I thought the point of not discussing on-going games was just that we don't want to interfere, in which case it doesn't matter where you are playing the game...

of course i don't consider it a particularily important unwritten rule.

It is just considered rude to your opponents. (and coming to another site where they can't see what you're asking is even ruder... at least asking about a game on this site give your opponent ample opportunity to eavesdrop on the conversation)


my 2 cent.

well, frankly i'm still a bit of a noob and i just don't know how to handle the rules with finesse just yet. mostly, my question is "here is the situation, here is what i want to try, would it work?"

rule questions are usually ok, but should be posed as a what-if, ie: post the units and the orders and ask somebody to tell you the results. Where you cross the line is asking what the units *should* do.

My inclination is "eww playdip let's screw them over"

this is my last game on playdip. i won the last 2 outright as russia, and this is my first france game. after this i am done there. all their pay features, and then some, are here, for free.

okay, then i think i am okay. here is the map:
http://i51.tinypic.com/1z70d8i.jpg

i am france. england is nmr. i am in this situation because i basically miscalled it twice in a row. i saw better moves in hindsight that would not have got me here, but like i said: i am still learning.

anyway. my plan is marseilles support spain to gascony, paris support english channel to brest, picardy support belgium to hold and liverpool hold. He either uses ruhr or munich to support the other to burgundy, or he uses ruhr to try to hit belgium. The idea is that i either push gascony back to burgundy if he tries for belgium (which i will hold), or if he makes it into burgundy, he has to destroy his army gascony, which will then be boxed in. am i right?

Only one question: playdip charges money for that crappy map?

actually, they just had an update with a prettier map. i haven't seen it because games started before the update, like this one, don't change. i'd have to start another, and i don't see myself doing that.

but, yes. there is no way that map was made in anything but mspaint.

Yes to your question. However, what id he orders Gas-Bur with support? Have channel and Par bounce in Bre. Gas will retreat to Bur, presuming Germany isn't there or it will be destroyed due to no place to retreat to. You gain a Fleet that can support Bel which could see 3 units to 2 (the way you stated above) or my way 3 on 3. You hold Bel and can hopefully force Germany back. I don't know what season it is, but if England is NMR for sure, you may want to move Lvp-Wal so you can take Lon the following season. If you fear England may reappear, stay put.

if i knock him out of gascony, and only bounce in brest, can't he retreat to brest?

oh, it's fall 1903. no reason to hurry now to london. rather stay put and make sure england is CD.

From the rules:
"A unit cannot retreat to ... a province that was left vacant by a standoff during the same turn."

The bounce makes it impossible for him to move or retreat to Brest.

ah, see. this is what i wanted to clear up. i thought that he could still retreat to brest. i appreciate you guys clearing that up for me.

no problem. good luck.

you can thank us by donating your hard earned cash to this site :p

ok only kidding; i do admit that the tactical advice for noobs section of this website is actually one of hte most useful parts, i think it has helped more people get into the game; though the fact that the webdip interface is so easy for new players to learn is also a plus... (and now i'm rambeling...)

and I always thought that the interface was kinda annoying . . .

also, i have to say, i really dislike the new playdip map aswell.

http://www.playdiplomacy.com/view_image.php?game_id=21451&gdate=0&current_phase=O

the straight lines are just horrible. still i prefer the circular topographical equivalent; so my taste may be a bit on the weird side to begin with...

Their colors are still retarded -- the shading is neat, makes it look done by hand, but England is NOT yellow.

Playdip completely screwed up the power colors with the new map, and ugh, the unit symbols look idiotic.

By the way, the power colors on this website, while they don't match the traditional dark blue, light blue, green, black, red, white, and yellow, they do match the "alternate" coloring scheme used by several physical editions of the game and some older electronic judge systems.

I want to help you... but oh my fucking god my eyes

@svenson: lol

great advise by The Czech. I would also encourage the bounce in bre.

but if I were in your shoes, I'd concentrate and ask advice about the diplomacy side of things rather than tactical... depending on how bad your grudge with Germany is, I'd give him an offer he could not refuse... remind him that Russia is going to grow by at least two with no real opposition from Turkey (fleets in south) or AH (dying) while Germany is stuck fighting you with no gains for the forseeable future...

then offer him Belgium if he is willing to let Gascony die off (dislodge/disband) while you convoy bel to Lon. he gets two builds (Bel + disbanded Gas) to face off against Russia... you lose an enemy and get your position back and can concentrate on Edi next year while having an ally against the northern Russian fleets while being in position to face Italy

the diplomatic part of this game position is far more important for you right now than the tactical... but on a purely tactical level, a bounce in Bre is best.

+1 Babak. Great advice. Let's hope his Germany isn't some wad who can't/won't see the big picture.

+1 svenson and Babak and Czech

i appreciate the insight, re: bargaining with germany. i have been trying to convince him of the threat from russia for a while now. I will ask again.

Question for Czech, what is the point of a purposeful bounce (other than cutting off a retreat)?

You told him to bounce in brest, but that isn't a retreat point, so I don't see the point.

Disregard that I suck cocks. Obviously we're cutting off his retreat.

duh!

Also, on a spammy note.

Their maps look stupid. The shading is nice, but the color scheme is ugly, the units are ugly, and the borders are ugly. It is just an ugly map (both of them).

It took me a while to get used to the pink and purple. I had played on Dip2000 so when I found this site it wasn't a shock, but I love my American colors from the box set.

@omgwhathappened let us know what the outcome is. I'm curious to see what Germany does.

the point of a bounce with yourself is that you defend three territories with two units. (and cut off retreating options)

If he had units in MAO and Paris but none in Brest and the enemies had one in NAO and picardy, you want to defend brest without abandoning MAO or Paris.

The second advantage (and probably more important in the average game) is that you can then build in Brest is you have the extra supply, which can be vitally important when a unit has just been destroyed and your home centres are under attack.

(note in my example pic can support MAO to brest, stopping the build, and allow NAO advance, but that assumes they can predict you are going to bounce yourself... if you can predict that pic will not move to brest then there is no need to bounce at all)

playdip blows hard. I played three games there, and the gameplay sucks. Besides the facts that there's no way to finalize, the map looks like it was drawn by a third grader, the messaging method is annoying as hell, and the competition is far lower, the crappy site charges for variants, live games, and for having more than three or four games going at once.

This reminds me how awesome kestas is.

*cough* put your money where your mouth is *cough* suggested donation - one hours earnings :p

i tried reasoning with germany, but he tried to move gascony to brest, thereby bouncing with english channel and paris. he then supported ruhr into burgundy, blocking his only retreat and now he has to destroy army gascony.