psychological warfare

[TheBaron]

I once had the lead over a higher ranked player and he began trashtalking and got me frazzled and he ended up beating me. I realized later that he effectively used psychological warfare. Another type of psychological warfare is to provide misinformation about upcoming spoils. Any other psychological warfare strategies/tips?

[slsfong]

Yeah -- if someone starts frazzling you, don't read it! It's not like in a game where you can't avoid hearing the person sitting next to you. Just don't read the chat, and then it won't bother you.

[skychaser]

I always use it when I feel it can make a difference. I just won an impossible game and I think my blabbering did a lot of my work.

[tryagain]

I don't want to court stalkers but there seem to be far fewer trashtalkers than there used to be. Politeness, or more often silence, has broken out. In fact, it is infectious, so now I usually restrain myself from baiting an opponent. It just seems out of fashion nowadays.

[Nucker]

Psychological Warfare is best played in the tone of politeness. A trash talking opponent can be easily victimized by a polite player.

But the a far better way of conducting this war is to second guess other players actions, as if using a looking glass. Casting doubt to players ethics can put the brakes on them.

Being friendly and accepting of attacks also reduces them.

Suggesting teamwork, not secret, but that another player is working with you, will also change players strategies

There are plenty of options under the banner of politeness.

For me Humor is the best weapon.

[waltero]

If you foe (temporarily) a player you will not be able to view his chat.

Talking has always been a big part of my game. If I see something going on in the game I will tell others how the game is being played (what each individual player is trying for). Often times I will divulge what my strategy is (if I see that I am playing with a bunch of rookies).
Many players do not understand this of me. Most players think it foolish of me to talk about strategy (my own) while in game.

It is no big deal to me. I want to play the best game possible. If it looks like an overrun I will try to help them beat me (or others).

People who take this game ''too'' seriously (why on earth would anybody take risk seriously...it is a child's Game) are the people who do not talk while in game. The only time they hit the chat button is when they are pissed of at a player. Then the profanity and name calling comes out!

Every player has his own Idea of the game. When a player makes a move, it is in accordance with his strategy. NOT YOUR STRATEGY! No matter how foolish or silly a move might seem to you, it does not always coincide with your (opposing) strategy.
It is when a player looks at a move that makes no sense to him that he gets frustrated...because he does not know how to respond and he has to change his (perfect game) winning strategy.
Now victory is not so simple.

There are many different minds in one game. If I make a move it might be a move to counter (not you or any other player) Joe smuckatelly.
The move would make no sense to any other player but me (and possibly Joe smuckatelly).

For instance; if a player is giving me a hard time (trash talking, attacking only me or trying to get others to team up against me) I will most likely have to go for his elimination before I can do anything else.
While others might not understand this.

I am through yammering.

Gots to go.

[ManBungalow]

Psychological warfare seems more relevant to me in big foggy games.

Here's a nice example from an 8-player game I won a while back:

Click image to enlarge.

While many of my borders are easily broken, my opponents could not tell how many troops I had hidden behind the lines to counter with. And 2s on borders don't pose such a threat. However, some stacks (such as the 250 on Krasnoyarsk) can be used to intimidate...to assure the enemies that I do have lots of troops. I have 2s on every region because they're bloody difficult to get rid of, and - being unlimited in reinforcements - could make a big stack if needed.

[corrupteddrake]

I agree with waltero but maybe for different reasons.

If you tell your opponents your strategy or how to beat you they will do one of two things. Generally, if they are not a good player they will take you at your word. This makes them feel grateful to you and less like to attack you and get lucky. Also, genuinely helping a bad player play better makes them easier to predict and they will generally not become magically good enough to beat you. Generally, if they are a good player they will be confused by this tactic and spend trying to figure out if your trying to trick them or if your being honest and trying to trick them into thinking that they are being tricked and so on. Then, they will be stuck into following to paths one assuming you telling the truth and the other one assuming that you are trying to trick them. Either way they become predictable and sometime they will try to block both at once weakening them for either case.

[clowncar]

I am involved in a game right now where 3 of us remain. I was and still am the weakest and have tried to use diplomacy as best I can and have tried to keep my word as best I can to keep the game balanced and stay alive myself but the end result is that one of the other two players or both of them will likely think me a weasel by the end of the game. I play primarily to make friends and the seedy nature of diplomacy/psychological warfare makes me feel bad about myself while I am trying to play for fun. So in addition to not being good at it, not particularly liking that it is allowed ( players should be able to figure things out on their own without discussing ), I find it fits in poorly with my personality and reasons for playing. When I am rude in chat ( it happens ), I try to apologize and get to know who I was rude to.... and I have made good friends and teammates this way. I guess even when I use psychological warfare it works against me more than my opponents