Posts made by ColonelKurtz

The key to victory for this game is capturing enemy capitals.
For the CP, that is a ground unit mission (extreme odds against CP capturing London or Washington).
The gambit, though, is a CP naval strategy that disrupts Allied ground defenses. Allies have a huge naval advantage.
If the CP can threaten the Atlantic, contest the Mediterranean, and cause the Allies to spend too much on naval units, the CP have a chance to win.

Has anyone else tried a French tactic of (F1) A. Taking Spanish Morocco, B. Mobilizing Portugal and consolidating the transport fleet; (F2) Borrowing the mobilized Portuguese to swing down to SZ 23/ Togoland with a significant force; (F3) Move French transports back towards Canada and using the French African Task Force to Gain IPCs for France and to eliminate the Germans in Africa?

Excellent battle analysis, ColonelCarter.
To Frederick II: France should always take Spanish Morocco, and I agree that the US should not attack Spain.

We played OOB Rules and the RR was declined.
Another interesting twist was that Britain reinforced Russia overland through Afghanistan, and the US reinforced Russia via Karelia.
I would like to try the CP Big Navy strategy again with the Allies abandoning Russia.

This weekend I tried a Big Navy strategy for the Central Powers, combined with a Capture Egypt strategy for the Ottoman Turks.
CP were able to hold SZ 17. Turkey took Egypt, which then allowed a successful assault on India. Britain could never obtain superiority in the Channel, as Germany was building Battleships and running the minefields to hold SZ 8.
This was fun and different, but ultimately unsuccessful. Russia survived (barely), and the tradeoff in not buying land units meant defeat, first for Germany and then Austria (13th round).

One of the most frustrating things about Diplomacy was that after finally rounding up enough players for a 7-player game, the rules explanations took so much time. We rarely finished a game. I wrote a “Simplified Rules for Chess-style Diplomacy” years ago to introduce new players to a quicker game. Once a few games played to conclusion, you had a player who would be interested in the full length game.
The simplified rules used dice rolls for an order of play, and all spaces on the board were available for all units (no fleet transports were needed.)

France:
The powerful French Navy MUST help clear the Atlantic for safe shipping to the continent.
Then, a French reinforcement of Albania and/or Egypt is a good tactic.
France needs Infantry buys for several rounds before advancing on the Germans, in my opinion.

One nation at a time: Russia first.
All ships need to make sacrificial attacks on the first round, to attrit the Central Powers navies.
All artillery units should be pulled back, consolidated, and used for survival as the CP forces get close to Moscow.
The ideal situation is to buy just enough fighters to have air supremacy at that time for that battle.
Russia should mobilize Romania on Round 1.
I prefer to send all Sevastopol forces to Mesopotamia to assist the Brits. Repayment comes when the Brits send relief forces to Karelia.

Transports may carry two units; the units may be of any type (infantry, arty, tanks, fighters).

Looking for more feedback on this strategy; I am hoping it could be a game-changer for the CP.
Even if Britain builds totally in India, they still take casualties conquering Persia. As soon as that happens, the Turks have the opportunity to make a massed attack into Persia and then India (T5?). The Turks will have to shuttle forces from everywhere else, and will have to forfeit everything but Constantinople, Ankara, Mesopotamia, and Bulgaria; is this risk worth the reward?
Can the Central Powers take Russia with Germany and Austria-Hungary only?
Can CP win the game with the Indian production center stabbing them in the back?
As I said earlier, the strategy looks good in theory, and the smart Allied players can put pressure on Constantinople, but I have had only partial success with this and I am looking for ideas to improve it. Maybe a retreat from Bulgaria? Strong A-H naval presence in SZ 17? A-H support from Ukraine-Sevastopol?

How wise is it for the Central Powers to take India?
Scenario: Standard Game Rules, British player distracted and not building everything in India, Germany threatening Allied shipping, Austria-Hungary pushing hard on Russia.
If the Ottoman Turks assemble in Mesopotamia and wait on the Brits to take Persia, with no other mission, it looks on paper like an optimum time to strike for India with enough force to keep it.
My games have not been working out this way, though.
Anyone have any success with capturing and keeping India?

