The purpose of this guide is to clue players in to aspects of
tournament play that may not occur to them until after they've played
several tournaments. For the "new to tournaments" player, this is a
primer on a very different aspect of the Diplomacy hobby. This
essay can also provide a basis for numerous after-game discussions in
the lounge, where the experienced players can mull over and dispute
various aspects and ideas presented here. After all, what is a good Diplomacy convention if not one that you can talk about long after the action is over?
What Makes Tournament Play Different?
What does "doing well" in a tournament mean? Is there a standard for recognizing achievement? When does it end?
Casual gaming usually involves a single game. All Diplomacy
tournaments are a series of games in which the results from one game
affect the results (or action) of other games. In tournament play, for
example, it's not enough that you end the game as Austria with 15
centers. It is just as important that no other Austria finishes with
more than 14!
If a social game gets awkward or boring, you and your friends can
simply pack it away and do something else. In a tournament, your
actions affect everyone at your table and also have a ripple effect on
all other tables. If you decide to throw in with the frontrunner and
help him win, you affect not just that player's score, but the scores
of everyone else in the tournament.
Tournament play packs an concentrated gaming experience into a
restricted time period. The pressure to do well is intense. For many
new competitors, a tournament is also the first time that "doing well"
is defined by other players. The game itself may be structured in an
unfamiliar way. For example, is having eight supply centers in a
five-way draw "better" than having seven centers in a four-way draw?
It should not shock you to read that in the last six World DipCons
and the last nine North American DipCons, the answers to that question
were different. Every tournament system takes a different approach to
defining what is "doing well." This is only one of several shocks that
players have to deal with in a tournament.
Start by reading and understanding what the tournament is calling
"Achievements that are Worthy of Recognition." If you disagree with the
list, save your arguments for after the tournament. Too much is at
stake to start complaining at the start of the convention, and you're
unlikely to change things anyway. Just decide whether you are going to
focus on what the tournament system defines as achievement or play in
your personal style regardless of what the tournament rewards. If you
decide to be guided by the tournament system, then be on the lookout
for players who have consciously decided to ignore the system's rewards
or who appear to be unaware of the system. You may even be able to
blend the official reward system with your own playing style in a
manner that lets you accomplish what you want in the game, gain ground
within the tournament standings, and still allow the other players to
achieve some personal goal, too. Tournament competitors often look down
on players who are unaware of or ignore the tournament system. The
ultimate purpose of any game, however, is to have fun and make it fun
for others. Sometimes the "personal players" who play with little
regard for the ranking system achieve a greater sense of enjoyment from
the tournament experience. A player who enjoys the tournament will come
back again, whereas the hardcore competitor can easily burn out on his
own intense competition and be frustrated by chasing the artificial,
ever-shifting goals of tournaments.
Face to face games often have social limits: play goes to midnight
or when the last train leaves for home. Postal play and email play have
no limits, so the game can continue till a draw or a win. Tournament
play has limits. Most often it is a matter of game time or real time. A
few tournament systems have tried to place no limits on the games other
than to play to a win or a draw. This method is losing favor, and
realistically it still has social limitations -- the family person with
small children at the convention, or reasonable home life requirements.
If you find yourself in one of those rare tournaments where there is no
set time limit, then before countries are assigned at your table,
consider raising the subject of setting a reasonable end to the game.
If you know that you are only good for, say, 12 hours, then you should
be mindful of those players who are determined to play to the bitter
end. Then in the mid-game period you can make appropriate adjustments
so as to leave the end-game made up of similarly minded players. You
may feel that your stamina and concentration can sustain you through an
all-nighter, but also consider the pressure that you will put on
yourself to perform well in future rounds if you physically exhaust
yourself in an early round. Remember, too, that when players in the
tournament find out you pushed a game far beyond the normal social
envelope, your chances of survival in the early game drop quickly.
Good Behavior and General Paranoia
It's only a game.
