Diplomacy zine -- Chapter Three From: Eric_S_Klien@cup.portal.com Date: Thu, 05 Oct 1989 22:32:45 +0000 Issue #103 of ELECTRONIC PROTOCOL: ********************************************** Sorry this is a day late, I've been real busy! ********************************************** Chapter One contains: D-DAY, NAVARONE, BLITZKRIEG, OPERATION OVERLORD, GETTYSBURG, and HMS HOOD And is published by Daybell@aludra.usc.edu/Donald Daybell Chapter Two contains: DRAGONSLAYER, DOUGHBOY, BISMARK, COLD WAR, JACAL, and TRENCHFOOT And is published by Tedward@cs.cornell.edu/Ted Fischer ------------- Chapter Three ------------- Spring '03 of the game TANNENBURG (BNC number 1989HZ) (GM is ebrosius@lucy.wellesley.edu/Eric Brosius) Due next Sunday. Autumn and Winter '01 of the gunboat game VERDUN (MNC number 1989AZrb32) (GM is sccs6069@iruccibm.bitnet/Michael O'Regan) Should have this soon, he is back from vacation. Autumn and Winter '14 of the 1914 variant ENTENTE (MNC number not known) (GM is matt@oddjob.uchicago.edu/Matt Crawford) Here are the Winter results. Spring 1915 will be due a week from Friday. That's October 13. Note that the board is a little more crowded than usual with 40 units on it -- 33 active units and 7 belonging to neutral minor countries. ENTENTE Winter 1914 Expenditures Austria old balance 27 Maintain 3 units - 9 Transfer to Bulgaria - 1 Build Army Trieste - 3 Build Army Budapest - 3 --- new balance 11 Bulgaria old balance 4 Maintain 1 unit - 3 Transfer from Austria + 1 --- new balance 2 England old balance 30 Maintain 4 units -12 Build Fleet London - 4 Build Fleet Liverpool - 4 --- new balance 10 France old balance 25 Maintain 4 units -12 Build Fleet Marseilles - 4 1 PF - Belgium - 1 --- new balance 8 Germany old balance 31 Maintain 4 units -12 Build Army Kiel - 3 Build Army Munich - 3 --- new balance 13 Portugal old balance 5 Maintain 1 unit - 3 --- new balance 2 Russia old balance 28 Maintain 3 units - 9 Build Fleet St. Petersburg(sc) - 4 Build Army Moscow - 3 --- new balance 12 Turkey old balance 16 Maintain 2 units - 6 Build Fleet Constantinople - 4 --- new balance 6 Activation Current PF Totals Minor Level AUS ENG FRA GER RUS Belgium 9 - - 6 -* 3 Bulgaria(AUS) 8 8 - - 2 - Denmark 15 - - - - - Italy 13 -* 5 - 2 - Portugal(ENG) 6 - 6 - - - Rumania 10 2 - - 2 2 Sweden 15 - - - - - Spain 13 - - - - - Turkey(GER) 9 - 2 2 14 -* * => The inicated Great Power cannot gain control of the specified minor, but may prevent others from doing so. Other actions Austria Declare alliance with England OK Declare alliance with Germany OK Declare alliance with Portugal no effect Declare alliance with Turkey OK Bulgaria none England Declare alliance with Austria OK Declare alliance with Germany OK Declare alliance with Turkey OK France Declare alliance with Germany OK Declare alliance with Turkey OK Germany Declare alliance with Austria OK Declare alliance with Bulgaria no effect Declare alliance with England OK Declare alliance with France OK Declare alliance with Portugal OK Portugal Declare alliance with Germany OK Russia PF Belgium -> France Turkey Declare alliance with Austria OK Declare alliance with Bulgaria no effect Declare alliance with England OK Declare alliance with France OK Declare alliance with Portugal no effect Results The following alliances are in effect through Winter 1915, in addition to those alliances formed by direct political control. Austria ENG GER TUR Bulgaria -none- England AUS GER TUR France GER TUR Germany AUS ENG FRA POR Portugal GER Russia -none- Turkey AUS ENG FRA France now controls Belgium. Next year activation levels will be lower by 1. Current supply point balances Austria 11 Belgium 2 Bulgaria 2 England 10 France 8 Germany 13 Portugal 2 Russia 12 Turkey 6 Positions (* => retreated) Austria A Bud, Tri, Apu, Gre F Ion Belgium A Bel F --- Bulgaria A Bul F --- England A Nwy F Lvp, Lon, Ska, Nth, Tyn France A Pic, Gas, NAf F Mar, Wes Germany A Ber, Kie, Mun, Boh, Gal F Hel Portugal A Por F --- Russia A Pru, War, Mos, Sev F StP(sc) Turkey A Smy, Arm F Con Denmark A Den Spain A Spa Italy A Ven, Tun; F Nap Sweden A Swe Rumania A Rum Winter '01 of the Blind variant MULHOUSE (MNC number not known) (GM is barry@freezer.it.udel.edu/Barry T. Fausnaugh) Not Received. Spring '01 of the game DAWN PATROL (BNC number not known) (GM