Diplomacy

To set up Diplomacy, first place the game board, which is a detailed map of Europe, on a flat surface. Each of the seven nations (England, France, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Russia, and Germany) is assigned to a player, with each player receiving their corresponding colored pieces. Initially, each nation starts with control over three territories, except for Russia, which begins with four. These starting territories are marked on the board and represent the initial supply centers and unit placements for each player. Players also receive a set of blank order sheets to write down their moves and negotiations in secret.

The primary objective in Diplomacy is to be the first player to achieve control over 18 supply centers at the end of an autumn turn. Supply centers are critical as they determine a player's ability to build new units and maintain their existing forces. Players must strategically expand their territories, often through negotiation and military action, to accumulate enough supply centers to declare victory. This requires careful planning, alliance-building, and sometimes, betrayal.

Each year in Diplomacy is divided into two main phases: Spring and Autumn. Both phases share three initial sub-phases: Diplomacy, where players engage in private negotiations and form alliances; Writing Orders, where each player secretly writes down their units' actions (hold, move, support, or convoy); and Executing Orders, where all orders are revealed simultaneously and resolved based on a set of rules. The Autumn phase includes an additional sub-phase for Retreats and Disbanding, where units forced out of a territory must retreat to an adjacent unoccupied territory or be disbanded. Finally, there is a Building and Disbanding Units sub-phase, where players adjust their unit count based on the number of supply centers they control.

Scoring in Diplomacy is directly tied to the control of supply centers. At the end of each autumn turn, players count the number of supply centers they control. This count determines how many units they can maintain and how many new units they can build. If a player controls more supply centers than units, they can build new units in their home supply centers. Conversely, if they control fewer supply centers than units, they must disband units until their unit count matches their supply center count. The ultimate goal is to control 18 supply centers, which signifies dominance over Europe.

The game concludes when a single player successfully controls 18 or more supply centers at the end of an autumn turn, declaring them the sole victor. Alternatively, if players find themselves in a stalemate or wish to conclude the game without a clear winner, they can collectively agree to a draw. This often happens in long, complex games where no single player can achieve the required 18 supply centers due to strong alliances or strategic deadlocks.