I almost never finalize and if I'm working plans wih an ally, we may both be talking and wait until the last minute. That isn't meta gaming, it's just part of the game and you agreed to the pahse length. So like YJ said, *Paranoid*! <grin>

You're paranoid. What you describe suggests no evidence of cheating.

Paranoid is not a bad thing. Let no one tell you that. Speaking of which, you're being watched.

@D33 - Paranoia is a bad thing. If they are actually out to get you, it isn't being paranoid. The clinical definition of paranoia requires the fear to be irrational towards an imagined menace. That is, byt it's very definition, a mental illness and therefore a bad thing. But after our last game together, I can see you being paranoid in any future anonymous games.

I am paranoid by nature. It comes with my minor OCD.

"The clinical definition of paranoia requires the fear to be irrational towards an imagined menace."

What if you have an irrational fear of being followed but are actually being followed by the same people you imagined out of coincidence? Are you being paranoid?

FYI: this is a joke question

Are the aliens outside you house waiting for you to go to sleep so they can abduct you and run experiments on you again, JECE? :-)

You have no idea! I mean, I swear I saw an alien the other day – egg-head and all.

Sometimes I've been right in my suspicions of cheating, sometimes wrong... there are ways to look for evidence (for example the two are always in games together - and they don't have to ally - as if it's the same person he may use the other as a dummy for points... they could have joined webdip or your game within minutes of each other... they could have names that sound like they come from the same personality... etc.). Ultimately, you have little choice but to play while holding both possibilities in your brain at the same time... don't decide without evidence that they are cheating - but at the same time, trust your (informed) instincts. They may simply be simpatico - and recognize it - and be working together simply because it makes sense. As Freud said, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. ...but, never the less, as Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky know, a cigar can still f*** you. An alliance where they are simpatico is likely more dangerous than an actual multi - as multis are usually idiots.

being that it's an anon game, of course, you can't check much of anything... one reason I avoid anons. Beyond that, your evidence is pretty thin. I would try to not worry about it too much. As others pointed out, the behavior you describe is not at all unusual.

I am big fan of late phase negotiations. My fear about agreements made earlier in the phase is that another player will come along and convince my ally (or soon to be ally) to change his mind. I figure with late phase agreements there is less time to second guess the deal.