Diplomacy | Running the Game

[@Mnomphalos]

Diplomacy: the solution to having too many friends.

[@bl00dywelld0ne]

🤣🤣🤣

[@sillwullivan83]

True. Very true.

[@narmer6099]

diplomacy? I thought you met Monopoly!

[@adamdewitt6430]

That's why I quit playing my first game.

[@narmer6099]

@@adamdewitt6430 First game of Diplomacy or Monopoly?

[@JonHerzogArtist]

"I said, 'Jerry' -- because that's his name." Now that's Colville.

[@CrazyConnor2]

No this is Patrick

[@oOPPHOo]

Actually, _I'm_ Patrick.

[@Davoerlo]

That made me chuckle.

[@MittyPoots]

That's Colville -- because that's his name

[@christianholmdall3109]

oO PPH Oo is your Real axual name Patrick?

[@kieranb5201]

Last time we played my alliance bugged one of the private conversation rooms with a phone and used the intel gathered to win an important battle. This game will change you.

[@theendicott2838]

That’s politics baby. Just ask Richard Nixon.

[@Noah_Banyas]

Really? I LITERALLY DID THAT FIRST ROUND LMFAO

[@dashiellgillingham4579]

Oh my god you bugged a fictional nation in real life.

[@SteveMorman]

We played this in college, but you'd have to drink a culturally-appropriate beverage when you lost an unit. It was brutal.

[@96Logan]

Steve Morman that's awesome!

[@rizron95]

I feel for whoever was Russia.

[@kaleidoslug7777]

@@rizron95 they surely made their adoptive country proud with just how much they drank

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

Christ alive, Russia must have died by 1903. Whoever got France would have been lucky though.

[@ryanmichael1298]

@@TheSmart-CasualGamer Scotland!

[@kindle9597]

I actually did play diplomacy in school. At the end of the semester, my ap history teacher ran a game for each of his classes. Each nation was run by teams of two students. I played Russia, but the guy I was paired up with wouldn't let me make any decisions. On the last day of class, he was out sick, so to spite him I accepted a bribe of $40 to let Germany win the game. Edited for grammar

[@Doubleranged1]

So you won =) (40 dollars #worth)

[@TheMeanAdmin]

Now THAT's Diplomacy

[@tuptastic304]

Outstanding move

[@bulldozer8950]

I would say u won.

[@demigodgamer8517]

Gee... that sounds a bit like what happened in WWII minus a German victory.

[@Zoxesyr]

In my first game of diplomacy, I was the "Russia" Matt describes here. That was also my last game of diplomacy.

[@adamdewitt6430]

I'm sorry, man. My first - and last - game I was Italy.

[@joshuaridgway3230]

Same. Turkey also has terrible board position, especially if Austria is against you. Hence why the Ottomans were part of the central powers

[@JacopoSkydweller]

Bruh, what? Turkey has crazy strong start. Back to two edges of the board and 3 empty territories ripe for the taking. If you can convince Austria that they are even remotely in danger from Russia or Italy, you're set.

[@solsystem1342]

@@joshuaridgway3230 um, Turkey is widely considered the second strongest power. Unless all three of its neighbors ally against it Turkey is very unlikely to die early. Which is not something you can say for the central powers (Italy, Austria, or even germany). Turkey is like a turtle, slow to grow but tough to crack.

[@TheEndKing]

I can now explain why Dr. Doom is my favorite villain: Everyone else is playing the superhero game, but Doom is playing Diplomacy.

[@tanukioh]

TheEndKing Doom toots as he pleases!

[@benbanman2111]

Awesome insight! Dr. Doom is the best ever... Darth Vader...before Vader existed.

[@michaelbryant3640]

Great, now I'm imagining Doctor Doom sitting around a board with T'Challa, Namor and Black Bolt...

[@alalalala57]

@@michaelbryant3640 Ooooooh.

[@SparkB0x]

This is a life lesson not a game lesson. You tricked me!

[@Smajtastic]

It's hitting very close to home

[@solsystem1342]

@@Smajtastic hitting extra close to home after watching the response to the pandemic.

[@Edyremoh]

yeah for real though lol

[@joeykonyha2414]

Diplomacy is a game best played with either your deepest, closest, strongest friends whose bonds are above a mere game, or people you’ll never see again.

