Diplomacy Review - with Joe Steadman

[GeneralSturnn]

Diplomacy looks like alot of fun, but I don't understand it, I've actually simplified it though, too bad I don't have enough friends to play this with.

[triton2toro]

During the game you are alotted time to talk privately with other players to form alliances. If I felt an alliance was being created between Players A and B, in front of Player B I'd ask Player A for a private chat. What we talked about was inconsequential. I just wanted to cast doubt in Player B's mind about Player A's loyalty to their alliance. It went THAT deep.

[triton2toro]

When I was in high school, we started several games of Diplomacy. Started, but never finished. There's so much backstabbing and underhanded deals made we couldn't finish a game because the ill will that would develop made it obvious it wasn't in our best interests as friends to continue. Maybe it was immaturity, but man, you could feel the tension between us even after we left the board.

[furneticritting]

I love the game

[hg1221KIDS]

um this is not the vocab word for history

[chrallan]

This game reminds me a lot of Big Brother. The constant paranoia, the deals, the backstabbing, and if you play it online it can take up to 3 months to finish a game. Definitely make sure the people you are playing with have the attention span to keep playing even when they are losing since they probably will be losing for quite some time.

[TigerClawTV]

I would LOVE to play this. Unfortunetly I don't know anyone who would be interested in trying.

[thecoldto1234]

Um....why is that fleet in 2:19 in the middle of land?

[sloppymantis]

I finally got a copy of this game. A client dug it out of his attic. However I now need to make enough friends to play. It says it needs atleast 4 players and best with 7. I have many games that sit here never even opened due to not having 3 players let alone 4 or 7 haha Anyway great review the game looks awesome.

[bobotrucnhi]

awsome



[99tinytim99]

Hello. I was wondering on your opinion on other games. Such as axis and allies, conquer the empire. What are the best war games besides diplomacy?

[GeneralSturnn]

@99tinytim99 Axis and Allies is a GREAT game, love it, I have the old 1980 version, real nice, best version imo.

[Blazingwheel]

does this game take more time to finsih then risk?

[naterd00d]

@Blazingwheel most likely, depending on the rules that you set

you can set the rules so that diplomacy time is shorter, as most of the time is spent off of the board.

[duncanpunisher]

@Blazingwheel yes

[vemichael]

Nice review man. You explained the game well. Now I'll have to go and try it out :D

[MrPlayer1up]

RULE #! - Don't let anyone bring weapons when they're going to play.

[TheSovietAlliance]

Gotta add a comment. Keep up the promotion of diplomacy! I appreciated your video.

[tarkonis]

Hey there. I recently bought the game from avalon hill. I was dismayed when all the pieces are counters :( not like the minatures you have here.

[zxzc77]

rule to win....back stab the fuck out of every one for your own gain

[wardragonprime]

I remember some guys starting playing that game. Before long one guy lost his cool and started yelling at everyone. Finally, the store manager told them to knock it off!

[osmark0]

I wonder why Henry Kissinger loves this game...

[PantyhoseLoverLA]

Actually, Calhamer invented Diplomacy in 1954. In 1958, a potential board design was released in small quantity in what today would be termed a "beta test". Some minor adjustments were made to the board, and in 1959 it was released to the public. The 1958 board is extremely rare and sought after by gamers (especially Avalon Hill fans) the world over.

[themaster408]

This game is awesome and yes, can get you pissed off. I give this as advice, don't play with someone who will do whatever X will tell them to do. If you are playing with couples and you KNOW that Sarah will do anything her husband Bret says, then don't play with those people probably. Alliances are cool and all, but they're meant to be broken as well. It sucks playing next to Sarah that will always fight you because it's in Bret's best interest (names have been changed)

[Agomongo1235]

@themaster408 lol also do play wit friends who are loyal to u cause it would be so dam hard to break

[seismicmike]

Joe! Are you guys going to be at Origins this year?

[DelTevynes]

hello

[RoboticDragon]

OMG this looks so boring.

[edible333]

this game is addicting

[Haku1234567890]

sounds like bad game but idk

[Ock50]

It's amazing!

