Quote:
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Originally Posted by seigi
Always error page
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Wiki is banned in China... I always forget...
Some other links:
http://www.diplomacy-archive.com/home.htm
http://ry4an.org/diptutor/
Diplomacy is a board game, war game, and strategy game set in Europe in the era before the beginning of World War I. Diplomacy was the first commercially published game to be played by mail; only chess, which is in the public domain, saw significant postal play earlier.
Basic setting and overview
The board is a map of Europe showing political boundaries as they existed at the beginning of the 20th century, divided into fifty-six land regions and nineteen sea regions.
Each player other than Russia begins the game with three units (armies and fleets); Russia has four units (two armies and two fleets) to compensate for its larger area and number of neighbours.
Only one unit at a time may occupy a given map region. Thirty-four of the land regions contain supply centers, corresponding to major centers of industry or commerce (e.g., "London," "Rome,"). The number of supply centers a player controls determines the total number of armies and fleets a player may have on the board, and as players gain and lose control of different centers, they may build and remove units accordingly. At the beginning of the game, there are twelve "neutral" (unoccupied) supply centers; these are all typically captured within the first few moves, allowing all the powers to ramp up their military strength. Thereafter the game becomes zero sum, with any gains in a player's strength coming at the expense of a rival.
Players who control no supply centers are eliminated from the game, and victory is achieved if a player controls eighteen of the thirty-four supply centers.
For the most part, the regions on the board are named after the general regions (e.g. "Bohemia") or countries (e.g. "Finland"); however, home supply centers (i.e. supply centers that are occupied at the beginning of the game) are named after the relevant cities (e.g. "Rome," "Vienna"). The exception is that of "Tunis," which despite not being a home supply center is still named after a city. If the convention was correctly followed, it would be labelled "Tunisia", and indeed is on some variant maps. The original style is nonetheless an accurate recreation of early 20th century European diplomatic language, as "Tunis" was then inclusive of both the city and its adjacent hinterland.
The standard board also errs in referring to the United Kingdom as England. This too, however, is in accord with the prevailing diplomatic practices of the early 20th century. The European diplomats of the time often used "England" interchangeably with "Great Britain," "Britain," or "the United Kingdom."
Game play
Diplomacy is turn-based - movement turns, alternately designated "Spring" and "Fall" moves, by convention begin in the year 1901. Prior to each movement phase, there is a negotiation period in which players entice, wheedle, bluff, cajole, and threaten each other in an attempt to form favorable partnerships. Secret negotiations and secret agreements are explicitly allowed, but no agreements of any kind are enforceable.
After the negotiation period is over, players secretly write orders for each unit and these orders are revealed simultaneously and simultaneously executed. Choice of orders include "move" (to any space adjacent to the unit's current location), "support" (assist the move of a different unit moving into a space adjacent to the unit's current location), or "hold" (do nothing). Armies may only occupy land regions, and fleets may only occupy sea regions and land regions which border the sea. Fleets and armies in combination can execute the move "convoy," which allows transport of an army across either one (or multiple) bodies of water to a distant land square. One Fleet per sea space traversed is required if multiple bodies of water are to be traversed.
Since only one unit can occupy any particular game space, conflicts (such as two armies ordered to enter the same space), are resolved according to rules determining how much "support" a unit has for its movement. When two units attempt to occupy the same region, the one with more support wins. The greatest concentration of force is always victorious; if the forces are equal a standoff results and the units remain in their original positions. If a supporting unit is attacked (except by the unit against which the support is directed), the support is nullified, which allows units to affect the outcome of conflicts in regions not directly adjacent.
Occasionally these conceptually simple rules result in situations which are difficult to adjudicate, or even paradoxical. Therefore the official rules contain comprehensive details and examples. Also, one person may be designated as Game Master to execute moves and adjudicate disputes.
After each Fall move, occupied supply centers become owned by the occupying player, and each power's supply center total is recalculated. At that point players with fewer supply centers than units on the board must disband units, while players with more supply centers than units on the board are entitled to build units. Units may only be built in that player's "Home" centers, that is, those centers with which each Great Power begins the game. Therefore, a player may not build units in any captured "neutral" center or in another player's "Home" centers.
