WW2-1931
A Diplomacy variant by Nick Higgins
Variant website: http://ww2-1931.tripod.com/index.html
BACKGROUND
My goal is to create a global World War II variant for Diplomacy that attains the elusive perfect balance between history and gameplay. The variant is set in 1931 because this is a starting point for World War II with the Japanese annexation of Manchuria. The unit composition of each power is often unrealistic, such as China having significant naval and aerial power, and having the ability to build aircraft carriers at all. Also, chaos builds leads to some odd situations, for example the French could build an aircraft carrier in Vietnam. However, I believe that these concessions to gameplay are necessary in order to make the game more playable.
My hope is that the variant will play "smaller" than its size. Every player on the board has reason to interact with virtually every other player. While there are more SCs than Standard, there is a similar ratio (~2/3) of starting player-owned SCs to total SCs, meaning that players are forced to clash early. Offensive play is encouraged in many ways. First, there are no corner positions, which limits the effectiveness of defensive tactics. Chokepoints are kept to a minimum. "Chaos builds" ensures that players are not waiting for years to move units to the front lines. Aerial units are far more useful in attack than defense, and should be helpful in breaking any potential stalemate lines. Finally, a relatively short victory line (1/3 instead of 1/2 of the total SCs) should encourage players to go for the solo victory, instead of the alterative where players decide that victory is impossible on such a large map, and then play for the draw.
Conceptually, the variant is built around numerous diplomatic triangles, as triangles are generally the most dynamic configuration in Diplomacy. These triangles are: Africa & Med (B/F/I), Atlantic (B/F/A), North Sea (B/F/G), Scandinavia (B/G/S), Western Europe (F/G/I), Balkans (G/S/I), Central Asia (S/C/B), SE Asia land (B/F/C), SE Asia sea (B/J/A), and East Asia (C/J/S). The one area that couldn't be "triangulated" was the Pacific, where America and Japan are the only two significant powers.
There are some key relationships that will go a long way in determining the shape of the game. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, America and Japan is one, because an alliance leaves each with a free hand to go all-out in the opposite direction. To a lesser extent, the Soviets and Germans have a similar relationship. Because they are the strongest powers on the board and they are entangled everywhere, the British-French relationship is probably most important. If they work together, they own 1/4 of the SCs on the board to start, and are a juggernaut to be feared. If they fight each other, then a frantic wooing of allies (particularly Italy) will ensue by both parties.
I welcome any feedback on the variant. Please contact me at congressofvienna1814@yahoo.com.
RULES
- There are 8 players:
- Britain (B, 13)
- China (C, 7)
- France (F, 11)
- Germany (G, 6)
- Italy (I, 6)
- Japan (J, 8)
- USA (A, 6)
- USSR (S, 9)
- Britain and France start with more supply centers because of their colonial empires.
- There are 96 supply centers, with 39 in Europe, 38 in Asia, 10 in the Americas, and 9 in Africa.
- There are 3 types of SC markers: large flags, small flags, and small white squares. There is no difference between these SCs, and these different markers are used due to the solely cosmetic reason of the varying sizes of the spaces on the map.
- The victory condition is 32 SCs (one-third of the total).
- There are chaos builds, meaning that units can be built in any open supply center.
- There are two new types of units: planes and aircraft carriers. These units do everything with a strength of 0.5, including movement, support, and defense. To compensate for this weakness, they can support actions that are two spaces away. See the section "Aerial Units" below for more details.
- For a plane unit, use the abbreviation P (e.g. P Gor S A Mos - Pol). For an aircraft carrier unit, use the abbreviation Q (e.g. Q Liv S F Lon - Eng).
- Denmark, Kiel, Gibraltar, Turkey, Suez, and Panama are all canal provinces. This means that both an army and a fleet can move through these spaces.
- Any unit can move across the "yellow dashes". However, a unit cannot retreat across a "yellow dashes". "Yellow dashes" connect the following pairs: Scotland and Ireland, Taranto and Sicily, Abyssinia and Yemen, Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Kyoto and Hokkaido, Hokkaido and Sakhalin, Sakhalin and Vladivostak, and Kamchatka and Alaska.
- Neutral units hold every turn. Any neutral unit that is dislodged is immediately disbanded. If a neutral unit is disbanded in Spring and then the SC is vacated after Fall, then the neutral unit is rebuilt during Winter.
