Diplomacy Dreams

[themaninthejinnahcap]

I am putting feelers out there for new players, we'll see how it plays out over the next few days. If nothing comes our way then this partition idea is certainly my preference so long as everyone is interested (as it seems you are).

IBNU is no longer involved in the game, I told him I could keep him on a HOLD pattern since he has some real life stuff keeping him busy and he didn't even respond to that, so I presume he's far too busy to jump back into the game. I messaged Mikado for now.

Any updates from The Mikado?

I understand he has played this game a couple times before, but certainly as a reliable player, who might have faced an early "Gangbang" scenario, plus possibly a couple strategic failures (Which was before I entered the game), perhaps he might be interested in gaining a "Fresh Start" so the speak.

Naturally in these situations one should assume that prior grudges are not active, and will enhance the diplomatic conversations, while also having a player who had played in the past.

I did hear back from Mikado and he has passed on the offer. I'm going to message Kuumo.

[themaninthejinnahcap]

Alright, folks. Kuumo has been kind enough to take over for Germany, but we will be switching to a 72 hour Movement turn, 48 hour Retreat/Build turn structure to accommodate him. If anyone has an issue with that, let's hear it. Tomorrow, I will repost the map as is and announce the next deadline.

[themaninthejinnahcap]

Alright, everyone. Nobody has complained about the deadline extension so I will take that as acceptance. Welcome back to the game, Kuumo, and good luck! I am posting this ahead of the usual deadline because I have prior engagements at 10:00 PM.

We are in the Spring 1908 RETREAT Phase. The only order to be processed is France's F WesMed. If he provides it early I will adjudicate the day the order is given, owing to the fact it is the only order to make and nobody wants to wait 48 hours for no reason. That being said, the deadline for this order is at 10:00 PM (EST)/2:00 AM (UTC) on Thursday, May 2nd (EST)/Friday, May 3rd (UTC).

[themaninthejinnahcap]

France has retreated his Fleet to North Africa.

We are now in the Fall 1908 MOVE Phase. The deadline for orders is at 10:00 PM EST/2:00 AM UTC on Saturday, May 4th (EST)/Sunday May 5th (UTC).

I have opted for an early adjudication in light of the fact that the only player issuing an order has consented to it. Enjoy the extra hour or so of time to determine your moves and good luck to all!

[themaninthejinnahcap]

Adjudication is coming guys, this was just a complicated turn. You'll see what I mean in a few minutes when I post the update.

[themaninthejinnahcap]

Order Results:
   
Austria:
Austria: A mos Holds
Austria: A pie - mar / Bounced with mar (1 against 1).
Austria: A rom Holds
Austria: A stp - nwy / Bounced with bel (1 against 1).
Austria: A tri Holds
Austria: A ven Holds
Austria: A vie Holds
Austria: A war Holds
Austria: F wes - spa/sc / Bounced with lyo (1 against 1).
       
England:
England: F edi Holds / Dislodged from nwg (2 against 1).
       
France:
France: A bel - nwy / Bounced with stp (1 against 1). Convoy path taken: bel;nth;nwy.
France: A bur - gas
France: F cly Supports F nwg - edi
France: F lyo - spa/sc
France: A mar Supports F lyo - spa/sc / Support cut by Move from Piedmont.
France: F mao Supports F lyo - spa/sc
France: F naf - wes / Failed because Austria: F wes - spa/sc failed.
France: F nth Convoys A bel - nwy
France: F nth Convoys A bel - nwy
     
Germany:
Germany: A ber - pru
Germany: F hol Holds
Germany: F kie - den
Germany: A mun Holds
Germany: F nwg - edi
Germany: A ruh Supports F hol
     
Turkey:
Turkey: F aeg - ion / Failed because Turkey: F ion - tun failed.
Turkey: A apu Supports A nap
Turkey: F ion - tun / Failed because Turkey: F tun - naf failed.
Turkey: A nap Supports A apu
Turkey: A rum Supports A sev
Turkey: A sev Supports A rum
Turkey: F tun - naf / Failed because France: F naf - wes failed.
Turkey: F tus Supports F tys - lyo
Turkey: F tys - lyo
     
The dislodging of England's final Fleet has resulted in it being disbanded. Even if someone were playing the power, it would immediately have to disband this turn, the 1908 Fall BUILD Phase. The deadline for this phase is 48 hours from now, at 10:00 AM EST / 2:00 AM UTC on Monday, May 6th (EST) / Tuesday, May 7th (UTC) and requires only orders from Germany; 2 builds. If he provides this order in advance of the deadline and consents to a quicker update, I will do it tomorrow evening for everyone's benefit.

