I find that oxycodone is very helpful in numbing the guilt I feel when stabbing to win.

You could always try manipulating your allies into attempting to stab you first?

Yeah, finding excuses for a war is an ancient technique that's been known to work

Thanks guys. Ab, you brought a smile to my face. As a matter of fact, I was just on my way to the drugstore.

And sometimes you don't have to stab to win, just get the SCs somwhere else.
Also, when you do have to stab it, romanticise it. You know, think of it as if it were a movie plot. Yeah, it's childish, but it's fun.

go team work. If they helped you win the game, they deserve a fair share of the pot.

didn't stop you in our game =[

lol I kid I kid ;)

@ PE-that's the problem. I try it but I'm awful at it.

Your situation was different, the game name was Hustler and I wanted to Hustle you.

If you don't stab then you are putting yourself in a position to be stabbed. So your stab is in self defence and that will hold up in court.

@Fasces-are you talking to PE? @PE-who are you talking to?

I agree, I have stabbed when someone is stabbing me (in 4 games, me and someone else have stabbed eachother on the same turn)

I was talking to PE

Oh, lol, I was talking to Crazyter.

That was a baaaaad game for me though, fasces. I think the only thing I did was get both of us killed >_<

Why is there a paradox? Seems quite normal. I admit it helps to be a psychopath. No guilt or remorse. There is even a euphoric sense that comes over you when you know you've stabbed 7 either directly or indirectly. Beats drugs anytime.

@Crazyter
Obviously, the solution is to stab Ebay instead of me!

I've never had a problem with stabbing, to such an extent that for a time I kinda forgot to, and didn't really notice the difference. It says something for the extent to which I have taken the game to its logical conclusion- namely treating it like one might treat chess.

Dunno if this is good or bad for my play.

But, to be serious, I think you're thinking of it in the wrong way.

When you enter the game, you enter into a social contract with 6 other players. Part of that contract should be that you intend on playing to win. With that in mind, you are actually being inconsiderate when you let someone survive just to be nice. I get no enjoyment when I draw a game in which I should be eliminated. Being stabbed is part of the game and I enjoy the thrill of being stabbed as much as stabbing.

My problem is that I don't stab early enough, so I usually end up stabbed/massacred.

Agree with abgemacht. The objective is to achieve control of 18SCs, not to build a game-drawing alliance. In the majority of situations that means a stab. So be it :p

If your ally doesn't anticipate the stab, and allows themselves to be defenceless against it, it's their own fault. If they do anticipate it and have defences in place against it, then the draw is acceptable. Beyond that, no-one "deserves" anything from a game unless they earn it, and that isn't earned by helping you into a position where you can solo, either through them or through anyone else: it's earned by getting the solo themselves or through preventing someone else being able to achieve it.

The solution is respect. As stabber you know the stabbee would do the same if the tables were turned. A well played stab should hurt a bit but also gain respect from the other players in the game. That's when you can divide the good losers from the bad losers, and frankly, I couldn't care if I stabbed a whiner. In fact, I even enjoy it >:)

Drawing gets boring to me. As you know Crazy, I got a little stir crazy in our league games where playing for the draw was a better long-term strategy. To me, any alliance should have a mutual, unstated understanding that a stab will happen eventually. The goal of the game is to get 18 SCs. Draws should only happen if people are truly deadlocked, not because it was a previously agreed upon conclusion.

PS - I'm so mad that I didn't stab you last game. :P

Wheres the honor in stabbing? They helped you win, they at least deserve an equal share of the pot.

I agree with Malleus.
You enter a game with the intention of being the winner.
You can not win without first working with a fellow player & then stabbing them in order to gain the chance of victory.
I struggle with all the players that look up what you did to them in a previous game & hold a grudge & try & settle it in a following game.
It is a game, only a game, you play for enjoyment not revenge. It is a new game each time you start & should be played that way, & that way only.

@TLD: I agree completely.

TLD+1

The two concepts presented are not mutually exclusive. There can be much selfishness hidden under the veil of teamwork, there can be much teamwork that goes into ultimate selfishness. The two concepts are at opposite ends of a spectrum, and as with most things in life, very few of us reside at the extremes, we are mostly somewhere in the middle. Exactly where we each lie on this spectrum, and how we relate to everyone else that certainly lies elsewhere, is what makes the game interesting and results in endless debate.

@Fasces349: The game is not about sharing.

another +1 for TDL
Plus, it can be considered metagming, which is forbiden. I think that all games should be annon, and that the identities of the players should not be revealed after the game's end. Or, in any case, you can reveal the identities of all the player, to know wich bunch of fellows are good players or NMR's, but not telling which player is which country...

Just a note to Crazyter, I technically only stabbed Turkey in that game at the very beginning which you stated was alright. I won that game by practically not stabbing and building friends the whole game. I don't believe that it's necessary to be a complete bastard to win. A little is necessary as you know when you turned on many of your allies in that game. It was your last stab of Germany that allowed me to win. All games should be played to win unless you haven't the chance. If you could win and you don't try then shame on you. But I think you were trying in our game. No? You're a great player so I suggest that you don't worry too much about these little moral issues a d just keep on playing your game your way. If you want to win more then keep taking your chances and some will surely go your way.