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 Conspiracy Alright, folks. A whole lot of us are stuck inside. Seems as good a time as any to start up a new LP, yeah? The name of the game is Diplomacy. Or, well, Conspiracy is the name of the game, but it's an app version of the classic board game by Allan Calhamer, where seven players vie to conquer World War I Europe. If you know the rules, then I needn't explain them here. The app is very faithful to the board game. For those of you unfamiliar, here's a quick blurb: Each player aims to move their few starting units and defeat those of others to win possession of a majority of strategic cities and provinces marked as "supply centers" on the map; these supply centers allow players who control them to produce more units. The winner of the game is the first to reach the target number of SCs. (18 in the base game, see below).  Image shows starting positions and units of the standard Europe Diplomacy map. Now the biggest feature of Diplomacy--and the one that I find most exciting--is that there is no random chance involved. Unlike other strategy games reliant on dice, such as Axis and Allies or Risk, Diplomacy relies entirely on human choices and cooperation. No cooperation? You're gonna lose the game. Cooperate too much? Well, someone'll probably backstab you eventually... This is one of the original "games that will ruin friendships". At least Monopoly had some random chance in it. If you gently caress over someone in Diplomacy, that is a choice you have to willingly make and you have to own it. To quickly review the game rules for new players (These are pulled directly from the Conspiracy app's website): Badfrog Conspiracy Game Rules posted:Players and empires Simple, no? If you want a more detailed explanation of how the rules work, the app's webpage gives a good break down: http://badfrog.info/conspiracy/en/orders_resolution/ Or, you could always download the app and run the tutorial. It takes you through every possible order in the game so you see how it works. It's fairly intuitive. The big different between this app and the board game is you need to specify whether you are providing Support defensively or offensively, and that Retreat Phases get their own turn. Otherwise, I assure you, it's fairly intuitive. The app won't let you make orders that are impossible: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.badfrog.conspiracy.app&hl=en_US (Sadly, this game only runs on Androids). Anyways! If you are interested in play, please download the app and create a username. Let me now what your username is and I will invite you to a game. And, well, I will LP it for the benefit of the rest of the subforum! Those of you who want to watch rather than play, hey, take bets! I'm sure we can come up with some appropriate forum prizes. I would like to have at least 6 people for a standard 7-player game. If there's a whole bunch of people interested, we could go for one of the larger maps, such as Crowded Europe or North America. If this goes well, I am open to running multiple games... but let's see how we do with one for now. 
Sally fucked around with this message at 21:43 on Mar 25, 2020 |
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Mar 25, 2020 21:39
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Classic - Europe 1901 Players : : Nation Dash Rendar - Germany oldskool - France† 1906 circlmastr - Italy† 1909 Dr. Snark - Russia† Danaru - Austria-Hungary ProfFrink - Ottoman Empire Enchanted Hat - United Kingdom The Turn of the 20th Century Spring 1901 Fall 1901 Spring 1902 Fall 1902 Spring 1903 Fall 1903 Spring 1904 Fall 1904 Spring 1905 Fall 1905 Spring 1906 Fall 1906† (France Postmortem) Spring 1907 Fall 1907 Spring 1908 Fall 1908 Spring 1909 Fall 1909† (Italy Postmortem) Spring 1910 Fall 1910 Spring 1911 Fall 1911 Spring 1912 Fall 1912 Spring 1913 Fall 1913† (Russia Postmortem) Spring 1914 Fall 1914 Spring 1915 Fall 1915 Spring 1916 Fall 1916 Spring 1917 Fall 1917 Spring 1918 Fall 1918 1919 1920 MagusofStars posted:SUMMARY OF ALL RUNNING BETS: Sally fucked around with this message at 22:35 on May 17, 2020 |
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Mar 25, 2020 21:42
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All votes must by in prior to the Spring 1911 update (i.e., two days from now). Ideally everybody could get theirs in even earlier than that so everybody's voting on the same current playing field, but I know not everyone is watching this thread like a hawk, so I don't want to be too strict.
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sign me up! username is the same as forum name
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Mar 25, 2020 21:56
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Heck yeah! Gonna wait and see how many we get before I start sending out invites. So your Conspiracy inbox will be silent for now.
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Mar 25, 2020 22:11
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Sign me up, just downloaded the app and username matches forum name.
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Mar 25, 2020 22:17
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I will never, ever play this game again because I can't convince anyone to do anything, but I'll happily bookmark and watch. Suggestion for others, maps with arrows and anything else that makes watching better would be much appreciated!
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Mar 25, 2020 22:18
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I'm betting Italy will win.
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Mar 25, 2020 22:23
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silvergoose posted:I will never, ever play this game again because I can't convince anyone to do anything, but I'll happily bookmark and watch. Suggestion for others, maps with arrows and anything else that makes watching better would be much appreciated! good news! the app does the whole arrow thing so you can easily track map movement
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Mar 25, 2020 23:19
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Jobbo_Fett posted:I'm betting Italy will win. I'm feeling Austria.
