Avalon Hill's Diplomacy

[Pedro]

This board game has taken up a considerable amount of my time lately. It's a kind of risk in a European WW I setting, but every region can only contain 1 army (or fleet). That means you've got to negotiate with your neighbours to be able to get the support to conquer new regions. It's played with seven (!) players, which guarantees for a lot of intrigue, diplomacy, suspicion and whatsoever. But it's VERY hard to find six other people every time you want to play the game. Fortunately there's this wonderful invention: internet, which makes online diplomacy possible. It's not the same as sitting face-to-face with your enemies though...

Does anyone else here play this wonderful game?

 

[Matrix]

Gee, sounds like a fun game, Pedro.

I don't really have time on the moment (due to some girl from Norway visiting me), but next year I would like to play it.

But is it really only possible to play it with seven people? Cos I find that a little weird...

 

[Magnus]

It is truly an amazing game as it requires no dice! The only thing ensuring victory is the co-operation between allies; treachery is deadly! I heard that the former Amercian President Kennedy played the game quite a bit.

Hey Pedro, I wonder if there is an online MP version of the game? It IS rather a simplistic (yet fascinating) game, after all?

 

[Flatlander Fox]

I posted here eons ago about this very same game...


I have the Computer version, and YES it can be played over the internet. Me and my friend do it all of the time.

I am a Diplomacy addict. It is the best boardgame of all time. NO DICE!!! And politics!!!


If interested, we can get a game fired up.

Post here or P.M. me. I already have a few people who have been looking for a big game, and are interested in a PBEM, which is much more fun, due to the lengthy diplomacy sessions.

I am not going to spend too much time discussing it here, but each turn should take about a week when PBEM.

That way you can really discuss what you want to do with each other, send nasty e-mails and such. And of course espionage.

P.S. Matrix, you can play with only 2 or with 7 people.

 

[Magnus]

Although I am American, the time difference will not matter with PBEM. I think a civfanatics Diplomacy game could be fun. I will have to brush up on the rules - Its been a long time since I last played....

PS - Have you aver read the 'Willy-Nicky' letters from the brink of WW1? (Kaiser Wilhelm of The German Empire & Czar Nicholas of the Russian Empire, who, I believe were cousins.)

 

[Flatlander Fox]

Cool, that means three so far confirmed. Beerman said he would play too.


Magnus, do you have the game? If not, E-Bay always has them cheap. (The comp version) If you don't buy it or have it, I can send you a map.

I'll post more later, but we'll probably go with a Friday orders turn in (Time???)

I have no problem adjusting the board for each turn (Done it before!) and if you have a suggestions for ground rules post it here!

I vote for no ground rules (Except for timely orders turn in!!!), that is what makes this game great.

What I mean by ground rules is that anything goes in Diplomacy. You can courtesy copy other peoples e-mails, or make up your own and call them theirs in order to scare your neighbor (Not good if you get caught!!!)
Inform against your enemies, and trick your friends!!! That's Diplomacy.

Oh yeah, and survive!

 

[Beerman]

As Flatlander , I too am all for a good old fashion nock-down , drag'm out game of Dip. . I'll probably got my butt stomped , but I'll give it a whirl!


To flatlander - If anybody has problems finding a game board than send them a scanned copy via E-mail!

 

[Pedro]

There are a number of ways in which the game can be played online. There's an electronic version of the game, but personally I like the 'personal approach' better in which you comunicate for two weeks with your opponents (or allies) every turn and then submit your moves to a human judge. It is done this way on dutchdiplomacy for example and it works VERY well. Right now I participate in 3 games and I assure you: every game's a thrill!

By the way: there HAS been a diplomacy-civilization-like game in the past on this forum. It was very hard though to get all five people online every week to play the game online.

 

[Flatlander Fox]

I got the basic idea from the website (Due to my primitive knowledge of Dutch and German), and have no problem playing with a HUMAN judge. If your in Pedro, that makes 4. Maybe you can get us the connection?

I never saw the Diplomacy game on this site, if I had, I probably would have played it.

As with Civ, playing over the internet is a frustrating proposition.

I like the personal approach also. Much more satisfying of a game then. And two weeks gives you a little bit more time.

If you want to play through the website, that's cool with me (Saves me the legwork of judging every move) and then there can be no rules "trouble" either.

I'll be monitoring this thread daily, so just post here with how to work it with a judge.

Also, Pellaken is a Dip player, maybe he would be interested (As long as he isn't hearing voices)

 

[TrailblazingScot]

The Turks in my opinion have the greatest advantage...Austria is in a whole world of trouble usually (and it is usually pointless for Italy, Russia, Germany or Turkey to work with her) and the Russians have the Germans and English in addition to Turkey that the Turks are pretty secure.

Link to typical startup in a diplomacy game:

http://www.dur.ac.uk/r.w.morley/Europe/s1901.gif

I played using 'realpolitik' which allows PBEM play...though I do now have the 'proper' Diplomacy game for my computer (also got the delapidated boardgame).

