At first glance, your position on the southeastern corner of the board does not look promising. Every other power is guaranteed to get to at least 5 by the end of the year except you. In no press this puts you at a distinct disadvantage as the weaker powers generally get weaker as time goes on. For that reason you must be on the defensive from the start. Of course, there is no way to defend against a two pronged C/B attack, but discouraging one of them from crashing your hedgehog party may allow you to move ahead with prosperity. The Map:The map tells you that you should expect to get URU and maybe MAL and rarely PRG but no more. The map also tells you that the other powers will gain two or more in the fall. Chile is guaranteed JUA and ARE and can possibly gain LIM as well. Colombia is guaranteed ECU and MRC and may get CRC. Brazil is guaranteed GUY and is likely to get LAP and PRG unless both you and Chile are hell bent on stopping him. Its certainly no fun to be the low man on the totem pole right from the start, but its better to know your board position so you can prepare.
 Board Dynamics:This four player variant offers some interesting dynamics, especially in the early years of the game. If two players attack a third power, the fourth, uninvolved power will start to gain undeterred. With that said, all those two, cooperating powers need to do is build a temporary stalemate line that would allow the assault to continue while slowing the growth of that fourth power striving ahead. There are only 2 problems with this assumption. First, building a stalemate line in no press can be tricky, especially if people are not thoroughly familiar with the board. Second, thanks to ROR, a stalemate line in the northeastern portion of the continent is practically impossible (Thanks Erlend!). Realize that once a power gets moving it can be slowed but rarely stopped without devoting most if not all of your forces for defense. This is what makes the map so great. Your ally, is your friend, is your enemy, is your friend… depending on the season. I’m convinced 4 unvengeful, intelligent, experienced players can play this map forever without a victor. Your Friends and Enemies:On the opening you have to decide which of the neighbors you plan on attacking long term. You certainly cannot attack both and remaining at 5 for years certainly doesn’t help your chances at survival. My suggestion is to prepare to attack the one who is most likely to attack you, Brazil, but keep in mind that a Chilean unit in pampas is deadly and must be protected against. Brazil is likely to move RDJ – SWA, and more often than not, BRA – PRG. Right from the start he borders one of your home centers and has the ability to create nightmares by heading into COA. Chile has similar destructive options; let’s take a look at Chile’s logical opening options:
SAN has the most options. If Chile doesn’t want to fight a war with Brazil, but wants to protect itself from a blitzkreiging Brazilian army from LAP, he will order to ANT. If Chile wants to have his own shot at LAP in and is moving ANT – LAP; GRC is the logical choice. If Chile wants no war with Brazil, and wants to see if he can make quick gains in Argentina the order to PAM is the preference. Only a short glance at the map displays how important Pampas is to Argentinean defense. That one army in Pampas has access to ALL 3 Argentinean home centers. Not a pleasant situation, and one to be avoided at all costs. Therefore, any self-respecting Argentinean must protect from that tiny, yet deadly stab. They must at least move one unit to PAM to stop any potential of a quick demise. Chile will certainly understand how an enemy army in PAM is much less destructive and will likely assume it was a mere protective measure and not a call for war. If Argentina wished for war, the obvious moves to GRC and PAT would be more inciting. Once you have protected against an early Chilean stab, and made your intentions clear by attacking Brazil, you will be amazed at how fast Chile decides to head north instead of east, even with an Argentinean army in PAM. An Opening to Feel Safe and ProgressiveThere are a few rules of No Press Diplomacy to live by, one of which is to “look stronger than you actually are.” It is far more important to have no weaknesses than to be very strong in certain areas and by weak in others. With press one can overcome weaknesses and take advantage of strengths with alliances and tactical discussion. However, No Press Diplomacy doesn’t allow any such methods of disguising your intentions. For that reason, the goal is to survive long term and to make as few enemies as possible. My suggested opening for long-term survival is:
You will likely bounce Brazil in PRG and hopefully you will achieve a bounce in PAM. If you bounce in PAM you can assume that Chile was considering hostile intentions towards you or even expected you to think he had hostile intentions and wants you in PAM as little as you want him there. As fall approaches he will likely find the Brazilian Army in LAP too much for his stomach and instead of continuing his assault on PAM will likely defend ANT. With that in mind and assuming Brazilian units in BRA and SWA, your next move should be the following:
With these moves you satisfy 3 conditions:
My suggested opening is a conservative one, but it does allow for both safety and the potential for a prosperous opening. As the underdog from the start, you will soon find yourself in a pleasant defensive position that no one wishes to mess with.
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Steve Janecek ([email protected]) If you wish to e-mail feedback on this article to the author, click on the letter above. |
