chefTENGU
06-28-2009, 15:13
I'm putting this here rather than in the arena because i'm imagining that it'll end up playing mostly like Snowbound + board. Also, forgive me for the rape I'm about to cause on the borders:
http://user.bloodcinder.com/kevin/BOARD.gif
Welcome to Diplomacy! This game is set against the backdrop of European politics of the early 20th century; it begins in 1901 and is played in alternating phases of Spring and Fall. Each player will take command of one or more of 7 great European powers:
http://user.bloodcinder.com/kevin/frags/AHsmall.png Austria-Hungary (Austria)
http://user.bloodcinder.com/kevin/frags/Frasmall.png France
http://user.bloodcinder.com/kevin/frags/GBsmall.png Great Britain (England)
http://user.bloodcinder.com/kevin/frags/Gersmall.png German Empire
http://user.bloodcinder.com/kevin/frags/Itasmall.png Kingdom of Italy
http://user.bloodcinder.com/kevin/frags/Ottosmall.png Ottoman Empire (Turkey)
http://user.bloodcinder.com/kevin/frags/Russmall.png Russia
Diplomacy is a game designed for 7 players (one for each country), but there are alternatives for games with fewer players:
• 6 players: Italy is considered a neutral country. Its units are always considered to hold position and disband if dislodged.
• 5 players: Italy and Germany are neutral, as above.
• 4 players: One player takes control of England, the others take control of two countries apiece: France/Austria, Germany/Turkey, Russia/Italy
• 3 players: One player takes control of England/Austria/Germany, one player takes control of Russia/Italy, the last takes France/Turkey.
• 2 players: A two-player game is played as a World War I simulation. The game begins in Spring 1914, with one player as England/France/Russia and the other as Germany/Austria/Turkey. Italy is neutral and impassable. After the Fall 1914 phase, before builds are taken, a coin is flipped. Whichever side wins the coin toss gains Italy on their side for the rest of the game.
Object
The object of the game is always the same; each player tries to dominate the continent by taking control of supply centers, denoted by the circle markers on the above map. There are 34 in all. A player has achieved victory once he or she has taken control of 18 of them (24 for a 2-player game).
Nations are assigned to players at random. This is the only element of chance in the game. Play then begins immediately with the first Spring phase.
For our purposes, one person takes the position of a host or gamemaster. It is the host's job to remain as a neutral party in all proceedings, arbitrate in disputes, and answer questions as they arise.
There are two main phases of play: Spring phases and Fall phases. Each one is followed by a brief retreat phase, then a short build phase at the end of each year.
Spring phases and Fall phases play exactly the same: players have a limited amount of time to communicate, make deals, plan, and give orders to their units. The main difference between them is that units do not take control of any new supply centers that they occupy until after a Fall phase. A unit that enters a supply center during the Spring, but then leaves again during the Fall, will not take control of it that year. An appropriate amount of time is given to the players to make their communications and issue orders; the phase ends when either the time limit is up or all players have submitted orders, whichever comes first. Units who receive no orders are assumed to hold.
Retreat phases follow every Spring and Fall phase. They are brief periods of time where players are given the opportunity to issue orders to any of their units which were dislodged during the previous phase. Units who receive no orders are automatically disbanded. Some time is alloted for these phases, but not as much as for a Spring or Fall phase.
Build phases follow after Fall Retreat phases. Players who have gained more supply centers are given the opportunity to build new units; players who have lost supply centers have to disband units they have in excess. A player can never have more units than supply centers he or she controls at the end of the year. Players who issue no orders miss the opportunity to build for the year; players who need to disband and issue no orders lose units automatically, with priority first going to those most distant from the nation's capital, then fleets before armies, then by alphabetical order.
For purposes of the above procedure, the national capitals are as thus: Vienna (Austria), Paris (France), London (England), Berlin (Germany), Roma (Italy), Constantinople (Turkey), St. Petersburg (Russia).
After all orders for any particular phase have been submitted, the host resolves all of them, updates the map, then publicly announces all orders that were submitted along with a synopsis of how the orders were resolved.
Using the Board
The board is divided into distinct zones, called provinces. There are 3 kinds: sea, inland, and coastal. Provinces which contain supply centers are denoted by circular marks within their borders.
Ireland, Iceland, Switzerland, Siberia, and all other islands on the board (i.e., anything with gray slashes through it) are considered neutral and impassible provinces. No player may ever attempt to occupy these provinces or islands.
Each nation's military has two types of units at its disposal: armies and fleets. Only armies may enter into inland territories, while only fleets may enter seas. Both armies and fleets may enter into coastal provinces.
There are three kinds of provinces which demand special attention:
• Spain, Bulgaria, and St. Petersburg: all of these are coastal provinces, but with two distinct coasts. When moving or building a fleet into one of these provinces, a player must specify which coast he or she is placing that fleet. Moving from one coast to the other with a fleet will always require moving that fleet through some other province(s) first.
• Kiel and Constantinople: these two coastal provinces have waterways which allow fleets to move through them easily. As a result, they are not divided into distinct coasts like the three above. A fleet in either province is considered to be on both coasts of that province, and therefore has equal access to neighboring provinces on either side.
• Sweden and Denmark: these two provinces are close enough that an army unit may move between them without the need of a convoy. However, the border with Denmark does not separate Sweden into two coasts. Skagerrak does not border the Baltic Sea; a fleet seeking to pass from one to the other must first go through Denmark or Sweden.
