Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Bcnu on September 21, 2005, 10:12:46 PM
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After a year and three months, 71 turns (35 and a half game years), and the demise of all but three Powers, this monster game is OVER!
It was celebrated by England, Holland, and China with a world-wide convoy participated in by each of their fleets:
China: Army Sapporo -> Kuril -> Westerlies -> North Pacific -> Counter Current -> Eastern Pacific -> Pacific Basin -> Chilean Basin -> Drake -> Antarctic Atlantic -> South Atlantic -> Middle Atlantic -> Sargasso -> North Atlantic -> North Passage -> Barents Sea -> St Petersburg.
The gamemap is here:
http://www.floc.net/dpjudge/gamemaps/oclub_imp.pdf
And now, without further delay, England's AAR statement. I'd appreciate it if the other Powers could also chip in with their viewpoints...
Portmeirion Press
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Final Edition
Jolly what, and all that, and we're treated this day to a private
interview with Prime Minister 6, who revealed that in fact he was the
second cousin of King BCNU and had been carrying out the old King's
orders the whole time!
Well, 6, this is your moment. Britain stands with her allies in
command of the globe, and now our readers would like nothing better
than to hear how it all happened.
(ooc: this is, in other words, my end-game statement).
Originally, I was hoping to be assigned Japan or Brazil, or some other
small Power, since I was the WBer amongst the AHers. When I saw
"Britain" I blanched. I figured everyone would instantly fear and go
straight after the big power especially as I was only really an O'Club
lurker.
Looking at the map I didn't put much hope in good news from France or
Holland, as they were the other naval Powers. So, my original plan
was: ally with Russia, lay low for a year hoping to get some of the
close centres locked down and then see about dismantling France or
Holland with help. If that worked, I could assist Russia to victory in
Europe and Asia while remaining unconcerned about a stab from a
landlocked Power.
That plan lasted about a day. Two things happened:
1. It became immediately obvious that there would be no Civil War, so
I had to make very nice with the Americas;
2. China came up with the bright idea of allying with Britain,
Holland, France, and Japan in a southeastern meta-alliance.
This meant that to say 'no' meant not maybe fighting France at sea with
Holland's help, or vice versa, but getting blitzed by both with only,
again, a land-locked power as friend. So I said 'yes' but thought
well, let's see, what are the chances this alliance will be real? So I
also said 'yes' to Russia, but with the caveat that I wouldn't take any
offensive action in year one.
The Tzar elected a full frontal assault on China. Sorry, Tzar. From
that point everything to the Tzar was an attempt to get him to act
indecisively until force could be brought to bear against him, a tactic
I'd employ several times.
The other interesting thing in '61 was that amazingly, nobody attacked
me, except for the unscheduled taking of neutral Canadian centres by
Russia. Also, Brazil pooched their first year, electing to move *out*
of two centres in the Fall. This created my long-term strategy.
England had the opportunity to hit Brazil while he foundered, making
France and Holland much happier in their efforts, but I chose not to.
Instead, I directed my efforts to Russia and Turkey, who were behaving
(Spring '62) like a Juggernaut. Why? One, I couldn't afford to start
hostilities with the large USA/CSA/MEX/BRA alliance, and two I still
had some thoughts of winning outright, which is impossible with a
strong French navy. So, I went all mushy in the South Atlantic and
while being 'shocked' that Brazil eventually drove me out, it did
manage to tie up France and keep him from being the rulers of the seas.
I was somewhat surprised by the rapid change from first-year blunder to
strong tactics; good work, Brazil! If you hadn't quit trying I would
have petitioned to grant you survivor status.
I'd like to apologize to Japan, though. I don't know if it was because
you were new or whether you actually were trying to side with Russia,
but you did a great job of *looking* like you were betraying the
"AHOA." Sayonara.
I never did understand the Tzar. Obviously a bright player, but
nonetheless he was convinced repeatedly by both China and myself that
we were just about to stop beating him to a pulp and make nice. Well...
Turkey was also an odd duck; he had a chance to give me real trouble
with Russia's help but both of them, after advancing right up to me,
essentially folded up shop.
Germany and Austro-Hungary should have been best friends; it was their
only chance of survival. If they'd made a deal with Russia/Turkey,
they would have been formidable. If they'd attacked either to West or
East together, still powerful. Instead they listened to the
insinuations of the Frenchman and fought among themselves while being
devoured from both sides.
