Diplomacy

[nicholmere]

Have you heard of the board game Diplomacy? "The premise is simple: conquer Europe through diplomacy, negotiation, and strategy."

I like this description of the game.

Here are some on-line rules I found. I've only glanced at them, but so far they look the same as the version from my box. If you're new to the game, don't let the details of the rules overwhelm you. There's a lot to read, but some of it won't be relevant until later in the game, after you've mastered the basics.

Depending on your personality this is the type of game that can consume your every waking moment as you plan your next move, your next letter to your ally, your taunts to your enemies, and as you worry about who you can really trust. It’s great fun!

I’ve only played the board game a couple of times, but I’ve played an e-mail version more times than I care to admit. I’d like to see if there are any EA members interested in playing an e-mail/PM version of the game. Each game requires seven players; I’d be the GM.

When you play the board game it’s usually a full evening of play, but when you play by e-mail it takes far longer. My schedule would be something like this:
Two weeks to review the rules, ask me questions, communicate with the other players, plan your first moves, … etc. Moves would be due at the end of the second week.
We would then move to a weekly schedule – moves would be due at the beginning of the week, then there would be a day to submit any required retreats or builds (the rules will explain this).
Once we were down to only a few remaining players then the schedule would speed up since there would be fewer negations.
I’ll post a more specific schedule of the winter and spring seasons once I know I have players. As soon as I have enough players then I would start the game, depending on when that happens the game might just be getting started during the December holidays, but that’s fine with me; it makes a great distraction from all the shopping and related madness of the holidays.

You do not need to buy the game to play, but if you can it may add to your enjoyment and possibly enhance your planning skills since you’d be able to physically maneuver all the pieces … what happens if I go here, and he does that, and she does that …. Hmmm …. My first few games were played only on paper, using several copies of blank maps, I just coloured in the results each season. For the EA on-line version I would provide a link to a coloured map showing each seasons’ results. I’d like to have a continuous thread where all the players (and observers for that matter) could converse publicly – asking questions, telling the truth or lying as they see fit. I’d expect the players to also carry out private negotiations. All moves would be submitted privately to me.

You do not need to have any military background at all, nor do you need to have any knowledge of the history of Europe in 1901. Everything is new, and it's up to you to negotiate, or lie , your way to the winner's circle. Many people adopt a Game Face while playing, and have a lot of fun assuming characteristics of their nation. You can do as much or as little of that as you wish - as long as you are having fun then the game should be fun too.

So … anyone interested?

[kurt_messick]

I'd love to do this sometime in the future, but cannot do so just now. I would love to hear how things work, though! Keep us informed.

I always liked playing that game in the commons when I was in college, even if I kept going from one area to several areas down to one quickly.

[magenta321]

Sounds like fun, but I think I'd be too dumb to play.

[mtbat]

I'd love to play! I haven't played this in years, I'll probably lose horribly-but I love this game!

Fridai

[hypotenuse]

I'm thinking....

Yah, ok.

Tell me what to do.

Lynne

[soxfan[$]]

Hmmm ... sounds interesting. I'm game.

Ailsa

[nicholmere]

This is great! I'm glad to see people are interested :smileo:. We still need some more players, so keep those cards and letters coming!

[kurt_messick]

I have a non-EA friend who is likely to be interested. Shall I ask him? He's big into games like this.

[nicholmere]

Originally posted by kurt_messick
Shall I ask him?

Yes, please do. If he is interested then he'll probably have to become a member (Amy will send you the details), since he'll need the ability to use PMs as well as reading the public forum.

I'm glad you're asking around - thanks!

- Katherine

[soxfan[$]]

In that case, I might ask my brother too ... though I'm not sure I want to give him another way to annoy me.

A question, Katherine: about how much time a week can we (I mean participants) expect to need for the game? It doesn't take hours to figure out your moves, does it?

Ailsa

[amykhar]

I might even be able to convince my husband to come play this with us. He's a member here already - but no posts.

Amy

[nicholmere]

Originally posted by soxfan
In that case, I might ask my brother too ... though I'm not sure I want to give him another way to annoy me.

A question, Katherine: about how much time a week can we (I mean participants) expect to need for the game? It doesn't take hours to figure out your moves, does it?

Ailsa

Time? Hmmm well ... let's see 24 hours a day times seven days a week ...

To figure out your moves on your own without any negotiating would just take a few minutes in the begining - you only start out with three to four units and you can only move to one square (country) each turn (as the game progress you can use fleet convoys to actually go further than an adjacent country - rules will explain this). As the game progress, and if you are doing well, you'll earn more units which will require more planning time, but usually by then you're better/faster at planning.

In the begining new players spend the most time learning the rules, ie. why can't my tank unit float across the red sea on its own! But that's 'just' a matter of reading the rules and staring at the map/game board until you say 'oh, I get it" - I'll be more than happy to answer any questions big or little, silly or smart.

One of the reasons I'm proposing this game is that over the summer I was cleaning out my closet and found hard copies of my e-mails from the first few games. They reminded me how much I liked to play. But, also looking at my earlier messages I can see how much I relied on my GM for assistance, and I hope I can provide the same help for any newbies here.

So, to answer the question - Once the game gets going, maybe a couple hours a week depending on how much negotiating and planning you do. When I played there were all types of players - some obsessive (like me) who would pass notes about Diplomacy during office meetings and others who would send out a brief e-mail to their ally stating their intentions.

- Katherine

[soxfan[$]]

Thanks, Katherine. This sounds like it'll be fun.

Ailsa

[MrsNormanMaine[$]]

I'd be in if you need another body...

MNM

[MrsNormanMaine[$]]

I'd be in if you need another body...

MNM

[magenta321]

MNM, does that mean you'll be providing two bodies for the game? Hehehee.

Is there a last place for this game? Do I have to be in it?

[nicholmere]

Last place is reserved for the first one out of the game. So, even if you're Last you're still First at something

If you lose all your units (Armies and Fleets, people! ) and all your home bases are taken over by your enemies then consider yourself conquered - until then fight for all your worth. Even if you are conquered, and can no longer submit moves, you'll probably still want to stay in touch with the game - it's kind of like having your home team lose early in a tournament - you still stay to the end to cheer for a team to beat the team that beat you - aren't we all so civilized :o

[nicholmere]

I edited my first post to include this:

Here are some on-line rules I found. I've only glanced at them, but so far they look the same as the version from my box. If you're new to the game, don't let the details of the rules overwhelm you. There's a lot to read, but some of it won't be relevant until later in the game, after you've mastered the basics.

Ailsa, note the schedule mentioned in the rules. For a real time game, ie. in one night, the players are allowed 30 minutes per season (turn) for negotiation.

[nicholmere]

Here is a sample of the diplomacy map we will be using.

[nicholmere]

If I have counted the "count me in" posts correctly then we have five players already.

We will need two more players before we begin the game, so if there is anyone out there who is interested please speak up

If you are one of the 'count me in' folks then feel free to start reading the rules and posting any questions you may have. When we start the game there will still be plenty of time to review the rules, so there's no rush. Also, I plan to have the map stored on a picture hosting website, so we'll all be able to see it in a much larger format.

[kurt_messick]

I'm see my non-EA friend tonight -- I'll mention it to him, and we'll see if he'll sign on.

[magenta321]

Oh boy, I never thought about the Geography aspect of this game.

Margaret, who learned all of her geography in 7th grade, and hasn't thought about it since (and knows she couldn't point out all fifty states, so she is even more frightened about what she remembers of Europe!)

PS, Margaret thinks she better study!