Diplomacy

I’ve recently gotten back into playing Diplomacy at http://www.phpdiplomacy.net.  I’ve actually been deeing fairly well.  I’ve won two games, lost several more, came in close second more than once.  At one point I was listed in the top 20%.  It would seem the key to winning is in your diplomactic skills more than your military tactics: finding a good strong alliance and trusting that person to the end, or almost to the end, or at least for as long as its useful for you.  Starting out as Austria or Italy is rather difficult.  You’re surrounded by enemies, and most see you as easy targets, so unless you can convince one that someone else is going to backstab them and then get them to join forces with you, you’re pretty much dead.  I’ve always done well as Russia or France, but it seems I seldom get those countries.

Anyway, if you haven’t played Diplomacy before, and didn’t bother clicking no the link that describes it, well… you should.  It’s a game “played by seven players, each controlling the armed forces of a major European power. Each player aims to move his or her units – and defeat those of others – to win possession of a majority of strategic cities and provinces marked as ‘supply centers’ on the map; these supply centers allow players who control them to produce more units.” (Wikipedia article)  At http://www.phpdiplomacy.net each turn lasts 24 hours, or until everyone has finalized their moves.  The first turn is the (Spring) “Diplomacy” turn.  You chat back and forth with other players forming alliances, trying to gain support then submit your moves.  When everyone has submitted their moves, or 24 hours has passed (whichever comes first) the move orders are carried out and battles are fought based on the rules of the game.  If someone manages to uproot someone else’s army/fleet, then there’s the “Retreats” turn where those who’ve lost territory have 24 hours to decide where to retreat to.  Then there’s another “Diplomacy” (Autumn) turn, “Retreats,” and then the “Unit-Placing” turn.  This is when you get to create new armies/fleets based on how many supply depots you’ve captured.  So this goes on and on until someone gets 18 supply depots.  It’s really quite fun, takes a lot of thought, and some good negotiation skills to do well, yet since each turn lasts 24 hours, it doesn’t really take a lot of time.

So, if you’re looking to engage your mind and have a little fun, check it out.