{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/social-cooperation--t207","type":"mechanic","id":"social-cooperation--t207","lang":"en","title":"Betrayal, coalitions and temporary alliances","summary":"Temporary alliances align interests until a condition changes, allowing participants to revise commitments for personal goals.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/social-cooperation--t207/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/social-cooperation--t207.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/social-cooperation--t207.md","aliases":["Betrayal and temporary alliances"],"tags":["Social relationships and shared play","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-3817d420df0baa92","source-92ca9b88b95a0bee"],"sources":[{"id":"source-3817d420df0baa92","title":"Robert Nystrom: State","url":"https://github.com/munificent/game-programming-patterns/blob/master/book/state.markdown","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-92ca9b88b95a0bee","title":"Among Us","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/945360/","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Temporary alliances align interests until a condition changes, allowing participants to revise commitments for personal goals."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t207-variants\"></a>\n\n- Shared threats make cooperation advantageous. <a id=\"t207-v1\"></a>\n- Hidden goals create divergent interests. <a id=\"t207-v2\"></a>\n- Agreements limit when a participant may leave. <a id=\"t207-v3\"></a>\n- Reputation carries betrayal consequences forward. <a id=\"t207-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"Rivals open a vault together and agree beforehand when unrestricted loot division begins.\n\nPrototype check: Test that betrayal is known to be possible before play and that a betrayed player retains meaningful responses."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Social mechanics connect participants’ different capabilities through care, trust, coordination and conflicting commitments. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map."}],"relations":[{"type":"uses","direction":"outgoing","label":"Sources in the selection","key":"resource/state-pattern","title":"State: Game Programming Patterns","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/resources/#resource-state-pattern","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/resource/state-pattern.md"}],"placements":[{"catalogId":"social-cooperation","id":"t207","title":"Social relationships and shared play","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/social-cooperation/#t207","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Betrayal and temporary alliances","description":"Temporary alliances align interests until a condition changes, allowing participants to revise commitments for personal goals.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/broad-among-us-05.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"Among Us","sourceUrl":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/945360/","originalUrl":"https://shared.akamai.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/945360/ss_17be75e178e3520c986504504ada8535de19cc0d.1920x1080.jpg?t=1792187809","credit":"Innersloth / Innersloth","rights":"© Innersloth / Innersloth. All rights reserved.","caption":"Discussion before voting in Among Us","alt":"Discussion before voting in Among Us","markers":[{"x":54,"y":47,"label":"Public messages let players compare participants’ claims"}]},"tips":["Make agreements readable and distinguish in-game motives from personal conflict."],"examples":[{"title":"Among Us","url":"https://store.steampowered.com/app/945360/"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/social-cooperation"}}