Every game begins with the same setup:
England: Fleet in Edinburgh, Fleet in London, Army in Liverpool
France: Fleet in Brest, Army in Paris, Army in Marseilles
Germany: Fleet in Kiel, Army in Berlin, Army in Munich
Italy: Army in Venezia, Army in Roma, Fleet in Napoli
Austria: Army in Vienna, Army in Budapest, Fleet in Trieste
Russia: Fleet in St. Petersburg (South Coast), Army in Warsaw, Army in Moscow, Fleet in Stevastopol
Turkey: Army in Constantinople, Army in Smyrna, Fleet in Ankara
Every nation has a flag marker to show which supply centers it controls outside of its home provinces. At the game's beginning, each nation only controls the supply centers within its own borders (these are considered its home centers).
Armies and Fleets are referred to generally as "units." All units, regardless of type, have exactly the same strength. Furthermore, there can never be more than one unit present in any one province.
Diplomacy and Orders
The heart of Diplomacy is communication. Players are free to communicate with any and all other players at all times, publicly and privately. Players are permitted to lie, threaten, coerce, or otherwise GET WHAT THEY WANT from other players through any means they see fit. No agreement between players, public or private, is ever considered binding.
Once a player has decided upon a course of action, he or she needs to submit orders to the host via PM before the phase's time limit is up. He or she can issue one order to each of his or her units in play; there are 4 possible orders: move, hold, support, and convoy.
MOVEMENT
Movement is the most basic order; it tells a unit to go from one province to any other adjacent province to which it can legally move of the player's choice. Players must be careful when issuing orders and be as specific as possible when denoting which unit is receiving the order and what it is going to do; vague or ambiguous orders are always dismissed and thus fail.
A unit's maximum movement range is always to one adjacent province. Armies are land-based units and can only move into coastal or inland provinces; Fleets are water-based and can only move into seas or coastal provinces. Furthermore, a fleet that is moving from one coastal province to another must be able to move along a continuous coastline.
EXAMPLE:
The English player has a fleet in York, it can move to Edinburgh, London, or the North Sea. It cannot move to Liverpool or Wales; although these provinces are adjacent to York, the fleet cannot reach them because they do not share a coastline with York. If he had an army in York instead, it would be able to move to Edinburgh, Liverpool, Wales, or London, but not the North Sea.
If a unit is ordered to move into a province that is already occupied, or if two units are ordered into the same province in the same phase, they create a standoff and the move fails; the unit returns to its province and holds.
Two units may not exchange provinces by attempting to move through each other. This creates a standoff which results in both units remaining in place.
HOLD
An order to tell a unit to remain in position in the province it is currently occupying. Any unit that does not receive an order, or units that receive a vague or illegal order, is automatically considered to hold.
SUPPORT
This order tells a unit to lend its strength to another unit, either defensively or offensively. As many units as are able may lend support to another unit's hold or move order, with the following limitations:
• A unit offering support can only do so if it borders the province in which the support is needed.
• A unit must be able to move into the province it is trying to lend its support.
EXAMPLE:
The English player has a fleet in London, a fleet in the North Sea, and an army in Belgium. He wants to move a fleet into the English Channel; to help ensure it gets there, he decides to order other units to support. He issues the order to his fleet in London to move into the English Channel, then orders the fleet in the North Sea to support the London fleet's move to the English channel. As with moves, specifics are imperative because it is very easy to be vague. The army in Belgium cannot support either fleet; although it occupies an adjacent province to both the English Channel and the North Sea, it cannot move into either, and thus cannot lend its support to either fleet.
ALTERNATIVELY:
If he prefers, the English player could just as easily order the fleet in the North Sea into the English Channel, and then order the fleet in London to support the North Sea fleet's move to the English Channel. Or, if concerned about an attack, he could also order the fleet in London to support the North Sea, or the fleet in the North Sea to support either London or Belgium. The London fleet cannot support the army in Belgium because it is too distant. The army cannot lend support to either fleet.
A unit that supports another unit, either offensively or defensively, adds its strength to the other unit's action, effectively increasing that unit's power by another increment. There is no limit to the amount of support a unit may receive other than the conditions by which that support can be offered (i.e., what was outlined above).
Units of one nation are allowed to support the units of any other nation as the player sees fit, with one exception: At no time may a nation attempt to dislodge one of its own units, or support an attack that would result in the dislodgment of one of its own units.
EXAMPLE:
The English player has an army in Belgium and a fleet in the North Sea. The French player has an army in Picardy and an army in Burgundy. Wanting to take control of Belgium for himself, the French player orders his army in Picardy to move into Belgium, then orders his army in Burgundy to support the Picardy army's move into Belgium. The army in Picardy moves into Belgium with the support (and thus the strength) of another army behind it, and therefore has the power of 2 units. This overwhelms the English army in Belgium, which only has the power of 1 unit, and thus dislodges it from the province, forcing it into retreat.
ALTERNATIVELY:
The English player in the above example suspects the attack on Belgium, so he orders his fleet in the North Sea to support his army in Belgium. Now when the French player makes his attack, both the army in Picardy and the army in Belgium have the strength of 2 units, which forces a standoff in Belgium; the English player has successfully defended his province. However, suppose the German player has an army in Ruhr. To solidify his attack, the French player might ask the German player to also support his Picardy army's attack on Belgium (this is legal because although Ruhr does not border Picardy, it does border Belgium, which is the province where its support would be needed). If convinced, the German player could order his army in Ruhr to support the Picardy army's move to Belgium. Along with the support of the army in Burgundy, the Picardy army now moves with a strength of 3, which is enough to overpower the English army in Belgium, even with the support of the fleet in the North Sea.
