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The Art and Magic of Spying
“Magic and espionage are really kindred arts”
Reading this article might have you laughing out loud or cursing under your breath.
Introduction
You smile gleefully as the last dagger of deception slides into the back of the tribe you entered. Your mission is a success as the collapse of the tribe is at hand.
Greetings to all Tribal Wars players. My game name is Iron Lady. I recently came back to Tribal Wars 1 after spending quite a few years away. I have played games under many guises; Lady Sophia and Lady Sapphira are two that come to my mind right now. I settled on “Iron Lady” about 5 years ago when I was playing as England in the Avalon Hill classic game. “Diplomacy”, which now has an online version. After leaving Tribal Wars I moved on to other city building games like Dragons of Atlantis, Realm of Empires, Tribal Wars 2 and Travian. It was in Travian where I was enlisted into a tribe as a spy for another tribe. I read all I could about the subject of spying in a game and had the pleasure (and dangers) to reprise my role on another Travian world. No, I have not been a spy in either Tribal Wars 1 or 2, at least not yet.
I have gathered the grist for this guide from three different sources; A nicely written Travian guide on spying, a fantastic CIA spy manual, and personal experience from my 30+ years of gaming.
The following guide is a look into espionage in Tribal Wars. This work is not anywhere near the final word on the subject as spying is a vast subject and almost an art form. While most tribe leaders may deny having spies, rest assured a tribe will plant spies and conduct espionage if at all possible. So, without further ado, lets sharpen our daggers and dive into the art of espionage!
Greetings to all Tribal Wars players. My game name is Iron Lady. I recently came back to Tribal Wars 1 after spending quite a few years away. I have played games under many guises; Lady Sophia and Lady Sapphira are two that come to my mind right now. I settled on “Iron Lady” about 5 years ago when I was playing as England in the Avalon Hill classic game. “Diplomacy”, which now has an online version. After leaving Tribal Wars I moved on to other city building games like Dragons of Atlantis, Realm of Empires, Tribal Wars 2 and Travian. It was in Travian where I was enlisted into a tribe as a spy for another tribe. I read all I could about the subject of spying in a game and had the pleasure (and dangers) to reprise my role on another Travian world. No, I have not been a spy in either Tribal Wars 1 or 2, at least not yet.
I have gathered the grist for this guide from three different sources; A nicely written Travian guide on spying, a fantastic CIA spy manual, and personal experience from my 30+ years of gaming.
The following guide is a look into espionage in Tribal Wars. This work is not anywhere near the final word on the subject as spying is a vast subject and almost an art form. While most tribe leaders may deny having spies, rest assured a tribe will plant spies and conduct espionage if at all possible. So, without further ado, lets sharpen our daggers and dive into the art of espionage!
Spy History
History is replete with stories of spies and their exploits. In the Old Testament of the Bible there is a story of twelve spies going into what was called the “Promised Land” to gather intelligence about the enemy strongholds. Chinese military genius Sun Tzu devoted the last chapter of his book, “The Art of War.” to spying and espionage.
In 1909 under Winston Churchill, Britain established the “British Secret Service Bureau.” Today I think only a few branches (M15 and M16) of the British SS are still operative. If your thinking of British spy, James Bond, your might not know that the creator of 007, Ian Fleming, was an actual spy.
In 1947 the Central Intelligence Agency was formed to combat increased spying and threats from overseas. It was not long after their formation did CIA leaders realize how inadequate their methods and procedures were compared to other intelligence agencies. It was one thing to have exploding toothpaste and deadly ball point pens (Yes they have these weapons) it was a whole different thing to conceal and implement their plans. CIA directors turned to someone who was a master at misdirection, concealment, slight of hand, and escapology. So enters on the scene, John Mulholland.
Mulholland was never as well known as Houdini (They were friends) but in the New York area from 1940- 50's he was very well known. An interesting side note, Houdini's mansion in Los Angeles is located on Mulholland drive. It was Mulholland and his illusionist arts that caught the attention of the CIA. The manual Mulholland wrote for the CIA that is being used in this guide applies some aspects of stealth, misdirection and escapology used by the professional illusionist. Mulholland is mentioned in the “Spy Museum” located in Washington DC. The CIA spy manual created by Mulholland will help to conceal your spies identity and safety so he/she can carry out their dastardly deeds.