- Denmark borders Oslo, and an army can move from Denmark to Oslo. Essentially, Denmark comprises both Denmark and Skagerrak from Standard Dip.
- Gibraltar is a much larger space than just the British colony of Gibraltar, extending from the Bay of Biscay and East Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Lyon and Tyrrhenian Sea, while bordering both Iberia and Casablanca as well.
- Sakhalin Island is one map space (not two, as could be interpreted by the island being bisected by the SC marker).
- Gray water spaces in the Arctic areas are impassable.
AERIAL UNITS
First, some examples.
Example 1: German A Bavaria and Italian P Venice both move to Switzerland. A Bavaria succeeds (1.0 > 0.5), and P Venice bounces.
Example 2: German A Switzerland attacks the Italian P Venice. A Switzerland succeeds (1.0 > 0.5).
Example 3: German P Berlin supports Italian A Venice to Switzerland, with a neutral army in Switzerland. A Venice succeeds (1.5 > 1.0).
Example 4: In example 3, French P Paris supports A Switzerland. The Italian army bounces (1.5 = 1.5).
Now, some clarifications in response to potentially unclear issues.
- Just like their sea-unit counterparts (fleets), aircraft carriers can convoy land units (both armies and planes). The convoyed unit attacks with its usual strength (armies = 1.0, planes = 0.5).
- Just like their land-unit counterparts (armies), planes cannot convoy units.
- Aerial units can occupy SCs. For example, P Berlin can occupy the Sudentenland.
- Aerial unit support can be projected across map spaces regardless of the composition (land or sea) of the space. For example, Q San Francisco can support F Washington DC to Gulf of Mexico.
MAP SPACES
| Abyssinia | Aby | Y | N | |
| Adriatic Sea | Adr | N | ||
| Afghanistan | Afg | N | ||
| Alaska | Ala | Y | N | |
| Alberta | Alb | N | ||
| Alsace-Lorraine | Als | N | ||
| Amazon | Ama | N | ||
| Angola | Ang | N | ||
| Aquitaine | Aqu | N | ||
| Argentina | Arg | Y | N | |
| Arabian Sea | ArS | N | ||
| Atlantic Southern Ocean | ASO | N | ||
| Austria | Aus | N | ||
| Azerbaijan | Aze | N | ||
| Azores | Azo | Y | N | |
| Baltic Sea | Bal | N | ||
| Barents Sea | BaS | N | ||
| Bavaria | Bav | Y | G | GA |
| Bay of Bengal | BBg | N | ||
| British East Africa | BEA | Y | B | BA |
| Beijing | Bei | Y | C | CA |
| Berlin | Ber | Y | G | GP |
| Bering Sea | BeS | N | ||
| Birmingham | Bir | Y | B | BA |
| Bismarck Sea | BiS | N | ||
| Black Sea | Bla | N | ||
| British New Guinea | BNG | N | ||
| Benelux | BNL | Y | N | |
| Bay of Biscay | BoB | N | ||
| Bolivia | Bol | N | ||
| Brazil | Bra | Y | N | |
| Burma | Brm | Y | B | BA |
| Beirut | Brt | Y | F | FA |
| Bulgaria | Bul | N | ||
| Burgundy | Bur | Y | F | FA |
| British West Africa | BWA | N | ||
| Cameroon | Cam | Y | F | FA |
| Casablanca (nc) | Can | N | ||
| Caribbean | Car | N | ||
| Casablanca | Cas | N | ||
| Casablanca (wc) | Caw | N | ||
| Ceylon | Cey | N | ||
| Chad | Cha | N | ||
| Chicago | Chi | Y | A | AA |
| Columbia (nc) | Cln | N | ||
| Columbia (wc) | Clw | N | ||
| Columbia | Col | N | ||
| Belgian Congo | Con | Y | N | |
| Corsica | Cor | N | ||
| Coral Sea | CoS | N | ||
| Cape Horn | CpH | N | ||