[themaninthejinnahcap]

Please tell me I didn't make a mistake in those orders, because I just saved the file in jDip by accident and I have yet to find a way to undo a turn to redo it after it is saved. 

[themaninthejinnahcap]

Please tell me I didn't make a mistake in those orders, because I just saved the file in jDip by accident and I have yet to find a way to undo a turn to redo it after it is saved. 

As written they look wrong. You have Stp-Nwy succeeding, but also Bel-Nwy. However, a second order for Bel (a hold) is also listed. Might be other issues. I suggest you post everyone’s order message to you here for confirmation.

I know exactly what happened there, I'll just edit the post. I had to redo a turn and part of the post and I must not have changed a given part when I re-copypasted the results. Give me a minute, good catch. The real results are reflected in the picture, the text is where the error is.

[themaninthejinnahcap]

Yes, a big apology from me to you folks. The mistake was entirely my own from modifying a copypasted set of order results and missing a few discrepancies between the two sets. Thanks to all for checking the moves and making these errors known so quickly.

Re: Irish-Americans, I can tell you as a man with plenty of that blood in me I was absolutely shooting from the hip with my copypastes and it got messy, alright.

I have received Germany's Build orders and will be adjudicating them tonight, as an update!

[themaninthejinnahcap]

Order Results:
   
England:
England no longer controls any supply centers, and has been eliminated.
     
Germany:
Germany: Builds F ber
Germany: Builds A kie

We are now in the Spring 1909 MOVE Phase. Orders are due by 10:00 PM EST/ 2:00 AM UTC on Wednesday, May 8th (EST)/ Thursday, May 9th (UTC)

I don't know if you're still following the thread, IBNU, but thank you for playing with us!

[themaninthejinnahcap]

Order Results:
   
Austria:
Austria: A mos - lvn
Austria: A pie - mar / Bounced with mar (1 against 2).
Austria: A rom Holds
Austria: A stp - mos
Austria: A tri - tyr / Bounced with vie (1 against 1).
Austria: A ven Supports A rom
Austria: A vie - tyr / Bounced with tri (1 against 1).
Austria: A war Holds
Austria: F wes Supports F tun - naf
     
France:
The Fleet in North Africa cannot retreat; unit destroyed.
France: A bel - bur
France: F cly - nao
France: A gas Supports A mar
France: A mar Supports F spa/sc / Support cut by Move from Piedmont.
France: F mao Supports F spa/sc
France: F naf - wes / Bounced with wes (1 against 1). Dislodged from tun (2 against 1).
France: F nth - eng
France: F spa/sc Holds
     
Germany:
Germany: F ber - bal
Germany: F den - swe
Germany: F edi Supports F hol - nth
Germany: F hol - nth
Germany: A kie - hol
Germany: A mun - sil
Germany: A pru Supports A mun - sil
Germany: A ruh - mun
     
Turkey:
Turkey: F aeg - ion
Turkey: A apu Supports A nap
Turkey: F lyo - spa/sc / Bounced with spa (1 against 2).
Turkey: F ion - tun
Turkey: A nap Supports A apu
Turkey: A rum - gal
Turkey: A sev Holds
Turkey: F tun - naf
Turkey: F tus Holds

The dislodged Fleet in North Africa has nowhere to retreat to and thus disbands. This moves us right ahead to the Fall 1909 MOVE Phase. Orders for this phase are due by 10:00 PM EST / 2:00 AM UTC on Saturday, May 11th (EST) / Sunday, May 12th (UTC).

