Play Diplomacy
This site is definitely not designed to be an exhaustive guide
to the various ways in which you can play Diplomacy - Face-to-Face (FtF), by
post or by email (with a human GM or even using a JUDGE). There are already numerous sites around which are designed to do this and they do it a lot better
than I could.
Having said all that, here goes...
Let's assume that you have played Diplomacy before - maybe years ago at college, or
more recently with friends. If you have a basic knowledge of the game and the rules you
shouldn't find it too difficult to get started straight away. If you don't know what
Diplomacy is, click here.
The first thing to decide is what sort of game do you want to play. The options are:
Face-to-Face
A play-by-post game run in an amateur postal Diplomacy zine
A play-by-email game run through an amateur postal Diplomacy zine
A play-by-email game with a human GM run to 3/4 week deadlines
A play-by-email game with a human GM run to 1/2 week deadlines
A play-by-email game adjudicated by a JUDGE software program which usually have very
short deadlines.
All of these options have pros and cons, and what suits you best will depend on how
much time you can spare to play the game and whether or not you want something more than
just a computer generated game report or would prefer to receive some sort of publication
with a wider audience.
Face-to-Face
Face-to-face, this is how the game was meant to be played. However, if you can't round up
seven people locally, your best bet may be to attend a Diplomacy "con"
(short for convention). These are usually great fun and a list of forthcoming
cons is available here. To get the flavour of what cons are like, there are many reports
of previous cons on this site.
A play-by-post game run in an amateur postal Diplomacy zine
The first thing to do is find a Diplomacy zine in which to play. The most comprehensive
list on the web for the UK must be Mission
from God (the comprehensive guide to amateur PBM in the UK) while the Dip
Pouch tries to keep up to speed with zines all over the world in its postal
Diplomacy zines registry. You can also check out Danny Collman's Introduction to Diplomacy.
For what to do when you get your first gamestart read Your
first game of Postal Diplomacy. For the major UK Cons try
MidCon Homepage and ManorCon Homepage.
A play-by-email game run through an amateur postal Diplomacy zine
This is the compromise position. Enjoy receiving a postal Diplomacy zine, but have the
convenience of corresponding with the other players and submitting orders by email.
Usually the game reports are distributed by email as well, but they are also reprinted in
the zine itself. Not all amateur zines offer this option. I would recommend the
games I run myself at Armistice Day.
A play-by-email game with a human GM run to 3/4 week deadlines
Basically the same as above, but you don't have to subscribe to the
zine itself and just receive the game report. 3 or 4 week deadlines may
sound rather long - but if you have a demanding lifestyle you may find you
need the extra time.
A play-by-email game with a human GM run to 1/2 week deadlines
To my mind the best place to play such games would be via Diplomacy
2000.
A play-by-email game adjudicated by a JUDGE software program which usually have
very short deadlines
To find all about how JUDGES work the
Newbies Guide to the Judge (Andy
Schwarz) is the best starting point. Speaking as someone whose interest in email
Diplomacy has come developed from a PBM background, I find the very idea of JUDGE games
rather impersonal, but it is all a matter of taste.
If you fancy GMing a game of Diplomacy (rather than playing) then you may
find How Do I GM a Game of
Diplomacy by Steve Turner to be of interest.
| 