Loosing on purpose: morally justifiable?

[FJ_MD]

You have to play at your best so when you lose, your friends will be much more happy! To let them win will not be the best solution! If you are not cheating, sooner or later you have to lose!

[sushiboat]

Your objective should depend on the relative skill levels. Compete against equals, teach your inferiors, and learn from your superiors. In a teaching situation, throwing a game isn't helpful. Sharing information—e.g., now I'm going to do such-and-such so I can summon an Air Queen by Turn 20—is likely to help your friends become better players. When they are closer to your skill level, then you can go all out.

[Chazar]

There is no fun in playing when it is obvious that you are lost and I would actually feel betrayed if you would let me win on purpose, for you treated me like child and in a dishonest way. I'd rather face reality and learn from it. Maybe your dishonesty is why you are still ahead of your friends?

On the other hand, I once played a game where I was clearly loosing, but got really disappointed by a sudden death caused by caelian flyers occupying enough victory points at the other end of the world in an instant without everybody noticing. I new that I could not win, but being Miasmal Ctis it was kind of fun to watch the Ulmites die of poison and disease at my Lizard's Hill Fortresse's Gates by the dozen. All the umlish steel waste by swamp disease and poison slingers! They managed to storm a fortresses here and there, but at what cost! That was fun, despite of loosing in the long run and I was disappointed when I learnt what Caelum was doing...

So if you are merely considering such a "sudden death" move and would loose against their combined forces in the long run, then I would just ask them whether they have still fun.

[Kristoffer O]

sushiboat said:
Your objective should depend on the relative skill levels. Compete against equals, teach your inferiors, and learn from your superiors. In a teaching situation, throwing a game isn't helpful. Sharing information—e.g., now I'm going to do such-and-such so I can summon an Air Queen by Turn 20—is likely to help your friends become better players. When they are closer to your skill level, then you can go all out.

It might also be a good idea to host a game in wich you are not involved and guide players and give them good advice. If they trust you to be impartial that is. Encourage players to discuss their strategies with each other:
"How did you kill my mechanical men that quickly"?
"Next turn I'll wipe xxx's armies. I'll use a combo of yyy and zzz to do this".

Discussions where you are not too afraid to tell others of your strategies works well when you play with friends. It can be very educating.

Another good way to teach new players a game is to set up two groups of players who don't know each other. 3 vs 3 or 4 vs 4 or something. You should probably avoid getting involved yourself in a game like this. Unless you find another group of players with their own personal trainer