Falling and Laughing Play Diplomacy

Spring 12: Results & emergency map

2010-07-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

I've been here, there, everywhere and Nottingham this week so it's only a quick post up of the map and unedited orders. I'll pretty things up later this weekend.

NMR from Italy. Sorry.

Orders in at Sunday 7pm. You know the drill.

Sorry.

Germany: A war Holds
Austria: A vie Supports A boh
Austria: A ven -> pie
Austria: A ukr -> war
Austria: A tyr -> mun
Austria: F tun Supports F ion -> tys
Austria: F tri -> adr
Germany: F stp/nc -> nwy
Germany: A spa -> mar
Germany: A sil Supports A war
Austria: A rum Supports A gal
Germany: A ruh -> bur
Germany: A pru Supports A war
Germany: A mun Holds
Austria: A mos Supports A ukr -> war
Germany: F mao -> naf
Germany: A lvn -> stp
Germany: A kie -> hol
Austria: F ion -> tys
Austria: A gre -> bul
Austria: A gal Supports A ukr -> war
Germany: F eng -> mao
Austria: A con -> bul
Austria: A boh Supports A tyr -> mun
Germany: A ber Supports A mun
Austria: F apu -> nap

Fall 1911: Orders and Results

2010-07-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

Here's the updated map, so be sure to push the little armies and fleets around on the massive table top map of Europe with 3D terrain that you've undoubtedly made. Be sure to update the little supply center flags too.

Click to re-enlarge the map.

It's now Spring 1912. Please could I have your orders by 7pm, on Sunday 25th July.

Fall 11 Orders

Austria

F Adr -Apu
A Boh S A Bud - Gal
A Bud - Gal
A Con - Bul Bounced with Gre (1 against 1)
A Gre - Bul Bounced with Con (1 against 1)
F Ion S F Tys - Tun
A Mos S A Ukr - War
A Nap - Rom
A Rum S A Bud - Gal
A Sev S A Mos
A Tyr S A Boh
F Tys - Tun
A Ukr - War Bounced with War (2 against 2)
A Ven S A Tyr

Germany

A Ber - Pru
F Eng - Mao
A Lvn S A War
A Mun Holds
F Pic - Eng
A Ruh S A Mun
A Sil - Gal Bounced with Bud (1 against 1)
A Spa Holds
F Stp(nc) Holds
A War Holds

Italy

F Aeg - Con Failed because Austria: A Con - Bul failed.
A Bre S A Par
F Edi Holds
F Lyo - Tys
A Par S A Bre
A Pie Holds
F Wes - Tun Bounced with Tys (1 against 1)

Fall 11 Retreats

No retreats

Fall 11 Builds and Disbands

Austria: 16 Supply Centres (+1)
Builds Fleet Tri
Builds Army Vie

Germany: 12 Supply Centres
Builds A Kie
Builds A Ber

Italy: 6 Supply Centres (-1)
Disbands A Pie (this disband was randomly determined)

Spring 11: Orders and Results

2010-07-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

Click on the map to make it go BIG.

It's now Fall 11. Please could I have your orders by 7pm, on Sunday 18th July. Don't forget it's a Fall turn with all the accompanying build orders to be submitted.

(you all spotted my typo in the last post too)

Spring 11 Orders

And these are the orders:

Austria

F Apu - Ion
A Bud - Gal Bounced with War (1 against 1).
A Bul - Rum
A Con Holds
A Mos S A Rum - Ukr Support cut by Move from Livonia.
F Nap - Tys
A Rom - Nap
A Rum - Ukr
A Ser - Gre
A Sev S A Mos
F Tri - Adr
A Tyr S A Vie - Boh
A Ven S A Tyr
A Vie - Boh

Germany

F Bel - Pic
A Ber - Sil
A Boh S A War - Gal Support cut by Move from Vienna. Dislodged from vie (2 against 1).
A Kie - Ber
A Lvn - Mos Bounced with Mos (1 against 2).
A Mun Holds
F Nth - Eng
F Nwy - Stp(nc)
A Ruh S A Mun
A Spa Holds
A War - Gal Bounced with Bud (1 against 1)n

Italy

A Bre Holds
F Edi Holds
F Ion - Aeg
A Mar - Pie
F Mao - Wes
A Par Holds
F Wes - Lyo

Spring 11 Retreats

The German Army in Bohemia cannot retreat - unit destroyed

Fall 10: Orders and Results

2010-07-07T11:35:00.000-07:00

Sadly 1910 saw the end of the League of non-aligned smaller states.

The story of France was long and tragic, and will be the subject of many a fine play and parody when the new order emerges in Europe. France initially filled up the Iberian peninsula with enthusiasm and splendid breakfast pastries, but at the very point where her fleets swung north into the la Manche in search of breakfasts which actually fill you up, the Spanish population were beginning to learn the ways of making fine antipasti for their new rulers. Eventually a plucky lone French fleet landed in Liverpool but by that point all hope of re-establishing a military presence in Marseille was lost. The final French fleet was ordered into Belgium in 1906 where it remained untroubled whilst Europe waged war around it, until Germany finally could not resist the tempting Flemish prize.

Turkey had a different story to tell, putting up a fine prolonged fight in the Balkans. Things must have looked good for the Turkish people in 1903 as they pushed the Austrians out of Greece and established dominance over the Eastern Med, at one point landing a fleet in Naples itself, which provided vital supplies for the effort back home and prolonged the life of the Turkish empire. But the quiet northern boarder that allowed this expansion in the Med was ultimately due to Austrian movements behind it, eventually this tactical pivoting allowed Austria to drop quiet assassins into Syria and Armenia. The weak point of any Sultan. The end of Turkey was a long drawn out campaign featuring an exciting cat and mouse chase up the Danube, but the overnumerousness of the Austrian war machine was eventually too much.

Turkey will long be remembered for the Black Sea Hop - a fabulous dance named after the Turkish orders in Spring 09, which is currently sweeping the cabarets of Europe.

Click to re-enlarge the map.

It's now Spring 1911. Please could I have your orders by the final whistle of the world cup final, on Sunday 18th July.

Fall 10 Orders

These were the orders which saw the end of the league.

Austria

F Adr - Apu
A Apu - Rom
A Arm - Sev
A Con - Bul
A Gal - Vie
F Nap - Tys Bounced with Wes (1 against 1)
A Pie - Mar Bounced with Mar (1 against 1) Dislodged from Tus (2 against 1)
A Rum S A Tri - Bud
A Ser - Gre Bounced with Ion (1 against 1)
A Sev - Mos
A Smy - Con
A Tri - Bud
A Ven S A Apu - Rom

France

F Bel Holds Dislodged from hol (2 against 1)

Germany

F Eng - Nth
A Gas - Spa
F Hol - Bel
A Lvn S A Sil - War
A Mun - Boh
F Nth - Nwy
A Ruh S F Hol - Bel
A Sil - War

Italy

A Bre S A Par
F Edi Holds
F Ion - Gre Bounced with ser (1 against 1)
A Mar S A Tus - Pie
F Nao - Mao
F Nwg - Nao
A Par S A Bre
A Tus - Pie
F Wes - Tys Bounced with Nap (1 against 1)
F Edi S Nrg - Nth Illegal move, hold order assigned

Turkey

A bud Holds Dislodged from tri (2 against 1).

