Total Diplomacy

From Dice to Risk: The Ultimate Game (Part 3 of 3)

Total Diplomacy — Sat, 22 May 2010 07:26:00 GMT

As you saw in Part 1 and Part 2, there has been a long story of board game development and the need to produce a game that is enjoyable and simple but equally challenging and realistic. It would be great to learn something new every time we play and also to use our own life experiences and knowledge to play a better game.

Let’s explore the requirements of an ideal game. Board games can be categorised across three areas; luck, strategy and diplomacy. Some games are very strong on only a single dimension while others are strong in two or all dimensions. Each of these dimensions leads to a completely different game and playing style. Let’s look at some examples:

From Dice to Risk: The Vizier (Part 2 of 3)

Total Diplomacy — Sat, 01 May 2010 07:19:00 GMT

As you saw in Part 1, as mankind progressed technologically, there was a need for a game with strong strategic element.

The word strategy is derived from Greek word strategos which means general. Hence, the roots of the word go directly back to military use. In game theory, strategy is defined as one of the possible sets of options that a player can choose from. Hence, strategy is all about a successive series of actions and choices that a player must go through to get closer to the final goal.

Much of our early history is about wars and expansions. Life consisted of being ruled by successive kings each with their own agenda. As years passed, people became more familiar with strategy. The world needed a game that symbolised this new lifestyle better and this lead to the creation of one of the most famous strategic games of all time. The game was chess.

From Dice to Risk: The Burnt City (Part 1 of 3)

Total Diplomacy — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 17:50:00 GMT

The story of board game development throughout the history is truly fascinating. It took a lot of effort and evolutionary development over many generations before we ended up with modern board games and more recently world conquering real-time strategy simulation games.

This series of articles present interesting and critical developments in history that eventually led to the creation of Risk, the great game we play today. We will travel across thousands of years and over many empires and explore the quest of mankind for the ultimate board game!

The story of board games goes a long way back, around 5500 years ago. The oldest modern board game, backgammon goes back 5000 years ago. Archaeologists found a set of backgammon with 60 pieces in the rubbles of the legendary Burnt City in ancient Persia which is now situated in Sistan-Baluchistan province, South-Eastern Iran.

The Psychology of Decision Making in Risk (Part 2 of 2)

Total Diplomacy — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 08:49:00 GMT

This article is followed from Part 1. Ideally you should read the first part and answer the two questions proposed before reading this part which explores the concepts and analyses the results.

We are confronted with decision making every day. When making decisions, we usually use what is known as a heuristic approach, we simply use our instincts to respond to situations. Are we always right? Is it always easy to decide? How does this relate to decision making in Risk?

Let’s look at the results obtained in Part 1.

How to Maintain the Balance of Power (Part 4 of 4)

Total Diplomacy — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 08:09:00 GMT

In the previous part, you timed the elimination of another player really well and collected his cards. This got you the critical momentum which you needed to deal with the next set of challenges.

Because of your balance management, you made Purple stronger until eventually Purple became too strong even for you. Now you had to confront it. The situation looked like the above.

How to Maintain the Balance of Power (Part 3 of 4)

Total Diplomacy — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 08:01:00 GMT

In the last part you saw how you managed the balance of power by weakening the strong players and letting weaker players to become strong. You found yourself in the position shown above and were wondering what to do next.

How to Maintain the Balance of Power (Part 2 of 4)

Total Diplomacy — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:50:00 GMT

In Part 1 you saw the initial distribution of armies and despite a good start discovered that you had a competitor who was even in a better position than you. Let’s examine this state and evaluate the move.

How to Maintain the Balance of Power (Part 1 of 4)

Total Diplomacy — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:22:00 GMT

Risk is all about balance. If you become too weak you will be attacked and eliminated. If you become too strong, you will be ganged up on until you become a weak player and we know what happens to weak players.

However, balancing the game is an art. It requires full understanding of the rules, the map, the psychology of other players to some extent and of course impeccable timing. Players who get this right and go on to win, usually feel that they won not because of one crucial clever move or a sound strategy. Instead, they feel more like indirectly guiding a set of people towards the path of their choice without others realising what is happening to them. It is this feeling that makes Risk so enjoyable and so rewarding, not to mention so addictive.

In this series of articles, we are going to examine a complete game and look at the critical moments and various options you have in these situations. Each part of the series raises a number of questions asking you to suggest what happens next. Please provide your inputs and discuss it with the fans. A few days later the next part will be published and you can see the progress of the game and provide your comments.

Suppose you are playing Risk on a non-Earth map. The bigger the continent, the more bonus you get and cards are set as escalating (the cashing sequence is 4,6,8,10,...). The map shown above is your random starting point playing as Red.

What is your strategy? What would you do?

