| DC329 COL S07 THE CHOKE-HOLD STRENGTHENS - vegas_iwish (Sep 13, 2010, 9:14 pm) |
Some contradictory R moves + F used Man which I have consistently voided. Next Mon 9/20. http://diplomaticcorp.com/game_page.php?game_id=dc329
Britain:
A Aden - Arabia (*Fails*)
F Baghdad Supports A Persia - Shiraz (*Cut*)
A Bombay - Rajputana
A Delhi - Punjab
F Egypt Supports F Red Sea - Mediterranean Sea
F Gulf of Manaar - East Indian Ocean
F Karachi - Persian Gulf
A Persia - Shiraz (*Fails*)
A Punjab - Afghanistan
F Red Sea - Mediterranean Sea
F Singapore - Java Sea
A Syria Supports F Baghdad
A Tibet - Kashmir
F Timor Sea Supports F West Indian Ocean - Southeast Indian Ocean (*Cut*)
F West Indian Ocean - Southeast Indian Ocean (*Fails*)
China:
A Krasnoyarsk Hold
France:
F Annam Supports F Canton - South China Sea
A Cambodia - North Siam
F Canton - South China Sea
F Cochin - Gulf of Siam
F Formosa - Luzon Strait (*Fails*)
F Java Supports F Singapore - Java Sea
A Langchow Supports A Shanghai
F Malaya Supports F Singapore - Java Sea
A Mandalay - Yunnan
A Shanghai Hold
F South China Sea - Sulu Sea
F Sumatra Supports F Singapore - Java Sea
F Sunda Sea Supports F South China Sea - Sulu Sea
A Tongking - Canton
Japan:
A Akita, no move received
F Tokyo, no move received
F Yellow Sea, no move received
Turkey:
A Angora Hold
A Arabia Supports A Tabriz - Baghdad (*Cut*)
F Constantinople Supports A Angora
A Odessa Hold
A Rumania Hold
F Shiraz Supports A Tabriz - Baghdad (*Cut*)
A Tabriz - Baghdad (*Fails*)
Holland:
F Borneo - Java Sea (*Fails*)
A Cebu Hold
F Luzon Strait - Sulu Sea (*Fails*)
F New Guinea - Timor Sea (*Fails*)
F Southeast Indian Ocean Supports F New Guinea - Timor Sea (*Cut*)
F Sulu Sea - Celebes Sea
Russia:
F Black Sea - Angora (*Fails*)
F Fusan Supports F Manchuria - Yellow Sea (*Void*)
A Kashgar Supports A Punjab - Afghanistan
F Manchuria - Port Arthur (*Bounce*)
F Okhotsk Sea Convoys A Sakhalin - Vladivostok
A Otaru - Akita (*Fails*)
A Peking Supports A Vladivostok - Manchuria (*Fails*)
A Sakhalin - Vladivostok (*Fails*)
A Seoul - Port Arthur (*Bounce*)
A Tashkent - Orenburg
A Vladivostok - Manchuria (*Fails*)[Reply] |
| S01 Results - garry.bledsoe (Sep 13, 2010, 8:15 pm) |
A start without bumps.
We have press and lots of it!
Some bounces seem imminent.
Armenia is surrounded by 3 players.
All,
Good start. We have no retreats and are ready to roll into Fall. Let's set that deadline for next Thursday the 16th at 6pm CST. A quick note or two:
1. I was asked to share a map without the names because it is hard to see. That is attached.
2. I was asked for a list of all provinces. Unfortunately I could not find a list. However, I was able to get a list of the SC's. The neutral SC's at the begininng are as follows: Anatolia, Armenia, Austria, Bavaria, Bohemia, Brittany, Bulgaria, Cyrenaica, Denmark, Georgia, Hesse, Languedoc, Morroco, Muscovy, Novgorod, Piedmont, Portugal, Rumania, Saxony, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkestan, Venezia, Wessex.
I would suggest using the .dpy file if you have any other questions or concerns (or just ask!).
Press is below the order results. And oh - FTR - my money is on a 4-1 KOK and a 25-1 "good but not great" player.
Lord of the March
Garry
Burgundy:
A Brussels - Ruhr
A Dijon - Gascony
F Hague - Helgoland Bight
Sicily:
F Naples - Tyrrhenian Sea
F Palermo - Malta Sea
A Rome - Tuscany
Eire:
A Alcluyd - Yorkshire
F Dublin - Irish Sea
F Edinburgh - North Sea
Hungary:
A Budapest - Austria
A Szeged - Budapest
F Zara - Adriatic Sea
Israel:
F Cairo - Libyan Sea
A Damascus - Syria
A Jerusalem - Arabia
Poland:
F Gdansk - Baltic Sea
A Riga - Novgorod
A Warsaw - Silesia
Spain:
F Santander - Bay of Biscay
A Toledo - Santander
F Valencia - Western Mediterranean
Ukraine:
A Kiev Hold
A Odessa - Rumania
F Yalta - East Black Sea
Byzantium:
A Athens - Bulgaria
F Constantinople - Anatolia
F Smyrna - Aegean Sea
PRESS:
Anon:
My wife and I were reading "Charlotte's Web" to our child a couple of nights ago. It reminded me of you. All of you. But some of you more than others of you. It's the bit where Wilbur first encounters Charlotte, and... well, the ways of a spider seem strange to a pig. It was at this moment that I realized: Charlotte plays Diplomacy. Really --
"Well," [Wilbur] thought, "I’ve got a new friend, all right! But what a gamble friendship is! Charlotte is fierce, brutal, scheming, bloodthirsty—everything I don’t like. How can I learn to like her...?[Reply] |
| Original Cast - garry.bledsoe (Sep 13, 2010, 8:13 pm) |
OHHHHHH. And I was remiss in not introducing our "replacement" player. Scott H. was unable to join us as our best solo player so I picked up some scrub to fill in...a scrub who is only one of the HIGHEST ranking Companion Knights, a site stalwart and a pretty darn solid player in his own right - none other than Kevin O'Kelly. Please welcome Kevin and be sure to catch him up on all of the scheming (and ridiculous boasts) that have already been sent around!
Garry
At last Fall approaches. Leaves change colors. Football is begging to be watched. Crisp mornings are imminent...
But most importantly, the approach of Fall is the harbinger of the annual DC Invitational. The bad news - the every annoying Garry Bledsoe is the GM for this year's mini-tournament; the good news - you are invited to particpate! And by mini-tournament, I mean one game only - one game to rule them all, one game to...well you get the idea.
DCI is a champion's tournament of sorts. It pits the best of WB, the best of last year's DCI, the best of the player rankings and so on to crown one champion for 2010. This single game is one that doesn't carry a prize - it merely carries prestige because it is one that you get an invite to based on merit alone and pits you against the meanest, least trustworthy, nicest, craftiest players in DC.
So...all of that said, allow me to formally invite you to my World of Aberration - DC CCX. We will play this year's tournament on the Aberration variant with 9 players. I will send out the Lord of the March's (sigh...me) House Rules soon but I would like you all to confirm your interest in playing. You might check out the Aberration variant here: www.dipwiki.com/index.php?title=Aberration
So how did I arrive at this year's participants? Well, here you go:
Adam S. - all around awesome GM but most importantly DCI09 champion
Chris M. - winner of the WB2010
Dirk K.- an esteemed mod for our site and the most active Light Brigade member in 2010
Mikael J.- the highest ranking active Companion Knight (aside from Mike who...) - Order of the Oak!
Mike S. - the highest ranking player on the site in points, esteemed moderator, all around god
Mike Walters - the current highest ranking new player (based on provisional ranking)
Scott H. - a solo machine who gets the nod for the most impressive solo this year in the 17 player World game as Antarctica
John R. - my vote for best new GM based on his superb management of games including the longest game in this year's WB
Joe H. - the player who consistently has the highest survival rate for games and has continued that trend this year (and acquitted himself nicely in DCI09)
So there you have it. Are you up for the challenge? Please respond by next Tuesday to confirm that you are going to take part in this year's free-for-all. I look forward to being your humble guide on this battle royal.
