Not much happening on the painting or gaming front of late. I'm not completely isolated form the hobby though; I'm having a lot of fun playing in the Mad Padre's Diplomacy by email game. Read the latest issue of the Daily Dissembler for an up-to-date reportage on the situation.
I won't say too much about it, other than keep your eyes on Italy!
Awesome! Loved playing PBEM Diplomacy :)
ReplyDeleteI'm keeping an eye on the campaign. Many years ago, I was involved in a game at work which used to run in lunchtime sessions. Eventually it sort of took over - much of the day was taken up having secret meetings and striking deals - one of the players irritated a number of the others by his general manner, so they ganged up on him and put him out of the game. A lot of acrimony - we were officially banned from playing again. It was scary the level of involvement we got to and - sadly - how unpleasant it got. We should have had an umpire - we could all have ganged up on him.
ReplyDeleteDip can be a terrible destroyer of relationships because it is the archetypal zero-sum game. There is only one path to victory and it leads over the bleeding bodies of those you have previously allied yourself with. Fun if you are an Italian renaissance condottiere, not so much fun if the fellow driving the knife not your back is that bastard Tom from Accounting, or your cousin. I hope I have mitigated things somewhat by running the game blind, so players can't easily determine who the others are, though I see here that Ben isn't playing his cards too closely to his vest. ;)
ReplyDeleteThe Dissembler is compulsory reading - excellent. The famous game-at-work I recalled was famous for a dreadful moment when the (hated) Russian player announced smugly that he was evacuating his doomed army from Greece (to Tunisia, I think). How will you get there? he was asked - I have agreed with France that his fleet will transport me, announced the Russian. Oh no you haven't, said France. Russia stomped out of the room, and went to wash his coffee mug in silent fury.
DeleteThat was the beginning of the end...