In 1909 under Winston Churchill, Britain established the “British Secret Service Bureau.” Today I think only a few branches (M15 and M16) of the British SS are still operative. If your thinking of British spy, James Bond, your might not know that the creator of 007, Ian Fleming, was an actual spy.
In 1947 the Central Intelligence Agency was formed to combat increased spying and threats from overseas. It was not long after their formation did CIA leaders realize how inadequate their methods and procedures were compared to other intelligence agencies. It was one thing to have exploding toothpaste and deadly ball point pens (Yes they have these weapons) it was a whole different thing to conceal and implement their plans. CIA directors turned to someone who was a master at misdirection, concealment, slight of hand, and escapology. So enters on the scene, John Mulholland.
Mulholland was never as well known as Houdini (They were friends) but in the New York area from 1940- 50's he was very well known. An interesting side note, Houdini's mansion in Los Angeles is located on Mulholland drive. It was Mulholland and his illusionist arts that caught the attention of the CIA. The manual Mulholland wrote for the CIA that is being used in this guide applies some aspects of stealth, misdirection and escapology used by the professional illusionist. Mulholland is mentioned in the “Spy Museum” located in Washington DC. The CIA spy manual created by Mulholland will help to conceal your spies identity and safety so he/she can carry out their dastardly deeds.
Recruiting a Spy
Unless spies are planted before the start of a world, no spies are needed for the first month. Reason is, most tribes do not make it, mergers occur, tribes fall apart and restructure over and over till things settle down. Its then, maybe 4-7 weeks into a world where a tribe can start thinking about using or planting spies in enemy camps.
Usually one of three players should be responsible for setting up a spy; Your diplomat, recruiter, or tribe leader. The fewer that know about your spies the better. My personal preference is having the tribe leader be the one who knows and directs the spies. Can share intelligence with other leaders in Skype or hidden leadership rooms.
There are several way to secure employment of a spy.
1. Planting a spy in a premade tribe. This can often reap rewards before the world even starts. Your premade spy can give you player names, filled leadership positions, planned area of start, day and time of start, offensive and defensive players, and more, all before the world even rolls out.
2. In game spy recruitment. You can approach a player currently not in a tribe that is in an area your tribe is looking to invade. Be sure to look up his current world activity to see which tribes he/ she has already been in service. They might have already been in the tribe you want to spy upon, if so try to find out why they left. Sometimes they have a grudge against their former tribe and that anger can be a great weapon of destruction. If that player does not work out then continue looking in the selected area till you find a candidate.
Do not under any condition approach a player already 'in another tribe' to see if they want to be a spy for you as your setting yourself up to get "fake intelligence." If a player of mine told me a tribe approached him/ her about being a spy, I would chuckle and say, ”Hurry ! Start up the propaganda and disinformation press!”
3. Home tribe volunteer spy. This take a lot of guile and spunk but when pulled off can be fun and deadly. Usually, its the tribe leader and a trusted player from your tribe that set the stage. After a carefully rehearsed plan, enact a fake disagreement between a leader and tribe member, which leads to their being dismissed. Create a message history full of the fake arguments so if/ when they get into targeted tribe and have a sitter their story will look completely true. You can setup attacks and battle reports to fool the other tribe leaders.
Usually one of three players should be responsible for setting up a spy; Your diplomat, recruiter, or tribe leader. The fewer that know about your spies the better. My personal preference is having the tribe leader be the one who knows and directs the spies. Can share intelligence with other leaders in Skype or hidden leadership rooms.
There are several way to secure employment of a spy.
1. Planting a spy in a premade tribe. This can often reap rewards before the world even starts. Your premade spy can give you player names, filled leadership positions, planned area of start, day and time of start, offensive and defensive players, and more, all before the world even rolls out.
2. In game spy recruitment. You can approach a player currently not in a tribe that is in an area your tribe is looking to invade. Be sure to look up his current world activity to see which tribes he/ she has already been in service. They might have already been in the tribe you want to spy upon, if so try to find out why they left. Sometimes they have a grudge against their former tribe and that anger can be a great weapon of destruction. If that player does not work out then continue looking in the selected area till you find a candidate.
