Diplomacy Fatigue

[swordsman3003]

In my new piece, I answer a write-in question about how I deal with feelings of fatigue that come from playing Diplomacy for long stretches of time. What would make me want to take a break from Diplomacy? Things like that.

This is a personal topic, not a strategy article. I consider this to be "Diplomacy Advice" however.

https://brotherbored.com/diplomacy-fatigue/

[Octavious]

A great topic!

The worst enemy of any diplomacy player is fatigue and boredom. Such players lose, and lose not only the game but the enthusiasm to play again. When you are feeling bored, when the game is more a chore than a pleasure, it is time to take action. People who don't become those of us who disappear never to return.

Diplomacy games are long. Diplomacy games are easy to sign up to. Diplomacy games can vary hugely in enjoyment. These three factors can make Diplomacy an absolute pain in the arse. It is very easy, when armed with lots of spare time and a pleasant recent diplomacy experience, to sign up to a lot of games. One month later and you find yourself up to the eyeballs in work, fighting off a cold, trying to arrange a decent birthday for the other half, and wondering why the hell your past self thought it a good idea to commit to writing a score of messages every night concerning a guessing game of who eventually occupies Tunis. Before you know what's happening you've just sent a message to France telling him in no uncertain terms exactly where he can stick the ready button, that you don't give a shit that all your unit can do is disband, and that you'll be taking the full 36 hours to do it.

DON'T OVER COMMIT.

I've been a member of the site for around ten years. Half of my games were played in the first. Initial enthusiasm and having too much time on your hands can allow a lot of games to be played, but ultimately you will need to find your limit and stay below it to avoid starting to resent the game. Back in the old days we had a highly addictive forum to keep the regulars around in the times they lost enthusiasm for the game. We don't have that any longer, so must instead learn to play in a style that won't drive you mad.

I'll add some thoughts regarding long term playing style later

[Octavious]

So, the most important thing you can do to avoid fatigue other than simply not playing too much. Make sure you have fun.

Everyone is different, and people enjoy different aspects of the game. There are players out there who genuinely enjoy reading about strategy and guidance and studying other people's games, and fair play to them. But if you find all that as tedious as hell, don't do it. I've been playing this for over a decade and in that time I've read part of the rule book, half an article in a magazine, and a couple of bits and pieces written by swordsman (largely because I enjoy arguing with swordsman from time to time ). There is nothing wrong with hitting the books if you want, but there's nothing wrong with not doing it either. Nothing has been written down that you can't pick up simply from playing the game.

It's the same with playing style. As the maxim at Delphi stated, know thyself. If you really hate lying, don't lie unless you have to. If you like hamming it up playing the game in the role of a Turkish Sultan, then indulge yourself in some creative writing. If you want to tell jokes, tell jokes. If you want to mix it up a bit and try new things, try new things. If you really love being a bastard and sticking the knife in, then sharpen your blade and embrace the dark side.

There are countless right ways of playing the game, but the only wrong way is to play it in such a way that you don't enjoy it. Some styles will probably earn you more ranking points than others, but this will change as fashions change, and nobody really gives a damn about the rankings.

The secret to avoiding fatigue, in short, is to follow the same three ancient rules that are the key to everything in life. First know yourself, second don't over indulge, and I'm not sure what the third one is.

[PRINCE WILLIAM]

I liked the alternatives you gave from the diplomacy games. Especially the part of the Magic The Gathering Arena, (I play too!) and the designing of games (I am interested in the gamebooks).

[VillageIdiot]

A topic i'm all too familiar with. Those who know me well have probably had to listen to me at least once talk about burn out and need for a break, only to get lulled back in by the next shiny new contest.

"God I am SO drained of this game! What's that you say, a new tournament where to win you have to own all the territories that end in a vowel? Ok fuck it, i'm in!!"

I see burn out all the time, there's almost always a serious hangover effect after lengthy intense tournaments where many players end up disappearing for months on end and some never return at all. Emotions get extra heated in these games, commitment level runs deeper, and disappointment feels harder after so much time investment. I've been doing almost exclusively tournament games over the last while so this hangover has become pretty cyclical for me.

