by Pete Tulk and Kevin Matthews

Introduction

Espionage Diplomacy developed from a letter sent to me by Kevin, a player in us DEMON’S DRAWL ue “Borgravia”, a straight Dip game of which I was the GM. The crux of his letter was that he thought that the game would be more interesting if it had more factors than just army and fleet units, and would it be possible to introduce more factors into the game. His suggestions led to an interchange of letters over a period of time, until the variant had been developed to both of our satisfactions. I don’t think that it is a particularly challenging variant, but it does have one or two elements that could provide a certain amount of anarchic entertainment, which can’t be bad can it? Anyway, Kevin was a first time player, and that makes his views on the game, and how it can be improved a little more interesting than mine, in my opinion. See what you think.

1) All rules of the 1971 Diplomacy rulebook stand, except where amended by subsequent official rulebook, and where amended below.

2) Two new units are introduced into play, The Espionage unit and the Counter-Espionage unit, abbreviated to EU & CEU. The function of these units take place in the following order: Moves, retreats and annihilations, CEU activities, EU activities, Adjustments.

3) Espionage Units: Start in any specified home province that is not a supply center. Its movement is unrestricted, it can move land and sea with equal facility. The presence of another unit in a province will not impede the progress of the EU. The presence of an EU in a province will have no effect on the support of a unit, unless the order given to the EU for that turn is “Cut Support”. Should the EU be ordered to “Assassinate”, then any unit in the province with the EU will be destroyed automatically. An EU can not destroy a fleet AT SEA.

4) Counter Espionage Units: Start and move in the same way as EU’s, but have only one function, to destroy EU’s. Any CBU sharing a province with a EU has the option of ordering its destruction. The CBU has no other effect on the game.

5) EUs and CEUs movements will only be reported when they exercise their functions. Recording movement for these units will be the responsibility of the player. EUs and CEUs can be built in the same way as ordinary units, but in home NON supply centers. When all of the player’s ordinary units are eliminated, his EUs and CEUs disappear as well.

Reprinted from TROG 1, Jan 1986