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Mar 25, 2020 23:25
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Cythereal posted:I'm feeling Austria. fool, italy is the most op nation
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Mar 26, 2020 00:28
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Hell with it, I'm throwing my hat in the ring. Can't wait to play and be outplayed. Edit: Forgot to mention in it the earlier post: same username for both systems. Dr. Snark fucked around with this message at 06:06 on Mar 26, 2020 |
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Mar 26, 2020 00:36
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Hell yeah I don't know what's going on but I want in. Username is Danaru in the game too
Danaru fucked around with this message at 00:57 on Mar 26, 2020 |
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Mar 26, 2020 00:52
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People are making bets and we haven't even picked a map yet! (we need a few more players...)
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Mar 26, 2020 04:12
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specifically, we need at least two more.
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Mar 26, 2020 04:53
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I played this once. Never again. I look forward to seeing it unfold though.
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Mar 26, 2020 05:22
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Jobbo_Fett posted:I'm betting Italy will win. Gamerofthegame posted:fool, italy is the most op nation Also, for people who have never played Diplomacy before, these are pretty good shitposts. Of all the nations in the game, Italy is generally considered to be at the biggest disadvantage and least likely to win. From one dude: Stephen Agar posted:Italy is the Power on the Diplomacy board which inspires both irrational obsessional love in some, while to others the thought of being stuck on four green units for years (in both game time and real time) brings only a Venetian sinking feeling. It certainly isn't going to give you your best chance of an outright win, as the stats suggest that of all Powers, Italy is the most unlikely to win the game (R=17.7%; G=17.13%; F=16.57%; T=14.89%; A=11.89%; E=11.14%; I=10.67%). If Diplomacy was a perfectly balanced game you could expect to win 14.29% of the time, but it isn't and if you are playing Italy then you certainly won't. White Coke posted:I played this once. Never again. I look forward to seeing it unfold though.  That's fair. This game. This game...
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Mar 26, 2020 05:33
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Italy was my first win! I don't have time to commit to playing, but I will follow.
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Mar 26, 2020 05:39
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Jobbo_Fett posted:I'm betting Italy will win. I had to check - I played a diplomacy game here on SA over twelve(!) years ago and won as Italy. It can be done.
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Mar 26, 2020 05:39
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Can you somehow combine the rulesets of Diplomacy and Pandemic?
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Mar 26, 2020 05:59
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There's also a gunboat variant of Diplomacy where nobody communicates. I don't know if that's more or less stressful than the base game, but I'd guess that that the center powers (Austria/Italy) fare even worse than usual.
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Mar 26, 2020 10:59
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How badly would a newcomer fare? This game seems like a very complicated one.
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Mar 26, 2020 13:55
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The rules themselves are very simple, and everything is nice and deterministic. The strategy is a bit less simple, but you can wing it as long as you're sufficiently evil. By far the hardest part of the game is getting people to trust you as you prepare to sink in the knife.
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Mar 26, 2020 14:12
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1234567890num posted:How badly would a newcomer fare? This game seems like a very complicated one.
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Mar 26, 2020 14:26
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Haven't played in awhile, but I'm in. Account name is the same as the Forums name.
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Mar 26, 2020 14:44
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Diplomacy has newbie-friendly rules, but I wouldn't say it's a newbie-friendly game. Moving your mans around isn't that complex, the goals are pretty obvious and there are plenty of tools available you can use for planning. You can reasonably expect to not gently caress up your orders and have your mans move where you want them to first time through. So, sure, in that sense a newbie will do fine. However, much of the strategy of the game revolves around reading your opponents likely moves from their various statements of questionable veracity plus the board position. That means knowing what is and isn't a good unit position, when you're in a stalemate, what moves antagonize whom, and how to take stuff with your current ally-of-convenience without opening your back for the stab. If you're used to cutthroat bastard boardgames and are willing to experiment with moves in a freeware version before committing you can probably do well enough, but you'll probably make a few mistakes. Complete newbies tend to find their first game, uh, harsh. This said, the most important skills in Dippy aren't really about good strategy on the board: they're talking to everyone all the time, replying promptly to everything and always being available as everyone's first partner in any scheme. If you've got a few weeks free and think you are both more gregarious and more devious than the average nerd then go for it. The biggest newbie misdirect in the game is the name, really. Diplomacy sounds like the name of a nice game about elder statesmen talking things out in a frank and forthright manner. Actual Diplomacy is very much not that thing. Xerophyte fucked around with this message at 06:22 on Mar 27, 2020 |
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Mar 26, 2020 15:05
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Xerophyte posted:This said, the most important skills in Dippy aren't really about good strategy on the board: they're talking to everyone all the time, replying promptly to everything and always being available as everyone's first partner in any scheme. I'll echo this. Your current enemy might be your future ally. If you don't keep talking to your enemies, they'll never have a chance become your friends. Keep your friends close, your enemies closer, and the enemy of my enemy of my enemy is my enemy.
