Backstabbing at its Best

This year, the Diplomacy Tournament was the best two of three rounds with a scoring by C-Diplo. In C-Diplo, all players are ranked based on finish at the end of the game, with the first three ranks earning bonus points. Every year, we kick off Diplomacy with a Friday afternoon Demo and a free game giveaway to our best newcomer, Jeff Hayman.

The first round had three boards. On Board One, Russia was dogpiled by his surrounding neighbors. The vacuum from the focus on France and Germany to the East allowed Andrew Sherwood's France to establish a solid position, which resulted in a nine center board top and nearly half the available points on the board. On Board Two, Jef Halberstadt's France saw similar success with the focus of a Western Triple providing ample room to grow. Once again, Russia was attacked from the outset and was dropped to just a single center by game's end. On board Three, a strong alliance was formed between Ryan Feather's England and Keith Boone's Turkey, which also saw Russia pummeled from the outset. Despite the best efforts of Ken Samuel's France, the alliance won the day with each ally finishing with nine centers in a tied board top. The first round was not kind to Russia, with the best player finishing with a single center.

The second round featured a mix of experienced players and newcomers, with a fascinating finish. Andrew Sherwood, who topped his board the night before, drew Russia and was likewise punished by the board. There seemed to be some anti-Russia sentiment this year. Longtime veteran of the tournament Paul Konka jumped out to an early lead and maintained his position with help of ally Cary Morris. Meanwhile, Jeff Hayman's Italy and Ken Samuel's Turkey fought over control of the Med after a back-and-forth with Kevin Youell's Austria. With time running out for the Round, Cary Morris had an opportunity to stab his German ally, but declined on the last turn of the game, which allowed Paul to board top at 9 as Germany. The game-long alliance was maintained, to the dismay of some other players at the board. A good lesson for Diplomacy players on boards consisting of experience and new players: don't just rush to attack the inexperienced players, because they can become strong allies. Not everyone is looking for a board top -- perhaps a strong finish is their target.

In Round Three, the tournament championship was wide open with a multiple 9-center board tops and multiple ties for board top. On Board One, England-Italy-Turkey formed an unlikely alliance of convenience between Cary Morris, Kevin Youells, and Jeff Hayman. Two of the players had never played in a tournament before, and were excited to earn a strong finish. They teamed up to take down tournament veterans Evan Walter (Austria) and Ron Fisher (Germany). In the game, Meng Ong -- the master, valiantly held out for five years as France despite being attacked on three sides. The game finished with a three-way board top at -- you guessed it -- nine centers. On Board Two, Andrew Sherwood was pressing hard. He had topped his board in Round One, but was taken to a single center in Round Two. He played brilliantly in Round Three, vacillating between multiple allies on the board and priming for a big stab near the end of the round. He found his opening in 1905, pushing ahead of Italy and knocking down Russia to top the board at eight centers. The board top helped guaranteed his position.

Andrew Sherwood has played in the Diplomacy tournament since he was a young teenager, and he has progressively improved over the years, picking up multiple best country awards along the way. With two board tops in three rounds, he is a worth Diplomacy Champion to join the ranks of past champs before him. Paul Konka finished 2nd place even though he was only able to compete in two of the three rounds, and newcomer Cary Morris earned 3rd place despite this being his first ever tournament. Thanks to all our players, and a special thanks to David Rynkowski for once again bringing in breakfast for the 2nd round. The event had a great mix of new and experienced players, with the newcomers holding their own and taking home some prizes.

• Best Austria -- David Rynkowski
• Best England -- Andrew Sherwood
• Best France -- Jef Halberstadt
• Best Germany -- Paul Konka
• Best Italy -- Kevin Youells
• Best Russia -- Jeff Ridenour
• Best Turkey -- Andrew Sherwood