Jonah Patel
Diplomacy is a strategic board game created by Allan B. Calhammer in 1954 and released commercially in 1959. The game is set in Europe in the years leading up to World War I, and players each control the armed forces of a major European power. The game has 56 land territories and 19 water territories, with 34 of the land territories acting as supply centres. The Diplomacy game board is divided into 11 regions, with seven regions representing the starting territory of the seven great powers and the other five representing uncontrolled clumps of territory.
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What You'll Learn
There are 56 land territories and 19 water territories
Diplomacy is a strategic board game created by Allan B. Calhammer in 1954 and released commercially in the United States in 1959. It is set in Europe in the years leading up to World War I, and players represent one of the Great Powers of Europe: England, Germany, Russia, Turkey, Austria-Hungary, Italy, or France. The game is unique among board wargames due to its negotiation phases and the absence of dice or other elements that produce random effects. Instead, players spend much of their time forming and betraying alliances with other players and formulating beneficial strategies.
The Diplomacy game board is divided into 11 regions, which are groups of territories categorised by the controlling Great Power or lack thereof. There are 56 land territories and 19 water territories. Of these, 34 of the land territories are supply centres, which allow players who control them to produce more units. A land territory can contain an army and, if it is adjacent to a water territory, a fleet as well. A water territory can only contain a fleet.
The game has three phases: spring, fall, and winter. Spring and fall are diplomacy phases when players use their armies. The retreat and build phases follow these diplomacy phases. During the retreat phase, players who have lost armies can move or disband them. In the build phase, or winter, players can disband or build units depending on the number of supply centres they have. If a player controls 18 or more supply centres, they are the winner.
The game has gained a dedicated following, with over 60 zines dedicated to the game in the 1980s. It has also spawned numerous variants, such as the Fleet Rome variant, which replaces the starting Italian army in Rome with a fleet, and the Youngstown variant, which extends the map to include Asia and its colonies. Tournaments are held worldwide, including the annual European Diplomacy Convention (Euro DipCon) to determine the European Champion of Diplomacy.
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34 of the land territories are supply centres
The strategic board game Diplomacy was created by Allan B. Calhamer in 1954 and released commercially in the United States in 1959. The game is set in Europe in the years leading up to World War I, and players control the armed forces of a major European power. The standard Diplomacy game board has 11 regions, which are groups of territories categorised by controlling Great Power or lack thereof. There are 56 land territories and 19 water territories, with 34 of the land territories being supply centres.
Supply centres are crucial to the game, as they allow players who control them to produce more units. After each Fall move, newly acquired supply centres become owned by the occupying player, and each power's supply centre total is recalculated. Players with fewer supply centres than units on the board must disband units, while those with more supply centres can build new units in their open (unoccupied) Home centres. Players who have lost all their Home centres cannot build new units, and those who control no supply centres are eliminated from the game.
To win the game, a player must control 18 or more (over half) of the 34 supply centres at the end of a year. Alternatively, players can agree to a draw, which happens in about half of all games. The importance of supply centres has led to the creation of various Diplomacy variants, such as the Youngstown variant, which extends the map to include Asia and its colonies. This variant introduces three new powers—India, China, and Japan—and gives powers without historical Asian colonies more Home centres.
The Diplomacy community is active and dedicated, with numerous tournaments and events held annually, such as the European Diplomacy Convention (Euro DipCon) and national championships in over a dozen countries. The game has also spawned various fan-created zines, with over 60 in the North American Zine Poll by 1989.
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Players with fewer supply centres than units must disband units
Diplomacy is a strategic board game created by Allan B. Calhamer in 1954 and released commercially in the United States in 1959. The game is set in Europe in the years leading up to World War I, and players each control the armed forces of a major European power. The aim of the game is to use your armies and fleets to conquer as much of Europe as possible by capturing and possessing supply centres. These supply centres allow players who control them to produce more units. There are 56 land territories and 19 water territories. Of the land territories, 34 are supply centres.