Critical Starting Moves in Risk (Part 2 of 2)

Total Diplomacy — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:55:00 GMT

As you saw in Part 1, the initial start in Risk is quite critical and if you don’t get it right you can fail spectacularly. Opening moves in Risk are much like Chess. They set the pace of the game, define the strategic positions which would come to define the rest of the game. It is always possible to get away with a single mistake, but a series of mistakes is lethal. If you realise you have already made a mistake, beware that you can’t afford to risk anymore and need to play conservatively thinking about all possible consequences before you make your decision. Let’s analyse the game further to see what happened and what went wrong.

What can You Learn from the Mongol Invasion? (Part 2 of 2)

Total Diplomacy — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:56:00 GMT

On the outset, Genghis Khan had the fastest army on the planet. His genius was to take full advantage of his fast moving armies against well-established disciplined armies many times their armies. These armies were also backed by resources of an empire which made the task even more profound. Genghis Khan used the ancient Chinese Strategy of “Slow Slow Quick Quick” as his grand strategy. Let’s see how this worked in practice.

The Psychology of Decision Making in Risk (Part 1 of 2)

Total Diplomacy — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:40:00 GMT

Sometimes choosing between options is not easy, especially when you have to deal with probabilities. You may think each option has its own pros and cons. The situation gets even more complicated when you realise someone else has these options and are wondering which one they are going to choose. In Risk, decision making plays a significant role and it is ideal to have a deeper look at this topic.

To start this investigation, let’s do an experiment. To get good results, please follow these instructions carefully.

Below, you can see two links. Each of these links leads you to a simple question. Please answer the first question, then come back to this page and then answer the second question.

Note: Please answer both questions one after the other, so we can get consistent results.

Risk Decision Making Question 1

Risk Decision Making Question 2

Once you have voted, you can read the next part of article in Part 2.

Critical Starting Moves in Risk (Part 1 of 2)

Total Diplomacy — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 07:46:00 GMT

Risk can be surprising and in the course of a game, you may always have a heart sinking feeling of imminent danger and fall. In fact, this is what makes Risk so exciting. Anyone can win which means even experienced players must be on guard all the time otherwise can easily lose.

The opening stages of a game are quite critical. If you start badly or make mistakes, you are very likely to get kicked out and the game and lose. You must pay constant attention to your opponents as well as your own position in comparison with others. The best way to learn opening moves is by example. Let’s consider the game shown above.

This game is played on a non-Earth map. The card sequence is escalating which means that the rate goes up by 2 every time someone cashes a set. We are going to analyse this game in an abstract way, so don’t worry too much about the details. Assume that similar to the Earth map, the bigger the continent or the higher the number of its borders, the more bonuses you get.

Assume you are Red and the map above was the starting position.

What would you do?

What can You Learn from the Mongol Invasion? (Part 1 of 2)

Total Diplomacy — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 07:42:00 GMT

History has many lessons to teach us and when it comes to strategy and you can get a lot of insight from it. In 1218, Khwarezm was a prosperous empire covering modern day Iran and Afghanistan. Shah Mohammad II ruled from his wealthy capital of Samarkand. At this time, the Mongols on his East approached him to make a deal on reopening the Silk Road. This would bring even more wealth, to the empire so Shah agreed to it.

Later, Mongols sent an envoy to buy expensive gifts for their court from the empire. Shah suspected the convoy as spies and killed them all. Genghis Khan, leader of Mongols responded by sending their ambassador to the Shah requesting an apology. Shah did not consider the Mongols as an equal power, so he was outraged by a request to apologise. He had the ambassador killed as a symbolic move to show that he was in charge of a superior empire. Naturally, this meant war.

Don't Fight the Last War! Part 3 of 3

Total Diplomacy — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 08:05:00 GMT

This is the last part of the 3-part series. As you saw earlier, many players suddenly made bold moves and expanded in different directions. The cards meant that the game was unstable and anything could happen. The above shows how the world looked like.

Don't Fight the Last War! Part 2 of 3

Total Diplomacy — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 14:58:00 GMT

As you saw in Part 1 of this example scenario, Brown had a dilemma and needed a compromise. This is how the world looked like. Follow with this example to see what happened next.

Don't Fight the Last War! Part 1 of 3

Total Diplomacy — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:47:00 GMT

Every now and then I come across Risk games that stand out in memory for a long time simply because of the way they unfolded and provided sheers entertainment. The following is the story of one of these games.

The game captures the essence of timely decision making. In Risk, players need to be robust and continuously recalculate their position in respect with others. Unfortunately not all do, and as you may imagine this will cost them the game. In effect, they fight their last war and get eliminated!

The following example will illustrates this beautifully. This is the first part of a 3-part series. You are encouraged to suggest solutions. A few days later, the next part will be published and you can all compare your potential solutions with what actually happened.

36 Strategies > Part 6: Defeat Strategies

Total Diplomacy — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 02:53:00 GMT

In this article you will be introduced to the Defeat Strategies of the Thirty-Six Strategies.

Strategy 31: The beauty trap. (The tender trap, use a woman to ensnare a man.)

Strategy 32: The empty fort strategy. (Mental trap; empty a fort to make the enemy think it is filled with traps.)