Garry
DC Mod
One Time Winner of Some WB
One Time Loser of Some DCI
Order of the Mammoth[Reply] |
| DC10 Gamestart - garry.bledsoe (Sep 13, 2010, 8:07 pm) |
Hello all. At last we have our cast for this year's DC Invitational. Our lineup this time is:
Player list for dc340
ID : AceRimmer
Ctry : Hungary 0
Name : Adam Martin-Schwarze
Email : smegdwarf(at)yahoo.com
Location : IA, US
ID : Corrino
Ctry : Spain 0
Name : Chris Morse
Email : camorse22(at)yahoo.com
Location : Boston, MA, US
ID : dknemeyer
Ctry : Eire 0
Name : Dirk Knemeyer
Email : dirk(at)knemeyer.com
Location : Granville, OH, US
ID : jhack16
Ctry : Israel 0
Name : Joe Hackett
Email : jhack16(at)gmail.com
Location : Dublin, IE
ID : kevinokelly
Ctry : Byzantium 0
Name : Kevin OKelly
Email : kodiplomacy(at)gmail.com
Location : Chicago, IL, US
ID : m_don_j
Ctry : Poland 0
Name : Mikael Johansson
Email : m_don_j(at)hotmail.com
Location : SE
ID : poobaloo
Ctry : Sicily 0
Name : Michael Sims
Email : mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net
Location : Lisle, IL, US
ID : untitled36
Ctry : Ukraine 0
Name : john reside
Email : untitled36(at)hotmail.com
Location : IL, US
ID : waltersm1
Ctry : Burgundy 0
Name : Michael Walters
Email : michael.alan.walters(at)gmail.com
Location : Brooklyn, NY, US
Attached is the gamestart map and the gamestart .dpy file. Let's get this thing started with a deadline for Spring01 of next Thursday Sept 9th at 6pm CST.
Several things of note:
1. My House Rules are attached
2. I doubt it will be an issue with this group but this is a no replacement game. I will do my best to give reminders before deadlines and such but I will adjudicate NMR's
3. I almost always confirm order receipt BUT I rarely check them for validity so be careful
4. I will not interpret abbreviations etc. That will be tough for a slightly different board so make sure you use the abbreviation that RP uses (based on the map and the .dpy); an incorrect abbreviation or order will be interpreted as a MISORDER
5. If you aren't sure of the validity of a move, please email me and I will check it. Naturally I can't tell you if it will succeed, just if it is a valid option.
6. All of my deadlines are CST which is GMT -5 right now.
7. We will be breaking for approximately the second half of October. Your humble GM will be getting married at that time and will not be running adjudications (under penalty of death from my sweet soon-to-be wife).
I think that covers it. I am anxious to see how such a prestigious group of players gets along.
Oh...remember prelims...they are you friend.
All the best,
Garry[Reply] |
| dc325 Imterra - W06 Results: Game Back On - garry.bledsoe (Sep 13, 2010, 8:01 pm) |
A F in SevAn A in Par and EdiRemoval of the F in Kie
We move along! Next deadline is Tuesday the 21st at 6pm CST.
Garry
From: kielmarch(at)hotmail.com
To: timfuhrmeister(at)yahoo.com; dreamsynergy(at)hotmail.com; johnb229(at)gmail.com; kodiplomacy(at)gmail.com; sean_o_donnell(at)hotmail.com; loganlaw299(at)aol.com; mlb767(at)aim.com; dc325(at)diplomaticcorp.com
Subject: dc325 Imterra - F06 Results: Axis vs Allies?
Date: Fri, 3 Sep 2010 16:03:09 -0400
.ExternalClass .ecxhmmessage P
{padding:0px;}
.ExternalClass body.ecxhmmessage
{font-size:10pt;font-family:Tahoma;}
Sure Looks Like Axis Vs Allies - E/F Put the Squeeze on Germany and Russia On AustriaItaly Seems to be Lost in the Middle?An Audacious Italian Convoy (Tuscany to Albania) Fails As the French Go Touristing Around the Amalfi CoastAustria Strikes Back But Simply Trades Centers (Although Arguably in Better Positions)
Awesome! What action! I like watching it as a player; it is quite entertaining. Based on the current direction, I am betting that this game has much life left in it.
We do have several retreats and we will have quite a few adjustments after that. Let's do our retreats first:
German F BAL can retreat to Lvn, Pru, Ber or OTBRussian A Ser can retreat to Rum, Alb or OTBItalian F TYS can retreat to Rom, Nap, Tun or OTB
Let's have retreats by Tuesday at 6pm CST. From there we will do Winter adjustments for Thursday the 9th at 6pm CST.
Preliminary adjustment info is:
Austria - no changeEngland - build 1France - build 1Germany - remove 2 unless F BAL retreats OTB (then only remove 1)Italy - no change unless F TYS retreats OTB (then build 1)Russia - build 1 unless A Ser retreats OTB (then build 2)
Thanks.Garry
Austria: F Aegean Sea - Bulgaria(sc) (*Fails*)A Budapest Supports A Bulgaria - Serbia (*Cut*)A Bulgaria - SerbiaA Trieste Supports A Bulgaria - SerbiaA Vienna Supports A Budapest
England: F Denmark Supports F Gulf of Bothnia - Baltic SeaF Gulf of Bothnia - Baltic SeaF Helgoland Bight Supports A Belgium - HollandF Norwegian Sea - North SeaA St Petersburg HoldA Sweden Supports F Denmark
France: A Belgium - HollandA Burgundy - Munich (*Bounce*)F Gulf of Lyon - Tyrrhenian SeaF Mid-Atlantic Ocean - North AfricaA Tyrolia Supports A TriesteF Western Mediterranean Supports F Gulf of Lyon - Tyrrhenian Sea
Germany: F Baltic Sea - Denmark (*Dislodged*)A Bohemia - Munich (*Bounce*)F Kiel Supports F Baltic Sea - DenmarkA Munich - RuhrA Prussia - Silesia
Italy: F Greece Supports A Bulgaria (*Ordered to Move*)F Ionian Sea Convoys A Tuscany - AlbaniaA Tuscany - Albania (*Fails*)F Tyrrhenian Sea Convoys A Tuscany - Albania (*Dislodged*)A Venice Hold
Russia: F Constantinople Supports A Rumania - BulgariaA Galicia - Budapest (*Fails*)A Moscow - UkraineA Rumania - BulgariaA Serbia Supports A Galicia - Budapest (*Dislodged*)A Warsaw Hold[Reply] |
| DC319: More variant discussion - charlesf (Sep 13, 2010, 7:23 pm) |
Hi guys,
I've much enjoyed both Joao's and Dirk's detailed EOGs, both
regarding DC319 and the variant itself. Just thought I'd weigh in on
the variant discussion before publishing the full EOG report. To
this end, let me remind you that the variant further evolved
following the start of this particular playtest. I'd be interested
in whether you feel the same concerns you've voiced also apply to
that somewhat different setup.
Let me summarise those changes as compared to DC319's v1.1:
- 18 VPs required to solo rather than 15 (I am as yet not sure
what'd make for the ideal victory threshold and am hence especially
curious about how you view the matter).
- Germany and Italy have edged closer to another owing to Rome being
immediately adjacent to Austria (both as I wanted to heighten
Italo-German friction and because I wanted Italy to have the same
strong influence over Austrian affairs as she had in history).
- Germany and Poland have equally edged closer together as Berlin
now borders Poland's Greater Poland "soft-spot".
- Poland and the USSR are now not as close to another as the Ukraine
was divided in two, thus ensuring Stalingrad is more than two moves
away from Cracow.
All of these changes have a considerable impact on the powers'
positions. (See the attached map further below.)
I was concerned that the Polish-Soviet relationship was overly
antagonistic and war at some point unavoidable. I think both
Poland's now greater proximity to Germany and the (Western) Ukraine
not being as critical space as it was before, makes a constructive
Warsaw-Moscow relationship far more viable.
The increased German-Italian tension (and Germany's greater
proximity to Poland) also improves France's diplomatic position, I
am convinced. Is it enough to avoid France also doing poorly in
future? I genuinely believe so. Yet one possible way to further help
France might be to make Marseille and Paris adjacent. Thoughts?
As for the "Spanish Question", it's by no means a given that either
faction will ever emerge as the master of Spain's three SCs. Far too
many sharks in the tank... A long stalemate or the Iberian peninsula
falling under the sway of the original great powers strike me as at
least as likely outcomes. To no little extent because I generally
judge it in Britain's and France's interests not to let either
faction emerge as a major player (btw, in DC330, the Republicans
trounced the Nationalists and have united the country). Indeed, I'd
suggest both France and Britain having done poorly in DC319, has
much to do what role they chose to play in the Spanish peninsula.
In any case, I don't share Dirk's concern that a strong Nationalist
Spain emerging is gamey. Indeed, I'd say that Franco might have well
accomplished the same as Dirk's Nationalist Spain, had he joined the
Axis powers in 1940. Only Hitler not offering Franco quite the juicy
deal the Caudillo was looking out for, kept Spain out of the war.
But had it entered, chances are Gibraltar and Morocco would soon
have been Spanish. Spain would have then indeed been a major force.
So why shouldn't it happen in this variant?
Indeed, had the great powers not judged the outcome of the Spanish
civil war of the gravest consequences, they'd have hardly plowed in
the resources some of them did (and France would have had, had it
not been stopped in doing so by domestic right-wing opposition). The
European balance of power was on the line. Nobody expected the
victor to later remain neutral in a wider continental war...