The above example illustrates just how necessary specifics are when issuing support orders. When lending support to another unit's move, be sure to follow the following formula:
[unit which receives the order] support [unit which is performing move] [destination of the move]
In the above example, a good, valid, specific order would read something like "Army in Burgundy support Army in Picardy's move to Belgium."
Some examples of invalid, vague, or accidental orders that may arise are as follows:
• "Support Army in Picardy's move to Belgium" - From where, exactly? The order has not been issued to anyone in particular, it thus fails.
• "Army in Burgundy support move to Belgium" - Whose unit is being supported? Is the French army trying to support the French army in Picardy's move, or is the French player imagining that the German army in Ruhr is making an attack on Belgium? Such an order is too vague to be carried out and fails.
• "Army in Burgundy support Belgium." - This is actually a valid order, but the French player has accidentally ordered his army in Burgundy to support the English player's army's defense in Belgium, not his own army's move into Belgium from Picardy. When issuing a defensive support, it is considered sufficient to merely name the province where support is being received; any unit that is currently present in that province will receive defensive support from the unit that was given the support order.
CUTTING SUPPORT
Even if support is successfully ordered, it is no guarantee that it will ultimately succeed. If a unit lending support, either offensively or defensively, falls under attack itself, whatever support it was ordered to lend fails. Its support has effectively been "cut."
Support is cut whenever a unit falls under attack (a move by one unit into another unit's province constitutes an attack), it doesn't necessarily have to be dislodged. However, it is not possible for a unit to cut support from another unit of its own nationality (this is in the same spirit of the rule that units may never dislodge or support the dislodgment of units of their own nationality).
EXAMPLE:
The English player, sensing the intentions of the French player in the example above, approaches the German player on his own. He proposes that the German player instead attack the French army in Burgundy. The German player agrees, and issues the order for his army in Ruhr to move to Burgundy. Now when the French army in Picardy marches into Belgium, a German army is at the same time marching upon Burgundy, which disrupts the support the French army there is trying to provide to the Picardy army's attack on Belgium. The Picardy army is only of normal strength; even without the support of the English fleet in the North Sea, the army in Belgium creates a standoff with the army in Picardy, and no dislodge takes place.
ALTERNATIVELY:
The German player sees this attack on the French player as a golden opportunity, and orders his army in Munich to support his Ruhr army's move into Burgundy. Now, when orders are resolved, the French army in Burgundy doesn't just have its support cut, it is dislodged by the increased power of the German army from Ruhr. Again, the English player's army in Belgium is safe, but now the French player is in a much worse position.
A unit cannot cut support from a province that is helping to dislodge it.
Considering the above example, the English player could not hope to cut the support of the French army in Burgundy by himself, with just his army in Belgium. Both the army in Picardy and the army in Burgundy are moving against the army in Belgium, which means that his army there cannot cut support from either of them.
However, if he had an army in Gascony, he could order that army to move against the French army in Burgundy, which would cut its support without needing the aid of the German player.
CONVOY
Convoy is a special order which only fleets are capable of performing. It is an order for a fleet to carry an army across a body of water from one coastal province to another.
A fleet can only convoy within its own sea province; an army that is trying to go farther will require the aid of additional fleets. It is permitted for the fleets of one nationality to convoy the armies of another.
EXAMPLE:
The Turkish player has an army in Smyrna and a fleet in the Aegean Sea. The Austrian player has a fleet in the Ionian Sea. The Turkish player could have his Smyrna army convoyed to either Bulgaria or Greece with just the aid of his Aegean fleet, or he could convoy it to Albania, Apulia, Napoli, or Tunisia with the aid of both his fleet and the Austrian one.
When issuing a convoy order, a player must have perfect agreement between the orders to his armies and the orders to the fleets required for the convoy, according to the following format:
[Army in X province] move to [Y province] (just like a normal move order)
[Fleet in Z sea] convoy [Army in X province] to [Y province]
A separate convoy order is required for every fleet participating in the convoy. In the above example, if the Turkish player is trying to move his army to Napoli, he would need to ask the Austrian player to convoy his army across the Ionian sea. If the Austrian player agrees, the Turkish player would order his army in Smyrna to move to Napoli and his fleet in the Aegean to convoy his army in Smyrna to Napoli. The Austrian player must also order his fleet in the Ionian to convoy the army in Smyrna to Napoli. If any of these orders do not agree with each other, the entire convoy fails.
An army that is successfully convoyed, but enters into a standoff in its destination province, returns back to its province of origin. In the above example, suppose that the Austrian player doesn't want the Turkish player to take Napoli, but he doesn't want to openly betray him, either. He could inform the Italian player of what is going to happen, who then could order his own army in Roma to move to Napoli. What would result is a standoff between the army from Roma and the army from Smyrna, and both would return to their provinces of origin.
Convoyed units can be supported just like any other. The Turkish player could ask for support from nearby units for his army's move into Napoli, to increase the chances that his army will successfully reach its intended destination. Of course, a unit that is ordered to participate in the convoy cannot also be ordered to support.
A convoyed unit can be used to cut support, but it cannot cut the support of any unit that is helping to dislodge a fleet that is necessary for it to complete its convoy. This is an extension of the idea that a unit cannot cut the support from a unit that is helping to dislodge it.
A convoy can be disrupted by attacking the fleets needed to complete the convoy. Unlike with support, merely attacking a convoying fleet is not sufficient to break the convoy; a fleet must be dislodged in order for the convoy to be broken.
