My First Game of Diplomacy

Well, I played my first game of Diplomacy yesterday. I got Austria-Hungary. Yeah, I know a new player with one of the hardest nations. I also had one of the strongest players as a neighbor in Turkey. However, I was saved by the fact that Russia and Italy were single-mindedly intent on destroying Turkey and not me. I was also lucky enough to time a backstab on Italy at a moment when most of her units were around Turkish waters - leaving the Italian pennisula mostly empty. Needless to say, the 3-way alliance that Russia, Italy and I had fell apart after that. I was fairly confident that Russia and Italy were both weaken by the war and Turkey was still contained in the corner. I would have loved to see how it ended, but I had to leave early - another player stepped into my spot so I'm curious to hear if they renegotiated the alliance or what.

I can see why people don't like the game. I had fun even though I was pretty stressed out most of the time. Given what it is, Diplomacy is a fun game. But I don't think I'd want to play it all the time - I don't think my heart can handle it.