Gunboats are just games without any communication. The little bullets you're seeing might just be the icon for a destroyed unit. Although, I like the idea of bombs and treasures.

What's the purpose of the game? When you play, do you see all the other players and their colors? Or is everyone invisible?

How does one attack another? Destroy the other team? Win? Any instructions? Thanks!

Gunboats are the same as normal games, only there are no messages. Fog of War is when most of the map is invisible.

The better gunboat players understand that moves and supports are communication more than anything else, including press.

I'm thinking he's calling supply centers dots?

"troll"

she...

Seriously? You're calling me a troll? Thanks for the warm welcome.

Okay, so I get now that Gunboat is a method of playing, not ugly brown grids with invisible players. I would love to ask about the stupid ugly brown grid game, but then I'll get chewed out because it's anonymous, so I give up and quit.

ugly brown grid game? Do you mean Fog of War? It's just classic, but you're only able to see what your own units can see.

I think he means Rat Wars(the only grid game I can think about)...

River, there is a description of each variant if you click on the variants tab. It also helps if you let us know which variant you are asking about.

Last time I mentioned the game, I got reprimanded for talking about it since it is anonymous.

I meant that you should let us know the variant, not a specific game in progress.

you are a fucking troll, no matter how you rationalize it ... good riddance

Why the hate? He's only seeking information on how to play the game

he's not, that's why

How would you know whether or not he knows how to play?

Unless he's trolling me via PM as well, he's not trolling

she's already in other games ... he knowa what the "dots are", I can see him playing ... he is dredging up troll territory here

She* my bad. Assumption. Rancher...does it matter? If we want to feed the "troll" you are seeing we will.

I'll echo goldfinger here, if RiverSong is a troll she's putting an awful lot of time and effort into doing it, beyond this thread. Given the statements above it seems like trying Rat Wars as a new player might be a little confusing. Throw in new terms and other variations that this site offers over webDip, and sure it can be daunting for a new player. They can either learn on the fly - often irritating experienced players to no end with 'noob' errors - or they can ask. This also irritates some experienced players. Some people are just easily irritated and need to transfer that to those who are 'weaker' or 'stupid' by virtue of being new to something. Sure, the site provides a lot of rules and instructions, but when just beginning there is a lot more to it.

I'm pretty new myself, so I can relate. I appreciate the welcome and support I got from many people, and didn't pay much attention to the ones yelling at me. RiverSong, welcome to the site, welcome to the game, and ignore the negativity. There are a lot of great folks here and you'll learn quickly. And if you are a troll....I don't care, my points stand.

I don't even know what a troll is for certain, but it can't be nice. Yes, I am in ONE other game on here and I know what the supply centers are there. But I joined a Rat Wars game and there are no maps, just grids. And I didn't know what the dots were. It's not at all like any of the other diplomacy games or maps. And I asked and asked where the instructions were for how to play it. The game is anonymous so I was trying to not let on that I was in the current game. But I didn't know what the rats were all about or the spears. And Devonian was finally kind enough to tell me I could find more information under the "Variants" menu item. But I don't have to explain myself to @moron.

>>Wikipedia: Troll: In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory,[2] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[3] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion

@Rancher .... oh *I* get it now. Since my topic is not off topic, nor inflammatory, and yours is inflammatory and disruptive, then hello "Troll." YOU are a troll and you are accusing me of being a troll in order to provoke me. I shan't be provoked. Gotcha. How funny.

RiverSong and I have talked and I apologize to him ... I retract. Carry on

her...

Riversong, I hope you keep trying to figure out these games. They are a lot of fun, and in general this is a pretty friendly site.

@RiverSong - you'll have to excuse us for our gender assumptions. I'd say about 95% of the population on internet diplomacy sites is male.

98!!
:D

i always wonder why women are not that interested in board games O.o

>.i always wonder why women are not that interested in board games

I know plenty of women who play, but some men can be mean bullies when they play. For instance, on this board...

...when we go on a board and try to learn things, we get called names, stupid, trolls, sworn at... and most of our gender cannot handle this kind of abuse. Our feelings get hurt easily and we just go away.

I played a live anonymous game last night and it was very overwhelming and Germany was swearing at me the whole time because I wasn't doing what he told me to. I kept telling him I was new and overwhelmed and couldn't keep up. He later apologized when he found out I was female and really was new. But still....

Most men obviously let it go... but we take it personally.

Its a bit rough when you first start out. I had a friend mentoring me for my first game over on webdip.

But on the other hand, this is the Internet, and you have to expect that kind of stuff. People who play here and on Webdip are on average more educated and just generally nicer than most other internet communities.

^^Also, swearing and yelling at someone in game can be a diplomatic tactic if that's your playing style. How successful it is; that's a whole different matter

Well, I was his ally, so it wasn't helpful to him either. It is kind of nice, because men are willing to come help the lady in distress. :)

I've played MMO's: FFXI, WOW and now Guildwars 2, and when men find out I'm female in real life, they give me so much free stuff and help me all the time. My female friend plays a male avatar, and she never gets help. LOL

when I first typed "she" many posts ago, it was a typo ... unintentional

So any other female vDip players?

I am and so am I

Troll lo lo, troll la lo lo, troll lo lo, lo la lo lo

One banana two banana three banana four.....

about a year ago i played in a heaven (hobbits) game with ashleygirl...but didnt hear anything from her for a long time...so...two female players out of 3061...woohoo!! :D