Re: Galaxy Cargo, Corners & Diplomacy

From: desj@ccr-p.ida.org (David desJardins)

Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 05:10:57 +0000

Brian Sutin <sutin@helios.ucsc.edu> writes:
> Galaxy is a 2D multi player game with almost complete knowledge.  The
> structure is not significantly different than Diplomacy.

I really disagree with this.  In my last posting I pointed out that
Galaxy is a game of *economic growth* which is something that is almost
completely absent from Diplomacy.  The games I have seen have been won
(or lost) primarily by careful handling of one's economy well in order
to maximize growth.  I fail to see any analogue to this in Diplomacy
whatsoever.

Although this is less important, I also think that Galaxy is far from a
game of complete knowledge.  If you know what forces another player
might be massing to attack you, then that player is incompetent.  Most
players end up spending a significant fraction of their resources in the
early part of the game building defenses against attacks which may never
come.  This seems to me very different than Diplomacy, where you know
what the strategic situation is and can deploy your forces
appropriately.

Finally, another *major* difference from Diplomacy is that a single
player can easily trounce several players half the size.  Whereas
alliances in Diplomacy are pretty much as strong as the sum of their
component countries.

Does anyone else think that Galaxy is much like Diplomacy?  I know that
they are unlike in one other way that is important to me: I like the
former and loathe the latter.

> The difference is that the majority Galaxy players don't know this,
> and play tactics, while ignoring strategy.  Tactics, along with some
> lucky breaks, can win the game.  Stategy provides the breaks.

Hmm.  I am not sure that I know what this means.  It is certainly true
that a large fraction of the players, probably the majority, use very
poor tactics and get trounced early.  Those are the ones who lose even
when they outnumber their enemies two or three to one.  But most of the
players who survive to the later stages of the game have some idea what
they are doing, and at that point tactics become less important than
simple economics.  (Is "having a large economy" what you are calling
"strategy"?  That seems a pretty obvious strategy, if so.)

David desJardins

References

Galaxy Cargo, Corners & Diplomacy
sutin@helios.ucsc.edu (Brian Sutin)
Mon, 22 Mar 1993 02:56:24 +0000

Referenced By

Galaxy Cargo, Corners & Diplomacy
sutin@helios.ucsc.edu (Brian Sutin)
Mon, 22 Mar 1993 02:56:24 +0000