It's a funny old thing, but over on the site where I play Diplomacy the idea you suggest with "I've honored treaties in games and they have led to treaties in other games with the same people" is considered cheating (we call it metagaming) and ultimately leads to being banned. To be clear I'm not accusing you of cheating (although I am surprised to find there are no rules against it here), but I have to admit to see this style of play being promoted as a good thing is more than a little disturbing to my ears.

It is however extremely fascinating to discover that two sites, each with games based on the idea of conquest via a combination of individual tactics and alliances, have such wildly different views on what counts as ethical play. Even the phrase "You might win the game with your style, but will lose the war" is almost repulsive to me as we are so used to the idea that the game is the war.

One thing that does bother me, more so even than the alien nature of your ethics, is that in each of the three games I've fought it has always been me doing most of the talking. I have only had another player talk to me before I to him on one occasion, and that was only a few words long. Have I just been unlucky, or are you generally quiet types?

I agree most people don't talk except in a couple role playing games I am in. Even then some people won't talk in a role playing specific game...odd.

I suppose it is metagaming but what else can you do? Have amnesia? I am in a game with a friend and I am not allied with him. I do what is best for me in game, not based on friendships. So I don't make allies with a person from a relationship outside that game, but I will trust them based on past experience. And I will not trust someone based on past experience too.

I haven't seen Fizzer's opinion on that, but I think it is up to the player anyway. I doubt he would discourage or encourage it either way. It is up to each player to determine that I think, and you can't fault a player for not liking that style.

In your world there is no recourse for back stabbing (unless you have the ability in that game to punish it), which is very frustrating for players because you cannot trust ANYONE (without meta-gaming).

In those role playing games we have rules against outside friendships playing a part in allying.

Beginning a game with prefabricated friendships, alliances and enemies, I think, is pretty wrong. However you can´t help about knowing of others reputations and acting upon them

is octavius he one who created a tourney and wrote a friggin paragraph on how to backstab ppl in the tourney

One can try to adopt a policy of amnesia :p

It helps that the stab is an accepted part of good play in Diplomacy. As such being stabbed rarely generates any kind of lasting resentment. Indeed, if it is a good stab the other players often gain added respect for the stabber. A person can gain a reputation for incompetent play, or overly competent play, that may harm his chances of forming an alliance, but even this form of mild metagaming is frowned upon by some.

We also have a popular feature, that I don't think I've seen here, called anonymous games in which no one knows who they're playing against. This makes avoiding meta play a lot easier.

Thinking about it a bit more, one major difference between Diplomacy and Ris... erm... Warlight is that wins in Diplomacy are far harder to come by. In the traditional 7 player varient a good player will only expect to win about 10% of the games, with average players around 5%. It is also generally considered impossible to win without at least one well executed stab. Wins are thus very highly prized and it goes a long way to instilling a win at all costs attitude amongst us.

That being said, the rules we have we keep, and those who break them can expect an appointment with the banhammer pretty sharpish.

Leaving these attitudes behind is not easy, especially when they appear so successful here.

thank you for that very obtuse answer did you or did you not create the tournament?

@ Chris

"In your world there is no recourse for back stabbing (unless you have the ability in that game to punish it), which is very frustrating for players because you cannot trust ANYONE (without meta-gaming)"

Trust is funny thing. You can certainly not trust someone to watch your back all game (that would be suicide) but you can trust good players to act in their best intrests, and you can trust yourself to convince them that their interests happen to be what you want them to do. Friendships very much exist, but don't impact significantly on individual games.

@Hell bender

No. I've only played 3 FFA games since recently joining. I won them, which was nice, and thought I was getting along ok. And then BigPie went off on one which came as something of a surprise.

@ Hell Bender

Kiss my shiny metal ass. That answer wasn't for you.

i asked a question yes or no?

To quote from my earlier post

"@Hell bender

No."

If you want me to answer again don't hesitate not to ask

@octavios

dont speak to me in that tone, ok?, i dont appreciate it. At all.

To quote from my earlier post

"@ Hell Bender

Kiss my shiny metal ass."

I have to give it to you. You do quite good banter

HEY HAVE FUN BEING BANNED

Quoting from a cartoon you use for your own avatar is a bannable offence? Lol! Now I've heard everything!

thats not why youll be banned

Sigh... I rescind my banter comment

shut up

@Chris

I like the idea of setting the truce for a number of turns. Like 5, 10, or 20. I have done this in the past but not in this game unfortunately. He wanted the alliance so if he wanted to set the number of turns, he would have said so.

@Hell binder

He's a piece of work isn't he? The whole reason I posted this was to inform the public of Octavious.

@Octavious

Warlight and Diplomacy are very different games with similar concepts. If you are a true member of diplomacy then you would stay out of Warlight for your own concern. Or play in a different style as to not piss people off. You don't want a bad reputation. Things tend to get around, considering this thread is still going...

@big pie

yep hes the biggest asshole ive seen since i had intercourese with his mother