Diplomacy zine -- 1914 Variant From: Eric_S_Klien@cup.portal.com Date: Thu, 27 Jul 1989 22:56:18 +0000 Issue #83 of ELECTRONIC PROTOCOL: ****************************************** Sorry this is a day late, my BBS was down. ****************************************** Chapter One contains: D-DAY, NAVARONE, BLITZKRIEG, OPERATION OVERLORD, GETTYSBURG, and HMS HOOD ----------- Chapter Two ----------- Summer '07 of the game MAELSTROM (BNC number 1989AA) F ECH retreats to BRE Summer '02 of DRAGONSLAYER (BNC number 1989HS) (GM is Genesch@aplvax.jhuapl.edu/Eugene Schwartzman) Nothing happened Summer '02 of DOUGHBOY (BNC number 1989HT) (GM is Matt@oddjob.uchicago.edu/Matt Crawford) Nothing happened Spring '01 of BISMARCK (BNC number not known) (GM is Jf30@andrew.cmu.edu/John Beverly Flournoy) Due July 30th. Spring '01 of COLD WAR (BNC number not known) (GM is Snarr@chemistry.utah.edu/Benjamin A. Snarr) Due date not set yet. Spring '01 of JACAL (MNC number not known) (GM is Kreme@netcom.uucp) (Gunboat game) Due date not set yet. GM comments: Donald Daybell is running chapter one quite well so... All games in this issue except for MAELSTROM are being transferred to my new chapter two. The guest publisher of chapter two is goebel@emunix.emich.edu/Matthew Goebel. Matthew will begin publishing Sunday. We need someone to take the position of e-mail problem solver. This person would help people figure out how to contact other people, letting them know what e-mail addresses are possible. Also, if someone wants to write a little article on how to solve e-mail problems, I would be glad to publish it. I currently need GMs for regular and Gunboat e-mail games. I also have one opening in my next postal game. Taken from Voice of Doom #60: PITY THE MONSTERS A Response to Judy Linsey by Garry Hamlin "And it is curious how often in steep places You meet someone short who frowns, The type you catch beheading daisies with a stick..." Back in college, when I used to work in restaurants cleaning the heads, now and then I'd find I'd been left little gifts -- "tips", if you will -- like someone defeciating in the sink or tying a used tampon behind the grate of a bathroom fan. Back then, I used to wonder what kind of personality would commit such a desperately sick act -- then I met Bob Olsen (I'm teasing, Bob). But I know now there are worse monsters than these, or even the mutes and mumblers Judy Linsey's article makes reference to. The most perfect ogres are not even those described by Auden in the lines above (called to mind by what I can remember of the geography of New York State). No, the worst of the bunch are those actually with some degree of geniality, but whose ingenuity, uncoupled with any shred of common sense, lends them the illusion of competence that makes them a threat to all around them. While that description may sound high-falutin', consider the following example. The same evening Judy Linsey's article appeared in my mailbox, I had only two tasks to perform: to mind our two-year-old son and wash the dishes while my wife was at a meeting. The dishwasher had broken the day before, but we had a portable unit out in the garage which I rolled into the kitchen in the hope of cutting at least one task short. This was followed by several trips to the hardware store to get the right gismo to screw into the kitchen faucet. These trips were punctuated by the two-year-old's desperate cries of "Gotta poop, Daddy! Gotta poop!" (I cannot express in type the urgency of that demand.) Yet, with each trip to the john I found myself standing around for a quarter of an hour with nothing at all getting done. Finally, I got the dishwasher running and my son calmed down, and settled in to read my new VD. But when I got back to the kitchen and opened the unit, I found that it had filled itself to the brim with scalding hot water, which it now refused to discharge. A lesser being would've taken out a pan, resigned himself to his fate, and started bailing the slop out. But in times of adversity I'm inclined to assume the posture of an epic hero struggling against his destiny. And besides, I had a plan. I got out an old ear syringe, our garden hose, a mason jar, and my son's Play-Dough. I cut the hose into lengths, punctured the syringe, and tried to rig up a primitive syphon, using the Play-Dough as sealer and the mason jar as sort of a bell jar. All I accomplished in this was the destruction of a perfectly good garden hose and ear syringe, plus getting myself a scalding hot mouthful of dirty dishwater. But I still refused to pan the water out. Rather, I decided to wheel the unit over to the back threshold and tip the water out on the porch. So I unloaded the dishes with ice tongs (to avoid burning my hands), but unfortunately I was interrupted for twenty minutes by a phone call from an ally regarding some intricate Diplomacy strategy. By the time I got back to my task, I had forgotten that I hadn't removed all of the glasses from the top shelf of the dishwasher. When I