Do not under any condition approach a player already 'in another tribe' to see if they want to be a spy for you as your setting yourself up to get "fake intelligence." If a player of mine told me a tribe approached him/ her about being a spy, I would chuckle and say, ”Hurry ! Start up the propaganda and disinformation press!”
3. Home tribe volunteer spy. This take a lot of guile and spunk but when pulled off can be fun and deadly. Usually, its the tribe leader and a trusted player from your tribe that set the stage. After a carefully rehearsed plan, enact a fake disagreement between a leader and tribe member, which leads to their being dismissed. Create a message history full of the fake arguments so if/ when they get into targeted tribe and have a sitter their story will look completely true. You can setup attacks and battle reports to fool the other tribe leaders.
Concealments or Spy Security
In a magic show, concealment of your props, mechanisms, misdirections, ploys, communication paths and other guises are essential to deceiving your audience. The CIA realized this and hired Mullholland to teach his ways of concealment, trickery and deception to their spies. In any game such as Tribal Wars concealments are essential and not that different than real world spies.
1. Only one contact, no more. Just like a real spy, the more people who know your identity and purpose the more chances of a leak and blown cover. The home contact should either be your tribe leader, diplomat, or recruiter.
2. No breadcrumbs. In other words, do not try to be smart and leave clues for your home tribe members that your their spy. How do you know your home tribe does not have a spy in their midst? News of who is a spy gets around as fast as a text message. I guarantee leaving any trail will lead to your downfall.
3. No in game communication. In addition to only having one contact in your home tribe, you should have no in game communication about your work or identity. This point needs to adhered to like a religious zealot. Setup a Skype or email communication system out of game. Having your messages read by a sitter is one of the easiest ways to catch an average spy. A top level spy will leave you no trail to follow.
4. Never use the same game name anywhere else. If your in the forums then use a different name that the one you have as a spy. In fact, when I am a spy I hardly use the forums, as sooner or later one tiny slip and people might connect the two guises as one.
5. Trust no one but yourself. Given enough “motivation” anyone can change sides at any time. Its almost a certainty the tribe you in has spies elsewhere, including your home tribe. Trust your instincts, share with one contact, lay low when you feel wary of situation.
6. No real information. Do not give any real information about where you live, work, etc. Just like a real spy, create a completely different identity. Use a place, career, life, etc, that has no connection to the real you. Last thing you want to see happen is chat with a friend you know from another world who knows the real you. Bingo, your cover is blown and your history.
1. Only one contact, no more. Just like a real spy, the more people who know your identity and purpose the more chances of a leak and blown cover. The home contact should either be your tribe leader, diplomat, or recruiter.
2. No breadcrumbs. In other words, do not try to be smart and leave clues for your home tribe members that your their spy. How do you know your home tribe does not have a spy in their midst? News of who is a spy gets around as fast as a text message. I guarantee leaving any trail will lead to your downfall.
3. No in game communication. In addition to only having one contact in your home tribe, you should have no in game communication about your work or identity. This point needs to adhered to like a religious zealot. Setup a Skype or email communication system out of game. Having your messages read by a sitter is one of the easiest ways to catch an average spy. A top level spy will leave you no trail to follow.
4. Never use the same game name anywhere else. If your in the forums then use a different name that the one you have as a spy. In fact, when I am a spy I hardly use the forums, as sooner or later one tiny slip and people might connect the two guises as one.
5. Trust no one but yourself. Given enough “motivation” anyone can change sides at any time. Its almost a certainty the tribe you in has spies elsewhere, including your home tribe. Trust your instincts, share with one contact, lay low when you feel wary of situation.
6. No real information. Do not give any real information about where you live, work, etc. Just like a real spy, create a completely different identity. Use a place, career, life, etc, that has no connection to the real you. Last thing you want to see happen is chat with a friend you know from another world who knows the real you. Bingo, your cover is blown and your history.
Stage Management
For a magician, their stage is home town. Every square foot is planned and setup to enhance your illusions and props. Every angle is planned to hide things from the audience, every twist of hand is meant to communicate to your assistants.