Players are permitted to order multiple convoy routes for the same army. As long as at least one of these routes remains intact, the convoyed army will reach its destination.
EXAMPLE:
The Turkish player has an army in Smyrna, a fleet in the Aegean Sea, and a fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean. He wants to wrest control of Greece from the Austrian player, who has a fleet in Greece and a fleet in Bulgaria (South Coast). He orders his army in Smyrna to move to Greece, and orders his fleet in the Aegean to convoy his army in Smyrna to Greece. However, he feels threatened by the nearby Austrian naval units, and turns to the Italian player for help. The Italian player has a fleet in the Ionian Sea and an army in Albania. He asks the Italian player to convoy his army in Smyrna to Greece, as well as supporting its move with the Italian army in Albania. The Italian player agrees. The Turkish player also orders his fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean to convoy his army in Smyrna to Greece, while the Italian player holds up his end of the deal by ordering his fleet in the Ionian to convoy the army in Smyrna to Greece and ordering the army in Albania to support the army in Smyrna's move to Greece. Meanwhile, the Austrian player senses that an attack is imminent, and orders his fleet in Bulgaria (South Coast) to move to the Aegean Sea, and supports its move with his fleet in Greece.
RESULT:
Both the fleet in the Aegean and the fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean attempt to convoy the army in Smyrna. The fleet in the Aegean falls under attack by the combined strengths of the Austrian fleets, and looks like it might be dislodged. However, the army in Smyrna is convoyed by the Turkish fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Italian fleet in the Ionian, to reach Greece safely. This is sufficient to cut the support of the Austrian fleet in Greece, which saves the Turkish fleet in the Aegean. However, the army from Smyrna is also acting with the support of the Italian army in Albania, so it overpowers the Austrian fleet and dislodges it from the province.
ALTERNATIVELY:
If the Turkish player had not ordered his fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean to convoy the army in Smyrna to Greece, the entire convoy would have failed and his fleet in the Aegean would have been dislodged instead. Even with all the other Italian support, without the convoying fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Aegean fleet is essential to the convoy. The Austrian fleets acting to dislodge the Turkish fleet in the Aegean cannot be disrupted by the Turkish army that fleet is trying to convoy. The Italian player's own convoy order fails, as does his order to support the Turkish attack on Greece with his army in Albania. The Turkish fleet in the Aegean is dislodged by the Austrian fleet from Bulgaria, the army in Smyrna remains in place, and the Italian player is exposed as having tried to aid the Turkish player against the Austrian one.
Ordinarily, players are not permitted to exchange units between provinces. However, if at least one of the units in question is being carried by a convoy, the exchange may take place.
EXAMPLE:
The Turkish player has taken control of Stevastopol with an army and has a fleet in the Black Sea. The Russian player has an army in Rumania, but wants his home center back. He reaches an agreement with the Turkish player to trade Rumania for Stevastopol. He orders his army in Rumania to move to Stevastopol, while the Turkish player orders his army in Stevastopol to move to Rumania, and orders his fleet in the Black Sea to convoy his army in Stevastopol to Rumania. Since at least one of the units invoved is being convoyed, the exchange takes place smoothly. If the convoy order was not issued, or if it failed for some reason, a standoff would result and the exchange would not take place.
RETREAT
After every Spring and Fall phase, a short Retreat phase ensues, giving any units that were dislodged a chance to retreat to safety. Retreats are conducted along the following rules:
• A retreat is issued like any other move order, and is subject to the same limitations according to unit type.
• Units are not permitted to retreat into the province from which they were dislodged, nor can they retreat into any province that was the site of a standoff during the previous phase.
• Retreats cannot be supported or convoyed.
• Any retreat that fails due to being too vague, being an illegal retreat, or due to creating a standoff in the target province (i.e., two units attempt to retreat to the same province at the same time), the retreating unit is automatically disbanded.
BUILDING
After players take control of new supply centers in the fall, everyone who has more supply centers than units in play is permitted to issue build orders. Those who have more units than remaining supply centers must order units to disband.
New units can only be built within a nation's home centers (i.e. the centers that are within that nation's own borders). Therefore, no matter how many centers a player may control, he or she is limited to only 3 new units per turn (4 in the case of Russia).
Home centers that are occupied by your own units, and/or which are under the control of another nation, cannot build new units.
When issuing orders to build, a player must specify which center is performing the build and which type of unit is it building. Inland centers (such as Paris or Vienna) can only produce armies, while coastal centers may produce either armies or fleets. The Russian player, when producing a fleet in St. Petersburg, must also specify whether it is being built along the province's southern coast or northern coast.
A player who has lost supply centers to the point where he or she cannot maintain some of his or her units must choose which of those excess units must be disbanded. If ever a player is reduced to 0 supply centers, all of his or her units are disbanded and he or she is eliminated from play.
Players who fail to issue build orders miss out on their opportunity to build for that year, though they are never obligated to build a unit that they would otherwise be entitled to.
Players who fail to issue disband orders will automatically lose units according to how distant the units are from that nation's capital. Players are not permitted to disband their units unless they actually have units in excess of their supply centers.
*******************************
This thread can be used as a general question & answer thread, as well as sign-up for upcoming games. I will be serving as host for the first installment, for which sign-up will be opening now.
We won't be beginning until after Deadly Sins has started, however, so feel free to take some time to familiarize yourself with the rules and let me know if you have any concerns.