tipped the unit over the threshold, two things occured simultaneously. The first was that the dishwasher somehow began discharging the scalding water from UNDERNEATH the unit on my bare feet (I was wearing nothing but a robe at the time). The second was that the glasses on the top shelf began falling off and shattering on the concrete back porch. I was now holding a several hundred pound dishwasher (weight due to the volume of water) at a 45 degree angle while my feet boiled and our tableware disintegrated before my eyes -- and I could neither let go without completely ruining the unit nor find a place suitable to stand so that I could apply enough leverage to lift it back up. Scientists have often remarked on the amazing feats people perform when subject to sufficient adrenalin. With a Herculean effort, I somehow managed to leap right over the dishwasher, through the door, and was not holding it up from the other side. But this wasn't an acceptable solution either. Now I found scalding water spilling over my crotch, while my bare feet slipping and slid over wet ice frosted with broken glass -- and the dishwasher fell on top of me, discharging the rest of the boiling water and the remains of the dishwear I hadn't yet destroyed. Long I lay there, gazing as the pitiless moon and contemplating the cruel humor of the gods. When I arose, limping back into the kitchen, with blood streaming from my feet and rear, I suddenly rememberd that in all the confusion I hadn't seen my two-year-old in better than an hour. Hoor broke over me in waves as I followed the trail of destruction. The diaper pail had been emptied, with the contents strewn about the living room. The fireplace had been pillage, with sooty fingerprints all over the walls as evidence of the crime. My Diplomacy board had been tipped over -- I found my English fleets, along with some correspondence, floating ominously in the toilet (something I desperately wished was not a portent of things to come). And, at the end of the trail, I found my son in his bedroom. Indeed, he HAD had to "poo". Unable to get used to the "potty", he had been unable to perform his duties, but once asleep (the posture in which I found him) he had managed very well. I found his asleep half-naked on the bedroom floor, sprawling in his own excrement. By the time my wife returned, my wounds were treated and the kid was cleaned up -- with a private determination on my part to wait until he's sixteen and gets a girl and let HER housebreak him (enough is enough). While Kathy gazed at the wreckage in amazement, I uttered the only fitting epic reply: "Diaster broke over us; I alone escaped to tell you." All of which is simply a way of saying that there are worse fates than dealing with monsters for a few minutes a week. You could BE one and have to put up with yourself on a daily basis. Or worse yet, you could marry one. (Take heed, Ms. Linsey!) Bob Olsen has recently remarked that his private conception of hell is "driving to Chicago with Milhowski to meet Garry Hamlin". Given the above, it seems unnecessary to speculate on what my wife's conception of hell might be. Pity the monsters, Judy -- and beware of the ones who seem to know what they're doing! Here is a reprint of the 1914 variant article from the General, most text typed in for me by matt@oddjob.uchicago.edu/ Matt Crawford, we are opening a game of this variant. Note that the publishers of the General publish DIPLOMACY and this is the only variant of DIPLOMACY that they have ever published! 1914 Diplomacy A More Historical Variant for DIPLOMACY by Lewis Pulsipher To the veteran Avalon Hill game player, the most offputting characteristic of DIPLOMACY is that it doesn't seem to represent World War I in any way--that it isn't a simulation. Of course, DIPLOMACY was designed before conflict simulations existed outside of military establishments, and it succeeds very well as a challenging and stimulating game. But for those who feel uncomfortable without some measure of simulation, I offer this variation for five players. While it is still far from a standard style simulation, players will find that it is very different from normal DIPLOMACY. Many characteristics of the Great War cannot be even vaguely simulated without ruining the game. For example, one must ignore the qualitative and quantitative differences in armed forces and industrial output. To make Germany and Austria almost equally strong is ridiculous from a simulation viewpoint but necessary from a game player's viewpoint. Every simulation is dominated by such distortions, but they will be more obvious in this game. Italy and Turkey, at least, have been reduced to non-player status, partly thanks to their relative weakness, party because they did not enter the war immediately. Similarly, blockades, whether surface or undersea, are so unique that one must ignore them. We know more or less how Britain and Germany were affected by blockades, but how can we say how an intensive blockade might have affected