[Syzygies]

The way I recall this game, habitual players need fresh meat to pretend to befriend, then screw over.

Perhaps this isn't how it's played at the top. Like Wall Street, you see other people making money through pure genius, so you cut ethical corners trying to do as well?

[dbmikus]

Habitual good players actually have a metagame that spans across individual games. If you are too backstabby, it hurts your chances in further games, so you need to be very selective with your betrayals.