I think the biggest snow job I pulled off though was somehow, despite
Russians in Canada, a weak position in the North, and despite the fact
that the U.S. has zero other opportunities for expansion, convincing
Washington that I was his good buddy for four and a half years. By the
time he struck I was already sending armies back from the successful
Scandinavian and Turkish campaigns. Good thing the French had not
yet decided to attack England.
France, ah, France. I was, and I think I speak for the other victors,
perfectly prepared to share the spoils four-way. I was happily moving
French armies into America, and suddenly there's some fly in your soup.
France decides to make a supported attack against my NAT fleet, which
is very odd, then he decides to stop supporting army moves in North
America, then total paranoia takes hold. England is going to stab
everyone! He's got black helicopters! Cairo is the center of the
universe! Actually, I think your whole game was to maintain a position
from which, eventually, you could launch a stab for the game win. I
wasn't going to leave my arse exposed; so we were at an impasse.
Fortunately, AHOA sided with good sense; if it had gone any other way
the remainders of the ATO alliance would have won the war; or maybe you
would have been able to play both sides and win.
Next time, wait longer before launching your attack, or shut up about
it long enough to make it a true stab.
Last word, about the very end. As France expired, I had myself
carefully kept an army here, a fleet there, and we'd reached such a
point of cooperation that China wasn't even bothering to issue support
orders. The plan to keep the other naval powers busy had worked
perfectly; with the end of France I was in Fall 1884 up to 73 centres,
and the moment was right to push the big stab button, if I wanted.
(Bring that Fall '84 map up and think MEX, SFO, SEA, MER, STP, HOL,
CRO, SOF, GEO, AMN, CAN. Poof, 73 turns into 84, game over.)
After all Herr banana does remember me as the Sultan of Stab...
... but no. Just once it's nice to do, as Manus Hand (the guy whose
software we're playing on) said when I asked him about the 70 vs. 84
centre end-game, the right thing. Plus it was far more fun this way,
especially as a raspberry to all the dead Powers who swore up and down
that England was up to No Good.
I think the Imperial map is a bit too much, and too little. It almost
requires that you form a mega-alliance to get anywhere or else be run
over by another big team. Besides, do you know how long it takes to
make sure 70 units are ordered correctly?!
If I have any grouses, it's over the several people who thought that a
graceful exit involved making everyone wait and wait and wait for
retreat or disband orders that weren't going to show up. It takes 30
seconds to select 'disband' or 'retreat to the only choice I've got.'
Thank you to those who stuck it out even when all hope was gone.
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Final note that wasn't in the writeup I sent by Press: Kudos to my allies China and Holland for consistently and skillfully managing to establish neutral zones and well-balanced lines of demarcation so that our alliance wasn't at great risk of disaster due to betrayal. (Hint, China: next time your friend might not be as nice as I was; you should always maintain your supports).
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Damn long game. I think I lasted less than a month as Turkey.
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I lasted for like 8 years, Good Job on wrapping it up fellas, I was still getting all the emails down in my underground hideout in the Rockies :noid
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All I remember is it didnt matter who I tried to work with, they ended up stabbing me in the back. So I eventually gave up when I realized that there is no way to win this game starting as Prussia.....you are completely surrounded by potential enemies.
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Yeah Sling... You were pretty much in a pickle the second the territories were drawn. We considered bringing you in, but it just didn't make any sense. It had nothing to do with you - it was about where you were located. Same goes with pretty much everyone.
The deal was...
I looked around and, like everyone, I got kinda spooked. Surrounded. So I'm like, okay, there's lotsa free supply centers for the taking - so that should keep everyone occupied for a coupla years. All ya needed to do was manage it well. To just make sure nobody tripped anyone up.
And what better way to do that then open relevant lines of communication? And while we're at it, what better way of getting those that surround you to not attack you, than being an ally to all of them?
This was a different beast than the normal European variety diplomacy. In order to get through it intact, you just had to team up. Not through little peace treaties here and there. But in a big, formidable, immovable way.
So that's how the idea of the AHOA was born. It's short for the Angry Home Owners Association. Don't ask... it's just the mood I was in that day. Originally, it was the AHOASEA which meant the Angry Home Owners Association of Southeast Asia.
