So guys, what do you think of Diplomacy?

The game, the skill or what?
If the game, No idea.
Looks good, but I've never seen a box anywhere.

>>52274960
The game, thinking about buying it :)

I think I wish I had 7 friends to play it.

>>52274971
well there is the online version, we could play if you want

>>52274930
it's fun.

that being said, i've nearly murdered over it.

>>52274930
Isn't that the game where the best backstabbing liar wins?

>>52274993
Op here, i can relate. Tried it once, my then girlfriend threw the game pieces at me and we screamed at each other for about an hour.

>>52275012
Henry Kissinger apparently loves it, so i'm guessing yes

>>52274930
The best game around IMO. A motherfucker to play IRL though.

I own an original copy my uncle gave me. Its fun, played it once at a tabletop convention I went to. Much fun was had.

>>52275072
How long does it usually take ?
And are the online versions any good?

>>52275077
Do you have any pictures? would love to see how it's diffrent from my version.

>>52274992
I have played with/against tg with online risk, was fun

>>52276045
playdiplomacy.com got a lot of open games.

It's brutally tough, the most shiteating liars and backstabbers will win, you will hate your friends afterwards, even more so than Risk and Monopoly put together. No single player can be a gullible sap, he'll get steamrolled. It also takes something like 12 hours at worst. That being said, it's awesome. Some of the best negotiating I've ever had to do in a game.

>Yo, Ottoman, how bout we team up to take down Russia?
>I don't know, you might move into my sea if I move north
>truce man, Russia's growing too large. Germany ain't doing shit, we gotta team up before he wins the game
>ok.... But you have to support me or I'll be screwed

Reveals moves

> YOU MOTHERFUCKER

>>52276259
All that being said, the hardest part of playing diplomacy is getting 7 people to all play it. It takes a lot of mental fortitude and time commitment, and isn't the easiest game to push on more casual and lite board gamers

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>>52276259
yo Otto Mann

>>52276259

True, see

>>52275025

>>52274970
Its certainly fun although I'm not sure I would call it a strategy game. Its almost entirely manipulation which is easily fucked up. I would suggest before you play to tell everyone to play to win and not be a spiteful cunt.

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Soooo, anyone want a game?

Quite happy to set one up on playdiplomacy

>>52278397
Yeah man, i got time tomorrow :) i am a noob though.

>>52278397
Or you know, i can get started right now. But i doubt we will have 5 other players before tomorrow

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>>52278424
>i am a noob though.
Me too, I just remember having a fun time playing /tg/

>tomorrow
You know these games can take weeks if people are slow/in odd time zones, right?
(that said, if there's a premium member they could start a "live" game with really short deadlines at the start)

>>52278424
>>52278489
same guy btw

>>52278509
I know, just making sure you did not expect a live game.

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Fuck it, it's here:

128593. /tg/ Plays Diplomacy
password: spessmaroon

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Diplomacy is good fun. Playing it with (relative) strangers as opposed to playing it with people you've been friends with for a while actually produces really different experiences. However you play it, you get the same results though - you hate everyone else at the table and suddenly WWI seems like a good idea.

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>>52278811
Well, as long as i do better than Austria-Hungary i'm happy.

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>>52274930
I prefer edged weapons but it'll do i guess.

How viable is the Juggernaut strategy?

Human beings just aren't mature enough to play Diplomacy. There are rare exceptions, but you're not going to get 7 of them in one place for several hours. Even the top competitive players playing at tournaments with other competitive players, who know that everyone is there to win and nobody is their irl friend, get massively, comically, childishly butthurt about it.

It's a fun game, but I don't recommend it.

The Game of Thrones board game is at its base is identical to Diplomacy but with several fuck-you random mechanics.

>>52279212
Going through all my friends that game, I can only think of five of them that I'd want to play Diplomacy with and it's an almost a scheduling and geographic nightmare to imagine any of them standing in the same room. They're all cold hearted killers who are there to win; they may make sounds and joke around about being salty but they're totally not emotional about their game.

>>52275089
It takes fucking forever.

It can be fun, but imo isn't worth the time investment usually.

>>52279205
It becomes apparant to the rest of the board pretty fast, and they often join against it.

>>52274960
Is this it? I know it's not the original version but still

http://www.coolstuffinc.com/p/135137?gclid=CPLy7fSl5tICFUQdaQodnQsBXw

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>>52279714
I got this version, the pieces suck. Just cardboard with a little gun or boat printe on it.

The board itself looks really good though, so maybe you could just use pieces from some other game.

pic related.

>>52278810
Get in here

>>52280097
still looking for people?

