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I just picked up the game recently and have read through the rules. I don't know when I'll actually get a chance to play it but I'm a little unclear on how to resolve orders.
Following the sample play in the back of the rulebook, there's so much going on within each turn how does one effectively resolve all the orders without getting mixed up? Do you complete all orders from all Great Powers and then look to see where there are conflicts, cut off support, etc.? Or do you move one Great Power at a time and pause any time there's a conflict then scour to see what applies to that location, resolve it, and move on? Any other strategy?
Is it better to have one player/GM resolve everything or have each individual player chime in and resolve their own orders?
It seems like it can be a bit confusing in the beginning but as the game goes on and there are more and more pieces and, thus, more and more orders it seems that it would be a chore to keep from making a mistake.
On a different note, I'm wondering about alliances. I've heard a lot of people talk of winning the game via an alliance but the rules don't provide for winning in teams. I'm assuming it's taking a draw when you win with an alliance but does that mean you really have to eliminate every other player outside of the alliance first? Is there some other strategy that wouldn't be obvious to a new player like myself?
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Jeffry Welfare
Australia
Guildford
New South Wales
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n107 wrote: I just picked up the game recently and have read through the rules. I don't know when I'll actually get a chance to play it but I'm a little unclear on how to resolve orders.
Following the sample play in the back of the rulebook, there's so much going on within each turn how does one effectively resolve all the orders without getting mixed up? Do you complete all orders from all Great Powers and then look to see where there are conflicts, cut off support, etc.? Or do you move one Great Power at a time and pause any time there's a conflict then scour to see what applies to that location, resolve it, and move on? Any other strategy?
Is it better to have one player/GM resolve everything or have each individual player chime in and resolve their own orders?
It seems like it can be a bit confusing in the beginning but as the game goes on and there are more and more pieces and, thus, more and more orders it seems that it would be a chore to keep from making a mistake.
All orders are resolved at the same time. I always found it easy to go through each power one at a time, line by line as it were and moving the relevant piece up to the edge of the space they were in so it was easy to tell where a piece was moving. Then it was usually pretty easy to tell where there were no conflicts that you could just move the pieces, and where you would have to just check the supports. At the very most there are only 34 units at most in the whole game. And those units will be scattered around the map. You shouldn't find too many problems.
All you really need is everybody to realise that they can't all try to do everything at once and there is no advantage to being the first to read their orders out. And hey, it's Diplomacy, if you're sneaky enough it could be better to read last. *wink* *wink* *nod* *nod* *say no more*  
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Matt Downey
United States
Alexandria
Virginia
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Of course, all orders are public after they've been revealed, so everyone should actually see the orders that are read off, to prevent the exact type of shenanigans you're implying.
Personally, I just play entirely online.
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Romain Jacques
Canada
Gatineau
Québec
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To answer your question about alliance, your assumption is correct, winning with alliance is a draw. For some purists, there is no such thing, the only win is when one player has 18 centers or more. For most players however, a game can finish with a draw. In the play by email world, you have DIAS and NoDIAS games. DIAS means draws include all survivors. For both cases, when you think the game cannot progress anymore, you suggest a secret vote to stop it. If all survivors agree on the issue, the game is over. In NoDIAS games, all survivors have to agree on who are included in the draw.
There is also the possibility to agree at the beginning of the game to stop it after playing a number of years (in European tournament stopping at 1907 is popular) the player with the most centers win.
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Stewart Nairn
United Kingdom
Glasgow
Glasgow
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It is usual to have one person read out all the orders, one power at a time, one order at a time. As they read out the individual orders the other players (whoever is nearest/most interested) physically move the pieces.
As a move order is read out if it is obvious that, irrespective of the subsequent orders, it will succeed then the unit is moved into the appropriate province.
If the move order might fail because of other orders then the unit is moved to the border (it looks like it is trying to get across the border).
If a unit is ordered to support a unit in, or into, an other province, then again, it is moved to the border with that province.
It is normal for the person reading out the orders, when he comes to his own orders, to give them to someone else to read out (to avoid any "mistakes").
When all the order have been read out you then look at the board. It should be obvious from the position of the units the areas where adjudication is necessary. These are taken one at a time.
This adjudication is usually done collectively with someone taking the lead and saying, for example, "What happens in The English Channel? This holds with one support, this is moving in with one support, this is moving in with two supports, this support is cut from here, that support is cut from there, so this succeeds and that is dislodged". Usually agreement is reached pretty quickly, there being at least two interested parties to any conflicting orders who are pretty quick to point out any errors or omissions in the resolution process. Occasionally it is necessary to go back to the written orders to clarify a particular order.
As contested moves are resolved the units are placed in the middle of the provences (indicating that they have been dealt with).
Displaced units with no retreat path are removed. Displaced units with retreat paths are placed on their side until all moves are reslolved.
After all moves have been resolved the retreats/disbands need to be dealt with. The order sheets are given back to the players and retreat/disbands are written. Sometimes players are happy to retreat/disband without writing order, and are allowed to do so.
Similarly when builds/disbands are due players write them on the order sheet, they are collected together, someone reads out them out while someone else puts the units on/takes them off the board.
It will all run smoothly after just a couple of game turns.
