v3xt wrote:Does setting a trap count as a mind game? In a game I am currently in, I sent a specialist between two my outposts, knowing an opponent would try to catch it with a pirate. As soon as I saw them launch to intercept it, I initiated stage two of my plan. Using a pirate of my own and an elder, I will capture their pirate and assassin. The captive specialists will head to my outpost which has a hypnotist en route. Sorry Korf.

I KNEW something was going on when I sent that pirate, but I was way to eager to intercept the elder haha. And you keep playing those mind games on me, which means that you're the first player to outsmart me in like every move..

Honestly, setting traps like that is one of my favourite aspects of this game. I love tricking people to launch attacks that they don't know I can counter. It's especially entertaining when it costs them specialists.

I had a mini mind game with Subliminal. He was set to win a game in 2 days. I set out to attack him. He was going to win a battle between my helmsman, navigator and engineer versus his smuggler king and inspector. However I promoted a king and won but had no hypnotist. I had a double agent though. I purposely left the base to make it look like he can recapture his specialist. Once I got him to send out his drillers I had to control which base his specialist gets released to and at the same time give my double agent enough time to make it there. I had sent multiple subs to his mine but to control when I captured his mine I changed some of the subs to gifts. I had a navigator circling his mine for when I was ready to retake it. After the specialist were released I recapture the mine and the same time I sent drillers to recapture the base I purposely lost. I used a double agent to get his king, smuggler and inspector and also had taken the original base so I could send 1 sub and retake the double agent. I had started fights with pretty much everyone in that game so was fighting everywhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXY1FDh2fSs

Since this thread is specifically about MIND games, the most devastating example was a game I played last year that resulted in my ally thinking I was betraying him, making him turn on me, having an outburst and DELETING SUBTERFUGE - never to play again.


It started with a 1st game player building a mine on day one. My ally took the bait (pretty sure it was bait) and attacked. Problem was there was a three way alliance (we think) that fought back. Then I got attacked by a fourth player, so before we knew it we were tied up fighting different opponents. Not an ideal scenario.

So my ally reached out to the biggest player about a deal. He said he couldn't make that deal because he "reported to purple (the noob)". Didn't make much sense. Sounded like BS. Then they offered a peace deal *if* my ally agreed not to build a mine - and hence lose. He obviously rejected it.

There was more Stuff that had us both wondering who the hell was running a campaign of BS; I admit I thought my ally might have been playing me. But eventually all the BS finally erupted into an argument between myself and my ally - who accused me of working with the enemy because I hadn't attacked them as he thought I could -- truth was I was tied up with the fourth player. I admit I probably overreacted by impulsively revoking funding from my ally - with intentions to fund him again after he cooled off - but it was too late. My timing couldn't have been worse (unknown to me at that time) and is seemed to confirm I was working with the enemy. Mentally I think he snapped. He started gifting and helping the fourth player I was fighting.

All the while I was pleading my loyalty, refusing to attack him back, and warning him the fourth player could not be trusted. Eventually the fourth player eliminated him - like I said,not to be trusted. My ally said some blunt words to me and public chat, and that he was deleting subterfuge.

He hasn't played any games since. Jard if you ever read this, I didn't betray you dude, and you need to play another game.


Ironically his elimination forced me to reach out to my enemy, and we eliminated the fourth player with 40min to spare -- despite sending his queen and three princesses in all directions of the map. It was a brilliant coordinated effort ... With my enemy?!


I still to this day dont understand all the details of what happened, but there was clearly a psychological warfare strategy in place that tore our alliance apart. And it was devastating in its brilliance and results.

I think one of the strangest moments of subterfuge would be when I became judge, jury and executioner.

So I had an alliance with 2 players, and decided to get another three in (10 player game) to have a majority. Bit later, one of the newer three "attacked" one of my core alliances. This sparked them to get really mad, even challenge the other one to a duel. Nobody really knew what was going on. Then, for some reason, they decided to have a trial and made me the judge. After hearing arguments from both sides, they both realized they were being really dumb and stopped fighting. It was pretty fun, however, simply because I got to sit there and listen to them bicker over one outpost.

Serpantine: yes, I'm talking about you. Haven't seen you around recently. Hope you haven't forgotten about subterfuge

I had a game in the domination tournament where our game had 5 players and two players had made themselves an alliance very early and wanted to target another player. I said I would join in but immediately messaged that player and he got his ally in to help us and o turned the tides of the game by hopping alliances after I said I would help them. They weren't expecting my force of 100 drillers to attack them after they had sent their attack on my allies lol that was a fun game :p


I've been really tempted to make a complex web of lies involving an alliance of three people and do this:
Make a chat with the three trustees and say "no matter what I do, this is my true alliance." Make another chat with 2 of those three people and 1-2 other random people and ask if we want to ally against the guy not in that chat. Then make a chat with two of my three trustees and myself and say "yeah forget about X player, I'm not a fan of him let's kill him." Then ask player X which of the 'trustees' attacked him first and then turn against the player who attacked him first. I've been too scared to try it lol I feel it would put a target on myself

I don't like promising to be in two opposing alliances. I wasn't a fan of it when someone did that. I tend to try to uphold my promises mostly. In recent game I tried to play some inception. Teal wanted me to fight sky. I told sky I was going to attack him but that really I was going to move through his base and then potentially attack teal. Maybe that is a war within a war? But I also told Sky I might not attack Teal because the game almost over and it felt just like king making.