I find Austria, exciting. Death or Expansion in the first year.
I Agree about England.
My Favorite is Russia

Russia can build fleet on both sides of European waters. Switch pressure quickly if things get bogged down, has a board edge to his East and has good choices of allies (Italy, Austria, and Turkey)

It seems to me that Austria only wins when the person next to him gets stabbed. Nobody pays him any attention as he annexes, then it's too late.

Favourite: Austria or England.

Austria: soo many countries to talk to, and you just need one of them on your side to start making things go right.
Plus you are in a seemingly weak position to begin with, so you are less of a threat to the others.

England: taking Scandanavia from Russia is lots of fun, all the while you have to carefully negotiate with both Germany and France to avoid them ganging up on you.

So many games i've played where i was forced to retreat my army from norway to finland (and disbanding a fleet) only to end up taking norway, sweden and st. petersburg a few years later.

Least: Turkey, it takes far too long to get your armies to do anything. and even then you are pretty much penned in, (unless you spend your time running at russia.)

Turkey should never win.

http://www.diplom.org/~diparch/resources/strategy/articles/turkey_never.htm
http://www.diplom.org/~diparch/resources/strategy/articles/turkey-injurious.htm

Favorite = Italy. I like the fleets. Its so much fun to convoy everywhere and then stabbing austria eveyrnow and then is bunches of fun.


Least = Germany, I always get stuck with 6 SC's and then can never figure out where to go and what to do.

currently, I think that my least favorite is italy. it just gets sort of annoying because you don't start with a second fleet so it takes a long time to get things moving.

I think that my fav's are probably germany and turkey.

I like turkey because it's fun to pretend you're friends with austria and then stab him with the help of russia or italy.

and I like germany because it can expand very quickly if you play the right character with england and france.

favorite: France; you can defend yourself easily, and are guaranteed 2 builds in the first year pretty much.

Most hated: Russia. Far too many fronts with far too much room to move, and none of it gets you anywhere for a good little while if ever.

No favorite yet. I've only ever won as England, if I recall right.

Well, I got thinking. Just some rough notes, but here they are...
1st: Turkey
Being a corner nation, I've found Turkey is generally diplomatically simpler, but tactically harder. Personally I prefer the game like this, probably because my diplomacy is not as good as it should be!

2nd: Austria
The complete opposite to Turkey, you must be totally diplomatic. This in my opinion makes it arguably the 'purest' nation. In many of the others a bit of luck and good tactics can win you the game. In austria, if you don't get your diplomacy right you have no chance.

3rd: Germany
Despite pretty standard 1901s, Germany has a lot of different options. You generally choose to work with or against France/England or Russia directly, and expand from there. With it's ports in rather awkward locations, mobilizing at sea must be done with real care, especially to do it without scaring any allies!

4th: England
England England, well. I've rarely played *well* as England, but it has an uncanny habit of turning out good results. I think this is because with some suitable alliances you can make a very strong defensive nation, making outright elimination a rare outcome. With this I find England is also rather a tactical nation, because, once you've got started on the continent, England can be largely self-sufficient.

5th: Italy
I have to say, I do quite like Italy. However, its down here because I'm generally not successful. Tactically, it really does matter which alliances you make. With the first choice generally France or Austria, implying war at sea or on land respectively, it really does pay off to show trust and assist your ally. Its all very well commanding the strongest southern navy, but if Austria wants to fight as well you rarely have much say in the outcome!

6th: Russia
The massive nation of Russia. Four units make it rather different, as do the ability to build fleets at 3 locations [ sev,stp(n), stp(s) ], with three different implied enemies. However, despite frequent good starts, I have trouble with the Russian midgame. Whilst obviously the main issue is poor diplomacy, I think this is partially due to the optical illusion of Russian size. The territories in the top right of the board are much larger than those in other area's and so Russia appears much larger than it is, especially if it takes Scandinavia.