Setting up and controlling your stage as a super sleuth is no different than a magician controlling their stage. Your home stage is the tribe your looking to deceive. The audience is their tribe members. Your every word and deed sets up your angles to steal away vital information, create turmoil, and orchestrate planned assassinations. While some things might seem like concealment, there is a subtle difference. Concealment is about your personal safety, stage management is about your surroundings.
1. Blend in with your Tribe. If they are a lively lot, be lively. If its one of those disciplined tribes where all you need to do is follow orders, do so diligently.
2. Get chummy with as many players in the tribe as you can. You also have to develop a cold heart as its going to be tough if you get caught. It will be a very bad time for you emotionally and will destroy tribe morale and maybe new friendships. Its then that you have to remind yourself, its just a game, its just a game.
3. Become a sitter for other players and let them sit for you. This will foster trust in you and make your dagger even sharper when it plunges home. Again, its just a game, right?
4. Climb the ladder. Try to work your way up the ladder and get yourself a leadership position in the enemy tribe. Be sure to work as hard as you can to fulfill leadership duties. Note: If your able to secure a leadership position in enemy tribe they are all but finished.
5. Use your troops. If asked to stack a player or attack someone, do so. Key points here are who it is your asked to help against. If its against a tribe or player that your home tribe also is warring then do it with gusto. If its against an ally of your home tribe, your own tribe, or even worse, a friend, then you have a moral decision to make. Do you miss your timing marks and have little to no impact on the battles at hand, or do you assist in killing off a home tribe member or close friend. I cannot answer this decision for you. Its one you have to make on your own. To constantly miss timing marks will usually raise suspicions or blow your cover. Communicating the situation with your home tribe contact may reduce some of the impact, but not all. I will say this, the decision you make determines the level of spy you are in that world. How much does taking down the enemy tribe mean to you? James Bond 007 has a license to kill and would employ that license to reach the end result.
Setting up and controlling your stage as a super sleuth is no different than a magician controlling their stage. Your home stage is the tribe your looking to deceive. The audience is their tribe members. Your every word and deed sets up your angles to steal away vital information, create turmoil, and orchestrate planned assassinations. While some things might seem like concealment, there is a subtle difference. Concealment is about your personal safety, stage management is about your surroundings.
1. Blend in with your Tribe. If they are a lively lot, be lively. If its one of those disciplined tribes where all you need to do is follow orders, do so diligently.
2. Get chummy with as many players in the tribe as you can. You also have to develop a cold heart as its going to be tough if you get caught. It will be a very bad time for you emotionally and will destroy tribe morale and maybe new friendships. Its then that you have to remind yourself, its just a game, its just a game.
3. Become a sitter for other players and let them sit for you. This will foster trust in you and make your dagger even sharper when it plunges home. Again, its just a game, right?
4. Climb the ladder. Try to work your way up the ladder and get yourself a leadership position in the enemy tribe. Be sure to work as hard as you can to fulfill leadership duties. Note: If your able to secure a leadership position in enemy tribe they are all but finished.
5. Use your troops. If asked to stack a player or attack someone, do so. Key points here are who it is your asked to help against. If its against a tribe or player that your home tribe also is warring then do it with gusto. If its against an ally of your home tribe, your own tribe, or even worse, a friend, then you have a moral decision to make. Do you miss your timing marks and have little to no impact on the battles at hand, or do you assist in killing off a home tribe member or close friend. I cannot answer this decision for you. Its one you have to make on your own. To constantly miss timing marks will usually raise suspicions or blow your cover. Communicating the situation with your home tribe contact may reduce some of the impact, but not all. I will say this, the decision you make determines the level of spy you are in that world. How much does taking down the enemy tribe mean to you? James Bond 007 has a license to kill and would employ that license to reach the end result.
The Sordid Deeds of a Spy
A spy's success can generally be measured by how much damage they inflict. The more damage you do the more success you will have as a spy and better your home tribe will sit. Damage can include the loss of villages, resources, troops, rankings, as well as plunging a tribe into chaos, hopelessness, disorder, or the total disbanding of the tribe, which is your top goal.
So what can a spy accomplish? Here is a list and it's by no means complete.
