Diplomacy Zine -- EP #180 Chapter Six From: Eric_S_Klien@cup.portal.com Date: Tue, 03 Jul 1990 23:38:22 +0000 Issue #180 of ELECTRONIC PROTOCOL: ************************************************************************ The smell of ozone and burned plastic. My only companion for the last four weeks. Was he dead now, for good? Could I call up the TI bank and download him again, minus the last six months? Who would he be? Can turning off a machine be murder? ************************************************************************ Chapter One contains: BLITZKRIEG, GETTYSBURG, RED STORM RISING, and a new unnamed game. And is published by daybell@aludra.usc.edu/Donald Daybell Chapter Two contains: DRAGONSLAYER, JACAL, MANHATTAN, VERSAILLES, DRESDEN, and a new unnamed game. And is published by tedward@cs.cornell.edu/Ted Fischer Chapter Three contains: MULHOUSE, DAWN PATROL, SNIKKEL-2, BERLIN, SNIKKEL-1, EL ALAMEIN, SQUALANE, UNGAWE, CAPTAIN CAVEMAN And is published by cwekx@htikub5.bitnet/Constantijn Wekx Chapter Four contains: FIRE WHEN READY, BIG WILLIE, NICKEL, and OZARK And is published by dm8sstaf@miamiu.bitnet/Douglas M. MacFarlane Chapter Five contains: ARCHANGEL, BORDEL, ERIS, MASADA, and YALTA And is published by uunet!bnrgate!bmers1!dgibbs/David Gibbs ----------- Chapter Six ----------- No games this issue. Publisher comments: Quote is from p.284 from Buying Time by Joe Haldeman The following was scribed by scribed by Daniel Loeb, loeb@geocub.greco-prog.fr: Taken from Fol Si Fie #93, p. 12-13 STABS By Randolph Smyth This text has been expanded from a tentative outline I'd jotted down to be presented at TorontoCon last May, when the topic was high on the list of subjects for a panel discussion. Since this even never got off the ground (er... the discussion, not the Con!), you'll have to bear with me holding forth on my own. Far be it from me to let something die on the drawing boards, even if it hibernates for 6 months. All other things being equal (they never are), I ally with the players that seem to be the most competant. This is not, I hope, to make up for any gross deficiancy on my part, but largely because I put more faith in such an ally not to stab me foolishly. Players who switch sides to pick up a nonessential center or two are a worse plague than any inexperienced novice. I cannot fault an attack which is ULTIMATELY successful (the ends justify the means), but so few are. This minority is normally forseeable since it's solidly based on the previous trends of the game. A grasp of the elements of a nascant stab will not only make your own attacks click more often, but will help you avoid the role of the sucker on the other end of the knife. Predicting the future permits you to change it---but nothing will warn you of a "chaotic" stabber. Your only consolation is that a poorly-founded attack usually gives you the opportunity to drag your new enemy down with you. The objectives of a good stab vary with its timing in the game. An opening "stab" is really just an unexpected attack, since you're reaching if you consider an initial agreement as an "alliance" until it's put into practice on the board. A German player, if successful, will conclude pre-Spring 1901 agreements with both England and France, usually mutually exclusive, one will get a nasty suprise before the year is out. Unless all your neighbors are attacking you at once, it's rare of an opponent to "declare war" at this stage---to much could still go wrong at HIS end to give you the advantage of a clear warning on a silver platter! The most exciting stabs take place in the middle game, designed to improve position, clear an obstacle, or just to take full advantage of a temporary weakness in your ally's position. This is usually done with the direct or indirect cooperation of a third power (unless you're already superior to your ally) but there are some important warnings to note. First, never let someone persuade you to stab before you yourself feel ready for it---without good tactical foundations most stabs become bloody disasters. You may depended on your new ally to help out, but this has obvious dangers of its own. Second, do your best to deflect the death struggles in some other direction. Make it clear to your old ally why you stabbed and apologize. Make him a puppet if possible (Cecil's article). If he ends up hating you worse than anyone else on the board, you must rely on an unusual tactical advantage to prevent an embarrassing suicidal counterattack. Third, and most important in the long run, judge whether your new allies will become WORSE obstacles once your old one has been dismembered. Here's where an experienced player usually has it over the novice. He can look three years ahead and see two centers coming his way... and four to the guys that are wooing him, and have been allied for the last eight game years to the exclusion of everyone else. (They both live in New York or Los Angeles, hmmm....) In the course of a game, there are several opportunities to surprise a couple of centers out of an ally---but will you still have them in five game years? In a sense, players often depend (quite rightly!) on their enemies' potential to discourage a stab by their ally! Successful middlegame stabs arise only after extensive diplomacy if all players are tactically competent. "Godd" players win their games on the strength of these operations since this is where their negotiating superiority shows to best advatage. If you can't keep up the pace, you'll be skewered behind the scenes before your moves are even adjudicated. If you wait for an attack on the board, it's usually already too late. An endgame stab is the "purest" form, but like a bathroom wall without graffiti, it's often less interesting for the observers. The object is a win, can you take on the board if the single season of the stab goes the way you expect? (If soemthing goes wrong, you've missed something in the preparation---often a lack of diplomatic groundwork leading to a lack of trust in the stabee. If he was about to attack you anyhow, at least there's no "loss" since the win was never in the hand in the frist place. See CK comments, p. 2) Such stabs are a real joy when you're on the blunt end of the knife, particularly if you prepare by sending your ally's units off on wild goose chases. If you're worried about deflecting the SHARP end in such situations, it's good policy to make up your own set of suggestions for your two way alliance as soon as you get the zine with the results of the previous season. Even if your ally normally takes the initiative in this area, you'll be able to compare your private set with his, and note any bias. Don't wait for his letters to arrive, or his proposals will usually sound logical. The more thought he's giving to a stab, the more plausible the sucker moves will seem without an independant check. Sadly, (or happily, depending on how good you are), better players usually get their openings sooner or later. At least make them work for it. I am enjoying publishing this zine. Keep that mail coming! Eric Klien Up