Sign up for game 1:
1. KM
2. Gio
3. DoC
4. chef
5. llama
6.
7.
http://user.bloodcinder.com/kevin/BOARD.gif
Welcome to Diplomacy! This game is set against the backdrop of European politics of the early 20th century; it begins in 1901 and is played in alternating phases of Spring and Fall. Each player will take command of one or more of 7 great European powers:
http://user.bloodcinder.com/kevin/frags/AHsmall.png Austria-Hungary (Austria)
http://user.bloodcinder.com/kevin/frags/Frasmall.png France
http://user.bloodcinder.com/kevin/frags/GBsmall.png Great Britain (England)
http://user.bloodcinder.com/kevin/frags/Gersmall.png German Empire
http://user.bloodcinder.com/kevin/frags/Itasmall.png Kingdom of Italy
http://user.bloodcinder.com/kevin/frags/Ottosmall.png Ottoman Empire (Turkey)
http://user.bloodcinder.com/kevin/frags/Russmall.png Russia
Diplomacy is a game designed for 7 players (one for each country), but there are alternatives for games with fewer players:
• 6 players: Italy is considered a neutral country. Its units are always considered to hold position and disband if dislodged.
• 5 players: Italy and Germany are neutral, as above.
• 4 players: One player takes control of England, the others take control of two countries apiece: France/Austria, Germany/Turkey, Russia/Italy
• 3 players: One player takes control of England/Austria/Germany, one player takes control of Russia/Italy, the last takes France/Turkey.
• 2 players: A two-player game is played as a World War I simulation. The game begins in Spring 1914, with one player as England/France/Russia and the other as Germany/Austria/Turkey. Italy is neutral and impassable. After the Fall 1914 phase, before builds are taken, a coin is flipped. Whichever side wins the coin toss gains Italy on their side for the rest of the game.
Object
The object of the game is always the same; each player tries to dominate the continent by taking control of supply centers, denoted by the circle markers on the above map. There are 34 in all. A player has achieved victory once he or she has taken control of 18 of them (24 for a 2-player game).
Nations are assigned to players at random. This is the only element of chance in the game. Play then begins immediately with the first Spring phase.
For our purposes, one person takes the position of a host or gamemaster. It is the host's job to remain as a neutral party in all proceedings, arbitrate in disputes, and answer questions as they arise.
There are two main phases of play: Spring phases and Fall phases. Each one is followed by a brief retreat phase, then a short build phase at the end of each year.
Spring phases and Fall phases play exactly the same: players have a limited amount of time to communicate, make deals, plan, and give orders to their units. The main difference between them is that units do not take control of any new supply centers that they occupy until after a Fall phase. A unit that enters a supply center during the Spring, but then leaves again during the Fall, will not take control of it that year. An appropriate amount of time is given to the players to make their communications and issue orders; the phase ends when either the time limit is up or all players have submitted orders, whichever comes first. Units who receive no orders are assumed to hold.
Retreat phases follow every Spring and Fall phase. They are brief periods of time where players are given the opportunity to issue orders to any of their units which were dislodged during the previous phase. Units who receive no orders are automatically disbanded. Some time is alloted for these phases, but not as much as for a Spring or Fall phase.
Build phases follow after Fall Retreat phases. Players who have gained more supply centers are given the opportunity to build new units; players who have lost supply centers have to disband units they have in excess. A player can never have more units than supply centers he or she controls at the end of the year. Players who issue no orders miss the opportunity to build for the year; players who need to disband and issue no orders lose units automatically, with priority first going to those most distant from the nation's capital, then fleets before armies, then by alphabetical order.
For purposes of the above procedure, the national capitals are as thus: Vienna (Austria), Paris (France), London (England), Berlin (Germany), Roma (Italy), Constantinople (Turkey), St. Petersburg (Russia).
After all orders for any particular phase have been submitted, the host resolves all of them, updates the map, then publicly announces all orders that were submitted along with a synopsis of how the orders were resolved.
Using the Board
The board is divided into distinct zones, called provinces. There are 3 kinds: sea, inland, and coastal. Provinces which contain supply centers are denoted by circular marks within their borders.
Ireland, Iceland, Switzerland, Siberia, and all other islands on the board (i.e., anything with gray slashes through it) are considered neutral and impassible provinces. No player may ever attempt to occupy these provinces or islands.
Each nation's military has two types of units at its disposal: armies and fleets. Only armies may enter into inland territories, while only fleets may enter seas. Both armies and fleets may enter into coastal provinces.
There are three kinds of provinces which demand special attention:
• Spain, Bulgaria, and St. Petersburg: all of these are coastal provinces, but with two distinct coasts. When moving or building a fleet into one of these provinces, a player must specify which coast he or she is placing that fleet. Moving from one coast to the other with a fleet will always require moving that fleet through some other province(s) first.
• Kiel and Constantinople: these two coastal provinces have waterways which allow fleets to move through them easily. As a result, they are not divided into distinct coasts like the three above. A fleet in either province is considered to be on both coasts of that province, and therefore has equal access to neighboring provinces on either side.
• Sweden and Denmark: these two provinces are close enough that an army unit may move between them without the need of a convoy. However, the border with Denmark does not separate Sweden into two coasts. Skagerrak does not border the Baltic Sea; a fleet seeking to pass from one to the other must first go through Denmark or Sweden.
