Some players believe that's what we all should do all the time. Others take a less strict approach, but want the discipline and the extra buzz from playing a game where you have only one ultimate target.
The honour of founding this series goes to Dunkelseele. So far about 20 games have been played or are currently running. The topic Solo victory only games - Revived includes discussion about how the games should be taken forward and what should happen in the event of a stalemate, and also a summary of the past and present games.
All players who want to take part in one of these games sign the following pledge:-
I, username, do hereby pledge, by my free will, without any duress being applied to be, and being of sound mind, in the witness of the Mods and gamers of this forum, that I will commit myself to winning this game outright to the best of my ability. Should one of the seven prove to be an Oathbreaker in this regard, I will spurn all talks of enacting a draw and will dutifully fight until no such draw can take place. Should a stalemate occur and all players agree, I will continue to seek a solo win for as long as this is possible. If it proves impossible, and all players agree, then there will be no winner for this game and I will not ever claim to have won it. I pledge to not surrender, and continue active participation in the shoutbox if I should be defeated, as I continue to have a vote in the stalemate agreement.
What difference does it make in practice?
The pledge to go for the solo is intended quite seriously, and if you don't mean it you shouldn't be playing these games. How you do it is up to you - alliances on the way are fine, for instance. But there are no draws in these games.
NMRs NMRs are almost certainly not going to help you win the game. and usually NMRing suggests you're not going hard for the solo (obviously, there may be times when you are seriously unable to enter a move, but please do your utmost to get some orders in). (Some players feel that there are times when their best move is an NMR - if so, that's fine. But those times are exceptional.)
Away from home? If you know you are going to be absent for a while, try to get a substitute (advertise on the Players Forum).
No surrenders, and no giving up - play the game to its bitter end. In many games, players who are doing badly ofen give up, making silly moves. While there's life there's hope. Try to find an ally, and work together to try to strengthen your position and stop the other person winning - games have been won from a single centre before now.
Again, if you are absolutely forced to surrender (for example because you've lost your internet access), please try to send me a PM as soon as possible so that I can arrange for a pledged player to replace you - but that should be really unusual.
And finally, even if you're eliminated, keep an eye on the game. If it does reach a stalemate, then all seven of you have to agree it's pointless going on (through the Shoutbox), even if you've been eliminated.