by Paul Barker
Rules
1. The following countries are playable:
| Major Power | Minor Power |
| Great Britain | Chile |
| Germany | Japan |
| France | Brazil |
| Austria-Hungary | Mexico |
| Russia | China |
| Italy | Portugal |
| USA | Spain |
| Ottoman Empire | Holland |
Where agreed players can take on some combination of countries, where possible, one major power and minor power that are geographically distant. The identities of the players are not disclosed. It is important to state here that all messages must be sent via the Gamesmaster, any messages sent otherwise will result exclusion from the game. This is to maintain some anonymity.
All rules are the same as the standard diplomacy ones except for those listed below.
The game runs from 1880 to 1900 and turns are divided into spring and fall as the original game.
Before the game starts, players state which type of unit they want at their starting resource centres. This is completely their choice.
Diplomacy Variant Rules
2. Every Spring and Fall major power receives 6 dip points for diplomatic practice and can move their national armies and navies once. Minor powers receive only 4 dip points. All points must be spent that turn.
3. Major Powers and Minor Powers may spend their Dip Points in the following way:
All powers can spend Dips as follows:
– 1 Dip to send a message of 50 words to any number of countries.
– 2 Dips to intercept all messages that turn between two stated countries.
– 1 Dip to protect your messages against interception by a stated country.
Only Major Powers may spend Dips in these additional ways:
– 3 Dips to support a unit’s move or holding action. However, (a) you may only use Dips to support a hold (i.e. defensively staying still) 5 times in every 5 turns and (b) you may only use Dips to support a movement (i.e. aggressively moving) 2 times in every 5 turns.
4. The GM will keep count of this and will inform you each turn of your situation. Any one unit may receive only one diplomatic support per turn. Any more than this will be wasted. This does not limit actual military support.
5. A major power may support any other country’s units in addition to its own. This counts for both major and minor powers. For example, Great Britain may support Spain’s armies. BUT players with two countries must solicit help from another player. There will be no transfer of support from two countries played by the same player.
6. The player needs to state clearly how he/she wishes to spend their dip-points. i.e. 5 Dips support A(LON)-PLY, means that the dip points will ONLY be used as a support for that move. If that army in London was attacked in turn, the Dip points will not be used as a support for that army staying in London. Dip points do not strengthen the unit itself, they are only used to support a unit in moving or holding. Again you may also choose to spend 3 dips on supporting a hold. 3 Dips support A(LON) Hold. If supporting another country just make it clear which one: 3 Dips supporting Mexico A(MEX) Hold.
7. Should a player try to intercept messages between two countries that are in fact played by the same player, the GM will notify that player of the fact.
Movement Variant Rules
8. Army and Naval commands must be received by the Gamesmaster before the stated deadline, or units will not move that turn.
9. Oceans are clearly marked on the map. Any number of naval units may enter these areas without combat. Units commencing their turn in an ocean area may move to any other ocean zone on the map in that turn. Moves from an ocean into a sea-zone are restricted in the usual fashion. Units may not move from one ocean zone to another ocean zone then into an adjacent sea zone in one turn. This must be conducted over two turns, i.e. F(Coral Sea) to South Pacific Ocean. Next Turn that fleet may move to any adjacent sea or land zone OR to any ocean zone on the board. The turn after that fleet may again move to any ocean zone or into any adjacent sea or land zone.
10 Where units are supported by dip points, their strength is in effect doubled as though a friendly unit was supporting it.
11. Convoys are conducted in the usual manner, except when carried over oceans. To convoy an army unit to another continent the player must have a naval unit in the adjacent sea zone and ocean, and the sea zone adjacent to the land zone where the army is to disembark. For example, by having a fleet in the Gulf of St Lawrence, North Atlantic and Sao Tome an army can be convoyed from MON to WAL, GAB or LUA. If a fleet is also situated in Tasman Bay then the same army could alternatively be convoyed to SYD, WAU or WEL.
12. Areas marked black, i.e. the Caspian Sea or Yukon are impassable.
13. Areas such as Suez, Constantinople (CON) and the pacific isles may be occupied and moved through by a fleet. i.e. A fleet may move from the Eastern Med. to Suez to the Red Sea over three turns.
14. Some coastal zones have WC (west coasts) and EC (east coats). Fleets may only occupy either coast and not move through this zone like those of rule 13.
15. A player wins the game by (a) owning a majority of the centres on the board at the end of any Fall season or (b) having the most number of centres when the game ends in 1900.
Stephen Agar: I have added rule 15 as there is no victory criteria listed in the original rules.