The German Gunboat Solo Win Plan
Getting to 16 is not so hard, but reaching 17 and then 18 is difficult for Germany. Germany’s typical plan is to have all of Germany, England, Paris and Brest, the low countries, Scandinavia, St. Petersburg, and Warsaw. Then some combination of more distant centers (Marseilles, Iberia, Moscow, Vienna, etc.) to get to 18.
Wide variation on the plan
- The centers colored green and yellow add up only to 16. To reach 18, Germany must penetrate far to the west, east, or south. The orange and red centers are very easy for other players to defend against a German solo win attempt.
Germany should keep fleets to a minimum
- Once Germany takes over the north, it is difficult for Germany to get much value out of fleets. Even if Germany invades Iberia, only a small number of sea zones border the area because Mid-Atlantic Ocean is such a choke-point.
- Germany’s ideal plan is to take over the North using a minimal number of fleets + convoying armies to make attacks (i.e., Germany should get control of North Sea and then convoy armies onto Great Britain, or get control of Baltic Sea and convoy armies into Scandinavia). Germany can then later bring the armies around to invade other places and use the fleets in the west.
- To put it another way, a huge number of armies is necessary to invade and hold Vienna or Sevastopol. But a big number of fleets does not improve Germany’s chances of taking Marseilles or Spain.
England or France is a viable ally
- Because Germany only needs 2 French centers, and because those 2 centers are easy to conquer from the North, Germany can reasonably choose France as the last target for a solo win plan (and therefore France can be a decent ally).
- Although Germany does need all the English centers to win, an alliance with England affords Germany an opportunity to stretch far and take distant centers earlier in the game (e.g., Marseilles or Moscow). Getting those distant centers if very difficult for Germany to do once openly attempting a solo win. But because the English centers are not behind any stalemate positions, Germany can backstab England for the win after taking the distant centers first. If Germany does this correctly, no power will be able to come to England’s aid.
Russia is a viable ally
- Because Scandinavia and St. Petersburg are not defensible from the South, it is reasonable for Germany to expand westward against England and France and then come back later for Russian centers or Russian gains in Scandinavia. Russia is the weakest power in gunboat Diplomacy, and is frequently crushed and eliminated even after obtaining several builds.
This guide is intended for beginners and is very basic. For an advanced demonstration of German strategy, consider reading the massive journal I recorded for “The Biggest Game of All Time”. I have also written an article about Germany’s Autumn 1901 decision about letting Russia into Sweden.