It depends, If you stab people early then I have little care for them, if you've allied with him and then betrayed him I generally get a response of 'good job and good luck' or something much more profane. The only time I've ever felt sorry is when I betrayed a player, so far into a game, we had made sacrifices for each others benefit... we ended up drawing but he had died by then. I still feel bad but hey, that's the game right?

If you want to do really well in this game you need to play everyone, whether or not you have contact with them. Checks and Balances, that's the game

I can say that I definitely feel bad when it doesn't go well.

I feel kind of bad... Which is why i try to make all of my stabs as good as possible.

I always feel bad, especially when they're obviously less experienced than I am. Doesn't stop me from doing it.

I feel especially bad when it's well thought out and timed perfectly, even more when it involves multiple other players. It's tough to stab a good ally for an unexpectedly better ally. Stabbing people who leave themselves open to it, though, is pretty easy and when I do so I'm usually pretty stoic about it.

ghug I feel the same way, if theyre more experienced players i dont really mind it unless we've had a great alliance. its their first game and they sound so happy when talking then bang! they're gone

Feel bad? What? I cackle maniacally like a cartoon supervillain.

Sir Living Ghost,

You seem a decent sort, but to level with you, you haven't acquired the taste for human misery. You must learn to savor your opponent's ruin like a delicacy. As you master your wrath, you shall wreak unto your foes the fury of your attack.

The other six players are not people you would consider drawing with. They must be subjugated, and unruly opponents brought under heel. You must visualize your fist closing around their throat. Such is the price of defiance.

Your servants, you must bend them to your will. In this game you must extend your will over weaker players, and elect the spoils that shall be allotted to each.

Remember that a survival situation might be no different. Given sufficient motive, you should want to decide the fate of your neighbors, rather than let your neighbors decide this for you.

Says the man with a 6% solo rate.

But alas squire Al Swearengen, it seems like you shall come under my tutelage so that you can learn the cut throat game of diplomacy, and the art of winning. I have a 23% solo rate whilst you have 6%. I warn you, tis will be a hard slog, but i trust you shall not let me down

Here's the thing I've learned about stabs, people really respect great players and bold moves are generally forgiven when done in the name of victory. It's really only the betrayals that were done in vain that generally carry hard feelings.

When I first started playing I used to feel rather guilty, but no more. I've learned to separate the game from true life feelings, and play on the assumption everyone knows what they've put themselves in for. A deceptive mess.
I tend to wish the player that stabbed me to win, because in my eyes they outplayed me, so deserve to win.

I have never stabbed anyone ever, so you can all trust me :)

Being stabbed is an educational experience, and who among us are so morally corrupt as to deny a fellow diplomat his education? Shame on those who do.

@livingghost

Wow, 23% is fantastic! Message me if you have any gaming advice!

I feel absolutely terrible when I backstab someone ...... oh the pain, boy how it tears me inside.

"Says the man with a 6% solo rate."

...Ouch, I'm surprised that that went largely unrecognized.

The thing that's interesting about this game is how the empathy level is so much different than in other games. In Monopoly or Risk, for example, it's actually fun to have someone land on your high end spots or wipe someone out. No guilt involved at all. I wonder why Diplomacy is different.

Well most probably because you actually need to establish trust first, while other games don't really develop this.

Isn't it great when you play people, they start losing and then they start telling you what a tough time real life is for them right now, I usually just say "oh no mate, sorry to hear that, I know it is not much consolation but hey, take all my supply centres why don't cha". They are the best players.....

'Being stabbed is an educational experience' - I didn't realise you were from Croydon, Octavious.

Monopoly and Risk cannot end in draws. Diplomacy can.
Monopoly and Risk have significant random factors. Diplomacy de-emphasizes risk.

The angst level in Diplomacy is tremendous by comparison. If you lose, it is because you made poor decisions. You can't blame luck. Therefore, the decision to stab or not to stab has even greater importance.

New players need to learn betrayal is simply a tool to use in the game. Honor matters too...but mostly to the dead.

I rarely feel bad about a good stab. A botched stab I feel terrible about though. The feeling of ruining two good runs is horrible. A good stab though, it has purpose, or something. You can feel good because you stopped the solo, or because it got you the solo. Stabbing to thin the draw is a bit of another thing, I guess.

I've learned that in diplomacy, a stab is as much a sign of respect as anything. Two players who stay allied continuously even when the demands of the object of the game are contrary to their continued alliance are in some sense sad, because they do not respect the other player enough to know that being stabbed by your ally is part of the game. Trust has it's (huge) place in this game, but if the trust is ever literally 100%, the purpose of the game (solo victory) is lost, and it's a sad affair. It's perhaps not actually cheating, but it is something of a humiliation to both parties. They forgot that this is just a game; they are afraid to play.

@True Ninja

You realize that guys like me (with a 6% win rate) view guys like you (with a 27% defeat rate) as snarky junior-varsity players.

I recommend not playing a game with Al Swearengen ever. I wish there was some way to blacklist players from playing with you, like we have the mute button in the forum. He is a singularly unpleasant fellow who ruins any enjoyment you ever could expect from a game and takes great delight in making diplomacy as boring and stupid as possible.

Tru's a much better player than you Al. His win rate is higher, his survive+defeat rate is lower, and he plays against much tougher competition.

I think that a big part of playing diplomacy well is to try to fully and completely believe your own BS. Basically, if you believe it, you can achieve it. So I try to think about stabs like this:

It's the job of your ally to make it so that it isn't in your interest to stab him. If he fails to do that, it's his fault when you stab him, not yours.

And this is why I play gunboat. :)