[@ForPromethious]

Remember about Realpolitik, the lesson of Machiavelli, who some might describe as the true father of what we now call Realpolitik: It is good to be loved, better to be feared, but at all costs you must avoid being HATED. People HATE Realpolitik. If you are found to be playing Realpolitik when most other people are playing based on Principles, if you, for example, ADMIT to playing Realpolitik, there is an extremely high chance that your enemies will unite against you and endure ANY hardship to bring you down. Realpolitik isn't REALLY being played if a person admits to playing Realpolitik - unless they're REALLY bad at it. Think on Game of Thrones and the backstabbing that goes on there - even in the case of the War of the Roses from which it draws inspiration - **people eventually get so tired of the backstabbing the they will do anything to stop it**. Those who violate Guest Right eventually find themselves eating their family in a pie, not because the world is just, but because they made a Realpolitik mistake: they permitted themselves to become largely, widely HATED, instead of merely feared or God forbid, beloved.

[@blackjoker2345]

The actual quote is "Better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both".

[@blackpenman]

It is oft a misinterpreted quote though, and I think the OP does a good summary that captures what Machiavelli meant. He didn't mean that being a brutal tyrant who violently suppresses opposition is the ideal, but that you should be a leader who people do not want to cross and are happy to serve. Which is true. Fear of punishment is one of the main glues that holds society together. People often screw over their loved ones, but they don't very often do the same for people they fearfully respect.

[@martijnbouman8874]

+ForPromethious I agree! I play Diplomacy online and I usually do not tell the real reason why I attack someone and often try to give moral justification to my actions. For example, when country A stabbed country B, I thought: 'Great, now the armies of country A will be distracted, so this is the perfect moment to backstab him.' I said: 'I liked country A, but I really like country B to, and unfortunately I could not accept him getting betrayed. I will come to his aid.' A good diplomat has two reasons to do something - a good reason and the real reason.

[@umbegranata]

what everyone gets wrong is that "the prince", Machiavelli's book where that quote is from, was sarcastic

[@edwardnigma9756]

@ForPromethious That's actually the strategy I employ to "win" most strategy games. I have a friend who will ruthlessly apply realpolitik to his game and is quite competitive. I usually create an alliance against him (or someone like him, it's usually quite easy to discern such a player) and then end game when they are defeated. This mostly works because most people I have had the pleasure to with, play to have fun. I imagine it would be more difficult if I came across a group solely focused on winning for themselves.

[@GusanGaming]

Britain going to France before WW1 saying "We have a long history of friendship" France: "Of course I remember the 100 year friendship and all our tensions at the minute"

[@oz_jones]

Cuddly bolts of friendship at Agincourt :)

[@micahtron8512]

I'm taking International Relations for my political science this semester, and the instructor has us playing this game as an extra credit. Thia has now become one of my favorite games ever.

[@djohnson2499]

After watching this video, I shall endeavor to become more cynical with each passing day, look gift horses squarely in the mouth, and find clouds in every silver lining.

[@Humorless_Wokescold]

Garak approves

[@tabchanzero8229]

Diogenes Johnson

[@dandelionv1257]

If only you meant it...

[@hella_cool1312]

"We have a long history of friendship together" Eeehhh...

[@mathy1799]

Jimbo Yokimbo Of course, those few times they teamed up against their neighbours.

[@TheRealSmiler666]

Remember Agincourt!

[@hoogmonster]

Of course the English love the French and they love us Rosbifs... Which is why in a spirit of good will and fairness the stretch of water between us is called The English Channel by the English and La Manche by the French. Mmm... Anyway posh French people called the Normans came over to assist us with government and gave us loads of French words like centre, guillotine, cuisine and baguette. In return we popped over and returned the favour... This exchange programme lasted at least one hundred years...mmm. But without French cuisine where would English food be...Roast beef gets a tad samey...😉

[@TheSmart-CasualGamer]

@@hoogmonster "I had a bloke come in here today. Deja Vu, he said, so I told him to start using proper English words like BRICK!"

[@laurenthomas6267]

For one of my old high school history classes, they play this for an entire semester for each year. Every Thursday, we would submit our plays and the rest of the week was for negotiating and scheming. It always took over the school.

[@Stoneworks]

I love this video. I come back to watch it every so often.

[@owenbloomfield1177]

I started playing when I was about 13. I watched my older brother playing it and became fascinated. I just recently introduced it to my fourteen-year-old son. Proud moment.

[@harjutapa]

A note from the son of a very successful mechanic: only second rate mechanics operate the way described at 4:13 A good mechanic, like my father (who I actually intensely dislike), will actually ONLY FIX YOUR CAR. And do so competently, and as close to on time as possible. Because that mechanic knows that repeat business is the real path to a successful auto shop. That's one thing to note about real politik applied to every day life and business: sometimes it IS the best approach, on a personal level. Very, very often, however, doing the "right thing" in your professional and personal life will net much higher long term reward. Enlightened self interest isn't a phrase I like, but I have yet to find one better to explain this reality.

