Beginner's Guide to How to play diplomacy.
(Please note, if there are any errors in this, then the rule book is right, and I am sorry for
misleading you. I didn't do it on purpose. Therefore, make sure to look at the rule book).
The goal of Diplomacy is to capture supply centers. There are 34 of them on the board. The first
nation to capture 18 is the winner. Each supply center a player controls gives them one unit on
the board.
The map is broken into territories. Each territory can hold one unit. Units can only move to an
adjacent territory. Please note, territories have a three letter identifier that can be used instead of
the full name. For example, Norwegian Sea is abbreviated NRG. If you are using abbreviations,
please make sure you are using the correct one. If you are unsure, use the full name. DO NOT
GUESS. Official abbreviations can be found here if you insist on using them:
http://www.wizards.com/avalonhill/rules/diplomacy_mappad.pdf.
The game follows in the following order. First, there is the Spring turn, in which case players
have time to discuss with others and each prepare and secretly submit their orders. Once time is
up or all orders are in, all movement is adjudicated at once. After this, any dislodged units will
retreat (explained later). Then comes the Fall turn and the Fall retreat, which is identical to the
Spring turn. After fall, whichever nation's unit is sitting on a supply center will gain that center
(if the space is unoccupied, the previous owner retains control). Finally there is the winter turn,
in which case the supply centers are counted up, teams with more centers than units get to build
new units, and teams with more units than centers will have to disband units. After the Winter
building is finished, the game moves on to the following Spring.
Building note: You may only build units in your own initial borders on unoccupied supply
centers that you control. For example, England can only build on Edinburgh, Liverpool, or
London, and only if no units occupy those spaces and only if they are still considered in control
of those spaces.
In Diplomacy, no unit is more powerful than another. Further, no two units may occupy a space.
The goal to conquering territories is that an attacking unit must be supported by more units than
are supporting the defender. Ties go to the defender.
There are two types of units, Armies and Fleets. First, let's talk about Armies.
Armies can move onto any space of land. They have three types of orders they can be issued:
Move, Support, and Hold.
A Hold order is an order to stay where it is and not move. Any units not given an order
are automatically given a Hold order.
Examples:
"Army Munich Hold"
"A Mun Hold"
A Move order tells them to move into an adjacent territory or to attack a unit in an
adjacent territory and attempt to conquer it. Move orders are written as "[Unit Type]
[Current Territory] -> [Adjacent Territory]" or similar. If the order is unclear or not
possible, it is considered invalid and the unit is given a Hold order instead, so be careful!
Examples:
"Army Munich Move to Berlin"
"A Mun -> Ber"
"Mun -> Ber"
Invalid Examples:
"Army Munich Move to Prussia" (fails because Prussia isn't adjacent)
"A Mos -> Sai" (fails because Sai isn't a territory, StP is)
A Support order tells a unit to aid the Movement or Hold of another unit. The Support
order can only be used to aid a move into a territory that the supporting unit could move
into. A unit can support any unit, not just units of its own nation. Move orders are written
as "[Unit Type] [Current Territory] Supports [Unit type it is Supporting] [Supporting
Unit's current Territory]-> [Territory Unit is Moving To]" for supporting a Move and
"[Unit Type] Supports [Unit type it is Supporting] [Supporting Unit's current Territory]"
if it is supporting a Hold. If the order is unclear or not possible, it is considered invalid
and the unit is given a Hold order instead, so be careful!
Examples:
"Army Prussia Support Army Munich to Berlin" (supports a move)
"A Pru Support: A Mun -> Ber" (supports a move)
"A Kiel Support A Munich" (supports a hold)
Invalid Examples:
"Army Prussia Support move to Berlin" (I don't know which unit you are supporting)
"Army Kiel Support Munich move" (No Destination of unit it is supporting)
(if Munich was given a move order) "Army Kiel Support Munich"
"Army Prussia Support Army Berlin to Munich" (Fails because Prussia is not adjacent to
Munich)
Fleets act similar to armies except they can only move on water or into coastal territories.They
gain a fourth command of convoy which allows them to transport an army through a water
territory. Many fleets can be linked together to carry an army over a long distance, and through a
convoy is the only way to move farther than one territory in a turn. The have the same Move,
Support, and Hold orders as Armies and work the same way. Fleets and Armies can support each
other if the target is a coastal region. One additional note: territories (such as Spain) have
specific coasts and moving into these territories requires specifying the coast they are moving to.
Fleets travel the coasts and must move around the long way to reach the other coast. Armies are
not considered on a coast and attacks between the two occur as normal. A Fleet may only
Convoy one Army on a turn and may only Convoy if it is in a water territory (not a coastal
territory).
