Diplomacy: Don't Look Back

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George Kansas: Sep 1, 2008; preface all my posts with this

Current Turn: Fall 1904

If you would like to chat about the game with other people, join our SA Diplomacy discord server! :siren:

Diplomacy is a strategic board game for 7 players. Designed to promote negotiation and pure strategy, it is distinct from other Avalon Hill-type wargames because it is a game devoid of chance. Taking place on a European map of pre-WWI nations and provinces, each player's actions resolve simultaneously each turn, creating a huge opportunity for alliances and, subsequently, backstabbing.

We are playing with the Milan variant. If you've never played Diplomacy before that doesn't really mean much, just that there are a few minor map changes that give Italy much-needed starting strength. (If you want to see how much nerds are into Diplomacy like they are into chess, here you go.)

How does the game work? Each player will play a major European pre-WWI power. Before every turn, there will be a communication phase for negotiation. Before the deadline, each player will submit a set of actions for their units secretly, which are then resolved at the same time. That means there's no element of chance. No dice, or any advantage of going first. If two (or more) players are trying to enter the same space, they'll just bounce each other unless they have help, either from their own units or another player's. To win you have to talk, ally, backstab, and command your way to European supremacy.

Pmom summarizes the rules well:

Pinterest Mom posted:

Each game year is divided into four seasons: Spring, summer, fall, winter. Spring and fall are main phases, where you'll order your units to move. Summer and winter are adjustment phases, where we clean up after the main phases. At the end of each year, we also have to adjust the number of units - each supply centre (the provinces with black dots) can support one unit, so players will build/disband units accordingly.

The win the game, a player must individually control a majority of supply centres. The game can also end in a draw if the remaining players unanimously agree to it. Players with no supply centres in winter get eliminated.

If you don't know how to play, this is a good place to start. You'll want to learn the different types of orders (Move, support, convoy, hold), how supporting works, and the general format to submit orders and how they'll be resolved

Here's the official rulebook, which goes into much more detail and where you can learn about the Kiel canal.

You probably don't need to learn about the Kiel canal, but it won't hurt!

You can change your orders anytime before the deadline. Just resubmit them to me. If I am not sure on something in your orders, I will ask about it. Submit your orders to me via PM on discord.

On order submission, write them however you want. I am not a stickler for orders syntax. As long as I don't genuinely misinterpret your order, nothing bad should happen. I will never forfeit an order, I'll just prod you if something's wrong.

The winner of this game will win a 40$ Amazon gift card! There will be no award for the runner-up. As PMom states above, the game can end in a draw if all players agree. You can still do that, but nobody will win the 40$.

No toxxing, no betting, no editing posts, no copy/pasting chatlogs, no truth or dare, and no being a jerk or importing drama! Full out of thread communication is allowed.

If you are a spectator, no posting about game or player strategy. Normal :munch:

posts, cheerleading posts or roleplaying as a refugee of world war posts are fine.

Player List

Chic Trombone
Pinterest Mom
Chaoslord
Xad
Somberbrero
TheNinthLayer
Alasdair Crawfish

Other Stuff

Abstact Diplomacy map, to easily visualize moves. Edited to reflect the Milan variant.

(og map abstract)
The Diplomacy Archive strategy library.

George Kansas fucked around with this message at 06:13 on Dec 12, 2018

# ? Nov 17, 2018 00:27

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 20, 2024 01:30

George Kansas: Sep 1, 2008; preface all my posts with this

To all 7 players: Please post your country preferences in order from most to least. For instance, EFTAGIR would mean you want to play England the most and Russia the least. I may fudge things based on player experience, etc.

George Kansas fucked around with this message at 00:31 on Nov 17, 2018

# ? Nov 17, 2018 00:28

Pinterest Mom: Jun 9, 2009

FGRETAI

# ? Nov 17, 2018 00:29

Somberbrero: Feb 14, 2009; ꜱʜʀɪᴍᴘ?

IDGAFTBH

(Rgfeati)

# ? Nov 17, 2018 00:35

Alaster: Nov 18, 2006; Hanging just next to your door in the hallway is a painting of an EXQUISITE WIZARD. Your mother collects these awful things IRONICALLY.

