Try not to be TOO specific on opening negotiation. Talk about what your goals are as far as alliances, DMZs, etc and let the opening moves show who you're going to be able to work with. Most people are just feeling it out in Spring 1901 anyways, but generally one of your neighbors is going to want to work with you.

But especially, avoid telling other players where to move their units to make your plan a reality. People do not like being told how to play their board.

Talk to everyone. Know that you can't ever follow through on every promise you make, but you decide who you are going to be straight with based on their diplomacy - and their first moves, of course. Don't ever commit to aggression in your 1901 diplomacy - if you do, and your other neighbor comes at you, then you're stuck.

And if you're Austria, say ANYTHING to stop the Juggernaut.

I typically use 1901 to feel out several things. First - who is willing to share information with me? How talkative are my neighbors? Do I want to kill off the relatively quieter one, or use them as a patsy?

But my biggest thing is creating situations where someone has to lie to me in 1901. I see who breaks their promise and use that situation to create an alliance with/against the oathbreaker as the board determines

MarquisMark - if I reach out to you and say, "I'd really like to take X and Y in order to avoid a bounce" - does that go too far?

@Eadan

X ad Y are provinces I assume. I suppose it would depend on which provinces they are. I don't think that goes to far but if you are trying to negotiate yourself into sensitive, critical 1901 provinces (e.g. channel, galicia, burgundy) without offering the other party something to help their position, that might come off as a little one-sided.

I guess I'd like to hear the specifics of the example you gave there.

@Eadan -- actually, suggesting bounces is not a bad way to start out. It shows people they can work with you, but also lets them know that you intend to protect certain territories. (You can decide yourself if you plan to follow through -- if you don't, you can say that based on press another threat seemed more . . . pressing.) In the east, the Black bounce is very common, and generally leads to no ill will. Austria often announces a Gal bounce just to back the Russian off a bit.

Talk to everyone, be friendly, don't draw too many firm lines in the sand.

@Gold - I'm very intrigued by this idea of trying to pin another player down early in order to judge whether they will honor their word.

@Marquis - For example, on the Moden Diplomacy map, I reached out to Russia in order to secure Georgia, to Italy to secure Greece, and to Egypt to secure Iran. In each case, I also suggested DMZs to safeguard each relationship.

@Ges - as I advance to more advanced games, will I encounter less of the blatant pre-Spring lying that seems to permeate most of the games in which I'm currently active?

I don't play the Modern map so I'd have to look at the implications of that.

But I can say that I have encountered a better quality of player since I've migrated over to middle-ante WTA. The players are generally more reliable as allies and there are less cheap stabs than in the lower-ante PPSC.

Win.

so as i generally agree with goldfinger, i find that being as honest as possible in 01, helps tremendously. after speaking with everyone, tell them what you would like to see, what are possibilities for future---you then most likely will get a version of some press back, as someone has different motives... this allows me to pick my mark

goldfinger's advice is good.

Spring 1901 is not a time to wait and see. It's a time to a) get units moving in directions that are beneficial to you and b) find good allies. Relationships can always be mended if you move with an "ally" in Spring 1901 and the person backstabs you. You can jsut go to the person you attacked and start working with them, because the truth of the matter is that the guy who let you down also let them down *by getting you to attack him*. With good diplomacy, whoever you attack in Spring 1901 should either be dead by 1903 or your ally against your new mutual enemy

"@Ges - as I advance to more advanced games, will I encounter less of the blatant pre-Spring lying that seems to permeate most of the games in which I'm currently active?"

Generally, yes. I encourage even new players to seek out winner-take-all games with an ante in the 40-50 range -- one of these games is worth more than a half-dozen CD-riddled lower-point games. (Remember, your points will refresh if you get tapped out, unless things have changed a lot since I started playing WebDip.)

In more stable games, players in 1901-1902 are looking for (a) a mark -- someone to join forces against in the early going; (b) a reliable partner against that mark, usually someone you can work with at least until the mark is gone; and (c) DMZs to have room against that mark. You also begin to look for (stretching into 1903-5) (d) partners with whom to turn against your immediate ally once the mark is gone and (e) potential partners across the major stalemate line to work with in the very long term.

Note that (b) often will be quite a reliable partner up front, because he or she has the same interest in achieving moderate and steady growth that you do. That reliability gets tested when powers hit the 6-8 SC range, when one starts growing much faster than the other, or when (sadly) another power starts NMRing.

Have fun!

My ideal play is to arrange a moveset I can make that pleases everyone, then glean info from who kept their word and how negotiations were.

Be ridiculously kind and polite to everyone except one of your neighbours, who you should insult repeatedly in the most vile way possible. He will naturally complain about you to the other players, who will be convinced he is lying to gain an advantage and ally with you to destroy him.

Ha^^

@Eadan: You have probably noticed that some countries partner up fairly naturally with particular other ones in the early going, at least as far as DMZs and noninterference. This knowledge can help you weed out some of the most egregious 1901 lying. An easy example: Germany and Austria have little to gain from beating up on one another early. If you are Austria, and Russia keeps telling you, "The Germans are coming! The Germans are coming!," chances are pretty good that the Bear wants to put a paw in Galicia.

No one universal pattern. Sometimes I'm very vocal and direct, proposing concrete plans and synchronized reneges. Sometimes I'm quiet and reactive. I'd like it if there were some distinguishing rationales why I might opt for one versus the other -- e.g. country draw, perceived level of competition -- but it's pretty random. Maybe I'm in too many games at once, maybe I just got burned for talking too much in my last game, maybe I resolved to talk more in my next game.

Still, no matter which way you go, some form of communication with each power pre-1901 is a good idea. Even if it's just a bad pun.

Make them laugh and they'll at least keep you alive.

At least that's how I play in every game I know THM is in.

You still need that care bear don't you goldy?

I still prefer to view them as generous benefactors.

+1^

I wanted to thank everyone for taking some of their time to share their thoughts and ideas on this; I've actually learned a lot and hope to apply this to the next game I join.

@Ges - I particularly enjoyed your insight into identifying a mark, finding a partner against the mark, and the managing the relationship once the mark is gone.

You're welcome! Here's a great resource for alliance opportunities and pitfalls:

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Diplomacy/Alliances

Take care, and happy playing. Remember that the first rule is to have fun.

+1 ^

For me 01 is all about bonding, courtship, and feeling out areas for concerns. I'm if a general mindset that the only thing I need to get myself to the end game portion is the right ally so I do my best to figure out who that best candidate is and do my best to convince them I'm a good fit for them too. Just to be safe I'll try to make relationships with as many people as possible as a back-up plan in case something falls apart and also go establish lines of information sharing and to have those diplomatic relations in place that will prove useful as the game progresses. Identifying problem areas is very key as I find UK most vulnerable that first year, so as others have mentioned i will negotiate dmzs, vet players (via cross checking information being passed around and to some extent minor tests of friendship) to figure out if they are going to be likely problems for me on the coming years. First year is generally a very chatty year.

Be careful with this one ^^