Every game begins with the same setup:
England: Fleet in Edinburgh, Fleet in London, Army in Liverpool
France: Fleet in Brest, Army in Paris, Army in Marseilles
Germany: Fleet in Kiel, Army in Berlin, Army in Munich
Italy: Army in Venezia, Army in Roma, Fleet in Napoli
Austria: Army in Vienna, Army in Budapest, Fleet in Trieste
Russia: Fleet in St. Petersburg (South Coast), Army in Warsaw, Army in Moscow, Fleet in Stevastopol
Turkey: Army in Constantinople, Army in Smyrna, Fleet in Ankara
Every nation has a flag marker to show which supply centers it controls outside of its home provinces. At the game's beginning, each nation only controls the supply centers within its own borders (these are considered its home centers).
Armies and Fleets are referred to generally as "units." All units, regardless of type, have exactly the same strength. Furthermore, there can never be more than one unit present in any one province.
Diplomacy and Orders
The heart of Diplomacy is communication. Players are free to communicate with any and all other players at all times, publicly and privately. Players are permitted to lie, threaten, coerce, or otherwise GET WHAT THEY WANT from other players through any means they see fit. No agreement between players, public or private, is ever considered binding.
Once a player has decided upon a course of action, he or she needs to submit orders to the host via PM before the phase's time limit is up. He or she can issue one order to each of his or her units in play; there are 4 possible orders: move, hold, support, and convoy.
MOVEMENT
Movement is the most basic order; it tells a unit to go from one province to any other adjacent province to which it can legally move of the player's choice. Players must be careful when issuing orders and be as specific as possible when denoting which unit is receiving the order and what it is going to do; vague or ambiguous orders are always dismissed and thus fail.
A unit's maximum movement range is always to one adjacent province. Armies are land-based units and can only move into coastal or inland provinces; Fleets are water-based and can only move into seas or coastal provinces. Furthermore, a fleet that is moving from one coastal province to another must be able to move along a continuous coastline.
EXAMPLE:
The English player has a fleet in York, it can move to Edinburgh, London, or the North Sea. It cannot move to Liverpool or Wales; although these provinces are adjacent to York, the fleet cannot reach them because they do not share a coastline with York. If he had an army in York instead, it would be able to move to Edinburgh, Liverpool, Wales, or London, but not the North Sea.
If a unit is ordered to move into a province that is already occupied, or if two units are ordered into the same province in the same phase, they create a standoff and the move fails; the unit returns to its province and holds.
Two units may not exchange provinces by attempting to move through each other. This creates a standoff which results in both units remaining in place.
HOLD
An order to tell a unit to remain in position in the province it is currently occupying. Any unit that does not receive an order, or units that receive a vague or illegal order, is automatically considered to hold.
SUPPORT
This order tells a unit to lend its strength to another unit, either defensively or offensively. As many units as are able may lend support to another unit's hold or move order, with the following limitations:
• A unit offering support can only do so if it borders the province in which the support is needed.
• A unit must be able to move into the province it is trying to lend its support.
EXAMPLE:
The English player has a fleet in London, a fleet in the North Sea, and an army in Belgium. He wants to move a fleet into the English Channel; to help ensure it gets there, he decides to order other units to support. He issues the order to his fleet in London to move into the English Channel, then orders the fleet in the North Sea to support the London fleet's move to the English channel. As with moves, specifics are imperative because it is very easy to be vague. The army in Belgium cannot support either fleet; although it occupies an adjacent province to both the English Channel and the North Sea, it cannot move into either, and thus cannot lend its support to either fleet.
ALTERNATIVELY:
If he prefers, the English player could just as easily order the fleet in the North Sea into the English Channel, and then order the fleet in London to support the North Sea fleet's move to the English Channel. Or, if concerned about an attack, he could also order the fleet in London to support the North Sea, or the fleet in the North Sea to support either London or Belgium. The London fleet cannot support the army in Belgium because it is too distant. The army cannot lend support to either fleet.
A unit that supports another unit, either offensively or defensively, adds its strength to the other unit's action, effectively increasing that unit's power by another increment. There is no limit to the amount of support a unit may receive other than the conditions by which that support can be offered (i.e., what was outlined above).
Units of one nation are allowed to support the units of any other nation as the player sees fit, with one exception: At no time may a nation attempt to dislodge one of its own units, or support an attack that would result in the dislodgment of one of its own units.
EXAMPLE:
The English player has an army in Belgium and a fleet in the North Sea. The French player has an army in Picardy and an army in Burgundy. Wanting to take control of Belgium for himself, the French player orders his army in Picardy to move into Belgium, then orders his army in Burgundy to support the Picardy army's move into Belgium. The army in Picardy moves into Belgium with the support (and thus the strength) of another army behind it, and therefore has the power of 2 units. This overwhelms the English army in Belgium, which only has the power of 1 unit, and thus dislodges it from the province, forcing it into retreat.
ALTERNATIVELY:
The English player in the above example suspects the attack on Belgium, so he orders his fleet in the North Sea to support his army in Belgium. Now when the French player makes his attack, both the army in Picardy and the army in Belgium have the strength of 2 units, which forces a standoff in Belgium; the English player has successfully defended his province. However, suppose the German player has an army in Ruhr. To solidify his attack, the French player might ask the German player to also support his Picardy army's attack on Belgium (this is legal because although Ruhr does not border Picardy, it does border Belgium, which is the province where its support would be needed). If convinced, the German player could order his army in Ruhr to support the Picardy army's move to Belgium. Along with the support of the army in Burgundy, the Picardy army now moves with a strength of 3, which is enough to overpower the English army in Belgium, even with the support of the fleet in the North Sea.
