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...
Next stop, the feature box...
So you're using the same map for both version?
Yay, I'm so following this. I never heard anything of that game, but the map instantly reminded me of Darkest Hour.
i.imagebanana.com/img/furel339/DarkestHour2013081320564279.png
Damn, now I have the weirdest ideas how that might look like.
Fluttershy - United States
Pinkie Pie - German Kaiserreich
Rarity - France
Twilight - Austria-Hungary
Rainbow Dash - Russia
Applejack - Great Britain
A diplomacy crossover?
Yes. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssss.
...so Diplomacy is Risk, but forty times more complex?
Oh Jesus. This game. This freaking game. I HAVE to read this.
Are you playing out this on and the Lunaverse game simultaneously?
MUST. READ . MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love the idea! But don't you only claim supply centers at the end of fall / at the start of winter turns?
this won't end well either....
/popcorn
This is going to be awesome. Horribly, horribly awesome.
And poor Fluttershy. Although I suspect she'll either win somehow via default with the others taking each other out or she'll get sick of being pushed around and crush the others beneath her hooves.
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As a friend of mine loves to say, it's actually just about as exactly unlike Risk as you can possibly get and still have it be a board game about taking over the world...
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Yes. Yes I am. And I'm doing it all on my own, keeping track of all twelve different points of views, simultaneously. In my head. Without planning anything out before hand. If I wasn't a crazy person, this might almost be difficult!
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Close. You do only get units at the end of the Winter turns, but there are only Summer and Winter, no Spring or Fall. So they will get new pieces every other turn.
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..................
Oh, right, rules are online: "After each Fall turn, players check to see how many supply centers they control. A country controls a supply center when one of its units occupies that supply center province after a Fall turn has been played and completed... A unit that moves into a supply center during a Spring turn and moves out of it during the Fall of the same year does not affect the ownership of the supply center." But no problem using house rules.
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Hold on, let me pull out my physical copy of the rules... oh. Ah, I seem to have made a mistake. The game does use Spring and Fall, and not Summer and Winter. Well, I guess we can call the Summer-Winter thing an equestrian variant. Good call, I completely missed that.
The placing flags down a turn early, though... that's intentional. No one plays this game correctly the first time!
A few things should be fixed...the first on which is that you should probably take "Best" out of the title. It implies that Spike is not part of a group consisting of the only smegging friends he has. This is the second thing that needs changed:
I was starting to get impatient with the story because a) none of Spike's alleged friends asked if he wanted to play, and b) Diplomacy allows for seven players. Seven friends, seven players. Call me crazy, but I think it would be pretty cold and aloof to have all six of Spike's friends doing something fun without him.
3044053 This map has 6 empires.
This story is rather interesting. I need to follow this story to see just how bad things go from here on out. I wonder if Flutters goes full on Amazon warrior and makes a killing. Although I like how Rarity is playing and manipulating everypony so that she can angle for the kill when they [everypony else] tear at eachother's throats.
The linked images aren't actually any larger than the embedded ones.
On behalf of the hater alliance, I give this story the global seal of disapproval:
anothermidnightwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/seal-of-disapproval.png?w=480
Ah, Diplomacy... the game you can only play with any particular group of friends once. I will never forget the time we played this in college using week long turns. The turn when Germany screwed up who he was IMing and accidentally threatened Britain instead of Italy, leading to Britain taking half of Germany as a preventative measure was priceless.
I remember playing a game like this once... I was like Fluttershy, the quite one who just let the others do what they wanted.
I swear I even scare myself sometimes.
And after a while of being pushed around, I just... snapped.
I ended up tossing the board across the room and yelling ENOUGH!
So reading this and seeing how Fluttershy is taking things, it's like history repeating itself for me. I wouldn't be too surprise if she just has a rage quit or something...
Looking forward to seeing more. Great job!
3044816 That's odd. Is that gray country east of Hyasanguia not a playable region? The Wikipedia page clearly states that the game allows for two to seven players.
Author, I still recommend you consider omitting "Best" from the story's title or changing "Six" to "Seven". The current title implies one of the Element bearers isn't playing.
