Sunset never backs down from a gaming challenge, but when she finally faces a boss she can't beat, frustration is getting the better of her. On the verge of giving up for the first time ever, her friends show up to see if they can help, but will they be enough or will this be the first boss she's had to accept defeat from?

This story is a sequel to Six Best Friends Play Diplomacy

There is nothing more relaxing than spending a quiet evening with your friends playing a fun game. Or at least it should be, if you're smart enough to pick the right game! After a disastrous first try, the mane 6 are determined to give game night another go. And this time, they are going to remember that it is just a game and focus on just having fun.

But that's boring. So let's see what it's like from the game's point of view!

This is a sequel to Six Best Friends Play Diplomacy, but you do not need to read that story to enjoy this one. It only really comes up in the first chapter.

While doing some cleaning in the library's basement, Twilight comes across an old, long forgotten board game. Deciding that it looks like fun, she invites her friends over for the night to give it a try. Unfortunately, this particular game might prove to be more of a challenge to the Elements of Harmony than anything they've faced before. For you see, in Diplomacy, the number one rule is: Never play this game with friends, or you may need to find new friends...

This has a sister-story named Games Ponies Shouldn't Play, which features the Lunaverse six instead. It isn't going to be the same story with swapped names; each group has different personalities so both games will be very different. I just couldn't decide which group of six would be more interesting, so I wrote both. I must hate free time...

And featured 1/29/15.... ten minutes after I updated with a new chapter....... Why don't I update this story very often again? Gonna have to fix that...

While cleaning out her basement, Cheerilee comes across a long forgotten board game. Deciding to give it a shot, she invites her friends over for a night of fun. Unfortunately, she's unaware of the reputation this game has gained. For you see, in Diplomacy, the number one rule is: Never play this game with friends, or you may need to find new friends...

Takes place in the Lunaverse, season 2, during the Winter arc. There really do need to be an option for six tags, but until then, an additional tag for Cheerilee.

This has a sister-story named Six Best Friends Play Diplomacy, which features the Mane six instead. It isn't going to be the same story with swapped names; each group has different personalities so both games will be very different. I just couldn't decide which group of six would be more interesting, so I wrote both. I must hate free time...

Oh My God, my first story to get featured! Thank you, everyone! 7/27/14

It's been a couple of weeks and way more than a couple of games since Pinkie Pie introduced the Mane Six to the joys of playing the classic real-time strategy title, Age of Empires II. Unanswered questions surround this mysterious game: where did it come from? Who made it? Why is there so much killing?

Never mind all that - Twilight Sparkle and her friends have a game to play!

NOTE: Though I've tried to make the story more about the relationships between the four gamers (no Rarity or Fluttershy, sorry!) than about the game itself, some rudimentary knowledge about Age of Empires II is required if you want to understand what is going on. I wrote this as a short-ish story so I'm not really going to go into technical details much.

=====INFO AFTER BREAK=====
References consulted while writing story:
ZeroEmpires (Commentary on Competitive AoE II matches)
wikiHow (5 Ways to Make Your Economy Boom in Age of Empires II)
Wikipedia (for info on Byzantines, Moon & Vikings)
Luttwak, E. "The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire" (Harvard University Press, USA), 2009 (Byzantine military strategy)

Youtube links:
Prologue - PakAttack95 (Youtube Channel)
Main Menu and Victory Music - mikec1000 Civilization Themes

Cover Image:
Wikipedia
Age of Empires II
Cutie Mark Vectors by Hawk9mm (deviantART page)

Anon was a fan of tabletop gaming back on earth, a big fan.

After finally convincing his friends to take part, he runs a simple one-shot for them.

There will be spells, treasures, battle, and of course ponies.

Roll for initiative!

When Sunset Shimmer tells the gang that she doesn't know what Twister is, they're horrified, and they decide to do something about it. Will Sunset be able to defeat AJ, Rainbow, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie the Human Pretzel in order to secure a victory? (Just a little bit of fluff, rated Teen for minor swearing)

Shimmer Code!

The number one channel for Let's Plays, game chat, and more!

This episode's special guest... Starlight Glimmer and Trixie!

The Great And Powerful Trixie!

Tracking On The Popular List 8/5/19

What more can be said? In today's episode, Sunset Shimmer plays one of the biggest games of 2017, Cuphead! And it goes about as well as anyone would think.

With their band having been gaining more popularity each of the girls have been trying to branch out into social media more. Rainbow Dash has her sports and stunts videos, Rarity had her fashion channel and Sci-Twi had her tech channel and so Sunset Shimmer decided to start a gaming channel!

Embark on a series of one shots where Sunset plays various different games for various different reasons and has many different reactions. She will even bring in guest stars!

(Leave suggestions for who you want to see show up)