[Rytek]

Diplomacy. True. But even in the movie,"Highlander" they had negotiated truces and friends. You must think of diplomacy as being another "tactic" to use.

Even in a Rand game you will need to use diplomacy. It will just be harder to do. You admit that you were trying to show me that you did not want to fight me by pulling back. In a Rand game you will be hoping the other player is savvy enough to read what you are trying to tell him. It is either that or to war with every neighbor you come in contact with. And I am a savvy player and would have realized that is what you intended. But it would have been as you say, a case of being 1 turn too late, if I had waited and instead you had pressed the attack. I would have been in a bad situation with you parked next to my capitol.

In a multiplayer game like dominions, diplomacy must always be in your bag of tricks. And don't forget stealth and scouting. Many players disregard them until it is too late.