and Crazyter convinced him it was just that using my advance line against me politically.

I don't mind stabbing unless they lie to make me put myself in a position to be stabbed by them. Also, I have a weakness it the situations that I rarely stab. I either tell them the turn before or the turn I'm doing it when I stab.

Im a carebear unless It gets to where my only chance of survival is to stab, or when I am so close to winning... thats when I stab.

So you want stab to stop a win? That's foolish in a WTA game. You need to stab to stop the win.

sometimes I do, sometimes I dont... It all depends...

stabbing for survival makes the least sense, i mean if it lets someone else win... you're betraying your ally AND dooming the two of you to losing the game.

Actually if you're about to be wiped out and your ally is true, she should give up at least one center (assuming this is part of a plan to actually win...)