other powers, given different circumstances? America is also left out: conveniently we assume that no one interferes with American commerce enough to goad the U.S.A. into intervention. Fleets represent light forces, down to destroyers, submarines, and trawlers; as well as dreadnough battleships. Very few dreadnoughts were completed during the war, and none were laid down AND finished in the period. Thus a naval triumph by a country with a small dreadnought fleet must be seen as a victory of the torpedo over large ships, whether this is victory over merchant fleet or battle fleet. The optional bomber rule enables players to carry out the plans of the British and German commands for 1919 and later. The British might have instituted an effect bombing campaign in 1918, but front line calls for more planes weren't resisted. The limited Germany bomber offensive against Britain in 1917-18 caused an amazing dislocation and loss of production (through absenteism) in relation to the force involved. 1. Starting. The starting position of the five Great Powers are as follows, with beginning supply points in parentheses (maintenance for 1914 has already been paid): AUSTRIA (10): A Vienna, A Budapest, F Trieste ENGLAND (15): A Liverpool, F London, F Edinburgh, F Eastern Mediterranean FRANCE (15): F Brest, A Marseilles, A Paris, A North Africa GERMANY (20): F Kiel, A Berlin, A Munich, A Ruhr RUSSIA (15): A Sevastopol, A Warsaw, A St. Petersburg Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa and Ruhr are not supply centers, even though units begin the game there. Minor countries: one army in each supply center except for Italy and Turkey. ITALY: A Tunis, A Venice, F Naples TURKEY: A Constantinople, A Ankara 2. Passage of Time and Winning the Game. Although the war began late in the summer of 1914, the customary Spring and Fall 1914 moves are allowed in this variant; this helps reflect the speed and scope of the initial mobilization and invasions. A country wins when it owns at least ten supply *centers* and owns at least three more than any other country. The game may end in any manner unanimously agreed to by the surviving players, of course. If, incredibly, a minor country wins the game, the player who controls the minor country is the winner. 3. Capitals. The capitals of the Great Power are Vienna, London, Paris, Berlin and Moscow. The capital of a minor country is the country itself, except for Italy (Rome) and Turkey (Constantinople). A Great Power capital may act as capital for a minor country if the minor country retains no home supply center. When a country's capital is captured by any other country all of the units of the country must stand in the following move season. In that season, or during the Fall adjustments if they follow the capture, a new capital may be established; the order is given along with other orders for the season. The new capital must be one of the original home supply centers of the country (but see above for minor countries). If at any time a new capital cannot be established by a country it surrenders. All its units are removed from the board, its minor country PF totals (if any) fall to zero, and the player (if the country is a Great Power) is out of the game. Centers owned by the country become neutral. Minor countries which it had conquered become subject to control, but until such minor country is controlled it has no unit(s). When someone gains control, the minor country receives the same units(s) with which it began the game. 4. Supply Points. The supply center/unit system is entirely replaced by a system of supply points (SP). SP are used to support the existence of units just as suppliess are used in the standard DIPLOMACY. SP may Command: be accumulated, however, and up to 20% of the SP a Great Power possesses each Fall adjustment period may be transferred to other countries. Bribes and loans are entered into at the player's risk and transfers of credit may not be conditionally given. That is, the order may not state certain condirions which must exist before the SP are transferred. All transfers are ordered with Fall adjustments and players expecting to receive SP from other sources must write alternate Fall adjustment orders in case the SP are not received. 5. Supply Centers. A supply center is captured by occupation in any season. A country receives no supply points for a center it owns if no supply line (rule 9) can be traced from the center to the country's capital. Centers yield the following SP each Fall, beginning with Fall 1914: A Great Power's own home center: six Another Great Power's home center: five Any other center: four 6. Maintaining Units. An expenditure of thee SP is required with each Fall adjustment period to maintain the existence of each army, fleet or bomber in the following year. In addition, SP must be expended to build new units, viz: four for a fleet, three for an army, two for a bomber. A unit may be removed from the board in order to save SP, but no unit may be built by the removing country in the same Fall adjustment period. 