[@harjutapa]

People who pretend that real politik is the "best" way to operate in their personal lives, unless those people are operating at a high level (business CEOs, high level politicians, etc), are basically not thinking enough steps ahead.

[@3nertia]

Not when all your suppliers are greedy dicks heh

[@leem4386]

Nice try Mr Mechanic, you almost had me tricked

[@rileygoddard7181]

In a way, this is still realpolitik. He's just thinking more steps ahead than most.

[@RigelOrionBeta]

Problems come up though when your competition prices you out because they can afford it and you can't. I'd imagine there are some mechanics like this, but they likely only exist in places where it's not profitable for the large players in this industry to set up shop.

[@MonkeyMannism]

Hey Mr. Colville. I'm not actually a D&D player (I don't think I've played that particular gameline in 12 years) nor am I a DM. I do play and run other systems though. I've been watching a lot of your videos over the last couple days and I just wanted to say that I feel as though I've learned a lot about running in generel. So, if you see this comment, thanks for the advice and keep up the good work.

[@anoukfleur2513]

Sorry for replying 5 years late but I wanted to say that’s cool, I personally started watching these to run D&D but now also have a preference for running other game systems. I’ve rewatched a few for inspiration with my newest game.

[@Liesmith424]

I'm going to pretend this is foreshadowing for Matt's 2020 presidential run.

[@tuptastic304]

I would vote for him

[@feartheghus]

Tuptastic Studios i don’t know, a president that good at diplomacy is dangerous if he’s not extremely good as a person.

[@christianholmdall3109]

Wich matt

[@christianholmdall3109]

?

[@ChristianJesseMusic]

its November 5th, 2020, and the current election is still being tallied.... Matt for President 2024?

[@TheMeanAdmin]

I don't play Diplomacy styled games with people I care to keep around.

[@nathanrea5266]

Words cannot describe how much diplomacy brings the inner jackass out of people

[@thmsnrth]

I'm actually a junior high social studies teacher... this video is giving me evil ideas.

[@96Logan]

Alex Rosewood it would be a fun experiment to run the game in one of your classes. Have you done so already in the last year since you posted this comment?? I'm pretty curious

[@cjcnight9406]

Same. Did you do it?

[@colinsmith1495]

DO IT!! And then tell us about it. Seriously, I wish we had done this in school, it would have been both fun AND enlightening, if a little jaded. Make sure to follow up with a little moral lesson to balance it out.

[@dragatus]

So, did you actually do this?

[@ryanhouk3560]

I learned to play from one of my highschool history teachers. He didn’t, but I would love to set up a game where each class is one nation in one game, and getting eliminated has the consequence of having to do real school work. One season per day, no rules to how the students decide to submit orders

[@Corvus-fw2hr]

I can honestly say that I didn't expect to hear about "The Red Queen Hypothesis" this morning. 10 points for Gryffindor.

[@dylzim]

I like to joke that I love Diplomacy, but I respect my friends too much to play it with them. Fantastic game.

[@evanconnor7600]

"The only way to win is not to play"

[@charlesoutoftown8409]

Evan Connor, I, for one, appreciate your reference to a movie (from the eighties) www.imdb.com/title/tt0086567/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1, and whatever came before.

[@cracklingvoice]

What's funny is that some players will, inherently, do everything they can to make sure that an opponent loses. They will not win, but their opponent shall lose regardless of price. I've seen that a few times in boardgames: the "you shall not win, because I shall not let you" approach is a defining moment in the most emotionally-driven games. Also: absolute power corrupts absolutely, but is also absolutely awesome!

[@feartheghus]

That’s just automatic loss in diplomacy, if you control a country and just try to hunker down you’ll be eaten alive and your people enslaved under the tyranny of an alliance.

[@WestOfEarth]

This is basically the teachings of all great spiritual leaders from Gandhi to Jesus to Buddha to modern day Dalai Lama. It isn't even about winning. It's not caring about the outcome - being outside of the game. In short, I've never played Diplomacy the game, nor do I ever intend to. That is also a metaphor for my life. When you're outside of the game, it (and anyone in it) has no power over you.

[@feartheghus]

WestOfEarth until they do have power over you, then when you don’t cooperate they shoot you.

[@HBookbinderGM]

I homeschool my kids. I’m already planning to use DnD as a way to teach my sons about politics now I’ll add Diplomacy - great video.

[@merlintym1928]

We played this in my world history class (my teacher was awesome) and it was a wonderful way to introduce our WW2 unit.