7th: France
As with Russia, france can make a good start, with two 1901 builds common, 3 not rare. However, I have trouble converting this to a strong midgame. I'm yet to work out how france "should" be played, and as such can't really say where I go wrong. I think this is due to poor 1901 diplomacy, as I often make it through to 1903 only to find my neighbours have been rather more decisive in their conversations, and its only a matter of time from there.
--------
Wow, that was longer than I thought it would be, but anyway. Just to clarify, where I say less or more diplomacy, or that a nation can do well on its own, that doesn't mean I don't think getting alliances is a bad idea, just that you have more chance of getting away with it if they go badly!

I'd be very interested to hear what other peoples view's on that list are by the way...

I like Turkey the best. It has that safe corner position, and you tend to get sort of overlooked down there. You can execute some nice stabs if you play them right, and the oft-killed Austria offers an almost guarantee for quick expansion.

Russia is next, honestly it can be a pain to play sometimes obviously but it is nice and big and open and clear what you've got to do. There is a lot of land and less sea, so things are less dicey when you move against someone. Also, you take out Turkey and you've got one flank covered. That combined with Scandinavia under your control makes you near invincible.

Third is Italy.. first of all I like being them because you can always try to rebuild the Roman Empire, which is partial to me ;) Additionaly, it can defend pretty well and has an interesting double interest in the east and the west. I also love the oddity of Tunis and am proud to control; this is most guaranteed if you are the Italian.

France is fourth. They are fun but sort of dull, and can tend to get hit because they are "expected to win." And, a land war inside France/Iberia without sea support is really just hell. It would be a lot more fun if the British Isles weren't there crowding everything.

Austria is fifth. They lose a lot sure, but winning as them makes it that much more gratifying. You can really command respect from other players if you put up a spirited defense as you die, too.

Coming in sixth would England. Too isolated, and too many fleets can screw you. You need someone supporting you 100% to get a good army on the continent, and even then you can't move fast enough to catch up with the other powers.

Germany is last. Absolutely surround and pretty universally mistrusted or disliked. They usually die right after Austria, but aren't fun because they have no escape route with which you can frustrate your attackers, whereas the Austrians have the Med if things get bad. Worse, with all these setbacks, there is little glory in a German victory.

1) Russia
2) Austria
3) England
4) France
5) Italy
6) Turkey
7) Germany

I'll agree about Germany being a very diplomatic country. The first game I'd won was as Germany, and I didn't even leave the country until I knew the moment was right.

http://www.phpdiplomacy.net/board.php?gameID=6119
Didn't start foreign expansion until Autumn of 1904, and that was an agreement between me and England. It was over in Spring of 1908.

1. Russia
2. France
3. Austria
4. Germany
5. Italy
6. England
7. Turket

7. Turkey

Wow! I love Germany because it is so dynamic. You have so many reasonable opening options and plans, and everyone wants a piece of you. It really gives you the chance to make the world flow... if you're good.

Austria can be similar, but it's so difficult much of the time.

1. Germany

(1st tier)

2. France
3. Italy
4. Austria

(2nd tier)

5. Russia
6. England
7. Turkey

I love playing Italy - very difficult to win with, but makes for a fantastic game as discussions, alliances and diplomacies with almost all nations are fast paced and exciting. Italy is where the game really happens, where you can weave a web of deceit and overlapping alliances and pacts. Like a game of Jenga, you get to move the pieces around and control what stands and falls.

Tactically very restrictive but diplomatically brilliant.

Germany is my favorite country, due to the large amount of diplomacizing involved with it. One of my favorite stratagies (usually only good against less advanced players) is to talk with both sides of a common fight (england and france, austria and russia) and ask both to be an ally. Then depending on their answers i attack one or the other.

Awesome Powers:

Germany, England. Germany has tons of options, England is geared for a high-offense, aggressive early game, with little chance of being swamped at the start.

Cool Powers: Austria, Italy, France, Russia
Lots of Diplomacy and lots of borders in these ones; your survival hinges completely on your ability to get others to do what you want. France is the exception, with its Lock Up potential.

Irritating Powers: Turkey
LETMEOUTLETMEOUTLETMEOUT

I hate France. I can never get France to work. Ever. Anything else is OK, but I'm invariably eliminated, or should have been, by 1903 or so as what I took to calling when corned in Portugal in one game, "New Germany."

