What ever you want to do really, but I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I'd have crushed brown. If your truce with purple allowed you to win the game, you should give your ally 2nd

OK, I've read the wiki page on winning gracefully, and now I think I'm more confused. It says:

"(A) If you can, allow other players to remain connected to each other. This will allow them to fight for the finishing order. When that is not possible, dispatch the players in this order:

(B) ...
4. players who you believe played well
5. alliance and truce partners

(C) If you truced with a very weak player and near the end of the game, this player is still very weak and the other players are flagged, don't feel obligated to give him second place."

I allied with purple when we were both viable but vulnerable. At the end purple was in third, but I wouldn't say "very weak" so I don't think (C) applies.

Purple and brown _could_ have fought it out, so that seems to rule out (B).

So I should have let them fight it out. But once brown beat purple, he might well have been strong enough to beat me. At what point do I stop attacking brown? And how do we work it out so he takes second and doesn't bump me out of first?

I remember the good old days when it was said that truces lasted till all not truced players died. So I keep playing untill that point (being loyal to my truces). If my ally wants to flag before (for honorable reasons maybe), that's fine...

The wiki says to crush brown and that's what I would've done at the current low tables. At low tables ally is usually an agreement to try and get 1-2 for your team.

Case C is for if your partner is a pain who won't flag if he has say 2 territories vs 10 for guy in 2nd who is flagged, at low tables time is more valuable than being picky about points or etiquette. This case also depends on who is blocked off from who.

However, the better good old days were when two people allied but broke it off (without "backstabbing") when one was getting too strong, because people only cared about playing for first. Those games were awesome because any of the last three players could win as alliances switched back and forth. Even if you only got 2nd or 3rd it was still a good fight and not just because you allied with the leader first.

The wiki is a bit schizo. Just do whatever you feel like doing.

Yeah. Do what you want. You should give an ally second, since, they were your stepping stone, your rock, whatever, to getting into first. Also, they may treat it as "backstabbing" if you killed them, and one of those is almost as bad as being labeled for a PGA (pre-game alliance).

In general terms, you can come up with whatever way to kill them. whether it be by who was the most annoying, to the color you like the most, or by ELO score (That was the way I did/do it) as in lowest elo gets second, and so on. But, I have even been criticized in this idea,b/c one person thought I was secretly giving an advantage to someone, and there was talk, some scandal, yada, yada, yada.

"I remember the good old days when it was said that truces lasted till all not truced players died."

Quoted for truth.

In other words: ignore anything other than what your ally says.

OMO, if someone "deserves" a higher placement, then their dice will defend attacks and win rolls, no matter the numerical superiority they face.

I've determined my own final protocol.

Assuming truce with Purple against Brown:

If we allied mid-game and that alliance was instrumental in my becoming emperor, Purple gets 2nd (subject to previous alliances).

I we allied mid- or end-game, when I was already in strong position and Purple was small, and Purple's support ensured an already-probable victory, then Brown gets 2nd (assuming Brown flags). Purple gets 3rd and also-rans are crushed until they flag.

If my Brown won't flag reasonably quickly, Brown gets crushed and Purple gets 2nd.

If I have no allies and I become emperor, I first crush 'aways' (flag or no), then I crush those who refuse to kneel (flag).

Of course, the degree to which an ally was instrumental to victory is quite subjective, but I will try to be fair. But seriously, when I say "flag or die" you had better flag, or I may just let my weakling ally eat you for the dom points.

i believe that if u allied u shud stick to your word, however if purple was a lot stronger than brown i would have ensured my victory and appealed to purple to let brown have 2nd because he deserved it.

Sparqs, you definitely did the right thing. Brown was complaining just because he lost.