[@HundredYearsBoar]

Yeah after watching this I can really tell who has been playing D&D with me and who has just been on power trips.

[@cracklingvoice]

Now that you mention it, I'm questioning a group that I'm part of right now.

[@asagoldsmith3328]

Took me like 4 years to convince my friends to leave a DM's power trip game.

[@JesperoTV]

Diplomacy scars run deep, and never heal

[@devinweathersby3668]

One of the best videos ever, I remember watching this in community college and how it is still relevant today. It's a masterpiece.

[@theDMLair]

Great video! Now I want to play diplomacy with my D&D group one of these days.

[@ajcoetzer4711]

Woah this is such an Easter egg

[@wusashicat1]

The Red Queen principle is the idea that if two organisms are competing for the same resource they will spend more and more resources in order to out grow their competition. Up to, and over the point where the resource no longer covers the cost that it has incurred for its growth

[@RearmedDreamerOnline]

That beard, +2 to diplomacy checks.

[@az9ox]

First thing I thought when starting this video was "He's had a hair cut".

[@leifedmondson2813]

Ah, Diplomacy: the art of letting others have your way. A classic, fun, game

[@lydiasteinebendiksen4269]

Beautifully worded, I'm stealing thay

[@leifedmondson2813]

@@lydiasteinebendiksen4269 Be my guest, I stole it from a friends t shirt

[@furrydreamer4443]

The last time I played risk my friend was upset with me for a week. I don't think our friendship would survive Diplomacy, but god do I want to see a whole sitcom around an office that plays this game.

[@tomd2666]

Teach 7th graders Diplomacy... Ah yes... middle school, that special time in child development when they know just enough about people to really hurt them but have yet to develop a sense of empathy. Matt I learned plenty about the sociopathic mind sets growing up without having to participate in a system that actively rewards them.

[@pedroscoponi4905]

I get the distinct feeling deep in my bones that teaching people about how the world ACTUALLY works without teaching them how it SHOULD be is a very, very, _very_ bad idea. Or maybe this feeling is just me remembering how bad I am at any game that involves lying, omiting or expects the players to cheat the rules. _shrug_

[@dwood2001]

I'm probably putting words in your mouth, but I think the problem with this (and the reason it comes across as cynical to some people) is that power politics is only one small part of the picture. (Perhaps the other parts are subjects for future videos.) Power politics is more like a tool people use to get their own way. Yes, some people perhaps are primarily interested in power, but most have a mixture of motivations that do certainly include ideology, morality, etc. Power can be the goal, or power can be a way of achieving your ideology. This doesn't mean you'll "lose". If you understand "the game", and know (for example) that maybe what Putin just did is nothing more than a power play, you don't have to focus 100% on that power politics. The question of *why* you want power is not a silly question; it's a central one, and it impacts your diplomatic actions. Considering *why* other people want power is also central to your decision-making. In the real (modern) world, the end goal is rarely as simple as world domination. While there are real sociopaths in politics, most people see themselves as the heroes of their own story with nuanced goals and ideals. Very few people are really *just* playing diplomacy. Most people have aspirations, moral codes, lines they won't cross etc. It's just the way all those various elements interplay that lead to the ultimate result. Which makes diplomacy a limited game in that sense, showing just one element of reality. And also (imo) explains why the game can be so upsetting. It divorces this one element from all the others, removing a huge helping of potential empathy (even for enemies) that can exist in reality. The truth in the real world is extremely complicated.

[@DanTalksGames]

David Wood While true, you cannot deny there are, in fact, sociopaths in politics and people who play to win for its own sake rather than a goal or ideology will have some of the biggest impacts on a political scene, and must be accounted for when looking at the greater political scope. A great fictional example of this is Frank Underwood from House of Cards. He's a man who overtly espouses (at least in his audience-directed monologues) the value of power for its own sake, and the impact his desire has upon others. To many of us, his train of thought seems alien and irrational, but when your driving motivation is power as its own end, it has a larger impact on the political landscape than someone who's more fettered in their ideology. Not disagreeing that other motivations don't exist; just pointing out this is probably what Matt is implying. I also feel this is going to come together with his other points; as he said, this is but one ingredient.

[@bartocblackwell3391]

Considering that ~4% of the population of the world are sociopaths this lends to the distinct possibility of a great many being in politics.