Say that again and again to yourself until you get it straight.
Tournaments bring out intense competition and narrow focus on what are
sometimes minor aspects of the tournament system, the rules, or even
the legibility of someone's handwriting.
It's only a game.
Having gotten that straight, try to treat people civilly and
remember that nothing is personal. Be diplomatic. Avoid using language
that you would not use in front of your mother when talking to your
daughter.
It's only a game.
Control your emotions. Be polite. Use pencils for writing, not throwing. Act your age.
It's only a game.
Cross Round Grudges
It is considered very bad behavior to bring into a new round hard
times that occurred in the last round. If a player who viciously
stabbed you in the first round is your neighbor in the next round, do
not seek revenge. In fact, it's a good idea to go out of your way to
reassure the other players that you treat each game as a new beginning.
By doing that, your in-game diplomacy will be more flexible and you
will have a better game. If everyone thinks you are poisoned by the
last game experience, then you have fewer options. This does not mean
you should forget who is trustworthy and who is not. It means that you
should be cautious, not hostile, when dealing with past foes.
You generally won't have time in the middle of your game to see what
everyone is doing in other games. If you do, however, then try to avoid
talking to those other players. For example, if you are playing Austria
and doing well, it is very bad form to walk around cheering on players
at other boards to kill Austrians so that your score will stand as the
highest Austrian effort. Do not interfere with other games or even
discuss tactical options when the players are around.
Paranoia
A little paranoia is useful in Diplomacy games. Most gamers are paranoid; after all, if people really are out to get you, then you're not crazy to think so. In Diplomacy, someone is always out to get you. Here are the most common things that players get paranoid about in tournaments:
Speaking a different language at the table. In international
play this is probably the single biggest hot button to push. It drives
the paranoia level way up. Every player who does not understand the
language will think, "they are plotting against me." If it has been
agreed that one particular language will be used at the table and
people lapse into another language, do not be shy. Ask "could you
repeat that in [whatever language you speak]." In an international
setting, it can be a strain for some to put aside their first language
as a courtesy to others -- lapses and mistakes happen. You need to
suppress your paranoia at times. It is, after all, only a game.
Always conferring with the same person first and last. Try to
vary who you talk to and the order in which you tak to them. That way,
players feel that you are more open to communication. Talk to everyone
if you can, even if only for a moment. You never know when you may run
into someone in a future round. Having made polite contact earlier, you
have a good basis to build on. It is, after, all only a game.
Nationalities and local cliques.Diplomacy is a game in
which, if there is one winner, then there are six people who did not
win. Some areas of the real world have had more exposure to
nationalistic conflicts than others, and for people from those areas,
it is sometimes tempting to lessen their own loss and the winner's
achievement by claiming that players or organizers of some nationality,
or a local clique, favored their own against all others. Sometimes this
is coupled with a preemptive fear: "We are the outsiders to this
country, and they may all jump on us, so we should stick together!"
The reality is that in more than 30 North American DipCons and international Diplomacy
tournaments that I have witnessed or participated in, I have not seen
any such nationalistic bias or local cliques have any actual effect,
despite grumbling here and there. Diplomacy as a game attracts and rewards individuals.It is the egotist's dream game.
Next month: Nuts and bolts -- types of tournaments, picking your rounds, tournament flow, and scouting game results.
Don't miss any of Edi Birsan's series on tournament Diplomacy.
Part 1: What Makes Tournament Play Different
Part 2: Tournament Systems and Scouting for Results
Part 3: Tried and True Opening Moves
Part 4: Grand Strategy and Small Mistakes
Edi Birsan is considered the first Diplomacy
world champion for his win in 1971BC, the first championship
invitational game. He has won numerous championship games since then in
North America and worldwide and is universally considered one of the
game's top players. More importantly, he has striven tirelessly for
over three decades to promote Diplomacy play in all its forms, at all levels, all around the world.
