He's probably still typing! Give him a chance.

* People can promise the sun and the moon and the stars. They can write in l3373 or in prose to make an Oxford Don cheer. They can be terse, or they can write pages. There is only one consistent thing in what they write: it is designed to influence your actions, and *that is it*. Being a backstabbing son of a b*tch is seen as an *art form* by some people.

* A lack of communication from someone is usually a bad thing. Of course, your bestest buddy who is writing you pages can also be lying, but when they act inconsistent with their words you usually have an idea that something's not right.

* Predictability is death

* If you can't win, taking one of your antagonists down with you can be almost as satisfying, especially if they assumed you would act in a manner consistent with delaying the inevitable. This can be amusing on some level, since they seem to feel you're being a poor sport by not behaving like they *want* you to.

* There are accidents, and there are 'accidents'. Someone could have goofed in building that fleet there, or in forgetting to support you, or in moving in the wrong direction - or they could be playing you for a fool.

* Getting angry when people stab you is a waste of time. It's *gonna* happen, unless you act in a way to minimize their opportunity.

* Helping allies can be useful, but it can also be the act of a fool. Who are they going to attack when your immediate foe is gone? Just because you helped them grab two centers in the spring doesn't mean they won't take one of yours for the trifecta in the fall.

* Speaking of Fall, it's the best time to stab. There is less time to react before units go poof

* Just because you want a draw doesn't mean the people you're 'helping' want a draw. They may want to fight over your corpse.

Support-holding border units isn't an indication of deceit, it's *prudence*. If you choose not to do it to prove your 'trustworthiness', don't be surprised if your ally senses weakness and attacks

i learnt i suck as this game :p

Well, I learned that too, but I'm learning ;)

Just because you arent doing well means that you "suck"
You will get better with time.
I might not be a good player now but i know i will get there in time. Everyone has the ability to be in the Hall of Fame.
You just need to be the best Diplomat you can be.

i dont know if i will ever get to 1000 points,but i hope my words may have changed how you see things.

Oh, I believe I've improved my game significantly now; just took a couple of hard lessons to do so ;)

All pretty good points except I take exception to the idea that the Fall is the best time to stab. Spring can be much more effective as long as you can shore up your gains. People tend to wait until Fall to stab and you might notice your ally moving into a strange position right before it...

LESSONS I'VE LEARNED:

1. At first I studied all the rules intensely, supports, moves etc. The Diplomacy Archives are invaluable. But that only takes you so far.

2. I've learned that the game isn't about battle tactics, but how much INFLUENCE you have. This is a combination of units and willingness of other players to listen to you. You can have influence even on the opposite side of the board.

3. Always Ally with one other player quickly! If you don't make a strong alliance by the first year with at least one other player, you're doomed. If your Italy or Austria, you need each other.

4. You're going to have to trust your ally fully. This sucks, but you're just going to have to allow him to stab you in the back and commit to the front.

5. Playing 'neutral' or 'coy' without making a strong ally ensures other players will make an alliance against you

6. When it comes down to the last three players, and you're number one or two, ally with the weakest player against the bigger. He has more to gain and will be loyal. Allying against the weakest player ensures they'll turn against you if you start winning.

I've been playing a long time now, and the lessons I think most new players miss are:

1. Tactical position > Material wealth

2. New players tend to stab in the Fall and go for SC's. So if you're playing in a newbie game, expect this. SC's are the be all and end all for these players, and they will stab you to get one center. Even if it means risking simply trading centers, they'll try it anyways, just in case they don't have to trade and just get a one SC gain.

3. Your nemesis in one game might be your strongest ally in the next. In some circumstances it's appropriate to substitute "game" for "year" or "season".

4. Keep a healthy balance of power between your enemies. It might be worth it to ally with your now weakened enemy against your now stronger ally, so they both end up mid-sized while you grow. Don't forget your diplomatic weight into other theatres so that when you finally get there, you aren't facing a monster player or alliance. Balance of power.

5. Most players waste units by piling them all up on the front they're attacking, despite that the same job could have been done with two less units. They're just simply standing behind the forces that are actually doing work, often blocking retreats. Use your excess units to guard your posterior and deter a possible stab, or send them to far off lands to act as mercenaries, picking up a couple of SC's and exerting your influence in foreign theatres in the process.

6. Never neglect retreats. Far too often new players will rush in and grab an SC, only to have the army that was displaced retreat into one of your own SC's, effectively nullifying your gain. If you can cover the retreats of a displaced army in the Spring, your opponent will be down a valuable unit. Make sure this doesn't happen to you either!

7. Many experienced players will seem like they can predict your every move. This is because they probably can. =D

8. New players tend to move for SC's and material gain. Experienced players tend to move for tactical position. They often use tactical manoeuvres such as self bounces, self dislodges (with the help of an ally). If you think they'll try something like that, you can stop their plan simply by support moving or support holding, respectively, their unit. Obviously, these orders won't work if they just go straight for the jugular like most new players do, so it's appropriate to assess your opponent.