It got off to a rocky start. Nobody was buying it. During this time, everyone was making all sorts of little agreements with everyone else. I had made the argument that said "Look, this is a crap shoot. With the AHOA you are guaranteed a spot in the final six. You may still wind up losing, but with this - your odds of winning have automatically tripled.
But... no takers.
Then, perhaps due to some friction during the separate country to country negotiations, or perhaps something else - I'm not sure - SOB finally said "Amen" to it a few days later. And then it was like dominos. Everyone came on board within 48 hours, and our ship set sail.
Our alliance was always meant to include Russia (Nuke), Japan (sorry - forget), Britain (BCNU), Holland (SOB), France (Bodhi), and myself - China.
In the first move, Russia (Nuke) stabbed me. Everyone else moved just as discussed and agreed to. Strike one AHOA member. While I was dealing with that, Nuke had gotten into Japan's brain. Those two began to feed off of eachother's fear, and pretty much took themselves out. It wasn't much of an accomplishment, but the AHOA managed some pretty neat feats of disinformation during this period that not only saw the end to Russia and Japan, but also made us huge strides into the rest of the world.
And it was at this point that our alliance gelled such that we were no longer regional, but global.
Our communications became solid, fast, and transparent. We began to share openly our orders completely. As in: "Here's what I'm doing: (copy/paste the entire orders window) and here's what I need."
So it went like that for a while.
And we reached a point, somewhere in the middle of the game, that we realized that we had already won. We watched as the rest of the world scrambled to catch up to the threat we posed, knowing that they were far, far too late. It was already over for them.
That's when another bit of weirdness took foot. France began to consolidate his forces. And do it at the expense of the AHOA's broader goals. Orders requiring France's cooperation started to get muddled and botched. We began to lose our footing, and the missteps ended up costing us numerous seasons to repair. Finally, France requested of me that there be no retaliation if he attacked Britain. Huge mistake.
We had a charter, and... well... along with no running in the halls and Friday Night Potluck dinners, the first rule is that an attack on an AHOA member results in his immediate dismissal and a counter attack by every other member.
The whole entire success of the AHOA relied completely on trust. It was the most important thing. Members had know that should any of us screw any of us, they were immediately done for. And that trust had to be demonstrated. I left myself vulnerable all over the map. It would have taken a single turn to cripple me. I never issued a support order along any of the borders between myself and an AHOA member. Numerous SC's were left completely undefended. But it was important. Nothing in Diplomacy is more important to achieving your goals than having and garnering trust.
France had different ideas...
Like BCNU said, I was expecting to ride things out with him to the end. It was a self preserving measure (and just plain common sense), but as soon as an alliance member turns on his alliance - it required immediate no holds barred punishment. Less to make things right for the transgression, but more to reinforce the message to everyone else that should you get funny ideas, we aren't gonna be laughing. And you're gonna pay.
HUGELY important. It keeps the whole thing intact.
There was no shortage of people warning us about Britain's growing power. I didn't worry about it. Not only did I trust him, but a stab by him would result in this game lasting another year - at least - as he fought the remaining alliance members. There was a point where he could have stabbed and won single-handedly on pure game ending numbers, but still... there wasn't a worry of that. It's kinda like... well... BCNU is just one of those guys that you size-up, then trust. Same with SOB. And if they end up screwing you, then ya can't feel bad about it because at that point you examined/judged character as best ya could. If it ended up bad, then there's really nothing you could have done.
I commend BCNU and SOB for being truly great teamates. Very communicative, smart, trustworthy and solid. Congrats you two.
And I gotta say a big kudos to everyone who played. Most were not in as good a spot as we found ourselves in, but played hard regardless. Some, like Habu of Brazil, impressed me with a resourcefulness and tenacity. Many, like Sling or Sandman, were dead from the starting gun but played hard despite that. Even those new to the game like Nuke, who made multiple errors, still impressed me with good humor and sportsmanship.
Good game, guys.
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Ahh, the smell of victory. It smells like . . . gouda!
The Dutch (me) started off with a weak presence in and around Holland, but a fairly strong concentration of forces in SE Asia. It was there I felt I had the best chance of holding territory for a base of power.