>>52279813
I saw someone say that you could use the pieces from risk to play. I'll have to snag it when I get paid next month

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>>52278811
>Be related to almost everyone in Europe
>Be at war with almost everyone in Europe
It's a special kind of autism.
I also genuinely can't tell if the guy in the chair is George V of Nicholas II

>>52276341
It is most definitely a strategy game. You need to be thinking two steps ahead of yourself and your opponents in order to control crucial provinces while also dealing with international politics and the scuminess that comes with it. It is a condensed version of Europa Universalis pretty much.

>>52275012


The best player I've ever seen almost never lied. He was honest but played his cards very close to the vest. He was disciplined, a very sharp strategist, flexible, and clear-headed.

His style is hard to imitate, but I've never seen someone so effective in that game without blatant lies and trickery. It's a style worth cultivating, because that's how real legendary diplomats of history work. (And axe-grinding aside, Kissinger embodies this style, too. His book is worth reading even if you hate his guts.)

>>52274930
I think that THERE IS NO WAY IN FUCK THAT I AM TRUSTING YOU WITH BELGIUM, that's what I think.

>>52276259
Yes, but that's the point of the game. I don't get why you'd play a game deliberately based around fucking over the other players and then get mad at them.

>>52280809
>TFW WW1 was just a family brawl that got out of hand.

>>52275012
That's a short term strategy. If you expect to only play once against a group of people, then yes; lying, backstabbing, and going back on your word when your allies need you the most will most likely result in your victory.

Long term, however -- as in if you're gonna play more than once -- people will learn not to trust you and probably team up against you. The best long term strategy is instead to always keep your word, honor your alliances, and if someone else breaks their word to you; retaliate, make them pay but don't be ruthless, and immediately offer them a new deal afterwards. Let people see that you are trustworthy but not a doormat to be walked over, that they will have to pay for transgressions against you but that you're not without mercy.

remember to always make new players austria

>>52274930
It's a good game I never want to play again.

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>>52285464
Why? Seems cruel

Also, 2 more players for >>52278810
guys

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>>52280561
Yeah, still need 2 more guys

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I'd rather play TI with expansions, to be honest.

And yeah, it made all my friends scream at me for about an hour, so "destroying friendship" is, although a little bit overblown, is not a myth.

>>52283407
>The best player I've ever seen almost never lied. He was honest but played his cards very close to the vest. He was disciplined, a very sharp strategist, flexible, and clear-headed.

THIS. This is exactly what experienced players will advise you to do.

I'm an oldfag, mid-50s, and have been playing Dip for a long time. I used to play it by MAIL. Not email, SNAIL mail. DIp is also why I first got online and I'm talking phone-handset-in-a-cradle-modem-to-access-dialup-BBS online.

Be careful of where you play online however. My 1st attempts had me trying to play with various cliques. They'd recruit the 2 or 3 people they needed to reach 7, then completely ignore the noobs and knock them off to play a 4 man game.

>>52280809

It's a very famous photo from the funeral of Edward VII with NINE reigning kings. The seated man in the middle is George V.

Standing L to R: Haakon VII of Norway, Ferdinand of Bulgaria, Manual II of Portugal, Kaiser Bill, George I of Greece, Albert I of Belgium.

Seated L to R: Alfonso XIII of Spain, George V of the UK, Frederick VIII of Denmark.

>>52286241
anybody ?

>>52274930
Italy needs a buff.

>>52287958
I'm no expert of the game, but I've heard that giving Italy a 2nd fleet in Rome instead of an Army gives them a ehole lot more flexibility at the start.

>>52288055
I prefer the Milan set up.
It's more realistic, it marginally buffs austria and marginally nerfs France. Really improves the game.

>>52288055

That's called a lepanto. You can do it even with the normal setup. It's been years since I last played, but basically you set it up with Austria Hungary such that the army Venice gets bounced and destroyed, but then Venice being empty you get to build a fleet there.

There's potential for a backstab, but it's usually in both parties' interests. Italy wants that fleet to pursue its mediterranean strategy. And with a fleet on the border, there's much less potential for Italy to use its border defenses offensively, so Austria Hungary likes having one of its flanks covered.

Some countries are definitely better situated than others. England, for example. But Diplomacy is self-balancing in the sense that players will gang up against opponents who they see as having an advantage. I've seen AH and Italy sneak up on people because their opponents wanted to handle what they saw as more dangerous problems first.

>>52288055
Fleet Rome definitely helps Italy...but it's also an extremely pro-Austria choice since it makes it harder for Italy to do anything to Austria, and therefore Austria doesn't need to worry about Italy quite as much, at least in the opening.

>>52288699
>That's called a lepanto.

No, the Lepanto is an opening, not a unit change. The Lepanto works with the normal setup of Italy having an Army in Rome instead of a Fleet.

Changing the game so that Italy has a fleet in Rome instead of an army is just called Fleet Rome, if it's called anything (which I don't think it is).

Any of you know where to get a good move simulator ?

