I thought that Diplomacy would be a nice game to fit the atmosphere here and which most players would find quite enjoyable. I love this game almost beyond any other; it contains no element of chance and is very much a pure contest of politics, negotiation and tactical strategy.
The proper rules for the game can be found here.
I'll lay it out extremely briefly here, because the rules can look like a bit much, but it's actually quite simple:
Diplomacy proceeds by seasons, beginning in the year 1901 (though set-up is Winter 1900), with each year divided into two seasons: "Spring" and "Fall" moves. Each season is further divided into negotiation and movement phases, followed by 'retreat' or 'disband' adjustments and an end-of-the-year Winter phase of new builds or removals after the Fall adjustments. The only two units are armies and fleets. Armies are the cubes and fleets the narrow rectangles.
Negotiation phase:
In the negotiation phase, players use any verbal means necessary amongst each other to form alliances, or some other form of arrangement, with one another. Such arrangements may be made public knowledge or kept secret. Since players are not bound to anything they say during this period, and thus no agreements of any sort are enforceable, communication and trust are unusually important for a strategy game; players must forge alliances with opponents and observe them to ensure their trustworthiness; at the same time, they must convince others of their own trustworthiness while making plans to turn on their allies when others least expect it.
Movement phase:
After the negotiation period, players write secret orders for each unit (which in this case will be sent to me, the GM); these orders are revealed and executed simultaneously. Units can move from their location to an adjacent space, support adjacent units in holding an area in the event of an attack, do nothing or assist in attacking an occupied area. In addition, fleets may transport armies from one coast square to another. One fleet per sea space traversed is required if multiple bodies of water are to be traversed. Armies may only occupy land regions, and fleets may only occupy sea regions and land regions that border the sea. Only one unit may occupy a region; if multiple units are ordered to move to the same region, only the unit with the most support moves there (if two or more units have the same highest support, no units ordered to that region move). A unit giving support that is attacked has its support broken, except in the case the support is being given to an invasion to the region where the attack it suffered comes.
During an attack, the greatest concentration of force is always victorious; if the forces are equal a standoff results and the units remain in their original positions. If a supporting unit is attacked (except by the unit against which the support is directed), its support is nullified, which allows units to affect the outcome of conflicts in regions not directly adjacent.
End-of-year and supply centers:
After each winter move, newly-acquired supply centers become owned by the occupying player, and each power's supply center total is recalculated; players with fewer supply centers than units on the board must disband units, while players with more supply centers than units on the board are entitled to build units in their Home centers (supply centers controlled at the start of the game). Players controlling no supply centers are eliminated from the game, and if a player controls 18 of the 34 supply centers, that person is declared the winner. Players may also agree to a draw.
If there are any more questions I'll be happy to answer them. Nation selection is traditionally done randomly but in this case I'll allow players to choose their countries on a first-post-first-served basis. If anyone would like a random selection (for whatever reason) simply say so and I will select a country at random (this will overrule any claims to the country lodged after the request for random draw). This first turn will be largely open-ended until all the spots are filled, after which I'll set a deadline for when the first moves must be completed. Also, just to clear up any confusion, Austria-Hungary is almost invariably shortened to "Austria" in the Diplomacy lexicon for sake of simplicity. I also apologize for what perceptive people looking at the board I'm using might spot: I'm using a German VASSAL module for lack of a better alternative.
Winter 1900
England
Prime Minister: George S.K.
Total Supply Centers: 3
Armies: 1
Fleets: 2
France
President: Aethers
Total Supply Centers: 3
Armies: 2
Fleets: 1
Italy
Prime Minister: Malefic
Total Supply Centers: 3
Armies: 2
Fleets: 1
Russia
Czar: Sam
Total Supply Centers: 4
Armies: 2
Fleets: 2
Germany
Kaiser: Jessarveryja
Total Supply Centers: 3
Armies: 2
Fleets: 1
Austria
Emperor: Molotov
Total Supply Centers: 3
Armies; 2
Fleets: 1
Turkey
Sultan: Opakidabar
Total Supply Centers: 3
Armies: 2
Fleets: 1
EDIT: Also, I've realized that since the map I'll be using regularly is in German, it's best I provide an English map for those unfamiliar with the game so that regions can be properly identified. An English map for reference is here.
