Diplomats with Jobs - Quarantine War!

Diplomats with Jobs - The Quarantine War!

IMAGE(http://www.backstabbr.com/images/new-map.png)


The Players:

bbk1980 as England

Herrick as France

feegle as Germany

GioClark as Italy

RawkGWJ as Austria

onewild as Turkey

Scottish_Leprechaun as Russia


Index and TL:DR


Year 1

Spoiler:
Spring

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/FLYdbW1.png)

Fall

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/ngDg6hp.png)

Winter

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/twkAnSn.png)


Year 2

Spoiler:
Spring

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/GyfgQWu.png)

Fall

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/nuCPowA.png)

Winter

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/ZX0hxIM.png]https://i.imgur.com/ZX0hxIM.png)


Year 3

Spoiler:
Spring

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/T3sBJ2E.png)

At this point we’re waiting for just one more player to sign in and join the game. I’m pretty sure Kronen knows who it’s supposed to be.

I was just checking in for an ETA for turn 1.

We're currently waiting on Chumpy_McChump to join up. He hasn't replied to PM, but that may be just unfamiliarity with the message system. I'm going post in the board game thread and give 24 hours to check in.

That said, if anyone reading this is interested in participating please let me know! You'll be first on the list of Chumpy can't play.

Year 1 Spring - Cautious Expansion

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/FLYdbW1.png)

Our great powers tentatively expand their boundaries while exploring diplomatic options.

In the East, a mad dive for the Balkans is on! Russian, Turkish and Austrian armies vie for position while the fleets patrol their coasts.

In the West, the trio of great powers appear to have agreed upon rights to Iberia, the Low Countries and the North. Army movement is respectful and uniformly away from their neighbors. Only time will tell if this holds.

Year 1 Fall - First Contact

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/ngDg6hp.png)

Skirmish and pitched battle ravage the Balkans! A combined Turkish maneuver forces the Russian navy back to Sevastopol. Meanwhile, attempts by foreign powers to seize Warsaw and Trieste are repelled. In the confusion, Italy lands on Greece meeting little resistance.

All is calm and orderly in the West. English foot are feasting on ribbe and lutefisk. France has complete control from the coast to Luxembourg. Germany has settled the Schleswig-Holstein question.

With this new found wealth, the great powers decide on building the following units for next year:
IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/twkAnSn.png)

France builds 2 armies inland and a fleet in Brest.
Germany builds two armies on its eastern border.
An army is raised in London.
Two fleets appear on the Med, in Naples and Smyrna respectively.
An army in Ankara is added as well.

Where will these new munitions be aimed?

This is great. Please keep the reports coming!

Kronen wrote:

We're currently waiting on Chumpy_McChump to join up. He hasn't replied to PM, but that may be just unfamiliarity with the message system. I'm going post in the board game thread and give 24 hours to check in.

That said, if anyone reading this is interested in participating please let me know! You'll be first on the list of Chumpy can't play.

Me!

Oh god this brings me back to a mandatory diplomacy game in high school where I got steamrolled as Turkey. Still have nightmares about it.

But interested to see how this shakes out.

Year 2 Spring - Wars Hot and Cold

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/GyfgQWu.png)

The city of Baarle-Nassau, complicating the border between Belgium and Holland, bristles with blue and black troops casting steely-eyed glares at each other. England maintains its vigilant watch over the area while marching into Sweden unopposed.

The joint maneuvers of Austrian fleets and Turkish armies fail to expel the Italian marines reinforced from the sea. The pitched battle over Trieste continues in force. Russia sneaks into Budapest but loses its hold on Sevastopol and Warsaw in the process.

Will the status quo hold in both theaters?

Year 2 Fall - Complicated Battles and Maneuvers

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/nuCPowA.png)

Daring displays of technical prowess and bravery are on display in the Fall. The Italian Marines, grievously overpowered by three Austro-Turkish forces, spend their final hours upsetting the Serbian support of Rumania. Because of this, Russia holds Budapest into the hard winter! Germany holds Warsaw, but its attack into the Livonian forests is thwarted by the Russian counter.

