RPG Codex Diplomacy

[Xamenos]

Well, I think Germany and Italy are in an excellent position to force a draw. Austria can only win next year if they fuck up.

 

[ValeVelKal]

Well, I think Germany and Italy are in an excellent position to force a draw. Austria can only win next year if they fuck up.

Depends on the definition of winning : majority of centers or all centers. Also, game supposed to end at the beginning of 1908.

For an endless and "only winning if 18 centers" then Austria missed the opportunity by finishing off Turkey earlier on (except if Russia comes back)

 

[Xamenos]

Well, I think Germany and Italy are in an excellent position to force a draw. Austria can only win next year if they fuck up.

Depends on the definition of winning : majority of centers or all centers. Also, game supposed to end at the beginning of 1908.

For an endless and "only winning if 18 centers" then Austria missed the opportunity by finishing off Turkey earlier on.

Ah, I see. I've never seen a Diplomacy game with a time limit before, I'm used to games ending at 18 centers or a draw.

But I'd say Austria missed his chance when he fucked around with his fleets instead of moving to eliminate Italy and secure Iberia asap. Delaying with Turkey cost him, but Germany delayed even more with England and the mistakes countered each other. Munich should have been the unexpected #18.

 

[ValeVelKal]

Well, I think Germany and Italy are in an excellent position to force a draw. Austria can only win next year if they fuck up.

Depends on the definition of winning : majority of centers or all centers. Also, game supposed to end at the beginning of 1908.

For an endless and "only winning if 18 centers" then Austria missed the opportunity by finishing off Turkey earlier on.

Ah, I see. I've never seen a Diplomacy game with a time limit before, I'm used to games ending at 18 centers or a draw.

But I'd say Austria missed his chance when he fucked around with his fleets instead of moving to eliminate Italy and secure Iberia asap. Delaying with Turkey cost him, but Germany delayed even more with England and the mistakes countered each other. Munich should have been the unexpected #18.

What I mean is that he could have traded (Turkey allowing, I don't know what they exchanged and maybe Turkey was not interested) Turkey support against Germany when Turkey had an army in Galicia for Turkish survival (but still defeat, obviously - sometimes player appreciate to survive even if they lose).

The official rule when I was active was 14 turns, maybe it changed, maybe France has its own subset of rules because France.

 

[Strange Fellow]

I'm pretty sure our game is simple majority win with no turn restriction. The previous game ended in 1916.

 

[Xamenos]

What I mean is that he could have traded (Turkey allowing, I don't know what they exchanged and maybe Turkey was not interested) Turkey support against Germany when Turkey had an army in Galicia for Turkish survival (but still defeat, obviously - sometimes player appreciate to survive even if they lose).

The official rule when I was active was 14 turns, maybe it changed, maybe France has its own subset of rules because France.

Oh, right. Missed opportunity for sure.

I'm pretty sure our game is simple majority win with no turn restriction. The previous game ended in 1916.

In that case, I stand by my original statement. Austria can only win if Germany and Italy fuck up.

 

[ValeVelKal]

OK I checked.

Today I learned that West European Tournament traditionally applied the 1907 (France) or 1909 (not France, not sure which countries exactly) ending, ending with "player with the most centers win, and then point is distributed according to how many centers are held with a bonus to the winner", while US goes with "ending when it has to end (or either 1909/1911 depending on how many matches a day) and "no one with 18 centers means draw with points shared equally between the winners".

Of course, if you end a game in 1907, a 18-centers victory is so rare that you need to count the points in another way.

http://uk.diplom.org/pouch/Zine/S2007R/Birsan/player_guide.htm

 

[Casual Hero]

Did the game end??

Ah, okay. So the secret is out then; I was Italy.

 

[GrafvonMoltke]

Did the game end??

Ah, okay. So the secret is out then; I was Italy.

Tried to throw you the game and you just fucked off to Anatolia. Typical.

 

[Tigranes]

Did the game end??

Ah, okay. So the secret is out then; I was Italy.

So did you just decide super early to become Austria's junior partner and stick with it? I don't think you ever really tried to stab?

 

[wwsd]

Ahh, so the bitter recriminations are already beginning. Dance, my puppets, dance! Just kidding, of course. Thank you all very much for your participation in this game.