I love playing Italy and Austria.

I really like England

I think I'm getting the hang of Germany and Russia, and if I really get a handle on them, I'll have a lot more fun with them.

I agree with the rest on Turkey, trapped

And I detest France. I can't get it to work. Ever.

italy are fun when austria is scared or realy loves you. turkey is great at the start of the game, aspeasily with an unlucky russia, but it is difficalt to continu at midgame. austria and germany are hell and likly to get stabed. russia and england can be good if you are aggresive inaff. italy has the same problem as turky, but some good diplomancy can make you the strongest power.

i must say - favorite country is the one with the most NMRing neighbors :-p j/k

(assuming medium to high skill level players on the map)

Least favorite: Turkey
T's options are so limited. a dmz in black gone bad can be a game-ender... a northern blitz bounced will stifle growth and invite italy to lepanto. AH and I never fully trust turkey - so its tough to get all but the best/most conident players to consider you as a real ally option, and allying with Russia will be evident from spring 1901 (ank to con) giving away the juggernaut and scaring AH/I and even G/E into an alliance. so damed no matter which way you go. very tough.

Most Favorite: Russia
so many alliance options and so many 'natural' mid-game allies (France, Italy) with very few 'natural' early-game enemies. good diplomacy should earn you the good will of all 4 of your closest neighbors so that you can then pick and choose who to team up against after others have initiated the attack. and if R is taken into the mid-game, it almost always has the upper hand against its early-game ally b/c of its 'natural' allies (F and I) and because of its corner position.

2nd Fav: Austria-Hungry
very difficult early-game... but with good diplomacy you can forment an RT war and convince Italy to open lepanto or westward. getting italy on-side should be easy if there is a skilled player in italy - otherwise its tougher. forment an EF alliance so that F builds fleets southward to distract italy - but ONLY if you are sure you can get a RT war going... and if you cant get an RT war going, then you yell and scream Jug and are likely to get EG&I all on your side. KEY: make sure Germany opens to Denmark... you NEED to have the threat of a swedish bounce to keep Russia out of Gal and/or prevent a successful Jug with that bounce. but after you get into the mid-game (7-8 dots, 2 powers crippled or eliminated) - it should be easy sailing to the end-game... usually with a Russian or Italian partner.

2nd Least Fav: France
F can have a very easy early game - (like figles was saying) try to get an EFG or EF or EG - one of them will be viable... but after you get to 6-7 it gets tough. if you go south, you get tunis then are stuck in the med unless you get Turkish or Austrian help (and neither should help you against Italy if they are smart) or you and G (and even R) go after E (try the SeaLion) but then have to waste 2-3 seasons to land a damn army on the british isles and leave your rear open to italian fleets. OR go after Germany while E and R pick apart scandenavia you are most likely to get Bel and thats about it... so the mid-game is really tough. to succeed you need a stellar relationship with your non-ally non-enemy neighbor AND at least one of AH or R so that you can succeed in the mid-game. and under any of these scenario's its likely that the winners in the 2v1 or 3v1 on the eastern end of the board are more powerful than you and your ally. basically the poblem is whichever direction you grow, you leave a gaping hole to you rear... and almost any move (F spa sc, F Bre, F MAO, A Par or A Bur) will earn you some enmity from someone you do not intend to be enemies with.

the pack:

England - good early game - usually survives to mid-game because its so tough to break - but if you miscalculate and give up Nth or Iri, you are pretty much toast and will not be able to get into the end-game. the good thing is, as E you can usually take your enemy down with you - but that's little solace when you end up eliminated in the process.

Germany: Great early game potential with enormous number of possibilities, tons of move options and great growth potential to get to 8-10 dots. good mid-game options as well - BUT in the end-game you will always be in the middle and the other 2 or 3 surviving powers will have borders with you making you an appetizing shared meal. really hard to defend against all sides - and unlike AH or Italy, very hard to get yourself into a corner so that your back is protected by the boundaries...


