How NOT to get eliminated first.

[spies3tenchi]

We have an alumni thread, we should also have something that the newer players should appreciate.

How can one "prevent" himself/herself from being Imprisoned or Exiled first?

And for something totally irrelevant...

SPY POWER!!!

[spies2karl]

How not to be eliminated first: Be a complete basketcase!!!

BAD: Being rational. "I don't suspect anyone. It's the first round, we have no information to go on. I think I'll vote for someone inactive. They'll be useless to us anyway. If we have to waste a round on an idle, I say we do it now."

GOOD: Throwing out suspicions like they're confetti. "omg jack is totally suspicious he has to be a spy wait no jennipher wait no shane wait no sam wait no everyones mafia!!!!!!!11one"

[spies3anneliese]

While I definitely have ideas at how to not get eliminated ( I mean, effing LOOK at me, Queen of consistent lying to not get Imprisoned)... I'm not going to post my ideas here:

1. They're my ideas. And I generally would share my strategy but perhaps if I participate in Spies in the future, it could give away both my strategy and my identity.
2. I think that giving our ideas to "new" spies people is just asking for trouble... Because, and here's the key thing:


Generally, strategies to avoid getting eliminated are COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE, and tend to result in a CITIZEN LOSS. It's more important to collaborate as a team and not look a total whack-job. If you throw suspicions out like that, chances are you're probably a citizen anyway, and you're not going to get imprisoned but people might exile you just for being annoying and obnoxious.

The overall best strategy seems to be being barely active since many people floated to the end with that last game, and do you really think I want to promote that to new players? That's just about the dumbest idea I've ever heard.


But if you want to promote inactivity and unproductive action, be my guest boys

[spies3anneliese]

Oh, but umm... I do have a tip for how to not be exiled first:


Just don't be a character that Sam makes up

[Rei and Tyson]

spies2karl said:

How not to be eliminated first: Be a complete basketcase!!!

BAD: Being rational. "I don't suspect anyone. It's the first round, we have no information to go on. I think I'll vote for someone inactive. They'll be useless to us anyway. If we have to waste a round on an idle, I say we do it now."

GOOD: Throwing out suspicions like they're confetti. "omg jack is totally suspicious he has to be a spy wait no jennipher wait no shane wait no sam wait no everyones mafia!!!!!!!11one"

I'm a committed fan of the "basketcase" strategy myself. Hey, it's always worked out ok... if your goal is to last as long as possible without actually winning a game...

Def. don't agree on the "idle" strategy (even though I championed it in Spies 1 - does anyone even remember Damien? Half the people didn't speak to him, and those of us who did just found him irritating - sorry Damien, if you're reading this!) But that wasn't why I found you so suspicious anyway, Mr. Custard - Origami. I just spoke to you a long time but really got nothing of substance from our conversations, the same as with Carrie. (And Leo, Julian, Gigi, Raphael...)

The bottom line is it's SO easy for a spy to just float about without committing himself. Much easier than doing what - for example - Tyson, Allison, Tenchi or Bebe did. There's been at least one "passive" spy in each of the Spies games so far - three in Spies 1 - so, early on and without much else to go on, I'd be looking for signs of someone who didn't seem to want to get involved. Citizens - with the threat of imprisonment looming, making them crazy - have a much greater instinct to be "aggressive" than spies do. That doesn't mean that spies SHOULD play passive - you only have to look at Gigi, Julian, Mercedes and Leo to see how bad an idea that really is - but it is easier to do so than to go out there and make alliances etc.

[blackjack]

The goal of the game is to catch the spies. You cannot do that if you're focused on dodging both imprisonment and exiles, mainly because both require you to pull off the opposite extreme.

Exiles require you to be useful and not thought of as a spy in order to dodge.

Imprisonments require you to come across as someone who would be useful for the Spies to keep around. In other words, you'd need to be someone with a decent amount of suspicion held over your head.

But by focusing on selfishly surviving to the next round makes it harder to, as a group, find the Spies, which is one of the problems that we had last game.

[spies3jessica]

I am agree that it is a waste of effort for citizens to try to survive imprisonments. If every citizen tries to play dumb to avoid being imprisoned, it is far less effective than every citizen giving it 100% then forcing the spies to make a hard decision on imprisoning since there are so many good options to target.

That's why I urge every citizen to not play under your potential. Playing well will not get you a guaranteed ticket to imprisonment if there are 10 other citizens giving it 100%.

[Voice of the bleeding obvious]

You want to avoid getting imprisoned and still remain an active, helpful citizen? Become friends with the spies. Let the spies know you trust them. Perhaps start a quasi-intimate relationship with one of them. Works a treat.

