THE RULES OF DIPLOMACY
I. PLAYERS AND COUNTRIES
Diplomacy is best played by seven players, though as few as two may play. Each player represents one of the Great Powers of Europe in the years just prior to World War 1: England, Germany, Russia, Turkey, Austria-Hungary, Italy and France. Each is independent of the other. At the start of the game, the players draw lots to determine which Great Power each will represent. This is the only element of chance in the game.
II. OBJECT OF THE GAME
As soon as one Great Power controls 18 Supply Centers, it is said to have "gained control of Europe," and the player representing that Great Power is the winner. Players may terminate the game by mutual agreement before a winner is determined, in which case all players who still have pieces on the board share equally in a draw.
III. SHORT GAME
Since gaining control of 18 supply centers takes a long time, players may agree beforehand to stop the game at a certain time. Players may agree to regard the player who has the most pieces on the board at that time as the winner.
IV. DIPLOMACY
1. Combinations and agreements among the players may affect the course of the game a great deal. These are determined during the diplomacy period which takes place before each move. This period lasts 30 minutes before the first move and 15 minutes before each move thereafter. These periods may end sooner if all players agree at the time.
2. During diplomacy periods, a player may say anything he/she wishes. Usually, the players go to another room or off to a corner in twos and threes. They try to keep the content of their conversations secret. They may try to overhear the conversations of others. The conversations usually consist of bargaining or joint military planning, but they may include such things as exchanging information, denouncing, threatening, spreading rumors, and so forth. Public announcements may be made and documents may be written and made public or not, as the players see fit. The rules do not bind a player to anything he/she says; deciding whom to trust as situations arise is part of the game.
V. UNDERLYING ECONOMIC STRUCTURE OF THE GAME
(SUPPLY CENTERS)
Certain provinces on the board, 34 in all, are designated "supply centers." Supply centers are marked with a black dot. Each of these provinces produces supplies sufficient to keep an army or fleet in being. A country may have only as many armies and fleets on the board as it controls supply centers. Consequently, there may never be more than 34 armies and fleets (hereafter called "units") on the board at one time. A country gains or loses units in accordance with the number of supply centers it controls.
VI. THE BOARD AND SET
1. THE BOARD. The physical features shown on the board, except for the coastlines, are purely decorative. The countries are set off by heavy, solid, black lines. The Great Powers are also cut into "provinces" by light, solid, black lines. The smaller countries are each one "province." The seas are divided into "bodies of water" by light, solid, black lines. Each province or body of water is a "space."
2. UNITS. "Armies" are denoted by square blocks and represent control of a province by military forces. "Fleets" are denoted by long blocks and represent control of a body of water or a coastal province by warships or their associated land forces. The set contains 112 Markers: 8 for armies and 8 for fleets for each Great Power. If any Great Power grows until it runs out of markers of either kind, some other country will probably have been eliminated from the game, and its markers may be used by the growing Great Power.
3. STARTING POSITION. At the start of the game each Great Power, except Russia, controls three supply centers and has three units. Russia controls four supply centers and has four units. These units begin play, one in each home supply center, in the following positions (where A means army and F means fleet):
England (Dark Blue): | F London | F Edinburgh | A Liverpool |
Germany (Black): | A Berlin | A Munich | F Kiel |
Russia (White): |
|
A Warsaw |
|
Turkey (Yellow): | A Constantinople | A Smyrna | F Ankara |
Austria-Hungary (Red): | A Vienna | A Budapest | F Trieste |
Italy (Green): | A Rome | A Venice | F Naples |
France (Light Blue): | A Paris | A Marseilles | F Brest |
The twelve remaining supply centers are not occupied at the start
of the game.
VIII. THE MOVE ORDER AND THE MECHANICS OF WRITING ORDERS
3. MOVEMENT IN CERTAIN UNUSUAL POSITIONS ON THE BOARD
a. KIEL AND CONSTANTINOPLE. By virtue of the waterways through
these two provinces, fleets may enter them along one coast, and,
on another move, leave from the other coast. Armies may also pass
into and out of these provinces, freely bridging these waterways.
Note that this does not mean that pieces may jump over these spaces.
b. PROVINCES HAVING TWO COASTS (Bulgaria, Spain, and St. Peters-burg).