In a quite heavy-handed email to Britain (BNCU), I advised that I would gladly convoy his one army out of Australia to save his troops the trouble of swimming back to Britain after I took Perth, but he didn't seem concerned. Rather, he made a friendly counter-offer of allowing me to keep my homeland (Holland), instead of him blowing up all of my windmills and sending my countrymen packing - in exchange for me steering clear of his Australia, on which he would only build armies, so as not to be a sea-faring threat. I was intrigued enough to agree, on the condition that all of the surrounding islands be mine. He further solidified the deal with the unsolicited and generous offer to give up Singapore, which was at the heart of my current center of power (and clearly set up to be a point of contention on this Imperial Map). From then on, Britain had as much of my trust as I could give in a game of Diplomacy.
In the meantime, Bruce Lee of China (Nash) sent out the idea of the AHOA, which I immediately thought was a nutty idea that would never succeed. Helping this train of thought along was the child emperor of Japan (Skull) sending me requests to ally against China & Britain while at the same time he was joining up with them in the AHOA. Contrary to Nash's memory, I was the last to join the AHOA, which I decided to do after Britain, France & Japan joined up, lest I be fodder to their alliance. Even if it didn't hold together, I would have been necessary AHOA fodder almost immediately.
The early years of the alliance were plagued by misteps from the child emperor, due to his distrust of his allies, and his hope to appease the Russian Tzar (Nuke) who wanted nothing to do with the AHOA. France was instantly disgusted with the emperor's failings, and wanted to be done with him. However, it took the rest of us a couple of years and more stumbling by the emperor to finally come to the decision, but we finally vowed to rid our alliance, and the world, of Emperor Skull. Though shortly after this decision, the boy emperor seemed to be making a turn for the better, we held our course, and dictated his orders to him with some gentle persuasion, only to stab him mercilessly in concert with the orders he executed for us. He was only a child, but still, his failings could not be forgiven...this was, after all, World Domination!
And on to France (Bodhi). Ahh, France. From the start, it was clear that France was going to be, well, typically . . . stereotypically . . . French (No offense Frenchies except for Straffo :p...I don't think they're true, just stereotypes). At the best of times, a royal pain in the bellybutton to work with, constantly demanding the world (go figure), and only giving what was absolutely necessary. Still, I found it charming that the French in this world were decidedly French, and was happy to live through the frustration, and was absolute in my aim to have a four-way endgame with Britain, France, China & Holland sharing the world.
Alas, it was not to be. France became mightily paranoid. Constantly worrying about the threat of a stab from his allies that was never (as far as I knew) there. He was building up his fighting strength in areas that were under the control of the alliance, while ignoring the enemy fronts. He was constantly missing support orders, and even the orders he made for his own troops here woefully inadequate, and often doomed to failure due to lack of thorough planning. He had become the child emperor that he had so despised for ineptitude. Still, he was an alliance member, and I was willing to live with his Frenchness, even if it was becoming more frustrating than it was quaint. But then, came his request for China and Holland to sit idley by if he were to attack Britain. And then the spearhead, when he set himself in a position to hit at Britain in the Middle-East. Whether he intended to hit or not, enough was enough. We set a plan in motion, and Britain, China, & Holland stabbed him simultaneously, nabbing as many supply centers from him as we could.
But then something strange happened. The bumbling, stumbling, paranoid Frenchie did an about face. As if his anger at the betrayal transformed him from Gomer Pyle into Rambo, and suddenly he was steaming along like a seasoned vet. None of the mis-steps and poor planning that plagued his stay with the AHOA. All replaced, with what seemed like a cingular purpose to steamroll his former allies. And along with a staunch ally in Brazil (Habu), and the likes of the USA (Nefarious), CSA (Reschke), & Mexico (Dowding), he certainly had some power behind him.
Alas, the stab was calculated, and the writing was on the wall. Britain was a dominant force, and combined with the militaries of China & Holland, the AHOA well outnumbered the rest of the world. The CSA fell, followed by the USA. Then, the hard work of cracking Mexico & Brazil, and France. They put up a hell of a fight, and we'd still be going if they stuck it out, but once Mexico fell, France was decidedly French, and simply surrendered. Brazil was with him, and surrendered too. What was left was just cleanup, and waiting for delay after delay, as deadlines were constantly missed by the players who were no longer playing. Thankfully, the civil disorder deadline was shrunk down to 8 hours instead of a full day.
