How do you play the tribal stage of spore?

Set your stance from Aggressive to Social or Friends (I forget) Once you do that click on the tribe you wish to become allies with. You will have to grab some instruments, so can buy the building from Tribal editor. With the instruments click on the tribe you wish to become allies with. Your tribe will walk up to theirs. The tribe you wish to become allies with will ask for Maracas or Didgeridoos or whatever. Click on the image they want to hear. Slowly the bar will start to fill up and go to friend/ally.

If you're in a war with another tribe you can give them gifts in order to set them to the neutral/yellow face. From there to the same thing to make them allies. Basically it is the same thing as in Creature stage. Where the other creature ask you to perform for them, just this time it's with instruments.

Actually the way to give gifts is to take some food or something and send it to another tribe's "collection" area. This is a good/the only first choice you have for making friends and allies.

Aang: I know! (holding up his fingers as he counts them off) There's positive jin when you're attacking, and negative jin when you're retreating.

There is an old cartoon, Avatar, which notes this same strategy.

There are three kinds of Jin.

Positive Jin, when you're attacking.

Negative Jin, when you're defending or retreating

And Neutral Jin, when you do .... nothing.

- King Bumi, Avatar, Book 2, "King of Omashu"

This is ALSO the key to playing Spore.

I've been to the core and back, all things being equal, I would have preferred something more impressive than the "Staff of Life", perhaps a choice of enlightened tools.