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Diplomacy -- Risk for grown ups.


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Having seen a small resurgence of interest in the lamentable board game "Risk" on the forum, I thought I'd remind everyone of the existence of the game "Diplomacy".

 

It's ostensibly similar to Risk, except there are no dice, the map is a simplified Europe c:a 1901, and each player starts with a minmal force. No player can win without allies.

 

Following its invention in the late 50s, it quickly became adapted to postal play, and recently (90s) email play.

 

When Henry Kissinger wasn't ordering the bombing of Cambodia, or otherwise exercising his considerable diplomatic skill, he was often found playing Diplomacy as his favourite game". JFK too is cited as enjoying it.

 

Rather than tedious turn taking, all moves in Diplomacy are executed simultaneously - You move based on what you have agreed with your allies, and you hope they will move as promised.

 

The rules of movement and conflict are simple and easily grasped but the battle of wits and guile happens off the board in the Diplomacy periods - the time between movement rounds when players bargain with one another.

 

Like chess, it has no element of blind chance and rewards long term strategy and careful opening play. Like poker it involves bluffing and reading other people. Yet it is much greater than the sum of all these things.

 

Like the great Richard Sharps says

In a changing world, some things do not change. It may be fashionable to decry the simple Virtues, but we still like to find them in our friends. Loyalty, honesty, frankness, gratitude, chivalry, magnanimity - these are the hallmarks of the good friend, the good husband and father, the nice guy we all hope our daughters will marry.

 

In the amoral world of Diplomacy, however, they are the hallmarks of the born loser. If a fallen enemy reaches out a hand for assistance, the wise man lops it off. If a friend does you a good turn when you’re down, wait until he’s down, then beat him to death. If an ally asks for your help in planning the next season’s moves, give it freely and copiously, then do the reverse of what you agreed and let him take the counter-attack. Try to surround yourself with people who trust you, then let them down; find an ally who will gladly die for you and see that he does just that.

 

In short, Diplomacy is not a nice game; to win, it is necessary to behave like a complete cad.

 

I'm just getting back into the hobby after a bit of a hiatus, and wondered if anyone dared enter a Play By E Mail (PBEM) game of diplomacy. Novices need not worry - the game is not in the least bit complicated as far as the rules, board and pieces go.

 

A typical game lasts about a year or so.

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