Fall 10 Retreats

A Bud retreats to Gal
A Pie retreats to Tyr
F Bel retreats to Pic

Fall 10 Builds and Disbands

Austria: 15 Supply Centres (+1)
Builds Fleet Tri
One build is left unused

France: 0 Supply Centres (-1)
Disbands F Pic

Germany: 12 Supply Centres (+4)
Builds A Mun
Builds A Kie
Builds A Ber

Italy: 7 Supply Centres (-3)
Disbands Pie
Disbands Nao

Turkey: 0 Supply Centres (-1)
Disbands A Gal

Spring 10: Orders and Results

2010-06-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

The results are in. Who's going to make it through to the semis?

Click on the map to not make it smaller.

It's now Fall 10. Although there was a delay in getting these orders out, I'm going to stick with the Sunday deadline unless anyone lets me know that they can't do that or wants more time - so please could I have your orders by 7pm, on Sunday 4th July. Don't forget it's a Fall turn with all the accompanying build orders to be submitted.

Spring 10 Orders

And these are the orders:

Austria

F Adr C A Tri - Apu
A Ank - Arm
A Boh - Gal
A Bud - Ser
A Con - Bul Bounced with rum (1 against 1)
A Gal - Rum
F Nap S A Tri - Apu
A Sev S A Gal - Rum
A Smy - Con Failed because A Con - Bul failed
A Tri - Apu Convoy path taken Tri to Adr to Apu
A Tyr - Pie
A Ven - Rom Bounced with Apu (1 against 1)
A Vie - Tri

France

F Bel Holds

Germany

A Ber - Sil
A Bur - Gas
F Hel - Hol
F Lon - Eng
A Mun Holds
F Nth S F Lon - Eng
A Ruh S A Mun
A Stp - Lvn

Italy

A Apu - Rom Bounced with Ven (1 against 1). Dislodged from Tri (2 against 1)
F Edi Holds
F Lvp - Nao
F Mao - Wes
F Nwy - Nwg
A Par Holds
A Pic - Bre
A Pie - Mar
F Tun - Ion
A Tus - Ven Failed because A Ven - Rom failed

Turkey

A Rum - Bul Bounced with Con (1 against 1). Dislodged from gal (2 against 1)

Spring 10 Retreats

The Italian Army in Apulia cannot retreat - unit destroyed

The Turkish Army in Rumania retreats to Budapest

It'll be over by Christmas

2010-06-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

I thought now was a good point to recap when Diplomacy ends, as we've moved past the end of the beginning and are firmly into midgame to endgame territory.

There are two endings, a win or a draw.

Win

In order for a single player to win outright they must sucessfully control 18 supply centres, (there are 34 in the game and so this represents one over the halfway point, or an overall majority).

This can only be a solo victory, you get nothing for a coalition, not in this game.

Draw

If all players can agree a ceasefire then the game finishes in a draw between everyone remaining in the game. A draw is entirely equal whether you have one unit or seventeen units left on the board. Players who have been eliminated don't get any of the glory of the draw.

There must be a complete concord amongst the remaining players in order for a draw to be legitimate. If one player, no matter how many units they have, does not agree to a draw then there cannot be one.

To declare the game a draw, I must recieve a message from every remaining player in the same turn saying that they agree to the draw.

There are also some articles on mid and endgame strategy on The Diplomacy Archive.

Fall 09: Orders and Results

2010-06-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

We say goodbye to another corner of the Diplomacy map this turn, as the fleets which have circled the British Isles for a while moved inland. Every Prime Minister faces the difficulty of establishing a foothold on mainland Europe, and aside from the sympathetic voices in The Storting, this was no exeption. Europe's beaches and ports were firmly off limits to the English, so when the war on the mainland spilled over into the Atlantic and North Sea, there were few options left open. However, 1909 does represent a significant lenth of time to remain an independent power, so congratulations PM Neil! Let us hope that the Italians or Germans will find a comfortable role for you in administering their occupation.

Here's the map

Click to re-enlarge it.

It's now Spring 10, and well done to the powers who have lasted 10 years in the current tense political climate.

Please could I have your orders by 7pm, on Monday 28th June. I've extended this Spring turn by a day (daylight savings) in case any players or GMs are at major festivals and their phone runs out of power. The deadline after that will be 4th July and then we'll be back onto the week long turns with deadline on the Sunday.

Fall 09 Orders

These were the dance steps in Fall 09

Austria

F Adr S A Tyr - Ven
A Ank - Con Bounced with Smy (1 against 1)
A Boh - Tyr
A Con - Bul Bounced with Bla (1 against 1)
A Gal - Rum Bounced with Rum (1 against 1)
F Ion - Nap
A Sev - Rum Bounced with Gal (1 against 1)
A Sil - Boh
A Smy - Con Bounced with Ank (1 against 1)
A Tri S A Tyr - Ven
A Tyr - Ven

England

F Lon Holds Dislodged from Wal (2 against 1)

France

F Bel Holds

Germany

A Ber Holds
F Den - Hel
A Hol - Ruh
A Mun S A Ruh - Bur
F Nth S F Wal - Lon
A Nwy - Stp
A Ruh - Bur
F Wal - Lon

Italy

F Bar - Nwy
A Bur S A Pic - Bel Support cut by move from Ruh. Dislodged from Ruh (2 against 1)
F Eng - Mao
A Mar - Pie
F Nao - Lvp
F Nwg - Edi
A Pic - Bel Bounced with Bel (1 against 1)
A Pie - Tus
F Tys - Tun
A Ven - Apu

Turkey

F Bla - Bul(ec) Bounced with Con (1 against 1)
A Rum S F Bla - Bul(ec) Support cut by Move from Sevastopol

Fall 09 Retreats

F Lon retreats to Yor
A Bur retreats to Par

Fall 09 Builds and Disbands

Austria: 14 Supply Centres (+3)
Builds A Vie
Builds A Bud
One build was unused

England: 0 Supply Centres (-1)
Disbands F Yor

France: 1 Supply Centre

Germany: 8 Supply Centres (-1)

Italy: 10 Supply Centres

Turkey: 1 Supply Centre (-1)
Disbands F Bla

Spring 09: Orders and Results

2010-06-14T13:35:00.000-07:00

There's some interesting parallels between Diplomacy and the football world cup. For example, did you know that neither game uses dice!

Here's the new pitch

Click on the map for Hawkeye.

It's now Fall 09, and please could I have your orders by 7pm, on Sunday 20th June. Don't forget to submit builds.

Spring 09 Orders

And these are the orders:

Austria

F Aeg - Ion
A Arm - Ank
A Boh S A Tyr
A Con S A Arm - Ank
A Mos - Sev
A Sil Holds
A Syr - Smy
F Tri - Adr
A Tyr S A Vie - Tri
A Vie - Tri
A War - Gal

England

F Yor - Lon

France

F Bel S F Lon - Eng Support cut by Move from Picardy.