A fleet entering one of these provinces enters along one coast
and may then move only to a space adjacent to that coast; it nevertheless
occupies the entire province. If a fleet is ordered to one of
these provinces and it is possible for the fleet to move to either
coast, the order must specify which coast, or the fleet does not
move.
A fleet which may move to one of these provinces may "support"
an action in that province (see section IX, THE SUPPORT ORDER)
without regard to the separation of the coastline. Thus, because
a fleet in Marseilles may move to Spain, although only to the
south coast, it may nevertheless support an action anywhere in
Spain, even if that action is an order to a fleet to move to,
or to hold in, Spain (north coast).
It should be clear that the converse is not true: a fleet in Spain
(north coast) cannot support an action in or into Marseilles,
because it cannot move to Marseilles at all in a single move.
c. SWEDEN AND DENMARK. An army or fleet may move from Sweden to
Denmark, or vice versa. A fleet moving from the Baltic Sea to
the Skaggerak or vice versa must first move to Sweden or Denmark.
The common border with Denmark does not separate the coast of
Sweden into two coastlines; and Denmark does not border on Berlin.
4. MECHANICS OF WRITING ORDERS. Each player writes his/her "orders"
on a slip of paper, usually keeping them secret, and these orders
to the armies and fleets are all exposed at once. Each player
reads his orders while the others check to be sure that he is
reading what he actually wrote. An illegal order is not followed,
and the unit so ordered simply stands in its place. A mistaken
order, if legal, must be followed. An order which admits of two
meanings is not followed. A badly written order, which nevertheless
can have only one meaning, must be followed.
5. GAMESMASTER. If sufficient persons are available, it may be
found convenient to have an eighth person, a "Gamesmaster,"
who could collect the orders and read them, adjudicating the resulting
situations and making rulings when necessary. His role should
be strictly neutral; he could also keep time for the diplomacy
periods. He could keep a running tally of ownership of supply
centers.
6. DATES. Orders for the first are dated "Spring 1901"; for the second, "Fall 1901"; for the third, "Spring 1902"; and so on.
7. FORMAT. In each set of orders, the space each unit is in is
written first, followed by its order. It is convenient to make
a list of your units and their spaces for easy reference during
conferences and then to write your orders on the same list. The
first three letters of any space will almost always form an unambiguous
abbreviation, except for spaces beginning with "Nor."
In this rulebook, the following abbreviations will be used: North
Sea, Nth; Norwegian Sea, Nrg; Norway, Nwy; North Atlantic, NAt;
North Africa, NAf.
VIII. CONFLICTS
If two or more units are ordered to the same space, none of them may move. If a unit is not ordered to move, or is prevented from moving, and other units are ordered to its space, those other units may not move. If two units are ordered, each to the space the other occupies, neither may move. These three situations are called "stand-offs." Like the other rules governing conflicts, these rules apply whether the units involved are armies or fleets, which are essentially equal in power and different only in the spaces to which they may move. These rules also apply (with two minor exceptions noted in IX. 3. and the note to IX. 6.), whether the units involved belong to the same or different Great Powers.
IX. THE SUPPORT ORDER
1. ORDERING SUPPORT. A unit may give up its move in order to support another unit trying to hold or enter a space. This space must be one to which the supporting unit could have moved if not opposed by other units; that is, the space which is the destination of the action being supported must be adjacent to the space in which the supporting unit is located, and must be suitable for an army or fleet, whichever the supporting unit may be. To order a support, it is necessary to write the location of the supporting piece, the word "supports" or its equivalent, and both the location and destination of the piece receiving support. The letter "S" may be used to mean supports. Thus, A Tyr-Mun, A Bur S A Tyr-Mun; or for units of another country, A Sil S RUSSIAN A War-Pru. Fleets may support armies and vice versa; but, as implied above, a fleet may not give support into an inland province, nor into a coastal province not adjacent along the same coast, and an army may not give support into a body of water, because it cannot move there even if unopposed.
