Boardgame Review: Diplomacy
Hasbro’s Game of Negotiation and Military Tactics in Imperial Europe
Aug 28, 2008
In Diplomacy, players control one of the seven main Imperial powers that dominated Europe at the start of the 20th century. Each player moves his armies and fleets across the map trying to acquire supply centres. On alternate turns, each additional supply centre controlled allows the player to mobilise additional units. Once one player (or group of players, if agreed) controls 18 supply centres he or she is declared the winner.
Gameplay
The game consists of turns divided into two phases. In the first phase, the diplomacy phase, players negotiate with each other to form alliances and agree upon mutually beneficial strategies.
As it is extremely difficult to acquire 18 supply centres, each player must negotiate with the others and ally with those that offer the greatest strategic advantage. Players can negotiate with whomever they like but – and here is where negotiating skills become important – nothing that is said during the diplomacy phase is binding.
Once the diplomacy phase is over, players then secretly write orders for the units they control. These orders are then revealed simultaneously and executed. Units move one space at a time and control of provinces is gained through occupation, with superior strength determining the victor in areas of conflict.
Strategy
At the beginning of the game, each player must decide who best to ally with. Some alliances (Turkey/Russia working their way westwards or two of Germany, England and France allying against the third) are common but during the diplomacy phase anything goes in terms of agreements – and treachery. Players then work with their allies to determine a common strategy, helping each other to gain territory at the expense of the other players.
The skill is convincing potential allies that their interests are best served in working with you. At the same time all parties are aware that, if any individual player is to win, he must ultimately break the alliance and turn on his erstwhile partners at the most opportune moment. Deciding when best to do so is one of the game’s key skills.
Flexible Gameplay
Because orders are wriiten each turn and every space on the board is identified, Diplomacy can also be played via email or online. The diplomacy phase can be carried out through mail or even cellphone and there are a number of resources to help players adjudicate moves each turn. When playing, online turns can be hours or days apart, allowing players to negotiate with each other regardless of location.
There is a thriving online community on sites like The Diplomatic Pouch or Diplomacy 2000 and both novice and experienced players are welcomed.
A Good Game?
Diplomacy is one of those rare games where the random element is absent. The rules are simple to grasp but offer complex gameplay. There are no dice and players use tactical awareness and diplomatic skills to maximise their advantages in the game. It rewards players who enjoy games with strategic depth and who are prepared to involve themselves wholeheartedly in the diplomacy aspect.
It does, however, have weaknesses:
- Although the game is relatively well balanced, Italy and Austria/Hungary are more difficult to play due to their position on the board.
- Because of the need to have a diplomacy phase each turn and the amount of time spent writing and resolving orders, the game can also last several hours, so will not suit gamers requiring something quick to play.
- Lastly, although the rules cater for two to seven players, realistically the game is best played with a full complement of seven, so will not suit smaller groups.
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