I'd like to know if anyone out there has customized/created some rules for secret player communication. Let's say, "talking" via post it notes so that you and your alliance partner/s can exchange information secretly. We embedded this into our games, but we are sill experimenting with rules that encourage or reward secret communication, since our group likes political intriguing and overall a more political aproach to the game. Secret communication has lead to some very interesting scenarios and brings a little more military action and trade to the table. But still it is not a really "integrated" experience. Instead it is more like a "metagame change".

How about you?

I played a game where I and another player secretly sent text messages back and forth, thus planning our moves without the others having the faintest idea we were in cahoots - was great fun

We never did that so far. I think it lengthens the game even more, but I should try it some time, because it sounds like fun! It's another thing in Pbem, though. Here you really can forge alliances and make intrigues...there's plenty of time.

Longer games are not really a problem for us. It rarely occurs that an currently active player is involved in secret messaging. This is our most important rule. "You may not read and/or write any messages if you are the active player. Is there Something you have to know or tell, then you have tou speak aloud."

This worked well for us so far, but I have to admit that it still needs some time to develop better abbreviations so that you do not have to write long, long sentences. This would keep it even shorter/more practical.

Not very practical in a Face to Face game but this works great in the wiki games were you can PM messages back and forth to people. I have seen in FTF games were people go off to the side to speak about things to come but everyone knows that they were talking together just not on what.

Same goes for paper. You know THAT they are talking, but not on what.

When TI 3rd edition first came out, we had a negotiate-in-a-backroom-whenever-you'd-like policy, but our games are chock full of diplomacy, politics, and binding agreements so we ended up spending around half of the game time in secret negotiations at random points in the game. As a solution, we only allowed secret, backroom negotiations after the Assembly card was played and negotiations were resolved as soon as the agenda was settled (any further discussion was done in front of the rest of the players). This improved the game time considerably and added a new element to the Assembly card. Also, everyone in the game would generally touch base with every other person in the game at this point, so you could never really know whom was in league with whom.

Interesting way to do it, too. But the gametime factor is what has lead us to the pen and paper technique. Fits in nicely with our use of hourglasses to keep things going!

You could also develop the strange psychic abilities that I swear Mike_Evans and Chrissaril (for those of you who remember him) have.

Those two look at each other and then execute a combined wipeout or other such thing perfectly.

It's rather scary.

Other options:

1) Slip out to "get a drink" and make some indication that another player is needed to help carry the cups or some such thing.

2) Play Pbems where you can negotiate all you want.

3) Tell another player you need to talk to them. (this is kind of obvious though)

4) Eppic sandwich.

I quite like the Eppic Sandwich thing...

Gotta have to test it next time