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Free-for-all games

In a free-for-all game it's you against the world, except your opponents don't know that. :)  They think it's every man for himself.  You are planning to beat them all.

• FFA games tend to be more defensive than normal allied games.  This is because nobody wants to pick a fight and get hurt while leaving several other players untouched.   You can use the other players' skittishness to your advantage and be more aggressive, as long as you do it in an intelligent, controlled fashion.
• Some FFA players skip their rush stage troops in order to advance up the tech tree.   DON'T DO THIS.  Make basic troops just as you do for allied games.  You need them for defense against other smart FFA players as well as for scouting.
• Keep your troops at home for defense unless you have a specific mission for them; after all, it's 3 or 4 or 5 on 1.  You don't have to keep them right inside your main base, but keep them close by.   If there is a choke point which defends your base and expansions (such as on Char Magma, Green Valleys and Lost Temple), you can keep your troops there.
• Recon is very important. Scout the start locations early on; you need to know where your opponents are and what races they are playing, and you need to know which start locations are unoccupied so you can expand in them.  Don't go hog wild burying zerglings everywhere in the early game; you need defense at home early on.  But as soon as it's safe, get scouts out to the expansion sites.  Don't let your opponents get away with free expansions just because it's a stay-at-home FFA!
• If you see that a player has skipped early troops, take him out.  That will be one less powerful force dogging you in the late game.  When you have killed someone, send your victorious troops home immediately; even better, send most of your troops home as soon as you kill the defenders and workers, leaving 1/4 of your troops to take down the buildings.  When you are done, you should leave one guy behind for recon (burrow him), so you will notice if anyone tries to expand there.
• You can be a little more aggressive with your expansions in an FFA game, as people tend to stay home and build up.  Likewise, you probably want to spend a little more on tech advances and not quite so much on troops (after the rush stage) -- I generally make two evolution chambers in FFA games.  Without constant battles, you also tend to run out of overlords more quickly; spend extra on them.
• More than ever, don't waste troops.  Don't charge bunkers with zerglings.   Don't pick a fight with a big army unless you can gain some larger objective from it (like killing an enemy expansion or saving your own).  Don't leave valuable units sitting around where they can be killed if you are not paying attention.
• Concentrate on a single opponent, preferably one who is weak and close by.   Concentrating your energies on a single opponent is good because if you can take out an opponent, you don't have to worry about him later on, and you can expand in his base.  However, if you see ANY particularly juicy and easy target (undefended expansion, shuttle full of  troops, lone carrier, pile of overlords, etc), regardless of its owner, don't hesitate to take it down.  Also, don't be afraid to switch targets if the one you chose is giving you trouble.  There is nothing worse than fighting hard for a long time to overcome a dug-in foe and suddenly getting attacked from behind by the now-powerful newbie you left alone for so long.
• To avoid wasting troops, do a good job of reconnoitering your chosen target before you attack.  Use the right tools (troops) for the job, in the right numbers.  In the typical defense-oriented FFA game, you can afford to wait a few minutes in order to get the right forces built.
• Try to overwhelm your opponent, kill him, and get back home quickly.  You don't want to be away from home any longer than you need to be.  You want each attack to work the first time, decisively.  If you are just taking out an expansion (not a main base), evacuate your troops right afterwards, unless you are positive you can stop the wave of defenders that will surely arrive too late to save the expansion but possibly in time to take down your attack group.
• If your main base is overrun and you have no chance of stopping the attack, don't panic.   Keep your forces out of the way and make sure you have an expansion (this may involve getting a drone out of the danger zone).  Send your forces to your expansion and lie low until you have rebuilt.  This has a good chance of working in an FFA game where people are staying home.
• The FFA game type prevents alliances, but your opponents can still gang up on you.   Don't let people know you are winning. :)

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