by Jon Lovibond

1. Except as amended below, all standard rules of Diplomacy (1971) apply.

2. The game starts in Spring 1900, when players place their normal allocations of supply centers anywhere within the borders of their country.

3. In Autumn 1900, players place their units. “Units” means either armies or fleets. Any strength of unit may be placed, anywhere within the borders of the home country, so long as the total value of the units does not exceed the strength allowed by the number of supply centers held. eg. possible combinations of units are:

Russia: u,u,u,u; or 2u,u,u; or 2u,2u; or 3u,u; 4u.

Others: u,u,u; or 2u,u; or 3u.

4. Convoying

a. The regular Diplomacy convoy rules will apply.

b. In addition to the above, the A/F convoy rule as used in Abstraction, Atlantica, etc. will be used. A brief explanation follows.

An army, in a coastal province may be placed aboard a fleet in an adjacent sea space to form an Army/Fleet. The A/F may then move to another sea space and disembark the army, all in the same move. The A/F may remain intact for 3 consecutive moves, excluding the build period. If the army is not successfully disembarked by the end of the 4th move, it is annihilated. A/F move and have the same combat strength as a single.

A fleet disembarking an army may also support it to land. An A/F may only exist in a sea province, it cannot be ordered to a land province as an entity, but may support some other unit into a land province. The Game Master may remove the army of an army/fleet if lack of supply centers makes removal necessary, and the player fails to submit a removal.

eg of A/F move: A(Rom) boards F(TYS) A/F(TYS) – WMS A(WMS) disembarks Spa.

c. Any power of fleet may convoy any power of army. Armies may “split” and “merge” in transit.

d. If a fleet convoying an army is forced to retreat, then the army is annihilated.

e. Separate armies being convoyed simultaneously by the same fleet (or multiple fleet) may be disembarked in different provinces.

((RULE b. concerning the time an A/F may remain intact varies from previous printing of the rules in which it can remain intact forever. This rule will be the one played in the Lemming Express. This is the original Abstraction ruling.))

5. Subsequent builds and removals

a. A player may continue to build multiple units in his home bases in winter seasons after 1900, provided that the total strength of his builds does not exceed the balance of supply centers gained.

b. Strength may be added to that of a unit in a home supply center at the end of the year, if the player has any build to make. eg (If Gascony is a French home supply center): France builds 2A(Gas) = 5A(Gas) (if he has 3A(Gas) already).

c. Removals may be made from the power of an existing unit. eg France removes 2A(Gas) = A(Gas) (if he has 3A(Gas) already).

6. Merging of units

During a movement season, players may merge two or more units to form a multiple unit. All units involved in the merge must be adjacent to, or in the province in which the unit is to be created. Merges are self-supporting, thus an attack by a 2A is stood off by a merge order for two single armies (A’s and F’s may not merge except by the A/F move). Units of different countries may not merge. Support may be given for merges from outside. eg France: A(Pic) + A(Par) + A(Gas) MERGE = 3A(Bur), A(Mar)S 3A’s – Bur. Germany: 3A(Bur)St. (The result is that the French merge succeeds by a weight of 4 units to 3, and the German 3A(Bur) has to retreat.) Several units or multiple units may merge whilst being convoyed. eg France: F(ENC) C A(Bre) + A(Pic) – Lon, A(Bre) + A(Pic) + A(Lon) MERGE = 3A(Lon). Or Italy: F’s TYH and Lyo C A(Pie) + A(Tus) – Spa and 3A(Rom) + 2A(Tun) – Mar, A(Pie) + A(Tus) MERGE = 2A(Spa), 3A(Rom) + 2A(Tun) MERGE = 5A(Mar).

7. Splitting of units

During a movement season, a player may split a multiple unit into two or more smaller units. Units remaining in a province may support units moving out. eg France: 3A(Bur) SPLIT = A(Par), A(Bur), A(Mun), A(Bur)S A(Bur) – Mun. Germany: A(Mun)St, 2A(Par)St. (Result: French A(Bur) – Mun succeeds (2-1), but A(Bur) – Par fails (1-2). The position would be: France: 2A(Bur), A(Mun), Germany: 2A(Par), A(wherever A(Mun) retreated to.).

((Merges may be supported by a unit in the province in which the merge is to take place. eg A(Bel) + A(Hol) MERGE = 2A(Bel), A(Bel)S A(Hol) – Bel.))

8. Merges and splits are not allowed in retreats. A retreating multiple unit may not retreat into the space of a smaller unit (ie less powerful).

All units in a merge must be ordered. Therefore in the example below, the French merge fails as the A(Bur) did not move out, and was not ordered to merge: France: A(Pic) + A(Mar) MERGE = 2A (Bur), A(Bur) – Mun.

9. Wandering supply center – Atlantis

There is one supply center, in addition to the number specified in the regular game which will be initially placed in Switzerland. Each movement season this center will be moved to an adjacent province, or stand. What it actually does is determined by a die roll. ie Initial move of Atlantis. Swi 3, Mun 2, Tyr 6, Pie 5, Mar 2, Bur 1. S.C. Atlantis – Tyrolia. The movement of the supply center is done by the game’s master.

The country in which Atlantis is found at the end of the year is credited with it’s ownership as far as builds and removals are concerned. This applies even if the country has previously been eliminated from the game, in which case it can be assumed that an underground force is being supplied by the center.

The only exception to the above rule is if Atlantis enters a province containing a supply center already held by another power (applies to neutral supply centers as well) or if it enters a province at the same time as the unit of another power, or enters a province already occupied by another power. In these cases, the ownership of Atlantis is credited to that “other power”.

10. When cutting support, the piece cutting the support of a supporting piece, cuts it by its own strength. eg Russia: 4A(Ukr)S A(Mos) – War. Austria – Hungary: 2A(Gal) + A(War) MERGE = 3A(Ukr). The support given by the Russian 4A(Ukr) would be reduced from 4 to 1. The A-H A(War) would have to retreat.

11. This rule is optional, just for the sake of madness, confusion (more for the GM than for the players) and for annoying a certain Ayrab from Amersham. This rule is only used in cases of majority demand. (The only postal game being run at the moment – Tarkus Orontes, uses this ruling. I am the Game’s Master, and I’m slowly becoming as daft as the players.)

France will always be referred to as Italy or Ylati or Ecnarf

Italy will always be referred to as Turkey or Yekrut or Ylati

Turkey will always be referred to as Austria or Airtsua or Yekrut

Austria will always be referred to as Germany or Ynamreg or Airtsua

Germany will always be referred to as Russia or Aissur or Ynamreg

Russia will always be referred to as England or Dnalgne or Aissur

England will always be referred to as France or Ecnarf or Dnalgne

(Only one variation on the sane, correct name, not all at once ???)

“DATE OF ORIGINAL TYPING: 20th October 1974. (This is the third printing of this variant. It has previously appeared as a supplement to Sun of Quetzal (Tarkus), then to Hannibal.). In the Lemming Express, these rules take precedence over previously published versions in: HANNIBAL 15 and SUN OF QUETZAL 6.”

Full credit is attributed to Richard Walkerdine for the merge/split idea, first used in his variant Multiplicity.