[@FallingJinx]

As a student of International Relations and of Political Science, the concepts in the video above very closely relate to the "realism " theory of international relations. Basically, its the idea that rather than looking at how the world should look, lets just look at how it does. States act on their interests, and their interests are defined in terms of power. Regardless of how they believe or think ideologically, they will act in their interest of power. Remember, we are talking about states, not people. Think about the example of Kosovo and Serbia, and the Ukraine and Crimea. Two very similar situations, but the US and Russia's position on it were very different. The US screamed freedom for Kosovo, while Russia talked about the territorial integrity of Serbia. However, when it came to Ukraine, the US talked of its territorial integrity, while the Russians proclaimed freedom. Does morality have an affect? Yes it does, but it's one that's just in the backdrop of power. Ideology is really just something that masks your actions for power, as seen in the example above. (and I'm not cherrypicking here either, its one example of thousands I could pick. Basically look at anything in the Middle East, and has something to do with Saudi Arabia and our oil partnership.)

[@samuelpons1396]

Yep it's largely accurate but simplistic. Rational self-interest clearly does not drive every decision made, politics or otherwise.

[@gidkath]

This explains so much. Now, at last, I can finally articulate what made me genuinely loathe some of the tabletop games in which I've played: the persons running things in these games were making it a power game, and I was playing because I wanted to be a hero by proxy. When I got to be a "hero" by playing the power game too, because it was the only way to get ahead in the plot, I felt dirty and used and not at all heroic. Needless to say, I quit these games soon after I made this realization. On this same subject, I recommend the book Catch 22, because it deals with exactly this sort of issue, and points out a truism: the manipulators of the world want to force everyone else into the eponymous "catch 22" situation, giving them options, but only the options that these manipulators have chosen, and hence can plan around or otherwise control. There are, however, at least two ways to win in such a scenario. The first, and most common, is to be just as devious as the manipulators, and then to become better at it than them. The other is to choose "Option C," the one that you weren't given by the ones trying to manipulate you. Naturally this has direct application when deciding what sort of game you're going to run.

[@Kingpin1880]

Well; I know one game I'm never going to play. Seriously; I've got a charisma stat of 4; I'm useless a games like this.

[@finnianquail8881]

rip

[@TribuneAquila]

See thats why you need to equip a +2 charisma buff and not tell anyone what you did.

[@plgrn8r683]

My issue is I that while I have good charisma, I also have a history of being..... let's say an 'opportunistic cutthroat' in Civ games. To my credit, I never broke a treaty, but nor did I sign a treaty if you had nothing to bargain with. If you couldn't oppose me, AND you drew my attention? I'm going to shatter your ability to win by capturing key cities and allowing you to limp on as a vassal state, giving me favorable trade deals. I also regularly allowed myself to be hired into wars and alliances; my economy was typically strong, so this was honestly more about weakening the economy and infrastructures of others than it was about self-benefit. I'd deploy enough of a military to change the course of a war, but not so much that my defense is reasonably weakened. Unfortunately, this earned me the reputation of having no true "allies", so I feel like in a game of Diplomacy, I'd be the first one to get focused on.

[@nurb101]

An alliance with the powerful is never to be trusted -Phaedrus

[@DungeonDad]

And I have now started a game of diplomacy with my friends. I had no idea that the online version existed!

[@Borjigin.]

Always nice to see Dip players popping up in unexpected places!

[@jaycarter9998]

I teach middle school Spanish and I am sorely tempted to teach this to my 7th and 8th graders. I'm *definitely* going to check with the Social Studies teacher and see if she already knows about this. Thanks for the share. Big fan of the channel, thanks!

[@jarbuthn]

the minute or so after 5:27 is some solid real-world wisdom. quotable stuff actually. relevant whenever considering political "nonsense". thanks matt!

[@Cenitopius]

"playing ... like this is like dating 6 other people at once" I want to know more about Matts concept of a relationship if he thinks Diplomacy is like dating :P

[@oz_jones]

Dating six people at once =/= normal dating

[@LordVader1094]

Dating requires realpolitik :P

[@solsystem1342]

@@oz_jones yes, I mean, where would you even find the time to date 6 people? I'd limit it to 2-4 unless you've got a lot of free time or a decent number of them are low time commitment relationships.

[@cheydinal5401]

Love this, I can really relate to becoming power-hungry when playing the game

[@cheyennemorrison4107]

My 10th Grade English teacher had us play Diplomacy to apply what we learned about rhetoric, 4 years later I still argue with Russia about how things would have gone down had France not betrayed him for me. Definitely a memorable game, and friendly backstabbing can be fun sometimes, just don't let the hate escape he game.

[@mattstreckfuss9678]

Thank you Matt. My friends and I would play Diplomacy in high school - you brought back flash backs of those moments of betrayal.... it always happens!