As for Germany rather than Italy being the Nationalists' patron
power, one of the reasons I chose Italy over Germany was that I felt
this had the most desirable impact on the British stance on the
Spanish Question. With the present setup, I can see Britain adopting
anything from a pro-Republican to a pro-Nationalist stance (as
befits historical realities). Were Germany however the patron power,
it'd give Britain more of a pro-Republican bent than I'd want her to
have.
Okay, I'll stop short here before this mail becomes too long. I'd
love to see further discussion on the variant - with an eye to
DC319's version, the new 1.3 version and possible future changes. We
designers need people to challenge our assumptions and benefit from
out-of-the-box thinking we ourselves might not be able to provide.
Cheers,
Charles[Reply] |
| DC319: More variant discussion (dc319) dknemeyer Sep 16, 04:38 pm |
Hi Folks,
Some responses to Charles' questions on the variant:
- 18 VPs required to solo rather than 15 (I am as yet not sure what'd make for the ideal victory threshold and am hence especially curious about how you view the matter).
I think more testing is necessary to ascertain the ideal victory threshold, but I think it is clear that for *Diplomacy* - a game with the stated objective of a solo victory - 15 is broken. I look forward to seeing how 18 plays out in dc330.
All of these changes have a considerable impact on the powers' positions. (See the attached map further below.)
I think the new map is a marked improvement, but I don't think it solves the balance issues. While we may be responding to too small of a data size I am hearing consistency among the players as to which are over/under powered.
I was concerned that the Polish-Soviet relationship was overly antagonistic and war at some point unavoidable. I think both Poland's now greater proximity to Germany and the (Western) Ukraine not being as critical space as it was before, makes a constructive Warsaw-Moscow relationship far more viable.
While again a data point of 1, it didn't seem to matter in dc330.
The increased German-Italian tension (and Germany's greater proximity to Poland) also improves France's diplomatic position, I am convinced. Is it enough to avoid France also doing poorly in future? I genuinely believe so. Yet one possible way to further help France might be to make Marseille and Paris adjacent. Thoughts?
I prefer the notion of a Parisian fleet in the Med. At least one.
As for the "Spanish Question", it's by no means a given that either faction will ever emerge as the master of Spain's three SCs. Far too many sharks in the tank... A long stalemate or the Iberian peninsula falling under the sway of the original great powers strike me as at least as likely outcomes. To no little extent because I generally judge it in Britain's and France's interests not to let either faction emerge as a major player (btw, in DC330, the Republicans trounced the Nationalists and have united the country). Indeed, I'd suggest both France and Britain having done poorly in DC319, has much to do what role they chose to play in the Spanish peninsula.
Among Jimmy's many interesting ideas was the notion of having Spain be special but ultimately a neutral power and not controlled by any one player. There was some really nice thinking there.
There are many excellent observers on this list and it would be interesting to hear some of their perspectives, too.
Dirk |
| DC 335 W03 Deadline Reminder - fencertim (Sep 13, 2010, 3:48 pm) |
Less than 24 hours till winter adjustments….awaiting
one order.
Thanks,
Tim
[Reply] |
| dc319: EOG Italy/Nationalist Spain - dknemeyer (Sep 13, 2010, 2:39 pm) |
First, thanks to Charles for creating the variant and GMing the game. In both of these contributions you are giving to us players and the community, and I certainly appreciate it. Following Joao's lead I'm going to talk about both the game as well as my thoughts on the variant, which I have also shared with Charles:
THE GAME
As I've written elsewhere I am not a very good strategic player. My other skills get me by a lot of times, but in this game my strategy was limited to the players and relationships, largely ignoring the map and SCs. Three of the players in this game were known quantities to me - Britain, France and Soviet Union - while the other three were not. I decided to base my strategy around the outcomes I wanted with the people I was familiar with.
Of those three, I had played and cooperated well with Britain before. France I knew only from observing his first round Winter Blitz game this year and being impressed with/concerned by how strong he seemed to be in every facet of the game. The Soviets I knew both as an opponent and as one of the top few rated players at DC; he and I had a mixed record in playing together. Using this as a starting point I set out to befriend Britain and find a good win-win approach to the game, as I felt he would be reliable. I figured we would see the end to a draw or one of us with a solo. Then, I would try and play against both France and the Soviets. In the former case, by agreeing to a deal that would leave him exposed to Britain and I right off the bat to take advantage of; in the latter case to try and manipulate control of Spain to my advantage. The other players, at least in the early game, were to be ancillary and simply managed while I worked to capture Spain and neuter France.
From that pre-game there were basically five phases of the game for me:
I. When the pre-game plans went almost perfectly to form. This was the first year, where Britain and I coordinated well and dropped the hammer on France, while I was able to manage all my other relationships well enough to be not otherwise threatened. Feeling very bullish.
II. When, for Spring 1937, France convinced Britain to stab me and it appeared this game would be an absolutely disastrous result. Clearly the low water mark.
III. After intense, strenuous, and carefully crafted press I managed to bring Britain back onto my side and in Fall 1937 we devastated France with a truly surprise attack. Not only did this put me back in a strong position, but it made France despise Britain and identify positively with me.
IV. After Wesaq's bid for a solo was thwarted - the solo chance being enabled when the Soviets had a fit for losing Spain and literally handed all of their centers to Poland and Turkey - a period of jockeying for positions and relationships ensued. The heart attack of Spring 1937 notwithstanding this was the worst part of the game for me: GP were melded together into one single power so, when Germany and I had continued communication and personality conflicts, it kept me on the wrong end of their very powerful position. While I was a good, strong power my position was flawed - even fatally, if GPT has perfectly cooperated - and my poor British ally was in an even worse position.
V. The players realized that the game would almost certainly be a solo or a 4-way draw - thanks to the low 15 SC victory threshold - and we went through a rather trying period of sorting that out. I tried to make a case for a 3-way draw - using the .5 value Spanish SC - but GP stayed rock steady and ended up flipping France on me to force the issue on the 4-way. I had the good sense to realize I was playing a bad hand at that point and negotiated myself into the 4-way instead of France, at the expense of my game-long ally Britain - now played by a replacement player whom I was also really enjoying working with. Sorry David!
While I found the first few years of this game thrilling the last three or four were not much fun. I'm not sure if that is the product of my generally liking early games in Dip better than mid or late, or if the 15 SC victory threshold just sucked the thrill out of a variety of possible results out of things too early, or if my position was so strategically flawed that I was always playing off my back foot. It will, for me, be memorable for managing to flip Britain back in Fall 1937. That is easily the high water mark of the diplomatic side of my Dip playing in my short time in the game.
In retrospect I think we had a talented group of Dippers around the board. While perhaps not a "great" table it was a "good" one with very capable players at each position. Despite being well-played I think each of us made what I consider glaring mistakes: I was strategically rudderless from the beginning; Poland and Turkey both played much too conservative in the mid-to-late games - I even think the former could have soloed with a more forward policy; France and Germany both rubbed others the wrong way with their press in ways that at least I for one was able to capitalize on; Britain's flip-flop-flip made France his undying enemy too early in the game and crippled his chances to break out; the Soviets just flat quit. I suppose if any of us had played a better game and avoided our flaw(s) we would be talking about a dramatic solo victory right now as opposed to a milquetoast 4-way.
I really enjoyed playing with all of the players in this game and felt like I was playing with Dippers of similar skill and ability. That's always fun.
THE VARIANT
As to the variant, there is a lot to like about it. The Spanish Civil War mechanic is brilliant, especially in the early game. DP variants are a lot of fun so that was another plus. There was a lot of thought put into the map and various historical choices which I really appreciate. This is a hallmark of Charles' designs.
On the other hand, I have pretty serious balance concerns. Albeit in a very small sample size, it seems to be terribly imbalanced. PT have participated in a draw each time this has been run (including 1926, the earlier variant this built into), the Soviets have always been first out, and the French are beaten into obscurity early on. Now, it has only been a few games played so that certainly is a factor. I've shared my thoughts and suggestions with Charles and he was wholly unimpressed, so I won't revisit the particulars once again here. But I do think that the variant would benefit from some nerfing to Poland and Turkey, and removing one of Britain's two wayward fleets and replacing it with the boring ol' A LVP. Taken together these changes would make the Soviet position far more viable and give France more options.
I also wonder about the realism of the mid-game Spanish Civil War position and beyond. My ability to build Spain into perhaps my primary power felt really gamey. I suppose having a Turkey get 13 SC by 1940 also isn't realistic and perhaps my issue is more with this mechanic in Dip than anything specific to the variant.
Thanks again Charles and all of my worthy antagonists.
Dirk[Reply] |
| dc337 - Autumn & Winter 1901 Results - z93blom (Sep 13, 2010, 2:38 pm) |
The adjudication will be delayed at least 12 hours. Orders will be accepted up until the start of the adjudication.
/Fredrik
Den 13 sep 2010 17.41, "Fredrik Blom" <fredrik(at)familjenblom.se> skrev:
Gentlemen,
The orders are due in a few hours...
