Diplomacy Dreams

[themaninthejinnahcap]

>First-time player
>Italy
I’ll try my best to put Mussolini to shame.

If you can conquer even one African territory without making a laughingstock of yourself you're already doing great!

You might even get a solo.

Pax Romana, baby.

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

Ah England; Brittania shall rule the waves. Our foreign policy shall be to promote a harmonious peace within the continent.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

>First-time player
>Italy
I’ll try my best to put Mussolini to shame.

If you can conquer even one African territory without making a laughingstock of yourself you're already doing great!

You might even get a solo.

Just don't go into Greece and you'll be ok.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Is there anything I need to know before the game begins?

[The Mikado]

Hi everyone! Looking forward to this.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Is there anything I need to know before the game begins?

Turkey is the most peace-loving nation in Europe.

[themaninthejinnahcap]

Is there anything I need to know before the game begins?

Just the game rules that Scott kindly posted earlier, and the 10PM rough schedule I provided.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

Jesse's too modest (and unable) to post it himself, so I'll do it for him:



This, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call the Italian Renaissance.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Jesse's too modest (and unable) to post it himself, so I'll do it for him:


This, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call the Italian Renaissance.

Very nice! I’ve always thought Italy was the most difficult power to solo with.

I don’t have any maps to post, but I’ll relate the strangest thing I’ve seen in a Diplomacy game: a Russian northern fleet taking Tunis in 1904. How, you ask?

Russia built the fleet on STP north coast after 1901. In S02 it took Norway, but in Fall was dislodged and retreated to the Norwegian Sea.

In S03 it moved to the North Atlantic and in the Fall to the Mid Atlantic.

In S04 it moved to the Western Mediterranean and in the Fall…Tunis.

Every one of its moves after 1902 could have been bounced, but none was. Alas, that was Russia’s high point of the game, as it soon fell on hard times and was eliminated.

[themaninthejinnahcap]

Jesse's too modest (and unable) to post it himself, so I'll do it for him:


This, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call the Italian Renaissance.

Very nice! I’ve always thought Italy was the most difficult power to solo with.

I don’t have any maps to post, but I’ll relate the strangest thing I’ve seen in a Diplomacy game: a Russian northern fleet taking Tunis in 1904. How, you ask?

Russia built the fleet on STP north coast after 1901. In S02 it took Norway, but in Fall was dislodged and retreated to the Norwegian Sea.

In S03 it moved to the North Atlantic and in the Fall to the Mid Atlantic.

In S04 it moved to the Western Mediterranean and in the Fall…Tunis.

Every one of its moves after 1902 could have been bounced, but none was. Alas, that was Russia’s high point of the game, as it soon fell on hard times and was eliminated.

The little known Russian colony of Tunis, truly.

I had a lot of fun as England convoying an Army from Wales to Naples, and the next turn from Spain to Rome. I was part of a two-way draw on that one.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Just to be clear (because someone asked me about this, not to steal Jesse's thunder), the game play mechanism we're using is as follows, right?

- Players will send press to other players via PM, but may also feel free to make public statements here in the thread.

- Players should send their orders to Jesse (themaninthejinnahcap) by PM before each turn's deadline.  If they change their mind before the turn is adjudicated, they can send a subsequent PM to supersede their earlier orders, right?

- Jesse will adjudicate the turn, post the results and maps here, and announce the next turn's deadline. 

Have I missed anything?

[themaninthejinnahcap]

Just to be clear (because someone asked me about this, not to steal Jesse's thunder), the game play mechanism we're using is as follows, right?

- Players will send press to other players via PM, but may also feel free to make public statements here in the thread.

- Players should send their orders to Jesse (themaninthejinnahcap) by PM before each turn's deadline.  If they change their mind before the turn is adjudicated, they can send a subsequent PM to supersede their earlier orders, right?

- Jesse will adjudicate the turn, post the results and maps here, and announce the next turn's deadline. 

Have I missed anything?

Them's the rules. Players can also send me a message they wish posted anonymously in the thread, for Public Press.

I will try to be online an hour or more before each order deadline in case there are last minute order changes or questions. If ever I should be offline and there is some sort of emergency of that sort, Scott is usually able to contact me in person and you can ask him to ask me to get online if possible.

Re: the thunder, I need all the feedback and cooperation anyone is willing to offer to fine-tune this experience. As I said before I have never managed a Diplomacy game before, just played it a fair few times. I'm sure there will be some hiccups along the way that will be smoothed out and future games will be even smoother.

In a few hours the first turn, Spring 1901, begins. I will post the map with the pieces on it and the 48 hours commences for negotiation, planning, and ordering. I hope you are all ready for a daring display of gentlemanly imperialism!

[The Mikado]

Just making sure we're on the same page: orders are due 48 hours from when you post the map, right?

[GeorgiaModerate]

Just to be clear (because someone asked me about this, not to steal Jesse's thunder), the game play mechanism we're using is as follows, right?

- Players will send press to other players via PM, but may also feel free to make public statements here in the thread.

- Players should send their orders to Jesse (themaninthejinnahcap) by PM before each turn's deadline.  If they change their mind before the turn is adjudicated, they can send a subsequent PM to supersede their earlier orders, right?

- Jesse will adjudicate the turn, post the results and maps here, and announce the next turn's deadline. 