[@roguedeath98]

IMHO this is still the best video you've *ever* posted, I end up referencing it all the time to explain what is happening in the current political climate when people don't understand what's happening. I know it's meant to guide D&D a bit, but it's so much more useful in explaining actual political theory

[@Sploack]

About 2 years ago I got into D&D and started watching your videos. From this video I got into diplomacy. Now, 2 years later, I saw a game on a diplomacy website called "Matt Colville sent me". I had to join! By pure chance, in this game there are 3 people who follow your channel: me (Austria), England (who also discovered diplomacy thanks to you and he's playing his first game), and Germany (a veteran DM who has been into d&d and diplomacy for 40 years and follows your channel). I'll post the result of the game when it ends! Thanks Matt, btw.

[@Sploack]

The game ended in a 3-way draw between me (Austria), the veteran DM (Germany) and Italy. The perfect Central Triple. The creator of the game (England) ended his first game with an elimination, as did France (also at their first game), Turkey (at their second game) and Russia, who refused to communicate for most of the game. I hope my next Matt Colville themed match will be more exciting, but a draw is a draw!

[@oz_jones]

@@Sploack central powers are back in town, baby

[@igloo.550]

I started playing diplomacy like a week ago, started watching your d and d vids today while planning my moves only to find this vid!!

[@HuevoBendito]

Just finished my first game of Diplomacy. I lost, but it was a *blast*. Thanks for introducing it to me Matt!

[@Lubuscus]

This just gave me an incredible idea for an in game arc where the PC's are essentially playing Risk and strategically placing units across the entire continent to defend key diplomatic zones and allies in the upcoming war arc of my D&D game. Thanks again for helping feed my imagination!

[@joshoxborrow2314]

You made me have a crazy realization as to why i seems to understand of realpolitik than many of my peers and during middle school my history teacher ran a modified version of diplomacy with teams in class where your results could also help things. But yeah there was still the treaties and breaking them and all of that. I remember thinking my team was a bunch of idiots cause we trusted another team and they totally backstabbed us.

[@gbelacel]

All your video are great but that's probably one of my favorite. You did a great job explaining both the game and the general concept of realpolitik. I have fond memories of backroom deal, betrayal and people getting genuinely upset in game of Diplomacy and yeah, that's the kind of game that really test friendship :D.

[@djcothra4201]

I keep coming back to this video, its my favourite ❤

[@sporelight]

"Daily user sending quota exceeded." I think you overloaded their website XD this is what i receive when I try to register XD

[@ArgusStrav]

Same.

[@fundude365]

Diplomacy sounds like a really interesting game to view the summary of, but I can't say that I would ever, ever be interested in playing it.

[@nobodygetsme]

I didn't come here to have one of the most profound and succinct explanations of one of the most pervasive political struggles we as individuals in the machine face, yet here I am and there it is. A+ Matt, if we ever meet I'm buying you a drink.

[@cade5400]

Playing Diplomacy with my friends and classmates in the 10th grade as a part of our European History class was a formative part of my education. Honestly, I remember the games I played over the next 3 years as fondly as many of my D&D games. We were texting and meeting in the hallways between classes all day, well into the evening

[@harrison3207]

Thank you for introducing me to WebDiplomacy! I've taken over nations in 2 continuing games, and am loving the little I've played, even though I'm pretty boned in one of them.

[@lrthedude]

Diplomacy is one of the best games I've ever played. It's so nerve-wracking yet exhilarating at the same time. Thanks for talking about this game. This video is making me want to get back into playing it, though the very notion of playing it again is driving my blood pressure up, I'm sure. :)

[@MacroAggressor]

I've never actually played Diplomacy, but I've always been intrigued.

[@EricVulgaris]

I never played diplomacy, but this was still a great video for me. I've enjoyed plenty of diplomacy joy via osmosis. There's an old story about a true diplomat advising someone entering a Diplomacy tournament I think yall might enjoy: grantland.com/features/diplomacy-the-board-game-of-the-alpha-nerds/

[@JesperoTV]

There is no such thing as diplomacy joy... There is only pain...

[@omengod1]

that was one hell of a read!

[@nahometesfay1112]

That was a really good story!

[@xanderwilliams6767]

"Their job is to extract money from you." This might be my favorite bit of wisdom from you.

[@eKoush]

I loved to see, that there are DM's, like you, who put in politics and economics in their worlds. It is an important aspect for me to encounter and steer through in game.

[@fistwizard2552]

Matt is criminally good at explaining things. The politics videos in particular never fail to draw me in and keep there all the way till the end.

