Not protecting your SC's can startle a person and sometimes screws up there plan to bounce

Can you explain the self standoff?

Eg: As France:
PAR-BUR
MAR-BUR

wake up bear :P

Right, but why would you do that?

with a self stand off you can protect one of your supply centers without actually having to move in there. ex you have units in bud and tyr. an enemy in ven threatens tri.you want to attack next turn tyr-mun and bud-gre. with bud-tri and tyr-tri you ensure that the enemy doesn't take tri and at the same time you don't lose time having to actually move in tri and back to tyr or bud

To protect Bur from a 1-strength attack without having to go to Bur or vacate Paris or Marseilles. Those aren't the best territories to show this example, but the manoeuvre is quite useful.

Another tip is having an ally dislodge your unit so that you can pick a retreat position for a 100% shot at a 50-50.

the gain is Mun - Bur will then fail, but also your armies will remain in place defending par, and mar (so an army in pie will then bounce not be able to take mars, and not you still have a unit in par...)

You are effectively defending three territories with two units.

other clever tricks, defending a territory you already control by supporting an attack into it. (your unit is then free to cut support or move out, but the enemy will bounce with your supported attack into the territory if you match their force)

Thanks. This is all great info. ;)

sleeping giant refers to China
Bears refer to Russia
So that makes you a Mongol?

Attack your own centers with support, so these centers can have other orders, and you still protect them.
In general, use the fact that you can't dislodge yourself or cut your own support.

I am very proud of this trick that I did for the first time today.

http://webdiplomacy.net/board.php?gameID=13090

I wanted to give England Norway....but I didn't just want to leave NOR open and let him choose which unit to send there. He had a fleet in the NS, but he also had an army in LON. I didn't want him to convoy the LON army to NOR...but I was OK with the NS fleet taking NOR. So I had Sweden move to NOR....which would bounce his army. I had my army in STP support the NS to NOR. That way, the only move that would succeed was the fleet that I desired and not the army I didn't desire.

Yes, and I commented that I loved that concept. Never occurred to me before. That's why I love playing with so many new people and getting my arse handed to me.

I have to admit I read about it on the Dip Archives....I just never had an opportunity to execute it.

@Spell of Wheels: I like that move! May have to keep that in mind one day...

I'm watching you, texasdeluxe.

lol. i'm watching BOTH of you!

I had an enemy who was using a self-standoff to protect one SC from 2 others.

Specifically, I had Swe and Mun, he had Ber and Den and was bouncing himself out of Kiel. So I ordered Mun S Den-->Kie, Swe-->Den, which let me take Den from him.

the one problem with a self-bounce is you can't retreat there in the event of displacement.

Self Standoff is overrated!!

While I'm reluctant to give away "tricks of the trade", I'm not as reluctant to help out newer players. :)

One classic trick is the "fast retreat home". Basically, if your home centers are threatened but your armies are far away, if one of your (far-away) armies gets dislodged, just disband it instead of retreating it, then you can rebuild it in a home center, where you need it.

Example: You are Russia, fighting it out with England, but then Turkey suddenly decides to attack you, and you have enough forces to defend against the English, but not the Turk. The English dislodge one of your fleets in the Norwegian Sea. Instead of retreating it, just disband it, then next build phase, rebuild it in Sevastopol, where you need it more.

Yeah they all have their ups and downs but they have their places as well.

Good tricks all around. You took mine Peripheral.