How to bond with Yale 2011 early admits, or, Diplomacy: backstabbing and deception!

12 Feb

Posted by Sam Jackson as Esoterotica, Yale, odd & fun

I’ve been playing a game of Diplomacy by e-mail with a group of Yale 2011 admits, and it’s been pretty fun–thanks to Matt Kremer for organizing it! We were drafted and organized initially through the Facebook 2011 group, which as I’ve said before, has been quite the valuable tool. Now, whether such games are the best to play with strangers is still a point of some contention, as I may never again trust my former ally in the game after he mercilessly backstabbed me in the black sea in Fall 1903. Robert Tunney, I won’t forget! But I might forgive. We’ll see.

This Diplomacy game ties in perfectly with a story I snipped from the Yale Daily News a few weeks ago about a campus Risk game between the residential colleges on Old Campus, which sounded intensely awesome. I love to hear about stories like ‘real-life large scale campus simulation of Risk!’ but I’m especially happy to hear about such outpourings of cool creativity when it’s at my future school!

Students hazard all in campus Risk game
YDN: Zachary Abrahamson, January 23, 2007

Durfee never saw it coming. Under cover of darkness Sunday night, Saybrugian and Piersonite forces stole out of L-Dub and mounted a frontal assault on Post Office territory, overwhelming the unsuspecting Morsel defenders. Across Old Campus, Davenport College turned on Ezra Stiles, and the combined forces of Berkeley and Branford seized South High Street from Saybrook and Pierson.

Is this a scenario from “Studies in Grand Strategy?” Not quite. The clash of collegiate forces Sunday night marked the beginning of Old Campus Tree Risk. In the uniquely Eli adaptation of the classic board game, every tree on Old Campus is a potential territory to conquer. The YaleStation-based game allows any Yale student to place and command armies in territories controlled by his or her residential college.

Quirky but extremely fun? Sounds like it. Hopefully the game will have evolved into something even cooler by the time I arrive, if it’s still around. I’ve always dreamt of such a large-scale game, though I suppose my idea was never quite as novel as I might have imagined. All the same… very neat.

One Response

Robert Tunney

March 4th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
1

Mercy! I prostrate myself before you and beg for forgiveness! Well, not before I take Smyrna, but still…

I do think that Dip has been a great way for pre-frosh to meet each other. I’m going to gm the next game and Matt will play, if you’re still interested!

~Robert

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