An overview on the art of the Backstab

Get over it Ed.

I see something where you whine about this at about every single opportunity you can create.

I played with you that game, and you were a pretty good ally, but you whine way too much. Play or don't play but quit the whining.

Randy

----Original Message Follows----

···

From: TaborekEJ@AOL.com
Reply-To: mepbmlist@yahoogroups.com
To: mepbmlist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [mepbmlist] Re: An overview on the art of the Backstab
Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 09:28:01 EDT

In a message dated 7/23/02 11:50:43 PM Eastern Daylight Time, jasonab@acm.org
writes:

<< Ovatha Easterling wrote:
   > If ever there was a game designed for lies, cheating and stealing it
   > is this one. And, yes, it was deliberately designed that way. This

  Don't forget the victory conditions that encourage you to backstab your
  teammates.

  The thing is, the game has changed since then. The players have decided
  that they don't want to play that way, and I don't blame them. Clint's
  rule reflects the game that is played today, and tells people what they
  can and can't expect from their opponents.

             jason
   >>
   A thing that happened in my last game has soured me. A couple of my ally
nations, Northern Gondor and Dwarves, were dropped early after missing 2
turns in a row, apparently standard procedure. I picked up Dwarves and
another ally picked up Northern Gondor.

   The player who got Northern Gondor offered to a couple of neutrals to
sacrifice NG, for purposes of "game balance", if they would ally with the FP.
  Having enticed the neutrals into allying, he then proceeded to transfer most
of the NG pop centers to his original nation before letting it go bankrupt.

I considered this cheating because he used the NG nation as a pawn to enrich
his original nation, (the negotiations with the neutrals merely being a
"cover" for what he apparently intended all along) thus gaining a significant
advantage toward becoming the game winner which was not available to his
allies, except for me (I did not follow his example). When I complained to
the management about this practice, they said that he could do whatever he
wanted with his nation.

   I don't like to use the word "never" but I may not play again, principally
because I consider that such use of a picked-up nation gave that player an
unfair advantage over the others and I think the management's ruling was
improper. Going even farther, I think the management practice of allowing
allies to pick up dropped nations in the early stages of the game is itself
unfair to the players who did not get a second nation. I can see the business
advantage to them of not wanting games to fall apart due to loss of a few
players early on, but there seems to be sufficient players willing to pick up
early-stage "stand-by" positions that giving them to allies should be
unnecessary. I have offered to pick up stand-by positions and been told they
were already taken but I don't know if they were taken by standby players or
by allies.

   For those who might wish to play the game closer to the way it was
originally designed, I suggest "no e-mail" games in which turns would only
be sent out by mail, turn orders only accepted by mail, and no allied player
information included on the results sheets. Players could still communicate
with each other by any means once they made contact. This might be
attractive to incarcerated players who would have some -- though not all --
of the disadvantages of their situation balanced.

Ed Taborek

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--- In mepbmlist@y..., "Randy Brady" <bradyr@h...> wrote:

Get over it Ed.

I see something where you whine about this at about every single

opportunity

you can create.

I played with you that game, and you were a pretty good ally, but

you whine

way too much. Play or don't play but quit the whining.

Randy

----Original Message Follows----
From: TaborekEJ@A...
Reply-To: mepbmlist@y...
To: mepbmlist@y...
Subject: Re: [mepbmlist] Re: An overview on the art of the Backstab
Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2002 09:28:01 EDT

In a message dated 7/23/02 11:50:43 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

jasonab@a...
writes:

<< Ovatha Easterling wrote:
   > If ever there was a game designed for lies, cheating and

stealing it

   > is this one. And, yes, it was deliberately designed that way.

This

  Don't forget the victory conditions that encourage you to backstab

your

  teammates.

  The thing is, the game has changed since then. The players have

decided

  that they don't want to play that way, and I don't blame them.

Clint's

  rule reflects the game that is played today, and tells people what

they

  can and can't expect from their opponents.

             jason
   >>
   A thing that happened in my last game has soured me. A couple of

my ally

nations, Northern Gondor and Dwarves, were dropped early after

missing 2

turns in a row, apparently standard procedure. I picked up Dwarves

and

another ally picked up Northern Gondor.

   The player who got Northern Gondor offered to a couple of

neutrals to

sacrifice NG, for purposes of "game balance", if they would ally

with the

FP.
  Having enticed the neutrals into allying, he then proceeded to

transfer

most
of the NG pop centers to his original nation before letting it go

bankrupt.

I considered this cheating because he used the NG nation as a pawn

to enrich

his original nation, (the negotiations with the neutrals merely

being a

"cover" for what he apparently intended all along) thus gaining a
significant
advantage toward becoming the game winner which was not available to

his

allies, except for me (I did not follow his example). When I

complained to

the management about this practice, they said that he could do

whatever he

wanted with his nation.

   I don't like to use the word "never" but I may not play again,
principally
because I consider that such use of a picked-up nation gave that

player an

unfair advantage over the others and I think the management's ruling

was

improper. Going even farther, I think the management practice of

allowing

allies to pick up dropped nations in the early stages of the game is

itself

unfair to the players who did not get a second nation. I can see the
business
advantage to them of not wanting games to fall apart due to loss of

a few

players early on, but there seems to be sufficient players willing

to pick

up
early-stage "stand-by" positions that giving them to allies should

be

unnecessary. I have offered to pick up stand-by positions and been

told they

were already taken but I don't know if they were taken by standby

players or

by allies.

