by Roland Isaksson
This is a variant for two players. It is very fast, since there is no diplomacy or Spring moves. The regular rules for Diplomacy are in effect, with the addition of the following:
1. One player (Austria) starts in with Army Vienna while the other (Turkey) starts with Army Constantinople. Both are home supply centers.
2. Every move is one year, and is followed by a Winter move for adjustments and retreats. So, the turns will go: 1901, Winter 1901, 1902, Winter 1902, etc.
3. The first supply center each player conquers becomes that country’s second and last home supply center.
4. There are 14 centers in this variant. The winner is the one who reaches 8 centres.
5. The map is a cut-out from the original map, with a couple of adjustments. Moscow is no longer a supply center and is now connected with Prussia as Livonia has been removed. Observe that Armenia is gone, so it’s not possible any longer to move the back way around the Black Sea with armies. However, it is still possible to move fleets from Ionian Sea to Aegean Sea and vice versa.
Three-Way Balkan Battle
The rules above apply to the three-player version expect as follows:
1. All three players start in Bulgaria. No one owns it in the beginning.
2. The first move is Spring 1899. With this move the players choose whether their first unit will be an army or fleet and, if a fleet, on which coast it will start. If two (or more) players bounce in an area they both stay in Bulgaria to try again the next move.
3. The second move is Fall 1899. With this move the players try to conquer their first home supply center. If a player does not grab a center at this stage (i.e. he is in a sea area or still in Bulgaria) he must wait until a later move to take his home supply center. Bulgaria itself is taken if, at the end of any move, only one player’s unit occupies it. Until that happens, a unit cannot be dislodged from Bulgaria.
4. The third move is 1901, with subsequent turns following Rule 2 from the 2-player version.
5. The first two centers each player occupies after Spring 1899 become that player’s home supply centers. This means that two (or more) players could have the same center as a home center. But, of course, only the one who possesses it may use it.
Reprinted from Diplomacy World No.71 (1993)