[@silvertheelf]

I started watching D&D videos and then stopped watching, some time later KZbin suggests something relating to evolution because I was interested, which lead me to the game of life (the one with little pixels of dead and live cells), and that lead me to risk which ended in diplomacy and now I am back here.

[@JimmyCee123]

Spot on. My manager makes us hand in a weekly report a day earlier than the other teams do just bc he can.

[@patcat1276]

As soon as I started watching this I started looking up Diplomacy, going to try and start a 1 day game sometime soon

[@CuriosityCore101]

I know this is an old video, but I only recently heard of this channel. (I asked a friend who's more experienced at ttrpgs than me for recommendations for resources for new GMs and he suggested this channel - I'm glad he did, these videos are unbelievably helpful.) Thanks to this video I have joined my first game of Diplomacy.

[@MikeThepiper]

Diplomacy: Paranoia not included

[@TavernMasterZeyv]

... but highly expected!

[@dryued6874]

Paranoia: Diplomacy is available, but everyone's going to die anyway.

[@LoveMusicJust]

Matt!!! You have no idea how amazing these are. I'm a new DM who was always afraid of the task, but you've really helped me embrace it as something doable and fun. It's always fun to me when I actively catch myself acting on the advice you've given and think to myself, "Matt Colville taught me how to do that."

[@sonofshadowbrand913]

I was busy setting up the table for our D&D game this morning, and lo and behold, A Matt Colville video!

[@osirusrisenw]

Well said Matt Colville... This is life for so many centuries....very well explained sir... Truth!

[@mcolville]

Speaking of teaching the game to kids, a classic RPGnet thread in which a bunch of Korean schoolgirls play Dip. forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?740428-In-which-5-6th-grade-Korean-girls-play-Diplomacy

[@Totlethegreat]

I legitimately thought you were describing the premise of WW1 in the intro, the same way you described the Hobbit vs LotR

[@MrImportantGuy]

I had the exact same thought.

[@hearthtv9557]

Matthew Colville where can I get squared paper for game board

[@landsknecht1525]

Matthew Colville It's pretty edgy to have kids playing Diplomacy, you would have better luck with TI3. Twilight Imperium 3rd edition is basically Diplomacy except it's fun. Same lesson, cooler teacher.

[@diggeroldmate8122]

Having worked in politics for some years, it is endlessly frustrating trying to explain this fundamental fact to people. Why would the government do x-y-z? Power. That is also why sociopaths do very well in politics. One of the most insightful things I've ever seen on YT - not just gaming- anything.

[@ellingtonkirby6702]

What a great video! Always wanted to play diplomacy. But honestly, what you said about operating in a world where we assume other actors have principles, ideologies, or beliefs that they behave according to, has really changed my perspective on things. I have started to notice many situations where the behavior of a person, or a group, makes little sense, but then realize that I am assuming they are acting according to some set of beliefs, rather than simply to gain power. DM info + interesting political science, what a combo

[@Azraelfromgamefax]

Literally ever video I watch from Matt, I come away wiser, and enriched. That's really hard to do with such consistency, so thanks Matt. hope I can pass some of it on to my friends. oh! and the thing about the two colonies reminds me of the hive in Destiny

[@danielt8919]

I had an international relations course in college where the first half of the quarter involved a very large game of Diplomacy and the second half involved writing a paper on the experience.

[@doctortequila5268]

This sounds really interesting. It also couldn't be more perfectly timed, because I recently started watching House of Cards to improve the politics of my D&D world. I'd definitely like to play Diplomacy with my friends, but I may not have any by the end of it...

[@KabukiKid]

Some of my best board gaming memories are from games of Diplomacy. I only ever played it in person, where each turn was 15 minutes of diplomacy between moves.

[@MalevolentDivinity]

Does Diplomacy have a Menzoberranzan map?

[@Awes0m3n3s5]

Caught in the Spider-Queen's web of false power

[@SteveWhipp]

I played Dip for the first time about 25 years ago. Amazing game. Thank you for bringing back wonderful memories.

[@blademonkey29]

I will always have a soft spot for these older vids. They just feel more authentic for one reason another. The new set is cool and the videos still have a lot of useful content, but I can't listen to them as often as I can these older ones.

[@TheDragonOfOshu]

Sir, you have no idea of how much your videos greatly amuse and inform me in a very positive way.