2. EFFECT OF SUPPORT. A unit moves with the strength of itself and all its valid supports. Unless it is opposed by a unit equally well or better supported, it may make its move, the rules under CONFLICTS above notwithstanding. Equally supported units which conflict in the situations described in Section VIII, CONFLICTS, follow those rules. A unit which otherwise would have remained in the space attacked by a better supported unit is dislodged and must retreat or be disbanded.
3. SELF-DISLODGMENT PROHIBITED. One exception mentioned in
Section VIII, CONFLICTS, is that an order to-move into a space
occupied by another unit of the same country may not succeed if
the second unit fails to leave that space. The order would still
be valid for other purposes, however, such
as standing off an equally well or less well supported attack
on the same space by units of other countries. Similarly, an order
by one country which supports an attack by another country against
a space occupied by one of the Bust country's units does not permit
a move dislodging that unit, but may be valid for other purposes.
Example 1. ENGLAND: F Den-Kie, F Nth-Den, F Hel S F Nth-Den. RUSSIA:
A Ber-Kie, F Bal S F Ska-Den, F Ska-Den. Underlined moves fail.
England cannot dislodge his own unit, but his supported attack
on Denmark is sufficient to stand off the supported Russian attack
on the same space.
Example 2. FRANCE: A Bur Holds. GERMANY: A Mun-Bur, A Kie S AUSTRIAN
A Boh-Mun. AUSTRIA: A Boh-Mun. The German support for the Austrian
unit does not enable it to advance so as to dislodge a German
Unit.
Note, however, that if Austria had supported its attack on Munich
with one of its own units, say AUSTRIA: A Tyr S A Boh-Mun, then
the German unit in Munich would have been dislodged and forced
to retreat.
4. SELF-STANDOFF. While a country may not dislodge its own units,
it can stand itself off by ordering two equally well supported
attacks on the same space. However, if one of the attacks has
more support than the other, it will succeed.
Example 3. AUSTRIA: A Ser-Bud, A Vie-Bud. RUSSIA: A Gal S. AUSTRIAN
A Ser-Bud. The Austrian move A Ser-Bud succeeds due to theRussian
support. It would not succeed if there were an Austrian army already
in Budapest. Note that the move succeeds whether the support is
from a foreign unit as illustrated or from a unit of the same
country.
5. BELEAGUERED GARRISON. Since dislodgment occurs only when
another piece enters the space in question, as indicated in IX.
2., above, it follows that if two equally well supported units
attack the same space, thus
standing each other off, a unit already in that space is not dislodged.
Example 4. AUSTRIA: A Ser Holds. RUSSIA: A Rum-Ser, A Bud S A Rum-Ser. TURKEY: A Bul-Ser, A Gre S A Bul-Ser. Note that nothing happens to the Austrian Army. If it had tried to give support, however, its support would have been cut by either or both of the two attacks.
6. HOLDING AND RECEIVING SUPPORT. A unit not ordered to move
(i.e., one that is ordered to hold, ordered to convoy, ordered
to support, or not ordered at all) may receive support in holding.
A unit ordered to move may receive support only for its attempted
movement. It may not be supported in place in the event that its
attempted move fails. Thus, A Mun Holds, A Boh S A Mun is valid,
but if A Mun-Ber, then A Boh S A Mun is not valid because A Mun
was ordered to move.
Note that a unit need not be next to a unit it is supporting;
it must be next to the space into which it is giving support and
it must be able to move to that space if unopposed by other units.
Support cannot be convoyed. A player may not, by an attack, cut
support being given by one of his own units (see X, CUTTING SUPPORT).
7. DISLODGMENT OF A PIECE PARTICIPATING IN A STANDOFF. It follows
from the above rules that, where two or more equally well supported
units are ordered to the same space, neither may move, even though
one of them has been dislodged by a supported attack on the same
move. However, if two units
are ordered to the same space, and one of them is dislodged by
a unit coming from that space, the other unit may move.
Example 5. TURKEY: A Bul-Rum. RUSSIA: A Rum-Bul, A Ser S A Rum-Bul,
A Sev-Rum. Again, underlined moves fail. The Turkish A Bul is
dislodged. The Russian A Sev, even though ordered to the same
space as the Turkish A Bul, nevertheless moves because A Bul was
dislodged by an attack from that space (i.e., both the Turkish
A Bul and the Russian A Sev are ordered to Rumania, but since
the Russian Army moving from Rumania is able to dislodge the Turkish
A Bul, the Russian A Sev is then able to move into Rumania).
