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Diplomaticcorp Discussion Forum:  dc272

(Machiavelli Variant - Map test only with no special rules)


Post:< 14439 
Subject:< DC-272 Game Over >
Topic:< dc272 >
Category:< Closed Games 
Author:chaosonejoe
Posted:Feb 12, 2010 at 7:34 pm
Viewed:1288 times

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Well, that was fun for a while, tedious at times, and mostly interesting.

I've been around the Diplomacy board for a long time, face-to-face, a few mail games, and rounds of email (of which I've been in more than a few recently, and mostly in spurts of activity.

Obviously I dared to choose Florence for the obvious connections. I've studied Machiavelli, put together a few game concepts, and respect the man as a writer/commentator/political analyst. But then, I don't quote him all that often.

Definite differences between this game and Dip, and this game and the board game. The lack of 'other' options than pure diplomacy definitely changes things up. The reliance on the board seems vastly unbalanced, yet strangely enough I lucked into some early success, and Venice played well in the endgame (as it were, because once Garry turned on me and turned the tide, it was rather obvious where it was headed.)

I did have disappointment in the decided lack of communcation. As Mr. Wolf said, there was leniency in the playtest aspect, and because of that, I think we all strayed from routine. I'm thinking that turned into a decided indifference to give-and-take at the tipping point, but that's my perspective.

Start of game was really intense, and seems to be the most fascinating aspect of the board. Papacy/Florence/Naples is just crazy in the setup. Unfortunately, our dear friend Brutus decided to role-play, and I do admit that was hard to handle. However it did allow for some double-dealing with Nathan, and then a "I can't believe the opportunity" moment when I saw five centers open and a major stab of my Napolitan ally ensued.

(As an aside, I did get harsh in tone and words with Brutus. No major regrets, but my main point is that a game is a game, and if someone chooses to be a pompous .... well, a pompous character, when everyone else is playing the game and not playing a character, there comes a time when you begin to grate on nerves, and not enhance the enjoyability of the game. At that point, elimination is the goal. Sorry.)

Well, to be honest, Nathan specifically alerted me to how badly things were going with Turkey, and not exactly studying the entirety of the board, I leapt at the info, realizing that I could more than cripple Naples and would have to race Turkey for centers down south regardless. Strangely enough, there was no coordination between myself and Max, but we vanquished Naples nonetheless.

Was it wrong? Well, in hindsight, without a solid border north and without the proper array of forces, and a laxadaisical effort, it didn't turn out well! Also, taking the center lead with that massive gain, especially at that point of the game, and not enforcing a strategy doomed me.

I went for balance, and with the chaos builds and the impossibility of holding back builds and the lack of restrictions on it meant taking a guess. As I foolishly indicated to Garry, I was horribly out of position. (Yeah, I learnt well from what I did earlier with Naples!)

Lack of garrison changes offered no help for me. Also that sea zone spacing really caused strategy issues for me (as well as my two year misreading of adjacency) as I felt the need to see the TS zone, but overcommitted forces and yet was unable to maintain it.

The north seemed interesting enough. I sided with France early, trying to keep a balance weight against what seemed to be a Milan eager to ally with everyone. I mentioned to Nick that the concept of promising other peoples centers for alliance purposes never makes sense. I had a distrust of Milan early, and was eager to work with Venice and France to force him out.

Of course, I was in no way prepared to defend against Venice, and foolishly though I had another turn or two to deal with it.

From there, battling Turkey kept me busy, and there were way too many stabs with Mark and no way to muster the naval forces in the West. I found it odd that Venice/Turkey worked the truce in the East, but it was obviously working and forced me to the draw before I got gobbled up for good.

I will say that the earlier draw proposals were insulting, and definitely would say that a legit offer a month ago would have ended the game accordingly.

Best to all, and I look forward to gaming with you guys in the future.

And special thanks to The White Wolf for running this playtest. I know I had my memory issues, deadline misses and other assorted annoyances like most others.

--Joe Babinsack

This message is in reply to post 14433:

Guys,
I'm pleased to announce the end of DC-272: Machiavelli Map-Only Play Test. A unanimous YES vote to the T/V draw means you can all feel free to move on to your next challenge. Thanks for participating, and I'd personally appreciate EoG statements. Specifically, since this was a play test, I'd like to see your comments on map balance, what you'd like to see changed, etc. You can send them Reply All or directly to me (I'll send them to everyone). Thanks for playing!
I hope my quotes put you all in mind of the man this variant is named for. At the least, I hope you enjoyed reading them. This final quote says as much about Diplomacy players as any other group of people - I am pleased to acquaint myself with all of you, and hope to run into you many times in future games.


"There is no better indication of a man’s character than the company which he keeps; and therefor very properly a man who keeps respectable company acquires a good name, for it is impossible that there should not be some similitude of character and habits between him and his associates." - Niccoló Machiavelli, The Discourses. 1517


Players:

Austria: Aidan Slattery <AiSlattery(at)aol.com>
France: Mark Utterbach <MDemagogue(at)gmail.com>
Florence: Joe Babinsack <chaosonejoe(at)yahoo.com>
Milan: Nick Cherrier <zeclient(at)hotmail.com>
Naples: Nathan Deily <ndeily(at)yahoo.com>
Papacy: Kevin Burt <Brutus(at)wbhsi.net>
Turkey: Max Victory <maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk>
Venice: Garry Bledsoe <kielmarch(at)hotmail.com>


Draw Proposals:

Venice/Turkey 2-way draw (France and Florence get survival) :: Succeeded


Final Disposition:

Austria: ELIMINATED 1459

France: 8 Centers, Survival

Florence: 9 Centers, Survival

Milan: ELIMINATED 1460

Naples: ELIMINATED 1456

Papacy: ELIMINATED 1456

Turkey: 11 Centers, Draw Participant

Venice: 16 Centers, Draw Participant


Final Map and RP file (as of Autumn 1461) are attached for your convenience, enjoy!

Thanks all,
The White Wolf
I'm a Firefly fan and proud! Read my fiction:
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1369632/

There are 2 Messages in this Thread:


DC-272 Game Over (TheWhiteWolf) Feb 12, 02:54 pm

DC-272 Game Over (chaosonejoe) Feb 12, 07:34 pm

There are 79 Threads in dc272:


DC-272 EOG Turkey (pieandmash)

DC-272 Game Over (TheWhiteWolf) [1 Reply]

DC-272 Deadline Delay (TheWhiteWolf)

DC-272 Autumn 1461 Adjudication (TheWhiteWolf)

DC-272 Fall 1461 Adjudication (TheWhiteWolf)

DC-272 Spring 1461 Adjudication (TheWhiteWolf)

DC-272 New Turkey (TheWhiteWolf)

DC-272 Seeking Replacement Turkey (TheWhiteWolf)

DC-272 Winter 1460 Adjudication (TheWhiteWolf)

DC-272 Intent to Adjudicate Early (TheWhiteWolf)

DC-272 Addendum (TheWhiteWolf)

DC-272 Fall 1460 Adjudication (TheWhiteWolf)

DC-272 (TheWhiteWolf)

DC-272 Summer 1460 Adjudication (TheWhiteWolf)

DC-272 Spring 1460 Adjudication (TheWhiteWolf)

DC-272 Adjudication Tomorrow (TheWhiteWolf)

DC-272 Winter 1459 Adjudication (TheWhiteWolf)

DC-272 Fall 1459 Adjudication (TheWhiteWolf)

DC-272 Deadline Imminent (TheWhiteWolf)

DC-272 Summer 1459 Adjudication (TheWhiteWolf)


1 - 20 of 79 shown [More]

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