Also we are still missing players for the online game

A similar mechanic with some extra bells and whistles at the cost of the sheer simplicity is the game of thrones board game. Same concept but with faction specific stuff and some English events, money, etc. As well as a turn limit. Not quite the same experience, but easier to get into the table, both because of its mechanics as well the theme

>>52287845
Just joined lad. Here's here's hoping I don't get Austria.

>>52292878
Game of thrones is lots of fun, but in my experience it makes for a very different experience. In Diplomacy you can and often must cooperate extensively with other players. In GoT, "alliances" and "cooperation" often means nothing more than "let's not attack each other". Still lots of fun though.

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>>52278810
There's still 2 spots left for anybody interested

avoid it if you want to keep your gaming nights fun!

used to play this a lot back in the day, fucking hate it now and will never play it again.

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2 spots open for the game >>52278810

24 hour deadlines on turns btw

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C'mon /tg/, don't you want to backstab each other?

>>52296667
>>52294807
>>52293215
You know what? Fuck it. Never read the rules and all I know about this game is from this thread but let's see how this goes. Just joined.

>>52296840
Glad to have you lad. Playdip has a pretty good rules summary, or you can find a pdf of the rules fairly easily.

>>52274930
>>52274992

I love Diplomacy, but i hate playing it online.

I don't like checking in on it. I don't respond to texts or calls for days on end and i have not had any social media since i was 19, i cant be bothered to moderate an online diplomacy game.

>>52296840
Fuck yeah, why not eh?

Just one more slot, then it'll be good to go.

>>52297294
You saying you don't check something just once per day?

>>52297550
>You saying you don't check something just once per day?

Yup.

But its less a issue of the once a day, as it is maintaining the once a day for extended periods.

I would rather play for 6-8 hours in a day than 6-8 hours over a few weeks.

>>52297550
Wish I had seen this thread earlier, would have loved to give it a shot

>>52297006
Thanks mate

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>>52298298
It's still open, go to >>52278810

>>52298342
Joined. I'm new so I'll try to ask some questions so as to not make a fool of myself. Good luck!

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The game is full! Now everyone just needs to hit "confirm participation"...

>>52298722
Yep, looking forward to it

>>52298722
Done. Let's do it, nerds

>>52274971
I wish I had 7 friends

>>52298722
germany reporting

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>>52298722
Russia reporting in

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>>52298722
Ottomans here

Oh, shall we do as before and the first person on after the update post maps in-thread when moves are complete

>>52298722
Post screenshots?

>>52302497
That would probably add some to the fun of it, why not

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i played in a couple online diplomacy games that were build around Italian city states in the 15th century. Everyone was so nice at the start but by the end I was getting some really angry messages from Florence and Milan. this game does things to people.

>>52283407
>>52287096
>The best player I've ever seen almost never lied.
This

I had my first game of diplomacy two weeks ago, with some people from my D&D group and two others. All but one of us was new to the game, which might have affected how things played out because no one played very aggressively except me (France), and the experienced player (England).

I made good relations with England and Germany early on, allowing them to go after Russia and Austria-Hungary respectively. This allowed me to gobble up three neutral centres - belgium, spain and portugal. Then I went after Italy, who I had pointedly avoided either threatening or offering assistance to. Italy only got one extra centre in the first turn, and since most of his forces were oriented towards Austria Hungary I demolished him fairly easily. Because I'd behaved impeccably towards Germany and England they didn't feel like getting involved.

Then England backstabbed Germany (because he'd stalled in Russia and needed extra centres), which gave me the excuse I needed to attack England. The game ended before I could kill him entirely, but I'd taken Liverpool and Russia and Germany were pushing back in Scandanavia.

The point being: I won that game by always being impeccably honest, and never making an ally out of someone who I planned to attack later. England wasn't happy with me for getting involved in his fight with Germany and Russia, since I had been an early ally of his. But because he'd already attacked Germany he'd opened the door. Let everyone else backstab each other - there will always be plenty of betrayals in a game; all you have to do is wait for people to make themselves a target by being dishonest, and you can have your cake and eat it too.

>>52308398
this is very true. you also cant win alone, especially if you're centrally located. you have to tie yourself to someone else. a lot of times this ends in a race to the finish with your ally, in which you tear each other apart, or avoid each other and one of you gets the silver medal

>>52274930
You need a good group and plenty of time to play it to its fullest potential. Also you need to be able to take a joke and realise that it's just a game, because otherwise this shit will ruin friendships faster than a hundred games of Monopoly.

But if the circumstances are right, then it's a fucking amazing game.

>>52276259
Sounds exactly like playing Dominions 4 multiplayer.