Italy: I actually like playing italy a LOT... but its a very tough draw. your early game will be very slow unless you are extremely lucky or your neighbors are just not that good. good news is that chances are you wont be one of the first 2 to be out - but if you are not at 6-7 by mid-game, you wont survive into the late game. the thing with italy also is that no two games are alike. you have to be re-active to the other alliances that come up (or if you're really good - create the alliances that best benefit you). one thing I will say... starting a war with AH in the first 2 years will be the wrong move 90% of the time. Ah is YOUR buffer... the one excpetion I'd offer to this is if Turkey is on your side and has agreed to an all-army strategy, and Russia is under too much pressure from G/E/GE to be but a token actor in the southeastern corner of the map AND France is busy in NAO or Iri or something...


as ususal - a long unsolicited response from me. if you have read this far - you deserve a cookie for not having fallen asleep by now.

Italy is my favorite country to play. I don't particularly like the slow start, but I really enjoy the challenge of the country.

France and Russia are probably my next two favorites - they both have strong positions with lots of options.

Germany would be next - it might even be above France and Russia for me, but I haven't played it enough to know for sure. I would really like to be Germany again soon...

England is the next best - It's a little too predictable for me though. Once you get through the early years it becomes fairly easy to play.

Austria is my second-least favorite. For some reason I can never seem to get Italy to cooperate and I think it's because most players are too short-sighted. They can't see that an Italy at 8-9 centers but in the middle of Turkey and France is a dead Italy. And yet, without fail I find myself losing Trieste in 1901...

Turkey is probably my least favorite because there is very little subtlety to the play. Your 1901 builds will usually betray your alliances and strategy to a large extent.

Ok, obviously these lists are based on personal preference. I prefer being in control. I like to influence peddle and try to create or break alliances across the board to suit my purposes and build relationships. This requires certain positions and flexibility. My choices, I believe, reflect this.

1) Favourite: Italy
My very first Diplomacy game ended with me soloing as Italy. Italys central position without being percieved as a major threat makes influencing the game easier, and also a must. You can afford to see how things are playing out before you commit to anything. There is no reason, as some have suggested, that you need to get moving quickly. Keeping the West conflicted is a priority (don't read this current game I'm playing Italy in) but making sure France doesn't have any solid allies is a must for survival, but you also want him able to defend himself, its a fun balancing act. You want Russia strong, but not too strong. You want Austria afraid of the juggernaught, England stabbing countries, and Germany working in concert with you. Keeping Turkish fleets under control is also a must. Italy keeps you on your diplomatic toes.

2) Russia.
It has been said that Russia is like two countries, except the north one only starts with one centre. Powerhousing through the game with Russia is awesome, and everyone wants you to be their friend, not least because drawing Russia's ire early is often a game-ender. I think alot of people forget how important the west is for Russia, which makes playing it a treat. Making sure England and Germany don't ally is a necessity and alot more difficult than the more simplistic fostering mistrust between Austria and Turkey. You can do the Italians work for him and he will become your lackey. Unfortunately for him, France is your even better friend and they will bog eachother down near the end game so you can mop up for a win.

3) Germany-
My proudest victory was at the hands of Germany. I spent the first two years being against a E/F alliance. But a combination of staunch defence and bringing in the Russian helped break it up. Germany can't win with a single staunch ally, which makes it fun. England is too dangerous behind you, France grows too quickly and Russia is only your friend until he can afford to invade you. I don't share the love of Austrians that most Germans seem to have. That doesn't mean you are on your own, I find that Turkey and Italy are much more helpful to your cause. Germany is fun because you need to dominate the field, because weakness will have your neighbours savage you.

4) Austria
The final fun power is Austria. It gets the bottom of the favourites because of some frustration I have gotten from short-sighted neighbours. I don't actually think Austria is all that challenging in the early game. The formula is simple, get some armies and lash out. Make sure you are first one to get the spoils from your relationship, because otherwise you will likely be stabbed, often by an I/R. It is the lack of fleets later that makes things more difficult. German-Austrian union is dumb. An E/F to keep Russia and Italy paranoid is ideal. A strong Germany might just invade you in the mid-game. Course none of this matters if you get the old Galicia Tyrolia invasion.

