[Editor's Note: The view points expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the view points of the Pouch, it's editor, or the DP Council. Readers are encouraged to express their individual comments to the author or the Zine editor.]

You’ve played your best, mastered all the tactics, talked to every player ever round, suggested sound, mutually beneficial plans, opened brilliantly yet, you're getting creamed... so now what? Taking a cue from Clauzwich’s On War, I would like to discuss the fine art of losing, what to do when another nation is losing, and how to take advantage of someone else's loss, even if you happen to be one of them.

The objective in diplomacy, is to win by getting at least 18 SCs first. If failing to solo, prevent someone else from getting to 18 SCs first and failing that, thanks to stalemate lines, minimize the draw. The first thing to realize in this discussion is that at any time, at least one nation, if not more, are losing.

By losing I don’t mean that you are achieving your objective at a slower rate than someone else. While getting to the objective slower may result in a loss, it doesn’t preclude the objective. Nasty things such as early leader syndrome (ELS) is just one option to stymie the front-runner. By "losing", I mean, an out-and-out, "death is nigh", disbanding units on home SCs, head-long retreat, clinging to your copy of Red Badge of Courage, elimination is inevitable, all is lost attitude! Losing is a state of mind that is not necessarily correlated to board position. Poor board position may lead to a loss or it may not. We are looking for the defeatist attitude when discussing, "Losing".

Okay, you've now decided that you're losing. Now what are you going to do? Well, for starters change your mind set. You have not lost until someone else has won or you are eliminated. Step two, never, ever allow yourself to "no-move-recorded" (NMR). Once you do this you demonstrate you're unreliable and unworthy of rescue. Step three? Fight tenuously and try your hardiest to get someone to rescue you. Point out what will happen if you fall. While meager, you present a potential second front which is taking the brunt of the objective seeker’s forces. Promise anything, including home SCs, in return for clemency. Promise it to potential allies, even promise it to your foes. Try to find a way to be useful to those that are assailing you. Point out units you have on the other side of stalemate line(s) to your would be rescuer. Offer to be the king maker. Finally, even if you don’t want to play anymore, keep playing for those who do. You started the game and you have an obligation to finish it. Failing in this regard and you deserve never to be invited to play again.

In saying this I know first hand that others will not play on. To this I can address how to profit from someone else's loss. Many players have encountered games where other players NMR. Sometimes your allies, sometimes your enemies, but when a NMR happens at a crucial move and it's to your favour, everything starts to turn on all cylinders. Good fortune falls on you like rain in the desert. Conversely, when your enemies receive the gift of a random, beneficial NMR, the effect is crushing. This random effect can be very frustrating, but something can be gained by understanding why NMRs happen. The most honorable is real world interference. Computers crash, deadlines loom, you’re sick, someone is getting married.... You can not do much against these real-life (RL) events other than get your preliminary orders in early and persuade your allies to do the same. The other more interesting reason for NMRs is that one player is losing. These players have lost hope in the game and hence their interest wanes. Here is the opportunity. If you are gaining on the objective, consider methods to make others despondent. Drive their hope out of the game, and with it their interest and their orders. In short, make them believe they are losing.

It sounds simple, but in Diplomacy it's a little tougher. First you must wait until their board position is poor and weakening. Convincing them doom is nigh is a little tough after a nation just built three fresh units. Often the tactical situation is self-evident. A good rule of thumb is after two seasons of disbanding without intervening builds, a nation is on its way to losing. Another is after the loss of a key province. Examples may include:  GAS for France, NTH for England, BLA for Turkey, GAL for Austria, and so on. So how do you get them to be a loser? First attempt to isolate the player. Get your allies to ignore their emails. Make them feel alone and adrift on the waves of others' orders. Isolation is key. Then, talk to the player – they will listen to you if you are the only voice speaking to them. Tell him/her you have irrevocably decided to eliminate him/her. Tell them your allies have already agreed on the division of spoils. Apologize for making the game boring for them. Tell them they have fought well and you are impressed with their performance, but sadly there is no other choice. This is akin to the second game of chess that we played in high school, the second, and irrelevant, game always seems to go to the first game’s loser – it makes them feel better. Similarly, in Diplomacy and life, you need to give people losing an emotional "out" and thereby letting them retire in dignity. Let them think it was chance that gave you the advantage, not skill. Focus on the fact they are not "losers" but rather winners stuck in a losing and hopeless position. Losing is the situation they are in and not a personal trait. Calling them losers, gloating and bragging can often stiffen nigh-defeated foes the resolve to fight on. If all this works, then some NMRs will fall in your favour and some quick SCs will be your reward! Others will scoff at your solo victory paved on the backs of NMRs, but you will know you worked for it just as hard as any tactically brilliant tyrant.