I was Austria, and happy to get my first solo win in this game. Although the game was influenced by differences in experience and some players not sending in moves, I still feel pretty proud of the achievement. I will reflect on the game some more later. For now, for the outside viewers, here are the last moves:

Spring 1908 Orders

ITALY

• Marseilles HOLD -> resolved
• Spain (South Coast) HOLD -> resolved
• Western Mediterranean HOLD -> Dislodged by F Tunis - Western Mediterranean

GERMANY

• Warsaw MOVE Silesia -> resolved
• London MOVE English Channel -> resolved
• Galicia MOVE Bohemia -> Destroyed by A Vienna - Galicia
• Baltic Sea HOLD -> resolved
• Kiel MOVE Denmark -> resolved
• Burgundy MOVE Munich -> resolved
• Berlin SUPPORT Burgundy to Munich -> resolved
• Livonia MOVE Moscow -> Bounced
• Ruhr SUPPORT Burgundy to Munich -> resolved
• Prussia SUPPORT Warsaw to Silesia -> resolved
• Gascony MOVE Burgundy -> resolved
• Liverpool MOVE Irish Sea -> resolved

AUSTRIA

• Venice HOLD -> resolved
• Vienna MOVE Galicia -> resolved
• Rumania SUPPORT Vienna to Galicia -> resolved
• Ukraine MOVE Warsaw -> resolved
• Budapest SUPPORT Vienna to Galicia -> resolved
• Tyrolia SUPPORT Munich to hold -> Supported unit has failed
• Bohemia SUPPORT Munich to hold -> Support cut by A Galicia - Bohemia
• Piedmont SUPPORT Marseilles to hold -> resolved
• Sevastopol MOVE Ukraine -> resolved
• Moscow MOVE Livonia -> Bounced
• Munich HOLD -> Dislodged by A Burgundy - Munich
• Tyrrhenian Sea SUPPORT Tunis to Western Mediterranean -> resolved
• Armenia MOVE Sevastopol -> resolved
• Tunis MOVE Western Mediterranean -> resolved
• Smyrna MOVE Aegean Sea -> resolved
• Trieste MOVE Albania -> resolved

RUSSIA

• St. Petersburg HOLD -> resolved
• Norway HOLD -> resolved

Spring 1908 Retreat

ITALY

• Western Mediterranean RETREAT Mid-Atlantic Ocean -> resolved

AUSTRIA

• Munich RETREAT Kiel -> resolved

Fall 1908 Orders

ITALY

• Marseilles HOLD -> resolved
• Spain (South Coast) MOVE Western Mediterranean -> resolved
• Mid-Atlantic Ocean SUPPORT Spain (South Coast) to Western Mediterranean -> resolved

GERMANY

• English Channel MOVE North Sea -> resolved
• Silesia SUPPORT Munich to hold -> Support cut by A Galicia - Silesia
• Berlin SUPPORT Denmark to Kiel -> resolved
• Denmark MOVE Kiel -> resolved
• Munich SUPPORT Silesia to hold -> Dislodged by A Kiel - Munich
• Livonia MOVE Warsaw -> Bounced
• Baltic Sea MOVE Livonia -> Bounced
• Ruhr MOVE Holland -> resolved
• Prussia SUPPORT Silesia to hold -> resolved
• Burgundy SUPPORT Munich to hold -> Supported unit has failed
• Irish Sea MOVE English Channel -> resolved

AUSTRIA

• Tyrolia SUPPORT Kiel to Munich -> resolved
• Warsaw HOLD -> resolved
• Rumania MOVE Galicia -> Bounced
• Bohemia SUPPORT Kiel to Munich -> resolved
• Venice MOVE Piedmont -> Bounced
• Galicia MOVE Silesia -> Bounced
• Budapest MOVE Vienna -> resolved
• Piedmont MOVE Marseilles -> Bounced
• Albania MOVE Adriatic Sea -> resolved
• Moscow MOVE Livonia -> Bounced
• Kiel MOVE Munich -> resolved
• Tyrrhenian Sea MOVE Gulf of Lyon -> resolved
• Sevastopol MOVE Moscow -> Bounced
• Aegean Sea MOVE Ionian Sea -> resolved
• Western Mediterranean SUPPORT Tyrrhenian Sea to Gulf of Lyon -> Dislodged by F Spain (South Coast) - Western Mediterranean
• Ukraine SUPPORT Warsaw to hold -> resolved

RUSSIA

• St. Petersburg HOLD -> resolved
• Norway HOLD -> resolved

Fall 1908 Retreat, final map. The End of History. Wait! Just... one... more... turn!

