Anyhow, I've decided to dedicate this particular blog entry to some non-ranting topic. I just don't know what that topic will be yet. Oh, how about the Diplomacy game I'm in.
Diplomacy is a board game that came out sometime in the 1960s (yeah, ancient history, I know). However, it has really come to shine with the rise of the Internet. The game, as the name suggests, is all about building and ruining diplomatic relations with the other players. It is set in pre-World War One Europe and each player controls one of the major nations: England, France, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungry, Russia, or Turkey (although there are a huge number of variations nowadays). The majority of each turn is writing letters to the other players, trying to convince them to help your cause...or at least not hinder you.
The next part is writing orders for your military units on the board (of which you have one for each supply center you control). A game moderator collects the orders, reveals them simultaneously and adjudicates the results. The goal is to control 18 of the 34 supply centers.
As you are never sure what the other players are going to do or what deals they may have with other players, the game is full of intrigue, lying, pleading, threatening, misinforming, guessing, convincing, and just about everything else that could conceivably go on in Real World political manipulations.
Turns happen once a week - it can't be considered a fast-paced game by any means, but that time is not spent idle. The emails are furiously flying the whole time (or should be anyways).
The board for the game I am currently in looks like this:
Perhaps in a bit of irony, I drew Russia as my nation. They are the white pieces in the upper right corner in and around the Scandinavian nations, and the white pieces in and around the Black Sea in the lower right. I currently control 6 supply centers (the areas that have the little white dot patterns), but things will change shortly. As you can see, I have a fleet in Norway (that used to belong to England...heh), but Germany, a former ally, has moved an army into Sweden - despite his claims of neutrality in those northern countries. Retribution will be swift...if only I can convince England to agree to some sort of peace treaty...which means I might have to give back Norway. Yuck.
Russia has the unenviable position of having its forces split between a northern and a southern front. Of my southern neighbors, I am in a (hopefully) strong alliance with Austria (red), while Turkey and I are pretty much in a stalemate until Austria can deal with those pesky Italians and Germans on his west flank. Once that is done (easier said...) we will be able to crack Turkey open fairly easily.
So my take on the other nations positions:
England (dark blue): Weak. Unless I can convince him to stop being a lackey of the Germans, I don't see him as gaining much ground.
France (light blue): Fair. A screw-up in his last set of orders left a fleet stranded in Portugal. It could have been so much more useful out in the Atlantic somewhere. Oh well.
Austria (red): Fair. A staunch ally, but threatened by the Italian-German alliance. I'm trying to do what I can to break that up.
Turkey (yellow): Fair to Good. I rate his position above the previous ones, not because he is in any position to gain much ground, but because he is strong defensively. However, that will change over time now that I have a fleet in the Black Sea.
Italy (green): Good. Bit of a pompous player and a wild card in the game. His early attack on Austria would have failed spectacularly if it wasn't for Germany meddling in areas that should be none of his concern. Poses a threat to my ally, Austria.
Germany (black): Strong. If things go well for him this next turn, he will have the strongest position on the board by far. We mutually agreed on a demilitarized zone in our centers, but if he gains the two supply centers that I think he will, he can march right into the heartland of Russia and there would be little I could do about it. My only hope is to convince the others of his imminent superior position.
Where would I rate Russia? Prior to this turn, I felt I was on top of the pack. Unfortunately, Germany's stab and Turkey's unexpected moves (which stalemated us) have drastically stalled my world domination. Therefore, I put myself somewhere between Italy and Turkey. I only put myself below Italy because it seems the Italian-German alliance is still going strong, while my alliance with Germany is...um...not.
In any case, this is not a game for those who have their feelings hurt easily and often. It is brutal at times. The rules of Diplomacy are really quite simple. It's the human factor that makes the game what it is.
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