What I find helps in these burn out situations is to shake up my environment from time to time. There's a very rich tapestry of different online Diplomacy communities out there so i find doing the rounds tends to help keep things fresh for me. Branching out into different variants or taking advantage of the new features like bots and 1v1 games also helps in cleansing the pallet between intense outings. A couple times i've re-invented myself on different Diplomacy platforms and got embedded into the different communities which went a long way in keeping me motivated after almost 9 years of relatively continuous online Diplomacy. I also enjoy sprinkling in a good low stakes/social game to help remind me about the fun of the game at its root.

The "in-game fatigue" I personally don't tend to struggle too much with. I've been in a couple games now where players came back from the brink of elimination to win it all, which helps me in sustaining an optimistic outlook well beyond the odds getting stacked high against me. And much like swordsman, i can still find some enjoyment out of playing spoiler or playing the Desperado role or a number of other carrots that keep me energized to the end.

That's the thing about Diplomacy, it has some flexibility and layers that allows players to personalize their own 'win conditions' with tiers of consolation prizes are vast and varied from person to person. Everybody of course wants to solo and if that doesn't work then we'd love to be the majority player in a small size draw that everybody points to as the rock star of the game. After that it's some type of participant in some type of draw but from there it's a total spectrum of what's our personal takeaway. Moral victories of 'never having compromised our values', revenge, simple survival, influence on how the game ends, a toss of the board to make things memorable, having a last bit of fun, etc, etc. These things keep many a player invested even after their ability to win is past likely.

On a related tangent...

What I find a particularly interesting is the art of tapping into these motivators within fatigued players. There's no better asset then a player who's willing to work with you who is no longer playing for a win, these are an excellent type of player to create solo opportunities. Solo's are hard to accomplish when you've got 7 rational players so it helps to have a given-up player who would feel good getting some revenge on his way out, or somebody who feel better about his impending loss if they could give a boost to the player they frame as most deserving or wants it the most, or if they want to simply reward you for putting a smile on his face when he was feeling down-and-out. It takes some pro-active hand-holding and nudging to get these players to work to your benefit but it's very much worth the investment in scouting and grooming them when you encounter them.

Or the flip side of this is also the option to lean into a players fatigue to make them want to cash out as quickly as possible or start phoning in their moves. Solos are almost always stoppable, but it takes coordination and communication of the remaining players and these things tend to be less effective when one or more of the players have stopped caring. Over fatigued players are more prone to mistakes, more prone to making high risk do-or-die moves, and more predisposed to emotional based decisions over practical.

[LittleItaly]

Amazing insight into the Diplomacy Fatigue.
I have experienced it in my own games, being on the receiving end of fatigue, and I can vouch that the player who makes me smile in this stage will definitely win over my absolute allegiance in the game.

Come what may, under all costs, I would definitely want the player to win.

[Octavious]

On the subject of players who disappear never to return, did anyone ever find out what happened to Carebear?

[VillageIdiot]

Very good question.

[Salmaneser]

DON'T OVER COMMIT.

I've been a member of the site for around ten years. Half of my games were played in the first. Initial enthusiasm and having too much time on your hands can allow a lot of games to be played, but ultimately you will need to find your limit and stay below it to avoid starting to resent the game. Back in the old days we had a highly addictive forum to keep the regulars around in the times they lost enthusiasm for the game. We don't have that any longer, so must instead learn to play in a style that won't drive you mad.

I can only confirm this. I've been on this site since 2006, and played most of my games in the first 4 years, when I was at university and had plenty of time. Since then, I played 1 or 2 games at the same time, and that keeps me going till now.

Sometimes, after losing a few games in a row, or being stabbed too many times, it's good to take a break, so you can start playing again after a couple of days/weeks with renewed courage.

[LittleItaly]

I sort of gave up after college, and came back after 5 years, and am being mentored by Kgray to come back to form

Mentorship definitely eases the process to get back on track after a burnout / fatigue. Because you have someone on your corner to give you a wake up call on the bad decisions and moves.

It helps to discuss with someone on why you got clobbered on your way out