With clockwork coordination, the Gascogne army lands on the coast of North Africa by way of the Mid-Atlantic fleet. No small feat indeed! The Italian occupying force in Tunisia looks on nervously. Meanwhile, England sails in the Barents Sea, its reign over the north seas unquestioned.

What will the powers build this year?

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/ZX0hxIM.png]https://i.imgur.com/ZX0hxIM.png)

Turkey secures funds for an army and fleet, but that fleet is matched by one newly minted in Napoli.

Fleets in Berlin and Edinburgh are built. Do they portend a contest for the north seas?

Year 3 Spring - Coordinating Tactical Retreats

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/T3sBJ2E.png)

Even in backtracking, our forces move with smooth precision. Austria and Turkey combine to repel the Russian forces in Budapest. Successive chains of Austrian movement are uninterrupted by foreign powers. Italy graciously cedes Tunis to France while forcing a fleet into the Ionian. Austria holds Trieste against Italy, but a wildcard French army in Tyrolia might upset that balance.

The Western Triple Alliance continues to hold its truce. England is knocking the door in Saint Petersburg with land and sea forces. Russia is in full retreat to hold against the German advance. Still, the forces on the new Franco-German border hold in place.

What will the Fall hold for the powers under fire?

Fuuuuuuuuuu....

Copy and paste messed up... Have to rewrite this entry...

Thanks for writing this up. It fun to read!

Sorry for the inconsistency on my part! Life has been a bit crazy here... but the game has been going well!

A flood of posts is imminent!

Year 4 Spring - Alignment of Power

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/IFamIZj.png)

With Russia dispatched, a new balance of power emerges as the nations shuffle their armies into position. Immediately, the English and German forces shift westward. Previous zones of truce on the French border, Burgundy and the Channel, are encroached upon with foreign forces.

The Balkans continue to be a mad scramble for power. Trieste is forced only with Italian and French forces working in concert. In an odd confluence of events (that the GM missed beforehand), the Ionian fleet didn't accept the support of its surrounding fleets because of its stab at Albania. Other than those headlines, the scrum reveals little movement, but the Fall will have to be influenced by the shifting of forces in the North.


Year 4 Fall - New Fronts for War

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/F3DQrC5.png)

Dispelling any possible ambiguity, the English and German forces push hard into the French mainland. German tanks take Paris and Belgium, tempering the success in repelling a English landing in Brest. To counter the anticipated losses, France assumes responsibility for Venice and Rome, all but eliminating his Italian ally.

All fleets in the area point their guns at the Ionian, but at the end of the season Turkey holds the status quo. Deftly and swiftly, Turkey consolidates power from Austria by taking Trieste and Vienna. The wall of Turkish tanks seems poised to push further into the continent!

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/OdZqhEo.png)

Austria keeps an army on the frontlines to work with Turkey, and Italy keeps a fleet in Naples. Other than those disbands, every force builds an army for the coming continental battle. Two German forces appear as Eastward as possible and to answer, Turkey builds two reinforcing armies. A French army in Brest is raised, but is it enough to stem the tide of Anglo-German aggression?

Alas, I am no more.

Year 5 Spring - Power Plays

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/3tygXe3.png)

England and Germany force their way into the French mainland in earnest, killing an army stranded on the beaches of Picardy. English fleets begin eyeing the Iberian coast as they support each other into the Mid-Atlantic.

Turkey jumps forward in the South, double convoying an army from Constantinople to Apulia. Other armies shuffle forward, absorbing Budapest and forcing Tyrolia. A hard front begins to form on the German southern front.


Year 5 Fall - Rear Guard Action

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/gZObcsn.png)

France is in a fight for its life! Armies are trying desperately to reorganize and repel the German advance. An isolated army in Tunis is ferried over to the Italian mainland. Will Turkey allow it to stay? Turkey is busy elsewhere as well. Germany and Turkey quickly form their battle lines on their new front with no skirmishes as of yet.

