We used the new diplomatic kit in our game last weekend.  China (Gabe) started by seizing my (Russia) company in N. Manchuria and a US (Em) company in Canton.  We protested.  We threatened.  We begged.  Nothing.  China’s response?  – “meh”.

It was the first turn of the game.  I wasn’t looking to get into a major war with China right off the bat.  It would take a turn or 2 before the US could get over here.  What else could we do?  We Denounced China!  :0

I wrote up a formal Denouncement of Chinese aggression.  I demanded the return of both my company and the US company, along with payment of $2TL in damages/reparations.  I handed it to the US.  Em immediately signed it.  I then handed it to Gabe.

He was shocked, dismayed.  He immediately offer us everything we asked for and profusely apologized.  Em wasn’t having anything of it.  Smelling blood in the water she responded, “Well you should have offered us that when we asked for it last time.  Now it’s going to cost you more!”  -She’s a tough negotiator!  Gabe pleaded and begged.  Even offered her twice the money but to no avail.

What changed?  What does a Denouncement do?  Absolutely nothing.  It has no game effect.  It is just a formal document in writing of the same thing we already did verbally:  demand our companies back, or else!

Em and I were shocked.  She smiled and winked at me.  I guess it’s the power of the written word.  Who knew?

I think the Diplomatic Kit can be a great tool for new players.  Often times, new players aren’t sure what to do.  They don’t know what they can do!  They aren’t sure how to jump into the negotiations.  What to ask for?

The Diplomatic Kit gives them options.  You don’t like what just happened?  You can declare war.  You can make a formal denouncement and get other players to sign on.  You can write up a formal alliance against a threat.  Can’t you do all these things without the Kit?  Yes but in the moment it’s easy to forget about what you can do.

I’d really like to see these worked into our online game.  It’s a great tool for communication.  They prompt  you with a list of options.  Options besides just nuking everybody!  As fun as that can be sometimes.

Lots of people are excited about the new Field Marshal program.  We have a number of you out there demoing the game already.  I thought it would help to put together a little list of tips to help things go smoother.

Remember, Game Conventions aren’t the only place to demo.  We’ve had very good results with school history clubs and the public library.

• Smile! Try to look approachable and friendly. I know, that’s harder for some of you. =)
• Think about how you can get the most traffic. When and where do you set up?
• This game is highly visible! It jumps out at you from across the convention hall. Make sure the view is not blocked: set the board up where people can see it from a distance.
• The poster works well if you can find a place to put it up by the door or in the vicinity of the game.
• Make sure you play test this a few times and read the rules. You need to be smooth on this with others to make it look easy. If you are confused on them, feel free to email me. I’ll be glad to help clear things up. Just make sure you don’t wait until 2 hours before you are supposed to play to email me! Ask me if the rules seem a little strange too. Often times this is an indication that you are misunderstanding them and playing it wrong.
• Don’t beat up on the new kids! People like games better if they win or do well the first time. Let them win!
• Your main focus should be teaching. You aren’t there to sell. You aren’t there to beat everybody. Be a friendly teacher.
• Try to make sure everybody has fun. That’s what games are about right?
• Invite people to join in and try a turn. Oftentimes people like to watch but are reluctant to dive in. Ask them if they can help you play test part of a turn. It’s ok if they jump in and then out for awhile. They could take over your country for awhile.
• Get cash into their hands! People love to hold trillion dollar bills. Then they want to spend it!
• I wouldn’t show them the rule book unless they ask. Instead, show them the Quick Start Rules. Don’t read it to them or explain everything in there. It’s just there for reference.
• You don’t want to play everything for them. Try to let them make decisions too. You also don’t want to just throw them to the wolves with no guidance. There is a balance here. Example: “It’s your turn to trade. It looks like you are going to need oil. How much would you like to buy? It costs $500 BL each. Ok, you want 3. Let me show you how to do that.”
• Often new players want to just sit there, pass and watch. Remind them that it’s ok to make mistakes, it’s just a practice game and that you’ll help them avoid big mistakes. It’s best to learn by just jumping in and getting your hands dirty.
• It is best to get them involved in a battle somewhere right away. The combat is very exciting and tense. Remember you are a strategy advisor also. They will need lots of help with strategies during combat. Try to give them several good options to choose from. Ask them what their goal is? What are they trying to take? If they want to do a disastrous move, try to gently suggest a better way of going about it and why.
• Do you have any cards? Where can I get this game? You know what works best for this? $1 TL bills. Write Command Post Games on the back of one and hand it to them. Our site is easy to find. Need more money? Let me know. I’ll send you some. No big deal.
• Of course you do the basic things like grooming, appearance, personal hygiene, etc. but think about your breath! If you ingest anything sweet, your breath instantly becomes bad. I like to keep a good breath freshening gum handy.
• Finally, I hope this list doesn’t make demoing seem too hard. Relax. Have fun. Don’t worry if you forget something or mess up a little. We are all human. You can do it!!   =)

I got an email today from an old fan.  He was excited about the prospects of a new Supremacy but hesitant about the rules.  “What have you done to our beloved game?!”

Rest assured.  Our favorite game is in good hands.  We do understand your concerns.  Most of the time, I am disappointed with rules.  Usually, they are poorly written.  Confusing.  Boring.  Overly verbose.  Overly complicated.  I was shocked to read a rule book from a Civil War game yesterday.  They rambled on for 9 full pages just on combat!  These were full 8 1/2 x 11 pages, in fine print, in 3 columns with no graphics, and it didn’t include the 2 pages of combat charts.  All of that, just to explain to players how to attack.  Can most people even remember all of that?  I could if I really wanted to, but why?  Is all my time and work rewarded sufficiently with fun?  No.  In fact it hurts the game.  I’d rather just roll a few dice, get a result and then move on with the game.

How long are the combat rules for Supremacy 2020?  Let’s see.  I’m counting 1 page for ground combat.  That’s big print.  That space includes several minor graphics, tables and examples.  Oh, and our pages are little half pages in a small booklet.  (legal sized paper folded in half)  Easy.

Ok, so it’s simple, short and elegant but what are they like?  How do they affect game play?  How are the new rules different?  What impact do they have on the game?  Great questions.  Here are the major differences:

Differences in Play

1. The market works like you would expect.  During times of war prices rise.  After the war prices crash.  In the old game, the first and maybe second players to trade made out really well.  Everyone else was priced out.  Now, everyone can trade every turn.  Big profits are still possible.  Don’t have enough of a critical resource?  You can always buy from the market.  It just might be expensive at times.  Still, it can get you through a turn or two in a pinch.
2. Lots more combat.  A turn of build up followed by a turn of combat in the old game was often all it took to bankrupt a player.  No longer.  Conventional fighting is much cheaper.  You can continue to build up, fight, and move on multiple fronts from turn to turn while still trading and making money.  The fighting is fun, dynamic and fast moving.  Blitzing campaigns half way across a continent and back are possible in 1 turn, if you have the troops,  supplies and the will.
3. Aggression.  Often times the best strategy in the old game was to sit and do nothing.  Just slowly build cash while the other players weakened themselves.  What fun is a game if the best way to win is just sit there?  Now, combat is cheaper.  It is easier to make worthwhile progress fighting.  Combat actually favors the attacker.  We have also made several adjustments to the victory point system.  This greatly rewards aggressive players.  Sitting around watching is now the surest way to lose Supremacy.  To win, you must control more companies.  The best way to do this is to build up, go take them, and then keep them.
4. The new victory system favors the bold.  It also balances the use of nuclear force.  In the old game, often you would get 1 player that would just get bored (or mad) and decide to destroy the world.  Result?  Everyone loses.  There is some merit to this.  That is the ‘real world’ result:  everyone loses.  You can easily still play this way if you prefer.  The new victory system solves a lot of old problems.  There is a built in point penalty now to launching a bunch of nukes.  More often than not, destroying the world will cause you to lose by points.  Just because you get nuked out, doesn’t mean you lose.  You can still win by points later.  Everybody has a score.  Everybody is ranked.   It’s not 1 player wins, everybody else is a loser.
5. Speed.  The new game plays much faster now.  Many games end on turn 3.  Usually they are finished by turn 4-5.  You can actually play a interesting game to conclusion in 2-4 hours.  The old game often took several turns of boredom while everybody just built up and decided what to do.  Now, conflict and tough decisions start right away with turn 1!  It develops quicker, resolves quicker.  Buckle your seat belts because this game is intense all the way through.