Germany

A Ber Holds
F Den S F Nwy - Nth
A Hol S F Bel
A Kie - Ruh
F Lon - Eng Bounced with eng (1 against 1). Dislodged from yor (2 against 1).
A Mun S A Kie -Ruh
F Nwy - Nth
A Stp - Nwy

Italy

A Bur - Ruh Bounced with kie (1 against 1).
F Eng S F Yor - Lon
A Mar - Bur Failed because A Bur - Ruh failed.
F Mao - Nao
F Nth - Nwg
F Nwg - Bar
A Pic - Bel Bounced with bel (1 against 2).
A Pie S A Ven
A Ven Holds
F Wes - Tys

Turkey

A Ank - Rum Convoy path taken: Ank to Bla to Rum
F Bla C A Ank - Rum

Spring 09 Retreats

A Lon retreats to Wales

Fall 08: Orders and Results

2010-06-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

A sad day, as we say a farewell to Russia. The Russian bear was seemingly billed for a troublesome existance after the dust was kicked up over Warsaw in 1901, but did exceptionally well to survive as a state this long whilst keeping an influence on Scandinavian politics, most recently through the Grand Dutchy of Finland. Well played Tim!

Here's the map

Click to unensmallulate it.

It's now Spring 09, and please could I have your orders by 7pm, on Sunday 13th June.

Fall 08 Orders

Here's what you did do.

Austria

F Aeg S A Bul - Con
A Arm - Ank Bounced with Ank (1 against 1).
A Boh S A Tri - Tyr
A Bul - Con
A Gal - Vie
A Sil S A Ruh - Mun
A Syr - Smy Bounced with Smy (1 against 1).
A Tri - Tyr
A Ukr - Mos
A War S A Ukr - Mos

England

F Edi - Yor

France

F Bel Holds

Germany

F Bal - Den
A Ber S A Ruh - Mun
A Hol S F Bel
A Lvn - Stp
F Nth - Lon
F Nwy S A Lvn - Stp
A Ruh - Mun

Italy

A Bur - Mun Failed.
F Eng - Nth
A Mar - Bur Failed because A Bur - Mun failed.
F Mao - Eng
F Nwg S F Eng - Nth
A Par Holds
A Pic Holds
A Rom - Ven
A Tyr S A Bur - Mun Support cut by Move from Trieste. Dislodged from Tri (2 against 1).
F Tys - Wes
F Wes - Mao

Russia

NMR. Hold order Assigned.

F Fin - Holds

Turkey

A Ank S A Smy Support cut by Move from Armenia.
F Con S A Ank Support cut by Move from Bulgaria. Dislodged from bul (2 against 1).
A Smy S F Con Support cut by Move from Syria

Fall 08 Retreats

A Tyr retreats to Tyr ~~cannot retreat and is disbanded. They probably go to Switzerland to start cattle farming in their spare time, why not. I'll let you know how they get on.~~

F Con retreats to Bla

Fall 08 Builds and Disbands

Austria: 11 Supply Centres (+1)
Builds F Tri

England: 1 Supply Centre

France: 1 Supply Centre

Germany: 9 Supply Centres (+2)
Builds A Kie
One build was unused

Italy: 11 Supply Centres (-1)
Disbands A Par

Russia: 0 Supply Centres (-1)

Turkey: 2 Supply Centres (-1)
Disbands A Smy

Spring 08: Orders and Results

2010-05-31T09:24:00.001-07:00

Hello Europe! While Germany enjoys it's hangover from being voted the best musicy music in all of Europe, I went and did a map.

It's now Fall 08, and please could I have your orders by 7pm, on Sunday 6th June.

Spring 08 Orders

And these are the orders:

Austria

A Arm S A Syr
A Boh - Sil
A Bul - Con Bounced with con (1 against 1).
A Gal S A War
F Gre - Aeg
A Rum - Ukr
A Ser - Tri
A Syr S A Arm
A Vie - Boh
A War S A Boh - Sil

England

F Yor - Edi

France

F Bel - Bur Sacré bleu. Hold order assigned.

Germany

F Ber - Bal
A Hol S A Kie - Ruh
A Kie - Ruh
F Nth - Nwg Bounced with Nwg (1 against 1).
A Pru - Lvn
A Sil Holds Dislodged from Boh (2 against 1).
F Swe - Nwy

Italy

F Bre - Eng
A Gas - Par
F Mao S F Bre - Eng
F Nap - Tys
F Nwg - Nth Bounced with Nth (1 against 1).
A Par - Pic
A Pie - Mar
A Rom Holds
A Ruh - Bur
F Tys - Wes
A Ven - Tyr

Russia

F Stp(sc) - Fin

Turkey

A Ank S A Smy
F Con Holds
A Smy S A Ank

Spring 08 Retreats

A Sil retreats to Berlin

Fall 07: Orders and Results

2010-05-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

Thank you for getting your orders in nice and promptly everyone! The map is below. And has been updated following the message I sent to you all

Click to make larger!

It's now Spring 08, and please could I have your orders by 7pm, on Sunday 30th May. BANK HOLIDAY ALERT

It's worth having a quick look at the French retreats. Both units could only go to Picardy, and as only one could retreat there it was chosen randomly. In this instance it didn't make much difference as both were armies - although if one was a fleet and one was an army it may have make a difference. If you think this scenario might happen to you in the retreat phase then specify which one you want to take priority in your retreat orders.

I'm a little torn at what to do if it's two dislodged units by different powers with only one retreat between them. In face to face diplomacy when retreats are submitted instantly after (but separately) to orders, with out negotiation, when two units retreat to the same place they are disbanded. However in face to face diplomacy players get to see the map and adjust retreats based what actually happened rather than what they speculated would happen.

One concession that postal or internet diplomacy must make is that retreat phase orders must be submitted alongside movement phase orders to prevent retreat negotiation and a much, longer game so it may be the case that sometimes retreating units have to go to the same location. I propose to work retreats out so that the default is not to disband units (eg, if one unit can only retreat to one location and another unit can only retreat to the same location along with another one, the unit with the one option gets that space and the other unit retreats in to the one space remaining - rather than randomly generating a retreat for the one with plenty of options and if it's somewher that the other unit is going then disbanding both).

This would replecate the benefits of being able to see your units before sumbitting retreats. Where there are more retreating units than spaces it will be a random decision which one is disbanded.

It's not a perfect system - and if anyone wants to raise concerns with this approach (or wants me to explain it better!) then message me before the next set of orders and I'll start a new post for discussions.

Fall 07 Orders

Here's what you did do.