England and Germany continue to operate in concert. An French army in Paris dissolves under the pressure of the German advance, while an army in Brest is forced back by an English landing. The entire English armada was involved in the landing! Fleets in the Atlantic ferried the army while shelling from a fleet in the English Channel paved the way for the landing.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/tljppVE.png)

Turkish factories are sent into overdrive to meet demand. Two new armies and a fleet are quickly assembled. In the North, England builds a fleet in Edinburgh. Does the choice to build there instead of Liverpool put ally Germany on edge?

Well it ended in a 4 way draw between England, Turkey France and Germany. Firstly thanks to all the players and particularly to Kronen for organising and GMing. As a total newbie it was daunting but you really helped.

I had a really good time with it but its very stressful wondering who will or will not live up to the commitments.

OneWild can i ask had Germany and I thrown France under a bus at the end I think you would have been able to storm to 18 on a solo Turkish win, would you have done?

It was fun, but quite taxing mentally. I don’t think I’ll ever play again, but I’m glad I got to try Diplomacy. Thanks to Kronen for hosting and GMing. Thanks to OneWild for being a true ally.

bbk1980 wrote:

OneWild can i ask had Germany and I thrown France under a bus at the end I think you would have been able to storm to 18 on a solo Turkish win, would you have done?

First thanks for everyone, I had fun (I mean I would say that because I was doing well) and for Kronen for hosting. Have to admit towards the end, was abit of going through the motions just because it was clear it was a stalemate as soon as me and Germany didn't act quick enough to break each others lines. Only way it could have changed is if you had gone after each other.

As for your question, I don't think I could have, as there is no way you would have supported any of my moves into France so only way to get rid would have been for me to support you guys. All it would have done would have kept the stalemate line without France.
I had my draw setting to 3 powers for the last 2 years but you did't want to bite and I couldn't be bothered keeping it going till you all agreed with me.
All that said

Even at the end when France didn't do any moves and I got Spain, i still couldn't have forced anything.

Also the moment where I was discussing with both Italy and Austria about attacking the other one and trying to work out who to back and who to screw, well this game makes you feel very guilty.

It has taught me to never play this with close friends who are bit sensitve to what happens in game (we have one guy who got upset at a "betrayal" in Twilight. So yeah never with him.

onewild wrote:

Also the moment where I was discussing with both Italy and Austria about attacking the other one and trying to work out who to back and who to screw, well this game makes you feel very guilty.

It has taught me to never play this with close friends who are bit sensitve to what happens in game (we have one guy who got upset at a "betrayal" in Twilight. So yeah never with him.

Wise words. With games like this, you can't be fighting yesterday's war or holding grudges across sessions. And knowing that you're being talked about more than you're talked to is a sobering realization but also an integral part of this game.

Being the only player (that I knew of) that had experience, I came in knowing I'd have a target on my back. I knew that I needed to keep the Juggernaut from happening but also missed out on a key mid game ally in Russia when they were the first player eliminated. After that, I continued to reach for opportunities, but didn't keep my hopes up. Playing up the RPG-lite aspects of communications was fun.

One part that's hard is the player elimination aspect and watching a game play out for almost two months as a spectator (and trying to honor the spirit of the game by not commenting) is tough. What I did try to focus on was keeping the next 20 games in mind and maintaining reputation as a player. One part of the meta of Diplomacy is getting familiar with the group and their style of play (and tendency to take or not take things personally).

Either way, I had fun and hope others did too. Here's to next time!

“Betrayal” games do have interesting dynamics among close friends. We were playing a lighthearted one during a game night. In this game there can be one or two moles, chosen at random each round. Another friend and I were simultaneously the moles during one round. We played it well and the rest of the group was completely bamboozled. The very next round, someone else was the solo mole. I figured out who it was but nobody trusted me and it led to a loss for the “good guys”. It was pretty interesting from psychological standpoint. Luckily no one’s feelings were hurt. I hope.

onewild wrote:

Also the moment where I was discussing with both Italy and Austria about attacking the other one and trying to work out who to back and who to screw, well this game makes you feel very guilty.