Non-Favourites (Read: corner-nations)
5) England
I'm actually fantastic with England. It is by far my best country. But that doesn't mean I like it. To win you almost always have to stab your early ally. You also need to attack Russia, but its difficult to get past St Petes and if you take StP you are likely strengthening an Eastern rival much more than yourself. These two needs make England untrustworthy and inflexible. Cross-board alliances are interesting though, especially with Austria. England gets the top of the non-favourites only because of success.

6) France-
I have only won a single game with France. I managed it through shotgun diplomacy. I actually attacked England and Germany at the same time and won. How? I supported England into Holland in S02 and then offered Germany my allegiance if he supported me into Holland and supported Russia into Norway. I then moved into Ruhr, Holland and convoyed into Wales. Despite enraging the two of them, I proceeded to kill them both simultaneously. Nobody stopped me. The fact that I was allowed to do this is ridiculous. There is little finesse involved with France. It wins in games with bad players and NMRs where a lack of diplomacy can be made up for by brute force. I looked through my games and the only other win by a france was in a gunboat game I played. I think that says alot.

7) Turkey
The sick-man of europe is right. I have never won as Turkey, in fact I am killed more often than not as Turkey. You start in a boring corner position with few opening options (black sea or no, armenia or no). The diplomatic pressure cross-board is just anti-Russian. Austria can't trust you and lazy Italys often send a couple of fleets over. Even after you break out your options still suck. The inability to build fleets in the north stifles your options and you can seldom break out past the Ionian. Turkey is as defensive as France is aggressive.

Sorry for writing a novel guys, but those are my thoughts on the nations and more importantly, how the game should be played, engaging all 6 of your opponents, not relying on a single loyal ally.

Thanks for reading, if you did.

1) Italy
Italy seems to be courted by everyone...so I feel like the Belle of the Ball when I play Italy. Plus 1/4 of my games here have been as Italy....so I have alot of experience with it.

2) France
Quick builds and fairly defensible with Switzerland and Burgandy.

3) Turkey
Corner nation...only anxiety with Turkey is who ally with?

4) England
Very defensible...difficult to get a foothold on the continent, but once armies are on the ground...England can usually roll.

5) Austria
Easy to grow...quick to die

6) Russia
I have won as Russia before, but I hate the constant 2 front conflicts.

7) Germany
Everyone but Turkey can attack Germany in the first year...I can't believe anyone has EVER won as Germany.

1. ENG
2. TUR
3. RUS
4. FRA
5. GER
6. IT
7. AUS

I deffinetly prefer germany

like all central powers, it's a walk on the rope. There are only very little strategical advances you can gain from that position - it entirely depends on your diplomacy and on your longterm planning.
But unlike austria and italy, germany actually has a decent chance of winning.

What I don't like is france and turkey. They are defenive turtles with only few options on what to do. In many cases they are entirely predictable

I have not won yet with Austria or Russia, so those are my least favorites. I have a very tough time developing a strategy with either country.

I have enjoyed France and Turkey the most. If France keeps England out of the English Channel and Turkey keeps Russia out of the Black Sea, then things can go quite well.

Italy and England are OK. I actually stabbed Austria in the first year and won with Italy. I have won with England but have also been defeated when France turned on me early.

Germany is decent. A good alliance must be made early, but it is definitely possible to win with it.

1. Russia, Lot of options.

2. Austria, See above.

3. England, Lord of the Sea with lots of options.

4. France, Spain and Porugal.

5. Italy, Everyone is your friend, fence sitting at it's best.

6. Germany, Paranoia at it's best.

7. Turkey, Painted into a corner, will I hit Austria or Russia?

@airborne: Nah, Russia's best ally on average is usually France. Italy either is amazing or completely ineffective.

I've won as Russia, England, and Turkey... and in one game I had to go into CD on, my country (Italy) ended up with a draw.

So my favorites right now are Austria (first choice), Germany, and France. Italy is next. I prefer to play countries that I don't find "easy" to win as because Diplomacy isn't about that.