Hi again to all -
Several of you have asked me some very good questions that I wanted to
share with the group. I also want to encourage all of you to read the
DipWIki.com entry for this variant closely - this is very important to
understanding the best strategy for this position, and the game as a
whole! (It only takes a minute!) On to the questions -
Q1 - Hey B, can you add the startmap with abbreviations to the DipWiki?
A1 - Done!
Q2 - Is there a listing of all the full province names somewhere?
A2 - Yes! Two places. In the attached Excel file, and in the orders
window of Realpolitik.
Q3 - Are there Realpolitik files for this variant available?
A3 - Yes! www.diplomaticcorp.com - click variants at the top.
Q4 - What are those six darker black lines in some sea zones on the map?
A4 - Bizen and Sanuki are considered land contiguous, as are Nagato
and Chikuzen, Iyo and Bungo, Iyo and Suo, Mikawa and Shima, and Awa
and Kii, though they appear separated by water on the map. Both
Armies and Fleets may cross from one of these territories directly to
the other. Movement by fleets through the surrounding sea zones is
unaffected. The six dark borders indicate these "bridges" on the map.
Q5 - Does this variant have chaos builds?
A5 - Yes! Meaning that there is no such thing as a "home" SC. You
may build on any vacant SC you own.
Q6 - How do neutral armies and Diplomacy Points work? Do you need
support to dislodge neutral armies? (YES)
A6 - In addition to the 8 players of this variant, there are neutral
territories, represented by White on the map. Each neutral territory
is occupied by a neutral army that may be ordered to either hold or
support another unit by using Diplomacy Points (DP).
Every spring and fall, each player in the game receives 1 Diplomacy
Point for each SC controlled (up to a maximum of 3) to use to
influence the actions of the neutral armies on the map. Each season,
players may submit orders for the various neutral armies as if they
were their own, and assign up to 2 of their total DP points to each
order. During adjudication, the order that received the most total DP
points for a particular unit is carried out. Any other orders
submitted with fewer DP points are not carried out, and those DP
points are lost. A unit must receive at least 1 DP point to execute
an order. Units receiving no DP points hold. Neutral armies, like
any other, may have their support cut by an attacking unit, and may be
supported to hold by other neutrals or players. Neutral armies are
disbanded immediately if dislodged, but rebuilt at the end of the year
if the territory is not occupied. Once occupied, the territory
becomes a standard SC, and never reverts to a neutral again.
Q7 - Can I see some examples of what Diplomacy Points orders should look like?
A7 - Yes! I will list two examples here to try and illustrate the
land bridge, neutral army, and Diplomacy points rules. Find Hoki on
the map, as both illustrations will focus on that region.
...Situation 1: DP Points. Suppose that a player has an army in
Hoki, and wants to attack Bingo to capture that SC. Bingo has a
neutral army, so the order A Hoki - Bingo will fail to dislodge the
neutral army in Bingo unless it has support. If that player also
allocates 1 or more Diplomacy points as follows - 1 DP: A Bizen S A
Hoki - Bingo - then the neutral Army in Bizen will support A Hoki -
Bingo, which will now succeed 2-1 against A Bingo. If another player
submits an order such as 2 DP: A Bizen S A Tango - Inaba, then A Bizen
will execute that order instead of the support for A Hoki - Bingo,
because more Diplomacy Points were allocated to that move. Multiple
players may add DP points to a single order to try and ensure that
their desired move is executed - but no single player may allocate
more than 2 DP points to a single neutral unit.
...Situation 2: Support of neutral units may be cut/Land Bridges. In
the same situation above, let us assume that Chosokabe orders A Sanuki
- Bizen. Then although A Bizen will try to support A Tango - Inaba,
the support is cut by A Sanuki - Bizen, as it would be with any other
army. Notice that A Sanuki - Bizen is a valid move, because Sanuki
and Bizen are connected by the dark lines indicating narrow channels
that armies can cross without being convoyed, as mentioned above.
There you have it - hope all this helps! Do please continue to ask
any questions you may have - once you understand the concepts listed
above, Sengoku is very easy to play.
B.
On 3/3/10, Benjamin Hester <screwtape777-at-gmail.com> wrote:
All players have confirmed - we're a go for the Sengoku-jidai! I hope
everyone enjoyed the background on the historical period I sent
earlier, this variant captures what truly is one of the most
fascinating conflicts in all the history of the world. This is the
age of the samurai and the ninja, the tea master turned diplomat, and
such legendary figures as Takeda Shingen, the Tiger of Kai and the
Uesugi Kenshin, the Dragon of Echigo. May the best daimyo win, and
claim the shogunate for their clan...
Mike - if you would please assign a game number, we're ready to begin.
DEADLINE: Spring 1570 will be due Thursday, March 18th, 2010, at 1700
Eastern. Remember - prelims are required! You may revise them as
many times as you wish.
