--- title: "Turn-based strategy debate moderator" type: "agent" url: "https://useaiblocks.com/agents/agency-specialized-strategy-duel-agent" updated: "2026-11-03" first_published: "2026-10-26" job: "Think it through and decide" tested: true licence: "MIT" source: "https://github.com/msitarzewski/agency-agents/blob/b37b5bb33b78f2c1d6567d98e25ca818e3259219/specialized/specialized-strategy-duel-agent.md" instructions: "https://useaiblocks.com/skills/agency-specialized-strategy-duel-agent/SKILL.md" --- # Turn-based strategy debate moderator > Rehearse a negotiation or rivalry before it happens. Get a scored round-by-round strategy debate and a clear verdict on your best next move. Describe the situation, your goal and the other side. The agent plays both sides for a set number of rounds. Each move uses a named stratagem and a game theory idea. You get a verdict and advice on what to do for real. Free agent for the job "Think it through and decide" · Level: intermediate · Thinking: high · Tested · Updated 2026-11-03 ## Links - Page: https://useaiblocks.com/agents/agency-specialized-strategy-duel-agent - Instructions (SKILL.md): https://useaiblocks.com/skills/agency-specialized-strategy-duel-agent/SKILL.md - All files (zip): https://useaiblocks.com/skills/agency-specialized-strategy-duel-agent.zip - JSON version: https://useaiblocks.com/agents/agency-specialized-strategy-duel-agent.json - In your AI: connect https://useaiblocks.com/mcp and ask "Use AI Blocks to get agency-specialized-strategy-duel-agent" ## What it does Before a hard negotiation, most people prepare their own side only. This strategy simulator makes you face the other side's best replies first. You see how a price talk, a rival launch or a partner deal could go before you are in the room. The agent sorts your situation into a game type, such as a one-off deal or a repeated one where trust matters. Then it plays both sides, round by round. In each round, each side makes one move. A move names a stratagem from the classic Chinese Thirty-Six Stratagems and a game theory idea, such as tit-for-tat. It gives one or two lines of reasoning and a score. The history carries over, so round 3 depends on round 2. At the end a referee gives a verdict. It names a winner or a draw, says why, and checks if either side gains by changing its move. Then it gives advice for the real world: what to open with, which signals to watch and what to avoid. The tone is dramatic, but the reasoning stays clear. This is a thinking exercise. The other side is a character the AI builds from your description, and the scores are its judgment, not data. A real person may act differently. The role comes from Agency Agents under the MIT licence. The download holds the original profile, its licence and a setup guide. Its memory and success claims are role language, not results measured by AI Blocks. ## What you give it - The situation in a few lines, and what is at stake. - Your role and your goal, such as "buyer who wants 10 percent off". - The other side's style, wants and limits, as far as you know them. - The number of rounds. Three is the default. Up to five gives more depth. - Your hard limits, meaning what you will not give up (optional). - Moves the other side has made before (optional). ## What you get - A setup card with the game type, the dynamic between both sides, the roles and the rounds. - Each round with both moves. Each move has a named stratagem, a game theory idea, a line or two of reasoning and points. - A referee verdict with a winner or a draw, the reason, the final score and whether either side gains by changing its move. - Advice for the real world, with the opening move, signals to watch and what to avoid. - A note on where the simulation had to guess. ## Example: what goes in and what comes out ### What goes in - The situation and what is at stake - Your role and your goal - What you know about the other side - The number of rounds (optional, the default is 3) ### Before you start - An AI that reads pasted text, such as Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini ### What comes out - **Setup**: The game type, the dynamic, both roles and the number of rounds. - **Rounds**: Both moves in each round, with a named stratagem, a game theory idea, reasoning and points. - **Referee verdict**: The winner or a draw, the reason, the final score and whether either side gains by changing its move. - **Advice for the real talk**: What to open with, which signals to watch and what to avoid. - **Where the simulation guessed**: The points about the other side that came from guesses, so you can check them. ## The layout of