After each Fall move, newly acquired supply centres become owned by the occupying player, and each power's supply centre total is recalculated. Players with fewer supply centres than units on the board must disband units, while players with more supply centres than units on the board can build new units in their open (unoccupied) Home centres. Players who have lost all of their Home centres may not build new units, and players controlling no supply centres are eliminated from the game. Each supply centre can support one military unit, so Powers that have gained supply centres over the course of the year can build new units. New units may be created at any of the player's unoccupied home supply centres, but only at these centres, and at most one unit per centre.
If a unit has no legal retreats, or it attempts to retreat to the same province as another retreating unit, it is disbanded. A unit may also be disbanded if it is dislodged as a result of a move (overpowered by other players). In this case, the player must submit Retreat Phase orders that the unit either be retreated to an unoccupied adjacent province or disbanded and removed from play. A player may also choose to disband a unit rather than retreat it.
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Players controlling no supply centres are eliminated
Diplomacy is a strategic board game created by Allan B. Calhamer in 1954 and released commercially in the United States in 1959. The game is set in Europe in the years leading up to World War I, and players each control the armed forces of a major European power. The aim of the game is to move your starting units and defeat those of others to gain possession of a majority of strategic cities and provinces marked as "supply centres" on the map. These supply centres allow players who control them to produce more units.
The standard Diplomacy game board has 11 regions, which are groups of territories categorised by controlling Great Power or lack thereof. There are 56 land territories and 19 water territories. Of the land territories, 34 are supply centres. A land territory can contain an army and, if it is adjacent to a water territory, a fleet. A water territory can only contain fleets.
After each Fall move, newly acquired supply centres become owned by the occupying player, and each power's supply centre total is recalculated. Players with fewer supply centres than units on the board must disband units, while players with more supply centres than units on the board are entitled to build units in their open (unoccupied) Home centres. Players who have lost all of their Home centres may not build new units, while players controlling no supply centres are eliminated from the game. If a player controls 18 or more (over half) of the 34 supply centres at the end of a year, they are the winner.
In games with fewer than seven players, supply centre ownership is computed for each individual country, even if the same person is playing as more than one country. In these games, a player who has lost all their Home supply centres may still fight on with the units and supply centres remaining under their control, but they may not gain units until they recapture a Home supply centre and leave it vacant at the close of a subsequent Fall move.
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The game has three phases: spring, fall, and winter
Diplomacy is a strategic board game created by Allan B. Calhamer in 1954. The game is set in Europe in the years leading to the First World War. The game has three phases: spring, fall, and winter.
Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. The season is marked by the spring equinox, or vernal equinox, where days and nights are approximately 12 hours long. As the season progresses, daytime length increases and nighttime length decreases until the summer solstice. In the Northern Hemisphere, the spring equinox occurs in March, while in the Southern Hemisphere, it takes place in September. The astronomical vernal equinox, which falls between March 19 and 21, is considered the first day of spring in this hemisphere. This is followed by the summer solstice around June 21, which marks the first day of summer. Ecologists sometimes divide the year into six seasons, including an early pre-spring or prevernal season marked by hardy flowers blooming and snow melting.
The fall or autumn season marks the transition from summer to winter. During this time, temperatures drop, and leaves fall from the trees. People bring out warmer clothing, such as scarves, hats, and mittens, to combat the cold. In some places, like New England, the transition to colder weather may occur earlier and feel like an extension of winter.
Winter is the coldest season of the year, characterised by freezing temperatures, snow, and frost. It is a time when people seek warmth indoors, enjoying activities like sipping hot drinks by the fireplace or reading a book. In certain regions, such as New England, winter can feel particularly prolonged, prompting the desire to divide it into different phases. As spring approaches, the snow begins to melt, and the warmer months come into view.
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Frequently asked questions
There are 56 land territories and 19 water territories, with 34 of the land territories being supply centres.
A territory is a space on the map that can contain a unit. A land territory can contain an Army and a Fleet if it is next to a water territory. A water territory can only contain Fleets.
Each player aims to move their starting units and defeat those of others to gain possession of a majority of strategic cities and provinces marked as "supply centres" on the map. These supply centres allow players who control them to produce more units. If a player controls 18 or more supply centres, they win.