Austria

F Alb - Gre
A Arm - Syr
A Boh - Sil Bounced with Sil (1 against 1).
A Gal S A Mos - War
A Gre - Bul
A Mos - War
A Rum S A Gre - Bul
A Ser S A Gre - Bul
A Sev - Arm

England

F Edi - Yor

France

F Bel - Bur Ooopsy. Hold order assigned.
A Bre S A Par Support cut by Move from English Channel. Dislodged from Eng (2 against 1)
A Par Holds Dislodged from Bur (2 against 1)

Germany

F Ber Holds
A Kie - Hol
F Nth S A Kie - Hol
A Pru - War Bounced with Mos (1 against 1).
A Sil S A Pru - War Support cut by Move from Bohemia.
F Swe Holds

Italy

A Bur - Par
F Eng - Bre
A Gas S A Bur - Par
F Ion - Tys
F Mao S F Eng - Bre
A Mun - Ruh
F Nao - Nwg
A Tus - Pie

Russia:

F Bot - Stp(sc)

Turkey:

F Aeg - Con
F Ank - Bla
A Con - Ank
A Smy S A Con - Ank

Fall 07 Retreats

Two French units were dislodged and the only available location for both to go to is Picardy. As both cannot go to to the same location it was randomly determined which one was sucessful.
France: A Bre - Pic

Fall 07 Builds and Disbands

Austria: 10 Supply Centres (+1)
Builds A Vie

England: 1 Supply Centre

France: 1 Supply Centres (-2)
Disbands A Pic

Germany: 7 Supply Centres (+1)
Builds A Kie

Italy: 11 Supply Centres (+2)
A Ven
A Rom
F Nap
(one build carried over from last turn)

Russia: 1 Supply Centre (-1)

Turkey: 3 Supply Centres (-1)
Disbands F Bla

Spring 07: Orders and Results

2010-05-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

I've gone done a map

(I'm having some issues with photobucket so it may not be enlargable EDIT, nope it is enlargable!)

It's now Fall 07, and please could I have your orders by 7pm, on Sunday 24th May.

Spring 07 Orders

You've gone done some orders

Austria

F Alb - Ion Bounced with Ion (1 against 1)
A Boh - Sil Bounced with Sil (1 against 1)
A Bud - Gal
A Gre S A Ser
A Lvn - Mos
A Rum S A Ser
A Ser S A Gre
A Sev S A Rum
A Syr - Arm

England

F Cly - Edi

France

F Bel Holds
A Bre Holds
A Par S A Bre

Germany

F Bal - Ber
F Den - Swe
A Kie S F Bal - Ber
F Nth Holds
A Pru S F Bal - Ber
A Sil S F Bal - Ber Support cut by Move from Bohemia.

Italy

A Bur S A Mun
F Eng - Bre Bounced with Bre (2 against 2).
A Gas S F Eng - Bre
F Ion Holds
F Lvp - Nao
F Mao - Eng Failed because Italy: F Eng - Bre failed.
A Mun S A Ber
A Rom - Tus

Russia

A Ber S A Mun Support cut by Move from Baltic Sea. Dislodged from bal (3 against 2).
F Bot Holds

Turkey

F Aeg S A Arm - Smy
A Arm - Smy
F Bla - Ank
A Bul - Con

Spring 07 Retreats

The Army in Berlin cannot retreat; unit destroyed.

Fall 06: Orders and Results

2010-05-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

*insert joke about coalition governments here*

It's now Spring 07, and please could I have your orders by 7pm, on Sunday 17th May.

Fall 06 Orders

Here's what you did do.

Austria

F Alb S A Ser - Gre
A Boh S A Tyr - Mun
A Bud - Ser
A Rum - Bul Bounced with bul (1 against 2)
A Ser - Gre
A Sev Holds
A Syr - Smy Bounced with aeg (1 against 1)
A War - Lvn

England

F Cly - Edi Bounced with Nth (1 against 1)

France

A Bre Holds
F Eng - Bel
A Par S A Bre Support cut by Move from Gascony

Germany

F Bal - Ber Bounced with ber (1 against 1)
A Lvn - Pru
A Mun S F Bal - Ber Support cut by Move from Tyrolia. Dislodged from tyr(2 against 1)
F Nth - Edi Bounced with Cly (1 against 1)
A Nwy - Stp Bounced with Bot (1 against 1)
A Ruh - Kie
F Ska - Den

Italy

No order submitted for unit at Ionian Sea. Hold order assigned.

A Gas - Par Bounced with Par (1 against 1)
F Ion Holds
A Mar - Bur
F Mao - Eng
F Nao - Lvp
A Tyr - Mun
F Wes - Mao

Russia

A Ber Holds
F Bot - Stp(sc) Bounced with Nwy (1 against 1)

Turkey

F Aeg - Smy Bounced with syr (1 against 1)
A Arm - Sev Bounced with sev (1 against 1)
F Bla S A Bul
A Bul S A Gre Support cut by Move from Rumania
A Gre S A Bul Support cut by Move from Serbia. Dislodged from ser (2 against 1)

Fall 06 Retreats

Germany: A Mun - Sil

The Army in Greece cannot retreat; unit destroyed

Fall 06 Builds and Disbands

Austria: 9 Supply Centres (+1)
Builds A Bud

England: 1 Supply Centre

France: 3 Supply Centres

Germany: 6 Supply Centres (-2)
No free supply centres

Italy: 9 Supply Centres (+2)
Builds A Rome
One build was unused

Russia: 2 Supply Centres

Turkey: 4 Supply Centres (-1)

Spring 06: Orders and Results

2010-05-03T05:19:00.000-07:00

Ooooooh!

It's now Fall 06, and please could I have your orders by 7pm, on Sunday 9th May.

Spring 06 Orders

Oooooooooooooooooooooooorders

Austria

A Arm S A Ukr - Sev Support cut by Move from Ankara. Dislodged from ank (2 against 1)
A Bud - Ser Failed because Austria: A Ser - Bul failed
A Rum S A Ser - Bul
A Ser - Bul Bounced with Bul (2 against 2)
F Tri - Alb
A Ukr - Sev
A Vie - Boh
A War - Sil Bounced with Mun (1 against 1).

England

F Edi - Cly

France

A Bur - Par
F Eng S A Par - Bre
A Par - Bre

Germany

F Bal C A Kie - Lvn
A Bel - Ruh
A Den - Nwy Convoy path Den to Ska to Nwy
A Kie - Lvn Convoy path Kie to Bal to Lvn
F Lon - Nth
A Mun - Sil Bounced with war (1 against 1).
F Ska C A Den - Nwy

Italy

A Gas - Bre Bounced with par (1 against 1).
A Mar Holds
F MAo - NAo
F Nap - Ion
F Tys - Wes
A Ven - Tyr
F Wes - MAo

Russia

NMR - hold orders assigned

A Ber Holds
F Bot Holds

Turkey

A Ank - Arm
F Bla S A Ank - Arm
A Bul S A Gre Support cut by Move from Serbia.
A Gre S A Bul
F Smy - Aeg

Spring 06 Retreats

The army in Armenia had a randomly generated retreat

A Arm - Syr

Fall 05: Orders and Results

2010-04-25T11:13:00.000-07:00

Hello Europe, I took a picture of you.

It's now Spring 06, and please could I have your orders by 7pm, on Sunday 2nd May. It's a bank holiday weekend so don't get your Sundays and Mondays confused.

