4 ms·

I think that Diplomacy is, for many of us, that game we intend to play some day, but probably won't. It takes exactly 7 people, runs a long time, and has a repu

I think that Diplomacy is, for many of us, that game we intend to play some day, but probably won't. It takes exactly 7 people, runs a long time, and has a reputation for ruining friendships (even though, IMO, meta-gaming considered harmful). But it has a lot of depth and I'd love to get the right opportunity (and have the time).

pavel_lishin 12y ago
I played Diplomacy once, with a group of strangers. I wasn't a fan, and feel no urge to play again: 1. I really hate the map. 90% of the map is devoted to ocean and Russia, and the interesting bits are crammed into the remaining 10%. It's incredibly easy to misread the map and fuck up a move. Perhaps this is intentional, but it drives me nuts. 2. I didn't know any of the people, so I couldn't judge how honest or deceitful they were being. Maybe this would be better with friends whose tells I know better. 3. Sweet god, you're right, it takes forever - and yet you're feeling rushed the entire time, since you have to make sure you talk to at least the people you're nominally allied with for the next N turns, as well as hearing out potential new allies, and trying to make new ones of your own. I guess I'm just too casual of a gamer for something like this, but if you think you're interested in playing Diplomacy, I very highly recommend that you try to find someone in your area to play with - there are probably six other people just like you wishing they had someone else to play with.
frandroid 12y ago
You can play with 6 people without much difference than 7. You can set your turns to be short. I played one Friday evening with 30 minute turns, and a four-year game-span. It was quite pleasant. No, we didn't get to the end of the game (we picked a winner on who controlled the most places, I lost by 1 on the final resolved move), but really, when I've played longer games, at some point it becomes apparently who will win but it takes a couple tedious years to bring the game to completion. As for friendships, I think one has to state clearly at the beginning of the game that one has a strong chance to turn against their allies at some point. It's a feature of the game. There are ways to manage this risk for one's sanity. :)

pavel_lishin 12y ago

I played Diplomacy once, with a group of strangers. I wasn't a fan, and feel no urge to play again: 1. I really hate the map. 90% of the map is devoted to ocean and Russia, and the interesting bits are crammed into the remaining 10%. It's incredibly easy to misread the map and fuck up a move. Perhaps this is intentional, but it drives me nuts. 2. I didn't know any of the people, so I couldn't judge how honest or deceitful they were being. Maybe this would be better with friends whose tells I know better. 3. Sweet god, you're right, it takes forever - and yet you're feeling rushed the entire time, since you have to make sure you talk to at least the people you're nominally allied with for the next N turns, as well as hearing out potential new allies, and trying to make new ones of your own. I guess I'm just too casual of a gamer for something like this, but if you think you're interested in playing Diplomacy, I very highly recommend that you try to find someone in your area to play with - there are probably six other people just like you wishing they had someone else to play with.

frandroid 12y ago

You can play with 6 people without much difference than 7. You can set your turns to be short. I played one Friday evening with 30 minute turns, and a four-year game-span. It was quite pleasant. No, we didn't get to the end of the game (we picked a winner on who controlled the most places, I lost by 1 on the final resolved move), but really, when I've played longer games, at some point it becomes apparently who will win but it takes a couple tedious years to bring the game to completion. As for friendships, I think one has to state clearly at the beginning of the game that one has a strong chance to turn against their allies at some point. It's a feature of the game. There are ways to manage this risk for one's sanity. :)