2019 Online Diplomacy Championship Finals12 min read

I entered the 2019 Online Diplomacy Championship in February of 2019. As you can read in my journal for my first match, I entered the tournament with a feeling of uncertainty. I had played Press Diplomacy for many years, but the 2019 ODC was the first Press Diplomacy Tournament I ever entered.

Well, it turns out I’m pretty darn good at Online Diplomacy. I’ll be competing in the Final match when it starts next week. Thus, I stand a realistic chance of earning the title “Champion of Online Diplomacy.”

In preparation for the Final match (and to build up the hype a bit!), let’s do a brief retrospective on my participation in the tournament thus far.

Preliminary Round

The Preliminary round consisted of two matches played with sum-of-squares scoring. Each player’s tournament score was the combined score from both matches. Roughly speaking (because of drop outs, etc.) the top 28 players qualified to the Semifinals. The first round was seeded according to the players’ rankings on the various Diplomacy websites.

One of the tournament rules is that no player may be assigned the same country twice in the same round.^[1]If you are interested, the original rules document is available here on Google Docs.

ODC 2019 – R1 G4

In my first match, I played as England. I ended at 16 supply centers. Converting the final center counts through sum-of-squares scoring, I ended with 63 points out of a possible 100.

I think I could have reached 17 supply centers with better choices, but a solo win was never quite within my reach. I had a shot at taking Berlin, but never had a realistic chance of taking Tunis. I’ve thought about this match many times since, and I stand by my decision to backstab Germany when I did. That strategy gave me a realistic chance at getting a huge score, even if I didn’t have the best chance of getting a solo win. The score I got—63—was enough by itself to qualify me for the Semis.

In my match as England, I used my position as a corner power to gain momentum, and reached a very high score while taking big risks only a few times. Strategically speaking, I think that’s a great way to play a preliminary match.

You can read all my thoughts on this match in the journal I kept while I played.

ODC 2019 – R1 G28

In my second match, I played as France. I ended at 14 supply centers. Converting the final center counts through sum-of-squares scoring, I ended with 52 points out of a possible 100.

I think I actually came closer to a solo win in this match than I did in the first one, despite my final score being somewhat smaller (and my controlling close to zero of the key stalemate-line centers on the final map). Observe the Autumn 1908 map:

I think that if I had played better (with better tactics, or better “diplomacy”), I might have held a line that included Munich, Berlin and Warsaw, and I might not have lost Marseilles. Maybe those chances weren’t great, but I think a solo win was at least possible this match because I penetrated far enough east to reach Warsaw (which meant I could reach 18 centers and solo without ever taking Tunis).

In my match as France, followed a similar strategy to my match as England: I used my position as a corner power to gain momentum. However, I took one major risk: I accepted a half-dead Germany as my janissary (a.k.a. puppet) in order to have a chance at a solo win. That later backfired; Germany betrayed me as soon as it was convenient, and this set me back way behind the traditional stalemate line. However, I think the risk was worth it because the damage to my final score was only (roughly speaking) 10 points out of 100, and a solo win would have been worth the full 100 points.

Thoughts on Preliminary Matches

I think, overall, I would say I did about equally well in both matches. I was never in any danger of elimination in either match. In both matches, I stretched to reach for solo wins but never quite got there. My score from either match would have been sufficient for me to qualify for the Semifinals.

I stand by my strategic choices: I think that playing aggressively, building momentum, and not hesitating to lie or backstab was a good strategic plan when I was playing as corner powers against low-seeded opponents. I was hard to kill, and hard to stop.

Ultimately, my combined score of 115 put me in 6th place—clearing the bar for the Semifinals with room to spare. (My username on webDiplomacy is swordsman3003.)

I’m actually not sure if the Semis were seeded, but if they were, then the sixth seed was probably a good one.

Semifinal Round

I entered the Semifinals in good spirits. My strong performances in the two preliminary games gave me confidence. However, I entered the Semis with an idea that I needed to be much more cautious in lying and/or backstabbing. Experienced Diplomacy players don’t fall for tricks so easily, and can effectively punish players who are too aggressive or tricksy.

ODC 2019 – R2 G3

In my third match, I played as Italy. I ended at 10 supply centers. Converting the final center counts through sum-of-squares scoring, I ended with 35 points out of a possible 100.

I played this match very differently from my preliminary matches:

1. Austria and I formed an alliance early on, and neither of us ever betrayed each other. I attribute this to the high-quality play on both our parts, both diplomatically and tactically. We became genuine friends over the course of the match, and we never gave each other a good opportunity to backstab.
2. Unlike England and France (corner powers), Italy is a central power. As such, Italy has different strategic opportunities and limitations. As Italy, I sent my units allllll over the map in different directions, trying to accomplish cryptic strategic goals and pick up little favors here and there. This is why the final board shows me with the strange configuration of having captured all 3 Turkish home centers and all 3 German home centers.

