You're right! There is no third party who disrupts the balance of power here. There's just all the games you - and everyone else - are simultaneously playing ag

You're right! There is no third party who disrupts the balance of power here. There's just all the games you - and everyone else - are simultaneously playing against one another. In the context of this particular game, part of the very basic setup is that attacking is cheap and easy as measured in immediate resource costs. As other comments point out, attacking does not automatically create vulnerability, making collective retaliation against attacks unreliable. Further, there is no true win condition. There is only continuing to play. There is also the knowledge that attempting to communicate with any other player requires becoming vulnerable to an attack from anyone who detects you. Even assuming you can establish meaningful communications and trust, is far more likely to get you annihilated by some other player than to lead to a desirable outcome. That there's a non-zero chance of being detected by more than one player only makes the odds against you longer - it only takes one attack. Within this extremely harsh set of rules and interpretations, most rational players will likely conclude that the balance of risks does not favor trying to find friends with their entire civilization at stake. I understand if some people might choose to find otherwise.