is sinhaa@mcmaster.ca/Anand Sinha) Having problems with one player. Spring '01 of the game RATATOSK (BNC number not known) (GM is jall@diku.dk/Mogens Jallberg) England: -------- A Liv -> Yor F Edi -> North Sea F Lon -> English Channel France: ------- A Par -> Pic A Mar -> Spa F Bre -> MAO Germany: -------- A Ber -> Kie A Mun -> Ruh F Kie -> Den Italy: ------ A Ven -> Pie A Rom -> Apu F Nap -> Ion Russia: ------- A War -> Ukr A Mos -> Sev F Sev -> Rum F StP (sc) -> GoB Austria-Hungary: (no orders recieved, GM forgot that NMRs are not allowed) ---------------- A Vie H A Bud H F Tri H Turkey: ------- A Con -> Bul A Smy -> Arm F Ank -> Bla Spring '01 of the game BUSHIDO (BNC number not knwn) (GM is ronin@cory.berkeley.edu/Sam Parazette) Still checking out e-mail connections between players at this stage. Contact the GM if you are having any problems. This game should be started very soon. GM comments: We have now raised $5.00 for our full page ad in Paper Mayhem! The donator was not even a subscriber to either of my zines. He was Ron Cameron, a member of the DIPCON Administration Committee that ran this year's DIPCON. We need another $245.00. Send contributions to Eric Klien, 1 Sinai Circle B10, Chelmsford, MA 01824 and let me know if you want to be annoymous. I am continuing to start games at a faster and faster pace. In my two zines combined, I am now runing 25 games with 22 guest GMs. I have over 135 players combined in these zines. Obviously, it is becoming harder and harder to keep track of all the games and make sure that they are being run smoothly. If anyone would like to fill some bureaucratic positions in this zine, let me know. I am starting to reach my limits. I also need more GMs, my continuous starting of games is draining my supply. (Particulary for variants and for my postal zine.) Now that I have so many subscribers, I think it would be worth reviewing how you can participate in the non PROTOCOL Diplomacy hobby: Get a copy of The Zine Register from Tom Nash, 5512 Pilgrim Road, Baltimore, MD 21214. It lists and reviews a lot of zines. Costs $1.50. I need people willing to archive chapters as they are published! The following was written by one of our GMs and players, doug@astro.as.utexas.edu/Doug Ingram. Remember that I need more scribes! Russia: Tips That Will Lead to Quick and Painful Defeat by Doug Ingram By now, most readers of Diplomacy articles worldwide share one common trait: they have all read heaps of articles on how to WIN. Finally, here is an article devoted to losing. This does not deal with how to cope with the loss or how to turn things around in future games; the sole purpose of this article is to delineate several highly (un)successful and common ways to lose when playing the diverse Russian position. As a Russian player wanting to be certain of your loss, it is VITAL that you start off by developing bad relations with Germany, perhaps going so far as to threaten war and make him think about a possible move to Silesia. This will virtually guarantee that you will be bounced out of Sweden by an unruly German giving you one less build. Even better is to foster a German/English alliance once you are already on bad terms with Germany. This can be easily accomplished by baiting England, but often times, just building F STP(nc) will do the trick. Once these first easy steps have been accomplished, you can be sure that utter defeat is not far behind. Regardless of how well you do in the South, it is guaranteed that if England and Germany are somewhat competent, you will lose Warsaw, Moscow, and St. Pete within a few years. Of course, it is not always necessary to go to all of this trouble just to lose. Many times, simply sitting back and allowing an English/German alliance to develop can be your free ticket to death, especially once the two realize how effect- ively they can work together toward the happy goal of your annihilation as long as they trust each other and don't have France to worry about. So much for losing in the North, so how can you perfect your loss by total incompetence (feigned, of course) on the Southern front? Well, this is a little more difficult, but the dedicated loser will certainly have no trouble giving that extra effort in this sphere of operations. First and foremost, convince Turkey