The world is ours. It belongs to the AHOA, Britain, China, & Holland. Long live the AHOA, and long live the memories of this game. 'Cause it sure as hell is the last flippin' Imperial variant game I'm getting myself involved in. Yowzers, that took a long time!
Thanks to my enemies for the spirited strategerizing (is that a word?), and big thanks to my final allies BNCU & Nash! It was fun, even if it was a bit looooong. ;)
Regards,
Jan van der SOB
Prime Minister & Minister of Cheese
Holland
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So... who's up for a standard game?
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Geeks...
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What Ripsnort said. I'm in!
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I'll play if someone tells me how.
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/209_1081438631_swoop.gif)
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I'm still thinking Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is "Imp"???? But Hey I'm in.
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The Imperial variant of Diplomacy. Instead of being Europe, it's the entire world. And instead of taking a few months, it takes over a year.
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Reading all about it on DPJudge now......
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/209_1081438631_swoop.gif)
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I fought a two front war that started in the Pacific.
I allied with Reschke and the CSA from the beginning. I figured a war between the USA and the CSA, would lead to both of our downfalls a lot sooner.
The entire time, it was a game of "To tell the truth" Who was going to break there promises first. Although BCNU and I were in negotiation's, I never trusted him. Soon, the English and te Russians were at war. And the French and Dutch moved closer in the Pacific.
Mostly, until the near end my war was a war at sea. The British allowed the French to occupy the United States & Confederate States and war raged against the British in Northern US and Canada.
Eventually the Pacific Northwest is where the Valiant army of the United States took there last stand against the Brits.
President Nefarious, hid in a cave and commanded the troops until his army was a shambled mess.
Good fight, I would like to get into another Imperial game.
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Originally posted by Swoop
I'll play if someone tells me how.
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/209_1081438631_swoop.gif)
Basically lie, double-cross and backstab as much as possible and you'll do OK.
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is this like "risk" .........or something?
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Originally posted by Sandman
So... who's up for a standard game?
I'll try it. Is there a link or something to learn to play it?
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good writeups!
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I am writing this from a place that the forces arrayed to control the world will never find me. I simply took all my countries loose change and headed for parts unknown. The waters close to here are mined with the newest, extraterrestrial technology and are impenetrable by your puny forces.....Wait let me get back on the track before plotting the fall of the world to my hands.
From the outset I agreed to the idea of a unified North America. The only way to maintain and survive long enough to make a difference in the game was to not have conflict with your neighbor. Since the truth must be told I thought only of ways to invade Mexico and control that area while trying to get the USA to not believe the crap spewing forth from Britain and ultimately for the USA to control Canada but it was not to be. The young tzar made a stupid move into Canada that threw those plans right out the window like yesterdays bath water.
We (CSA and USA) ultimately established a line of demarcation where he moved his capital to the west and I kept control of much of the east. However in his withdrawal from the east the lying British and pain in the prettythang French stabbed into Washington and New York and caused havoc with the lines that had been agreed to between us. This allowed the French to hold onto Washington and New York just long enough to deny my country time to build forces that would have been useful against the blue virus of british forces streaming into Canada.
I am sure that the Japanese were ultimately hung out to dry as they were feeding me and the USA intelligence about the upcoming AHOA alliance. I do believe that the intelligence we were given was seeded with just enough true information to make it believeable. It was enough for Presideny Nefarious and I to begin planning the ATO alliance to solidify the four nations of the Americas hold on the region. When the ATO was formed it destroyed all plans for my invasion of Mexico. To get the ATO going was rather difficult because the lines of communication with Brazil were hazy at best and it was rather difficult for our messengers to make it through the blockades that were established by the Dutch and French around Rio de Janeiro. However once we got through the response was immediate and good for all involved.
The ultimate thorn in all of this was the pliable French forces in south america. We were able to twist them against the AHOA alliance and get them to begin movements against the British but we didn't get the results we wanted fast enough to save our alliance.
I unfortunately had to make an early exit from the game due to real life considerations and truly believe that had I been able to retain command and control of CSA forces the outcome for the ATO would have been different than what the ultimate ending became.
