Games Ponies Shouldn't Play

by DagaYemar

Appendix A

While the story is over, there was one part of its creation that I wanted to share. Between my two stories I had twelve separate players I needed to balance, and to help myself not go crazy I gave each pony a different play-style to use in the game. Here is the list of styles used in this story:

Cheerilee was playing as The Chess Master. The Chess Master is the stereotypical Diplomacy player most people think about when you talk about Diplomacy. This player prefers to sit in the shadows, offering deals and opportunities to whomever is unwise enough to listen. By forging alliances and secret plans, the Chess Master can maneuver their own allies into compromising positions, often while making the wounded party think it was their own idea. A cunning strategist, the Chess Master starts the game with a plan and does everything in their power to stick to it.

Trixie Lulamoon was playing as The Obvious Chess Master. The Obvious Chess Master is similar to the Chess Master in all but one way, they aren't very good at hiding it. Anyone who's played with a manipulative player before will know that this person has many sneaky tricks up their sleeve, and a good player can use this to their advantage. Surrendering the benefit of secrecy, this player makes overt attempts to control other players... and usually gets them to do what they want anyway. Want another player to head south? The Obvious Chess Master will make a big show of trying to trick them north, and act all "disappointed" when their opponent goes south instead. Extremely hard to pull off effectively for an entire game, but if a situation isn't going in your favor, a quick dip into reverse-psychology turns it around more often than not!

Carrot Top was playing as The Brilliant Recluse. The Brilliant Recluse does all the right moves at exactly the right times, and doesn't need to use diplomacy at all to do so. Probably the hardest play style to use, this player uses nothing but the information provided by the board to accomplish their goals. After all, you can learn every possible move the other players are going to make if you study their previous moves. The cost is surrendered all political power, but sometimes this player can gain a reputation for knowing exactly how to solve any problem. Other players often bargain with the Brilliant Recluse for answers to the many issues.

Ditzy Doo was playing as Everyone's Friend. Everyone's Friend doesn't want to get on anyone's bad side, often joining in with whatever play is offered them and can be trusted to follow through with it. Need an ally to take down a stronger player? Everyone's Friend is there for you. Want someone to see what the quiet player is keeping from everyone else? Everyone's Friend is up to the task. Getting a coalition together to further some purpose? Everyone's friend is in, no matter what you're doing. This player is so helpful that almost no other player wants to take them down, often no matter how powerful this player becomes.

Lyra Heartstrings was playing as The Juggler. The Juggler does whatever is best for the immediate future, trusting that enough good moves in the short term will equal a strong victory in the long term. Often this player will have three or four entirely separate plans going at the same time, each one never planned more than two moves ahead and perfectly capable of being abandoned at a moment's notice. The juggler rolls with the punches and the unexpected twists this game can create and it is often extremely hard to judge what they're going to do next. This makes them the single best bluffers in the whole game; not even they know what's going to happen. After all, how do you counter a plan that doesn't exist?

Raindrops was playing as The Sleeping Giant. The Sleeping Giant is a slow player, taking their time while the other players scramble around with their little plans. Usually played by one of the nations in a corner, this player relies on the implied threat that no one else wants them to become an active player. No one is willing to be the first to try and take something from this player, because every piece that this player has is waiting to crush the first person who tries. The Sleeping Giant often gets to do whatever they want, and it usually takes quite a few turns before even the bravest of players tries to tell them otherwise.

And these aren't all the different possible players there could be. Check out my other story to see a list of six more!

Comments

[ShadowLDrago]

Raindrops reminds me of Regigigas's Slow Start, starts off weak, but when active, is a very real threat.

[DagaYemar]

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Depends on how young Twilight was when they played, but good point. I've been writing this and the other one back to back for days, and Twilight being in both got me a little confused. I probably should up the ante her mom offered. Any suggestions?

[wolfstorm56]

Seems like RDs didn't quite do her style so well. Or perhaps I'm remembering wrong.

[RanmaChaos]

This has been a very enjoyable story and I like the way it ended. Well done.

[Emeral Bookwise]

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Actually, I like that Twilight's mom only used cookies as a bribe. If she brought her wealth as a vicereine into play it would pretty much just become a two-way game between her and Nightlight to see who could spoil their kids the most rotten. Seeing as neither Twilight nor Shining seem all that spoiled, I like to think the family rules were to keep everything in the game strictly FAMILY.

That is to say, cookies are fine because Velvet can bake them herself, but securing a full autographed collection of Daring Do novels would not be "fair" play. Plus I think the cookies, adds a better sense of the innocent whimsy that the idea of her playing as a small child and easily swayed by transient things, as opposed to more overt bribery of material possessions.

---

Anyway, I really like how this played out in the end, even if it was ultimately shorter than I expected. It makes sense that as the Element of Loyalty, Lyra would be the player to most get frustrated with all the backstabbing sneakery that was dividing them throughout the game. Conversely though, I can sort of see how it fits for Carrot Top to take the opposite stance and see how having all the map visible at all times forces the players to learn cooperation, to-give-and-take even in the pursuit of only their own goals.

Speaking of Carrot Top, of the six playstyles presented here, hers is probably most how I'd end up. Much as I might like to try being the chessmaster, I'd probably only ever succeed at being the all too obvious kind and probably couldn't pull off enough switching between reverse and counter-reverse psychology to make it work -- I'm just not very good at actually reading people all that well.

[Grendel_Town]

That was a cute way of ending this. Gotta say I've only played diplomacy once and everyone had an awful time. Now have them give a go at Twilight Imperium.

[swicked]

Great job! I gotta wonder, though, if Raindrops was the "sleeping giant"... how did she get so many troops in the first place? Seemed like she spent most of the game not moving and complaining about it.

[BrokenEagle98]

After having read the sister story to this, I can say that this was definitely the better story. There was intrigue, there was deceit, there was political maneuvering, but overall the interaction between the players was more mature, more fun, and a lot less emotional armageddon and taking things personally. Plus, seeing Trixie ham it up with her "betrayal" outburst was an enjoyable moment, heightened by her perpetual "butt-monkey" status throughout the series. Contrast that with Twilight's utter deviousness, cheating, and blatantly attacking all of her friends weak points, with little to no comeuppance for her at the end, left me with the negative feeling that the villain had won the day. Comparatively, the ending for this story was truly thoughtful and heroic, with Ditzy sacrificing her own pride and chance at winning to end the game quickly. All of her friends were able to realize and appreciate that act, bringing them all back together again in harmony.

[PaulAsaran]

You can has review!

[Shadow Star]

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other games Not to play with Friends (least they stop being your friends)

Risk (or varients thereof)
Settlers of Catan
Monoply