"3. Your nemesis in one game might be your strongest ally in the next. In some circumstances it's appropriate to substitute "game" for "year" or "season"."

I agree with this. While it is important to keep past behavior in mind when gauging the reliability of a potential ally, holding a grudge from game to game is just silly

Playing Germany is N. 4, plain and simple:

"4. Keep a healthy balance of power between your enemies. It might be worth it to ally with your now weakened enemy against your now stronger ally, so they both end up mid-sized while you grow. Don't forget your diplomatic weight into other theatres so that when you finally get there, you aren't facing a monster player or alliance. Balance of power."

Great post stratagos!

I loved this one!
"This can be amusing on some level, since they seem to feel you're being a poor sport by not behaving like they *want* you to"

And very cool to see the more experienced players' input too

Delicious Wolf number 5...

5. Playing 'neutral' or 'coy' without making a strong ally ensures other players will make an alliance against you


I think that's wrong, though sometimes accurate, only if the people you're playing with aren't afraid of you. It works on timid players, and you can always tell a timid player by his speech.

I appreciate your post Chris! I had one question though...
"1. Tactical position > Material wealth"
This makes tons of sense, but being pretty new to the game, I have no specific idea of what you mean. Can you be specific? What are situations where position is incredibly valuable? Where are locations that are particularly important? What do you evaluate in position? Is this simply thinking where you could be in two moves, or is this something else?

It's a broad philosophy. Basically you have to resist the urge to go for SC's only. Especially if doing so will compromise your position. The non-SC territories are also very important because of the influence they exert. For example, Tyrolia, Galicia, and the North Sea.

The philosophy becomes especially important the farther from your home centres you go. Tactical position is much more important than that one extra build that would take a couple years to reach the front. If you have poor tactical position, you'll find your units being dislodged and forced to disband, you'll find your gains quickly taken back, and you may find yourself pushed back, as your units are forced to re-build back at home.

Often you'll see players grab an SC in the Spring, only to have them unable to keep it for the Fall, nullifying that year for them, when they could have pressed a tactical advantage for Spring, and come out on top with superior position in the Fall. This isn't just the case for Spring. Fall is often a good time to go for tactical position instead of SC's precisely because your opponent will likely be expecting you to go for SC's. This leaves you open to take important tactical positions that put you in a very good situation for the following year. Don't forget to take builds into account though for the Fall.

There may be situations where you should order a strategic retreat, giving up one of your SC's in exchange for better footing. If your opponent is beating you back, you should try to find a choke that you can hold with inferior forces.

Keep stalemate lines in mind, be ready to fall back to them, and be ready to drive a unit through one when you get the chance, before your opponent scrambles a stalemate line together.

Chrisp, thanks, Good Advice

> If your opponent is beating you back, you should try to find a choke that you can hold with inferior forces.

Several good choke points are north and south of Switzerland, the western end of the Med, Italy and the middle part of the Med, and the obvious stalemate line around Prussia, Tyrolia, Sileisia, Bohemia.

There are many more, and it depends if you are fighting armies or fleets of course.

As for advice for new players, well, here are my top ten tips:

1.) If something looks too good to be true, it usually is. Always look a gift horse in the mouth!

2.) If someone is helping you, always ask yourself *why* What is their motive?

3.) Look for unorthodoxies. Do not be predictable, as most players play on and respond to predictions. Try and go for the less expected moves.

4.) Make use of non-supply centre spaces. They are there for manouvres, so use them! Occupying these first will unlock gains of centres later. Also, many players do not defend these spaces so well.

5.) Do not be afraid to give up a centre for a centre that puts you in a better position tactically.

6.) It's been said before, but I'll say it again. Always try and cover retreats by your opponents!

7.) Crushing an opponents unit is extremely valubale if their home centres are a long way away from the front line. It can often be the key to unlocking an apparent stalemate line.

8.) Talk. Talk some more, and keep talking. Even with players who have stabbed you and you have stabbed as well. Often, you may have to come to them cap in hand later in the game when the situation changes.

9.) If someone has stabbed you, do not immediately seek revenge. Ask why they did it, then look and see how best to counter it. Often, they will stab because someone else suggested it. 50% of the time you can stop a stab in its tracks by pointing out some simple facts.

10.) Never trust anyone. If you do, you get complacent and become an easy target.

@Whalen

One isolated example of position over sc's:
France with armies in Bel, Bur, and Pic opposing Germany with armies in Hol, Ruh, and Mun

France needs to guess which way to defend to hold the line and keep the sc of Bel.

On the other hand: let the Germans have Bel. Then, France can easily hold the line at Pic, Par, and Bur.

Armies in Kiel-Ruhr-Burgundy form a formidable stalemate line against all land intrusion. This works as long as you have naval control in the North.