Fall 05 Orders

And this was what went on:

Austria

A Arm - Sev Bounced with Bla (1 against 1).
A Bud S A Ser
A Rum Holds
A Ser S F Tri - Alb Support cut by Move from Bulgaria.
F Tri - Alb Bounced with Gre (1 against 1).
A Ukr S A Rum
A War Holds

England

F Den - Nth
F Nth - Edi

France

A Gas - Bre Bounced with Mao (1 against 1). Dislodged from spa (2 against 1).
A Par Holds
A Pic - Bur
F Wal - Eng

Germany

F Bal - Swe Bounced with bot (1 against 1).
A Bel Holds
A Hol - Kie
A Kie - Den
F Lon Holds
A Ruh - Mun
F Ska S A Kie - Den

Italy

F Lyo - Wes
A Mar S A Spa - Gas
F Mao - Bre Bounced with Gas (1 against 1).
F Nap Holds
A Spa - Gas
F Tys - Ion Bounced with Ion (1 against 1).

Russia

F Bot - Swe Bounced with Bal (1 against 1).
A Sil - Ber

Turkey

F Aeg - Smy
F Bla - Sev Bounced with Arm (1 against 1).
A Bul - Ser Bounced with Ser (1 against 2).
A Con - Ank
A Gre - Alb Bounced with Tri (1 against 1).
F Ion S A Gre - Alb Support cut by Move from Tyrrhenian Sea.

Fall 05 Retreats

France: A Gas No valid retreats available, unit disbanded

Fall 05 Builds and Disbands

Austria: 8 Supply Centres (+1)
Builds A Vie

England: 1 Supply Centre (-1)
Disbands F Nth(randomly generated)

France: 3 Supply Centres (-1)

Germany: 8 Supply Centres (+1)
No free supply centres

Italy: 7 Supply Centres (+1)
Builds A Ven

Russia: 2 Supply Centres

Turkey: 5 Supply Centres (-1)
Disband F Ion

Spring 05: Orders and Results

2010-04-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

Spring 05 has come and gone, and it's done this to Europe:

It's now Fall 05, and please could I have your orders by 7pm, on Sunday 25th April. Don't forget to submit builds and retreats and anything else you think I need to know about the safe running of your empire.

Spring 05 Orders

And this was the mix of orders I recieved from you below. I was watching Buffy while editing them so if I've made a mistake or accidentally typed LOOK OUT A VENGEANCE DEMON rather than A Pie - Mar then let me know.

Austria

A Bud S A Ser
A Gal - War
A Rum S A Ser Support cut by Move from Black Sea.
A Ser S A Rum Support cut by Move from Bulgaria.
A Sev - Arm
F Tri - Alb Bounced with gre (1 against 1).
A Ukr S A Rum

England

F Den S F Hel - Nth
F Hel - Nth

France

A Bel - Lon Convoy path failed. Dislodged from Bur (2 against 1).
A Bre - Par
A Gas S A Bre - Par Support cut by Move from Spain.
F Lvp - Wal

Germany

A Bur - Bel
A Hol S A Bur - Bel
A Kie Holds
F Nth C A Bel - Lon Dislodged from hel (2 against 1).
F Nwy - Ska
A Ruh S A Kie
F Swe - Bal

Italy

F Ion - Tys
F Mar - Lyo
A Pie - Mar
F Por - Mao
F Rom - Nap
A Spa - Gas Bounced with Gas (1 against 1).

Russia

F Stp(sc) - Bot
A War - Sil

Turkey

F Aeg C A Con - Gre
F Bla - Rum Bounced with rum (1 against 2).
A Bul - Ser Bounced with ser (1 against 2).
A Con - Gre Failed because A Gre - Alb failed.
A Gre - Alb Bounced with Tri (1 against 1).
F Nap - Ion

Spring 05 Retreats

The fleet in the North Sea retreated to London

F Nth - Lon

The army in Belgium would have had a randomly generated retreat, but it could only go to Picardy, so that's where it went.

A Bel - Pic

Fall 04: Orders and Results

2010-04-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the late update, partially caused by me only doing Nap - Lon on Sunday evening. Having now been involved in traffic jams on the way to the airport in both Tyr and Nap in the last month I can safely say that war could not break out between Italy and Austria because of the practicalities of getting troops to the front line.

It's now Spring 05 like what the map doth say, and please could I have your orders by 7pm, on Sunday 18th April.

Fall 04 Orders

And this was the European foxtrot you did done:

Austria

A Bud S A Ser
A Rum S A Ser
A Ser S A Rum
A Sev S A Rum
A Ukr - Mos Bounced with War (1 against 1)
A Vie - Gal

England

F Hel S F Nth - Den
A Lon - Wal
F Nth - Den

France

A Bel Holds
A Gas - Mar Bounced with Mar (1 against 3)
A Pic - Bre
F Wal - Lvp

Germany

A Ber - Kie
A Bur - Bel Bounced with Bel (1 against 1).
F Den S F Edi - Nth Dislodged from Nth (2 against 1).
F Edi - Nth
A Kie - Hol
A Mun - Ruh
F Ska - Nwy

Italy

F Mar S A Spa Support cut by Move from Gascony.
F Mao - Por
A Pie S F Mar
A Spa S F Mar
F Tys - Ion

Russia

F Lvn - Stp (sc)
A War - Mos Bounced with ukr (1 against 1)

Turkey

F Aeg S A Gre
F Bla S A Bul
A Bul S A Gre
A Gre S A Bul
F Ion - Nap

Fall 04 Retreats

Germany: F Den - Swe (randomly generated)

Fall 04 Builds and Disbands

Austria: 7 Supply Centres (+1)
Builds F Tri

England: 2 Supply Centres (-1)
A Wal disbanded (randomly generated)

France: 4 Supply Centres (-1)

Germany: 7 Supply Centres

Italy: 6 Supply Centres (+1)
Builds F Rom

Russia: 2 Supply Centres (-1)

Turkey: 6 Supply Centres (+1)
Builds A Con

Spring 04: Orders and Results

2010-04-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the little delay this turn, however, you will see map a showing where everything is at the start of Fall 1904 below

It's now Fall 04, and please could I have your orders by 7pm, on Sunday 11th April. You, of course, don't need me to remind you to submit builds and retreats....

Spring 04 Orders

And this was the heavy pouring of orders I recieved from you:

Austria

A Alb - Ser
A Bud - Gal Bounced with Vie (1 against 1)
A Gal - Ukr
A Ser - Rum
A Sev S A Ser - Rum
A Vie - Gal Bounced with Bud (1 against 1).

England

F Hel - Den Bounced with den (1 against 1).
A Lon Holds
F Nth S F Hel - Den Support cut by Move from Edinburgh.

France

A Bel Holds
A Bur S A Mar Support cut by Move from Ruhr. Dislodged from Ruh (2 against 1).
F Eng - Wal
A Gas - Spa Bounced with spa (1 against 1)
A Mar Holds Dislodged from lyo (2 against 1)

Germany

F Den S F Edi - Nth Support cut by Move from Helgoland Bight.
F Edi - Nth Bounced with Nth (1 against 1).
A Hol - Kie
A Mun S A Ruh - Bur
A Ruh - Bur
A Sil - Ber
F Swe - Ska

Italy

F Lyo - Mar
F Nap - Tys
A Pie S F Lyo - Mar
A Spa S F Lyo - Mar Support cut by Move from Gascony.
F Wes - Mao

Russia

NMR - hold orders assigned

F Lvn Holds
A Rum Holds Dislodged from ser (2 against 1).
A War Holds

Turkey

F Aeg S A Con - Bul
F Ank - Bla
A Con - Bul
A Gre S A Con - Bul
F Ion S A Gre

Spring 03 Retreats

The armies in Rumania and Marseille cannot retreat: units destroyed.