Should any of you current rulers of the earth feel the need to come looking for me rest assured that to do so would be your ultimate demise and in the end I shall rule the earth and play hide and seek with your daughters while your headless corpse's watch from the garden.
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Originally posted by SaburoS
I'll try it. Is there a link or something to learn to play it?
http://diplom.org
http://www.wizards.com/avalonhill/rules/diplomacy.pdf
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Originally posted by Yeager
is this like "risk" .........or something?
...or something. Diplomacy has no turns; everyone moves at the same time. There's also no element of chance.
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Reschke it was a real pleasure working with you.
Times were tough, and it seemed I just wasnt being harsh enough on the British in Canada. I delayed our plans for so long that it was too late by the time I put my Northern Offensive into action, which turned out to be a slugfest. In the Pacific I played Cat and Mouse with Russia and after he was no longer a threat the Dutch and British were strong in the whole Pacific. Hawaii which I worked so hard to aquire was lost.
The Northern offensive failed because we failed to remove the AHOA out of the Atlantic. It was just plain impossible to fight the British in Canada because they had a direct convoy of Troops coming in. Eventually my Western Navy was encircled and destroyed.
Whos hosting next:D?
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Originally posted by Pei
Basically lie, double-cross and backstab as much as possible and you'll do OK.
didn't work to well for me.
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Originally posted by Nefarious
Whos hosting next:D?
Well... I'm probably too busy for a game anyway. I can host one though.
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how? where? what? when?
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/209_1081438631_swoop.gif)
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If you wanna play, Sandy, I'll master the game. I've never done it before, so it's prolly about time.
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LOL Swoop.
I'm in. Sandman or SOB, if you do host one, email me.
Nefarious at hitechcreations dot com
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Originally posted by B17Skull12
didn't work to well for me.
Yea, it helps when you aren't transparently betraying everyone to everyone else. When you do that each person assumes that you are at best a pawn to be used and at worst a primary target.
You're far better off only lying when you NEED to in Diplomacy.
For instance, SOB wrote:
He further solidified the deal with the unsolicited and generous offer to give up Singapore, which was at the heart of my current center of power (and clearly set up to be a point of contention on this Imperial Map). From then on, Britain had as much of my trust as I could give in a game of Diplomacy.
That's exactly why I made the offer. I realized that a 'no' in word or deed to the new AHOA group was a death knell for Britain. Following from that I decided the only way to prevent a cluster**** was to have everyone's core centres intact and secure; and looking at the map I realized, like SOB, that the map designers *intended* a Brit/French/Dutch dustup in the southeast. The only way to disarm the bomb was to give first, without being asked.
The only time I even considered breaking that trust was in one Fall turn when a big stab would have meant instant victory.
If you stab or otherwise betray, make sure it counts. A wounded ex-friend is worse than an open enemy. The friend you stab will often never rest until you die, and will often cut crazy deals (especially if their position is essentially hopeless) if it means you perish also.
Lastly, if you guys play Imp again, here's a last tip for the little Powers. Negotiate a good deal with a neighbor, preferably an ally-for-life deal, and move together against a common foe. The little Powers in Imp don't have time to wait to see what shakes out; if they're slow the big guys will have lots of forces to throw around at their next target of choice. If you move fast a big Power will be small or gone and your small Power will be medium-sized.
Trust me... :D
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Originally posted by B17Skull12
didn't work to well for me.
Go on and post a full AAR when you have the time, Skull. It's fun to see the game from the other guy's perspective!
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Originally posted by SOB
If you wanna play, Sandy, I'll master the game. I've never done it before, so it's prolly about time.
Don't sweat it... I probably don't have the time anyway... I'm setting up a game now. Will be a standard game on the modern map... 10 players.
Should go a bit quicker than the imperial game.
I'll post a thread when it's ready.
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Cool
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Originally posted by Bcnu
If you stab or otherwise betray, make sure it counts. A wounded ex-friend is worse than an open enemy. The friend you stab will often never rest until you die, and will often cut crazy deals (especially if their position is essentially hopeless) if it means you perish also.
Absolutely and that was what I was hoping the French would do in the Atlantic especially since I could see long term that the French weren't really going to have a chance in hell against the rest of the AHOA. I was trying like crazy to make him see that and get him turned on you guys early; before it got out of hand like it did once he realized that you left him hanging on the american coastline with my having three or four armies to push him out and you only able to support NY effectively. At least that is what my viewpoint saw.