ERTIAFG

# ? Nov 17, 2018 00:41

Chic Trombone: Jul 25, 2010

I don't care where I start tbh

# ? Nov 17, 2018 01:04

Xad: Jul 2, 2009; "Either Sonic is God, or could kill God, and I do not care if there is a difference!"; College Slice

I've never played before so I don't really care what I get

# ? Nov 17, 2018 01:07

The Ninth Layer: Jun 20, 2007

IDGAF

# ? Nov 17, 2018 04:11

chaoslord: Jan 28, 2009; Nature Abhors A Vacuum

RGFATIE

# ? Nov 17, 2018 14:28

chaoslord: Jan 28, 2009; Nature Abhors A Vacuum

Also now that Popcon is illegal, I am glad to have this as an outlet for scheming*

in my case, scheming means having a game to talk about with friends while barely being aware of whats actually going on

# ? Nov 17, 2018 14:48

Jump King: Aug 10, 2011

I'm here to be Chaoslord's shadow adviser

# ? Nov 17, 2018 17:25

Meinberg: Oct 9, 2011; inspired by but legally distinct from CATS (2019)

I look forward to this being a nice, clean game with no betrayals or bamboozles.

# ? Nov 17, 2018 18:51

The Ninth Layer: Jun 20, 2007

15 min no rush ok?

# ? Nov 17, 2018 19:38

chaoslord: Jan 28, 2009; Nature Abhors A Vacuum

MMM Whatchya Say posted:

I'm here to be Chaoslord's shadow adviser

Meinberg posted:

I look forward to this being a nice, clean game with no betrayals or bamboozles.

The Ninth Layer posted:

15 min no rush ok?

# ? Nov 17, 2018 19:42

George Kansas: Sep 1, 2008; preface all my posts with this

Some things,

1) The deadline will be set for Monday 11/19 at 9PM EST but think of deadlines this game as "have to be in by," and you can submit orders earlier than that. As soon as I have everyone's orders I'll resolve the turn as fast as possible and we'll get the ball rolling.

2) Otherwise, I'm looking for about 48 hours for spring/fall deadlines, and 24 hours for winter deadlines. Next week during Thanksgiving I will probably just extend so there's no actual deadline on Thanksgiving itself but I don't want the game to stall for the entire weekend so unless some of you are diehard Black Friday shoppers I won't move it around more than that.

3) I'm not a stickler for order syntax but you do want to make sure you put exactly what you want in your orders, especially with support orders. Remember that a support order isn't just supporting a unit, but a unit's action, so you have to specify exactly what action you are supporting that unit in. (i.e. If A Ruhr - Holland, then a proper support order would be A Munich S A Ruhr - Holland, you have to support the army in Ruhr with its exact move order.) If you submit invalid orders I'll tell you, but support's the most important facet of the game so it's worth saying.

It is now Spring 1901.

# ? Nov 17, 2018 21:07

votefinder: Jul 6, 2010; scoop scoop

Continental Calendar, Turn 1

The window of opportunity for tactical intrigue is soon to close. Orders must be submitted by November 19^th, 2018 at 9 p.m. EST -- that's in about 2 days, 5 hours.

# ? Nov 17, 2018 21:07

Jump King: Aug 10, 2011

glad to see vf still rocking the donner party pic

# ? Nov 17, 2018 21:09

George Kansas: Sep 1, 2008; preface all my posts with this

I have started a new discord server for the express purpose of 1) setting up spectator chat for this game and 2) setting up future games of Diplomacy (and maybe other Intrigue/Deception board games!) Feel free to join if you would like: https://discord.gg/GhTSJTy

# ? Nov 18, 2018 02:44

Alaster: Nov 18, 2006; Hanging just next to your door in the hallway is a painting of an EXQUISITE WIZARD. Your mother collects these awful things IRONICALLY.

are we gonna use this thread at all!

# ? Nov 18, 2018 21:04

George Kansas: Sep 1, 2008; preface all my posts with this

i mean, i'm gonna post orders and turn resolutions here when that happens. do you want the thread to be used more?

