Edge Of War

Head Chair: Alexander Oganesyan

Vice Chair: Haresh Perera

Moderator: Kyle Ostoja-Zawadzki

Position papers will be due on February 10, 2024. The position paper format, and all other important conference documents, can be found on our conference website, http://lhhsconference.weebly.com/.

Email all position papers to our committee email:   lhhseow24@gmail.com. Feel free to contact us via email if you have any questions or concerns!!!

Hello delegates, my name is Alexander Oganesyan and I will be your head chair for the 2023 Laguna Hills MUN Conference. I am super excited to be chairing and participating in such a unique and fun committee! I am a junior at Laguna Hills and I’ve been doing MUN for three years. I was vice chair for this committee last year and decided to be head chair due to how fun Edge of War was. Personally, I love to play video games and hang out with friends. I look forward to seeing all the alliances and enemies that will be created during the conference!

Hello everyone, my name is Haresh Perera and I will be your vice chair for the 2023 Laguna Hills MUN Conference. I am a junior at Laguna Hills High School and I am excited to work with you all! I play basketball, volleyball, and diplomacy in my free time. I have also been in MUN for 2 years, freshman year and junior year. In my humble opinion, Edge of War is one of the best committees you can be in because it is so unique. This is my first time being in our Edge of war committee, and I hope to be helpful as your vice chair. Good luck!

Hello, my name is Kyle Ostoja-Zawadzki and I will be your moderator for the 2023 Laguna Hills MUN Conference. I am a sophomore at Laguna Hills High School and I have been doing MUN for two years. I am super excited to be a moderator for this conference. This is the second time I have been a part of Edge of War, and I decided to do it again because of how fun the committee was! Personally, I love playing basketball and hanging out with friends. I cannot wait to see how the game will turn out!

Topic: Edge of War

Background:

Our committee this year will be Edge of War, a specialized committee that follows a different ruleset and requires different strategies to emerge triumphant from your committee. For starters, there will be no resolutions that are drafted and passed in committee. Instead, a simulation will be run throughout the entirety of the committee in which all delegates will be representing one of seven countries in World War One-era Europe. These countries include Austria-Hungary, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and Turkey. Your goal will be to use your diplomatic skills to create alliances with your fellow committee members to try and gain power and take over as much land as possible before the end of the committee. This simulation is represented in terms of a physical map and is heavily based on the board game Diplomacy. The simulation begins in 1900 and operates in turns, with each turn lasting half a year. This will continue indefinitely until one country wins or the committee ends, in which case the country with the most land is declared the winner. This simulation will heavily rely on each delegate's ability to make and break alliances when the time is right, and as such I heavily suggest that each delegate study the rulebook of Diplomacy, as it will be most beneficial to being successful in committee. Also, for actual practice in the game, you can visit the website https://www.backstabbr.com/ and use the sandbox mode for practice. Good Luck Delegates!

Rules of Edge of War:

The rules of Edge of War are somewhat complex and certainly quite different from normal committees, and thus it is heavily recommended that each delegate read over a copy of the rules of Diplomacy online, two of which are listed below. The rules of the simulation will also be clarified at the start of the committee, but it is very helpful to have a baseline understanding of the game.

• https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Diplomacy/Rules
• https://www.playdiplomacy.com/help.php?sub_page=Game_Rules

Flow of Committee:

At the beginning of the committee the rules will be reviewed and questions and concerns will be addressed before starting the committee. Again, the simulation operates in two rounds per turn, repeated indefinitely until a country wins or the committee ends

• Spring Turn

• Moderated caucus: At this time, each Power will give a speech about their intended plans of action.
• Unmoderated Caucus: Each Power will have the ability to discuss, in an open forum, forming alliances or make deals with other Powers
• Order Writing Phase: Delegates must write down their proposed troop movements and call orders on paper to be passed to the chair.  During this session talking is prohibited.
• Order Resolution Session: Committee chairs will read out the orders and move the pieces on the board accordingly.

• Fall Turn

• Moderated caucus: At this time, each Power will give a speech about their intended plans of action.
• Unmoderated Caucus: Each Power will have the ability to discuss, in an open forum, forming alliances or make deals with other Powers
• Order Writing Phase: Delegates must write down their proposed troop movements and call orders on paper to be passed to the chair. During this session talking is prohibited.
• Order Resolution Session: Committee chairs will read out the orders and move the pieces on the board accordingly.
• Unit Reassignment Phase: Units will be given or taken away to each power based on their controlled supply centers

Goal:

The object of the game is to gain control of 18 supply houses which is considered a significant amount of power and dominance over the continent of Europe. Good luck!

EDGE OF WAR POSITION PAPER FORMAT

Because position papers should be relevant to their respective committees, here are some changes to the position paper that you must follow. These questions should help you to possibly develop your strategy, but they will also require you to be somewhat familiar with the rules before the conference, although we will still begin with a summary of the rules and walkthrough of procedures at the beginning of the committee. Full rules for the game can be found here: https://www.playdiplomacy.com/help.php?sub_page=Game_Rules

Instead of Background, please answer the following in your position paper:

What is your country’s greatest strength(s) in the game? Examples include Land dominance, water dominance, proximity to many unclaimed supply centers, good position to attack other countries, many choke points, relative isolation and protection, etc. Please also explain why these are strengths to your country and explain how you plan to use them to your advantage.

Instead of Country Policy and UN Involvement, please answer the following in your position paper:

What control points are good places for your country to control by the 1st fall? How do you plan to move your troops during the first two turns to effectively maximize your strategic advantage? Try to utilize all your troops, and although controlling supply centers does grant more troops, some non-supply center countries may also provide a strategic advantage and give you leverage against your opponents in negotiations.

Instead of Possible Solutions, please answer the following in your position paper:

What countries would be the most important for your country to negotiate with? Describe any plans that you may have in caucusing with other countries. (Remember: Just because you say something in caucus does not mean you have to stay true to it. Backstabbing, lying, eavesdropping, and secrecy are all parts of the game.)

Grading rubric