And now...the daimyo assignments! I am very pleased to announce that
*all six* of the players that submitted preferences received their top
choice - very rare, and a good indication of balance in the variant.
Shimazu Yoshihisa - Isaac Zinner - isaac DOT zinner AT gmail DOT com
Mori Motonari - Jim Atkins - savwa4 AT comcast DOT net
Chosokabe Motochika - Jean-Luc Lefebvre - lefebvre DOT jlx AT googlemail DOT
com
Asakura Yoshikage - Garry Bledsoe - kielmarch-at-hotmail.com
Oda Nobunaga - Joe Babinsack - chaosonejoe AT yahoo DOT com
Takeda Shingen - Nathan Deily - ndeily AT yahoo DOT com
Uesugi Kenshin - Fredrik Blom - fredrik AT familjenblom DOT se
Hojo Ujiyasu - Michael Thompson - psychosis AT sky DOT com
And once again - PRELIMS!!!
Thanks!
B.
On 3/2/10, Benjamin Hester <screwtape777-at-gmail.com> wrote:
[quote:3c4b4711bb]Hello again players - we now have 8 people signed up for our round of
the latest Sengoku playtest, and are ready to assign positions and
begin. As the game announcement has been open for some time now, I
would like all players to send me a quick email to confirm they are
still committed to playing the game, and ready to begin. Please also
send me your preferences if you have not done so already. As soon as
I receive confirmation from all 8 of you, I will assign countries and
announce the first deadline.
My house rules for this game follow - one key thing to emphasize -
NMRs *will* be adjudicated, and deadlines will be adhered to strictly.
If you require an extension or absence, see my house rules (attached)
for the submission timeline.
I encourage all of you to read the Dip Wiki entry for the variant
throughly...(takes all
of a minute or two). It explains the variant in detail (it's very
simple really - only three concepts distinguish it from standard - 1 -
build on any vacant owned SC, rather than home SCs only - 2 - neutral
armies - 3 - DP points).
I have also made two recent changes (copied below) to the DP points
system, and the victory criteria, which was lowered from 22 to 21 SCs.
If you read the DipWiki a while ago, it might be good to revisit it
now. The variants page on the diplomaticcorp.com site is also the
place to download the Realpolitik files, which is of course the very
*best* way to get familiar with a new variant.
http://www.dipwiki.com/index.php?title=Sengoku
www.diplomaticcorp.com (click variants at the top)
"Every spring and fall, each player in the game receives 1 Diplomacy
Point for each SC controlled (up to a maximum of 3) to use to
influence the actions of the neutral armies on the map. Each season,
players may submit orders for the various neutral armies as if they
were their own, and assign up to 2 of their total DP points to each
order. During adjudication, the order that received the most total DP
points for a particular unit is carried out. Any other orders
submitted with fewer DP points are not carried out, and those DP
points are lost. A unit must receive at least 1 DP point to execute
an order. Units receiving no DP points hold. Neutral armies, like
any other, may have their support cut by an attacking unit, and may be
supported to hold by other neutrals or players. Neutral armies are
disbanded immediately if dislodged, but rebuilt at the end of the year
if the territory is not occupied. Once occupied, the territory
becomes a standard SC, and never reverts to a neutral again.
Example orders (Hojo):
F Izu - Sagami
A Sagami - Hitachi
F Kazusa S A Sagami - Hitachi
Neutral A Kozuke S A Sagami - Hitachi (2 DP)
Neutral A Musashi S A Sagami - Hitachi (1DP)
Presuming that other players do not outbid the Hojo orders, both A
Kozuke and A Musashi will support A Sagami - Hitachi. Along with F
Kazusa's support, A Sagami now has three supports against Hitachi.
Victory is declared when one Daimyo has control of 21 SCs, or all
other players concede defeat. Unlike previous versions, all types of
draw proposals are now acceptable. Have fun and welcome to 16th
Century Japan!"
I'd also like to ask that all players that sign up for the game commit
to turning in prelims each season as soon as they receive the results,
and also commit to playing the game through to completion. Finally,
do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions about the variant - I
will always be willing to confirm whether a set of orders is valid, or
to explain how I would adjudicate a particular set of orders, and why.
(Of course, I can't advise if its a good idea or not 
Thanks!
B.
--
Diplomacy in Texas!
www.texasdiplomacy.com
http://nairenvorbeck.angelfire.com/
Realpolitik files available here for the Sengoku, Balkans1860, South
American Supremacy, and DarkAges Diplomacy Variants
--
Diplomacy in Texas!
www.texasdiplomacy.com
http://nairenvorbeck.angelfire.com/
Realpolitik files available here for the Sengoku, Balkans1860, South
American Supremacy, and DarkAges Diplomacy Variants
[/quote:3c4b4711bb]
--
Diplomacy in Texas!
www.texasdiplomacy.com
http://nairenvorbeck.angelfire.com/
Realpolitik files available here for the Sengoku, Balkans1860, South
American Supremacy, and DarkAges Diplomacy Variants
