[split] Diplomacy - Official Thread

[Nentsia]

Esteemed Diplomats,

I am in search for six people who are willing to participate in a game of Diplomacy that I will host in this forum. The game is quite simple. The date is set to 1900, and 7 players assume control over the 7 major powers of Europe: the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire. The goal is to become the leading power in Europe, and this can only be done by conquering the major industrial centers on the map - at the expense of other rivals. All powers start at an even strength however, and because superior strength is required to win battles, diplomacy is crucial. You will need to cooperate with other countries against a common enemy, or instead lull your rivals into a false sense of security. A well-timed stab in the back is what this game is about. Everything is permitted. Cheating is encouraged.

The Rules

Every major power starts with a fixed amount of military units. The military units correspond with the amount of industrial cores/supply centers that a country has on the map. The UK starts out with a fleet in Edinburgh and London, and an army in Liverpool. France starts out with a fleet at Brest, an army at Paris, and an army in Marseilles. Germany has a fleet at Kiel, an army in Berlin, and an army in Munich. Italy has an army in Venice and Rome, and a fleet at Naples. Austria has a fleet at Trieste, and armies in Vienna and Budapest. Russia has 4 units to begin with, because it also has more territories to defend. It has a fleet at Sevastopol and St. Petersburg, and armies in Moscow and Warsaw. The Ottoman Empire has a fleet in the Ankara province, and an army in Constantinople and Smyrna. There are in total 34 supply centers on the map.

The amount of units a player can deploy is thus tied to the supply centers he controls. If he loses one, he loses that unit as well the next turn. If he gains a core, he can deploy an army the next turn. There are several ''neutral'' territories on the map that are industrial cores: Holland, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Tunis, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Rumania. These are likely to be quickly occupied early in the game. If two powers attack a territory with the same strength, the battle is undecided and nobody wins. If a country attacks a region of another player, and he has a unit stationed there, the attacker needs extra support from other nearby units in order to win. If the defender provides extra support to his defensive unit with nearby units, the attacker will need even more support in order to win the battle.

The game follows the seasons of the year. The year starts in 1901, in the Spring Season. The comes the Autumn, and then its Spring 1902 - and so on. Each season enables the players some time to negotiate and discuss things - in private. Spying on each other is allowed. After the negotiation phase, players have to write down instructions for their units. The orders are secret. They are sent to me (Host) and I will lay them out on the map, and post it.

Players can move their armies. For example ''Austria: Army Vienna move to Bohemia''. They can move only one territory per season. A player can also order to ''support'' another unit in a nearby (adjacent) province for defensive purposes, or support another unit's attack into a province in which this unit could move itself. For example, the army in Venice could support a unit from Munich to invade Tyrolia. Finally, a unit can also be told to hold its position. Only fleets can be moved into the waters. Fleets can support attacking units, but they cannot attack a region themselves. A fleet positioned in a sea, can function as a convoy for armies. For example, the UK moves its fleet into the North Sea and its army to Yorkshire. The next turn, this Yorkshire army can be moved to Norway, Denmark, or Holland - provided that these regions are empty.

The correct orders are thus ''Hold'', ''Attack/Move'', ''Support'', and ''Convoy''. Example: ''France: Army Paris Hold''. You can give orders for all your units per season.

For a better explanation: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Diplomacy/Rules

After the Autumn, the new changes on the map come into effect and the amount of units a player is entitled to is re-calculated. If a player's unit is forced out of a territory after a battle, the owner must write a retreat order to where the unit retreats.

This game will last for weeks probably, given our different time zones. Its likely that I will run it like every day being a season or something, and players having the entire day to negotiate among each other. At the end of the day, I collect the orders, lay them out on the map (using le photoshop) and publish the map. The next day, the next season starts. In the meantime, people are free to roleplay as much as they like - publish treaties, condemn their enemies, or pretend to be Bismarck or something. Which country you play as is decided randomly.

Show ContentThe Map:

[Rommy]

Defos interested, can we make it so every 3 days is a season?

[Alvino Castillon]

Also interested!

[Nentsia]

Im sure we can, gives me more time.

[Raz]

There are websites that allow you to play Diplomacy with groups for free (like playdiplomacy.com)

[Flo]

I am interested fair nentsia

[Seperallis]

Sure, chalk me up for a game.

[Rommy]

There are websites that allow you to play Diplomacy with groups for free (like playdiplomacy.com)

Yeah, another I know of that is similar is called atWar, these allow for private games and variable turn times. We could play through these, as most come with different scenarios.

[Flo]

didn't we do atwar that one time?

[Seperallis]

Yes. I already aired my grievances against it in the chat, and don't care enough to copy them here with my phone. If people want to play atwar, there's nothing stopping them from creating their own thread and getting interest for it and running it at the same time as this: it's not a zero sum scenario.

On the topic at hand, I, for one, welcome the slower pace and human discretion of Nents doing this by hand, but if he wants to run this via some online means, that's his prerogative. *shrugs*