>>52308504
Yea, I've seen a few games where it's all fine until the last usurpation

>>52308551
>because otherwise this shit will ruin friendships faster than a hundred games of Monopoly.
I'd say the worst part about it is that you find out just how easy it is for your friends to lie to you convincingly. Even if you all understand that the stakes don't really matter and you're all just having a laugh, somewhere in the back of your mind you'll never quite forget that your friend totally convinced you that he was going after someone else while he was getting ready to stab you in the back.

All in all, it's just very stressful because it does require you to be duplicitous and selfish

Bump in the spirit of competition

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France here. I think it would be fun to post updates here on /tg/ as the game progresses, just in case anybody's interested. Here's the spring 1901 starting position, just over 26 hours before the first orders phase.

>>52314638
Russia here. The turns will be faster after this, correct? 48 hours seems excessive.

>>52315822
you always wanted to leave extra time for the first turn. there's a lot of uh... how do you russians say... maskirovka going on?

>>52315822
The first trun is double length. It will be 24 hours per phase after this.

There's also the handy "confirm orders" button. Once everyone presses it, the orders are processed early (often the case for builds and retreats, as not much negotiation or thought is required).

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>>52315967
Who, me?
>>52316123
I figured that was the case... Hopefully everyone sees this and finalizes soon.

Oh god diplomacy. I used to take this game so seriously and wanted to kill people over it. So much fun. Now a days we only play Drunk Diplomacy because that way people make stupid moves and care a whole lot less.
I can share the rules if you like.

>>52318269
Sounds hilarious. How does one play?

Got a game together in February. Getting the thing organized was a hell of a task, but the actual game was super fun. I made sure there was enough Wine and cooked some real food to keep people from getting cranky. 5 of us really enjoyed the experience while 2 of us swore off the game forever.

The England/France and Russia/Turkey strong alliances ended up dominating the game while Germany, Austri-Hungary, and Italy got eaten up squabbling over the center of the board.

>>52319826
>5 of us really enjoyed the experience while 2 of us swore off the game forever.
>Germany, Austri-Hungary, and Italy got eaten up squabbling over the center of the board.
So one of them actually thought that losing was fun?

>>52286858
ehh, TI looks too complicated for me
the reason I like diplomacy is because it's so simple

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>>52274930
Orders have been issued. Here is the board state for fall 1901. Next orders are due on Mar 24 2017 15:24 (GMT)

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>>52325609
The actual movements that led to the current board.

>>52274930
Used to have some circles in the state department that played it. I don't know if they still do, that was 15 years ago.

This all reminds me of that lets play of Neptunes Pride RPS did a while back:

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/01/02/neptunes-pride-the-complete-epic/

>>52326144
so now that the Austrians have invaded Serbia, is Russia going to declare war on them?

>>52327250
They moved to ukraine and galicia, I think it was their plan from the start.

>>52327250
Austria has been advised about touring in cabriolets

>>52326144
RIP Austria looks like the ottomans, and the Russians are after you

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The New York Chronicle - 14th June 1901
Seamus Doherty

BLUNDER IN THE BALKANS?

It seems that Austro-Hungarian attempts to restore order to the Balkans have aroused the ire of the Russian Tsar and the Ottoman Sultan!
Both Turkish and Russian forward are mobilising toward their Balkan frontiers, in what can only be a response to the Austrian attempt to secure their power in the region.
Our correspondents in Constantinople and St. Petersburg have yet to receive any official comment.
It should also be noted that Austrian troop movements toward the Italian border, coupled with an Italian naval deployment in the mid-Mediterranean could signal a covert Austro-Italian alliance?


A NEW CANNAE

In new leaked documents from the German General Staff, it is revealed that the retired general Alfred von Schlieffen has masterminded a plan to encircle french forces in the event of a war. According to the plan, German forces would outflank the French by entering Belgium and crossing the Ardennes into France.
While this leak on it's own is of questionable integrity, the recent German troop movements toward the Low Countries would seem to confirm that the Schlieffen plan is in play.
The seeming lack of build up on the Russo-German border would seem to imply an alliance, or at the very least a non-aggression pact between the two powers.


THE STATELY QUADRILLE

While Realpolitik is hard to judge from those outside of (or subject to) it, it would seem that an Anglo-French concordat is in place, as well as a Germano-Austrian one.
Based on current knowledge of military deployment, it is impossible to know whether the build up on the Austro-Italian border is a sign of conflict or of uneasy cooperation.
It would also seem that in this early stage the the Ottomans and the Russians have not been able to reach an agreement, due their reported stand-offs in the Black Sea. While this should assuage the other powers' fears of an "Eastern Juggernaut", such reassurance could prove short lived.

>15hours into the turn
>no one has sent you any messages
oh boy

>>52333271
If any of the Great Powers would like to reach me for comment, or would like to be contacted for their side of the story, please contact me at:
[email protected]

>>52333389
Austria?

>>52333516
>trusting journalists

>>52334057
>trusting politicians

Also, is there any surefire way I can prove I'm not actually one of the players?

