Scorched earth

[Reverend Zombie]

thejeff said:
It's situational, of course.
From my point of view, it's when your actions are no longer aimed at survival, or even delaying your defeat, but actually hasten it.

Almost any action a player takes has the potential to hasten his defeat.

Who's to judge?

In your Marverni (or Marignon/Jotunheim example)...what is the acceptable alternative, assuming the razing was un-acceptable to you?

[KissBlade]

I'm very confused by the extreme tactics you've listed so I can't say how I feel about them having never encountered them before. If anything, it seems an easier province to conquer if he was to get rid of his fort and lab before hand leaving nothing to defend with.

[thejeff]

As I said, "no longer aimed at"
One can certainly make mistakes, take risks, etc.
It's a question of intent. Judge for yourself. I'm not advocating rules that someone should enforce.
It seems to me you're quibbling here.

For my example, nearly anything else. Accept the NAP I'd offered. Look for allies. Bribe someone to attack me. Hold on to the castle and fight it out as long as you can.
I don't know, surprise me.
Don't self destruct on first contact.

And it's not unacceptable. I accepted it. I just didn't understand it. Where's the fun in suicide?

[Reverend Zombie]

thejeff said:
As I said, "no longer aimed at"
One can certainly make mistakes, take risks, etc.
It's a question of intent. Judge for yourself. I'm not advocating rules that someone should enforce.
It seems to me you're quibbling here.

I don't mean to quibble, just trying to find out what those opposed to scorched earth want the defeated player to do with his assets.

Self-destruct on first contact is a bit different that what the OP was talking about--sorry if I confused the issues.

[PyroStock]

I'll also point out that if 3 players remain and somehow *only* player A's scorched earth tactic will cause player B to lose the game then regardless what player A does he *will* cause someone to lose.
Player B, "He's crippling himself and scorching earth just to minimize my winnings and try to cause me to ultimately lose!"
Player C, "He's just rolling over & giving player B all his castles, labs and provinces in perfect condition just to try to cause me to ultimately lose!"

Self-destruction to protect your allies, trading partners or even strangers isn't unsportsman-like. From the perspective of the other players, one could only hope the only guy close enough to jump on the grenade would do so for the others if he was going to die anyways.

If one needs something they do not currently own to win a game, whether it's a global spell, several artifacts or some castles, income and labs, then the burden is only on them to try to obtain it. If their spoils of war are less than expected then they expected too much.