Example 6. TURKEY: A Bul-Rum, F Bla S A Bul Rum. RUSSIA: A Rum-Bul,
A Gre S A Rum-Bul, A Ser S A Rum-Bul, A Sev-Rum. Even though it
has support, the dislodged Turkish unit fails to prevent the unsupported
Russian move into Rumania because the Turkish unit was dislodged
by a unit coming from Rumania.
Note that in each example above, if Russia had not ordered A Sev-Rum, Rumania would have been vacant for purposes of another unit's retreat because Rumania was not vacant due to a standoff. It may be said that a dislodged unit has no effect on the space its attacker came from.
X. CUTTING SUPPORT
If a unit ordered to support in a given space is attacked from
a space different from the one into which it is giving support,
or is dislodged by an attack from any space, including the one
into which it is giving support, then its support is "cut."
The unit that was to have received that support then does not
receive it.
Example 7. GERMANY: A Pru-War, A Sil S A Pru-War. RUSSIA: A War
Holds, A Boh-Sil. The Support of the army in Silesia is cut by
an attack from Bohemia.
Example 8. GERMANY: A Pru-War, A Sil S A Pru-War. RUSSIA: A War-Sill.
The German support is not cut by the attack from Warsaw because
that is the space into which support is being given.
Example 9. GERMANY: A Ber-Pru, A Sil S A Ber-Pru. RUSSIA: A Pru-Sil
A War S A Pru-Sil, F Bal-Pru. Here, the German army in Silesia
is dislodged by the Russian army coming from Prussia. The support
of the Silesian army is thus cut and the German A Ber can only
standoff the Russian F Ball
Example 10. GERMANY: A Ber Holds, A Mun-Sil. RUSSIA: A Pru-Ber,
A Sil S A Pru-Ber, A Boh-Mun, A Tyr S A Boh-Mun. Note here that
the German army in Munich is dislodged by a Russian Attack, but
that it is still able to cut the support of the Russian A Sil
and thus prevent the Russian A Pru from entering Berlin.
XI. RETREATS
After all the orders have been read, the conflicts resolved,
and the moves made, any dislodged unit makes its retreat. It must
move to a space to which it could ordinarily move if unopposed
by other units; that is, to an adjacent space suitable to an army
or fleet, as the case may be. The unit may not retreat, however,
to any space which is occupied, nor to the space its attacker
came
from, nor to a space which was left vacant due to a standoff on
the move. If no place is available for retreat, the dislodged
unit is "disbanded"; that is, its marker is removed
from the board.
XII. THE CONVOY ORDER
XIII. GAINING AND LOSING UNITS
XIV. MISCELLANEOUS
Moves in a Sample Game with comments on the Interpretation
of Rules
Spring, 1901
England: A Liv.-Yor. F Lon.-North Sea F Edi.-Norw. Sea Germany:
A Ber.-Kiel A Mun.-Ruhr F Kiel-Den. Russia: A Mos.-Ukr. A War.-Gal.
F St. P.-Both. F Sev.-Bla. Turkey: A Con.-Bull A Smy.-Con. F Ank.-Bla.
Austria-Hungary: A Vie.-Tri. A Bud.-Gal. F Tri.-Alb. Italy: A
Ven.-Pie. A Rome-yen. F Nap.-Ion. France: A Par.-Burl A Mar.-Spa.
F Bre.-Pic.
All these moves succeed, except that the two pieces ordered to
the Black Sea and the two ordered to Galicia do not move. As the
moves are read, it is a good idea to move each block so that an
end or corner projects into the space to which it has been ordered.
As soon as the proper result is clear, the piece should be pushed
over into its new position or back to its old one.
Retreats: none.
Fall, 1901
England: A Yor.-Norway F North Sea C A Yor.-Norway F Norw. Sea-Bar.
Germany: A Kiel-Hol. A Ruhr-Bel. F Stands Russia: A Ukr S F Sev.-Rum.
A War.-Gal. F Both.-Swe. F Sev.-Rum. Turkey: A Bull-Ser. A Con.-Bull
F Ank.-Bla. Austria-Hungary: A Tri. Stand A Bud.-Ser. F Alb.-Gre.