Next turn: Spring 1901 Movement
Next Deadline: Monday, 13th of September 2010, 18:00 GMT (6PM).
/Fredrik
2010/9/8 Fredrik Blom <fredrik(at)familjenblom.se>
>
> Diplomats,
>
> Is the tide turning back to the west? The retreats and the builds are in and the...[Reply] |
| dc337 - Autumn & Winter 1901 Results - z93blom (Sep 13, 2010, 10:41 am) |
Gentlemen,
The orders are due in a few hours...
Next turn: Spring 1901 MovementNext Deadline: Monday, 13th of September 2010, 18:00 GMT (6PM).
/Fredrik
2010/9/8 Fredrik Blom <fredrik(at)familjenblom.se>
Diplomats,
Is the tide turning back to the west? The retreats and the builds are in and the future will tell how it all turns out.
Autumn Retreats:Germany:
F Denmark - Helgoland Bight
Winter Builds:Austria: Build A Vienna
Italy: Build A Milan
Russia:
Build F St Petersburg(sc)
Next turn: Spring 1901 MovementNext Deadline: Monday, 13th of September 2010, 18:00 GMT (6PM).
/Fredrik[Reply] |
| DC310- I have my internet back! - Samnuva (Sep 13, 2010, 9:54 am) |
My ISP has been having major problems for the past couple weeks, so sorry for yet another absurd delay. Here's winter:
Turkey Builds Fleets in SMY and CON
France Builds Fleet BRE and Army PAR
Spring 1906 is due Thursday the 16th, 3ET.
-Sam[Reply] |
| DC 332 Summer 1905 Results - cfisher6 (Sep 12, 2010, 9:35 pm) |
Sorries for the delay everyone.
German F Retreats to Holland.
Deadline for Fall 1905 moves is Thursday 23:59 GMT.
Chris[Reply] |
| dc330: Important and reminder - dknemeyer (Sep 12, 2010, 8:20 pm) |
Hi Everyone,
First, I regret that David (Italy) is having email problems. He has asked, for the time being, to use this email address to communicate with him. You may want to re-forward messages if you have expected but not received a response:
"Gould, David (DPS)"
Also, don't forget our deadline is Tuesday! It should be a big season across the ol' continent - and beyond.
Dirk[Reply] |
| DC 336 Winter '02 Adjudication - mgsmuhammad (Sep 12, 2010, 4:22 pm) |
Austria builds A Vienna
England NMR's (F English Channel disbanded)
France builds A Marseilles
Germany builds A Kiel
Russia builds A Warsaw
Turkey builds F Constantinople
Next adjudication on the 19th of September at 21:00.
If England NMR's once more, i'll be forced to seek a replacement.[Reply] |
| DC319: F EOG - jlqueiros (Sep 11, 2010, 6:23 pm) |
1. First of all, let me congratulate Charles for creating a great variant. The map reconfigurations, the DP's, the Spanish factions, it's all great fun. Being great doesn't mean it can't be improved and I made many (certainly too many  ) suggestions to Charles during the game. More on that later.
Personally, it was a very frustrating experience. I wasn't able to create one single equal-terms alliance relationship - that's kind of a record for me. Probably, much of it was due to my own mistakes. But I'm convinced some of it was also due to France's weak early position in the game, namely vis-a-vis Italy/Nationalist Spain (which in this case was particularly painful since Italy was played by Dirk, one of the best diplomacy players I've met in years). Being France, most of the suggestions I made to Charles were regarding possible corrections to this imbalance. Here's what I wrote to him even before the first turn:
"Charles,
As said before, I think France has vulnerabilities that at least Britain and Italy don't have. Italy has almost free access to the Magreb with Tri-Tun/SAl and Nap-Tys. I can only defend Alg through help of Britain or DP's to Mor, none of them very certain. Britain can put 2 fleets in the first turn bordering Bre - and that's something!
France has no fleets to be an effective counter-menace to Italy and, what's worse, Italy doesn't have any other "natural" enemy to which France can appeal on the first years - both the German and Turkish units are too far.
So, since this is a test, a few ideas to balance F and I a bit more, might be to put a fleet in Mar instead of an army, to change Tys in order not to border Alg or to transform Egy and Suez into only one territory under british rule.
It could also make sense to have Lor border with Bel. Besides of being more accurate, it would allow France to have a 2-units access to Bel without moving into british-protected-area Eng. And would make a German attack more difficult - remember that historically they had to move through Belgium. Finally, and these are just ideas for your consideration, the prohibition of supports between Franco's and Republican units would make Bre-Swa, Mar-Cat to take Mad more appealing to France."
Just to finish this chapter on suggestions to improve the variant, I also ventured the possibility of Nationalist Spain being proxied by Germany instead of Italy.
It should also be noticed that the whole DP's system gets irrelevant once most neutrals were conquered. One possibility to continue using the DP's system would be to create some kind of insurrection simulation on conquered territories. For example, a 5 DP's plus in a conquered neutral without any occupation unit would recreate the original unit, therefore costing an sc to the occupying great power that was unable to use its diplomacy to counter patriot insurrections. A bit like Churchill's support to Tito in Yugoslavia.
Finally, I'm a bit skeptic regarding the low victory threshold. I can't help notice that with the 15 sc threshold, Germany would have won WWII. But even in gaming terms, I believe that it was the low threshold that made everybody lose some interest in the final phase of the game. 2-ways and 3-ways are not possible. Trying solos is too risky, since it forces negative coalitions where members are themselves too close of the solo. That's why everybody accepted the 4-way draw as soon as it was proposed. A bigger threshold, that allows at least 3-way DIAS with tactical stalemate lines might make the medium and end-phases of the game more interesting.
Anyway, these are just ideas for Charles, in the spirit of a test game. They don't contradict the main point: it's a great variant. Congrats, Charles.
2. Regarding my early strategy, the simplest way is to go back to what I wrote to the GM, at his request, before the first turn. Shortly, the idea was to avoid being attacked by Italy and Germany and forming an alliance with Britain. As you can see, I foresaw from the start the probability of a BI alliance against me. Charles asked me why, if I foresaw the BI, didn't I opened offensively against them. Simple: If I had done that than the BI would be certain after Sp1936, even if I was wrong in the first place. So I just hoped I was wrong. I wasn't and I was finished. I did what anybody does when faced with a invincible enemy alliance - I maneuvered in such a way that one party of the alliance, in this case Italy, would gain more that the other part. In result, Britain changed sides and I believed a comeback was possible. But shortly afterwards Britain stabbed me again - quite incredible, I must say. It was partly my fault: The plan I had devised gave Britain and me 2 sc's each for certain that year. It was devised in such a way that each of us would gain 1 sc each turn. But then Germany came with some idea of passing through Lor (saying he wanted to conquer Swi) and I needed therefore to maintain an army near Par to avoid a possible German stab. In order to do that, I couldn't conquer my sc (Bel) on Spring. I therefore proposed a change of plans to Britain, whereby he would get his 2 sc's on Spring and I would get my 2 sc's on Fall. He got his 2 sc's and then stabbed me... It's curious. It was a simple suggestion, who knows why, from Germany regarding the possibility of moving to Lor (which we withdrew in the final moment, after Britain and I already had changed our plans), that allowed Italy to lure Britain back to his side and, in the end, destroyed France.
Anyway, here's my answer to Charles, before the opening turn, on what my strategy and expectation were:
"Now on your questions:
Biggest early prize and offensive priority: Iberia, with its 4 sc's - makes a lot of defensive sense too, since a 3-units Italian (the nightmare scenario) or Russian controlled Iberia would be a definitive danger for France's southern flank - only Britain could come to rescue in such a scenario.
Biggest defensive headache: Italy, with its almost free access to Alg and Mor and its Iberian position. The fact that France has no fleets in the Med makes the defense of Alg/Mar very difficult.
Best possible ally: Britain - cooperation between the two can go a long way and bring a lot of gains. The problem is that an IB alliance would be terminal for France. The fact that both of them accepted my suggestions without alterations and that both of them say they're too busy to negotiate these weekend is a bit worrying. Can only hope for the best.
Other considerations: French/German friction is low. An early German attack is not very likely. Nonetheless, Jimmy's lack of preference for a southeastern historically accurate opening is also a bit worrying. The facts that I can't build in Bei and Alg and that these are armies (with low projection force and difficult to move around) transforms both the Magreb and the Middle East more into bargaining chips than in real growth assets.
So, as you saw, my diplomatic moves were the following:
1. Try to have a plan with Russia for Iberia should Italy be hostile. The fact that Italy said he was not interested in Iberia made this plan less interesting, but I might to have still to come back to it should his moves not fit his words.
2. Try to get a peaceful arrangement with Italy. Using the Magreb as a bargaining chip, I give it to him (he could conquer it by force anyway) in exchange of peace (having him moving east) and a French stake in Iberia. Lets see if it worked...