   For those who might wish to play the game closer to the way it

was

originally designed, I suggest "no e-mail" games in which turns

would only

be sent out by mail, turn orders only accepted by mail, and no

allied player

information included on the results sheets. Players could still

communicate

with each other by any means once they made contact. This might be
attractive to incarcerated players who would have some -- though not

all --

of the disadvantages of their situation balanced.

Ed Taborek

Randy; Maybe not all the players have decided that what you are
saying is the the way they want to play. Ed obviously doesn't want to
play that way. I have have played in this game at various time s since
1993 and have seen various changes introduced which by an large I feel
have improved the game. I think Ed's position reflects the fact that
he too has played the game a long time. The end of winners
certificates has made a change in the way of looking at the game. When
there were certificates entitling you to a free set up with the nation
of your choice there was a real encentive for you to play your nation
in a way that not only sought victory for your side but also ensured
that you met your victory conditions and you played for the points.
Today's environment makes playing for your victory conditions less
relevent, but obviously it is important to many or there wouldn't be
anyone trying to accomplish victory conditions and there would be no
need for a nation to have any condition other than their side being
victorious. That would make for a true team game.

If I am reading Ed correctly his complaint is that in the current
method of running the game, a method that includes victory conditions,
a single player can take over another nation or even start with more
than one nation, and use one nation simply as a straw man to
aggrandise the nation he wants to concentrate with for placement. In
my view this is inherrently unfair to the other players on his team.
As he has if he wishes twice the orders to benifit his chosen nation
than any of his "allies". With those extra orders he can increase the
coffers of his nation, coordinate buys and sells between his two
nations to try and do market captures, name characters such as new
emissaries then send them to challenge powerful characters, resulting
in ritual kill scores, increased challenge ranks etc. The permutations
of this advantage go on and on. To me it is unfair to his team mates
and unless all on his team agree to this I don't believe MiddleEarth
Games should allow it to happen. This is a level playing field
question. Of course if the players are simply playing for a team
victory and who cares about individual victory conditions then it is a
moot point.

Personnally I would prefer that positions dropped be replaced by
outside players, but I understand that could result in delays in
nations being reinvigorated, often at a critical time when their
presence is needed most, but the current system of players simply
handing off their nations to another player and then the rest of the
team finding out to me is wrong. I realize it benefits the team, but
it does make it very hard to finally crush a nation. Most nations lose
wars and surrender in real life not because they have lost the means
to resist, but because they have lost the national will to continue.
The current method of replacing player after player in a game means
the only way to eliminate that nation is to bankrupt it or take every
major town, sometimes both are needed. This drags out games, which is
good for the company but not necessarily for the players. You have
some, and Ed is one of them I know from personnal experience who will
hang on to the bitter end, dragging the game on when the war is
clearly lost.

So I believe here the question is not so much Ed's "whining" over
backstabbing; in fact his views indicate he thinks that it is a vital
part of the game, but rather his views over the fairness of the way
national players are replaced. I have found him a worthy ally and
opponent in various games. I don't see him as a whiner.

···

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Drurgandra passed quickly by the second guard post. He had repports to
deliver to his Master.
Just in front of the wooden dor that lead towards the throne room, he hold
his respiration one moment, time enough to hear some whispers on the other
side.

.... Yesssss my Lord .... we will join our brothers ... my forces are ready
to confront those who call themselves free people. We have already sent
emissaries towards the South ... may the tribes of the Easterlings help us
like in the past .. my people are closer to them than the Northmen ... but
we cannot still trust in their cooperation.We will see ...

.... We know that King Eoder has joined a big army and that their
fishingboats have been converted to galleys, and that the Elves from Rhubar
also support them, but soon I will have this proud king in my prisons ...
seeing how he dies .. slowly, but keeping him alive time enough to see his
kingdom destroyed.

Drurgandra waited a little bit, he knew that his Master was speaking with
The Liddless Eye ... and that an intrusion would mean an horrible death.

He ensured that they the Ulair ended his endeavours, and entered. He was not
used to the presence of the Ulair, and his hearth started to beat quickly,
and his hair was a clear prove of his terror ... Uvatha's presence was
terrific.

"Tell me my sssservant" .... this is what Drurgandra heared, because he did
not clearly see his master in the almost dark throne room.

Northmen forces are moving, we have seen three armies and a big fleet, at
least twelve galleys in Shrell Kain, and also Dwarves in the hills to the
west of Dilgul getting ready to move.

Jajajajaja, this is all that those poor humans can gather?? call Din Ohtar
and Lomelindle ... it is time for them to act ...

We will crush them, but first I want to speak personally with their
commanders jajajajajaja

Drurgandra left the throne room as quickly as he could, his hearth was
nearly exploding, the laughting of the Spectre almost freezed it ....

It was time for action ....

It was time for the Dark Servants to rise again, against the Free People.