FtF is more fun due to the social element (people being together). It is quite time-consuming though - which is a huge disadvantage - and you can never play many simultaneous games.
Not sure about the skill - I'd say there're differences as some people are better in face-to-face communication and others are better when writing. Overall I'd say it's about the same.

i personally find ftf harder, with only 15 min to think AND talk on your feet, you dont have the luxury of sitting there and thinking of the best tactical moves or diplomatic approaches. i find ftf harder

In FtF you often know if someone is messing with you.
On php someone is always messing with you.

Well, there's the concept of relativity :)

The time-constraints and face-contact are valid for everyone.

Personally, I think php is much more fun. When I'm with my friends, we usually don't have the attention for diplomacy (we usually go for risk or poker). We don't see each other too often so it's annoying not to be able to catch up since there's so much communication for the game required.

Online (where I play with a lot of the same people) we don't have all those distractions and we can focus just on the game, making for a much better experience.

FtF, especially if you are playing with friends, is harder. But I think it's way more fun, if you can find the time.

i've never played FtF :*-(

we never play with the 15 minitue limit, i played FtF for a good amount of time before i started to play on php. i think theyre pretty equal in skill, as in FtF you have to able to hold a straight face AND read expressions, whereas on php you have to look for other details as to why someone might be lying to you.

and yes, i definitely can say FtF is a lot more fun. php is a lot more convenient, obviously.

FtF is extremely fun, but time-consuming since it can be hard for everyone to get together and get some orders done. But the social element definitely keeps it entertaining.

FTF is fun, but a little too easy, with my group, at least....

Maybe I know them all too well? Then again, there's a lot of meta-gaming there, too.

And surprisingly enough, I don't get tall-poppied.

The problem with FtF is that when you diplomasize with someone, everyone knows.

FtF rocks. With good players it is a truly marvelous experience.

The aspect which I appreciate most is the need for speed - everything seems like a crisis, especially in the early stages. And this leads to many types of error - the mistakes (some deliberate) are a very good approximation to the fog of war effect of real life.

FInding time and players is the great problem though...

And when I play with my friends, we never seem to be able to finish. We start off really well, but then we just sort of lose momentum and eventually stop.

im also someone who has never played FTF- never had 6 friends nearby. how long does the average ftf game last?

Longer than any amount of time that we had ever allotted for a game in my group(s).
Most of the FtF games I have been in went as long as possible until someone had to go to work (or something like that) and then migrated to PBEM (play by email) games using the Realpolitik engine.
Although a FtF game cannot really be rivaled by an internet game for sheer excitement, panic, mad negotiations, etc., I have yet to finish a FtF game as a FtF game.
The one thing that internet, PBEM, and PBM (play by mail) games have over FtF is that you have a LOT of time to go over every possible set of moves for both your troops and those of your fellow players. This makes the level of play higher in those kinds of games. But, really, it is a mere shadow of a FtF game, in this player's opinion.

The best way I've found to play ftf is to find (or found) a local gaming group or a gaming store... use meet-up.com, craigslist, or Edi... in DC we play once a month usually on a sat or sun starting at 10-11 and finishing the game by 4-6pm.

The one advantage is that when you see an inevitable draw emerging, its possible to short-circuit the game and have the survivors vote for a draw that might not include some of the surviving players to that point. (There is a cool secret method to do this).

Generally I agree with the comments above... ftf > online...


Also, to those who can't get 7 ppl together, there is a very cool variant called 'escelation' that is (I think) better than the options included in the rulebook.