[themaninthejinnahcap]

Pretty sure I got my orders in on time and hopefully didn't create any needless confusion for our thankless GM this go about!   

On time, no confusion. Here's hoping I didn't bungle anything this time around.

[themaninthejinnahcap]

I am going to assume Scott is similarly agreeable to the draw. But we will wait for him to make an appearance and decide the fate of the game.

[themaninthejinnahcap]

Perhaps a bit premature, but it does remind me of one of the legendary American Folk singers from the '60s, Phil Ochs...

Naturally this song was written before the Vietnam War was over, although this performance in NYC is dated '75.

Perhaps the real victory won was the mass civilian casualties we caused along the way.

[themaninthejinnahcap]

With all the votes in, ladies and gentlemen, we have an end to the Great War of 1901-1909. By mutual assent the Republic of France, the German Reich, and the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires have forged a new order in Europe. May peace forever be their lot and to their legacy go the accolades of triumph. Congratulations one and all and thank you for playing!

Just a minor edit on the final move, I made an error with one of Austria's moves. His intent was to have A Mos and A Stp attack Liv and bounce with one another. I mistakenly sent A Mos to Liv and A Stp to Mos. Scott brought this to my attention and it does not change his vote, it is being brought up merely to clarify the mistake.

I hope you will all come together to debrief one another on the minutiae of the game. I got bits and pieces of what was being discussed but very little to show the nuance of the moves.

[themaninthejinnahcap]

With all the votes in, ladies and gentlemen, we have an end to the Great War of 1901-1909. By mutual assent the Republic of France, the German Reich, and the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires have forged a new order in Europe. May peace forever be their lot and to their legacy go the accolades of triumph. Congratulations one and all and thank you for playing!

Just a minor edit on the final move, I made an error with one of Austria's moves. His intent was to have A Mos and A Stp attack Liv and bounce with one another. I mistakenly sent A Mos to Liv and A Stp to Mos. Scott brought this to my attention and it does not change his vote, it is being brought up merely to clarify the mistake.

I hope you will all come together to debrief one another on the minutiae of the game. I got bits and pieces of what was being discussed but very little to show the nuance of the moves.

I do want to congratulate you for volunteering to be GM and hopefully you might be willing to possibly host another.

I do apologize to the community for perhaps occasionally posting PMs which might have been considered a bit aggressive in nature while attempting to negotiate.

Quite frankly, I suspect these might have backfired on me at critical times in the game, where I might have been able to take advantage of a favorable political opportunity structure.

I in fact just told Scott I am willing to host another, although I would like to ask everyone for help gathering more potential players ahead of time for it. It really bites when there are hiatuses.

[themaninthejinnahcap]

I want to thank everyone for a great game. Particularly, I want to thank GM for being such a great ally with his mentorship which really taught me how to look at the map from different perspectives and develop my skills as a newbie. And of course I want to thank my best friend Jesse for putting so much time and effort into setting this up for us, and for his patience in the various pitfalls we encountered.

It's been the cleanest best pleasure, gentlemen.

If I could host another game right now I would do it. That's how special you are to me and that's how much I love you.

Don't forget; delete your archives.

[themaninthejinnahcap]

Thanks to everyone for an enjoyable game, and especially to our GM for creating and managing this.  Having been a GM myself (no pun intended), it’s a role where when everything goes smoothly you’re invisible, and when it doesn’t go smoothly it’s a big hassle.  Not unlike being a forum moderator, come to think of it.

Now regarding the actual game…

As I’ve mentioned before to several people, Turkey is one of my least favorite powers, and I was rather dismayed to draw it, especially after also having it one of muon’s games back in 2018 (oddly, that game ended in an FGT draw -- and NOVA was also France in it!)  I think Turkey is rather boring, easy to draw with if you can survive long enough to get solidly established, but very difficult to win with.  I mean, it’s difficult to win with ANY power in Diplomacy, but Turkey is especially so because it’s so hard for it to get a position across the main stalemate line.