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Mar 26, 2020 15:12
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MagusofStars posted:A newbie would do fine. The heart of the game isn't about rules-lawyering or knowing minor quirks of the game set, it's about being able to convince and bullshit others. echoing this. New players lose for the same reason experienced players lose: trusted the wrong person at the wrong time. GuavaMoment posted:I'll echo this. Your current enemy might be your future ally. If you don't keep talking to your enemies, they'll never have a chance become your friends. Keep your friends close, your enemies closer, and the enemy of my enemy of my enemy is my enemy. also this. Talk to everybody, about everything, even if they're nowhere near you, because the goon nobody's heard from is the easiest goon to team up against.
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Mar 26, 2020 15:24
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oldskool posted:also this. Talk to everybody, about everything, even if they're nowhere near you, because the goon nobody's heard from is the easiest goon to team up against. And don't hold it against people when they throw you under a bus. Remember, but don't hold a grudge. I once played this game in real life with my family when I was home for Christmas from undergrad. It's been ten years and we still give my mom (Austria) poo poo for abruptly shoving my dad (Russia) into the buzzsaw that was my aunt (Germany), then stabbing my aunt in the back to wipe out both Germany and Russia, which she quickly used to demolish me (England) and win the game.
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Mar 26, 2020 15:53
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I think I'll pass for now and see how the game actually plays out first. The "deception" part sounds more devious than Werewolf/Mafia.
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Mar 26, 2020 16:12
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Current count is six. We need at least 1 more player: Dash "Blind Sally" Rendar oldskool circlmastr Dr. Snark Danaru ProfFrink Also echoing a lot of the comments regarding the easylearn/hardtomaster aspect. The game is real simple--the hardest strategy to learn is reading people and prediciting what they'll do, but that remains a challenge even with expert players. I enter every game with the expectation that I'll probably lose, but with intent to cause as much damage as I can, and am always pleasantly surprised when I when. But yeah always be talking to people! I wont be showing direct chats during the LP... one I can aside from mine... but secret treaties are a thing with Diplomacy. Global chat will be seen and of course we can discuss, cajole, threaten, and argue in thread! Also also, we can make the game more newbie friendly by picking an alternate map. While Classic Europe has been done for decades and has extensive tips and strategies written about it online, the others don't.
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Mar 26, 2020 17:03
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1234567890num posted:The "deception" part sounds more devious than Werewolf/Mafia. An accurate statement. I can put together some stories and examples of meltdowns I've witnessed if the thread is interested.
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Mar 26, 2020 17:04
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I'm interested. It's always fun to watch a meltdown.
1234567890num fucked around with this message at 17:21 on Mar 26, 2020 |
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Mar 26, 2020 17:06
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Dash Rendar posted:An accurate statement. I can put together some stories and examples of meltdowns I've witnessed if the thread is interested. Yes yes please do! My favourite story about Diplomacy comes from my brother, where after playing for several hours one of his friends took off his own prosthetic leg and chased another friend, threatening to beat him with it.
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Mar 26, 2020 19:29
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I'd join if I had an Android device lying around, but no such luck. Looking forward to stories of intrigue, though! Someone go get Purple from the Dominions thread. He loves betrayal.
Akratic Method fucked around with this message at 22:45 on Mar 26, 2020 |
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Mar 26, 2020 22:42
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I used to run diplomacy games in LP a while ago. I don't have an android devide but i will be watching this thread with great interest
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Mar 26, 2020 23:59
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Akratic Method posted:I'd join if I had an Android device lying around, but no such luck. Looking forward to stories of intrigue, though! Someone go get Purple from the Dominions thread. He loves betrayal. tell them to check the thread! maybe i should see if anyone in TG wants to join. hmmm... but where to post.
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Mar 27, 2020 02:27
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AALVjklpxo
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Mar 27, 2020 02:55
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I can't dedicate myself to playing but I love watching Diplothreads. Thanks for letting us know this is going down!
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Mar 27, 2020 05:58
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I'm down for some EDIT: Username is Enchanted Hat SA Enchanted Hat fucked around with this message at 09:46 on Mar 27, 2020 |
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Mar 27, 2020 09:31
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Yesss, we now have seven. I'm gonna leave this open today for more potential sign ups, as I just shilled this thread in TG. - Seven is good for a standard WWI Europe map or the Canton map (Colonial Asia at the turn of the 20th century). - Eight is less than desirable as the South America map is imo inferior and too easy to descend into a stalemate. - There's no 9-player map, but 10 or 11 work for North America and Crowded Europe respectively. Regardless, I plan to start the game proper this evening. (about 12 hours from this post). If we stick to seven, we should decide as a group whether we want to play Classic Europe or Canton.
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Mar 27, 2020 16:49
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