[@kickasterisk6155]

if I was a history teacher I would try to get my students to play this game, every day is a turn that is put into play by the end of the class. After a group finishes their game a small paragraph of what they learned/ how they won/ or why they lost is due. After everyone around the class has finished their game, the assigned seats will be switched making new groups play with each other. rinse and repeat, I feel like this would make for a unique classroom environment (that would be more enjoyable than the "copy the notes that I put together on this slideshow..." that I've experienced anyways)

[@mikegould6590]

To learn the political lessons taught through a game like Diplomacy, I instead played Vampire The Masquerade. The Tabletop version can be very much like D&D depending on the Storyteller, but the live action version...the LARP... THAT'S political. The number of negotiations, back room deals, maneuvers, backstabs and the like is staggering. In the LARP, you'll see first hand who can be trusted (always in the short term), who can't, who's predictable and who's playing for keeps. Alliances are transient, enemies are long term... but even life long enemies can come together to hit a foe they both hate. Knowing how to stay afloat in this mix for any length is key. You're either predator or prey, and there's no such thing as a bystander. It can be brutal. It taught me a lot, and certainly affected both my D&D gameplay and dungeon mastering. Our current game has politics. I understand already that the moves you see aren't all the moves. In the world I DM, all the countries, duchies, kingdoms and empires intend to win. Not everyone is playing based on a 3x3 alignment grid... they're playing to win. An empire made great by using a war to convince other kingdoms to swear fealty is now in decline after the fall of its emperor. What will the kingdoms do? What will the outer nations do? I don't fully know, but I know the players might affect those choices. Especially with a new and untapped land on play where natural (and some unnatural) resources are at hand. I have one player who often metagames knowing that my NPCs are not cardboard entities, and may have motivations. He'll then complain when they act while he stands paralyzed or refuses to see another world view. As in Diplomacy, The Masquerade, and our own political reality, that never works out. Be aware. Read, learn and observe. It makes for better players and DMs. If you still wish to be that bull headed Orc Barbarian, that's all well and good. Just accept that you might end up as the extension of another's arm, and not the mind behind it, especially in a political game. The game world is a living place (or should be) and doesn't exist to serve the players. Players would never feel challenged if that were the case. Thank you, Matt. It's been a hard few days and I needed your content to unwind and think about other things.

[@solsystem1342]

This is why I don't use alignment. City states going to war for their rulers and/or peoples' self intrest is much more interesting than "these people are lawful and those are chaotic." Also, it leads to really interesting enemies where you can have someone who likes the pcs and in other circumstances might be their ally works to take or destroy their noble titles/organization/etc without it feeling out of character. Of course you need some zombies for the players to kill too but I think mixing up their assumptions can be fun.

[@danieltgrissani]

You are one of the best educators I have ever heard, and I work with educators at some of the best universities from NY down to DE.

[@willjohnstone9255]

Just found this show...I have so much catching up to do!!! I'm a new D&D player and DM as my buddies weren't willing! This series is really helping, there so much to get to grips with, but we've had 2 successful sessions in LMoP. Thanks for the tips dude!

[@Guerald]

When u just get into D&D bc of these videos but now want to play Diplomacy all the time

[@felscorf456]

I got onto Web Diplomacy and am about a week into a game, except I'm learning the opposite lesson of betrayal, that is, the lesson of how important it is to trust your allies. Betrayal has a role but co-operation is a core essential.

[@LeRouxBel]

8:30 => "We're gonna fight over Belgium." Who'd want to do that ?

[@daviegourevitch]

Wow, one of the most incredible videos to date. You are definitely improving at this, seeing as there are far fewer cuts

[@jacobkozelichki4883]

I work at a summer camp and at a middle school. If you, Matt, do not beleive children know this I can introduce you to some girls who as early as 6 are starting allaiances, forcing weak kids out of groups, and claiming items, toys and snacks as their own. All of these actions are done without violence. Just getting in other kids', counselors' and parents' heads accomplishes everything. Teaching this game makes me think of a world run by competent sociopaths rather than reasoned individuals. This power is not healthy because it limits human reactions into what you can gain from them instead if realizing how you can make life better for the group. These kids make life hell for others and while the game seems fun in its complexity and depth, I genuinely care about the feelings if others and would not like to inflict that kind of exhaustive pain on others.

[@albertgore7435]

Adolescent girls are the masters of Realpolitik

[@mikeharrison6039]

@@albertgore7435 yeah I played with my fiancée future sister in law and her friends teenage girls are the worst

[@JacksonBockus]

You sound like Professor Quirrell: "There is no good and evil. There is only power, and those to weak to understand it."

[@chrisw4801]

New dm here been binge watching these running the game videos for the past few days and man these videos have helped me so much and im eager for more thank you sir for these videos

[@Raistlin_Majere]

I had to watch this one a few times to understand the nuances. The unsaid here is where the valuable information is. Good stuff Matt, thank you.