Examples:
"Fleet Mid Atlantic Move to Portugal"
"Fleet Mid Atlantic Move to Spain (North Cost)"
"Fleet Mid Atlantic Support Army Spain Move to Portugal"
Example for Army Movement through Convoy
"Army Brest Move to Portugal; Fleet Mid Atlantic Convoy Army Brest Move to
Portugal"
"Army Portugal Move to London; Fleet Mid Atlantic Convoy Army Portugal Move to
London; Fleet English Channel Convoy Army Portugal Move to London"
"A Bre -> Por; F Mid C A Bre-> Por;"
Invalid Examples:
"Fleet Mid Atlantic Move to Spain" (fails because Coast not specified and both are
possible)
"Fleet Mid Atlantic Move to Spain (NC)" then next turn "Fleet Spain Move to "Western
Mediterranean" (fails because you must be on Spain's South Coast to move to Western
Mediterranean)"
"Fleet Mid Atlantic Convoy" (fails because it doesn't say which army it is carrying and
where it is going is moving from where to where)
In orders, if you are aiding another nation, you must specify which nation you are supporting.
Example:
Presuming a German player in Munich supporting an Italian army in Venice trying to
move against an Austrian unit in Tyrolia
"Army Munich Support Italian Army Vennice Move to Tyrolia." (enemy unit does not
need to be named)
When trying to attack a territory, the goal is to move in (if there is no unit occupying it) or to
dislodge the unit that is there. If the attack power is higher than the defending power (including
all supports), the unit that was in the territory is dislodged and the unit that attacked moves into
the territory. The dislodged unit may then retreat to any unoccupied adjacent territory not
including the territory the attacker came from or any territory left unoccupied because units
attempting to move into it bounced. If there are no such territories, the unit is destroyed. If during
the retreat, they are ordered into the territory of another retreating unit, both are destroyed. A
retreating unit may also be voluntarily disbanded rather than retreating.
If two units of equal strength try to move into the same territory, they bounce and both stay in the
original territory. Please note that this means any unit attempting to move into the territory the
unit was trying to leave from will also bounce, and this may cause a chain reaction. If two units
attempt to move into the same territory but one has more support, it takes the territory.
If a attacks a unit that is providing support, the unit's support is cut and it does not provide
support, which may prevent a certain side from winning, thus preventing other units from
moving, and so on and so forth.
Two units may not try to "Swap" places, they would both bounce on each other. Three units can
rotate however, so long as none directly trade places. Two units can swap if one or more use a
convoy.
A fleet can support a convoy to prevent another nation from breaking it. If a fleet is dislodged,
the convoy fails.
A nation cannot attack or dislodge it's own units.
Orders will be due by a preset time determined by me. All players must get their orders to me
before this time. If all orders come in early, I will try and adjudicate early. If you fail to submit
any orders by the deadline, your nation is in civil disorder. All units hold, dislodged units are
destroyed, no units get built, and if units must be disbanded they are disbanded based on how far
away they are from home. If you wish to quit, rather than just not submitting orders, let me know
so I can try and find a replacement.
Finally, you can say whatever you want to other players, but there is nothing that can force them
to act a certain way. Contracts and treaty are only worth the paper they are printed on and there is
no way to enforce them (read: I can't make a player do something just because they said they
would). Be careful with whom you choose to trust. Also remember that all orders are shown once
adjudication is complete.
Now that you've gone through all this, may I recommend you look at the manual again. Below I
have copied twenty-two rules that summarize the order of movements.
1. All units have the same strength.
2. There can only be one unit in a province at
a time.
3. Units of equal strength trying to occupy the
same province cause all those units to
remain in their original provinces.
4. A standoff doesn’t dislodge a unit already in
the province where the standoff took place.
5. One unit not moving can stop a series of
other units from moving.
6. Units can’t trade places without the use of
a convoy.
7. Three or more units can rotate provinces
during a turn provided none directly
trade places.
8. A unit not ordered to move can be
supported by a support order that only
mentions its province.
9. A unit ordered to move can only be
supported by a support order that matches
the move the unit is trying to make.
10. A dislodged unit can still cause a standoff in
a province different from the one that
dislodged it.
11. A dislodged unit, even with support, has no
effect on the province that dislodged it.
12. A country can’t dislodge or support the
dislodgment of one of its own units, even if
that dislodgment is unexpected.
13. Support is cut if the unit giving support is
attacked from any province except the one
where support is being given.
14. Support is cut if the supporting unit
is dislodged.
15. A unit being dislodged by one province can
still cut support in another.
16. An attack by a country on one of its own
units doesn’t cut support.
17. A dislodgment of a Fleet necessary to a
convoy causes that convoy to fail.
18. A convoy that causes the convoyed Army
to standoff at its destination results in that
Army remaining in its original province.
19. Two units can exchange places if either or
both are convoyed. (This is the exception to
Rule 6.)
20. An Army convoyed using alternate convoy
orders reaches its destination as long as at
least one convoy route remains open.
21. A convoyed Army doesn’t cut the support of
a unit supporting an attack against one of
the Fleets necessary for the Army to convoy.
(This supersedes Rule 13.)
22. An Army with at least one successful convoy
route will cut the support given by a unit
in the destination province that is supporting
an attack on a Fleet in an alternate route in
that convoy. (This supersedes Rule 21.)
Now you know and knowing is half the battle. The other half is diplomacy. In fact, the battle
itself has little to do with the battle. Go figure.
Good luck!