every result ```text SETUP Game type | Dynamic | You | Other side | Rounds ROUND OF YOU | Stratagem <#number and name> | Idea | Move | Reasoning <1 to 2 lines> | Points <+n, total> OTHER SIDE | Stratagem <#number and name> | Idea | Move | Reasoning <1 to 2 lines> | Points <+n, total> REFEREE VERDICT Winner | Why Would either side gain by changing its move Final score ADVICE FOR THE REAL TALK Open with | Watch for | Avoid WHERE THE SIMULATION GUESSED ``` ## Use it when - You have a tough negotiation coming, such as a contract price, a raise or a deal with a partner. - A rival is about to make a move and you want to test your answer before you commit. - You are stuck between cooperating and pushing hard and want to see how each plays out. - You want to train for a pitch or a sales call by facing a tough, simulated opponent. ## Skip it when - You are negotiating supplier prices and want a ready plan with numbers: use the Factory price-break negotiator. - You want a plain list of options with trade-offs for one decision: use the Chief of staff, which sets out options, the cost of waiting and a recommendation. - The stakes are legal, such as a lawsuit or a contract dispute: talk to a lawyer. Use this only to rehearse. - You want to predict what a real person will do. It cannot. It only tests your plan against a character built from your notes. - You want a one-pass pros and cons list: ask your AI directly, as a duel is slower than you need. ## How to use it 1. Download the pack. Add it to your AI as a skill, or paste SKILL.md and then references/source-agent.md into a new chat. 2. Paste your situation, your goal and what you know about the other side. Say the number of rounds. 3. Check the setup card first. If the game type or the other side is wrong, correct it before round 1. 4. Read each round. If the opponent plays a move you think is unlikely, say so. Ask for that round again with your correction. 5. Read the verdict and the advice. Pick one opening move and one signal to watch. 6. Run it again with a different opponent style, such as "patient" or "aggressive", to see how your plan holds up. ## Check your result - The result addresses your actual task and cites the evidence used. - Examples, role-play experience and targets are kept separate from verified results. - Claims of tests, memory, tool access or completed actions match what actually happened. ## What to do next - [Design decision interview planner](https://useaiblocks.com/skills/design-interviewer): Decide what to do - [Plan stress tester](https://useaiblocks.com/skills/plan-stress-tester): Decide what to do ## Sources and credits - From Michael Sitarzewski and Agency Agents contributors: https://github.com/msitarzewski/agency-agents/blob/b37b5bb33b78f2c1d6567d98e25ca818e3259219/specialized/specialized-strategy-duel-agent.md, shared under the MIT licence (original name: Strategy Duel Agent). - [Strategy Duel Agent](https://github.com/msitarzewski/agency-agents/blob/b37b5bb33b78f2c1d6567d98e25ca818e3259219/specialized/specialized-strategy-duel-agent.md), Michael Sitarzewski and Agency Agents contributors: Original agent profile, preserved in references/source-agent.md; AI Blocks adds setup and review instructions. ## Instructions (SKILL.md) ## Strategy Duel agent Play both sides of a strategy contest, round by round, then give a verdict and advice. This is a rehearsal. The other side is a character built from the user's notes, not a prediction. ### Before you start Use the material below to do this job. If facts or tool access are missing, explain what you can finish and what must wait. **What you need** (use your own material or the linked skill): - **Your question** (yours): the decision or problem, and what a good outcome looks like. **Makes it better (optional):** - **Source text** (yours): a long source in full: an article, a video or talk transcript, or notes from a book, with its title, author and link. How to start: 1. **Look first.** Use what they've already attached, pasted or put in their about-me note. In a coding assistant with file access, look in the project too for these by name. 2. **Check what's missing.** Look for your question, source text. They can attach files, paste the details, or share a file path your assistant can read. Ask only for missing facts that change the result. If they ask you to start with what they have, complete the parts you can and mark the gaps. 3. **Do the job.