This link is to two games of diplomacy that were played (not finished at Durham...if they had been finished I couldn't show you them...click on the europe or modern link and then chose to see the "map" of each particular turn.

http://www.dur.ac.uk/r.w.morley/

Also provided near the top is the realpolitik download file...

http://www.dur.ac.uk/r.w.morley/Europe/Europe game.dpy

Please PURCHASE diplomacy from Avalon Hill before engaging in any PBEM game -though Richard does show the rules...hell if you tried a PBEM game without knowing the boardgame or licensed game then you'd have to search around abit if you want to be able to give the seazone names properly!!!

Certainly if you look on the net there are ALOT of PBEM clubs and a huge variety of rules, games and maps!

If civfanatics wanted to startup a PBEM diplomacy game I would love to play!

Enjoy the links

 

[Flatlander Fox]

Never played with the realpolitik system. Haven't even heard of it actually.

Done mostly face to face games with a few PBEM games.

Disagree with you KoC on Austria. Did you know that Austria actually wins more than any other country?

The downside is that they are eliminated the most also.

Kitten if you have no objections, then it looks like you are our fifth.

So I have:

Beerman
Flatlander Fox
Pedro
Magnus
Kitten of Chaos

Another guy I know is interested, but whether or not he will have the time is the problem.

KoC, do you have a link for me to look more into this real politik stuff??? An explantion perhaps?

Anyway, once I get two more, I'll send out the invitations, and we can choose our countries.

 

[TrailblazingScot]

http://realpolitik.sourceforge.net/

Do check out the community links:

http://realpolitik.sourceforge.net/community.html

Online diplomacy resources:
http://devel.diplom.org/Online/

You can be Austria Flatlander Fox

 

[Magnus]

I shall have the PC version of the game by the end of the week.

Do you think we shall need to have a knowledgeable disinterested party to GM/resolve disputes?

 

[Flatlander Fox]

I have no problem doing it, as I have done it before.

But I know the need for a third party, especially in games such as this. Diplomacy can get nasty.

If we can find more people, maybe I'll sit out and let you guys play. Then I can full time judge.

But right now, I am planning after the new year to start this game.

As for turns, simply E-mail me your turns... I won't open it if it's early. I'll then send my orders to everybody on the suspense date.
And maybe post them here on this thread.

I'll have a hot-seat game loaded onto my computer where I'll input the moves, and then post the results on the board. The rules are identical in the Avalon Hill game to the comp. version.

We can rotate responsibility between all of us for receiving orders, if that would be better.

The floor is open.



As for countries, I think a P.M. to me will be sufficient with the seven countries in descending order (#1 being the one you want)

KoC, No thanks to the Austria thing! I like playing Austria, but it is so nervewracking waiting for the Italian/Turkish/Russian/German/French backstab that will eventually come.

 

[Beerman]

I've read the thread, sounds like everything is moving right along. But... as judgement day slowly creeps up on us all, we are faced with the age old problem ( mostly coming from childhood ) of who is going to be who. Given the fact that everyone following this thread has played DIP. before, we all have our fovorite country.I have no suggestion of how to elimonate this problem , but maybe you guys do. I'm not going to cry when I'm Austria or even Italy for that matter , because in the end it all boils down to some political tounge whippin! OK , and a little bit of tactical forditude.

 

[TrailblazingScot]

We NEED a gamesmaster...one who can randomly chose who is who and one who can receive the orders and resolve them ETC.

 

[Richard III]

Mmmmmm, diplomacy

Back in the dawn of time (1986) when I was in Junior High, I actually conned our history teacher into letting 7 of us play diplomacy instead of sitting through these ridiculous study halls we had. My former roommate lived in a (Canadian) city that actually had a network of tournaments and teams in their local high schools. An intense game. I have seen two genuine fistfights break out over Diplomacy between friends. I miss it immensely, particularly after the disappointing AI version came out months ago.

Tried to get into the "judged" e-mail games during the mid-1990s, but found the signup and play procedures to be too much like unix - e.g. to be too much of a pain in the ass.

Play by e-mail?

SIGN ME UP/ SIGN ME UP/ SIGN ME UP, please please please please please please please

E-mail in this regard can go to project@canoemail.com.

please please please please please...

 

[Flatlander Fox]

I'll be GM... But that means that we will need to get a few more people. I have been scouring the countryside, but haven't turned up anything yet.

More to follow on this, but perhaps we will have to look at a five player variant?

 

[Richard III]

If the deadlines are reasonable (I don't know what his schedule is) I can guarantee a second player, namely the Diplomacy geek from Brantford who competed on his school team.

So count me as two.

R.III

 

[Magnus]

I just received the game! Will be installing it shortly.

What is a good time bewteen turns - 2 weeks? I think we want enough time for everyone to get their machinations in gear, but not too long where people forget what's going on in the game.

BTW I have no preference on what country I get.