1. Gathering intelligence. Some of the Intelligence work you could send to your home tribe are; Important forum posts, important tribe messages, leadership changes, battle reports, army sizes, battle group members, battle plans, village troop counts, size of a stack, and who are the offensive or defensive players. It will encompass the largest par of your spy work. Remember, no in game messages or you will be caught.
2. Counter intelligence. Spy verses spy is intrigue at its finest. Hunt for clues that reveal who is the spy in your home tribe. This could be news in your tribe forum, messages that are sent out in your tribe or specific intelligence that maybe posted in world forum. Once your sure there is a spy in your home tribe they can work at finding the mole.
3. Fake News. Yep, were hearing that one in our news now a day, and it works. In other words its called propaganda. Slipping in disinformation into your world forum can cause a destabilization effect for a tribe or whole continent. Have your home tribe contact, or another of its leaders dump out the fake news. Do not leak the fake news yourself as that can lead to being outed. The tribe your spying on might take the fake news bait and make a comment and the wildfire may take off, especially if there is a shred of truth in the propaganda.
4. Mood destabilization. This is a good one to gather and report to home tribe. A bad forum setup, who are the disgruntled players, which leaders are spineless or incompetent, all need to be reported to base camp! Talk to as many players as possible without making it really obvious what your up to. Build up the ego of bad players so they want promotions and subtly critique the good players so they are on the defensive. Again, this all takes a slick, wise tongue with as much finesse as setting up a 50 millisecond noble train.
5. Sabotage. Sabotage can take many forms based on the position you hold in the tribe. At the squad level you can miss a defensive or offensive call and say you had personal business that needed attention. If your sitting you could misuse the account by building the wrong things at the wrong time. This is a two edge sword and can be a very dangerous action. Sabotage can only be done once or twice otherwise your tribe will suspect you as a spy leaving yourself open to a blown cover.
6. Assassinations. You might say, “How can a spy kill off a player in TW?” Dissension to the point a player quits the server. Bam! That’s as good as a dagger in the back. Setting a player up so they lose their nukes and nobles (Hammer and settler in Travian), which leave them open to attacks and frustration to the point they leave the tribe or quit. Any act that causes a player to leave the game, or become a farm could be considered an assassination.
So what can a spy accomplish? Here is a list and it's by no means complete.
1. Gathering intelligence. Some of the Intelligence work you could send to your home tribe are; Important forum posts, important tribe messages, leadership changes, battle reports, army sizes, battle group members, battle plans, village troop counts, size of a stack, and who are the offensive or defensive players. It will encompass the largest par of your spy work. Remember, no in game messages or you will be caught.
2. Counter intelligence. Spy verses spy is intrigue at its finest. Hunt for clues that reveal who is the spy in your home tribe. This could be news in your tribe forum, messages that are sent out in your tribe or specific intelligence that maybe posted in world forum. Once your sure there is a spy in your home tribe they can work at finding the mole.
3. Fake News. Yep, were hearing that one in our news now a day, and it works. In other words its called propaganda. Slipping in disinformation into your world forum can cause a destabilization effect for a tribe or whole continent. Have your home tribe contact, or another of its leaders dump out the fake news. Do not leak the fake news yourself as that can lead to being outed. The tribe your spying on might take the fake news bait and make a comment and the wildfire may take off, especially if there is a shred of truth in the propaganda.
4. Mood destabilization. This is a good one to gather and report to home tribe. A bad forum setup, who are the disgruntled players, which leaders are spineless or incompetent, all need to be reported to base camp! Talk to as many players as possible without making it really obvious what your up to. Build up the ego of bad players so they want promotions and subtly critique the good players so they are on the defensive. Again, this all takes a slick, wise tongue with as much finesse as setting up a 50 millisecond noble train.
5. Sabotage. Sabotage can take many forms based on the position you hold in the tribe. At the squad level you can miss a defensive or offensive call and say you had personal business that needed attention. If your sitting you could misuse the account by building the wrong things at the wrong time. This is a two edge sword and can be a very dangerous action. Sabotage can only be done once or twice otherwise your tribe will suspect you as a spy leaving yourself open to a blown cover.
