Unfortunately, the other players represent similarly gifted individuals who are completely hostile to you and to each other. The only way to survive in the long run is to eliminate all the other players. While this can only be directly achieved by conflict in the present, the main way that all players gain advantage in the present is by manipulating the past. Events in each location can directly affect only up to two other locations, above it in the diamond pattern, later in history. Indirectly, changes may echo up through more locations even as far as the present.
Special opportunities allow changes to directly affect later locations, often on a large scale.
Players can control agents and wealth in each location, and use them to increase their influence by gathering more agents and wealth in the same location, or in other later locations, ultimately building their power base of agents and wealth in the present to combat rival players. Agents and wealth in the past can also be used to rob and kill other players' past agents, and in the present automatically guard the player's survival. Opportunities Changing the past is not at all easy, almost all of it is extremely resistant to change for reasons not covered here. The opportunity can only be taken by one player, once taken it is no longer available to anyone, and in game terms is replaced by another unrelated opportunity, probably somewhen else. Players try to keep all their activities in the past secret, since their agents are vulnerable to attack if they are identified for what they are.