Let's make a deal? From: bruno@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Bruno Wolff III) Date: Tue, 05 Oct 1993 21:31:02 +0000 While I don't agree exactly with Dave on what deals should and shouldn't be made in Titan, I do believe that there should be a limit on deals. I don't have a precise definition of what should and should not be allowed in that game. Generally we have made comments to players when things are starting to get a bit out of hand. Deals we have generally allowed in our games including to players about to mutual with each other rolling a die to see who should concede. Occasionally we will roll a die in other battles so that it is all or nothing for the winner. But if too much of this is done, people start frowning on it. We generally don't move stacks to help people recruit or make short term promises for safety, but I have played in games at Avaloncon where those types of deals were made. I have tried to get a clarification on whether rolling a die to see who will concede a battle is a binding agreement or not. The latest ruling on that from Bill Scott is that it is, but that shouldn't be considered to be etched in stone. In poker I don't think any deals should be allowed. In diplomacy I have mixed feelings. It is really a diplomatic game so that you should be able to make any deals, but I have found that this results in two teams playing a tactical game. This isn't much fun, but neither is the chaotic deal breaking commonly done in the game. So I don't play that game much anymore. Other multiplayer games often become beat up on the winner without a lot of overt collusion. History of the world is a timely example of that kind of game. While it is a fun game, there is a lot of moaning about how bad everyone is doing that goes on and it is hard to take the outcome of the game too seriously. It is still fun to go around conquering during your turns. One of the best features of Titan is that without allowing extreme deals it is hard to effectively gang up on the leader. This makes it more of a game of skill (the better player will win more often) than many other multiplayer games. Up