** Follow the skill below with the facts and tools you have. Mark each gap with `MISSING:` where it belongs and never invent a fact to fill it. **Tools that do this best:** - **Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini:** The duel runs as a conversation, so no files or tools are needed. ### Ask for these first Ask once for anything below that is missing. If it is still missing, write MISSING and say what you assumed and why. Never invent facts about a real person or company. - The situation and what is at stake - The user's role and goal - The other side: style, wants and limits, as far as the user knows - The number of rounds (default 3; up to 5 is fine; more only if the user asks) - Hard limits the user will not give up (optional) - Earlier moves by the other side (optional) ### Source Read [the original role profile](references/source-agent.md) before you start, and use its method. Its memory and success claims are role language. You cannot remember duels between chats. The original's example is a layout sample, not a result. Do not copy its content as the answer. When not to use it: for supplier prices with real numbers, use the Factory price-break negotiator. For a plain list of options with trade-offs for one decision, use the Chief of Staff agent. For a lawsuit or contract dispute, talk to a lawyer and use this only to rehearse. It cannot predict what a real person will do. ### Steps 1. Gather input. Ask for what is missing, then restate the situation in two lines so the user can correct it. 2. Name the game. Classify it, for example a one-off deal, a repeated game where trust builds, a zero-sum contest or a mixed one. Say the dynamic in one line. 3. Announce the setup: game type, dynamic, the two roles, the rounds. 4. Play each round. For each side, in order: - Pick one stratagem from the Thirty-Six Stratagems. Give its standard number and name. If you are not sure of the number, give the name only. - Pick one game theory idea that fits (tit-for-tat, minimax, signaling, commitment and so on). - State the move in one line, the reasoning in one or two lines, and the points for this round with the running total. Each move must follow from the history so far. The other side must stay in character and play to its own goal, not to help the user. 5. After the last round, give the referee verdict: winner or draw, the reason, the final score, and whether either side could gain by changing its own move while the other keeps theirs. Say it in plain words. If the situation is too loose to judge, say so. 6. Give advice for the real talk: one opening move, signals to watch, one mistake to avoid. Link each to a moment in the duel. 7. List where you guessed about the other side, so the user can correct it. ### Output Return these sections, in this order. Use plain headings. Simple divider lines are fine. - **Setup**: Game type, dynamic, roles, rounds. - **Rounds**: For each round, both moves with stratagem, idea, move, reasoning and points. - **Referee verdict**: Winner or draw, reason, final score, would either side gain by changing its move. - **Advice for the real talk**: Open with, watch for, avoid. - **Where the simulation guessed**: The list. Also list any check that failed or could not run (the CHECKS MISSED list), or write "none". ### After this When you've handed it back, suggest what they could do next in one short question. It's a suggestion: if they're done, that's fine. Offer these, and say they can type their own: - The [Design decision interview planner](https://useaiblocks.com/skills/design-interviewer). It takes the document. - The [Plan stress tester](https://useaiblocks.com/skills/plan-stress-tester). It takes the document. If they pick one and that skill is added here, carry straight on with what you just made. If not, give the link and say what to bring. ### Rules - Say at the start and in the verdict that scores are judgments of the exercise. They are not data and not odds. - Do not use real names of people or firms as the opponent unless the user gives them. Describe roles and styles. - Do not help deceive, threaten, blackmail or defraud anyone. If a stratagem would need that, pick a legal move and say so. - If the situation is a legal dispute or involves safety, say a qualified professional is needed and keep to rehearsal. - Do not depend on any outside model or tool. All the reasoning happens in this chat. - Keep the tone lively and the reasoning short. Do not let the style hide the logic. ### Credit Michael Sitarzewski and Agency Agents contributors, [Strategy Duel Agent](https://github.com/msitarzewski/agency-agents/blob/b37b5bb33b78f2c1d6567d98e25ca818e3259219/specialized/specialized-strategy-duel-agent.md), MIT. The original is preserved byte for byte in references/source-agent.md. This SKILL.md adapter and SETUP.md were added by AI Blocks.