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This game does have seven playable nations. That greyed-out nation is Cavallia-Zaldia, basically the Crystal Empire. But unlike our version of Diplomacy, in the Equestrian version the seventh nation is optional. I chose to reduce the number of main countries because there are six Elements of Harmony, not seven, and I didn't want to have to mess up the balance of the game if one got left out. Seeing as I was using a completely new board to begin with (It would make no sense whatsoever to use a map of Europe) this just seemed easier.
And as for Spike not playing, I'm going to go over that in the chapter I'm writing right now. Suffice to say, Spike doesn't want to play. This already makes him smarter than the others.
3051940 That's good to hear. Some people fail to realize that there are six ponies and six Elements, but seven friends...seven best friends... *nudge, nudge*
ah hell, Twilight is pissed....
/popcorn
Rarity messed up Twilights moves on purpose. Cleaver girl
3044053 Spike is a part of it, he's the judge. The one who all turns are given to. Someone has to do it and looks like it's going to be him.
3054315 *steals popcorn*
Oh dear, now we're going to see the war-like side of Princess Twilight.
Yes, yes. It's all coming to fruition, my master plan...
Said Rarity to no one in particular.
On my side, I say Fluttershy's gonna win. Just because.
Rarity lies.
A lot.
She's a deceiver!
Oh, Twily will win. If she has to, she'll have a tardy victory...
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw973_13190430835.png
3054328 The last time someone said clever girl they got their face eaten by an angry Velociraptor.
I don't know. Pinkie could pull some sort of random upset at the end, while no one is looking.
3054328 clever
but cleaver is good
I've got $5 on Pinkie.
Color coded for your convenience.
PS: I think there where a trope named that.
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You mean here?
3061312 Hand! What are you doing hand! Take that mouse pointer away from that link! No! NO! Don't you dare klick it! I will chop you off if y- *Klick* Nooooooooooo!!!! I'll be stuck for hours! Damn you tvtropes!
For now, I'm calling AJ as the winner. She's too practical to be taken out easily, and everypony else is either too timid to do anything, too arrogant to notice they are being far too obvious and easily predictable. Hell, the only other one I'm considering is Pinkie Pie, and she's likely to try something unconventional. Which among amateurs means she's either going to get lucky, or make a huge mistake.
Applejack's element will be her demise in this game.
You win, or you die.
I don't think this is going to go well for Rarity. She's got her manipulation of other ponies working well, but I don't think she has the tactical expertise to capitalise on that before the other players start pounding on her for being so manipulative.
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The problem with Rarity is that she's being a bit too obvious about all her manipulating. Seriously, I think she gives a sly smile after every one of her negotiations. Has no one noticed?
3081240 I think ponies are very bad at lying, and equally bad at noticing when other ponies are lying. Look at Rarity's lies in "Sweet and Elite". Her facial contortions are a huge giveaway - which is necessary, because the audience needs to recognize that she's lying, and the audience includes five-year-olds - but nopony else picks up on it, except for maybe Rainbow Dash, who's usually suspicious anyway.
Pinkie. She's making naval units, is next to an air force spammer, and checked the rule book and read some of the less conventional options. Broader strategy + Naval Expansion + Air Spammer Foe + No Other Close Opposition = Steamroller!
Rainbow Dash has a knack for keeping her head in the game, but in this case, it's in a little too deep. I would wish that she pull back a little and note that her best friend isn't having any fun because of her, but what fun would it be if things stayed so diplomatic? I'm banking on Kaled's theory for now. Applejack's virtue will be her downfall, Rarity and Twilight will make enemies out of the rest, Rainbow will crusade across the map before Pinkie trumps her somehow, and Pinkie will fail comically because she's Pinkie.
Pinkie's conversation with Spike was enjoyable. How clever of him to have a spare popcorn bag handy. He should've just scribbled Pinkie's name on the fist one. Title is still bugging me, though...it hints at the one thing about the FiM fanbase (or MLP fanbase, in this case) that always takes my good mood down a fraction of a notch.
Now the lies and planning begin.
...I wonder who will punch who in the face first.
Brace yourself. Winter is coming.
damn, that was the perfect opportunity for a GOT quote.
Rainbow just lost.
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I'm waiting for Rarity to get wrecked by somebody doing something that screws up all of Dash's pre-written turns, which would screw up all Rarity's notes on Dash's pre-written turns.