While us Irish may be biased against the English, we're not biased enough to want anyone else to rule us

>>52323376
Yeah, the German and Austria-Hungary players both enjoyed the game. The Turkish and Italian players were the ones that swore the game off.

>>52334375
prove how irish you are

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>>52334918
I had a premonition pic-related will be the shit at the end of the century
Yes I'm a norn-er, but my family's from Derry if you catch my drift

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bump

Also: pic-related is a pretty great pop-history account of the first weeks of WW1 on the western front.

It's actually kinda funny, the book spends an entire section on the planning (the schlieffen plan and german planning, anglo-french coordination, and Russian incompetence), then has literally four paragraphs on Franz Ferdinand's assassination and the July crisis, before skipping to mobilisation day and covering that in crazy detail.

Haven't finished it yet, but what I've read is a good book, conveys the sweep of the nations involved in the war, while also getting across the individual characters, like Von Moltke and Foch.

>>52336655
The whole political show leading up to mobilization is, quite possibly, the most complicated diplomatic event in history. I'm more impressed that Tuchman accepted that there was no real progress to be made there and just let it be. Anyone who claims to have the answer to how WWI started is probably an idiot.

>>52286858
>>52323595
TI3 definitely is several steps above Diplomacy in the complexity angle. It's not nearly as "zero sum", since victory in TI comes from accomplishing objectives to score VPs.

I actually find it's "easier" in some respects because it's considerably more straightforward to formulate a plan around the objectives you're dealt.

I'd say "Advanced Diplomacy" would actually be the Game of Thrones boardgame - it has the same zero-sum win condition and the same emphasis on breaking up the turn into a hidden orders phase and an execution phase.

Honourable mention also goes to the Dune boardgame (or the Rex reprint by FFG) as the last of the well-known grand strategy boardgames.

>>52337609
>Anyone who claims to have the answer to how WWI started is probably an idiot.

You're kidding me, right?

>Germany just wanted some nice, ethnically clean lebensraum to grow in.
>Britain just wanted to Rule the Waves (and 1/4 of the world that went with them, too)
>France just wanted some payback for the 1870 curbstomp - oh, and Alsace-Lorraine back, too.
>Austria just wanted to remove kebab (and after 400 years under Turkish rule, Serbs definitely qualified)
>Russia just wanted to show the world that 1905 was a fluke - oh, and help her Serbian brothers, too, of course.
>Ottomans just wanted to restore their rightful clay - all the way to Rome, if possible.
>Italy just wanted to recreate the Roman Empire.
>Serbia just wanted to be a big bully - instead of small.

The ginormous stack of explosives was all set, and all that was needed was a tiny little shot in a, say, Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
(Although it could've been just about anything else)

>>52338614
>Germany just wanted some nice, ethnically clean lebensraum to grow in.
WW1 Germany committed plenty of questionable actions, and started the whole chemical warfare thing, but it none of that had to do with lebensraum or ethnic cleansing.

>>52325609
>>52326144
>>52333271

Excellent! I love AAR's.
Keep up the good work, and best of luck everyone.
(t. Someone who's not playing)

>>52338657

In the WW1 timeframe, no - since it hasn't known the actual option existed.
But it was leaning in that direction - so, basically, it was only heavily implied ...

>>52338748
It wasn't known that ethnic cleansing existed? The Ottomans were busy doing exactly that in Greece, Assyria, and Armenia about the time of the First World War. As far as I know, none of Germany's actions in WWI were anything close to actual genocide.

>>52338775
>It wasn't known that ethnic cleansing existed?

I was thinking more along the lines of gassing - but that, too.

>The Ottomans were busy doing exactly that in Greece, Assyria, and Armenia about the time of the First World War.

Sure, but they were the Ottomans. You know - uncivilized.

>As far as I know, none of Germany's actions in WWI were anything close to actual genocide.

IMHO, that's only because they hadn't had the time - and knowledge - to set it up.
Five more years and the "Rape of Belgium" would evolve into "Belgium? What Belgium?".

I'm not sure why people project the Nazis backwards in German history. Ethnic cleansing and lebensraum were not on the agenda of the Kaiser or his government in 1914. The Rape of Belgium wasn't a racially-motivated act designed to destroy non-Germans, it was the German army exercising a brutality they had learned in Africa and that had been easy to engage in when the fear of 1870-style francs-tireurs gripped them again. That fear wasn't entirely unfounded as there was unconventional skirmishing in Belgium but that's not an excuse for Germans to be as brutal as they were. I can't stress enough how different Germany would become between the fall of their extremely conservative monarchy in 1918 to the rise of extremely radical National Socialism in 1933. A LOT of stuff happens in that short time and there's more differences than there are similarities.