that you are going to turn him into dogmeat within two years. If you want to start a useless war over the Black Sea, this is THE way to go. Let's not leave out Austria, though. Only by telling Austria that you wish to kill him just as surely as you wish to kill Turkey will you force together this unlikely alliance that will be the chief source of your Southern defeat. Some might not wish to take the direct route, however. Never fear, though, as there is certainly a veritable plethora of subtle ways to lose. One sure fire way is to write long, persuasive letters to both Austria and Turkey explaining to each of them why you want to ally with them to kill the other. This may result in one or both believing you if they are both already dead set on fighting (see future article on How To Lose Playing Turkey for tips on losing by betraying BOTH Russia and Austria). In this case, you're offensive moves in the Southern direction, leaving you either with: (F SEV, A UKR, A GAL) or (F BLA, A SEV, A UKR) or some other such position which also has the great side-effect of leaving your Northern front wide open for an attack from Germany or England (assuming you have set up such a war as you should have). Now, either Turkey or Austria will feel sure that you have decided to come down on his side of the war. From here, you have several pathways to death. The easiest would be perhaps to shift your pro-Turkish position to a pro-Austrian position (or vice-versa), thus enraging BOTH of your Southern neighbors within the first year. This, however, is the least elegant way and may simply lead to utter chaos in which no one really comes out of it as a big loser like you're hoping for. What's better is to get Italy in on the action, especially if you're allied with Turkey. In this case, Austria may die before you, but if you play it right, your death will quickly follow. Once Austria is dead and you and Turkey have a reasonably stable alliance, encourage Turkey to go all out after Italy. That way, your best potential ally will be hopelessly mired in the task of pounding his head on the Ionian for several turns to come. Italy should easily be able to hold his own with the Austrian builds he picked up, and France won't attack him because he'll be too busy dealing with that English/German alliance you cleverly set up in the beginning. On the other hand, France could kill Italy and a Western Triple may emerge. Either way, you guarantee stagnation in the East while the Western powers rapidly approach victory. Another way to guarantee the death of a great Russian/Turkish alliance is to perform the classical ineffective backstab. Moving F SEV-BLA without an army in Rumania or Armenia is a terrific way to start. From here, you will get to spend a few turns moving the rest of your forces into position, abandoning any other fronts to stab a trusted friend. What could be better? Of course, you might have gone the other way earlier and allied with Austria to kill Turkey (assuming these two didn't band together in the first place due to your actions like they should have). In this case, a stab against a 5- or 6-unit strong Austria with a lot of armies will be perfectly useless. With luck, your attacking army will be thrown out of Galicia in the very next season, followed by Austrian advances on Rumania, Warsaw, and Sevastopol. If you just follow the basic strategies above and a few other general pointers, defeat will be certain: 1) When in doubt, backstab. 2) Always encourage alliances between your neighbors. If possible, do this while antagonizing them. Another way is just to never send either one of them any mail of substance. 3) When you choose allies, make sure that they are mostly unable to go after the goals they desire and that they can trash you when you backstab them. 4) Be sure to look several turns in advance, especially when talking to France or any player across the map from you. Never pass up an opportunity to make that person an enemy so that there will always be someone out there who will want to kill you regardless of what your neighbors think. As you can see, playing Russia provides a unique opportunity for annihilation from two different corners of the map at once. Don't blow it. I am enjoying moderating this zine, keep that mail coming! Eric Klien Up