Your first mistake is PPSC. You will find more people with experience playing WTA

You should come over to the press, WTA, side of things :P

Oh okay, I haven't played winner takes all. I normally play press, but i saw in the forums a lot of people playing ANON with no messaging so i guessed that was the norm.

*most* experienced players here prefer either WTA, anon, full-press or WTA, anon, gunboat (no press). I'll play either, but I'm pretty decent at one and terrible at the other.

I prefer the press because i think i wouldn't like the inability to negotiate.

do people play ANON because people might gang up on a good player just because he/she is known as good?

also while I have your ear. Next to your name it says donator, besides the obvious what does that mean? (how? what? and why?)

You donate to the site, and at some point soon after you get a badge (bronze, silver, or gold) depending on how much you contributed. I have no idea what the cutoffs are for each level.

People play anon because they don't want their past histories to be part of the game. That can mean anything from people ganging up on good players, people ganging up on bad players, people ganging up on players who are known to stab a lot, carrying animosity or trust over from past games, or looking through a player's history to see how they tend to move in certain situations.

ah I see. How many games at one time do most people play? Is there any benefit to playing large buy-in games besides the chance to win a larger pot

Pot size is just a rough thresholding mechanism to limit who can play in a game based on the assumption that those who have accumulated more points might have more desirable qualities as player.

Frankly, using a password and recruiting on the forum for quality players is much more reliable, but requires more work.

Also, some people just like building up an imaginary number next to their name.

You might also be interested in the School of War series, which pairs new players with experienced players ("Teaching Assistants", or TAs). Players share their press with their TA, and discuss strategy.

Then, some even more experienced players ("Professors") write commentary on the game without access to any press- just by looking at the board.

It's a great series - I've learnt a lot by playing in one and following another. There's one in progress now - have a look at the thread here: http://webdiplomacy.net/forum.php?threadID=1141098

Once that game is over, there will probably be another one a month or two later (assuming there's enough interest).

You'll find the number of games people play depends on what their schedule is like. Some prefer just to focus on one game, some play a few, and some play a lot. Personally, I try not to get too far above 2-3 games at once.

If you're up for trying WTA, I'd be in. I like WTA as you can't motivate someone by pointing out that they'll still have a few centres left at the end of the game - you need to work towards a draw together. I find it more tactical knowing that the whole board has an incentive to try to stop solos. I prefer 48 hour phases, though - so I might not be the player you're looking for.

Oh okay. Cool all of that information was good, I think I'll go look at the school of war thread. Is there a specific player who runs the school of war? Also i will make a 48 hour phase anon, WTA full press. I'll post that it's made on this thread and anyone interested can PM me for the password. Does that sound good? Thankyou all for the information, I'm learning a lot.

Made the 48 hour ANON, WTA, full press on classic. PM me for the password

I'll join your game

you should try doing both a gunboat (no press) and a full press game. you might like gunboats.