6. Assassinations. You might say, “How can a spy kill off a player in TW?” Dissension to the point a player quits the server. Bam! That’s as good as a dagger in the back. Setting a player up so they lose their nukes and nobles (Hammer and settler in Travian), which leave them open to attacks and frustration to the point they leave the tribe or quit. Any act that causes a player to leave the game, or become a farm could be considered an assassination.
Escapology/ Blown Cover
“”The art and practice of escaping from constrictions, be they ropes, handcuffs, straitjackets, jails, or even a country, is escapology.”
Harry Houdini and Mulholland were masters at escaping from shackles, safes, and jails that we cannot imagine. How they slithered out of their shackles enraged captors and amazed crowds around the world. Regardless of the restraints the illusionist were put in, they all had a plan of action “before being handcuffed.”
Having an escape plan for your spies is essential. This plan should be discussed before undertaking the dangerous role of undercover spy. Unfortunately, those escape plans sometimes fall through if your home tribe is having difficulties. I will offer two possible escape paths, one is if your home tribe is sound, the other if they are in trouble.
1. Stable home tribe. Your facing a difficult situation in that your cover has been blown and your in trouble. If your home tribe is sound they can send troops and stack your villages with reinforcements and land as many villages around you as possible. This in effect would be a declaration of war and a invasion of enemy territory to protect your valuable spy. If your spy has done major damage to the tribe, this “invasion” may not be as difficult as you think.
2. Unstable home tribe. Your cover is blown and no one can come to your aid at this time. You have two options; Your most important weapons are not your location and troops but your mouth and guile, use them to talk your way out of the predicament. I will leave how you do that to your imagination. You can also try leaving the enemy tribe and join another strong tribe till your home tribe can come to your aid. This may not work as once your cover is blown its likely to be common news and slapped all over the world forum.
Spying, in any flavor or environment is dangerous work and can leave you in a bad situation fighting for your life. A blown cover can literally ruin a good position almost overnight. Use every tool available to survive and fight another day.
The Hunt begins
Conclusion
Harry Houdini and Mulholland were masters at escaping from shackles, safes, and jails that we cannot imagine. How they slithered out of their shackles enraged captors and amazed crowds around the world. Regardless of the restraints the illusionist were put in, they all had a plan of action “before being handcuffed.”
Having an escape plan for your spies is essential. This plan should be discussed before undertaking the dangerous role of undercover spy. Unfortunately, those escape plans sometimes fall through if your home tribe is having difficulties. I will offer two possible escape paths, one is if your home tribe is sound, the other if they are in trouble.
1. Stable home tribe. Your facing a difficult situation in that your cover has been blown and your in trouble. If your home tribe is sound they can send troops and stack your villages with reinforcements and land as many villages around you as possible. This in effect would be a declaration of war and a invasion of enemy territory to protect your valuable spy. If your spy has done major damage to the tribe, this “invasion” may not be as difficult as you think.
2. Unstable home tribe. Your cover is blown and no one can come to your aid at this time. You have two options; Your most important weapons are not your location and troops but your mouth and guile, use them to talk your way out of the predicament. I will leave how you do that to your imagination. You can also try leaving the enemy tribe and join another strong tribe till your home tribe can come to your aid. This may not work as once your cover is blown its likely to be common news and slapped all over the world forum.
Spying, in any flavor or environment is dangerous work and can leave you in a bad situation fighting for your life. A blown cover can literally ruin a good position almost overnight. Use every tool available to survive and fight another day.
The Hunt begins
Capturing a spy is hard work for any tribe, but it can be done. The better a spy the harder it will be to discover their identity. A top level spy can, and will, get past just about every obstacle you can employ. Your objectives are finding out who is the spy and what to do with them. Here are some tools you can use while on the hunt.
1. Sitters. Sitters are use frequently by many tribes. Many top tribes have new players wait 24hrs or more before giving them forum and other tribe access. In this time span a sitter can be used to read over game messages and other reports. Having a sitter on someone’s account can slow down, but will not stop a top level spy. In fact, they will be the biggest supporter of mandatory sitters as none of their spy work is done 'in game.' So, while having sitters to read their messages will thwart the average spy, the good ones will get past this obstacle with ease.