The above example illustrates just how necessary specifics are when issuing support orders. When lending support to another unit's move, be sure to follow the following formula:
[unit which receives the order] support [unit which is performing move] [destination of the move]
In the above example, a good, valid, specific order would read something like "Army in Burgundy support Army in Picardy's move to Belgium."
Some examples of invalid, vague, or accidental orders that may arise are as follows:
• "Support Army in Picardy's move to Belgium" - From where, exactly? The order has not been issued to anyone in particular, it thus fails.
• "Army in Burgundy support move to Belgium" - Whose unit is being supported? Is the French army trying to support the French army in Picardy's move, or is the French player imagining that the German army in Ruhr is making an attack on Belgium? Such an order is too vague to be carried out and fails.
• "Army in Burgundy support Belgium." - This is actually a valid order, but the French player has accidentally ordered his army in Burgundy to support the English player's army's defense in Belgium, not his own army's move into Belgium from Picardy. When issuing a defensive support, it is considered sufficient to merely name the province where support is being received; any unit that is currently present in that province will receive defensive support from the unit that was given the support order.
CUTTING SUPPORT
Even if support is successfully ordered, it is no guarantee that it will ultimately succeed. If a unit lending support, either offensively or defensively, falls under attack itself, whatever support it was ordered to lend fails. Its support has effectively been "cut."
Support is cut whenever a unit falls under attack (a move by one unit into another unit's province constitutes an attack), it doesn't necessarily have to be dislodged. However, it is not possible for a unit to cut support from another unit of its own nationality (this is in the same spirit of the rule that units may never dislodge or support the dislodgment of units of their own nationality).
EXAMPLE:
The English player, sensing the intentions of the French player in the example above, approaches the German player on his own. He proposes that the German player instead attack the French army in Burgundy. The German player agrees, and issues the order for his army in Ruhr to move to Burgundy. Now when the French army in Picardy marches into Belgium, a German army is at the same time marching upon Burgundy, which disrupts the support the French army there is trying to provide to the Picardy army's attack on Belgium. The Picardy army is only of normal strength; even without the support of the English fleet in the North Sea, the army in Belgium creates a standoff with the army in Picardy, and no dislodge takes place.
ALTERNATIVELY:
The German player sees this attack on the French player as a golden opportunity, and orders his army in Munich to support his Ruhr army's move into Burgundy. Now, when orders are resolved, the French army in Burgundy doesn't just have its support cut, it is dislodged by the increased power of the German army from Ruhr. Again, the English player's army in Belgium is safe, but now the French player is in a much worse position.
A unit cannot cut support from a province that is helping to dislodge it.
Considering the above example, the English player could not hope to cut the support of the French army in Burgundy by himself, with just his army in Belgium. Both the army in Picardy and the army in Burgundy are moving against the army in Belgium, which means that his army there cannot cut support from either of them.
However, if he had an army in Gascony, he could order that army to move against the French army in Burgundy, which would cut its support without needing the aid of the German player.
CONVOY
Convoy is a special order which only fleets are capable of performing. It is an order for a fleet to carry an army across a body of water from one coastal province to another.
A fleet can only convoy within its own sea province; an army that is trying to go farther will require the aid of additional fleets. It is permitted for the fleets of one nationality to convoy the armies of another.
EXAMPLE:
The Turkish player has an army in Smyrna and a fleet in the Aegean Sea. The Austrian player has a fleet in the Ionian Sea. The Turkish player could have his Smyrna army convoyed to either Bulgaria or Greece with just the aid of his Aegean fleet, or he could convoy it to Albania, Apulia, Napoli, or Tunisia with the aid of both his fleet and the Austrian one.
When issuing a convoy order, a player must have perfect agreement between the orders to his armies and the orders to the fleets required for the convoy, according to the following format:
[Army in X province] move to [Y province] (just like a normal move order)
[Fleet in Z sea] convoy [Army in X province] to [Y province]
A separate convoy order is required for every fleet participating in the convoy. In the above example, if the Turkish player is trying to move his army to Napoli, he would need to ask the Austrian player to convoy his army across the Ionian sea. If the Austrian player agrees, the Turkish player would order his army in Smyrna to move to Napoli and his fleet in the Aegean to convoy his army in Smyrna to Napoli. The Austrian player must also order his fleet in the Ionian to convoy the army in Smyrna to Napoli. If any of these orders do not agree with each other, the entire convoy fails.
An army that is successfully convoyed, but enters into a standoff in its destination province, returns back to its province of origin. In the above example, suppose that the Austrian player doesn't want the Turkish player to take Napoli, but he doesn't want to openly betray him, either. He could inform the Italian player of what is going to happen, who then could order his own army in Roma to move to Napoli. What would result is a standoff between the army from Roma and the army from Smyrna, and both would return to their provinces of origin.
Convoyed units can be supported just like any other. The Turkish player could ask for support from nearby units for his army's move into Napoli, to increase the chances that his army will successfully reach its intended destination. Of course, a unit that is ordered to participate in the convoy cannot also be ordered to support.
A convoyed unit can be used to cut support, but it cannot cut the support of any unit that is helping to dislodge a fleet that is necessary for it to complete its convoy. This is an extension of the idea that a unit cannot cut the support from a unit that is helping to dislodge it.
A convoy can be disrupted by attacking the fleets needed to complete the convoy. Unlike with support, merely attacking a convoying fleet is not sufficient to break the convoy; a fleet must be dislodged in order for the convoy to be broken.
