Who the heck ever thought Diplomacy would see a mention in a sports blog that is hosted by ESPN? Not me. Loosely based on the geopolitical situation in Europe prior to World War I, the game sacrifices authenticity for game balance. Each player plays one of the European Great Powers (Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire). The setup assures that the seven countries are more or less equal...which means that the players must negotiate alliances to defeat their neighbors...and the rules mechanisms to enforce those alliances are precisely, nothing. So, much in the vein of Bismarck, who once said that no nation should sacrifice themselves on the altar of an alliance, Your ally on one turn might very well be the enemy whose army is marching through your capital city on the next. Backstabbing is not only possible, but almost encouraged by the design. As a guy who played quite a few games of this in the 1970s and 1980s, it takes a special group of players to play it without somebody flipping the table. Effectively, the uber-Diplomacy player is probably an amnesiac with mild sociopathic tendencies. Much like real diplomacy, it requires the delivery of flattering and kind words even as you figure out how best to betray the party you are speaking to. Lather, rinse, repeat until one player controls over half the map. Effectively, Diplomacy is the place where most friendships go to die.
Posted on: Fri, 20 Jun 2014 04:12:47 +0000
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