2. Secure chats. Having a safe and secure place for leaders to communicate is essential for securing important information. This secure chat can be done via Skype or some other form of out of game chat. Can use in game hidden forum if leaders do not have access to out of game chat. Note: If a spy is in that inner circle its usually a death sentence for that tribe or spy if caught. If a spy is in that inner circle then all important information and moves will be known by the opposite tribe. If the spy is caught it will cause tribe turmoil and both tribe and spy could be done.
3. Limited information sharing. Never share a complete set of battle plans, as well as any other sensitive information, with everyone. Only tell people what they need to know, no more, and quite often less. This prevents an enemy from having all of the information, but also presents the opportunity to observe where the leaks in the might be located.
4. Attack squads. Many tribes create a division of players based on location or some other criteria. Some of the terms for these groups are; divisions, squads, platoons, corps, etc. This is not only good battle strategy, its crucial in providing your tribe a ready made filter to help identify a spy in your midst. Squads are great for battle tactics but must be used with other tools to identify a spy.
5. Misinformation. If there is a known leak, it may be a good idea to share some misinformation. Give each squad a different piece of misinformation (Propaganda) and see where it ends up. If a spy passes bad information on to their hone tribe they might lose trust in their spy and not even believe real information. It can also be humorous seeing misinformation from a specific squad land in the world forum.
6. Troop activity. Just like a magician loathes sharing their magic act props and secrets, any Tribal Wars player will hate the idea of having her/his troops being called for an attack they do not want to participate. Monitoring troop activity is a good way to catch a spy. Players that feint attacks or support several times need to be carefully watched.
The Triangular noose. Using “troop monitoring” along with creating “small attack squads” each having their own “misinformation” provides you with a triangular approach to catching the spy in your midst. Even Houdini or 007 would be hard pressed to get out of that trap. If you information is being posted in forums and a player has missed troop calls a few times from the same squad and the misinformation given to that squad is leaked to a world forum or in game messages – you have your spy in the noose. Next is what you do with him or her.
What to do with caught spy?
1. Sitters. Sitters are use frequently by many tribes. Many top tribes have new players wait 24hrs or more before giving them forum and other tribe access. In this time span a sitter can be used to read over game messages and other reports. Having a sitter on someone’s account can slow down, but will not stop a top level spy. In fact, they will be the biggest supporter of mandatory sitters as none of their spy work is done 'in game.' So, while having sitters to read their messages will thwart the average spy, the good ones will get past this obstacle with ease.
2. Secure chats. Having a safe and secure place for leaders to communicate is essential for securing important information. This secure chat can be done via Skype or some other form of out of game chat. Can use in game hidden forum if leaders do not have access to out of game chat. Note: If a spy is in that inner circle its usually a death sentence for that tribe or spy if caught. If a spy is in that inner circle then all important information and moves will be known by the opposite tribe. If the spy is caught it will cause tribe turmoil and both tribe and spy could be done.
3. Limited information sharing. Never share a complete set of battle plans, as well as any other sensitive information, with everyone. Only tell people what they need to know, no more, and quite often less. This prevents an enemy from having all of the information, but also presents the opportunity to observe where the leaks in the might be located.
4. Attack squads. Many tribes create a division of players based on location or some other criteria. Some of the terms for these groups are; divisions, squads, platoons, corps, etc. This is not only good battle strategy, its crucial in providing your tribe a ready made filter to help identify a spy in your midst. Squads are great for battle tactics but must be used with other tools to identify a spy.
5. Misinformation. If there is a known leak, it may be a good idea to share some misinformation. Give each squad a different piece of misinformation (Propaganda) and see where it ends up. If a spy passes bad information on to their hone tribe they might lose trust in their spy and not even believe real information. It can also be humorous seeing misinformation from a specific squad land in the world forum.
6. Troop activity. Just like a magician loathes sharing their magic act props and secrets, any Tribal Wars player will hate the idea of having her/his troops being called for an attack they do not want to participate. Monitoring troop activity is a good way to catch a spy. Players that feint attacks or support several times need to be carefully watched.