[spies3matthew]

Be part of a twist. And to not get eliminated further on, just act like me .

[spies3jessica]

I'm not saying its impossible to be helpful and avoid being imprisoned. But a lot of people cant do it and end up bringing down the citz to save themselves. I just feel it would be a better if all citz tried their hardest and were 100% transparent wherever its necessary.

But I doubt thats gonna happen since if one person steps forward and tries to be openly helpful, there is a good chance that no other citz will follow and the person who was trying to be helpful will have just signed their death warrant.

Either way, I would love to play a cit whether we are playing the transparent game, or the lie to save your own skin game.

[gindi]

Be likeable and establish a relationship/at least talk to as many people as possible.

This is an easy one.

[spies3anneliese]

Oh, you mean like Judith who got exiled Week 3?


*Sorry, I had to*

[spies3tenchi]

LOL But I guess he meant like being friendly and NOT mention her cat/dead husband/*insert some character stuff here* that never existed.

[teenmotherJessica]

or bastard son

[spies3anneliese]

That bastard son didn't get you eliminated though...

Maybe in the future we should all have illegitimate children.

I don't even want to go ahead and make some mock Spies titles about this one - it's way too easy...

[spies3tenchi]

She had a bastard son?

[judith]

the topic is in relationship to surviving the FIRST exiling vote. how can you go if everyone likes you so early?

[Pensive Rei]

True to a certain extent - look at Damien from Spies 1 (half the people in the game hadn't even met him, and those who had generally just found him irritating). Also look at Tanner (first one imprisoned in Spies 2 largely, at least in my rationale, because he annoyed so many people that he was an obvious target).

However being popular can mark you as a threat. I think you do a disservice to Winston, who I seem to remember you campaigning against with blind ruthlessness (Blake, how could you do it? He was great!) and Jakub "custard origami" (ok, I didn't think so much of his personality in either game, but plenty of other people said how well-liked he was.) Also look at Sage - I don't think anyone in any Spies game other than him has had a band of citizens who would literally vote anyone BUT him based on pure loyalty; even Davoni and Jack were exiled with large majorities in the end - but he was exiled second. And Nicole, who most of us who weren't Adriana Karl or Jenna thought was fantastic, who was very nearly exiled fairly early on in Spies 2.

In fact, anyone notice that certain citizens without roles, those who have a group of people who trust them, tend to be regarded as threats by citizens who aren't in that group? Especially by aggressive citizens who want to be in charge (*cough*DC*cough*). Sage, Davoni, Jack, Anneliese... HUGE sacrifices, all targeted by their fellow citizens (although in Jack and Anneliese's cases the spies had a LOT to do with it). It's an annoying fact of Spies life that semi-inactives seem to survive the longest.

[Mercedes]

there is a 50/50 chance to get eliminated first... I think that the first round is all about random votes!! I hate that!!

[Adelaide]

spies2karl said:

How not to be eliminated first: Be a complete basketcase!!!

BAD: Being rational. "I don't suspect anyone. It's the first round, we have no information to go on. I think I'll vote for someone inactive. They'll be useless to us anyway. If we have to waste a round on an idle, I say we do it now."

GOOD: Throwing out suspicions like they're confetti. "omg jack is totally suspicious he has to be a spy wait no jennipher wait no shane wait no sam wait no everyones mafia!!!!!!!11one"

Apart from the Spies, I still hold HUGE COMTEMPT for EVERYONE who voted Martha.

[Martha]

spies2karl said:

How not to be eliminated first: Be a complete basketcase!!!

BAD: Being rational. "I don't suspect anyone. It's the first round, we have no information to go on. I think I'll vote for someone inactive. They'll be useless to us anyway. If we have to waste a round on an idle, I say we do it now."

GOOD: Throwing out suspicions like they're confetti. "omg jack is totally suspicious he has to be a spy wait no jennipher wait no shane wait no sam wait no everyones mafia!!!!!!!11one"

Well, rabbit-sacrificing issues aside, I think Martha proved this one once again. Hope you enjoyed the irony, Paul...

[Martha]

adelaide said:

spies2karl said:

How not to be eliminated first: Be a complete basketcase!!!

BAD: Being rational. "I don't suspect anyone. It's the first round, we have no information to go on. I think I'll vote for someone inactive. They'll be useless to us anyway. If we have to waste a round on an idle, I say we do it now."

GOOD: Throwing out suspicions like they're confetti. "omg jack is totally suspicious he has to be a spy wait no jennipher wait no shane wait no sam wait no everyones mafia!!!!!!!11one"

Apart from the Spies, I still hold HUGE COMTEMPT for EVERYONE who voted Martha.

Wow, thanks Adelaide.