Any 1914 players in the Columbus/ Phenix City/ Fort Benning area?

Every single time I have bought tanks, I regretted it.
Bought them for offense, but got counterattacked and they were wiped out defending in place.
I do not advise buying tanks.

Starlight Sniper: If Turkey attacks neutral Persia, Brits gain time as well as 4 free units. The Brits do not need to transport any units to India since they build there.
Oddbjoern: As Britain, I use the transport in SZ 19 to come through the Suez Canal, picking up the Inf in Anglo-Egypt Sudan, to mobilize Arabia on B1.
Here is what has been happening to me playing Britain: Even with help from Russia on R1 into Mesopotamia, France and Italy bringing units across the Med Sea reinforcing attacks on Smyrna, all British Egypt units attacking TranJordan, good builds in India, the Brits are not able to finish the job on Turkey. Turkey can build a fortress of units in Constantinople, and they seem to barely tip the balance with victory when the Allies assault Constantinople. I will admit that I haven’t built in India with 100% of Britain’s income, but that is because Germany has built Battleships and the Brits absolutely have to counter that threat. British reinforcement of Russia by Round 3 has the effect of keeping Russia alive; with Russia alive the CP can’t turn to the west.
If you all are saying “ignore everything else as Britain, attack Persia, KTF with Britain,” there is a high risk of failure with that strategy. But I will try it.

To Oddbjoern: Have you tried (as Britain) using the 2 available transports plus fighters (which jump to Mesopotamia from India) to get 6 units into the Turkey arena every turn? The advantage is that if Turkey fully counterattacks towards India, Persia is a lifesaving buffer.
I am also liking a split-arena strategy for Britain of KTF and reinforcing Russia through the Karelia naval route. This goes against the principle of concentration, but saving Russia is a great strategic advantage.

I have to disagree with your moves, Starlight Sniper.
Totally agree with Oddbjoern. Tempo is overlooked by so many players.
As a strategy, can KTF always be used? That is my main question. I am thinking that if I have a CP opponent who tries KFF (Kill France First), that KTF would be the best counterstrategy. I am having difficulty making KTF work with a “CP all-out attack on Russia” or KRF.
Second Point: As to attacking Neutrals, I have moved to a completely No Attacking Neutrals Strategy, regardless of which side I am playing. Oddbjoern’s logic is correct. I don’t even attack Switzerland or Persia. They can both be bypassed (2 British transports from India plus the 2-space range of Fighters).

I love this game and I appreciate the work the game designers put into it.
I was looking at a way to speed up the game and I played “all throws are hits.”
Did it once with No Mines Option and once with All Mines Always Hit Option.
This was a lot of fun and it forced me to rethink some buying strategies and maneuver strategies.
FYI, Allied Powers start with 161 ground units (169 when US enters) and 23 ships (25 when US enters).
Central Powers start with 176 ground units and 12 ships.

Has anyone else tried an Allied KTF Strategy? Since the Ottoman Turks, if left alone, can be deadly to the Allies, and with the western front getting bogged down, it seems to make sense to capture an enemy capital as quickly as possible. The 4 active Allied Powers can all get in on the strategy on the first round.
It seems to be a winner, although the Turks can be pesky when cornered. Just seeing if this works for anyone else.

Interesting that the CP overestimated how much to send to their Eastern Front.
Did you mobilize Romania?

Just played my first game with Potential Tournament Rules (or are they Official Tournament Rules by now?).
First comment: The Board is a really excellent design. With the new land and sea movement rules, new opportunities arise, making for a better game. I still think this game works best with a Switzerland that is impassable.
Second comment: The game moved at a quicker pace, and even though we didn’t have to perform under a time standard (we had an entire weekend), the quicker pace made for a better game.
Thirdly, the economic victory criteria equalizes this game’s built-in Allied advantage, so much that I think the PTR make it a CP advantage.
Russia suffered political collapse in Round 4, and that was with tactical mistakes by the Central Powers. Italy went into political collapse in Round 10.
Strategy has to change to Tournament rules, obviously, and after only one game played this way, we have more to learn.
Overall rating for PTR is A+.