The army in Rurgandy had a randomly generated retreat.

A Bur - Pic

Fall 03: Orders and Results

2010-03-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

Excitement! Here's Europe

It's now Spring 04, and please could I have your orders by 7pm, on Sunday 4th April. Me and Germany will be on a stage in Bristol at about roughly then but I can check my inbox and will get the results up as soon as I can afterwards.

Fall 03 Orders

And this was the fruit bowl of orders I recieved from you:

Austria

A alb S F Gre
A Bud - Rum ... fail
F Gre S A Ser - Bul ... unit dislodged
A Ser - Bul ... bounce
A Sev - Mos ... bounce
A Vie Holds
A War - Mos ... bounce ... unit dislodged

England

F Eng - Nth
F Hel - Kie ... bounce
A Lon Holds
A Nwy Holds

France

F Bre - Eng
A Bur S A Mar
A Mar Holds
A Pic - Bel
A Spa Holds ... dislodged

Germany

A Bel - Hol
A Boh - Mun
F Den Holds
F Nth - Edi
A Ruh - Kie ... bounce
A Sil S A Lvn - War
F Swe Holds

Italy

F Lyo S A Tun - Spa
A Pie - Mar ... bounce
A Tun - Spa (convoy path Tun to Wes to Spa)
F Wes C A Tun - Spa

Russia

A Lvn - War
A Rum - Sev ... fail
F Stp(sc) - Lvn

Turkey

F Aeg S A Bul - Gre
A Bul - Gre
A Con - Bul ... bounce
F Ion S A Bul - Gre

Fall 03 Retreats

Austria A War - Gal
Austria F Gre No valid retreats available, unit disbanded

French A Spa - Gas

Fall 03 Builds and Disbands

Austria: 6 Supply Centres (-1)

England: 3 Supply Centres (-1)
A Nwy disbanded (randomly generated)

France: 5 Supply Centres

Germany: 7 Supply Centres

Italy: 5 Supply Centres (+1)
Builds F Nap

Russia: 3 Supply Centres

Turkey: 5 Supply Centres (+1)
Builds F Ank

Spring 03: Orders and Results

2010-03-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

Ahh spring. There's a lovely fresh breeze in the air and a new sense of optimism has swept over Europe. Although I do often get "a new sense of optimism" and "tanks" confused. I'll leave you to decide which it is...

It's now Fall 03, and please could I have your orders by 7pm, on Sunday 28th March. Don't forget to submit builds and retreats where appropriate, and if you think you're going to have a net loss of supply centres then you can also specify what unit(s) you'd prefer to be dismantled.

Spring 03 Orders

And this was the light scattering of orders I recieved from you:

Austria

A Alb - Ser ... fail (because A Ser - Bul failed)
A Bud S A Sev - Rum
F Gre S A Ser - Bul
A Mos - Sev
A Ser - Bul ... bounce! (2 against 3)
A Tri - Vie
A War Holds

England

F Eng S A Bur - Bel ... fail (A Bur did not move to Bel)
A Lon - Hol ... fail (convoy failed)
F Nth C A Lon - Hol ... dislodged attacked from Hol(2 against 1).
A Nwy Holds

France

F Bre - Eng ... bounce!
A Bur S A Mar
A Mar Holds
A Par - Pic
A Por - Spa

Germany

A Bel - Ruh
A Ber - Sil
F Den S F Hol - Nth
F Hol - Nth
A Pic - Bel
A Sil - Boh
F Swe Holds

Italy

F Lyo S A Pie - Mar
A Pie - Mar ... bounce! (2 against 2)
A Tun Holds
F Tys - Wes

Russia

A Pru - Lvn
A Sev - Rum
F Stp(sc) Holds

Turkey

F Aeg S A bul
A Bul S A Sev - Rum ... fail (Support cut by move from Serbia)
A Con S A Bul
F Eas - Ion

Spring 03 Retreats

One retreat to work out, which is the English fleet in the North Sea. No retreat was specified and so the retreat was generated randomly.

F Nth - Hel

So what happened in Turkey then?

2010-03-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

There were an interesting set of orders in Turkey in Fall 02, so I've put together a quick explanation of what went wrong.

F Aeg S A Bul
A Bul - Ser ... bounce!
A Con S A Bul
F Eas S F Aeg

On the surface, it looks like the support for a unit should have succeeded, as although the move failed, the unit stayed in the same position so why did the supports for it to hold in that position fail?

The main principle here is that all moves are carried out simultaneously, so an order can only be to do one thing and can't be conditional on the sucess or failure results of any other orders.

This means that a unit ordered to move can only be supported by a support order that matches the move the unit is trying to make (p7 of the rules). A unit which is ordered to hold, support something, or convoy an army can be supported in position by another unit.

In this instance, as the unit was ordered to move to Serbia and the supports were to hold, from units that did not border on Serbia, they failed.

So in what circumstances can a sucessful support order be given, I hear you cry?

Example 1: 2 v 2 in Africa: stalemate

So, we've got a 2 v 2 situation in North Africa with the two Turkish armies supporting each other and the English fleets supporting a joint attack in Tunisia.

The attack fails as both support orders are sucessful.

The rules allowing units to support a stationary unit means that mutual support can be given and adds a balance to 2 v 2 situations - as the defenders can both support each other to prevent a break through, rather than a successful defence being based on successfully guessing which way the attack might go.

Example 2: 3 v 2 in Africa: supports can be broken

Thow another unit into the fray and the balance works in favour of the largest army. Here an Austrian fleet joints in, helping the English fleets.

The Austrian attack breaks the support and the English attack is left as 2 v 1, which succeeds.

Example 3: North Sea Convoy

As well as supporting units that are supporting someone else, you can support units that are staying put to do a convoy. Take this example in the North Sea, with an Italian convoy over to London, and a fleet in Heligoland Bight supporting the unit providing the convoy

Well, the convoy is sucessful, as the support is also sucessful.

So, um to recap, if you're supporting a unit that's moving the support has to be for the move. Supports can be sucessfully given to a unit that's staying put and doing anything else. If a unit issuing a support is attacked the support is broken.

Have a play about on jDip if you're not sure.

Fall 02: Orders and Results

2010-03-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

Fall 1902 season is now over, and look at what you've done.

EDIT 15th March - My apologies to Germany, although the builds in the texts were listed correctly, the map wrongly showed the new German build in Munich rather than Berlin. I had a geography fail.

The map above has been corrected with the German army in Berlin

It's now Spring 03, and please could I have your orders by 7pm, on Sunday 21th March.

