Diplomacy is a devious, back-stabbing game that Machiavelli would have been proud of. It was created by the American Allan Calhammer in the 1960s. It is set in Europe at the start of the last century, and revolves around the seven great European powers prior to the first world war (Austria, England, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Turkey). Each player plays one of the seven powers, and the object is for your armies and fleets to control as much of Europe as possible.
The more observant of you will notice that you are out-numbered six to one. All conflicts are resolved in favour of the power with more units attacking the area - there are no dice or cards to introduce a random element into the game. So, how do you get ahead? Easy - diplome with the other players; persuade them that it is in their interests to help you out and support your moves into new areas.
Nothing that you say is binding - so when the time is ready, sharpen the knife, and stick it in your ally's back. After all, you want his share of the spoils of war, too. Especially as nothing he says is binding, and he may be thinking of doing exactly the same to you. So make sure you get there first!
The game has been played in tournaments around the world almost since it was first designed, and there are popular World & European championships taking place, along with various smaller local and national tournaments. You can look at a listing of forthcoming events near you for a chance to practice prior to the Mind Sports Olympiad.
Diplomacy was first run at the Mind Sports Olympiad in 1999, where Peter Hawkins form England took the spoils. Take a look at a full report on the event. Dave Horton, the outstanding British player of recent times, won in 2000 prior to his retirement from the game. That leaves the field open for a new winner in 2001. In addition there will be an intimate diplomacy tournament at this year's Mind Sports Olympiad for those who enjoy this 2 player variant. It will occur in the evening after the main event.
In addition to tournament play, the fact that movement is simultaneous by means of written orders revealed at the same time means that it is ideally suited to postal play. It also helps those living in less accessible areas who may not find it easy to get seven players together in the same location. The game has been played through the post for over thirty years in a number of different fanzines (or just zines for short). For a sample, please contact John Harrington at 1, Churchbury Close, Enfield, Middlesex, EN1 3UW, United Kingdom - or by e-mail.
Since the emergence of e-mail over the past ten years, this has proved to be an even more popular medium for play and the play-by-e-mail hobby has now far outstripped the postal hobby in terms of size and popularity. In 1999, the first worldwide team diplomacy tournament was started over the Internet with participants from all corners of the globe. If you are interested in joining in an email game, then try the Diplomacy 2000 site.
Diplomacy is expected to make a resurgence this year. Following the buy out of Avalon Hill by Hasbro, the game is being re-released early in 2000, and a new computer version of the game has been published. Unfortunately, the artificial intelligence could be better, but that will just make players turn to the tournament and e-mail/postal versions mentioned above.
If you have any queries about the event, then please feel free to contact the tournament organiser, Mark Stretch, postally at 34, Dart Drive, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 7XX, by phone at +44 1235 519 720, by e-mail, or visit the MSO website at http://www.msoworld.com/.
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