It has taught me to never play this with close friends who are bit sensitve to what happens in game (we have one guy who got upset at a "betrayal" in Twilight. So yeah never with him.

A great summation of the core of the game. A solid alliance with France and Germany had to be broken at some point as i needed a mainland Europe landing point however picking which one was the country to go after was a nightmare and after everyone stuck to their word so well in the early game produced real guilt.

I would avoid playing this with a lot of my core board game group as they just dont like having to screw people as a mechanic. I saw a couple have an interesting evening after one betrayed the rest of the table in Dead of Winter.

I am interested in playing a more central country next time i dive in as they look far more difficult. It seems difficult to win starting on GB but also difficult to lose so long as you keep the channel clear. This feels like a once every 6 months to a year type game to me. One i would like to try in person still too.

Thank you all for the game! I too will probably not do it again, I prefer more board strategy and less manipulation. Seems like you constantly had to be turning on your ally from one year to the next. Turkey should have, and could have had the game. I knew the 3 way alliance with Germany and England wouldn’t last, I was just hoping I wouldn’t be holding the short straw. At that point I knew my only chance was to ally with Turkey and stay in the game as long as I could. I knew my chances of regaining power were slim but figured my only option was to hold on. At that point I would have helped Turkey get a solo victory. If he hadn’t broken our agreement when he did, it would have been a done deal.

I’m in next time (as long as I don’t miss the start email)!

I'm so glad you all enjoyed the game!

Sorry all for dropping off the face of the earth. Turns out I remembered incorrectly... PlayDiplomacy's interface is actually easier to upload that Backstabbr. This means I had to do the updates on my desktop (rather than tablet alone) by manually DLing all the pictures. With new parenthood and some concurrent anxiety issues, I've had less and less time on my desktop and this project fell to the way side. This is the first time I've logged into GWJ in a while, but I do intend to complete the write up after the fact.... Good to see you enjoyed the game though!

Year 6 Spring - Hardened Borders

IMAGE(https://imgur.com/JQdB73Y.png)

The dawn arrives for the new status quo: a Europe without Austro-Hungarian and Italian governments. Quickly a new entente in the south is formed. France enters into a partnership with Turkey and diverts all its forces to repel invasion.

Germany bears the brunt of the offensive in the West and attempts to establish a border in Ukraine, but is repelled. Turkey establishes a forward position by forcing into Tyrolia and Galicia.


Year 6 Fall - Stymied Attacks

IMAGE(https://imgur.com/R19lcYZ.png)

The new borders are tested bitterly. Almost every single advance is repelled by defenders. France holds their Spanish territory and the new capital in Marseilles. Fleets in the Med and Atlantic are forced back. Bohemia holds a combined advance. Only Galicia and Ukraine trade ownership in the Fall. Will that positioning prove instrumental in the coming year?

IMAGE(https://imgur.com/bRmC908.png)

When the snows set in, the new partition of Europe is explicit and cuts directly across diagonally. Germany scuttles a fleet and Turkey builds another in Constantinople.

Year 7 Spring - Coordination and Progress

IMAGE(https://imgur.com/iPYp7l4.png)

New vantages of attack and maneuver are explored. Some incremental progress is made as fleets progress into the Eastern Med and the Turkish quad attack into Gal destroys a German army! All this while holding a push into Tyrolia.


Year 7 Fall - Establishing Momentum

IMAGE(https://imgur.com/oThQNzp.png)

Turkey continues to leverage power in the East! Moscow falls when its support from Warsaw is undermined by Galicia. The army is forced to retreat into Livonia.

Two seasons of French assault on Gascony have only served to harden the trenches. Consistently their advances have been repelled. The hopes a new advance into the Atlantic are dashed as England musters enough support to hold the waters.

IMAGE(https://imgur.com/1Ibtzpq.png)

Turkey continues to chip away at the northern forces, but will it be enough? Germany is forced to rebuild the army lost on the bloody fields of Galicia. Ukraine is left temporarily undefended. Will that undermine the Turkish position in the new year?

It was fun but exhausting!