7. Supply Costs of Combat. SP must also be expended to permit combat and retreats, as follows: one SP for each successful bombing raid; two SP for each defeated bombing raid (the player may instead allow his bomber to be destroyed); one SP for each defense of a center against bombing *if* an enemy bomber is actually defeated; one SP for each convoying fleet; one SP per unit per conflict, including all supporting units; if there is no conflict there is no expenditure one SP per attacking unit in a conflict, that is a moving unit (additional to the SP cost of conflict itself); one SP per retreat (additional to the SP cost of conflict itself); Command: Rail or other movement without conflict requires no SP expenditure For example, Germany orders A Ruhr-Burgundy, A Munich S A Ruhr- Burgundy. France orders A Burgundy H (retreats to Paris). Germany pays three SP, one for each army plus one for the attacking A Ruhr. France pays two SP, one for the battle and one for the retreat. If France *instead* ordered A Gascony-Burgundy (Burgundy vacant) it would pay just one SP (for the battle -- a failed move is not a retreat). 8. Inadequate Supply. If a country lacks the SP required to permit an action, the action ordered does not take place, or the unit in battle has no combat strength, or the unit cannot retreat. The priority followed for allocating SP when an insufficient number are available is: 1. retreats; 2. defending (including supports), land before sea, stands before supports; 3. attacking, land before sea, moves before supports; 4. bombers, defending before attacking. For example, let us say France needs two SP for armies defending a space, one SP for a retreat, three SP for attacks (attack plus one support), and one SP for bombing. A. If France has six SP, all but the bombing are supplied. B. If five SP, in addition the unit supporting the attacking unit is unsupplied, so the support is invalid. C. If four SP, in addition the attacking unit is unsupplied and consequently the move has no effect -- it fails. The support for the attacking unit costs nothing since there is no conflict, so France expends only three of the four SP available. D. In cases of equal priority, the player expending the SPs decides which situation will lack supply. Obviously it is important for every country to plan ahead to avoid a military collapse. 9. Supply Lines. The absence of supply line restrictions may be the greatest simulation failure of DIPLOMACY. In this variant, after the Fall adjustments but before Spring negotiations begin, a supply line must be found for every unit on the board. Any unit without a supply line is eliminated. A supply line is a contiguous line of any length of land and sea spaces, unoccupied by any unit or occupied by a friendly unit and excluding unfriendly supply center spaces; no unoccupied non-supply center space in the supply line, except the first space and any spaces in the unit's home country, may be adjacent to a space occupied by an Command: unfriendly unit which is able to move to the non-center space (in other words, an army does not block a sea supply line nor a fleet an inland line); and the line must lead from the unit to the capital of the unit's home country. For example, Germany has A Gascony, A Ruhr and owns all its home centers. France has F Mid-Atlantic, A Marseilles, A Paris and owns Brest. All pieces possess supply lines. If the French A Marseilles were in Burgundy the the German A Gascony would not have a supply line. (It cannot go through Mar-Pie-Tyl-Mun because Marseilles is an unfriendly center.) If A Gascony were in Spain (and the French army in Marseilles again) it would be unsupplied again -- the line can run to the first space, Gascony, even though an unfriendly unit is adjacent, but it cannot run through Burgundy as well. (The line might run through GoL-Tyn-Ion-Adr if no fleets were adjacent, but thereafter unfriendly centers, if not units, would block it.) For supply purposes, all countries controlled by a player are friendly to one another. A country is automatically friendly to its Ally. Finally, a player may order that a particular country he controls will be friendly, for supply purposes, to another. 10. Railways. An army may move by railroad. The provinces it begins and ends the move in may be outside the home country but all other provinces it moves through must be in its home country. The provinces involved must be unoccupied at all times during the season except by the rail-traveling army or by bombers. If an army or fleet enters one of the provinces along the route, the rail army ends its move *before* it reaches this province -- it exerts no influence on the other unit because an army moving by rail cannot participate in any conflict. (If the army's move is entirely blocked it may still defend the province it is in.) For example, German A Warsaw RR-Silesia-Munich-Berlin. If Italy orders A Tyrolia-Munich, A Warsaw stops in Silesia and does not stand off the Italian. Supposing also that Russia orders A Galicia-Silesia, A Moscow-Warsaw, the German never gets going by rail, but it does defend itself (and Warsaw). An army ordered to move by rail cannot be supported even if, as in the last example, the army isn't able to use the railroads. 