How to Break a Stalemate (in an ethically questionable way)

[flashthompson]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MowqHK218FM&t=8s

I put together a video on a game in which I had to break a stalemate. There has been some debate in our gaming community if this was a legitimate way to do it. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[RoganJosh]

Extremely embarrassing for France to lose the game in such a manner.

[Squigs44]

The way the video is presented makes it seem like the intended purpose of the video is to teach others. However, the game and the situation involved are very unique, and there is nothing that was said that could be applied to most games. Im glad you found joy and pride in being able to convince your friend to purposefully lose the game so that you could win, but I feel like the video held no value for me. Your video about the importance of press seems a little bit more in line with the "gaming masterclass" branding that you have going on.

As for whether or not the win was ethical or not, I'm not sure that's the question I want to look at. I'm more concerned with the question of, "Do I want to win in this way?", and the answer for me is no. Winning like that is not fun for me, although I understand that some people do find fun in that, and that's okay.

[Mercy]

Were you guys aware that it is possible to draw a game?

[David E. Cohen]

A misleading subject line. This isn't "breaking a stalemate". This is a player throwing a game. In and of itself, there is nothing wrong with a player throwing a game.

[Octavious]

Im glad you found joy and pride in being able to convince your friend to purposefully lose the game so that you could win

Except he didn't. He specifically says that the idea came from France. This is the Diplomacy equivalent of an uncle letting his nephew win at a game of chess so that he doesn't lose interest in the game or have a tantrum. The only ideas England had were to ask the opposing team nicely not to oppose him any more, or to wait until they missorder. It's pretty tragic stuff. A win is a win, but this particular win ranks alongside games where none of the other players turn up. In terms of morality, it reminds me a little of those people who set up 8 hr phase games with the sole intention of luring in the unwary and harvesting the NMRs. There's nothing against the rules going on, but you wouldn't want to draw attention to it either.