Fall 02 Orders

And this was the salad bar of orders I recieved from you:

Austria

A Alb S F Gre Holds
A Bud - Tri
A Gal - War
F Gre Holds
A Mos S A Gal - War
A Ser S F Gre Holds ... support cut from Bulgaria

England

F Eng S A Lon - Bel
A Lon - Bel ... fail
F Nth C A Lon - Bel
A Nwy - Swe ... bounce

France

A Mar - Bur
F Mao - Bre
A Par S F Mao - Bre
A Spa - Por

Germany

F Bal - Swe
A Bel Holds
F Den S F Bal - Swe
F Hel - Hol
A Mun - Sil
A Pic S A Bel

Italy

F Lyo S A Ven - Pie
F Ion - Tys
A Tun Holds
A Ven - Pie

Russia

F Bot - Stp(sc)
F Rum S F Gre - Bul(ec) ... F Gre did not move to Bul
A Ukr - Sev
A War Holds dislodged

Turkey

F Aeg S A Bul
A Bul - Ser ... bounce!
A Con S A Bul
F Eas S F Aeg

Fall 02 Retreats

A Mos - Pru (randomly generated)

I'm using http://www.random.org/ for random assignments.

Fall 02 Builds and Disbands

Austria: 7 Supply Centres (+1) (total)
Builds A Bud

England: 4 Supply Centres

France: 5 Supply Centres (+1)
Builds A Mar

Germany: 7 Supply Centres (+1)
Builds A Ber

Italy: 4 Supply Centres

Russia: 3 Supply Centres (-1)
F Rum disbanded (randomly generated)

Turkey: 4 Supply Centres

Spring 02: Orders and Results

2010-03-07T11:12:00.000-08:00

Spring 1902 season is now over, and here's thee state of play.

(clunk click, make it big)

Please can I have your Fall 02 orders by 7pm, on Sunday 14th March. We're back to the usual 1 week turn length and hopefully this'll be the standard for a while now (though as always let me know if you're going to be away for a week or something and we can try and work round it somehow.

I had a few questions about the order of the turn phases this time round. Basically after diplomacy and sumbitting your orders, they are resolved....

The resolved orders are then followed by a retreats and disbanding phase. This is where the retreats you submitted along with your orders are carried out and as with orders this happens simultaneously. A unit must retreat to a space it could normally move to, and that space cannot be a space which is occupied, the space that the attacker came from, or a space in which a bounce occured during the orders phase. Two units cannot retreat to the same space. If a unit cannot retreat anywhere then it is disbanded.

There's one important point to note here, I'm playing things slightly differently to THE MAN (Allan B. Calhamer) who would have units disband if you don't issue a retreat, where as I'm retreating units randomly if they don't have a valid retreat order. It's the way I have always played it and it's always made for a better game, as it puts a bit more emphasis on strategic positioning of builds and orders.

Philisophically this introduces an element of randomness into Diplomacy, however I'm fine with that as it's nothing that wouldn't occur if everyone submitted a highly comprehensive set of retreats.

I do of course recommend that you all submit a highly comprehensive set of retreats.

You can specify to voluntarily disband a unit that is forced to retreat if you want too.

In Fall turns there's then a re-adjustment phase after retreats, where you get to build new units if you control more supply centres than units - or lose units if you own less.

You have to specify what new builds you want (unit type) and where (one of your home supply centres). Only one build can happen at a supply centre so if you capture 5 new supply centres in a turn then you'll have to wait until the year after to get your excess builds, assuming you're holding the same territory. You don't have to build if you don't want to (say for diplomatic reasons). No building fleets inland duh.

If you think you're going to lose territory and have more units than supply centres then specify which unit you'd prefer to lose, or one (or however many) will be disbanded at random in this phase.

I'm going to set out results in phases below from now on to hopefully make this easier to follow.

Spring 02 Orders

And this was the Smörgåsbord of orders I recieved from you:

Austria

A War holds dislodged
A Vie - Gal
A Bud S A Vie - Gal
A Tri - Alb
A Ser - Bul ... bounce!
F Gre - Aeg ... bounce!

England

A Lon - Bre ... bounce!
F Eng Convoy A Lon - Bre
F Nth - Nwy ... fail
A Nwy - Swe ... bounce!

France

A Spa - Bre ... bounce!
F Mid c A Spa - Bre
A Bur - Par
A Mar Holds

Germany

A Mun Hold
A Bel - Pic
A Hol - Bel
F Den - Swe ... bounce!
F Kie - Hel
F Ber - Bal

Italy

F Nap - Ion
F Tyn - Lyo
A Pie - Ven
A Tun Holds

Russia

A Liv - War
A Ukr s A Liv - War
F GoB - Swe ... bounce!
F Rum Hold

Turkey

F Smy - Eas
A Con s A Bul
A Bul s F Aeg - Gre ... support cut
F Aeg - Gre ... bounce!

Spring 02 Retreats

One unit was dislodged this turn:

Austria: Army War retreats to Mos

Fall 1901 orders builds and retreats: the results

2010-02-21T10:32:00.000-08:00

Hello Europe! Here's how you're looking at the start of the Spring 02 turn.

(As always, click on the map to embiggenise it)

Please can I have your Spring 02 orders by 7pm, on Sunday 7th March. I am very sorry to everyone as this leaves you with a turn that is two weeks long, however - next week I'm ordering Dunc Wal-Tyr (hopefully I won't get bounced out) and sadly internet is well expensive abroad.

I am sure that you all have plenty to talk about though ;)

When I'm back after the 7th we'll return to the usual one week turn length.

Don't forget to let me know where you want units to retreat to if you think they will be pushed out of where they are. As everyone's nuzzled up to each other's borders have a look at page 6 onwards of the rules about supporting units. It's probably worth playing through different options on jDip too.

And here are the orders I recieved:

Austria (6 supply centres)

F Alb-Gre
A Gal-War
A Ser S F Alb-Gre

Austria captures War, Ser & Gre
Austria builds armies in Bud, Tri & Vie

England (4 supply centres)

F Lon-Eng
A Yor-Nwy
F Nth C A Yor-Nwy

England captures Nwy
England builds an army in Lon

France (4 supply centres)

A Spa Holds
A Bur-Mar ... bounce!
F Bre-Mid

France captures Spa
France builds an army in Mar

Germany (6 supply centres)

A Ruh-Bel
A Kie-Hol
F Den-Swe ... bounce!

Germany captures Bel, Hol and Den
Germany builds an army in Mun and fleets in Ber and Kie

Italy (4 supply centres)

A Tus-Tun
F Tys C A Tus-Tun
A Pie-Mar ... bounce!

Italy captures Tun
Italy builds a fleet in Nap

Russia (4 supply centres)

A Sev-Ukr
F Rum Holds
A Lvn-Swe ... bounce!
F Bot C A Lvn-Swe

Russia captures Rum
Russia loses War
No new builds

Turkey (4 supply centres)
F Con-Aeg
A Bul-Gre
A Ank-Con

Turkey captures Bul
Turkey Builds a fleet in Smy

Spring 1901 orders: the results

2010-02-14T07:22:00.000-08:00

Thank you everyone for getting orders in to me! Here's the state of Europe just before Fall 1901.