11. Sea Movement. Fleet movement is divided into two segments. The first segment is simultaneous with army and bomber movement. The second Command: segment occurs thereafter, involving fleets only. The orders for both segments are written along with all orders for the move season. Conditional orders, that is, orders which vary with the results of the first segment, are not allowed. A fleet may be given an order for the second segment only if its orders for both segments concern/affect sea spaces only. For example: F Belgium (1)-English, (2)-Mid-Atlantic or F English (1) S F Edinburgh-North Sea, (2) S F North Sea Hold but not F English (1) S F North-Belgium, (2)-Mid-Atlantic A convoy must take place in the first segment, of course, but a convoying fleet may do something else in the second segment even though its first segment order affected a land space (via the convoyed army). A fleet dislodged in the first segment does not retreat until after the second segment. Standoffs in either segment prevent retreats, but units block retreat only in the spaces they occupy at the end of the second segment, not the first. 12. Fleets and Coastal Centers. A fleet cannot enter a non-friendly supply center unless it is supported by an army. This applies even (especially) to vacant centers. The fleet plus army *will* dislodge an enemy army just as in standard DIPLOMACY. 13. Retreats. A Unit which retreated in the preceding move season may not attack or support an attack. This is a consequence of the loss of morale caused by the earlier defeat. A unit may not retreat to a center owned by another country, unless that country gives written permission for the particular retreat to take place. 14. Center Ownership. If a country owning a center gives written permission for the move, another country's unit may choose to occupy a center owned by the country *without* *capturing* *it*. If during the Fall adjustments two countries declare each other allies, in the following year they *cannot* capture each others supply centers, even if occupying them, and are automatically friendly for supply purposes in the following Fall adjustments. 15. Bombers. No bombers may be built until the Fall 1917 adjustments. Only Great Powers may build bombers. A Great Power may build no more than one bomber in Fall 1917, and no more than two in any follwing year. Bombers cost two SP to build and three SP to maintain Command: each year. Unlike other units, bombers may be built in any space occupied by the building country's units or in any center owned by the country. A bomber may be in a province with another unit of the same country. Bombers cannot occupy sea spaces. In each move season a bomber may do one of the following: 1) Change its base. The bomber moves to any friendly supply center, or province occupied by a friendly army or fleet, which is within *twice* its range. 2) Defend a center against bombing. The bomber remains where it is, but defends a center space within range. 3) Bomb another country's supply center. The bomber remains where it is, but bombs a center space within range. Bomber range is two spaces in 1918 and 1919, three spaces thereafter. For example, a German bomber in Burgundy in 191 might change base to Livonia (if a German army or fleet occupies it at the end of the season), or Trieste (if Germany owns it or if the owner gives permission for the move), among others. It might defend Munich or Kiel (but not Berlin -- it's too far away). It might bomb a French home center -- all are in range -- but not an English home center since all are too far away. If it were 1920, however, London would be in range. A defending bomber prevents one enemy bomber from bombing the defended center (a second bomber would succeed). A center which is successfully bombed produces no SP in the following Fall adjustments. Bombing does not affect supply lines or railroads. Bombers cannot attack other units or give or receive support. A bomber is destroyed if it is dislodged, and cannot capture a center. 