:noid
Originally posted by Bcnu
Lastly, if you guys play Imp again, here's a last tip for the little Powers. Negotiate a good deal with a neighbor, preferably an ally-for-life deal, and move together against a common foe. The little Powers in Imp don't have time to wait to see what shakes out; if they're slow the big guys will have lots of forces to throw around at their next target of choice. If you move fast a big Power will be small or gone and your small Power will be medium-sized.
This is something that Nefarious just mentioned after my AAR. Had he gotten going earlier things would have been vastly different in North America.
Overall though I enjoyed the game and have played in several smaller map games. Some of those are evil for the sheer speed of the game. The ones I hate the most are the no press games simply because of the interaction between players is gone.
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Hello
Brazil here
I did move off of my power centers during the first
moves as I did not know the rules to the game.
I also thought that this game would be fought to a
final winner. It seems not right to form an alliance
and then not have to stab your members in the back at
a certain point to be the final winner.
I had to stop playing simply as I saw that no one
would ally with me and therefore I could never hope to
win outright. Eventually I would be faced with a foe
that had the rest of the world while I would have been
contained in South America.
That being the situation and since I have a cottage
and spend many weeks there in the summer away from the
internet I had to throw the towel in. If I knew that
just surviving long enough would grant me a "win" then
I probably could have held out indefinetly.
I enjoyed the begining of the game. I think North
America was lost as the US guys would not attack
France and Britian and only too late did France throw
his lot in with what remained of our alliance. However
it was too little too late.
Brazil had a good neighbor in the north and together we held out a long time but eventually France came onboard and it looked for a bit that we might be able to swing the game but it was just a few turns too late.
Good game all.
Habu
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ok here is my screwed logic
I knew to atleast have a chance of doing well that i would have to force the europeans out of the Pacific. So first i set my sights on hong kong and tried to ally w/ China, but that quickly went away in smoke w/ the AHOA (been a long time since i types that lol). Then after the first move i had only 1 unit moved out. Didn't get a supply center the next move. Finally on the 3rd move i tried to get some SC's. But then having only 4 units and send out 3. Britian or someone invaded one of my home SC's. after quitting the AHOA due to it i rejoined late and was stabbed. I was hung out to dry and did so very quickly.
That is all i remember
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Great write-ups everyone. I was Russia and that was my first diplomacy game. I had a great time while I lasted.
to everyone for putting up with me.
Nash, I didn't stab you buddy....I sent word before the opening move that I would be hostile towards you in response to your accusations of betraying the alliance.
The truth is that I was trying to figure out how to act in this game, which I had never played before, and I guess I came across as aloof. I was trying to be sly, but was open to joining China's alliance.......
No6 is just a brilliant player, no doubt about it. I was on vacation in Wisconsin with my buddy Steve during the first phase of the game. I had brought my laptop and was explaining the game to him, mentioning that the person who ran Britain was the smartest player in the game.
Nash had the winning idea of creating the alliance. A complete success.
No6, I was amazed that nobody attacked you as well, much to my dissapointment :p
Well, thanks for having me guys, it was a lot of fun.
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Ya know......I've just finished reading that fella's extracts from his book about diplomacy......and he says players who form alliances should be shot cos it ruins the game.
However, since I've yet to play a game of diplomacy I have yet to form an opinion.
(http://www.onpoi.net/ah/pics/users/209_1081438631_swoop.gif)
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Originally posted by Swoop
Ya know......I've just finished reading that fella's extracts from his book about diplomacy......and he says players who form alliances should be shot cos it ruins the game.
He's right. The original designer of Diplomacy envisioned that a 'perfect' game of Diplomacy would never end, since every Power would always act to prevent another from winning. As one Power might have a shot at victory others would turn on him, but as he faded another Power would rise which in turn would need to be attacked by everyone, and so forth. It's actually my favorite playstyle but it's not viable on the Imp board.
Nonetheless in my early diplomacy I stressed this to my targets, talking about how England was spread out across the globe and was no danger to anyone but would use my diverse position to maintain the Balance of Power.
For some reason everyone believed this.
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Everyone but me.