3. Convincing Britain to form an effective offensive alliance. Using Syria as a bargaining chip, I help him to control the Middle East in exchange of peace and him recognizing my stakes over Iberia, Magreb and Western Med. DMZ's from Eng to Gib would make the defensive part of the alliance pretty stable, while giving him a good Britain-Middle East route (that he can use better than me because he has fleets and I have armies). That would mean a 7/7 sc powerbase for each of us with clear growth routes afterwards (Germany for both of us, Scandinavia for him and Italy/Magreb for me). The gains are good and balanced and I hope he truly accepted the idea. The only cloud is that a BI offensive alliance is equally appealing for him.
4. Having a DMZ-agreement with Germany.
Tomorrow I'll know how it has worked."
It didn't...
3. The end-game: I was a dormant Italian puppet and decided to become a more active PG puppet. Why? I wrote a long message to Wesaq on that and it's easier to reproduce it here - see below. Anyway, the main result of my decision seems to have been that PGT convinced Italy to accept the 4-way draw. You'll notice from the 4th paragraph that I was aware of the logical fault on the whole reasoning why to accept the PG proposal: Italy, or even Britain, would be better partners for PGT to get the 4-way draw then I could ever be. So the only hope was that their relationship was so bad that they actually weren't choices. Obviously, that was not the case. Even so, it was a slight possibility worth exploring.
On being played by PG on this, I can't say it was a pleasant experience. They made me waste much more time than reasonable. And, most importantly, it was not worth it. They would have convinced Italy on the 4-way draw sooner or later. There was no need to play me.
Here's the letter, just out of curiosity:
"Wesaq,
We haven't spoken lately. I was a sort of dormant player in the last turns. You remember how I was butchered by BI in the game start. I hope my former silence will compensate the time I'm now taking from you with this very long message
I kind of woke up due to a quite interesting proposal by Kyle and Jimmy. They pointed out that, with a very low 15sc threshold for the solo and 50 sc's on the whole, this variant can't end up in a 2 or a 3 way DIAS, since 3*15<50. Regarding solos, it was made clear by your attempt a few years ago that this game has good and alert players, which means that any attempt will always result in a negative coalition that will defeat it.
Therefore, the only other possibility is a 4-way DIAS: 13,13,13,11 or 13,13,12,12. It seems Dirk tried to point out that the 3-way DIAS is also possible, due to the tweak that spanish-held sc's only count 1/2 for I and S. This could only happen with a 14, 14, 14.5 (15 spanish sc's + 7 italian sc's) formula or something similar. The reason I don't believe this could work is not so much the fact that Dirk, with 22 units, would be a formidable force that could easily conquer another sc and solo. Maybe one could find stalemate lines in this variant for such a formula and avoid that risk. The point is that, even if the stalemate line can be and is formed, it would never engage all of Dirk's forces. This means he would only need to exchange a spanish sc for an italian sc on his side of the stalemate line to solo. He would obviously do it. That's why the only alternative to a solo is a 4-way DIAS.
Due to Italy's refusal and Britain's allegiance to Italy, Kyle and Jimmy chose me to be the 4th partner in a TPGF DIAS. I know it sounds crazy, since it implies I have to grow from my current 2 sc's to 11 or 12 sc's. It was exactly because it is crazy, or, if you prefer, bold and difficult, that I accepted the plan and woke up of my dormant status.
One might say that the biggest difficulty in the plan is not for me to grow from 2 to 11 sc's. It might be the idea that, while I'm doing this with your help, none of you 3 goes for the solo. But this is, I do believe, the best part of the plan. I assume the 3 of you are playing for the solo. I always assume that any diplomacy good and rational player wants to go for the solo and only accepts a draw if he has no chance to get the solo. But the fact is that, if we design and implement a plan for a 4-way, at least 3 (TPG) of the 4 will very close to the solo, with 12, 13 sc's. Since we're talking about 3 very good players, I believe we can also assume that the mistake of allowing someone to automatically solo by stabbing will never happen. On the other hand, a stab would create an imbalance in the 4-way alliance that would inevitably result in a solo by one of the two other 12/13 sc's players reacting defensively against the stabber. Putting it shortly, if any of you 3 stabs, he knows he'll lose and will be giving the solo to one of the other two.
We probably can't build strong stalemate lines along all the borders between the 4 of us. This means that the DIAS will not be justified by a stalemate, as often happens in standard, but by the realization by the 4 of us that we can't be the first stabber, because the first stabber is the only one who is sure he will not be the winner. A diplomatic, strategic draw, instead of a tactical draw. Interesting stuff.
It is on the basis of this tension - the fact that each of you three knows he can't be the first stabber - that I actually believe this plan can work. At the very least, it will be a very interesting social and gaming experiment.
It was in order to reinforce one of the premises of the whole idea, the one that assumes that the TPGF alliance will never do the mistake of tactically allowing an automatic solo for the first stabber, that the suggestion of establishing a 12sc limit for PGT until F gets to 9, 10 sc's emerged. A limit I believe you agreed with.
So this is the general idea Kyle and Jimmy presented to me, the one I accepted and one I hope you're interested in, since it takes 4 to tango in this particular case.
If that's the case, allow me to point out the tactical circumstances of another of the premises - the one that says that I can grow from 2 to 11/12 sc's. This is already quite difficult as things stand. It would be impossible if B and I are allowed to have builds in the next few turns. This turn, B and I can only grow in 2 places: Cro, if you don't support Germany with Ser S Cro, and Sue, if you don't order Ara S Sue, Sue h (and move Ira-Pal in order to be able to simultaneously cut Egy with Sue and defend Sue - Ara S Pal-Sue - next year). These are the only two vulnerable spots on the whole board, if a BI v. TPGF is in place.
If BI get these 2 builds, or even just 1 of them, I'm dead. That is, you see, why it so important for the whole plan that you protect Cro and Sue this year."
5. Quite long, Charles, but I hope it can be helpful. Thanks for having me in this test. I'm looking forward to playing 1936 again. With better results.
I hope I'll find some of the great co-players in this game in future challenges. Am I a revengeful person? We'll see.
Best regards,
João
[Reply] |
| dc340 DCI 2010 - S01 Results - And We're Off! - untitled36 (Sep 11, 2010, 12:37 pm) |
Yep,
Someone safely in the lower half of the alleged odds, but not the absolute lowest would be my bet.
John
[Reply] |
| Behold! dc339 w220bc builds! - FuzzyLogic (Sep 11, 2010, 9:51 am) |
Spring 219 BC is heredby due
Friday 9/17, 3pm Central!
Carthage: Build F Cartenna, F
Carthage
Gaul: Build A Lutetia
Germania: Build A Biskupin
Macedonia: Build F Athens, A
Pella
Persia: Build F Attaleia, A
Antiochia
Rome: Build F Roma, A Genua, A
Aqueleia
[Reply] |
| Behold! dc339 w220bc builds! (dc339) mjn82 Sep 16, 03:48 pm |
From: Michael Sims <mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net>
To: coebq(at)yahoo.com; hancockfc(at)yahoo.com; justin(at)darkenedpath.com; mjn82(at)yahoo.com; ross826(at)gmail.com; mlb767(at)aim.com; clockheardt(at)yahoo.com; fredrik(at)familjenblom.se
Cc: dc339 <dc339(at)diplomaticcorp.com>
Sent: Sat, September 11, 2010 9:51:41 AM
Subject: Behold! dc339 w220bc builds!
Spring 219 BC is heredby due Friday 9/17, 3pm Central!
Carthage: Build F Cartenna, F Carthage
Gaul: Build A Lutetia
Germania: Build A Biskupin
Macedonia: Build F Athens, A Pella
Persia: Build F Attaleia, A Antiochia
Rome: Build F Roma, A Genua, A Aqueleia
|
| DC330 British offices closed until Sunday - sunchung (Sep 11, 2010, 9:40 am) |
Fellow Diplomats,
I will be out of touch and have no access to email until Sunday evening (heading out to Yosemite for my daughter's first camping trip). I'll follow up with emails then.
Enjoy the weekend!
Sun (Britain)[Reply] |
| DC 338 Winter 01 Results - derekthefeared2 (Sep 11, 2010, 9:33 am) |
Here are the winter 01 results. Sorry for the confusion with the year. Convinced myself the first year should be 0, I have since realized the first year should be 1901. So these builds represent the end of 1901. Next moves will be for spring 1902. They will be due next Thursday at 3:00 pm US eastern Time.
Austria:
Build A Vienna
Build A Budapest
England:
Build F Edinburgh
France:
Build F Brest
Build F Marseilles
Build A Paris
Germany:
Build F Kiel
Build A Munich
Russia:
Build A Warsaw
Build F Sevastopol
Turkey:
Build A Constantinople[Reply] |
| dc340 DCI 2010 - S01 Results - And We're Off! - dknemeyer (Sep 11, 2010, 7:19 am) |
I wish I had with all the heat it is generating, but if I wrote it and wanted it to be anonymous I would not have put myself as the longest shot on the board! I might be dumb but I'm not stupid...
