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.
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7 comments:
This game has its place. With the right group it can really be a balst. Its not as fun if your playing with people you dont know or cant have a laugh with. We save this for group camping trips, after everyone has had a few drinks.
You did pretty well surviving as a Central Power. It's not easy. It is not always a stressful game, but it is when it's good.
I'd be really interested to see how Austria ended up, if you could post it. I play Italy all the time (I like being central, and I also like playing the underdog), and most of the time a stab between Italy/Austria is either very good or very bad. Statistics, I believe, favor Austria/Italy not stabbing each other for optimal chances at survival.
Although Russia/Italy were tied up with Turkey (which is an extremely tough nut to crack), I'd imagine that if you didn't get a good portion of the spoils in the Balkans and if England/France/Germany were all infighting, that Austria wouldn't stand much of a chance. There are so many variables, though, that it could go either way.
I guess that is what makes this game so much fun (or so much of a headache).
It's a well-designed, fun game, but only works well with the right mix of people. Actually, I enjoyed playing it by mail, with a complete set of strangers (back before the internet or email -- took most of a calendar year to play a single game).
you know , mopping up after the game is finished all that blood or if you rather unlucky the wounds inflicted were merely mental in nature !
In such cases they can fester for years amongest your friends , a well made , clever and well designed game without doubt , BUT it can get messy .Be warned , no couples/partners.
It is it worth losing a friend or family member over?
Well, um, I think you are taking it a little seriously there. It's just a game. You can't squeeze blood from plastic. Try to have fun and not worry about who is winning.
Yeah! And kids...no drugs! Right?
Hell, you sound like some TV-Evangelists preaching against the Anti-Christ.
Sorry, it´s just a game and if you are a sore loser (which I confess to be sometimes) *and* have no ability to distinguish on-board and off-board bevaviour (which I can) you shouldn´t touch any game at all! I have been mad at some friends, for things they did in a game...but only until the game was over. If you can´t forgive and forget things that happened during a game, you can even lose friends by just tic-tac-toe with them!
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