This study deals with efficient party political conflict discourse as very complex action/language games, planned and carried out according to special strategies. A historical comparison of political language games in the 'old' Federal Republic, and its modern-day counterpart shows that long-established conflict strategies are highly tenacious. Viable alternatives are presented in the form of communicative 'modules'. This instrument is then employed to investigate and assess the strategic consistency of party communication in the 1994 German general elections.