I am proud of my result from this match. Although the quality of my play is not necessarily reflected in a high score (35 is good, but not enough to qualify by itself for the finals), I am experienced enough to recognize that I played a strong game as Italy. To paraphrase what one of the players said to me during the match, I was a “muscular, globe-trotting” power that managed to involve itself in every single conflict on the board with a mere 5 pieces.

I can imagine a few things going down differently that might have resulted in a solo win opportunity for me. If I had managed to talk Austria into a vulnerable position, or if I had managed to break out in the west (by overpowering France, perhaps together with England), I would have considered a solo win run. But, for whatever reason, I was unable to create those opportunities (although I did try).

ODC 2019 – R2 G7

In my fourth match, I played as Germany. I ended at 16 supply centers. Converting the final center counts through sum-of-squares scoring, I ended with 63 points out of a possible 100.

Like a character in a Shonen anime who achieves his true potential when facing down a worthy rival, I think I played even better in this match than in the preceding three. The level of skill in this game was phenomenal (and indeed, I will be up against the French player—who did well in another match—a second time in the finals).

I think over the last 2 years, Germany has become tied with Italy as my favorite power (in both Press and Gunboat Diplomacy). As a central power, Germany can be involved in the affairs of almost every power on the map (Turkey is the exception for Germany). I formed strong diplomatic relationships with most of my neighbors (particularly France, Russia, Austria, and Italy) and then used those relationships to my advantage in every way I could imagine.

Also, although you might not be able to tell just from looking at the final board, I actually came damn close to a solo win this match. At the last possible moment, on the critical turn, France and Italy deceived me about their moves, causing me to make the wrong choices about where to move my western units. If I had somehow seen through the ruse, or if I had the guts to just attack France and Italy while hoping for the best, I probably would have achieved a solo win. In other words, I think a solo win was on the table for me, and I simply failed to take it.

I am proudest of my performance in this match because of the quality of the opposition that I overcame, and also due to how close I really was to a solo win. I think my personal take away here is that I should have taken a chance to make an all-out attack slightly earlier. (I made a similar mistake in my match as England, but that only cost me the chance at 17 centers; here that mistake cost me a solo win.)

Thoughts on Semifinal Matches

I think I kicked a** and took names. My total score for the Semifinals was surpassed only by The Belgian Bulldog (who managed to pull off a solo win, wow!):

Regardless of what happens in the final round, I know one thing for sure: I am a formidable online player.

And if you listen, I’ll teach you everything I know…

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Final Round

The tentative start date for the final match is January 27, 2020. (Doesn’t that start date sound shocking for a tournament that started in February 2019? That’s online Diplomacy for you…)

If you would like to follow along with the final match, here’s the link to the final round on webDiplomacy. (And once the match is over, that webpage will always show the final results and the turn-by-turn progression towards the final board).

There was a very long wait for me between the end of the Semifinal round and the beginning of the Final round. By happenstance, my two matches finished much earlier; I was all finished up by November 17, 2019. I’ve taken a two-month break since then, playing only a single Gunboat diplomacy match with my family during the interim.

Although I wish I had the time to dedicate to keeping a journal for this Final round, unfortunately I don’t have the extra time available like I did at the start of the tournament. Sorry!

My life has changed quite a lot in the last 10 months. I have a different job, and I have new family members (folks get married and have kids all the time!).

So I think it is fair to say that I’ve learned, and grown, and changed as a person since the tournament started. Not only have I gained valuable experience from these 4 tournament matches, but I have also learned a lot about life in general. I think every last thing a player knows about the human condition can be useful to that player during a match of Diplomacy. I hope I can bring all of that wisdom and new experience to bear—and then some!—in the final match. I can certainly say that the player who started this journey into the 2019 Online Diplomacy Championship is not the same player who will finish it.

Good luck, my rivals.

And thank you to everyone who played in the tournament, especially everyone who played with me. You shared a part of your life with me, and I enjoyed myself and consider myself an improved person for having had that experience. For, that I will always be grateful.

P.S.

Magnetic24, I’m so sorry you got yourself banned. You were a delight to play with, and I hope we can play again one day. I know you read my blog, and I thought this in-game message (from our Semifinal match) deserved a response:

Just my opinion, but I think you’re good enough that inexperienced and experienced players alike could really benefit from your commentary on a game. A good example of this is Brother Bored. Look it up if you’re not aware of it. It’s really informative and something we need to see more of. Regardless, if there is any advice you would be willing to give, I would appreciate it. Thanks and gg

Magnetic24

I cackled with delight at this message. I couldn’t tell you who I was during the match because of the anonymity rules.

If you would like to discuss our match, please feel free to comment here on my blog, or just shoot me an email. Once my matches are over, I am an open book. I will tell you anything you want to know. Maybe we could convert our conversation into an article for this blog!