Block

A block is, loosely defined, a group of alliances that have allied eachother and represent a large minority (or even majority) of the firepower available to competing alliances and blocks. Blocking is generally viewed negatively, though for varying reasons. Some people claim it harms the game by making it tedious, while others view it as taking focus away from the game and turning it into a popularity contest. Blocks have often been blamed for stagnation, because they were frequently difficult to disolve once the opposition had been destroyed.

However in the PAX era most blocks have generally been short-lived, temporary alignments of interest, although exceptions have occurred here as well.