The Triangular noose. Using “troop monitoring” along with creating “small attack squads” each having their own “misinformation” provides you with a triangular approach to catching the spy in your midst. Even Houdini or 007 would be hard pressed to get out of that trap. If you information is being posted in forums and a player has missed troop calls a few times from the same squad and the misinformation given to that squad is leaked to a world forum or in game messages – you have your spy in the noose. Next is what you do with him or her.
What to do with caught spy?
There are two options available to a tribe once they have caught the spy.
1. Double agent – Your tribe leaders can try converting the spy into a double agent and work for them. You could go over all the things that make your tribe better than the one he/ she is employed. You can play to their heart strings about all the friendships made while being in the tribe. This has risks in trusting the player to really be on your side. Careful monitoring of the data given would be essential. However, the rewards would be great if you could 'convert them' to your dreams and ambitions. This is one road you could take, the other is next.
2. Execute the spy – I mean more like grinding them into the dirt, splayed open for all to see. If you cannot convert them to your side, you must execute them at all cost. Why you say? Because your reputation is at stake. If a spy is caught and gets away with their deeds, rest assured your tribe will be mocked in the forums and in game for being weak and incapable of stopping a player. Once your tribe has that mark on its back, its as good as dead. Your choice is simple, put their head on a stake for all to see. This can be done two ways; One is by attacking the snot out of them till they are rimmed or quit. Two, discredit their name and reputation in messages and forum posts. Once a name is shot to pieces they have to create a new game name, which many players do not like doing.
When I was tribe leader over in Tribal Wars 2 we had a spy in our midst. We knew it as information was shared and the next day it was in the forum and emailed back to us. We found out who it was as the player left our tribe a few days after the posting. Their player was to far away to attack in force so we turned and took out another of their players closer to our tribe. Point being, you cannot show weakness once a spy is discovered.
1. Double agent – Your tribe leaders can try converting the spy into a double agent and work for them. You could go over all the things that make your tribe better than the one he/ she is employed. You can play to their heart strings about all the friendships made while being in the tribe. This has risks in trusting the player to really be on your side. Careful monitoring of the data given would be essential. However, the rewards would be great if you could 'convert them' to your dreams and ambitions. This is one road you could take, the other is next.
2. Execute the spy – I mean more like grinding them into the dirt, splayed open for all to see. If you cannot convert them to your side, you must execute them at all cost. Why you say? Because your reputation is at stake. If a spy is caught and gets away with their deeds, rest assured your tribe will be mocked in the forums and in game for being weak and incapable of stopping a player. Once your tribe has that mark on its back, its as good as dead. Your choice is simple, put their head on a stake for all to see. This can be done two ways; One is by attacking the snot out of them till they are rimmed or quit. Two, discredit their name and reputation in messages and forum posts. Once a name is shot to pieces they have to create a new game name, which many players do not like doing.
When I was tribe leader over in Tribal Wars 2 we had a spy in our midst. We knew it as information was shared and the next day it was in the forum and emailed back to us. We found out who it was as the player left our tribe a few days after the posting. Their player was to far away to attack in force so we turned and took out another of their players closer to our tribe. Point being, you cannot show weakness once a spy is discovered.
Conclusion
You may be asking, “why spy”, its dangerous and can lead to a bad reputation. Spying can be an exhilarating and entertaining experience, but it can also destroy a perfectly good account when caught. Your dealing with fire and can get burned. On the other hand, espionage is fun, provides intrigue and thinking on the spur of the moment. Plus its different from the normal build and attack game play. A spy needs to convince others, plan assassinations, provide secret intelligence without being caught, and is a good challenge for those who like to exercise their communication and deception skills. Spying puts you a few steps away from being a magician. Espionage adds a whole new aspect to your Tribal Wars game play.
When you think about it, spying is not that much different than catapulting a player to dust. With espionage you doing it with words and other mechanisms instead of slinging boulders. With catapults your taking down one players village. A 007 level spy can all but bring down a tribe on their own.
Happy Gaming!
IL
When you think about it, spying is not that much different than catapulting a player to dust. With espionage you doing it with words and other mechanisms instead of slinging boulders. With catapults your taking down one players village. A 007 level spy can all but bring down a tribe on their own.
Happy Gaming!
IL
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