Eleanor Finch
Diplomacy is a strategic board game set in Europe in the years leading up to World War I. The game is played by 2-7 players, each controlling the armed forces of a major European power. The objective is to conquer as much of Europe as possible by capturing a majority of the 34 provinces or nations on the map that contain supply centres. These supply centres allow players to produce more units. A player takes control of a province when the number of provinces that are given orders to support the attacking province exceeds the number of provinces given orders to defend it. Players can give their units orders to hold in place, move to an adjacent province, support another unit, or convoy.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| No. of players | 2-7 |
| Objective of the game | Control 18 supply centers |
| Types of spaces on the board | Ocean or sea spaces, land spaces, and coastal land spaces |
| Types of orders in Diplomacy | Hold, Attack, Support, and Convoy |
| Support | Cooperation between two or more powers |
| Inland waterways | Fleets may use to move to adjacent provinces |
| Coastal provinces | Armies may move to a non-adjacent coastal province if convoyed |
| Fleets in coastal provinces | Can only move to provinces adjacent to the coastline |
| Supply centers | 34 in all |
| Supply centers change ownership | If occupied at the end of Fall |
| Powers have more units than supply centers | Must disband units of its choice until equal numbers of units and supply centers |
| Retreat rules | A player may choose to disband a unit rather than retreat it |
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What You'll Learn
Moving to an adjacent province
In Diplomacy, a game set in Europe in the years leading up to World War 1, players aim to move their units and defeat opponents to win possession of strategic cities and provinces marked as "supply centres" on the map. These supply centres allow players to produce more units.
To take an adjacent province, you can give orders to your units to:
- Hold in place: A unit holds its position and can support another unit by adding its force to that unit. A unit can only support an action in an adjacent province to which it could have moved.
- Move: Armies can move to an adjacent province. They can also move to a non-adjacent coastal province if convoyed. Fleets in a coastal province can only move to provinces adjacent to the coastline.
- Support: A unit can support another unit's move to an adjacent province. Support is crucial, as it is the only way to make forward progress through enemy territory unless the enemy allows you to pass through. More support defeats less support.
- Convoy: A fleet in a water province can hold and convoy an army. Convoys can be done by a single fleet or a chain of fleets. The first fleet must be adjacent to the moving army, and each fleet in the chain must be adjacent to the previous one. Convoys cannot be used to move through coastal provinces.
It is important to note that units may not retreat via a convoy, and they cannot retreat to a province where there was a bounce or from where the attack came. If there is no legal retreat, the unit is automatically destroyed.
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Holding in place
Holding can also be used to support another unit. A unit can hold, adding its force to another unit in the same province. This is a way to bolster your position in a province, as a unit can only support an action in an adjacent province to which it could have moved. Holding in place can also be used to convoy. A fleet in a water province can hold, convoying an army. Convoys can be by one or a chain of fleets. The first fleet must be adjacent to the moving army, and each fleet in the chain must be adjacent to the previous one, with the last fleet being adjacent to the destination.
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Convoying an army
To take a province in Diplomacy, you must capture and be in possession of at least 18 of the 34 nations or provinces on the map that contain supply centres. Convoying is one of the four basic orders in Diplomacy, the others being Hold, Attack, and Support. Convoying is an action that fleets can do to help armies move. A fleet can convoy an army that is adjacent to it into another land space that is adjacent to the fleet. The player must also make the army move to the space. Multiple adjacent fleets can create a chain of convoys to move an army further. Convoyed armies may travel multiple spaces depending on the length of the chain created by the convoying fleets. A fleet in a body of water may convoy an army from any province on the coast of that body to any other province on the coast of that body. Convoyed armies must embark from a coastal land province and land at a coastal land province.
It is important to note that a convoying fleet is not considered to be giving support. Convoys are not disrupted if a unit attempts to move into the territory of the convoyer, they are only disrupted if the fleet is dislodged. Convoyed attacks do not cut certain supports. For example, if a convoyed army attacks a fleet that is supporting an action in a body of water, and that body of water contains a convoying fleet, that support is not cut.
Fleets in coastal provinces may not convoy. However, two pieces may exchange places if either or both are convoyed.
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Gaining control of supply centres
There are 34 supply centres in total, marked with a black dot. Each supply centre controlled by a player allows them to have one unit on the board. At the end of the year, if a player has more units than supply centres, they must disband units of their choice until they have equal numbers of units and supply centres.
To take control of a supply centre, a player must occupy it after the Fall retreat phase. This can be done by moving units to attack and support other provinces. Support may involve cooperation between two or more players and is the only way to make forward progress through enemy territory. Simply put, more support defeats less support.
During diplomacy periods, players can negotiate, bargain, and plan military strategies. However, the rules do not bind a player to anything they say, and deciding whom to trust is part of the game.
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Attacking and supporting orders
In Diplomacy, a board game set in pre-World War 1 Europe, players aim to conquer as much of the continent as they can. To do this, players must issue attack and support orders to their units. There are four basic orders in the game: Hold, Attack, Support, and Convoy.
Attacking Orders
At each movement phase, players can order their units to attack or move to another province. Units may be ordered to move to an adjacent province. Armies in a coastal province may move to another coastal province if convoyed. Fleets in a coastal province can only move to provinces adjacent to the coastline.
Supporting Orders
Supporting is considered the trickiest aspect of the rules and the most important part of the game. Support may involve cooperation between two or more players, and it is the only way to make forward progress through enemy territory. Support orders are given in reference to another unit's move. That unit's move must be to a province that the supporting unit could otherwise move to. A unit can only support an action in an adjacent province to which it could have moved. A unit holds, adding its force to another unit.
Support can be cut if the supporting unit is attacked during the turn by another unit. In this case, the support order becomes a hold order, as the unit must defend its province against the attack.
Taking a Province
A player takes control of a province when the number of provinces that are given orders to support the attacking province exceeds the number of provinces given orders to support the defending province.
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Frequently asked questions
To take a province in Diplomacy, you must capture and be in possession of at least 18 of the 34 nations or provinces on the map that contain supply centers. A player takes control of a province when the number of provinces that are given orders to support the attacking province exceeds the number of provinces given orders to support the defending province.
Supply centers are marked with a black dot on the board. They allow players who control them to produce more units. For every supply center controlled, a player may have one unit on the board.
Supply centers only change ownership if they're occupied at the end of Fall; they do not change ownership if a unit moves through them during the Spring, but leaves again in Fall.