On Sep 10, 2010, at 11:29 PM, Michael Sims wrote:
Look, at 25 to 1, there's no question these odds were written by either Dirk, John, or Martha Stuart herself tryin to manipulate the market. My guess is Dirk's money is on Dirk.  From: Joe Hackett [mailto:jhack16(at)gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, September 10, 2010 4:34 PM
To: Garry Bledsoe
Cc: Adam WB2K9 235; <camorse22(at)yahoo.com>; Dirk Knemeyer; <kodiplomacy(at)gmail.com>; <m_don_j(at)hotmail.com>; Michael Sims; <untitled36(at)hotmail.com>; <michael.alan.walters(at)gmail.com>
Subject: Re: dc340 DCI 2010 - S01 Results - And We're Off! No experience of variants, friendless, alone in the Desert, heading for the Persian Gulf, a million miles from the target rich central European plains, surrounded by two legends of the game?Main asset one lone fleet in becalmed waters, and I'm six to one?? Even I wouldnt back myself.Who's the pundit? Frank, you out there? -joe h
On 10 Sep 2010, at 04:18, Garry Bledsoe <kielmarch(at)hotmail.com> wrote:A start without bumps.We have press and lots of it!Some bounces seem imminent.Armenia is surrounded by 3 players. All,Good start. We have no retreats and are ready to roll into Fall. Let's set that deadline for next Thursday the 16th at 6pm CST. A quick note or two: 1. I was asked to share a map without the names because it is hard to see. That is attached.2. I was asked for a list of all provinces. Unfortunately I could not find a list. However, I was able to get a list of the SC's. The neutral SC's at the begininng are as follows: Anatolia, Armenia, Austria, Bavaria, Bohemia, Brittany, Bulgaria, Cyrenaica, Denmark, Georgia, Hesse, Languedoc, Morroco, Muscovy, Novgorod, Piedmont, Portugal, Rumania, Saxony, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkestan, Venezia, Wessex. I would suggest using the .dpy file if you have any other questions or concerns (or just ask!). Press is below the order results. And oh - FTR - my money is on a 4-1 KOK and a 25-1 "good but not great" player. Lord of the MarchGarry Burgundy:
A Brussels - Ruhr
A Dijon - Gascony
F Hague - Helgoland Bight Sicily:
F Naples - Tyrrhenian Sea
F Palermo - Malta Sea
A Rome - Tuscany Eire:
A Alcluyd - Yorkshire
F Dublin - Irish Sea
F Edinburgh - North Sea Hungary:
A Budapest - Austria
A Szeged - Budapest
F Zara - Adriatic Sea Israel:
F Cairo - Libyan Sea
A Damascus - Syria
A Jerusalem - Arabia Poland:
F Gdansk - Baltic Sea
A Riga - Novgorod
A Warsaw - Silesia Spain:
F Santander - Bay of Biscay
A Toledo - Santander
F Valencia - Western Mediterranean Ukraine:
A Kiev Hold
A Odessa - Rumania
F Yalta - East Black Sea Byzantium:
A Athens - Bulgaria
F Constantinople - Anatolia
F Smyrna - Aegean Sea PRESS: Anon:My wife and I were reading "Charlotte's Web" to our child a couple of nights ago. It reminded me of you. All of you. But some of you more than others of you. It's the bit where Wilbur first encounters Charlotte, and... well, the ways of a spider seem strange to a pig. It was at this moment that I realized: Charlotte plays Diplomacy. Really --
"Well," [Wilbur] thought, "I've got a new friend, all right! But what a gamble friendship is! Charlotte is fierce, brutal, scheming, bloodthirsty-everything I don't like. How can I learn to like her...?
Anon:Continuing the DC Invitational tradition of opening the annual extravaganza up to the touts, here are the official Vegas odds for the 2010 edition, along with comments from Vegas legend Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal:
1-1 Mike Sims/Sicily. He's the legend, what more needs to be said?! We had him at 1-2 for a while but money started to go down on the rest of the field, pros looking for overlays. If you've gotta bet the house on somebody winning this thing Sims is your man.
2-1 Chris Morse/Spain. Not only did he just win the Winter Blitz - you know he's hungry to sweep both major annual events - he's one of the top rated players at DC. As if that isn't enough he is playing as Spain, the hands-down best power in Aberration. If Sims wasn't playing I would say the tourney was lined up perfectly for him to walk away with it. 2010 feels like his year.
4-1 Kevin OKelly/Byzantium. Ol' Bledsoe didn't do this pro justice when he snuck in as a late replacement. Guess who won the first-ever DCI in 2006? You guessed it: Kevin OKelly. We had him posted longer as a "dark horse" thanks to his modest DC rating, but the word about him is out on the streets. He is being bet down hard. I think this game is a 2-way race between the favorites but he's the obvious spoiler pick.
6-1 Adam Martin-Schwarze/Hungary. Last year's champ is getting betting respect - and he deserves it. Last year's field was arguably stronger top-to-bottom and he beat 'em all. I'm not liking him this year though and think he's being bet too heavily.
6-1 Joe Hackett/Israel. This guy's got a great record, no eliminations, high rating...he's got it all. In fact a lot of early smart money was being played on him. But as the handicappers started picking him apart they realized he is a "Standard-only" player: he's only played one Variant, last year's DCI. However he's got an excellent position in Israel and with results like his he needs to be in the mix of low odd options.
15-1 Mikael Johansson/Poland. Big dip down from the top five to the bottom four, in our opinion. Mikael's the clear "best of the rest". This guy's never seen a Diplomacy game he didn't want to play and must be the most experienced player in DC history. A classic "boom-or-bust" player with lots of results all across the spectrum. I wouldn't put it past him to shock the world.
20-1 Mike Walters/Burgundy. Being an unknown is hurting him here, perhaps unfairly so. Maybe he's got a deeper pedigree than we realize, but we've got to judge what is in front of us. Yes, he's got that solo. It is tantalizing to say the least. But in a field this good that's just not enough to bet up. Somebody might get a real value in betting him at this price though.
25-1 Dirk Knemeyer/Eire. He's not alone as the longest shot only because he's in the corner and less likely to be devoured in the early going than some of the more central powers. Still, he just doesn't have the pedigree to warrant laying real money on to actually win it.
25-1 John Reside/Ukraine. He's got a notable record of being "good" but not necessarily "great". No solos, but 6 draws to go with just 1 survival and 2 eliminations. He might hang around but we just haven't seen the breakout ability here that would suggest he can persevere over this field.
I'm going to go with the hot hand and the better payout and put my money on Chris Morse. It feels heretical to bet against Mike Sims but sometimes you've just gotta go with your gut.
Happy hunting all. And to anyone who, errr, "helps" Chris Morse win so I can collect on my wager I've got a suite reserved at the Horseshoe just for you.
<dc10S01 final.dpy><dc10S01 final.gif><dc10S01 orders.gif><DCI10 map of centers.gif>[Reply] |
| [DC 328] Summer 1905 Abjudication - dreamsynergy (Sep 11, 2010, 6:58 am) |
As promised, an early abjudication and quicker deadlines. I believe everyone will be up to the task.
Summer Retreats
England:
F St Petersburg(nc) - Barents Sea
Turkey:
disband A Bulgaria
Fall Deadline will be Thursday 16th September, 13:00 GMT
Regards,
Ben[Reply] |
| dc340 DCI 2010 - S01 Results - And We're Off! - FuzzyLogic (Sep 10, 2010, 10:29 pm) |
Look, at 25 to 1, there's no question these odds were written by
either Dirk, John, or Martha Stuart herself tryin to manipulate the market. My
guess is Dirk's money is on Dirk.
From: Joe Hackett [mailto:jhack16(at)gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, September 10, 2010 4:34 PM
To: Garry Bledsoe
Cc: Adam WB2K9 235; <camorse22(at)yahoo.com>; Dirk Knemeyer;
<kodiplomacy(at)gmail.com>; <m_don_j(at)hotmail.com>; Michael Sims;
<untitled36(at)hotmail.com>; <michael.alan.walters(at)gmail.com>
Subject: Re: dc340 DCI 2010 - S01 Results - And We're Off!
No experience of variants, friendless, alone in the
Desert,
heading for the Persian Gulf, a million miles from the
target rich
central European plains, surrounded by two legends of
the game?
Main asset one lone fleet in becalmed waters,
and I'm six to one?? Even I wouldnt back myself.
Who's the pundit?
Frank, you out there?
-joe h
On 10 Sep 2010, at 04:18, Garry Bledsoe <kielmarch(at)hotmail.com> wrote:
A start without bumps.