As to the other matter, in my opinion there is no such thing in Diplomacy as a draw, simply loosing with other people.
If you can manage to get 6 other like minded people round a board with you it can be great fun, though eliminations can present a bit of a social problem, what does Austria do for the next 6 hours after being eliminated in 1902?
For me the game is best played by correspondence with plenty of time between deadlines for diplomacy. There are lots of sites around which facilitate this (although most deadlines are a bit short for my tastes).
Having played this game for over 30 years(I am still rubbish, by the way) I fondly remember playing by mail, before the internet was invented. Ah the romance. It really is the best way to play.
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Thanks a lot for the info and tips, especially Stewart's detailed response. That helps me get a better understanding of how to resolve orders properly.
However, the only issue I see with that now is that some territories are so small the units pretty much touch every border at once so moving the piece to the border really doesn't do much.
I'm sure with time and practice it will become easier, I'm just worried that if even I get tripped up during the first game (since it's up to me to introduce it) it's going to really take the other players out of it. I'd hate to create a bad first experience for my group.
On that note, any tips for a first game where all 7 players (if I'm lucky) will be completely new? Time limits, house rules, etc.?
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Matt Downey
United States
Alexandria
Virginia
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Walk through a sample game (depending on the version you have, there should be one in the back) so everyone can see how it works and how to write orders.
Send the pdf copy of the rules out to everyone ahead of time for those that are interested. They have helpful diagrams and everything.
MOST IMPORTANTLY - tell everyone to leave their friendships at the door and leave the game on the table. Seriously. It's neither a coincidence nor a joke that Diplomacy has a reputation for ending friendships.
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Matt Downey
United States
Alexandria
Virginia
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The rules typically suggest 30 minutes before the first season and 15 minutes between each other season. Use this as a guideline and not a hard and fast rule. If everyone is ready, proceed. If people need more time, let it stretch.
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Edward Rustin
United Kingdom
London
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As confusing as it all looks the first few times you play (and especially just from reading the rules), it's something that you'll pick up pretty quickly and it rapidly becomes second nature to see how the orders will get resolved.
There's really not many gottchas or potentially ambiguous situations that come up, and those that do tend to be pretty rare.
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Stewart Nairn
United Kingdom
Glasgow
Glasgow
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As well as sending a pdf of the rules to players before hand I would send the link to the classic book by Richard Sharp (hosted at the Diplomatic Pouch with his permission), "The Game of Diplomacy" http://www.diplom.org/~diparch/god.htm
The first couple of chapters really convey the feel of this game.
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Seth Owen
United States
Norwich
Connecticut
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I'd recommend playing with a time limit (1907 is good) when introducing the game to new players. It cuts down on the player elimination problem (most powers should still be around) and the "draw" issue (play to the most centers instead) which I think is better for experienced players.
For what it's worth, the Draws-include-all-survivors" rule is the original designer's rule and intent, but playing the other way is pretty common. It's important to establish which rule you will use because it will affect negotiations significantly.
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Matt Downey
United States
Alexandria
Virginia
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Oooo, a year limit is a very good call! And I agree with 1907. At most you should have two powers eliminated by then, if they do very poorly.
The DIAS is very much in the spirit of the game, if not very rewarding. It IS called Diplomacy after all, not Nuclear War.
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Mike Urban
United States
Los Angeles
California
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downeymb wrote:
MOST IMPORTANTLY - tell everyone to leave their friendships at the door and leave the game on the table. Seriously. It's neither a coincidence nor a joke that Diplomacy has a reputation for ending friendships.
Bears repeating. Players should know in advance that it is very much a part of the game for your supposed ally to look you straight in the eye, tell you that they are doing XXX this turn, and be lying through their teeth. 'The art of the stab', while not essential for every player in every game, is definitely something for which every player must be emotionally prepared. With the right attitude, it is just part of the fun. With the wrong attitude, it can be tragic.
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Edward Rustin
United Kingdom
London
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downeymb wrote: Oooo, a year limit is a very good call! And I agree with 1907. At most you should have two powers eliminated by then, if they do very poorly.
I'm not sure that your games are nasty enough if only two powers are out by 1907!
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Matt Downey
United States
Alexandria
Virginia
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Oh, the games are very nasty indeed. You'd be surprised how long a power on the brink of elimination can survive through effective diplomacy. Maybe it's a case of the players.
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Edward Rustin
United Kingdom
London
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Oh for sure. I'm in a very strange game at the moment where it took until 1910 for even one power to be eliminated, though for context it's also the top table in the final round of a tournament so the meta-gaming has been vicious and added an extra level of caution and distrust to the actual game.
Without wishing to disrupt the actual topic of thread, I also run a PBeM series, so if anyone's looking for a game drop me a geekmail for details.
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Chris Schumann
United States
Saint Paul
Minnesota
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Another thing to try especially since you're all beginners:
Start a game with no diplomacy at all. Just have players write moves for their pieces, read them, resolve them. Go through at least one year to deal with builds and/or disbands, or maybe two years. That should be enough to get the mechanics of the game down... then comes the fun.
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Randall Bart
United States
Granada Hills
California
Red October
Earth is one of my favorite planets
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Whizkid wrote: Start a game with no diplomacy at all.
One of the joys of growing senile: I read that as "no duplicity".
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