Starting out, my strategy was to ally with either Russia or Austria against the other (because if they both gang up on Turkey, its game tends to be nasty, brutish, and short).  I was open to either one at first, but in the early negotiations, Scott was much more communicative than the Mikado, which inclined me toward an Austrian alliance.  I was still open to either side until the first move, when I was disappointed that the Mikado let Austria walk into Galicia after I had warned him not to (I wanted to play the two of them against each other if possible).  The result left us in a position to eliminate the Russian southern fleet, which is always a thorn in Turkey’s side, so it was an easy choice at that point to commit fully to the Austrian alliance.  And Scott, you were a great ally; I really enjoyed our partnership.  I also do enjoy a kind of mentor role, and found you to be an eager and apt pupil.

We managed to coordinate our moves in such a way that we each made progress, but at least preserved the illusion that we weren’t allied for a couple of years -- although once Scott convoyed my army into Italy, that illusion was pretty much shattered.  After that, it was a matter of grinding out the rest of the Russian and Italian centers.  Kuumo defended very well with NOVA’s backup, and it took longer to reduce Italy than I would have liked.  Tunis especially was a problem, and I wasn’t optimistic of ever getting it; it really was a lucky guess to capture it when I did. In fact, I was prepared to prop up Kuumo myself if France ever put two units on Tunis, as I was quite concerned about the possibility of a French solo if he should get it.  With England collapsing and Germany (under its first two governments) playing suboptimally, it was easy to envision France rolling up everything north/west of the stalemate line, and Tunis would have been his 18th center in that scenario.

I’m sure some of you are wondering why I never stabbed Scott, although there was ample opportunity to do so, as NOVA made sure to keep reminding me. 😉  It goes back to the difficulty I mentioned above about Turkey winning.  I don’t believe in throwing over a good alliance unless it’s going to significantly increase my chances of winning the game, and at no time would that have ever been true.  At best I could have gotten 17 centers – the 18 we held between us at the end minus StP, which would have easily been defended from the north.  At worst it could have enabled a French solo.

In this situation with Turkey, the only way to get an 18th center would be in Germany, or in France/Iberia.  With a viable Germany, there would be no way for me to fight through Austria and get to the German centers before they could be defended; if England had emerged as the dominant power in the West, with Germany eliminated, it would have been a different story.  So my only possibility was to try and pick up at least one, preferably two, of Marseilles/Spain/Portugal – preferably the latter two, because with all those Turkish fleets in the Med it would have been practical to hang onto them.  If I had ever managed that, then I would have stabbed Scott and gone for the solo.  But NOVA defended extremely well and made us scrap for every inch of progress in the Mediterranean.  

While Gustaf was playing and in the anti-French alliance, I thought he’d put enough pressure on France to allow us to break through into the Atlantic, in which case the above possibility might come to pass.  But with pressure on his northern front relieved, NOVA got his extra fleets in place just in time to back up his MAO fleet.  If he hadn’t moved a fleet into at least one of ENG or NAO last turn, then our next move would have been Lyo-Spa, Wes-MAO, Naf S Wes-MAO, with the result being the Austrian fleet in the Atlantic, and the Iberian dominoes start falling.  But once there was an uncuttable support available for MAO, no further progress could be made against France, although neither could he push us back in the Med.  Stalemate.

So I’m a little disappointed that I never got the chance for that solo attempt, which would have been fun to try, but not very disappointed because my expectations for Turkey were fairly low to begin with. Thanks again to everyone for an enjoyable game!

I just had a hearty chuckle at you saying Turkey is your least favourite power, having just played an optimal Turkey run. I shudder to imagine what kind of devastation the others are in for when you draw a power you really enjoy.

Definitely agree with your assessment of a game where Austria and Russia work against Turkey, but you forget "poor" and "solitary." 

[themaninthejinnahcap]

I just had a hearty chuckle at you saying Turkey is your least favourite power, having just played an optimal Turkey run. I shudder to imagine what kind of devastation the others are in for when you draw a power you really enjoy.

OK, with that for an opening, I have to tell the story of the greatest game I ever played, and immodestly and arguably, perhaps the greatest game anyone has ever played.