GERMANY

• Munich RETREAT Ruhr -> resolved

AUSTRIA

• Western Mediterranean RETREAT Tunis -> resolved

ENGLAND
(surrendered)
0 army units
0 fleet units
0 centers

FRANCE
(Colonel Moldcock)
0 army units
0 fleet units
0 centers

ITALY
(HerotheVirtuous)
1 army units
2 fleet units
3 centers

GERMANY
(Strange Fellow)
7 army units
4 fleet units
11 centers

AUSTRIA
(wwsdCodex) WINNER
12 army units
4 fleet units
18 centers

TURKEY
(gwern)
0 army units
0 fleet units
0 centers

RUSSIA
(surrendered)
2 army units
0 fleet units
2 centers

And so, as the sun rose on the 20th century, Europe wondered what would happen to its decrepit, ageing empires. Could the Habsburg Monarchy survive in an age of machine guns and mustard gas? As it turned out, the answer was: "Quite alright, thank you very much!" When the Imperial and Royal Army retook Munich and was poised to launch its final invasion of Western Europe, the remaining Great Powers knew that their time was running out. When the weary Emperor Franz Joseph accepted the offer to become the guardian of the new European Union, based in Vienna, the world breathed a sigh of relief...

Summer 1914

As Franz Ferdinand's motorcar rode through Sarajevo, the heir to the throne reflected on the changes that had happened since the military victory in the Great War. The peace, prosperity and advances in technology. As the car drove past the Latin Bridge, he felt a sudden, sharp pain in his neck that made him jump up so violently that the driver stopped the car. His wife Sophie looked at him with concern. "What's wrong?" "It's nothing, it's nothing..." said the Archduke. "Driver, carry on! We still have to inspect the spaceport..."

 

[ValeVelKal]

With your avatar everyone knew you were Austria

 

[GrafvonMoltke]

Wait, who were Russia and England?

 

[wwsd]

Admin (Spring 1906, Feb 01 2021 07:33 (GMT))
AllenDulless auto_surrendered as RUSSIA

Admin (Spring 1907, Feb 05 2021 04:12 (GMT))
dovryd auto_surrendered as ENGLAND

Russia was the same guy who played Turkey in the previous game. So far RPG Codex Diplomacy has not been kind to either Tsars or Sultans. Will the Orient end its losing streak next time?

Not sure which user here or if they want to come forward... England, no idea. I hope they'll post and share their thoughts.

 

[Strange Fellow]

Germany here. What can I say? I obviously didn't intend to do what I did in the spring of 08. I'm not saying I would've made good moves, I'm just saying I wouldn't have done... that. That turn was a horrible Frankenstein of two or three different strategies, and handed wwsd his solo victory on a plate. Honestly though, I'm not too upset, since there's no question that he deserved the win. He was just straight up better than me in this game. At least I can celebrate the fact that even though I lost, Europe will still be speaking German from now on.

A big shoutout also to GrafvonMoltke, whose butthurt I savoured from the first and continue to savour even now. Yeah, I finally got some stabs in this time around, and it feels good. However, I think communication was worse across the board in this game than in the previous one, and it was much harder to get proper coordination going with my neighbours. There were also a lot of botched moves around. Most of them worked out in my favour, but it's not a particularly fun way of gaining an advantage. I'm not admonishing anyone for not staying on top of a digital board game 24/7 for weeks on end, I'm just saying it's a shame, especially since if you stumble out of the starting blocks in Diplomacy your game is essentially over before it's begun.

But never mind my sour grapes. Congratulations to our new Austrian overlords, and to Italy who survived all the way to the end. Beers and Würstchen all around!

I'd like to know who England was as well, by the way.

