Ogre: I think I can safely speak for Weirddave when I say “how quickly they forget…”
Maeglin: Food? Lodging? in NY? Damn skippy diplomacy is more important!
Sounds suspiciously like something I might like. Anyone care to share/teach/show me where to go??
~C~
Bar none, that was the most satisfying alliance I’ve ever had in a dip game. The carefully choreographed stab of Britain, the proxy war fought between Russia and Turkey, the pretense of “attacking” while reassuring the country that I wasn’t really attacking it while reassuring the other that I really was…
You guys know I’m up for another game. I’d offer to moderate one, Maeglin, but I want to cross swords with you [sub]and make you cry like a little girl[/sub] on the field of honour.
What Tricia said. I’ve never played it, but it sounds like something I’d enjoy.
Any recommendations on where to get started (and I’m talking from scratch), without ruining the fun of you Grandmaster Flashes?
This place has a very comprehensive set of rules and strategies.
Thanks.
For those looking to start playing:
Drop by any hobby store that carries war games. You might be able to find copies in local toy stores as well; it’s published by Hasbro (originally by Avalon Hill).
There is, unfortunately, no on-line source that I’ve seen that actually explains the rules, which is a bummer when you’re trying to do something over e-mail and can’t quite remember whether certain moves would work.
After you’ve gotten the game and read the rules, do a search for “DipPouch” (given how many times I’ve said this, I should do a frigging search and get the address myself). There, you’ll find a link to “Strategic Resources”- it’s a bunch of articles and essays about how to really play the game, the strengths and weaknesses of each country, etc. Note that many of the articles are contradictory. Still, it’s a start, and you’ll start to understand all that can affect the country you end up playing.
lno- Jesus, the stabbing we gave oldscratch in that game was a horror never designed to be perpetrated upon any poor soul. France grows big attacking Germany; Germany and Italy turn to Britain and say, “We can stop France, but only if you help, and if you don’t help, France goes for you next.” Britain agrees, and together the three of us knock France down to two SCs. And then, in the final stroke, in order to wipe France from the map, we send some British units forward… and in perfect cohesion, slip our own units into the SCs the Brits just left. IIRC, at least one British army was destroyed because it didn’t succeed in the battle (because we didn’t bother to support it) and had nowhere to retreat to (because we gobbled up all the areas around it).
Lordy, that game will forever be a triumph of mine.
The Diplomatic Pouch can be found at http://www.diplom.org/. Along with the Dip Archive that Pucette linked to, it provides pretty much everything you could want to know.
The rules aren’t available online as far as I can tell, but there is the Diplomacy Player’s Technical Guide (google for it- you can find it all over, and here is an ascii doc of it) which clarifies all of the rules once you’ve got a general idea.
Since the rules are copyrighted, no one has published them on the internet.
As for running a game on Cat23, well, I confess I have my reservations. I like a more friendly, pick-up atmosphere. Friendliness is so much more conducive to humiliating lno, which, as everyone knows, I will surely do. They are just so damned serious at Cat23.
If I am to moderate a game, I would prefer to do it solo. But I leave it to the judgment of everyone else.
And don’t worry, JC, I wasn’t actually upset. I should have used a smiley, but I thought that my snarkiness would have made it obvious that I wasn’t offended. In retrospect, that seems like that was pretty shoddy reasoning. 
MR
Bastards.
-Czar Dave the First.
And I’m definitely up for another game. John, e-mail me, OK?
Oh, and one final thing. I would have owned all of y’all lock stock and barrel if I hadn’t let personal considerations for the person playing Turkey intrude on my board play. Instead I ceded Turkey to Italy, which allowed her to get into a position to join with you and stab me. Ask Pucette, she’ll verify that this was indeed the case.
Oh, I know, Dave. I remember that Italy was in a bad, bad way, and that you let her invade Turkey. You just didn’t realize that you were doing me a GIANT favor too.
…or more accurately, that you held off on your invasion while she consolidated Turkey. Don’t kill me, Pucette.
OK…here’s the drill.
I’ve registered us at Cat23 (Don’t worry Maeglin, I can ensure that it’s a Dope-Only game) as…
Diplomacy Cat23 Game Cecil 934
I’ve built the skeleton of a website for it at:
Just click on the appropriate game to see what’s what.
Currently I have:
John Corrado
Weirddave
In the game. Everyone else has to email me at my work account to get in. That’s nwooley@pur.com for those of you scoring at home.
If I don’t get another 5 players by 8AM tomorrow, I will make a thread in MPSIMS about the game and fill it from there. So if you’re reading this thread that’s my little bonus for you.
If there is enough demand I’ll add a second game and GM that one as well.
Turns will be every 4-7 days. I don’t allow NMR (No Move Received for the rookies). If someone fails to submit orders on time and has no excuse I’ll drop them from the game and ask for someone to replace them from MPSIMS.
Warning: if no one from MPSIMS signs on when we need a replacement I’ll go to my stable of weird-ass pals to fill the slot. And when it comes to weird-ass friends I have the markets cornered.
So who’s in?
Y’know…y’all talk a good game…
I cannot tell a lie. It is impossible for me to pass up the chance to play. I’m in.
Sorry. I’m out of town all the time, and it’s too damn much trouble to try to catch back up when I get back. I ended up delaying the game several times for Maeglin. I’d end up being dropped sooner or later.
Maeglin, that was your 2000th post! I’m honored!
You’re in.
Players now consist of:
John Corrado
Weirddave
Maeglin
Ogre, I well understand. Perhaps someday we’ll play in person for a day. That’s fun, too.
Of course, I’m in Virginia…
Anyone else?
lno just joined up.
Players so far:
John Corrado
Weirddave
Maeglin
lno
There’s a total of ten potential slots still open folks. Join whilst you can!
PS - Hey, is that like I-no (pronounced eye-en-oh) or L-no (pronounced ell-en-oh)? I’ve never been able to tell.
And with your two thousandth post, you have signed your death warrant.
I’m in.
(and it’s a lower-case l, pronounced ell-en-oh)