Why Gunboat?

[ColonelFritz28]

I'm curious, because I've never played a Gunboat game, but it seems like it's just the same as a bot game. I'm sure it's not, but what is the difference, and what is the draw to playing no press?

[Chaqa]

I like the tactical aspect of the game but don't like talking to people that much.

[ColonelFritz28]

So then, why don't you just play bot games? What is the difference?

[Chaqa]

So then, why don't you just play bot games? What is the difference?

Well, bot games weren't always a thing, and some people just prefer to play vs. humans.

[DarthPorg36]

Personally, I find bot games to be low-key, no one rips on you for stabbing them, which can be refreshing. Gunboat games also seem to go quicker, maybe because people aren't waiting for chat? I also like some variants specifically for gunboat. Ancient Mediterranean, for example, I very much enjoy in gunboat, but don't love in normal chat. Maybe you have a thing with a variant, like me, that would encourage you to play gunboat over free chat! Gunboat games help you focus on pure tactics, so if you want to specifically improve there, Gunboat is great!

Compared to bot games, there's isn't a ton of difference, to be fair. But I find, like most things (except for computing, chess, etc), humans always out-perform the AI. Gunboat games are harder to win. It's also nice to see humans think like you, bots will often pick you as a target, rush you and do nothing, but pin you down long enough another AI dominates. A human will respond to those threats and react accordingly.

Finally, in bot games, I often mis-order or don't think my moves through clearly. The fact is, I can do a turn in bot games in 3 minutes, but a gunboat game might be a day. This really forces and encourages me to look at everyone's moves, get a big, broad, view of the board, and as such, I perform better!

If you'd rather play bot games, by all means, go ahead. I use bot games a lot when I'm bored, and when I just joined to learn some strategies. Bot games in of themselves can be incredibly fulfilling.

But if you're looking for a harder challenge, better moves, and better players, without the stress of chat still, Gunboat is where it's at!

[ColonelFritz28]

Makes sense. Yeah, I hadn't thought about map variants. And I guess there are some differences between human and bot games that make Gunboat good. I had kind of thought of it like chess, but yeah, when you have seven instead of two players, humans are going to do better. I'm somewhat new to Diplomacy, so I have used bot games to learn the game.
Thanks for the answers!

[Doug7878]

@ColonelFritz28
Here is a good example of a well-played gunboat. This game just finished.
https://webdiplomacy.net/board.php?gameID=486852

[learnedSloth]

Negotiating in a game that gets dragged for weeks would be too much; I don't want to commit so much time to it. What happens on the board is all that matters anyway.

[Claesar]

There's another important aspect: There's a lot of hidden communication in Gunboat, with supports sent to other players as a suggestion of moves or alliances. Bots don't pick up on this communication as well as humans do.

[Calmar]

Why Gunboat? I find actions speak louder than words

[BrianBaru]

Yeah, but this game is called Diplomacy, not tactics. For me, Gunboat takes a huge component out of this game. Chess or bridge is a much better tactical game.