[Haku1234567890]

I don't like how you can't kill enemyes

[pieman2906]

@Haku1234567890

It's all about taking out their supply points, so that their units can't be sustained, and so they have to disband.

[dominicpodom]

Don't do it upside down next time

[mjka264]

Hi,

I just want to be potentially critical. Joe - I'm a bit disappointed in this review.

Why tell us so many rules? Moves, supports and the concept of betrayl should be enough. Don't bother explaining unnecessary details like convoys, spring vs fall, etc.

Instead, why don't you tell us about the strengths (and weaknesses!) of the actually diplomacy in this game? What you love, what others hate, etc. I really think that your review needs to contain more *evaluation* and less description.

[venusboys3]

We played loads of this in college...

Lots of fun, quite stressful at times... NOT a game for people who have short tempers... I've seen people throw stuff, flip the table, even come close to a fistfight.

Still, one of the best games ever.

[oddysseuss]

@venusboys3 how many players to need minimum to play a nice game?

[venusboys3]

@oddysseuss

I think the least we ever tried to play with was 5 and that wasn't a very good game. You really want to try to get a full contingent... even if one of them is only half-interested.

The whole game is about talking and making/breaking agreements... so for a decent game you want the maximum possible permutations of country-country interaction... because that's where the action is.

Beware of counterfeit orders designed to cancel/supersede your own!

[JKT6]

@venusboys3 sounds like it gets you in the moment

[Oblivi9n]

ah i wish i could buy or even find people to actually play with.well until then i must test my ability vs AI xD

[elrabin0]

I love this game, but you really need the full seven players. It's hard to get that many people together who aren't doing anything for the better part of a day.

Also, it's not a game that is too forgiving for new players. While the rules are technically simple, the interactions between pieces and actions can get quite complicated. Also, mistakes are very costly.

In my experience, we can usually figure out who will win after the first 5 or 6 years. Even so, that takes 5+ hours.

[qaesyan]

awesome review

[wargamecop]

Yes, the voice thing was messed up... It won't happen again

[mikesheley]

Diplomacy is my favorite game too. Thanks for the review Joe!

[YoksterMan]

Holy cow, great to see you back Joe! Nice review too.

[RubbishInRubbishOut]

i love this game! it was my year 12 elective years ago, i won best tactician all year!

[Charger8117]

Great review of an epic game. Looking forward to more.

[AbbeyRoadRacing]

"When I was young, I played Risk. When I was mature, I played Diplomacy. But when I was experienced, I played Machiavelli." (Paraphrased from "Hobby Games")

[AbbeyRoadRacing]

I've ALWAYS wanted to play this! (I designed my own new planet for Risk, once; but this game seems better.) Good job on your first video!*

*Note: the bar was set especially high by Tom Vasel. No offence intended: but as a dedicated BoardGameGeek Geek: Is Tom + family ok?

[galathonredd]

Hey, Joe, nice to see you doing some reviews too. Not that I don't dig Tom or anything, but more guys means more reviews and more perspectives! Welcome back!

[romegaurd]

I've never played this game, but I'll think i'll give it a try now

[StexeGod]

Oh, I'd also like to comment that when you segment cut your voice fades out, which kills the last thing you were saying. Also, the angled camera kind of gets annoying, and that thing changing in the background near the end was... distracting.

Still keep up the work and I'm sure you'll improve!

[YoksterMan]

Yeah that sound thing was a bit odd.

[StexeGod]

Interesting. So what happened to Tom? Is he taking a break?

I know you're just getting a hang of the whole video review, but you need more light! Hard to make out the stuff. Remember, you can always dim something down in post, but you can't make it brighter easily.

[deutx]

This actually helped me decide to eventually buy (or at least play) this game! Thank you.

[paddleman256]

i hate diplomacy cause you betray someone

[jfridy]

Good basic breakdown, I think the only thing you didn't mention (though you implied it,) is that you can only have one unit per space.

It's a great game, where the only random factor to worry about is what your opponents are doing.

Also boardgamegeek has lots of links to variant rules and maps.