Players are permitted to order multiple convoy routes for the same army. As long as at least one of these routes remains intact, the convoyed army will reach its destination.
EXAMPLE:
The Turkish player has an army in Smyrna, a fleet in the Aegean Sea, and a fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean. He wants to wrest control of Greece from the Austrian player, who has a fleet in Greece and a fleet in Bulgaria (South Coast). He orders his army in Smyrna to move to Greece, and orders his fleet in the Aegean to convoy his army in Smyrna to Greece. However, he feels threatened by the nearby Austrian naval units, and turns to the Italian player for help. The Italian player has a fleet in the Ionian Sea and an army in Albania. He asks the Italian player to convoy his army in Smyrna to Greece, as well as supporting its move with the Italian army in Albania. The Italian player agrees. The Turkish player also orders his fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean to convoy his army in Smyrna to Greece, while the Italian player holds up his end of the deal by ordering his fleet in the Ionian to convoy the army in Smyrna to Greece and ordering the army in Albania to support the army in Smyrna's move to Greece. Meanwhile, the Austrian player senses that an attack is imminent, and orders his fleet in Bulgaria (South Coast) to move to the Aegean Sea, and supports its move with his fleet in Greece.
RESULT:
Both the fleet in the Aegean and the fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean attempt to convoy the army in Smyrna. The fleet in the Aegean falls under attack by the combined strengths of the Austrian fleets, and looks like it might be dislodged. However, the army in Smyrna is convoyed by the Turkish fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Italian fleet in the Ionian, to reach Greece safely. This is sufficient to cut the support of the Austrian fleet in Greece, which saves the Turkish fleet in the Aegean. However, the army from Smyrna is also acting with the support of the Italian army in Albania, so it overpowers the Austrian fleet and dislodges it from the province.
ALTERNATIVELY:
If the Turkish player had not ordered his fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean to convoy the army in Smyrna to Greece, the entire convoy would have failed and his fleet in the Aegean would have been dislodged instead. Even with all the other Italian support, without the convoying fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Aegean fleet is essential to the convoy. The Austrian fleets acting to dislodge the Turkish fleet in the Aegean cannot be disrupted by the Turkish army that fleet is trying to convoy. The Italian player's own convoy order fails, as does his order to support the Turkish attack on Greece with his army in Albania. The Turkish fleet in the Aegean is dislodged by the Austrian fleet from Bulgaria, the army in Smyrna remains in place, and the Italian player is exposed as having tried to aid the Turkish player against the Austrian one.
Ordinarily, players are not permitted to exchange units between provinces. However, if at least one of the units in question is being carried by a convoy, the exchange may take place.
EXAMPLE:
The Turkish player has taken control of Stevastopol with an army and has a fleet in the Black Sea. The Russian player has an army in Rumania, but wants his home center back. He reaches an agreement with the Turkish player to trade Rumania for Stevastopol. He orders his army in Rumania to move to Stevastopol, while the Turkish player orders his army in Stevastopol to move to Rumania, and orders his fleet in the Black Sea to convoy his army in Stevastopol to Rumania. Since at least one of the units invoved is being convoyed, the exchange takes place smoothly. If the convoy order was not issued, or if it failed for some reason, a standoff would result and the exchange would not take place.
RETREAT
After every Spring and Fall phase, a short Retreat phase ensues, giving any units that were dislodged a chance to retreat to safety. Retreats are conducted along the following rules:
• A retreat is issued like any other move order, and is subject to the same limitations according to unit type.
• Units are not permitted to retreat into the province from which they were dislodged, nor can they retreat into any province that was the site of a standoff during the previous phase.
• Retreats cannot be supported or convoyed.
• Any retreat that fails due to being too vague, being an illegal retreat, or due to creating a standoff in the target province (i.e., two units attempt to retreat to the same province at the same time), the retreating unit is automatically disbanded.
BUILDING
After players take control of new supply centers in the fall, everyone who has more supply centers than units in play is permitted to issue build orders. Those who have more units than remaining supply centers must order units to disband.
New units can only be built within a nation's home centers (i.e. the centers that are within that nation's own borders). Therefore, no matter how many centers a player may control, he or she is limited to only 3 new units per turn (4 in the case of Russia).
Home centers that are occupied by your own units, and/or which are under the control of another nation, cannot build new units.
When issuing orders to build, a player must specify which center is performing the build and which type of unit is it building. Inland centers (such as Paris or Vienna) can only produce armies, while coastal centers may produce either armies or fleets. The Russian player, when producing a fleet in St. Petersburg, must also specify whether it is being built along the province's southern coast or northern coast.
A player who has lost supply centers to the point where he or she cannot maintain some of his or her units must choose which of those excess units must be disbanded. If ever a player is reduced to 0 supply centers, all of his or her units are disbanded and he or she is eliminated from play.
Players who fail to issue build orders miss out on their opportunity to build for that year, though they are never obligated to build a unit that they would otherwise be entitled to.
Players who fail to issue disband orders will automatically lose units according to how distant the units are from that nation's capital. Players are not permitted to disband their units unless they actually have units in excess of their supply centers.
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This thread can be used as a general question & answer thread, as well as sign-up for upcoming games. I will be serving as host for the first installment, for which sign-up will be opening now.
We won't be beginning until after Deadly Sins has started, however, so feel free to take some time to familiarize yourself with the rules and let me know if you have any concerns.
Sign up for game 1:
1. KM
2. Gio
3. DoC
4. chef
5. llama
6.
7.