We have press and lots
of it!
Some bounces seem
imminent.
Armenia is surrounded by
3 players.
All,
Good start. We have no retreats
and are ready to roll into Fall. Let's set that deadline for next Thursday the
16th at 6pm CST. A quick note or two:
1. I was asked to share a map
without the names because it is hard to see. That is attached.
2. I was asked for a list of all
provinces. Unfortunately I could not find a list. However, I was able to get a
list of the SC's. The neutral SC's at the begininng are as follows: Anatolia,
Armenia, Austria, Bavaria, Bohemia, Brittany, Bulgaria, Cyrenaica, Denmark,
Georgia, Hesse, Languedoc, Morroco, Muscovy, Novgorod, Piedmont, Portugal,
Rumania, Saxony, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkestan, Venezia, Wessex.
I would suggest using the .dpy
file if you have any other questions or concerns (or just ask!).
Press is below the order
results. And oh - FTR - my money is on a 4-1 KOK and a 25-1 "good but not
great" player.
Lord of the March
Garry
Burgundy:
A Brussels - Ruhr
A Dijon - Gascony
F Hague - Helgoland Bight
Sicily:
F Naples - Tyrrhenian Sea
F Palermo - Malta Sea
A Rome - Tuscany
Eire:
A Alcluyd - Yorkshire
F Dublin - Irish Sea
F Edinburgh - North Sea
Hungary:
A Budapest - Austria
A Szeged - Budapest
F Zara - Adriatic Sea
Israel:
F Cairo - Libyan Sea
A Damascus - Syria
A Jerusalem - Arabia
Poland:
F Gdansk - Baltic Sea
A Riga - Novgorod
A Warsaw - Silesia
Spain:
F Santander - Bay of Biscay
A Toledo - Santander
F Valencia - Western Mediterranean
Ukraine:
A Kiev Hold
A Odessa - Rumania
F Yalta - East Black Sea
Byzantium:
A Athens - Bulgaria
F Constantinople - Anatolia
F Smyrna - Aegean Sea
PRESS:
Anon:
My wife and I were reading
"Charlotte's Web" to our child a couple of nights ago. It reminded me
of you. All of you. But some of you more than others of you. It's the bit where
Wilbur first encounters Charlotte, and... well, the ways of a spider seem
strange to a pig. It was at this moment that I realized: Charlotte plays
Diplomacy. Really --
"Well," [Wilbur] thought, "I've got a new friend, all right! But
what a gamble friendship is! Charlotte is fierce, brutal, scheming,
bloodthirsty-everything I don't like. How can I learn to like her...?
Anon:
Continuing the DC Invitational tradition of opening the annual extravaganza up to the touts, here are the official Vegas odds for the 2010 edition, along with comments from Vegas legend Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal:
1-1 Mike Sims/Sicily. He's the legend, what more needs to be said?! We had him at 1-2 for a while but money started to go down on the rest of the field, pros looking for overlays. If you've gotta bet the house on somebody winning this thing Sims is your man.
2-1 Chris Morse/Spain. Not only did he just win the Winter Blitz - you know he's hungry to sweep both major annual events - he's one of the top rated players at DC. As if that isn't enough he is playing as Spain, the hands-down best power in Aberration. If Sims wasn't playing I would say the tourney was lined up perfectly for him to walk away with it. 2010 feels like his year.
4-1 Kevin OKelly/Byzantium. Ol' Bledsoe didn't do this pro justice when he snuck in as a late replacement. Guess who won the first-ever DCI in 2006? You guessed it: Kevin OKelly. We had him posted longer as a "dark horse" thanks to his modest DC rating, but the word about him is out on the streets. He is being bet down hard. I think this game is a 2-way race between the favorites but he's the obvious spoiler pick.
6-1 Adam Martin-Schwarze/Hungary. Last year's champ is getting betting respect - and he deserves it. Last year's field was arguably stronger top-to-bottom and he beat 'em all. I'm not liking him this year though and think he's being bet too heavily.
6-1 Joe Hackett/Israel. This guy's got a great record, no eliminations, high rating...he's got it all. In fact a lot of early smart money was being played on him. But as the handicappers started picking him apart they realized he is a "Standard-only" player: he's only played one Variant, last year's DCI. However he's got an excellent position in Israel and with results like his he needs to be in the mix of low odd options.
15-1 Mikael Johansson/Poland. Big dip down from the top five to the bottom four, in our opinion. Mikael's the clear "best of the rest". This guy's never seen a Diplomacy game he didn't want to play and must be the most experienced player in DC history. A classic "boom-or-bust" player with lots of results all across the spectrum. I wouldn't put it past him to shock the world.
20-1 Mike Walters/Burgundy. Being an unknown is hurting him here, perhaps unfairly so. Maybe he's got a deeper pedigree than we realize, but we've got to judge what is in front of us. Yes, he's got that solo. It is tantalizing to say the least. But in a field this good that's just not enough to bet up. Somebody might get a real value in betting him at this price though.
25-1 Dirk Knemeyer/Eire. He's not alone as the longest shot only because he's in the corner and less likely to be devoured in the early going than some of the more central powers. Still, he just doesn't have the pedigree to warrant laying real money on to actually win it.
25-1 John Reside/Ukraine. He's got a notable record of being "good" but not necessarily "great". No solos, but 6 draws to go with just 1 survival and 2 eliminations. He might hang around but we just haven't seen the breakout ability here that would suggest he can persevere over this field.
I'm going to go with the hot hand and the better payout and put my money on Chris Morse. It feels heretical to bet against Mike Sims but sometimes you've just gotta go with your gut.
Happy hunting all. And to anyone who, errr, "helps" Chris Morse win so I can collect on my wager I've got a suite reserved at the Horseshoe just for you.
<dc10S01 final.dpy>
<dc10S01 final.gif>
<dc10S01 orders.gif>
<DCI10 map of centers.gif>[Reply] |
| dc340 DCI 2010 - S01 Results - And We're Off! (DC Invitational) dknemeyer Sep 11, 07:19 am |
I wish I had with all the heat it is generating, but if I wrote it and wanted it to be anonymous I would not have put myself as the longest shot on the board! I might be dumb but I'm not stupid...
On Sep 10, 2010, at 11:29 PM, Michael Sims wrote:
Look, at 25 to 1, there's no question these odds were written by either Dirk, John, or Martha Stuart herself tryin to manipulate the market. My guess is Dirk's money is on Dirk. From: Joe Hackett [mailto:jhack16(at)gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, September 10, 2010 4:34 PM
To: Garry Bledsoe
Cc: Adam WB2K9 235; <camorse22(at)yahoo.com>; Dirk Knemeyer; <kodiplomacy(at)gmail.com>; <m_don_j(at)hotmail.com>; Michael Sims; <untitled36(at)hotmail.com>; <michael.alan.walters(at)gmail.com>
Subject: Re: dc340 DCI 2010 - S01 Results - And We're Off! No experience of variants, friendless, alone in the Desert, heading for the Persian Gulf, a million miles from the target rich central European plains, surrounded by two legends of the game?Main asset one lone fleet in becalmed waters, and I'm six to one?? Even I wouldnt back myself.Who's the pundit? Frank, you out there? -joe h
On 10 Sep 2010, at 04:18, Garry Bledsoe <kielmarch(at)hotmail.com> wrote:A start without bumps.We have press and lots of it!Some bounces seem imminent.Armenia is surrounded by 3 players. All,Good start. We have no retreats and are ready to roll into Fall. Let's set that deadline for next Thursday the 16th at 6pm CST. A quick note or two: 1. I was asked to share a map without the names because it is hard to see. That is attached.2. I was asked for a list of all provinces. Unfortunately I could not find a list. However, I was able to get a list of the SC's. The neutral SC's at the begininng are as follows: Anatolia, Armenia, Austria, Bavaria, Bohemia, Brittany, Bulgaria, Cyrenaica, Denmark, Georgia, Hesse, Languedoc, Morroco, Muscovy, Novgorod, Piedmont, Portugal, Rumania, Saxony, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkestan, Venezia, Wessex. I would suggest using the .dpy file if you have any other questions or concerns (or just ask!). Press is below the order results. And oh - FTR - my money is on a 4-1 KOK and a 25-1 "good but not great" player. Lord of the MarchGarry Burgundy:
A Brussels - Ruhr
A Dijon - Gascony
F Hague - Helgoland Bight Sicily:
F Naples - Tyrrhenian Sea
F Palermo - Malta Sea
A Rome - Tuscany Eire:
A Alcluyd - Yorkshire
F Dublin - Irish Sea
F Edinburgh - North Sea Hungary:
A Budapest - Austria
A Szeged - Budapest
F Zara - Adriatic Sea Israel:
F Cairo - Libyan Sea
A Damascus - Syria
A Jerusalem - Arabia Poland:
F Gdansk - Baltic Sea
A Riga - Novgorod
A Warsaw - Silesia Spain:
F Santander - Bay of Biscay
A Toledo - Santander
F Valencia - Western Mediterranean Ukraine:
A Kiev Hold
A Odessa - Rumania
F Yalta - East Black Sea Byzantium:
A Athens - Bulgaria
F Constantinople - Anatolia
F Smyrna - Aegean Sea PRESS: Anon:My wife and I were reading "Charlotte's Web" to our child a couple of nights ago. It reminded me of you. All of you. But some of you more than others of you. It's the bit where Wilbur first encounters Charlotte, and... well, the ways of a spider seem strange to a pig. It was at this moment that I realized: Charlotte plays Diplomacy. Really --
"Well," [Wilbur] thought, "I've got a new friend, all right! But what a gamble friendship is! Charlotte is fierce, brutal, scheming, bloodthirsty-everything I don't like. How can I learn to like her...?