This was an email game in a group of regular players I belonged to a long ago (the group faded away at least 15 years ago).  I had Germany, which actually IS my favorite power.  France was a player I had encountered before, who I knew had a compatible style with mine.  This is not to say that we were automatic allies, but I knew that if we did ally, we'd likely mesh well. 

And so we did.  In fact, we started with an EFG, which can be extremely effective until one of them inevitably gets cut out.  This worked well to start with; England and I teamed up against Russia, taking StP and Warsaw, while France had a free hand to push into the Mediterranean.  On the other side of the board, there was a diehard AI alliance, where Austria had picked off Sev and Moscow, and the two were hard pressing Turkey.  However, the latter (through brilliant defense and/or lucky guesses) managed to keep them barely at bay; as I mentioned in the earlier post, it's tough to eliminate Turkey if it can get a solid footing.

France and I had agreed that England would be jettisoned at an appropriate time, but France jumped the gun and stabbed him earlier than I was expecting.  I had to jump into the attack late, but England was so annoyed at France that he ensured I got the lion's share of his centers before his elimination. 

This left me as a powerful Germany with no Russia, no England, and control of most of the northern half of the board.  This is an extremely strong position to be in.  FG and I resumed pushing east against Italy, but when he overextended, I moved units in to stab him from behind.  It was a sure solo, and he saw it. 

I should mention here that Austria & Italy were being total jerks to everyone else in the game.  So France wrote to me and said something along the lines of "OK, you've got me, but I hate to be eliminated before AI.  How about I become your Janissary and you don't kill me until we eliminate them?"  I believed he was sincere (and of course it was a way to keep himself in the game in case I slipped up and let him back into it), and it appealed to me too.  AI really were being awful.

So I accepted, and we kept pushing east.  We kept whittling away at AI, while Turkey hung on gamely and cheered us on.  I had to be careful not to solo too early, so I had to let France also keep growing, although I was careful to always have the solo in hand if he should change his mind.  But he didn't.

At some point during this, I started wondering how many centers I could solo with.  I once took 24 in a game when it was obvious I would solo and the other remaining powers kept fighting each other, not caring what I did.  But I had seen another game in our group where the winner got 25, so I wanted to beat that.  I started counting up and saw that 26 was a lock, 27 probable, maybe 28 or even 29. 

I wrote to France and said I'd like to shoot for a round 30 centers as something nobody would ever be likely to exceed.  He replied, "Why not try for 34?  Nobody would ever beat that.  I'd love to be part of something that epic, and I bet Turkey would be interested in helping too if we ask him." 

So we asked Turkey, and he was indeed interested, and I started planning for it.  This turned out to be surprisingly difficult.  To end up with 34, you must enter the game's final year with exactly 17, and in that year each one of your 17 units must take one of the remaining 17 you don't have.  Obviously this is impossible without some assistance, since you can't spare any units to support yourself against a defender.  But I worked out a plan that would do it with French and Turkish cooperation.

Meanwhile, AI kept watching us slowly erode their centers, and got more vocally annoying than ever.  Austria wrote a public message to the GM accusing us of "colluding" (which is pretty much what an alliance does) to "violate the spirit of the game" because I kept refraining from finishing off the solo.  The GM responded that in his opinion, attempting to crush your opponents was entirely within the spirit of the game.

The final year came, with everything in position.  We all turned in our orders, and it worked.  I ended up with all 34 centers.  To top it all off, on the final turn I included a coup de grace (at France's suggestion) of a convoy from St Pete all the way around the board to Smyrna using eight French and German fleets.  It was beautiful to behold.

Postscript: Austria, who had been the most vocally annoying of the AI pair, and I subsequently became good friends in the group and played in several enjoyable games together.

Your favourite power being Germany has led me to diagnose you as a clinical psychopath.

A German psychopath dominating the whole of Europe is certainly a feat of great renown and terror!

I appreciate the artistry of that long convoy. I pulled off a long convoy once from...I think it was London to Rome and it was one of the most pointless but satisfying achievements of my Diplomacy career.