A match, then the debrief.

Every case is a situation from business or life: a conflict at a hotel reception, or a discount you need to win after a late shipment. Both sides know the common facts. Each side also has its own agenda, its own strengths and its own weaknesses, which the other side doesn't see. Today you play against an AI opponent; matches against real people on the platform are coming next.

Here is one: you booked two nights at a small hotel in Spain. On arrival, the owner has given your room to someone else. You type, he answers. Nobody tells you what to do next: you read his face and his words, the same as across a real table.

Hotel owner: calm

Hotel owner
Señor, I am sorry, the room is gone. I tried to reach you through Booking.com, no answer, so I let it out. There is a decent hotel five minutes away. Fifty euros a day more, high season. So: what do you want to do?
You
Please, I've been travelling all day. Can you at least get me a discount at the other place?
Hotel owner
A discount? It is high season, señor. Fifty a day, or you try your luck on the street.
You
Forget the other hotel for a second. What would make this problem go away for you today?
Hotel owner
Today? Honestly... today I just want this off my desk.
Your move.
He gives ground only when you have earned it, and not before.

After the bell

The referee's debrief

What happened

Hurt you: Turn 2 (you): You asked for a discount on his terms. That is begging: it told him you need this more than he does, and he dug in.
Served your goal: Turn 3 (you): You stopped arguing your own need and asked about his. That question served your goal: he admitted he wants the problem gone today.

The hidden weakness

Revealed in your debrief, once you have played the case.

How to improve

Stop arguing your own need. Keep working his, and find the pressure point that makes this his problem, not yours.

Start practicing

Illustrative excerpt from the Hotel Problem case by Andrey Yatsenko. In a real match, the debrief covers every turn you played.

One case. One skill.

Before the match
Pick a case
Each case trains one skill. You get a brief both sides can see, a private agenda only you can see, and a weakness on the other side you have to find.
The match
Spar
Type or speak. The opponent stalls, deflects and pushes exactly where you are weakest. The referee stays silent and enforces the rules: they only give ground when you have earned it.
After the bell
Face the referee
A turn-by-turn debrief graded on the case author's own rubric. It quotes your words back to you: what worked, where you begged, the moment you missed.

Aggressive can be right. Polite can be wrong.

During the match the referee says nothing. It holds every secret of the case and enforces the rules: begging and charm earn you nothing, finding the real pressure point does. After the bell it judges every turn by one question, not by manners: did that move serve your goal?

✕ Dead ends

Charm
Begging
Threats with nothing behind them
Arguing in circles

✓ What wins

Finding the other side's real need
Questions that move you toward your goal
Pressure where they are actually weak
Holding your ground on the number

Learn to read a face.

Opponents react as you talk: irritation, boredom, the flicker when you're getting close. On hard cases they keep a poker face. In voice mode you speak your moves and hear them answer.

These faces are deliberately easier to read than real ones. This is practice: you build the habit of watching for the signal here, until it runs on autopilot. Then you fine-tune it on real faces, in live video sparring with other people (coming next).