[SPOILERS] Dip4 Turkish Delight: scooter dies first

[scooter]

Let's try this again. Informative post explaining what my rankings were and why I did it coming up next. I'm on a bit of a lucky streak having found some nice success in these games, so my only prediction for this game is that I'm probably dead by end of 1903 at the absolute latest.

[scooter]

So I've played England (Dip1, loss), Austria (the gunboat game, solo win), and France (Dip3, solo win). So all 3 of those are out for me.

Past that, Italy is the least appealing just because it's Italy, but I totally wouldn't mind playing Italy and angling for a draw of some sort. It's just a matter of having different goals. That leaves Turkey, Germany, and Russia. Gaspar technically played Russia in that Dip2 newbie game that died because nobody wanted to backstab anyone ( ), so I decided to rank that the lowest of the target 3. From there I just picked Turkey over Germany. That leaves me with:

TGRIFEA

Simple enough. However, I'm pretty much fine with whatever. I bet we land Germany.

[scooter]

Some just general thoughts on the personalities we're playing with.

1) scooter/Gaspar - We're going to try to win.

2) Twinkletoes - I've played in quite a few games with him. Mostly Civ, but the point being I feel pretty comfortable chatting to him. Super nice guy, which can be a bit of a disadvantage in games like this. He also strikes me as a bit overly cautious and more likely to play for a draw rather than a solo.

3) Dtay - know nothing about him in diplomacy, but he was a new face in PB13 and has played very well, so he's clearly got good strategic sense. I think a new face can have a bit of an advantage over people like myself and Rowain who have played in several of these and are more known quantities, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him do really well here.

4) Rowain - After chatting with Gaspar, we requested from Brick "opposite side of the map as Rowain, whichever country nobody wants, not picky." Apparently that's not a valid option . Anyway, Rowain is good at this game, but he can be a pain to do diplo with. I halfway mean that as a compliment. He just plays things close to the vest, and it's hard to figure out his motivations sometimes. That makes him pretty dangerous.

5) Cynehead/pindicator - Cyneheard I see as probably the easiest person to do diplo with for me. There are only a couple people at RB that I've chatted with more than I've chatted with Cyneheard. His ded-lurker pindicator may be one of those people. So I know these faces well. Cyneheard is very pragmatic, so that makes it easier to do dealing with him. Pindicator is more likely to make an emotional decision, but he's an excellent tactician and creative thinker. I think his presence may actually hurt me a little, as he may be naturally suspicious of my motives given that he knows in Civ games I tend to at least entertain any idea, even if I dismiss it quickly. I do think this team makes a nice alliance target if the conditions are right, just because they are the types to be swayed by reason. They wouldn't hesitate to backstab if the conditions were right, though.

6) MJW - Hoo boy. I mostly know him from when I used to play werewolf. He's unpredictable, paranoid, and sometimes hard to understand. The prospect of allying with him is terrifying for those reasons. However, I don't think he's completely crazy, and he might do alright here. Generally though, you want a predictable ally, and nothing about MJW is predictable. Him being nearby may actually be a positive thing, in that it may not be hard to persuade a neighbor to 2v1 him with us and remove a wildcard, especially if it's someone who has seen him in WW games.

7) Mattimeo - The only game I had with him, I was France and he was Turkey. I didn't really get anywhere with him. He's happy to use chat over email which is a positive, but overall I felt like I didn't make much of a connection with him, so I don't know a ton about him. Hopefully things will go smoother this time.

[Mardoc]

Hey, thanks for the excellent posts. I'm planning to lurk globally, but if history is any indication, I'll be around your thread the most.

4) Rowain - After chatting with Gaspar, we requested from Brick "opposite side of the map as Rowain, whichever country nobody wants, not picky." Apparently that's not a valid option .

[sunrise089]

Hey, thanks for the excellent posts. I'm planning to lurk globally, but if history is any indication, I'll be around your thread the most.

[scooter]

Thanks for reading, Mardoc.

Hoo boy, gonna be a fun one. Roster:

Prime Minister Dtay of England
Premier Cyneheard of France
Chancellor Mattimeo of Germany
Emperor Rowain of Austria
King MJW of Italy
Czar Twinkletoes of Russia
Sultan Scooter of Turkey

Stray thoughts:

* Good news: we got our top choice. That's fun. I need to spend some time freshening up on Turkey strategies given that I haven't played Turkey since I was in high school.

* Bad news: Rowain is Austria-Hungary. Of course.

* Twinkletoes as Russia is okay I think. I can work with that. He's at least less hopelessly cryptic than Rowain

* MJW as Italy is kinda fitting, really. Let chaos reign. Our best hope is to get him to give Rowain grief most likely.

* The western hemisphere will be pretty straight forward with the dtay/Cyneheard/Mattimeo trio. If I were to guess, I'd say Mattimeo is the one left out to dry there. Unfortunately, I think those are the 3 I'd most prefer dealing with, and they're all basically irrelevant to me for quite awhile.

[Mardoc]

* Twinkletoes as Russia is okay I think. I can work with that. He's at least less hopelessly cryptic than Rowain

* MJW as Italy is kinda fitting, really. Let chaos reign. Our best hope is to get him to give Rowain grief most likely.

Sounds like a Juggernaut intended, then? Or am I reading too much into this?

[scooter]

* Twinkletoes as Russia is okay I think. I can work with that. He's at least less hopelessly cryptic than Rowain

* MJW as Italy is kinda fitting, really. Let chaos reign. Our best hope is to get him to give Rowain grief most likely.

Sounds like a Juggernaut intended, then? Or am I reading too much into this?

I don't think going into the game assuming I'm going to work with one of my two neighbors before talking to any of them is really wise, so I'm not ruling out working with Rowain or anything. I'm just more wary of him than most players because of his cryptic style. I think TT is easier to make a solid deal with, but if Rowain wants to talk I'm all ears.

Juggernaut (Russia-Turkey alliance for those not too versed on Diplomacy - often considered to be the most dangerous alliance in the game) could be fun. The main drawbacks are it favors Russia, and it's a little easier for Russia to stab their way out of that alliance than Turkey. Even if we did something like that, I sure don't want to telegraph it early and invite MJW (Italy) to support Rowain.

[scooter]

So I only just now remembered that Twinkletoes played in that Dip3 game where I solo'd as France. And not only that, but I played a part in his death despite being called on to save him . Hoooo boy, this game could get rough. I was just reading his thread in that game as a refresher, and he spent the opening days trying really hard to organize a "kill scooter" coalition which failed only because Tasunke was a no-show. Let's hope he doesn't go for a rain check here.

Anyway. I need to figure out what MJW is doing first. Just no Lepanto, please.

My first message came in from Rowain:

Hello old foe

I have somehow lost the pw to my old account so this is from the new one

Grettings from Austria

And we're off.

[scooter]

Yep, my first message went to MJW. We'll see how this goes.

MJW,

Greetings, and first off good luck with Italy. Definitely one of the more challenging nations to play with. I guess you do at least get a few choices, and most people want to be your friend, so that's a perk.

Anyway, obviously as Turkey, the last thing I want to see is a Lepanto opening from you. And of course, Rowain is virtually guaranteed to be encouraging you to go that route. I don't think it will surprise you that I'd much prefer your units either heading west or moving onto Austrian centers than sailing into Turkish waters . Anything in particular that would entice you to not do that to me?

Thanks,
scooter - Turkey