Video: A Tale of Two Nations4 min read

For additional context, read Part 1—the Italian player’s After Action Report on the same match. However, you can probably enjoy our posts in either order.

Part 2: The Breakdown of France

Let me paraphrase one of the more common content requests I get:

BrotherBored, every article you write portrays your ability as superhuman and your experience as an unbroken chain of triumph. But you lose matches (or have crummy draws) like everybody else. Can’t you tell us about those times once a while?

—Fan of BrotherBored

I’ll be forthcoming about why I rarely write about matches where I did not perform well: I have a hard time sympathizing with someone finding that interesting. When I watch videos or read articles about sports, video games, board games, and so on, I find myself drawn to stories about amazing feats—and I skip reports of humdrum happenings. For Diplomacy in particular, there are a lot of write ups (typically called “After Action Reports”) from the vantage point of players who didn’t accomplish anything noteworthy, and I find that this content does not hold my attention long.

So when I set out to write about Diplomacy—especially when giving examples—I lean on my triumphs because I think that will hold my audience’s attention best.

However, I appreciate that my own sensibilities are not the measure of every person’s preferences. I’ve heard the request for a different perspective fairly often, so I know that at least some of you are interested (or at least…think you are interested!).

The Video Content!

I’ve been planning to make video content for over a year. With the pandemic lockdown and some help from my partner, I’ve finally found the time to make some. I hope you enjoy it!

Additional Analysis

Here are my takeaways from this match:

Ideas for Improving My Performance:

1. In a gunboat game where the players know that I, Your Bored Brother, have joined, I should make some effort to disguise who I am. I can probably accomplish this by making opening moves I recommend against, and by deliberately making some tactical mistakes. This will disguise who I am, and perhaps cause my rivals to infer that some other player is BrotherBored (and thus attack that player instead of me!). If I had done that this match, perhaps Germany or England might have been tempted to attack the other sooner.
2. I can still improve my guessing ability. I sometimes call this skill “yomi,” a Japanese term referring to mind reading. Although my ability to read and outguess other players is strong, I sense room for improvement. If I had guessed correctly against England and Germany a few more turns, I could have remained viable (at 4-5 supply centers) long enough to be saved by a rising eastern power (such as Russia).

Ideas Vindicated by This Match

1. France’s defensive power in gunboat is astounding. I was getting 2v1’d by high-skill players (England and Germany) and I still had 4 supply centers at the end of 1908! And 10 years later, I was still hanging on, holed out in Portugal. Even if the match had continued, it would have been hard for my rivals to kick me out of the draw.
2. And the corollary: France’s neighbors benefit immensely by focusing down France at the start. Once France has been damaged enough to no long be a viable threat, England and Germany have a lot more opportunity. I would have been a terrific threat to those powers if they had not shut me down.

There’s More To Come!

I plan to release video content on a regular basis. If you want to support this work, or share your suggestions, consider becoming one of my Patrons!

I recently used the money I earned from my Patrons to buy video editing software. I would love to budget more money to improving the quality of my video content. Or if I can get enough cash, I might hire a professional web developer to improve the website!

Don’t Forget Part 1

If you haven’t read it yet, read the Italian player’s write up on the same match. You may be surprised where our perspectives overlap and differ!