The boundaries on the Diplomacy map are those of 1914 (in most details--Montenegro is anachronistically subsumed into Austria-Hungary), not 1901, but labeling the seasons from Spring 1901 makes it easier to count the turns.
The Great Powers
Britain: A powerful sea nation with two fleets to start with, Britain can easily commit itself to a war with either Russia, France or Germany. Its isolation means that it can not expect reprisisals immediatly, but needs to be careful not to take on more than it can properly handle.
Germany: Sandwiched between Russia, Austria-Hungary and France, Germany is a difficult nation to play. It must therefore often commit to alliances, like for example with Austria Hungary; this is good for both parties because it means they both have one less enemy.
France: A very promising nation with the Iberia to the west, France can often find itself in an alliance with England or Germany or face an alliance from the two.
Italy: Considered by many Diplomacy players to be the most difficult nation on the board, Italy is faced with a very troubling situation. France to the west and Austria-Hungary to the east mean that after Tunisia, Italy must attack another nation to grow.
Austria-Hungary: Another very difficult nation to play, Austria-Hungary has more neighbors than any other player (except Russia) and with only one fleet building home supply center, often find themselves relegated to the land. They often get drawn into a conflict in the Balkans (home of 4 neutral supply centers) and then find themselves with no friends.
Russia: A very exciting nation to play, Russia is larger than any other nation and although they have 4 neighbors, they begin the game with an extra unit. Because of the large land area and several fronts, the possibilities for Russia are endless, leaving a good Diplomacy player with several options.
Turkey: Much like England, the Turks find themselves in a corner of the board and have few options in the beginning. Like England, they are likely safe from a home invasion, but in order to invade, Turkish armies and fleets must travel far from home.
Strategy
Because numerical superiority is crucial to success, alliances are vital in Diplomacy. Each country is initially roughly equal in strength, so it is very difficult to gain territory except by attacking with the support of a neighbor. The excitement of the game is less in the tactics than in negotiation, coalition-building, and intrigue. Each player's social and interpersonal skills are at least as important to the game as the player's strategic abilities.
Diplomacy commands a respect among aficionados of multiplayer games similar to the respect accorded to chess among two-player games. Most multiplayer games can't help but involve coalition-building to some degree, but only in Diplomacy is the negotiation so critical and so multi-faceted. The game can't be won by going it alone, except in a last mad dash of aggression from a strong position. In the mean time one makes compromises and promises to one's allies while spreading fear and misinformation among one's enemies. And the attacking of one's allies (or the "stab") has a central role in the culture of Diplomacy. A stab can be crucial to victory, but may have negative repercussions in interpersonal relations.
All of the countries on the map have a real chance for success if played properly. Each power requires a different style of play. Italy and Austria-Hungary are often thought to be the weakest countries¡ªAustria-Hungary because it has many neighbors and can be eliminated early, Italy because it has a hard time expanding. However, if they survive and prosper through the starting phase of the game, their central position can be a great advantage. England and Turkey are generally considered to be the easiest to defend. Under Calhamer scoring (where an outright victory is worth one point and participants in a draw split the point equally) Russia and France typically score the most points, Italy and Austria-Hungary the fewest.
There is a natural buffer of spaces without supply centers between the western and eastern halves of the board. Therefore the first few turns of a game usually break down into fighting amongst the western powers (England, France, Germany) and eastern powers (Russia, Austria-Hungary, Turkey) for dominance in their areas followed by a break out based on the results. Italy is a wild card with a relatively weak position, though if it commits to an alliance in either of the two threesomes, the alliance can be pivotal.
In some circles cheating is not only allowed, but also actively encouraged. Players are allowed and expected to move pieces between turns, add extra armies, listen in to private conversations, change other players' written move orders and just about anything else they can get away with. In tournament play, however, these forms of cheating are generally prohibited, leaving only the lying and backstabbing which is prevalent wherever Diplomacy is played.