Strategy 33: Let the enemy’s own spy sow discord in the enemy camp. (Use enemy’s own spy to spread false information.)

Strategy 34: Inflict injury on one’s self to win the enemy’s trust. (Fall into a trap; become baited.)

Strategy 35: Chain together the enemy’s ships. (Never rely on but a single strategy.)

Strategy 36: If all else fails, retreat.

36 Strategies > Part 5: Proximate Strategies

Total Diplomacy — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 05:44:00 GMT

In this article you will be introduced to the Proximate Strategies of the Thirty-Six Strategies.

Strategy 25: Replace the beams with rotten timbers.

Strategy 26: Point at the mulberry and curse the locust.

Strategy 27: Pretend to be a pig in order to eat the tiger. (Play dumb.)

Strategy 28: Remove the ladder when the enemy has ascended to the roof. (Cross the river and destroy the bridge.)

Strategy 29: Deck the tree with bogus blossoms.

Strategy 30: Make the host and the guest exchange places.

36 Strategies > Part 4: Chaos Strategies

Total Diplomacy — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 05:24:00 GMT

In this article you will be introduced to the Chaos Strategies of the Thirty-Six Strategies.

Strategy 19: Remove the firewood under the cooking pot. (Remove the stick from the axe.)

Strategy 20: Catch a fish in disturbed waters.

Strategy 21: Slough off the cicada’s shell. (False appearances mislead the enemy.)

Strategy 22: Shut the door to catch the thief.

Strategy 23: Befriend a distant state while attacking a neighbour.

Strategy 24: Obtain safe passage to conquer the Kingdom of Guo.

36 Strategies > Part 3: Attacking Strategies

Total Diplomacy — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 05:04:00 GMT

In this article you will be introduced to the Attacking Strategies of the Thirty-Six Strategies.

Strategy 13: Startle the snake by hitting the grass around it.

Strategy 14: Borrow another’s corpse to resurrect the soul. (Raise a corpse from the dead.)

Strategy 15: Entice the tiger to leave its mountain lair.

Strategy 16: In order to capture, one must let loose.

Strategy 17: Tossing out a brick to get a jade.

Strategy 18:Defeat the enemy by capturing their chief.

36 Strategies > Part 2: Enemy Dealing Strategies

Total Diplomacy — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 07:25:00 GMT

In this article you will be introduced to the Enemy Dealing Strategies of the Thirty-Six Strategies.

Strategy 7: Create something from nothing.

Strategy 8: Secretly utilize the Chen Chang passage. (Repair the highway to take the crude path.)

Strategy 9: Watch the fires burning across the river.

Strategy 10: Hide a knife behind a smile.

Strategy 11: Sacrifices the plum tree to preserve the peach tree. (Sacrifice the silver to keep the gold.)

Strategy 12: Stealing a goat along the way. (Take the opportunity to pilfer a goat.)

36 Strategies > Part 1: Winning Strategies

Total Diplomacy — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 07:50:00 GMT

In this article you will be introduced to the Winning Strategies of the Thirty-Six Strategies.

Strategy 1: Deceive the sky to cross the ocean.

Strategy 2: Surround Wei to rescue Zhao.

Strategy 3: Borrow one’s hand to kill. (Kill with a borrowed knife.)

Strategy 4: Make your enemy tire themselves out while conserving energy. (Substitute leisure for labour)

Strategy 5: Use the opportunity of fire to rob others. (Loot a burning house).

Strategy 6: Feign an attack in the east and attack in the west.

36 Strategies > Introduction

Total Diplomacy — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 07:38:00 GMT

Thirty-Six Strategies is basically a collection of strategies on battle scenarios in Chinese history and folklore, predominantly of the Warring States Period and the Three Kingdoms Period. The story goes back to Wáng.

Wáng was a Chinese general who lived around 500 A.D. in the time of Emperor Gao. At some point Emperor Ming came to power and decided to execute many members of the royal family. He was afraid that they would threaten his reign and target him directly. Wáng was worried that he will be on the black list and will be the next target and so he rebelled. The son of Emperor Ming became scared of the rebels and decided to escape. Wáng, upon receiving this news, famously said,

“of the thirty-six strategies of Lord Tán, retreat was his best, you father and son should run for sure".

How to Win in Risk or Any Competition - Part 2

Total Diplomacy — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 09:20:00 GMT

This article is part of a series of articles that show you how to win in any competition, including Risk. In the previous article you were shown how to be in command of your own mind. Control the mind and you can control everything. Here, the focus is on your opponent's mind. You will learn how to control it or even break it.

How to Win in Risk or Any Competition - Part 1

Total Diplomacy — Thu, 31 May 2007 04:54:00 GMT

When it comes to competitions, everyone wants to win. The problem is that there can be only one winner. If you want to win, you have to stand out from the competition. Is there a secret behind this? It turns out that there is. After all, not everyone can win.

This series of articles provide a number of techniques that enable you to compete effectively in any competitive environment. Winning in Risk is no exception and examples are provided to demonstrate the key concepts.