# ? Nov 18, 2018 21:26

Alaster: Nov 18, 2006; Hanging just next to your door in the hallway is a painting of an EXQUISITE WIZARD. Your mother collects these awful things IRONICALLY.

oh I don't have a preference either way just seeing if we're just using this for board tracking or if p much everything was gonna be done in discord

# ? Nov 18, 2018 21:47

chaoslord: Jan 28, 2009; Nature Abhors A Vacuum

Alasdair Crawfish posted:

are we gonna use this thread at all!

Hi alasdair

# ? Nov 18, 2018 21:48

George Kansas: Sep 1, 2008; preface all my posts with this

Spring 1901

_{(winter 1900 map)}

Orders

Italy
F Nap - Tys
A Mil - Sav
A Rom - Mil

England
F Edi - Nwg
F Lon - Nth
A Lvp - Yor

Germany
A Ber - Sil
A Mun - Ruh
F Kie - Den

Russia
A War - Sil
A Mos - Lvn
F Stp - Bot
F Sev - Rum

Austria
F Tri - Alb
A Bud - Ser
A Vie - Bud

France
F Bre - Mao
A Par - Bur
A Mar S Par - Bur

Turkey
A Con - Bul
F Ank - Con
A Smy H

Fall 1901 Map

Message me if there are any errors.

A reminder that I will be uploading the save file for jdip to the discord. It's super helpful to make sure not only your next turn, but future turns you're considering are legal!! Also I'm always available to field rules questions.

Deadline for Fall 1901 orders will be Wednesday, November 21st, 9:00PM EST.

# ? Nov 20, 2018 04:32

Xad: Jul 2, 2009; "Either Sonic is God, or could kill God, and I do not care if there is a difference!"; College Slice

oh hi Chic 👀👀👀

# ? Nov 20, 2018 05:39

Chic Trombone: Jul 25, 2010

'sup

don't mind me, just comin over for some take-out

i hear the french are great chefs

# ? Nov 20, 2018 05:41

Xad: Jul 2, 2009; "Either Sonic is God, or could kill God, and I do not care if there is a difference!"; College Slice

oh nice! Similarly, I've heard you guys have some nice spaghetti

# ? Nov 20, 2018 05:43

Emmideer: Oct 20, 2011; Lovely night, no?; Grimey Drawer

# ? Nov 20, 2018 07:04

George Kansas: Sep 1, 2008; preface all my posts with this

Autumn 1901
_{(spring 1901 map)}

Orders

Italy
A Sav - Bur
A Mil - Sav
F Tys - Tun

England
F Nwg - Nwy
A Yor - Bel
F Nth C A Yor - Bel

Germany
A Ber - Mun
A Ruh - Hol
F Den - Swe

Russia
A War - Gal
A Lvn - War
F Bot - Swe
F Rum S A Bul H

Austria
F Alb - Gre
A Ser S F Alb - Gre
A Bud - Gal

France
F Mao - Por
A Mar - Spa
A Bur - Mar

Turkey
A Bul S Rum H
F Con - Aeg
A Smy - Con

_resolutions

Winter 1901 Map

Enjoy Thanksgiving! We shall have a Thanksgiving break and resume on Monday, November 26th. Get me your winter build orders sometime either before or on that date, please.

# ? Nov 22, 2018 04:58

votefinder: Jul 6, 2010; scoop scoop

Continental Calendar, Turn 3

The window of opportunity for tactical intrigue is soon to close. Orders must be submitted by November 26^th, 2018 at 9 p.m. EST -- that's in about 4 days, 21 hours.

# ? Nov 22, 2018 05:00

Xad: Jul 2, 2009; "Either Sonic is God, or could kill God, and I do not care if there is a difference!"; College Slice

Pmom I thought you wanted burgandy clear, I tried!

# ? Nov 22, 2018 05:13

George Kansas: Sep 1, 2008; preface all my posts with this

Winter 1901

code:

Orders
Austria: Builds A tri, Builds A vie
England: Builds F lvp, Builds F lon
France: Builds A bre, Builds A par
Germany: Builds A ber, Builds F kie
Italy: Builds F rom
Russia: Builds A mos
Turkey: Builds A smy

Spring 1902 Map

Deadline will be Wednesday, November 28th, 7:30PM EST.

You have to get your orders in before the deadline because I have D&D just a bit after it. I know it's a bit early but I hope you can all make do.

