Mentor Game 13-Jul-2015 (Game Started)

[Radical Pumpkin]

Mentor games are for beginners to play together and learn the basics of Diplomacy and how the website interface works with an experienced player available to answer questions. Any player that thinks they might benefit from a teaching game is welcome:

• Looking to play your first game?
• Have played before, but it was some time ago and feel rusty?
• New to PlayDip and want to get used to the interface?
• Been on site for awhile and would like some pointers?

All are welcome. I ask only that you commit to seeing the game through to completion, because leaving a game partway through disrupts the experience for all of the remaining players. Should unforeseen life circumstances mean you need to quit, please let me know so that I can line up a replacement. If you are interested in playing, either reply in this thread or use the site PM system to contact Radical Pumpkin. This game is slated to begin on July 13, but we will start before then if we get a full roster. If you sign up this week but do not get a spot, you will be given priority in next week's mentor game.

Note that this will be a somewhat slower game than typical for the site, with 2-day deadlines for major movement turns and 1-day deadlines for minor retreat and build turns. The moderately longish deadlines are deliberate, so that everyone has an opportunity to learn as they go. I'll be giving you lots of material to read through if you're so inclined, so you won't lack for stuff to do! But if you're looking for a fast-paced game, this game probably won't be your speed. You can also expect the game to go on for about 2 months if you do well, so be prepared for that.

Information on our current mentor game below:

Game No.: 105075
Game Name: The Art of the Knife VIII
Deadlines: 2/1/1 (movement/retreats/builds, in days)
Other game settings: Draws Include All Survivors, Open Ballot, First turn NMR protection, Random country assignment
Status: Game Started

Participants:
scasplte2
GoRunGetToTheChopper
justy
Buggy99
StavrosK
kilroy2626
Redcloak

Priority Players:
Jarvis25
Nkululeko4

New Signups (next week's priority list):
shaigan
nerdOfCaO

Standby Veteran Players:
dwiltseredu
ferdy0
Gavrilo Princip
rd45
Ceasars Geezers
smstelzel
fidelis
I Love Italy
nanooktheeskimo
Antigonos
kwc
gooderian
jakofipa
revkev12
xavier77
Lukan
glacialice
Kra
Pb10gon
BigSpoon19
Cardlinger

Priority Players are users that were on the New Signups list for last week's game and did not have a chance to play. They (along with the enough players from this week's New Signups list to fill the board) will get a 2-day priority window to join this game before the password is be sent out to all New Signups.

Veteran players fill open spots from surrenders in our games. If you are a vet and interested in helping the teaching effort, please let us know and we will add you to the veteran standby list. Mentors do not play in their own game. They are included on the list to keep the rotation current. If their name comes up in a game they are mentoring, they will be skipped.

[justy]

Hi,

I would like to join the game, if possible. I've played few games on this site years back, but I would still appreaciate the mentoring.

[GoRunGetToTheChopper]

Id be interesting in playing

[Radical Pumpkin]

I've added justy and GoRunGetToTheChopper to the signups list. Look for a PM in your inbox in a few days.

[Buggy99]

Can I join again? I feel I need more mentoring..

[StavrosK]

I would also like to join, this looks interesting. Does anyone know how long playing the game takes per turn, on average? What sort of time commitment per turn do we need to make?

[Ericpiplup]

Hi, I would like to join your mentoring game, because I have never played Diplomacy before.

Please give my spot to a priority person if one shows up.

[Radical Pumpkin]

I've added Buggy99, StavrosK and Ericpiplup to the list.

To answer people's questions:

• Yes, it's fine to join even if you've played a mentor game before.
  
• Time per turn is very variable. If all you're trying to do is enter valid and reasonable moves, not much at all. But of course the game is called Diplomacy, and communication is at the center of it. I like to suggest a guideline of 2 multi-paragraph messages per turn to neighbors and one to non-neighbors, although that's very rough. (Strong play in a chatty group could require much more. A lot of players on the site definitely send far, far less.) Everyone is welcome to join as long as they're not planning to abandon the game, but to get the most out of it you'll want to spend something like a half hour on it each day, probably.
  
• We have fewer Priority Players left over from last week than slots, so everyone who signs up this week will be on equal footing. I usually just send out the game info to all signups at once; whoever gets in first gets the spot, and the others are on the following week's priority list. (Experience suggests that this works better than trying to go down a queue by the order in which people signed up.)

[Radical Pumpkin]

For anyone signing up in this thread, you may also want to check out the Mentors Game Demo thread. In a nutshell, a bunch of the people who run Mentor Games (including me) are playing together, and we're inviting interested past and current mentees to follow along as we play. Exactly what that will mean may get sorted out as we go, but basically I'd envision commenting on the game and fielding questions from a closed group of players. If you're interested, either send me a Private Message or sign up in that thread.

[Ericpiplup]

Wait sorry I have a summer camp in early August for Boy Scouts... If this will ruin the game for other then I would like to be taken off the list for sign ups. Thanks and sorry for the inconvenience.