16. Control of Minor Countries. Players use political factors (PFs) representing a variety of influences to attempt to gain alliances with non-player countries ("minors"). The alliance is represented by control of the minor country by the player. When a player controls a minor he orders its units and makes its adjustments. Control is determined at the end of Fall adjustments. Allocation of PFs A. A supply point may be converted to a political factor. At the start of the game some countries already have some PFs in minor countries, as shown in the Minor Countries Table. An initial round of PF allocation and determination of control precedes Spring 1914. Command: Thereafter, PFs are allocated along with Fall adjustment orders. B. PFs may be allocated to any minor country, subject to the restrictions noted below. Once allocated they may not be removed, and may be eliminated only by the player who provided them, or as provided for below. A record of the PF total of each player is maintained. ---------------------------------------------------------------- MINOR COUNTRIES TABLE Activation Starting PF Totals Minor Level AUS ENG FRA GER RUS Belgium 9 - - 2 -* - Bulgaria 8 4 - - 2 - Denmark 15 - - - - - Greece 10 - 2 2 - - Holland 12 - - - - - Italy 13 -* 5 - 2 - Norway 15 - - - - - Portugal 6 - 4 - - - Rumania 10 2 - - 2 2 Serbia 6 -* 2 2 - 6 Sweden 15 - - - - - Spain 13 - - - - - Turkey 9 - 2 2 8 -* * => The inicated Great Power cannot gain control of the specified minor(s), but may prevent others from doing so. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Controlling Minors C. To gain control of a minor a player must have a PF total in the country equal to the sum of the "activation level" and the PF total of the player with the next largest number of PFs in the minor. For example, if Germany has 7 PFs in Italy, England has 5, and France has 2, Germany needs 11 more to gain control. Howver, the activation level is reduced by one for each game year played -- for example in Fall 1916 adjustments all levels are two lower than listed. Command: After a player gains control of a minor country he retains control, regardless of changes in PF totals in the country, until the player's own country or the minor country loses a home supply center. At that time his PF total in the minor is reduced until it is no greater than some other country's total in the minor. (If it is already equal or lower there is no change.) The minor country is no longer controlled and has an activation level of one. Any player, including the one who has just lost control, may gain control by fulfilling the usual conditions. D. Two players may jointly gain control of a minor country by combining their PF totals, but control must be assigned to one or the other thereafter, without change. E. Because a player's own country and any minors he controls are automatically Allies, they may not capture one another's supply centers even when occupying them, and they are friendly for supply purposes. Penalities F. When a unit owned or controlled by a player attempts to enter a center or province, or attacks a unit, owned by a minor country, the player's PF total in that country is reduced to zero. This does not apply to countries the player controls, only to those which are uncontrolled or which are controlled by another player. The same penalty applies when a player's unit supports an attack. G. A player's PF total in a minor is reduced to zero when he owns, or controls a minor which owns, one of the minors home centers. H. Units of uncontrolled minors stand in civil disorder stand in civil disorder, with the exceptions mentioned in section M. I. If a unit of a player's own country attacks or supports an attack on any one of the following minor countries while it is uncontrolled, his PF total in all the minor countries in the group is reduced to zero. Group 1: Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Norway, Sweden. Group 2: Spain, Portugal. Minor Country Supply Points J. Minor countries do not begin accumulating SP until controlled. A minor country may receive, but cannot give, a loan. K. A controlled minor begins play with sufficient supplies for its present units, plus two per supply center. Uncontrolled minors always have enough SP to pay for defensive combat. Command: Miscellaneous L. Because of the extra activity required during Fall adjustments in this variant, players may negotiate before adjustments take place. Half the time given for Spring or Fall negotiations is sufficient. M. Turkey and Italy are semi-active when uncontrolled. The two Turkish units move to Smyrna. Italian A Venice and F Naples both move to Rome. If one of either pair is dislodged, the other stands. Italian A Venice retreats to Rome, if possible, if dislodged. N. Austria cannot control Italy or Serbia, but can prevent another player from controlling them. Similarly, Russia cannot control Turkey, nor Germany control Belgium. You will find that each player must walk a supply tightrope. One cannot ignore the political arena (minor control), but SP converted to PF cannot be used by the military. One must have enough units to match the opposition, but enough SP must be saved to pay for the year's battles. Promising offensives may fail for lack of supply; attack is more costly than defense, but attrition becomes a valid strategy if you have saved more SP than the enemy. A player who tries to be safe will find himself without controlled minors or without enough units. If everyone tries to play safe a true World War I stalemate can result, without Bolsheviks and Americans to break it. I am enjoying moderating this zine, keep that mail coming! Eric Klien Referenced By Up