>>52338958
It doesn't take knowledge to exterminate a population. For example, the Cambodian genocide killed 1.5 to 3 million people and didn't involve a single gas chamber, and that's not even mentioning the many other genocides that weren't organized as the Holocaust was.

Furthermore, look at the Wehrmacht's actions in the Soviet Union. Most of the civilian deaths there had nothing to do with concentration camps.

If Germany wished to commit ethnic cleansing in Belgium, they were more than capable of doing so. Yes, the Rape of Belgium occurred and there is no excuse for it, but I would argue that it did not approach the level of any genocide in history.

>>52339034

Not to mentioned that most Germans in WW2 seriously opposed the whole lebensraum deal - they were only too scared of their government to say so.

>>52339105

>It doesn't take knowledge to exterminate a population.

True - but it does take knowledge to do it 'clandestinely' - which is what I was aiming (hinting) at.
No other country in Europe, at the time, would approve the stuff in your examples going on in the heart of Europe - and Germany would have been piled up on by everyone.

>>52339105

A better explanation would be the old saying: "Slowly, but surely."
Or the "Old bull - young bull" joke.

>>52339230
Germany already was being piled up on everyone

>Not to mentioned that most Germans in WW2 seriously opposed the whole lebensraum deal - they were only too scared of their government to say so.

This is untrue. The German people disliked the Slavic people, look no further than the Wehrmacht. I'm not even going to bring up the Einsatzgruppen, but average Wehrmacht soldiers committed some pretty horrific acts in the invasion of Russia. In the invasion of France, similar things were done on a smaller scale, such as the execution of black prisoners of war.

It's likely that most German citizens knew something terrible was happening to the Jews, but they didn't care, in fact some thought it was what should happen.

Were there people who took a stand against the government's actions? Yes, but they were in the minority, and it wasn't because of fear that others didn't act.

>>52339334

I'm not talking about actions of the advancing army against the (enemy - and sometimes even allied) civilians - that's as it's always been during the human history, and not likely to change.

I am talking about the rear-area shit (the Einsatzgruppen are only a part of it) that went down.
I'm talking about slowly grinding down of - not only active opposition - but the entire nations as well.
Not isolated & vengeful instances of hate-venting (even though there were a shitload of them - all due to the shitloads of soldiers being present) but of slow, methodical, systematic & deliberate murder.

And, yeah - before they could go out to do it, Nazis really needed a bunch of suckers to 'buy' their shit wholesale & support them.
And shooting anyone who disagrees with you is a great way to get everyone to agree with you.

>Germany already was being piled up on everyone
Oh, but Germany still had Austria & Bulgaria (Ottomans wouldn't have been so outraged - probably) on it's side - as small a contribution as it is, it still tied up a lot of forces that could otherwise been used against Germany.
Remove them (and have them join the Entente) and what do you get?

>>52276259
The Game of Thrones board game works pretty similar.

Oil Reserves are replaced with Castles and Forts (Different VP amounts)

Writing down orders are replaced with hidden order tokens that you flip over.

Couple of other things to spice it up a bit. I've had more luck getting people to play GoT rather than Diplomacy because we all kinda wanted to avoid the bad hoodoo voodoo.

>>52335042
>northern Tayto

Ugh. How do you live with yourself?

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>>52274930

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Fall 1901 orders just happened.

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Here's the board state, currently waiting on winter 1901 builds.

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>>52343587
Better image of the orders

>>52326144

Pour la Patrie!
Death to Spaniards!

This is Italy here. I will have to ditch the game this weekend and I don't want to delay it for everyone else. Would anyone like to substitute?

>>52343928
>letting France win two turns into the game

>Play intense game of Diplomacy
>By end game only myself and another play are left, each with half the map
>Decide to call it even so we can start another game
>Other players flip their shit
>Point out continuing would just be a boring grind between two powerful players
>Also we finished via DIPLOMACY
>Players get super salty and won't shut up about it
>GM ends the game and never runs one again
>mfw ;_;

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The New York Chronicle - 21st December 1901
Seamus Doherty


BELGIAN NEUTRALITY VIOLATED

On the 27th of August French troops crossed the border into Belgium, citing the need to protect their flank from possible German aggression. Apart from scattered attacks by partisans, the Belgians have submitted in the face of overwhelming Gallic firepower. King Leopold II has reportedly fled to his holding in the Congo.
It remains to be seen what the response from the other European Powers will be, but several minor states, as well as the United States, have condemned this violation of Belgian sovereignty.
It should also be noted that Britain's stand off with the Germans over the Netherlands could suggest an Anglo-French entente.
Possibly surrounded by two blocs, Kaiser Wilhelm will need to manoeuvre carefully and seek alliances with his fellow central powers.


