DIPLOMACY LAB

 

Something I've discovered playing Diplomacy over the years is that it can become rather static in its strategy and gameplay. You have the same board and pieces, the same constraints and often the same players. With the same seemingly finite positions and outcomes. And the problems to solve are always the same, too.

Often, it is about how to get past some strategic point in a stalemate line -- local or strategic in nature. But it could be about discovering new or unorthodox alliances that work or finding new strategies for limiting or eliminating powers more efficiently, etc.

That's why it's always exciting when you get into a game where your seemingly stable knowledge of the game gets overturned by new dynamics and situations at the board. It's somewhat rare the more you play the game, but when it happens it is so exhilarating! It's as if you are discovering new Diplomacy knowledge with possibilities for how you play the game again in the future. (Or it could be a one-off, which in actuality doesn't make it any less exciting IMHO.)

It occurs to me then, that the random solo play approach I outlined in my previous post may be a useful way to simulate and test new strategies and approaches, the variables being the assumptions you make in terms of the relationships and goals that are in-play. The natural ebb and flow of the random turn structure can simulate the ups and downs of actual play to some extent. Powers that draw early will have to play things more conservatively, while those that draw late can be much more aggressive. The random nature of the turn order from turn-to-turn will help to simulate the knife's-edge feel of actual play.

Or at least, that's the idea . . . .