Extortion is a time honored tactic. I played a similar game in a tourney once and resorted to extorion to great results. The game was supremacy (same type of game only with nukes and money) and everyone developed nukes except one guy. When my turn came around I said "give me three billion dollars or I'll nuke you" since he was powerless to stop me or even retaliate. Long story short he paid up and I wiped him out anyway. Can't have a disgruntled nuclear menace next round could we. Ended up coming in second becasue they closed us down to soon for me to try for first. I'd probably have died quick and gristly if they'd given me enough time to arrange it.

Oh the extortion tie in. I'd been making deals with everyone up until that point and stuck to the letter of each bargain. One guy said "Hey! He broke his word, the rest of us can't trust him, now!" to which I replied "That wasn't a deal; it was extotion". He looked taken aback and said "Uh yeah, I guess you're right."

My view is that (in diplomacy) if you have the power to actually extort you can just wipe them out anyway, which the enemy will see and so distrust your attempt. If you don't actually have the power to back up your extortion the other player won't comply anyway.

An extortion to me is always inferior to a deal based on mutual interest, as extortion will break apart as soon as the other player can't uphold it. Which is why I think it only works in end game situations.

Likewise Extortion engenders unneeded in-game hostility, and often goes without saying anyway.

The example I cited (do this and I'll keep you alive) is only borderline extortion, but it can often verge into protection racketeering, and is generally a succesful diplomatic tactic.

I asked a player for his word to not do a couple certain things. He is known for keeping his word if he actually gives it. He dodged around and wouldn't actually give me his word so I gave him my word that if he was involved in any way with the things I didn't want to see happen that I would suicide against him to my last SC. We'll see if extortion works.

it was attempted to be used on me. but I personally didn't go for it.

gameID=44233 in this game i was austria and i made a deal with turkey for me to stay alive until the stalemate line formed with me in the center so in this instance your example failed

I'm reminded of the recent SoW where France attempted to extort me out of his SCs I had juast taken or he'd throw the game to Turkey. Problem was, my pulling out would have forced so many disbands on my pargt that I would have been defeated and Turkey would have won. So while Turkey did get his win, everyone else was forced to do their best to eliminate France and he became public eneny #1.

I once was in game, and I feared to get stabbed any moment by Turkey (I was Italy). He told me he wasn't doing it, because he never stabs his allies after a game-long alliance and all that kind of bullshit. Lucky me, I happened to know the guy, and I developed a little scheme.

I went to his house, with a baseball bat. He wasn't home, but his son (only child!) was. I kidnapped the child, and called his cellphone. Long story short, instead of stabbing me, he just gave me two of his centers. And, much to my surprise, there was a check for 2000 dollars waiting in my mailbox.

So yes, extortion pays.

By the way, the child lived. I even gave him some Ice cream, so he thought of it as a nice day off.

@basvanopheusden Masterful Diplomacy play! I should try this some time myself.

@basvanopheusden dude... that's not cool...

sometimes extortion pays off, but when you're the person being threatened and you don't with them, it can be a really bitch.

for instance, i was england in a game where it had come down to france, turkey and i. France and i had a shaky alliance at best and he had betrayed me twice, pretty much he said he'd give the game to Turkey unless i helped to draw with him. it doesn't really make sense, but in the end i agreed with him for a while and then i back stabbed him and very nearly got 1st place, but france decided to make sure both of us lost instead of just him.

So he followed through on his threat. Smart move on his part and stupid one on yours. Had I any chance to hold the line when France demanded his SCs be returned, I would have happily conceeded to his extortion. Unfortunately, he chose the wrong time to try it as there was no way to stand up to Turkey with two fewer SCs. As it was, England admits to screwing up and costing us the game. With one more SC (the one England supported France into) we could have eliminated France and held Turkey to the draw.

gameID=54210 - Autumn 1901

England, Italy and I have an alliance. I, being partial to Franco-German alliances tell Germany to give Belgium to me or England, Italy and I will gang up on him. He 'agrees' to my demands.

Come Spring, Germany capitolises on the knowledge of me moving to Burgundy and supports himself in. He completes the stab with some foul-mouthed arrogance. Although it looks like I stabbed England, we actually worked things out diplomatically. (English channel was planned). It was a short lived victory for the Germans,
as they fall victim to Italian support and English batterings to the north.

This experience has led me to believe that extortion doesn't work, because diplomacy players are incredibly stubborn to ever concede, and most often think that you are bluffing. I think only in high levelled games, will extortion work.

Does threatening to game throw count as extortion? "If you stab me i will defend from you and let x win".

If so, I use it, and sometimes it works very well, sometimes it makes you hated and die faster.

Who cares about dying slower/faster? You get defeated, or you get a draw. In either case, it doesn't matter whether players like you or not. It's the end result that matters.

@hellenic riot: I've done that, it's pretty much the only thing you can do when you're at the losing end of another alliance.

I just finished a game where I was Austria and I was fighting against Germany with a Russian Ally. It was in a 3-PPSC-game tournament (simultaneous games) where deal making between games was acceptable and even encouraged. I was in trouble in the other 2 games, so I put all my effort into this one. France had lost all of his home supply centers and had only Tunis left. I made a deal not to attack Tunis if he would help me. He ended up taking Liverpol from Germany and occupying a significant number of Germany troops. Then I made the same deal with Italy, after having lost all of their home supply centers I agreed to not take Iberia If they would help me.

I only broke those agreements in the last fall of the game to take the win.