 

[Catacombs]

Good game, gentlemen, and congrats, wwsd.

 

[wwsd]

My selection of Greatest Hits from the shoutbox/public press:

Anonymous (Fall 1903, Jan 22 2021 19:07 (GMT))
French butthurt detected.

FRANCE (Fall 1903, Jan 23 2021 04:24 (GMT))
You just got your shit pushed in in Finland and Belgium, and your only gain was picking through a corpse. If you’re not not butthurt, you should be.

(After England took Brest from France while losing Belgium to Germany and Sweden to Russia)

FRANCE (Fall 1904, Jan 26 2021 03:34 (GMT))
Let my wife and children know that I died as I lived - with a mouthful of garlic and a bellyful of wine.

(After France seemed to be dead, although he ended up surviving for two more years)

ITALY (Spring 1905, Jan 27 2021 04:40 (GMT))
Austria is literally gay.

This is a formal declaration of war.

FRANCE (Spring 1905, Jan 27 2021 05:15 (GMT))
Death to those who insult shoutbox

AUSTRIA (Spring 1905, Jan 27 2021 08:48 (GMT))
You would turn gay too if you had that whiny brat Sissi around you all day. "Waahh, I'm unhappyyyy, your mother is so mean to me, waaahh, you should be nicer to the Hungarians, I want to go to Madeiraaaaaa..."

FRANCE (Fall 1905, Jan 28 2021 08:05 (GMT))
Top Ten Anime Betrayals

(After I stabbed Italy)

FRANCE (Spring 1907, Feb 05 2021 02:36 (GMT))
Here’s how France can still win

Although GrafvonMoltke didn't have a blessed game as France, he entertained us all. Better luck next time! "If you're not butthurt, you should be" sounds like a pretty good tagline for the whole game of Diplomacy, anyway.

 

[Catacombs]

When's the next game?

 

[wwsd]

When's the next game?

I'm up for it at any time, I'm just sitting here in Tenerife, working a little bit, drinking beer, swiping on Tinder, staring at the sea. Can fit Diplomacy into that schedule easily. But maybe people want to wait and let tempers cool down a bit.

I figure there's a 2/7 chance that I might get Turkey or Russia and see if I can do any better with them. Also I hope the peanut gallery from the last couple of pages will join the next one.

 

[Casual Hero]

I'd definitely like to play again.
I missed a few moves here and there, but I am overall pretty happy with how my first game of Diplomacy went (especially considering I didn't really like the opening position of Italy).
I knew that there was no way I was actually going to win the game, so my goal was to just keep existing in the southwest until the close of the game. Not quite how I wanted it to end, but it could have been worse for me.

Very fun tbh.

 

[ValeVelKal]

Like I would join rather than just throw comments and just pretend I am smarter and better than you all.

 

[Casual Hero]

So did you just decide super early to become Austria's junior partner and stick with it? I don't think you ever really tried to stab?

I tried to stay on friendly terms with both Germany and Austria; I was going to side with whichever one became more powerful in order to just try to survive.
My goal was to hold Italy and Iberia for the duration of the game, and I didn't quite make it (*AHEM* AUSTRIA! ) but I can't complain.
I didn't realize that back stabbing was such a prominent feature of the game (silly, in retrospect). Perhaps I will have to err more on the offensive next time.

 

[Strange Fellow]

ValeVelKal has got this figured out, men. I'd love to sit one out and just observe and be snarky, because this shit stresses me out. Embarrassing, but true. I'm in if there's a group of six confirmed players in the near future and no one else volunteers.

 

[Xamenos]

I am actually smarter and better than you all, so I'd defintely be up for a game. Unfortunately work's pretty hectic for the next couple weeks, and I'll only be able to participate if you start after the 20th. I don't mind waiting for the next one and throwing peanuts from the gallery in the meantime.

 

[Strange Fellow]

I am actually smarter and better than you all, so I'd defintely be up for a game. Unfortunately work's pretty hectic for the next couple weeks, and I'll only be able to participate if you start after the 20th. I don't mind waiting for the next one and throwing peanuts from the gallery in the meantime.

It took us a whole year to get seven people together for game two, so I think you're all right.