George Kansas fucked around with this message at 17:50 on Nov 27, 2018

# ? Nov 27, 2018 03:54

George Kansas: Sep 1, 2008; preface all my posts with this

whoopsie misclicks, receipts would indicate that england built 2 FLEETS not ARMIES im fixing it

edit: fixed

George Kansas fucked around with this message at 04:16 on Nov 27, 2018

# ? Nov 27, 2018 03:59

votefinder: Jul 6, 2010; scoop scoop

Continental Calendar, Turn 3

The window of opportunity for tactical intrigue is soon to close. Orders must be submitted by November 28^th, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. EST -- that's in about 1 day, 21 hours.

# ? Nov 27, 2018 04:18

Jump King: Aug 10, 2011

BottleKnight posted:

whoopsie misclicks, receipts would indicate that england built 2 FLEETS not ARMIES im fixing it

edit: fixed

sorry sorry, im tryin g to remove it

# ? Nov 27, 2018 07:21

George Kansas: Sep 1, 2008; preface all my posts with this

Spring 1902

_{(Winter 1901 Map)}

code:

Orders
Austria
A Vie - Gal
A Bud S A Vie - Gal
A Tri - Alb
F Gre H
A Ser S Gre H

England
F Nwy - Stp
A Bel - Pic
F Lon - Eng
F Lvp - Iri
F Nth - Nwy

France
F Por - Mao
A Bre - Pic
A Par - Bur
A Spa H
A Mar - Sav

Germany
F Den - Swe
F Kie - Bal
A Hol - Ruh
A Mun - Sil
A Ber S Mun - Sil

Italy
F Rom - Lyo
F Tun - Wes
A Sav S A Bur - Mar
A Bur - Mar

Russia
F Bot - Swe
F Rum S A Bul H
A Mos - Ukr
A War H
A Lvn - Pru

Turkey
F Aeg C A Smy - Gre
A Smy - Gre
A Bul S A Smy - Gre
A CON DANCES LIKE A MADMAN

Spring 1902 Retreat Phase

code:

As A Mar had nowhere else to go, A Mar - Gas

Fall 1902 Map

Deadline will be Friday, November 30th, 9PM EST.

# ? Nov 29, 2018 06:25

votefinder: Jul 6, 2010; scoop scoop

Continental Calendar, Turn 3

The window of opportunity for tactical intrigue is soon to close. Orders must be submitted by November 30^th, 2018 at 9 p.m. EST -- that's in about 1 day, 20 hours.

# ? Nov 29, 2018 06:33

Xad: Jul 2, 2009; "Either Sonic is God, or could kill God, and I do not care if there is a difference!"; College Slice

That!...is not how I thought that would work. Fuk. This is what I get for submitting my actions last-minute while at work :v:

# ? Nov 29, 2018 07:05

George Kansas: Sep 1, 2008; preface all my posts with this

Fall 1902

_{(Post-Spring 1902 Map)}

code:

Austria
A Gal - Rum
A Ser S A Gal - Rum
A Bud S A Gal - Rum
F Gre H
A Alb S F Gre H

England
A Bel - Pic
F Nwy S F Den - Swe
F Stp H
F Iri - Mao
F Eng S F Iri - Mao 

France
A Spa S A Gas - Mar
A Bur S A Gas - Mar
A Gas - Mar
A Bre H
F Mao - Naf

Germany
A Ruh - Mun
F Den - Swe
F Bal S A Ber - Pru
A Sil - War
A Ber - Pru

Italy
A Mar H
A Sav S A Mar H
F Lyo S F Wes - Spa
F Wes - Spa

Russia
F Bot - Bal
A Ukr S F Rum H
A War - Gal
F Rum H
A Pru - Sil

Turkey
A Smy - Arm
A Con S A Bul H
A Bul S F Rum H
F Aeg S A Bul H

Note: This map has some errors! A Pru - Sil couldn't be modeled because of a map glitch with jdip but it would have just bounced anyways so it doesn't really matter, but in the future I will edit around this. Additionally, somehow I forgot to copypaste in Alaster's order of A Belgium - Picardy, so on the final map post-retreat phase Alaster's Belgian army will be in Picardy. Sorry for this. :siren: