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 When I started this game, I had a goal in mind: to see if I could trick Serendip into trusting me, and taking advantage of its "trust". Normally, I would feel bad having this sort of idea, but I figured it was a computer program so it really didn't have any feelings that would get hurt. My game method was to cooperate my first five turns, compete on the sixth, cooperate on the seventh, compete on the eighth, cooperate on the ninth, and then compete for the last two turns. I won with a 5 point lead, which was good, but it could have been better. My rational was to ease Serendip into believing that I would be mostly cooperative, and then "striking" with competition. 

What I kept thinking about while playing this game was the board game Risk.  I love playing Risk because it involves careful deliberation, similar to this game. When should I strike? When should I defend? Is a good defense a strong offense? What is the most opportune place to put my soldiers in order to start global domination (sounds diabolical, but it's actually very engaging)? Where is the best safe zone? Although you originally start off alone, you quickly form alliances with players you feel have similar interests to yours. And when they are the only competitors left, that's when you destroy them (I clearly like Risk too much). In this respect, there are win-win situations, until the end. When alliances are formed, both parties benefit from the combination of attack.