ICE AGE DIPLOMACY (Jim Penman)
(1) ANDREW ENGLAND in Affairs of State (1988)
This is set after a nuclear holocaust which has precipitated a new ice age. The game map covers the whole world.
IDEOLOGY (Jeremy Maiden).
Rules originally published in He’s Dead, Jim! Volume 3: XVII.
(1) Robert Sacks in Lord of Hosts 10, July 1976.
A political variant allegedly based on Parliament. Part of the rules is confused, but basically each player buys popular support in various spaces in an attempt to gain one half of the population, at which point he can attempt a successful coup. The owner of a space can arrest opposition, and can defeat a coup if he has sufficient men. Ownership of a space yields revenue, allowing training of additional men and sending them out to subvert a neighbouring territory or to defend your own. Support is an option; popular support is secret. Movement of leaders is public; of Agents and Spies secret. Since Spies cost less, can do anything an Agent can, and can in addition determine the number of men in a faction in a space, I suspect more Spies will be trained than Agents — especially since the only advantage an Agent has (of not immediately disappearing after a revolution) is lost if the Agent is captured or arrested.
IMPERATOR: See Diadochi V.
INDONESIAN (Russell Fox).
Rules originally published in Urf Durfal 5.
(1) REVIEW: Robert Sacks in Lord of Hosts 8, December 1975.
Confused, perhaps unplayable.
INTERPLANETARY WARFARE (Glenn Reed).
(1) Robert Sacks in Lord of Hosts 3, February 1975.
An imaginary solar system with an almost impassable asteroid belt, five planets, colonizable moons, and meteor showers which run around destroying units and supply centers on moons. Depending on where the comma is supposed to go in the previous sentence, the meteor showers either harass moons or disrupt the entire game; of course disrupting the game is mild compared to the missiles which can destroy everything except planets. There are three unit-types, one of which can carry missiles, one which can colonize, and one which is double strength on defense (but not against missiles, sigh). The game year has twelve months; every fourth one is for adjustments, perhaps the only feature of interest in the game. Victory is obtained by eliminating all the other players while retaining a supply center; I doubt that there is very much that can be said in favor of this design.
INTIMATE DIPLOMACY (Adrian Baird and Steve Doubleday).
Rules originally published in Dolchstoss XIV.
(1) Robert Sacks in Lord of Hosts 4, March 1975.
A two player game. After choosing countries, each player gets a certain initial credit: 22- Germany, 24-Italy or Austria, 20-the others. Before each game year both players bid for the services of the non-player countries; the highest bid for each non-player country wins and the credit is deducted from the player’s Treasury, and that player controls that country for that year (he must submit builds when possible). When the bids are equal for a given country, that country is CD that year. A player may bid more than his credit, but if his successful bids exceed his credit, he loses. At the end of a year, each player has an income equal to the supply centers his own country has. A player wins when one of his own units enters one of his opponent’s own home supply centers; ties are decided by summing credit with the supply center count.
INTIMATE 1A (Adrian Baird & Steve Doubleday) ???/02
(1) STEVE AGAR & JON LOVIBOND in ??? (circa 1979)
This variant has proved popular because of its simplicity and because `ID’ games provide a means whereby two players who have a certain degree of animosity towards each other can fight it out. The basic idea is that the players are allocated one of the seven countries on the regular board, while the remaining five countries become mercenaries. The two players receive a certain number of `credits’ depending on the country they are playing, and every Autumn season they use these credits to bid for the services of the mercenary countries. The winner is the first player to put one of his units (not a mercenary) into one of the home centres of his opponent.
CRAZY MARKIE SAYS: Could easily be moulded into other variants… eg Abstraction and Stab.
INTERSTELLAR DIPLOMACY III (Lew Pulsipher) sg03/05
(1) Steve Agar and James Nelson in Spring Offensive 19, January 1994.
This space variant uses a symmetrical three-dimensional board, permitting horizontal, vertical and diagonal movement to both the vertical and horizontal. Players start with 400 credits, receive 20 credits from captured centres and credits can be spent on building fleets on the home centre or building Industrial Centres which then permit fleets to be built there. Fleets cost 8 credits per move to maintain plus additional credits for specific types of movement, which means that economics is a very important aspect of the game. General combat rules are as per Diplomacy save that multiple fleets are permitted. JIHAD (Dick Vedder)
(1) STEVE AGAR in V&U 4 (September 1980)
A European variant, although the board extends as far as India, set in 635AD. The powers are: (Type A) Arabs, Germans; (TYPE B) Byzantines, Persians, Franks; (TYPE C) Lombardy, Exarchate of Spain and North Africa. The powers are split into three types in order of size and given different victory criteria accordingly. A fairly complicated game with hidden movement, as well as a sense of humour. If the Arabs lose Mecca, then all Arab units must retreat towards it until it is recaptured, even if they have no hope of ever reaching it. This game has been played postally.