THE WOLF AND THE BEAR
Following several stand-offs in the Black Sea, it would seem that the Ottomans and the Russians have reached some concordance. Reports from both countries would indicate a demilitarised zone has been established along the Caucasus.
Sources from inside the Austrian foreign ministry have expressed worry at the possibility of an alliance between their historic enemies.
While the Italian government has made no statement regarding the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, one can only assume that they are feeling apprehensive at the thought of Ottoman domination.


As before, if any government representatives would like to get into contact with me and get their side of the story out, find me here:
[email protected]

I've always been a little curious in diplomacy- how does the game work?

>>52335042
>37.5g
>BIG bag
The big bags where I live are like 500g

>>52343928
>Almost all of Latin Europe united with Paris as the capital
I need this in real life.

>>52344550
I can substitute.

>>52350326
Bumping for substitution

>>52344773
How?

>>52354073
france has 6 centers, italy hasnt given them any trouble, and the italy player is about to drop
gg

>>52284642
Thats one of the reason it was so unreal

Bump, I want to see another news report.

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>>52358444
Fall 1901 build orders have been issued

>>52359557
oh look, the balkans are turning into a shitshow

>>52361198
The Balkans always turn into a shit show

>>52361198
>>52361292

And just when, exactly, have they STOPPED being a shitshow?

>>52362027
Never. Not even in the present day.

>>52279813
Are the colors of the countries in this edition dark blue, light blue, green, red, black, yellow, and white?

>>52359557
So is Italy still in the game / substituted?

>>52364837
Maybe? It looks like they built along with everyone else

>>52365586
Yeah, that's why I was asking. Odd choice to go for another army instead of a fleet.

>>52337609
>>52336655

Kissinger's book Diplomacy covers this in detail. He makes it clear why people did what they did, but also why they were wrong and things went to shit.

He gets the whole thing in two chapters and it's very readable. He also argues that if people had paid attention to the American Civil War, WW1 probably wouldn't have happened.

>>52368025
I'm telling you, "It'll all be over by Christmas" is the war equivalent of "She'll never sink!"

>>52274930
Probably my favourite war game. No RNG, only pure diplomacy and strategy. Sure, the starting locations aren't the most balanced, but it's close enough to even that I've had a winner from everywhere before.

>>52283407
Fuck man that sounds a lot like a guy I used to know. He won a small highschool tournament of 10 or 20 people without lying once as a challenge to another friend who told him the game was about betraying people. I think the real magic was that once his victory was assured through his moves, every nation but france helped him win by capturing 5 factories in a single turn. It was pretty magical.

>>52362895
Anyone?

CHECK YOUR MESSAGES FRANCE

>>52348147
seriously, 37.5g isn't even half of a potato. the famine is still going on, it seems.

>>52370597
It's a "big bag" in the sense it's the sort of thing you could have with lunch.
They do big share bags and that too

>>52368804
Which one is your favorite?

Anyone tried to wargame the 'battles' in Diplomacy?

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Spring 1902 orders have been finalized and now we're waiting on retreat orders to be given

>>52374955
As is to be expected, Eastern Europe and the Balkans is on fire.

And turkey looks pretty fucked

>>52374955
The Turks are platinum fucked, Britain and Germany must aside their petty squabbles and stop the reincarnation of Napoleon.

>>52374955
>Italy already throwing in the towel

yep, it's ogre.

So: Austria - Russia - Ottoman threesome in the east, England - Germany - France threesome in the west, and Italy jerking off in the centre not knowing where to start.
Awesome.

England has fucked up not securing the English Channel, but France can't do much about it - it's Atlantic Ocean fleet will only get dangerous if it sails into Irish Sea.
I honestly expected Russia to take Budapest with the Army to the North (Galizia?) & move Warsaw army south.

As Russia, should I ally myself with France, Germany, or both?

>>52375281
If you want to lose, ally yourself with France.

>>52375281
You need a secure rear - against England as well - so, I'd say Germany.
Probably Italy as well - they can keep Austria occupied.

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>>52374955
A better image

>>52347960
http://www.playdiplomacy.com/help.php?sub_page=Game_Rules

http://www.wizards.com/avalonhill/rules/diplomacy.pdf

Pick on of the links, the latter is the actual rulebook.

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I used to have a solid group of 7 people at uni, and we played diplomacy in a booked room in the library at least once a month, we'd basically make a day of it, amazing fun. Then there was the time we got like 17 people together to play the 'world diplomacy' variant that we fully printed off, that didn't go at all as planned but it was still a great day

>>52376092
did everyone attack Israel?

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>>52376114
No Israel unfortunately, also turns out it was Imperial Diplomacy, not quite as many players as I thought, I think other people just turned up to watch. The main highlight was Brazil getting drunk in the uni library by drinking the whole bottle of gin he bought in for some reason, fun times

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>>52375785
>tanks as icons for the armies

>>52374955
>>52375785
So how fucked is England right now?