(click to embiggen)

Please can I have your Fall 01 orders by 7pm, on Sunday 21st February. That gives everyone a week to diplomat at each other this turn. This will be the usual turn length.

Don't forget to let me know where you want units to retreat to if you think they will be pushed out of where they are. Also if you think you're going to capture some new supply centres then let me know what type of unit you want to build and where.

And here are the orders I recieved:

Austria
F Tri-Alb
A Bud-Ser
A Vie-Gal

England
A Lvp-Yor
F Lon-Eng ... bounce!
F Edi-Nth

France
A Par - Bur
A Mar - Spa
F Bre - Eng ... bounce!

Germany
A Mur-Ruh
F Kie-Den
A Ber-Kie

Italy
A Rom-Tus
A Ven-Pie
F Nap-Tyn

Russia
F Sev-Rum
F StP(sc)-Bot
A Mos-Sev
A War-Lvn

Turkey
A Smy-Ank
A Con-Bul
F Ank-Con

(in future turns I'll stick a date on the map so it's easier to follow what's going on).

A statistical look at Spring 01

2010-02-02T05:45:00.000-08:00

While you're all mulling over your opening moves, I thought I'd present a good analysis of opening moves.

There's a lot of good articles on opening strategy on this page.

Retreats and builds

2010-02-01T08:32:00.000-08:00

I was meaning to write this at some point this week, but seeing as Neil G asked specifically how retreats and builds will work, here we go...

The turn structure as set out in the rules is below.

Spring
1. Negotiation
2. Teams privately write down and submit orders for each unit
3. Moves are calculated—each player’s moves happen simultaneously.
4. Any units pushed out of territories retreat if possible or are disbanded.

Autumn
1. Negotiation
2. Teams privately write down and submit orders for each unit
3. Moves are calculated—each player’s moves happen simultaneously.
4. Any units pushed out of territories retreat if possible or are disbanded
5. Adjustments: gaining and losing military units

Basically, for e-mail Diplomacy (or how I've played it), turn phases 1. and 2. happen at the same time with you all talking and submitting orders up to the deadline. The deadline is when I kick in and work out phases 3. 4. and 5. if it's an Autumn turn.

This means you need to submit new builds and retreats along with your orders.

Retreats

If you think that a unit may be dislodged from the position that it is in then you can specify a territory for it to retreat to. This territory must be one it is able to move to during a normal movement phase - so no ordering fleets over the Alps and into central Europe :)

I'm happy to take different options for retreats, as long as you make it clear which order they are in -

eg, "if the fleet in Greece is forced to retreat then it will move to Albania, if Albania is occupied then it will retreat to the Ionian Sea".

Be clear when ordering retreats so that I'm certain what it's doing in different circumstances, if it's not clear what you want the unit to do then it'll retreat somewhere random - likewise if it doesn't have a retreat order it'll go somewhere random.

If there's nowhere for the unit to retreat to then it'll be disbanded.

Builds

Similarly, if you have occupied a new supply centre in Autumn, you will get to build a new army or fleet in one of your home supply centres (assuming you've not found yourself at the recieving end of a 6 way alliance and have some home supply centres left).

Again, specify what you want built, and in which supply centre. Again, I'm happy to take contingency plans -

eg, if I have captured one new supply centre then I will build a fleet in London, if I have captured two new supply centres then I will build a fleet in London and army in Edinburgh.

(Tim - if you build a fleet in Saint Petersburg then don't forget to say which coast!)

One final point, dont forget that supply centres are only captured during the Autumn/Fall phase of a turn. If you move a unit into a neutral supply centre this spring, and straight back out again in Autumn then you don't capture it and you don't get to build any new units.

Cool, hope that's cleared things up.

Edit - just realised, at some point you might find yourself with more units than supply centres. If this happens during the adjustment phase of Autumn then the relevent amount of units will be disbanded. I'll pick these at random unless you say what unit/s you'd prefer to be disbanded

Cool, hope that's cleared things up. More so.

Who Plays What: The Results

2010-01-31T12:00:00.000-08:00

And here we go, in the order they were drawn:

DARRYL will be playing GERMANY

NEIL G will be playing AUSTRIA

TIM will be playing RUSSIA

STU will be playing ITALY

NEIL W will be playing ENGLAND

PAUL will be playing FRANCE

MARK will be playing TURKEY

First set of orders are in at 7pm on Sunday 14th Feb!

Who Plays What: The Live Draw

2010-01-31T05:17:00.001-08:00

I'm going to try and use Coverit for the live draw. I'll be yapping on here just after 7:

Diplomacy Love Draw

How this is all going to work in practice?

2010-01-24T12:51:00.000-08:00

Rightyho, first off - yay! We have seven people for the seven countries. They are

Darryl
Paul
Tim
Stu
Mark
Neil G
Neil W

Who will we all play?

To determine who's playing which country I'll be doing a LIVE DRAW, involving hats, on this blog on Sunday 31st, in the early evening at 7pm to allow initial diploming to occur on Sunday evening should you desire.

How long have we got

Well, I think the first turn needs to be two weeks long to allow all the countries to dispach carrier pigeons and look at their armies. Hello army.

That means after the draw on the 31st, I'll need to recieve the first set of orders from you at 7pm on Sunday 14th Feb. After that, turns will be weekly (although I'm on holiday for one week at the end of Feb with no internets, I'll suggest a few options and get a consensus on what you all want to do that week - likewise if there's a week when you know you won't be able to sumbit orders for similar reasons then let me know).

Submitting Orders

To me please - dunc@theautumnstore.co.uk - I'll gether them together and work out where everything goes and do a quick turn around time so you can all start the next turn ASAP.

Make sure you've read the rules about codings for how to submit orders. I was really worried I'd cock it all up the fist time I played but it's alright, honestly. Places where units are based and move to are generally refered to by 3 letter codes, which are usually their first three letters. The Guernsey Wargaming Society handily have this map of the codes on their website or if you've downloaded jDip to keep track of the game then that also has them on.

The main thing is clarity, be sure I know which unit you're talking about and what it's doing. Don't do what I did once and gave one unit two different sets of orders. As the GM didn't know what it was doing it did nothing = d'oh.

Feel free to submit as many sets of orders to me as you want, and I'll take the most recent set before the deadline as your final orders. That means you might find it useful to submit a set of orders as soon as you see the map so you don't forget to do anything one turn.

After the first turn you may need to start ordering retreats if you think a unit is going to be forced out of where it is, and you will need to start ordering new units to be built if you've captured a supply centre. I'll cover that in a seperate post later, this one is becoming a bit long.

E-mail

The game will be played via e-mail and I'll be sending an e-mail out to everyone later in the week so everyone knows everyones address and can talk to each other as soon as you get your countries.

Please could you cc me in to all of the diplomatic messages you send to each other too.

What?

I hope this post isn't long and twatty. If you have any questions then let me know and I'll do a blog post explaining it!

Diplomacy Map

2010-01-20T13:44:00.000-08:00

And here is Europe! Have a look (click here to see the enlargified version) while we wait for the countries to democratically elect their leaders...

Once we have all 7 people I'll assign countries randomly, live, on this blog. Excitement :)