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Hello, I'm somewhat new to the game, and I'm wondering what reasons people have for being partial to a country in classic Diplomacy. I'm all ears for any reason anyone has, no matter how trivial.

Thanks, and I hope everyone had a merry Christmas. Here's to 2021!

I'm normally fairly excited to play England or Turkey. They feel less claustrophobic than the other countries, as you don't have to worry about people creeping up on you from behind.

Austria in a live game, followed by Russia. Italy in a long-form game. A/R get the blood rushing like nothing else, and Italy can do basically anything it wants with the right diplomatic setup.
Germany is ok, it’s a LOT of work but it’s a strong country. E/F/T are a bit dull for my tastes but I’m glad somebody wants to play them

I like playing Germany and Italy, since they're more flexible, and then Russia, because it has the most interesting alliance options in the south.

In press, I enjoy Germany, Austria, Russia, and to an extent Italy. All of them (especially the first three) need allies to survive, and who those allies are changes game-to-game. France pretty much always plays the same in Press; either get England to help you knock out Germany, or go after England. England and Turkey are not much better, as their options are pretty much restricted to "help France against Germany or vice versa" and "help Russia against Austria or vice versa," respectively. But Germany, Austria, Russia, and Italy all have WAY more options than that, and are often at the core of shifting geopolitical alliances throughout the game.

In gunboat, Turkey is nice because you can't die unless all three of your neighbors attack you. Austria is fun to play as a challenge, though not when you're betting big points (and not when Italy immediately moves to Trieste).

Not sure if I would say Turkey is my favorite country, but I think it gets called boring quite often. In my opinion this is mostly due to a lack of creativity:

• Turkey has 3 very legitimate opening options, which is more than most countries, and choosing which is best for the diplomatic situation is interesting.

• Turkey has 3 neighbors and I believe they can all be useful alliance partners in the right circumstances. It can be a very interesting diplomatic puzzle to get each neighbor to fight because they believe you are their ally.

• Turkey has a highly defensible corner position, so even dire situations can be turned around with the right moves and diplomacy.

• Turkey can play as either a fleet power or an army power and has two paths to a solo: either pushing fleets through the mediterranean to get Spain and Portugal or pushing armies north to get Moscow, Warsaw, and possibly Munich.

Gunboat only:

Italy = fun
Russia, England = fun but weak
Germany, Austria = straightforward, can be OK fun
France = boring and hard unless playing beginners, then boring and super easy
Turkey = WORST country, unplayable, likely to be set upon by all neighbours, near zero ability to influence the board in meaningful way, ban this country.

I like Germany in full press, as it has legitimate issues to discuss with every other country. Tactically, I hate it and generally get trounced. The egotist in me likes be the center of attention though

Germany and Russia in press, as they have lots of flexibility and tend to dictate what happens on the board rather than vice versa.

England is my least favorite by far, as it is generally subject to the whims of France/Germany and to a lesser extent Russia. If Turkey gets ganged up on by Austria/Russia, at the very least they can try to bring Italy in to even things out; if England is facing a Sealion it is almost certainly dead unless you have some very savvy southern players who are willing to recognize and take advantage of the temporary weakness of France/Germany(/Russia).

My favourite country is Italy. This is mostly because it was the first country I ever played. Just the fact that being in the center of the board allows you to be relevant to everyone, and therefore recieve press a lot more than, say, Turkey.

Also, I have a hard on for naval powers.

Russia, Austria, and Germany are up near the top for press games. Each requires maximum effort diplomatically. I don't have a favorite really, but my *best* results usually involve England.

France or Turkey for me. So long as you've got a non-agressive Italian neighbour (which you usually do, as they are normally too worried about Turkey and Austria), France is usually the turning country that get to pick whether to team up with Germany or England. Although it does all depend on who plays the other countries.
I have found that Turkey are incredibally difficult to break, and so from a defending/surviving point of view, Turkey are great

Germany and Austria. I like having my back to the wall, and being both force me to be properly engaged with the other players. I don't dislike playing anyone, but I always feel the most engaged with these 2 powers.

Plus - if you can get them going they're in a better position to take a shot at a solo run. Having their home centers right next to the home centers really helps ^.^

I am a lousy gunboat player, but I like England best in gunboat. It is hard to win, but I love convoying army after army into Germany. I love it.

Italy is fun in gunboat as well, as you are free to determine your game yourself, since nobody will attack you to start. Also, since Austria is so threatened in the first year, if you team with Austria, you have a good partner.

In full press, I like the west. I can always get someone to team with me.

In full press, I find the Eastern powers more interesting than the Western ones (at least early on... later on anything can happen). The Western Triangle is usually pretty much a game of 'odd one out' - two powers gang up on the third, and you want to avoid being the third. Whereas in the East, you can have all sorts of exciting combinations, and alliances also take longer to become clear.

In gunboat, I dislike losing while feeling powerless. This mostly happens to Austria (when Italy attacks them), France (when everyone attacks them) and Turkey (when everyone attacks them).

England because od great defensive position and naval strength.

France because it is very versitile nation capable to dominate on seas east and west of the main stalemate line, but is also strong nation on land.

Russia because it is like glass cannon. If you play it well you have great chance ro win the game. If you play it wrong you will not take ages to be taken down like Turkey.

I live for France. Good amount of supply centers off the bat, good opportunities alliance wise and in a nice position. Always happy when I get France.

japan for the culture

Germany is the country I have the most fun with, it has such dynamism and so many viable options... Allying with France, with England, or with Russia are all very plausible strategies and can be somewhat disguised, and it's got strong offensive potential against all of them too... And then there's the less frequent but still plausible options like allying with Italy, or an alliance with Austria that involves actually working together instead of just agreeing to DMZ Boh/Tyl. It's very rare that two games of Germany will ever feel the same.

Of course if it's a tournament game or something very high stakes then Turkey and France are who I have the best results with, so I might prefer to draw those instead