Italy: A yen. Stands A Pie.-Mar. F Ion.-Tun. France: A Burl, Mar.
A Spa.-Por. F Pic.-Bel.
All of these moves succeed, except that the two pieces ordered
to Belgium, Marseilles, and Serbia do not move, and the move Con.-Bull
does not succeed. Retreats: none.
England builds F Edi., Germany builds F Kiel and A Mun., Russia
builds A St. P. and A Sev., Turkey builds A Smy., Austria-Hungary
builds A Vie., Italy builds F Naples, France builds F Marseilles.
France builds one for Portugal, but none for Spain, which her
army passed through in the Spring.
Spring, 1902
Germany: A Hol. Bell A Ruhr S Hol.-Bell A Mun.-Burl F Den. Stands
F Kiel-Hol.
Russia: A Ukr. S F Rum. A Gall-Bud. A St. P.-Norway A Sev. S F
Rum. F Swe. S St. P.-Norway F Rum. Stands
Turkey: A Bull-Rum. A Con.-Bull A Smy.-Arm. F Bla. S Bull-Rum.
Austria-Hungary: A Tri.-Bud. A Vie.-Bud' A Bud.-Ser. F Stands
Italy: A yen. Stands A Pie.-Mar. F Tun.-W Med. F Nap.-Tyr.
France: A Burl S F Pic.-Bell A Por.-Spa. F Pic.-Bell F Mar. Stands
England: A Nor.-St. P. F North Sea-Norway F Bar. S Nor.-St. P.
F Edi.-North Sea
Only the following moves take place: Hol.-Bell, Kiel-Hol., Smy.-Arm.,
Bud.-Ser., Tun.-W. Med., Nap.-Tyr., Por.-Spa.
Note that Norway and St. Petersburg are adjacent by land at the
extreme north. Here two armies clashed, each with one support.
Since they have equal strength behind them and each is trying
to occupy the position of the other, the result is a stand-off.
Note also that Sweden and Norway are adjacent along a coast line
at the south, thus the fleet in Sweden can support an attack on
Norway. The supporting move Burl S F Pic.-Bel. was "cut"
by the attack of the German piece in Munich. The Austro-Hungarian
fleet could not have supported the action in Serbia, because the
fleet cannot move to an inland province, therefore cannot support
in such a province.
Retreats: none.
Fall, 1902
Germany: A Ruhr-Burl A Mun. S Ruhr-Burl A Bell S Ruhr-Burl F Den.-Swe.
F Hol. S A Bell
Russia: A St. P.-Norway F Swe. S St. P.-Norw. F Rum. S A Sev.
A Sev. S F
Rum.AGal.SFRum.AUkr.SASev.
Turkey: A Bull-Rum. A Con.-Bull A Arm.-Sev. F S A Bull-Rum.
Austria-Hungary: A Vie.-Gal. A Tri.-Bud. A Ser. S Turk. A Bull
Rum. F Stands Italy: A yen.-Pie. A Pie.-Mar. F W Med.-Mid. F Tyr.-Gulf
of L.
France: A Burl-Bell F Pic. S Burl-Bell A Spa. S F Mar. F Mar.
S A Spa.
England: A Norw.-St. P. F Bar. S Norw.-St. P. F North Sea-Norway
F Edi.-North Sea
The following moves take place: Norw.-St. P., North Sea-Norway,
Edi.-North Sea, Ruhr-Burl, Bull-Rum., Con.-Bull, Tri.-Bud., W.
Med.-Mid., Tyr., Gulf of L., Russian F Rum. is annihilated.
Retreats: Russia, St. P.-Mos.; France, Burl-Gas.
Germany builds F Kiel, Russia removes A Gal., Turkey builds F
Smyrna, Austria-Hungary builds A Tri., Italy does not change,
France builds A Paris, England builds F Lon.
Although Russia lost two supply centers she has to remove only
one unit, because one was annihilated during the year. Note that
the capture of a supply center permits the raising of only one
new unit altogether, not one every year.
The result in the North was different from that of the previous
move because of the German intervention F Den.-Swe., which cut
the Russian Support.