So you have isolated those who are losing and given them emotional permission to drop the game and yet they fight on! Like Winston Churchhill, they will fight and never surrender! Now what? You have now seen the measure of your foe, and he/she is tough. Obviously the losing player cannot accept elimination, so you offer him/her an alternative. Keep telling them of your admiration of their play. Make the deal with him/her if they stop their defense against you, you will let them live to the end of the game. Is that enough? No. Go further, make him a confidant, let him in on your plans, actively use him as a sounding board and solicit his opinions. By extending the olive branch you can turn your former foe into an ally who will help you to exclusively meet your objective. Your former foes knows he cannot win but wants to play on, so let him! This will only work for certain types of players – those who revel in the game and are willing to play a minor but key role in for the sake of fun and interesting play or those who like to be a King Maker. The best article introducing this concept is "The Janissary" at Diplomacy-Archive.

Now, while you're marching in on your objective, others are doing the same thing on the other side of the board. This introduces the Cross-Board Competitor. Of course if the Cross-Board Competitor is going to get to the Objective first, you need to stop them. Often you may not have the resources or the position to slow down these Cross-Board Competitors directly. While I am a proponent of a fair race, when it is to my benefit, if the Cross-Board Competitor is facing a nation who is Losing you have a problem. There exists the real risk of the Losing nation NMRing and giving the Cross-Board Competitor an unfair advantage (unfair to you). You must assume that the Cross-Board Competitor is trying to get the losing nation to NMR by the tactics previously mentioned. To prevent the Losing Nation’s despair you must seed hope. Keep talking to them so that they never feel isolated. Tell them what a great job they are doing of busting the chops of the Cross-Board Competitor. Compliment them on their skill and their defiance. Make them feel like a hero. Let them know they have a fan base in your nation and soon you will be able to give them some tangible support. If you can free up a unit, send it their way. Offer tactical suggestions and information as to what their foes are going to do. Offer to review their orders. The point of all of this is to get them re-engaged in the game and make them feel like they belong. You need to make them believe they are not a loser and nor are they Losing. You must fight the mindset before you can fight the board position.

If at all possible you need to back up your actions with words. Many players will be very reluctant to send a unit to support a dying nation or to harass their foe on another front citing they have more pressing matters at home. In reality, consider what a hostile NMR would do to your prospects of reaching the Objective? Do not be afraid to open up a two front war to help a Losing nation – especially if he is on the other side of a stalemate line. Taking an extra year to defeat local opposition is more than acceptable if it furthers your Objective. Your lone unit will be viewed as the Calvary by the Losing nation. In doing this I do not suggest your Objective has changed to preventing the elimination of the Losing nation – far from it. What you want to do is prop them up enough so they fight on, buying you enough time to cross into the opposite theater and across stalemate lines first. You can probably count the number of games where you have played better than the rest of the board, but lost the solo to another player because their opposition was poor, which may or may not include key NMRs. The final reason to consider the raider you send to help the Losing nation is this: who knows how many of the Losing nation’s SCs you might pick up while you are there helping once is it obvious that all is lost. People are sentimental and petty. The fact you sent them help in their time of trouble- you who were honest to them when their foes lied and stabbed them – the Losing nation might even just give you their last home SCs as it is better to their friend then to their foe.

To close, winning might not be everything, but Losing sucks.
 

  Matthew B. Schoenhardt
(Matthew.B.Schoenhardt@fritolay.com)