>>52376520
They should've taken St. Petersburg. It was a zero risk play that would have stopped Russia from snowballing while getting them another navy to challenge France with. Plus it is damn near impossible to oust Britain from north Russia once it gets in.

But now that ship has sailed and Russia is ruining the Turks and Austria. It'll be Russia vs. France in the finals, and there's not much anyone else can do about it.

>>52376520
If they can make peace with Germany, not too fucked.

Not nearly as fucked as the Ottoscum.

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>>52375785
orders that lead to the board

>>52376632
Fuck is Italy even doing

>>52376902
I'm fairly certain that he just gave up or abandoned the game without surrendering.

>>52376243
That looks like a glorious clusterfuck right there

>>52376928
I thought he said he'd be gone over the weekend. I guess he never found a sub in time

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>>52318702
Rules are as follows:
Everyone begins the game with a bottle of liquor based on the country they live in.
Britain - Gin
France - Congac
Turkey - Rum
Russia - Vodka
Austria - Whiskey
Germany - Schnaps
Italy - Brandy
Whenever you take the supply point of another nation they drink your liquor. Whenever you betray someone you must announce it to the room and make them drink your liquor. Then every country has their own rules to balance out the game more.
Britain - Drink every time you convoy
France - Drink every turn you are winning
Austria - Everyone else drinks for every turn you are in dead last (and still in the gane)
Italy - Every turn another player spends in Italian territory when you are still active they drink your liquor.
Russia - At the beginning of the game declare one of your supply centers your capital. If this gets taken over by another nation then you drink every turn you cannot get it back.
Turkey - At the beginning of the game choose Austria or Russia, one of them drinks every turn you are in their territory, the other one makes you drink whenever your in their territory.
Germany - If you have pieces in France and Russia both will drink every turn until they can get you out.

>>52384707
Do you all ever finish a game before people start passing out?

>>52385391
We've finished games before. Everything gets intense and you have a more truth than lies. I saw Britian, Italy and Turkey do an 8 sea convoy into Germany to prevent them from winning the game. People just think up crazy shit to do when drunk

>>52376632
Turks gonna get BTFO, and unless Germany and France start ripping into each other, England is fucked too.

>>52274930
Every time, every FUCKING time without fail, someone in spring 1901 moves from Venice to Trieste or Trieste to Venice

It doesn't matter what agreements have been made, or who's playing the game, someone always does it.

That is why I will never play as Austria or Italy

>>52391146
>>52326144

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Fall 1902 orders were carried out

>>52393871
Britain continues to not take the completely undefended St. Petersburg, wasting their entire turn in the process. Good job Britain.

The Turks are mondo-fucked. Their only real hope is that the army behind the lines can annoy Russia enough to make them pull off from the front.

Russia is unhappy; it needs to shore up its northern defenses before Britain walks into the undefended St. Petersburg supply center but it also needs to stop that rogue Turkish tank without losing its foothold into Austria. It can't do all three things, though -- it has to choose two. Despite having six centers and kicking Turkey's ass Russia is actually in a bad place, probably third worst behind Britain and Turkey.

Italy has an army in Austria, which is mighty interesting. Austria is about to get another build, which must be an army in Vienna, so Austria is might tough but he can definitely hold Venice off and could possibly take Greece if Austria gets greedy. Going into the Adriatic is a bad idea, though, and if Austria plays conservatively then there's nothing Italy can do except annoy him.

Austria strong. Can't do shit to the Italians, but with five bloody armies he can start putting the screws on Russia while holding the Italians off. I see him getting into Galicia next turn and Rumania possibly by next fall. This is definitely a good game for Austria.

Germany is locked up with France. Neither party can do anything against anyone. He gets a build at least, so he can either turn that into a boat if he wants to get into a pissing match with Britain or an army if he wants to go pick on the overextended and weak Russia. Hard to say what is the best plan there. Might want to be nice to Britain and focus on allying against France.

France is ready to fucking savage Britain. If France wants Britain then it's over for Britain. The only way Britain can defend is if it stops making any attempt to fight Russia and get gains and instead goes full defense against France.

>>52393871
Oh shit, Italy's not dead

>>52394556
he was gone for just the weekend

>>52393871
SO for someone who doesn't know Diplomacy, was the Turk able to retreat to Rumania because it was is was neutral at the start of the game or can you actually retreat to any valid empty space? It seems like it would be very hard to end the game if this was the case.

>>52397758
The Turk retreat was legal. The only retreat rules are that the territory must be empty and it cannot be the territory the attacking army just moved from.

Rumania was actually the only legal option for the retreat, amusingly. Serbia and Constantinople are occupied, and the attacking army came from Greece so that can't go. And tanks are bad at water so the Black Sea wouldn't work even if it were empty. This makes that attack by Austria extremely effective as it not only grabbed territory but it also utterly ruined its other competitor, Russia, in the process.