Diplomacy - Spring 1905 - the city-state of moscow

[TristanLuigi]

Game 2
Wikipedia | Board Game Geek | Rules (PDF) | Rules (Online)



     

Each phase will last about a day or until all players have taken actions. This is subject to change.

Diplomacy is a board game centered around relationships between players, from alliance to betrayal. It is set in Europe around 1900, although borders are not completely historically accurate to the time period.

If you want to read my summary of the rules, keep reading. However, some sites probably do a better job of explaining it; check out the Backstabbr rules, the Wikipedia page, the Avalon Hill PDF, or my preferred source, the Wikibooks rules.

Play revolves around control of "supply centers," which are the dots you see on the map below. Each supply center you control allows maintenance of a singe unit, which may either be either an army (travels on land, represented by swords) or a fleet (travels on water or coasts, represented by anchors). Each year has 3 seasons - spring, autumn, and winter. Spring and autumn are further split into "negotiation" and "movement."

During negotiation, you may discuss anything you'd like with any player via PM (please include me as an additional recipient) or publicly in the thread. Remember, a player's word is in no way binding, so feel free to lie or betray others... and be prepared for the same to happen to you. It is recommended that you make deals with a given time limit (e.g. "non-aggression pact for 3 years, we'll discuss renewing it then") so that you can make arrangements without committing to them or ruining your reputation.

During movement, all players will plan the actions of each unit in secret. Please PM me the list of unit movements you'd like to take, by specifying the province the unit is in and what action they're taking - I will carry out the actions simultaneously after all players send in their moves or after the allotted time. If a player does not send in any actions or doesn't include a unit, I will assume they are holding. Actions can be any of the following:

• Attack/Move - Move a unit into an adjacent province, regardless of owner. Doesn't necessarily have to involve a battle.
• Hold - Keep a unit in its current position to defend the province.
• Support Attack - By supporting any player's attack into a province with a unit next to the target province, you can boost that attack's power. The supporting unit type must be capable of moving into that province or sea zone.
• Support Hold - By supporting an adjacent holding unit, their power is increased. The supporting unit type must be capable of moving into that province or sea zone.
• Convoy - Using a fleet, carry an army to any province adjacent to that fleet. Convoys can be linked in a chain, but fleets cannot "carry" armies, so if you're going more than one province, you're required to use multiple fleets. For obvious reasons, only fleets can be convoys.

Only one unit can be in each tile, regardless of type. All moves happen simultaneously. In the event that two units attempt to occupy the same space, the following rules are followed:

• If a supporting unit is attacked, that unit withdraws support and is forced to hold, unless they are assisting an attack on their assailant.
• If multiple players are attempting to move into an unoccupied province, the one with the most supporting units wins. If there is a tie, none of the units move (also known as "bouncing.")
• If one or more players attempt to move into an occupied province, the rules play out similarly to when the province is unoccupied; the holding unit's power is increased by units supporting their hold rather than an attack. Since the holding unit is attempting to stay in place, ties are a victory for the holding player by default. If the defending unit loses, they must either retreat or disband. If I don't get a response on which I should do, I will disband the unit.

The final stage of a year is winter. Unlike other seasons, no movement can be made during the winter. Instead, all held provinces are "captured" by the unit holding them. Then, the supply center total is updated. You can only have as many units as you do supply centers, so if you had a net loss of supply centers, you are forced to disband units to bring the total back. If you fail to send me your choice(s) in time, I'll pick myelf. On the other hand, if you had a net gain of supply centers, you have a chance to build more units at your home supply centers for the upcoming spring. Your home supply centers are the ones you start with and are colored according to your nation. You cannot build units at neutral supply centers or those of another players', so if you've lost all of them, you should use your remaining units to recapture them. Most nations have 3 home supply centers, while Russia has 4 to make up for its large border. Most nations have 2 armies and 1 fleet, while Britain has the opposite, and Russia has an extra fleet. If you lose all units and home supply centers, you are eliminated from the game and your territories become unclaimed.

Play will continue until someone wins. How would you do that, you ask? Well, there's the simple domination victory, which is to own half the supply centers. But that's not often an easy task, so ALL non-defeated players can also agree on a peace treaty that specifies which nations are victorious, and which surrender (if any).

(Remember there are other links up near the top if you're confused!)

Some points clarified:

• Denmark and Constantinople can be traversed on foot or by boat.
• Bulgaria and St Petersburg have two coasts. These are still only one province, but fleets cannot switch coasts under any circumstances.
• Due to the Alps and a policy of strict neutrality, Switzerland is impassable.

[Ad Bot]

[lord techno]

Gib mir Deutschland
^{(Give me Germany)}

[Zer0-Senpai]

HON HON HON I'LL BE THE FRENCHMEN

[Nonnel]

rusky

[Agent Legit 22]

austria

[Juncoph]

(should be a non-region, not a neutral country)

not gonna touch on the fact that italy looks like radioactive waste, purple doesn't fit britain, bright yellow on 1/4 of the map is an eyesore, and anatolia actually looks like a stufflog

[TristanLuigi]

[images]
not gonna touch on the fact that italy looks like radioactive waste, purple doesn't fit britain, bright yellow on 1/4 of the map is an eyesore

Bulgaria and St Petersburg are intentional, to make it more obvious that they have two coasts. Ireland was also intentional, but it shouldn't affect gameplay much (it makes turtling as Britain very slightly harder). I didn't realize that Constantinople got merged, I'll have to fix that (the same happened to Denmark, but I caught it.)

Britain is purple because Austria is red and I wanted Britain to be a little more distinguishable from France. There's still red and blue on their flag, anyway. Russia and Italy are a bit bright, I suppose, but I thought it looked better than a few other shades.

anatolia actually looks like a stufflog

implying it isn't?

[Juncoph]

forget it im britain

[TristanLuigi]

forget it im britain

well that was a change of heart but sure

[Decepticon]

i'll take up ITALIA

[TristanLuigi]

Alright, looks like we just need someone to play Turkey.

I've also changed the map so that it's not as eye-searingly bright.

[Gojira]

turk turk

[TristanLuigi]

Then we shan't delay any longer!

     

You will now have two days in total to complete actions for Spring 1900. By Tuesday, May 9, I will need movements for all players.
It is recommended that you spend the first day discussing and negotiating with other players, although I will accept moves early.

Even if a player is marked ready in the table, they can still change their moves, so you can still negotiate with them and such.

Austria:	✘ Not Ready
Britain:	✔ Ready!
France:	✔ Ready!
Germany:	✔ Ready!
Italy:	✔ Ready!
Russia:	✔ Ready!
Turkey:	✔ Ready!

[Agent Legit 22]

try and make more units

[TristanLuigi]

try and make more units

did you read the rules
I forgot this tip in OP, but it can be helpful to make time-limited deals, such as a "non-aggression pact for 3 years, we'll discuss renewing it then." This lets players make mutually advantageous deals without a full-game commitment or ruining your reputation when you break it.