Anon:Continuing the DC Invitational tradition of opening the annual extravaganza up to the touts, here are the official Vegas odds for the 2010 edition, along with comments from Vegas legend Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal:
1-1 Mike Sims/Sicily. He's the legend, what more needs to be said?! We had him at 1-2 for a while but money started to go down on the rest of the field, pros looking for overlays. If you've gotta bet the house on somebody winning this thing Sims is your man.
2-1 Chris Morse/Spain. Not only did he just win the Winter Blitz - you know he's hungry to sweep both major annual events - he's one of the top rated players at DC. As if that isn't enough he is playing as Spain, the hands-down best power in Aberration. If Sims wasn't playing I would say the tourney was lined up perfectly for him to walk away with it. 2010 feels like his year.
4-1 Kevin OKelly/Byzantium. Ol' Bledsoe didn't do this pro justice when he snuck in as a late replacement. Guess who won the first-ever DCI in 2006? You guessed it: Kevin OKelly. We had him posted longer as a "dark horse" thanks to his modest DC rating, but the word about him is out on the streets. He is being bet down hard. I think this game is a 2-way race between the favorites but he's the obvious spoiler pick.
6-1 Adam Martin-Schwarze/Hungary. Last year's champ is getting betting respect - and he deserves it. Last year's field was arguably stronger top-to-bottom and he beat 'em all. I'm not liking him this year though and think he's being bet too heavily.
6-1 Joe Hackett/Israel. This guy's got a great record, no eliminations, high rating...he's got it all. In fact a lot of early smart money was being played on him. But as the handicappers started picking him apart they realized he is a "Standard-only" player: he's only played one Variant, last year's DCI. However he's got an excellent position in Israel and with results like his he needs to be in the mix of low odd options.
15-1 Mikael Johansson/Poland. Big dip down from the top five to the bottom four, in our opinion. Mikael's the clear "best of the rest". This guy's never seen a Diplomacy game he didn't want to play and must be the most experienced player in DC history. A classic "boom-or-bust" player with lots of results all across the spectrum. I wouldn't put it past him to shock the world.
20-1 Mike Walters/Burgundy. Being an unknown is hurting him here, perhaps unfairly so. Maybe he's got a deeper pedigree than we realize, but we've got to judge what is in front of us. Yes, he's got that solo. It is tantalizing to say the least. But in a field this good that's just not enough to bet up. Somebody might get a real value in betting him at this price though.
25-1 Dirk Knemeyer/Eire. He's not alone as the longest shot only because he's in the corner and less likely to be devoured in the early going than some of the more central powers. Still, he just doesn't have the pedigree to warrant laying real money on to actually win it.
25-1 John Reside/Ukraine. He's got a notable record of being "good" but not necessarily "great". No solos, but 6 draws to go with just 1 survival and 2 eliminations. He might hang around but we just haven't seen the breakout ability here that would suggest he can persevere over this field.
I'm going to go with the hot hand and the better payout and put my money on Chris Morse. It feels heretical to bet against Mike Sims but sometimes you've just gotta go with your gut.
Happy hunting all. And to anyone who, errr, "helps" Chris Morse win so I can collect on my wager I've got a suite reserved at the Horseshoe just for you.
<dc10S01 final.dpy><dc10S01 final.gif><dc10S01 orders.gif><DCI10 map of centers.gif> |
| dc340 DCI 2010 - S01 Results - And We're Off! (DC Invitational) untitled36 Sep 11, 12:37 pm |
Yep,
Someone safely in the lower half of the alleged odds, but not the absolute lowest would be my bet.
John
|
| (DC 326) Gumball - Winter 1909 Results - Corrino (Sep 10, 2010, 9:37 pm) |
Hey there, Gumballers!
We have some pluses and minuses to apply to our map.
---------------------
England (-2)
F Skaggerak removed
F North Sea removed
---------------------
France (+1)
Build F Brest
----------------------
Germany (+2) ... but only room for one build
Build A Berlin
----------------------
Italy (+1)
Build F Naples
----------------------
Turkey (-1)
Remove F Bulgaria
----------------------
NEXT DEADLINE: Spring 1910 is due Wednesday, September 15, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern US time.
Cheers,
Chris[Reply] |
| DC309 Fall 1908 Results - mtombu (Sep 10, 2010, 9:23 pm) |
Hey All,
The draw proposal fails. We have the same draw re-proposed. Map and .dpy file are attached. check for errors. No retreats, no adjustments, so on to Spring 1909.
The players:
Austria: Phil <ilovethechiefs(at)gmail.com>
England: Andy <cloudhurler77(at)yahoo.com> *eliminated Winter 1905*
France: Dan <ddz999cat23(at)yahoo.com>
Germany: Ray <mczet99(at)gmail.com> *eliminated Winter 1906*
Italy: Blue <blueinva(at)cox.net>
Russia: John <untitled36(at)yahoo.com>
Turkey: Nathan <ndeily(at)yahoo.com> *eliminated Winter 1904*
Draw proposal:
The FAIR draw proposal fails.
A new FAIR draw is proposed.
Orders as received:
Austria:A Constantinople - Bulgaria
F Greece - Aegean Sea
F Eastern Med - Aegean Sea
F Albania Holds
A Serbia Supports F Albania
A Trieste Holds
A Tyrolia Supports A Trieste
A Vienna Supports A Trieste
A Bohemia Supports A Tyrolia
A Munich Holds
A Berlin Supports A Munich
A Silesia Supports A Munich
A Prussia Holds
A Livonia - St. Pete
A Moscow Supports A Livonia - St. Pete
France:
F Wes Holds
F Eng Holds
F Lon - Nth
F Nat - Cly
A Ruh Supp A Kie
A Bur Supp A Ruh
A Pie Supp A Ven
Italy:
A Venice supports A Piedmont - Tyrolia
F Adriatic supports A VeniceF Ionian supports F Adriatic
F Tunis supports F IonianF Tyrhennian supports F Ionian
A Apulia supports A Venice
Russia:
F Denmark Supports A Kiel
A Finland Supports A St Petersburg
A Kiel Hold
F North Sea Hold
A St Petersburg Hold
Orders as adjudicated by RP and me:Austria:
F Albania HoldA Berlin Supports A Munich
A Bohemia Supports A TyroliaA Constantinople - Bulgaria
F Eastern Mediterranean - Aegean Sea (*Bounce*)F Greece - Aegean Sea (*Bounce*)
A Livonia - St Petersburg (*Fails*)A Moscow Supports A Livonia - St Petersburg
A Munich HoldA Prussia Hold
A Serbia Supports F AlbaniaA Silesia Supports A Munich
A Trieste HoldA Tyrolia Supports A Trieste
A Vienna Supports A Trieste
France: A Burgundy Supports A Ruhr
F English Channel HoldF London - North Sea (*Fails*)
F North Atlantic Ocean - ClydeA Piedmont Supports A Venice
A Ruhr Supports A KielF Western Mediterranean Hold
Italy:
F Adriatic Sea Supports A VeniceA Apulia Supports A Venice
F Ionian Sea Supports F Adriatic SeaF Tunis Supports F Ionian Sea
F Tyrrhenian Sea Supports F Ionian SeaA Venice Supports A Piedmont - Tyrolia (*Void*)
Russia:
F Denmark Supports A KielA Finland Supports A St Petersburg
A Kiel HoldF North Sea Hold
A St Petersburg Hold
Deadlines:Spring 1909 deadline is Wednesday September 15th at 9 pm.[Reply] |
| DC309 Fall 1908 delay - mtombu (Sep 10, 2010, 7:55 pm) |
Orders are all in. Will adjudicate after supper.
Sent from my iPhone
On 2010-09-08, at 10:53 PM, mike Tombu <mtombu(at)gmail.com> wrote:
Hey All,
I'm missing orders. If you haven't got them to me, please do ASAP. I'm missing two sets as far as I can tell. No receipt = no orders received. Both players have been contacted individually. Remember to vote too!
Best,
Mike[Reply] |