Have I missed anything?

Them's the rules. Players can also send me a message they wish posted anonymously in the thread, for Public Press.

I will try to be online an hour or more before each order deadline in case there are last minute order changes or questions. If ever I should be offline and there is some sort of emergency of that sort, Scott is usually able to contact me in person and you can ask him to ask me to get online if possible.

Re: the thunder, I need all the feedback and cooperation anyone is willing to offer to fine-tune this experience. As I said before I have never managed a Diplomacy game before, just played it a fair few times. I'm sure there will be some hiccups along the way that will be smoothed out and future games will be even smoother.

In a few hours the first turn, Spring 1901, begins. I will post the map with the pieces on it and the 48 hours commences for negotiation, planning, and ordering. I hope you are all ready for a daring display of gentlemanly imperialism!

Just out of curiosity, are you planning to use a software tool to perform the adjudications (because it can be a pain to do manually once the position gets complex)?  In our last game here, muon2 used some free tool, I think it was called jDip.

[themaninthejinnahcap]

Just making sure we're on the same page: orders are due 48 hours from when you post the map, right?

That's correct, I understand there was some confusion about that. I expect you guys might have already begun talking to each other and that's fine. The way I see Diplomacy is, the game begins as soon as everyone knows the powers.

If everyone ends up getting all the negotiating out of the way before those 48 hours are up, everyone can PM me that they're ready to go. If everyone is ready, I'll adjudicate early.

[themaninthejinnahcap]

Just to be clear (because someone asked me about this, not to steal Jesse's thunder), the game play mechanism we're using is as follows, right?

- Players will send press to other players via PM, but may also feel free to make public statements here in the thread.

- Players should send their orders to Jesse (themaninthejinnahcap) by PM before each turn's deadline.  If they change their mind before the turn is adjudicated, they can send a subsequent PM to supersede their earlier orders, right?

- Jesse will adjudicate the turn, post the results and maps here, and announce the next turn's deadline. 

Have I missed anything?

Them's the rules. Players can also send me a message they wish posted anonymously in the thread, for Public Press.

I will try to be online an hour or more before each order deadline in case there are last minute order changes or questions. If ever I should be offline and there is some sort of emergency of that sort, Scott is usually able to contact me in person and you can ask him to ask me to get online if possible.

Re: the thunder, I need all the feedback and cooperation anyone is willing to offer to fine-tune this experience. As I said before I have never managed a Diplomacy game before, just played it a fair few times. I'm sure there will be some hiccups along the way that will be smoothed out and future games will be even smoother.

In a few hours the first turn, Spring 1901, begins. I will post the map with the pieces on it and the 48 hours commences for negotiation, planning, and ordering. I hope you are all ready for a daring display of gentlemanly imperialism!

Just out of curiosity, are you planning to use a software tool to perform the adjudications (because it can be a pain to do manually once the position gets complex)?  In our last game here, muon2 used some free tool, I think it was called jDip.

If I find a stand-off to be a little too complicated or something of the sort, I will use the Order Solver on PlayDiplomacy, but until that happens I intend to use my physical board to map out each turn.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Another question: could we make the deadline time a bit earlier, say 9 PM EST, if everyone is agreeable?  10 PM is getting a little late for this old man in the Eastern time zone.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

Another question: could we make the deadline time a bit earlier, say 9 PM EST, if everyone is agreeable?  10 PM is getting a little late for this old man in the Eastern time zone.

No objection from me.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Could a map be posted of starting standings regarding fleets and armies, who is playing as who, and precisely which territories we start with? It's a bit hard to follow...

[themaninthejinnahcap]

Could a map be posted of starting standings regarding fleets and armies, who is playing as who, and precisely which territories we start with? It's a bit hard to follow...

Yes, the map with the starting positions will be posted shortly. Per GeorgiaModerate's request, we can start earlier. I just have to grab some suitable icons for the Armies/Fleets and I will post the map.

Hang in there, lads. The show is about to start.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

[themaninthejinnahcap]

Thank you for posting the picture, Scott. I am still a few posts shy of the minimum required to post pictures and links!

My apologies for the delay, folks. There was a map I was painstakingly working on but through technical and personal failings it fell apart. I have installed jDip (thanks for the recommendation earlier, GeorgiaModerate!) and fired this up really quick. I hope this looks good enough for all. Ironically enough, I love resolving orders but the forsaken digital artwork has been my downfall once again.

Please note, those who are new or have not played in awhile, that provinces such as St. Petersburg and Spain have North and South Coasts. The rules covered this but I thought it merited a reminder; I trust that they have been read, don't hesitate to ask questions to me personally or in the thread.

The adjudication of Spring 1901 shall be conducted starting 9:00 PM EST on Saturday, February 24th, 2024.

Good luck and happy diploming, folks!

[America Needs a 13-6 Progressive SCOTUS]

How about you play a variant with this map that redraws Italy:



Makes the game more balanced.

[GeorgiaModerate]

I think I played a game with that Milan variant once.  It did make Italy somewhat stronger.

My favorite variant of all time is probably Aberration: http://www.dipwiki.com/index.php?title=Aberration

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

How about you play a variant with this map that redraws Italy:


Makes the game more balanced.

With respect, can we give Jesse a break, please? Getting to where we are now with the maps was painful enough.