| Caspian Sea | Csp | N | ||
| Dakar | Dak | Y | F | FF |
| Denmark | Den | N | ||
| Dutch New Guinea | DNG | Y | N | |
| Dunkirk | Dun | Y | F | FA |
| Dutch West Indies | DWI | Y | N | |
| Danzig | Dzg | N | ||
| East Atlantic Ocean | EAO | N | ||
| East China Sea | ECS | N | ||
| El Alamein | ElA | N | ||
| Eastern Mediterranean | Eme | N | ||
| English Channel | ENG | N | ||
| East Pacific Ocean | EPO | N | ||
| East Prussia | Epr | Y | G | GA |
| East Sea of Japan | ESJ | N | ||
| East Turkestan | ETu | Y | N | |
| Finland | Fin | N | ||
| Gansu | Gan | Y | C | CA |
| Guadalcanal | Gdc | N | ||
| Gibraltar | Gib | Y | B | BF |
| Gulf of Alaska | GoA | N | ||
| Gulf of Bothnia | GoB | N | ||
| Gulf of Guinea | GoG | N | ||
| Gulf of Lyon | GoL | N | ||
| Gulf of Mexico | GoM | N | ||
| Gorky | Gor | Y | S | SP |
| Gulf of Siam | GoS | N | ||
| Gulf of Tonkin | GoT | N | ||
| Greece | Gre | N | ||
| Greenland | Grn | N | ||
| Guangdong | Gua | Y | N | NA |
| Hamburg | Ham | Y | G | GA |
| Hanoi | Han | Y | F | FA |
| Hawaii | Haw | Y | A | AF |
| Hefei | Hef | Y | C | CP |
| Hiroshima | Hir | Y | J | JQ |
| Hungary | Hng | Y | N | NA |
| Hokkaido | Hok | Y | J | JF |
| Houston | Hou | N | ||
| Hunan | Hun | Y | C | CA |
| Iberia | Ibe | Y | N | NA |
| Iberia (nc) | Ibn | N | ||
| Iberia (sc) | Ibs | N | ||
| Iceland | Ice | Y | N | |
| India | Ind | Y | B | BA |
| Indian Ocean | InO | N | ||
| Inland Sea | InS | N | ||
| Ionian Sea | Ion | N | ||
| Iran | Ira | Y | N | NA |
| Ireland | Ire | N | ||
| Irish Sea | IRI | N | ||
| Iran (nc) | Irn | N | ||
| Iran (sc) | Irs | N | ||
| Indian Southern Ocean | ISO | N | ||
| Iwo Jima | Iwo | N | ||
| Jubaland | Jub | N | ||
| Kamchatka | Kam | N | ||
| Kiel | Kie | Y | G | GF |
| Korea | Kor | Y | J | JA |
| Kyoto | Kyo | Y | J | JA |
| Labrador Sea | LaS | N | ||
| Leningrad | Len | Y | S | SF |
| Libya | Lib | Y | I | IA |
| Lithuania | Lit | N | ||
| Liverpool | Liv | Y | B | BQ |
| London | Lon | Y | B | BF |
| Madagascar | Mad | Y | F | FF |
| Manchuria (ec) | Mae | N | ||
| Mali | Mal | N | ||
| Manchuria | Man | Y | N | NA |
| Manchuria (sc) | Mas | N | ||
| Mesopotamia | Mes | N | ||
| Mexico | Mex | N | ||
| Malaya | Mly | Y | B | BF |
| Mongolia | Mon | N | ||
| Moscow | Mos | Y | S | SA |
| Mozambique | Moz | N | ||
| Murmansk | Mur | Y | S | SF |
| Mexico (ec) | Mxe | N | ||
| Mexico (wc) | Mxw | N | ||
| Mozambique Channel | MzC | N | ||
| Nagasaki | Nag | Y | J | JF |
| Nanjing | Nan | Y | C | CF |
| North Atlantic Ocean | NAO | N | ||
| Novosibirsk | Nov | Y | S | SA |
| North Pacific Ocean | NPO | N | ||
| Normandy | Nrm | Y | F | FF |
| North Sea | Nth | N | ||
| Norwegian Sea | NwS | N | ||
| New York City | NYC | N | ||
| New Zealand | Nze | N | ||
| Okinawa | Oki | N | ||
| Okhostk Sea | OkS | N | ||
| Oman | Oma | N | ||
| Ontario | Ont | N | ||
| Oslo | Osl | Y | N | |
| Ottawa | Ott | Y | B | BF |
| Panama | Pan | Y | A | AF |
| Pacific Ocean | PaO | N | ||
| Paris | Par | Y | F | FP |
| Peru | Per | N | ||
| Philippines | Phi | Y | A | AF |
| Philippine Sea | PhS | N | ||
| Piedmont | Pie | N | ||
| Poland | Pol | Y | N | NA |
| Pomerania | Pom | N | ||
| Persian Gulf | Prg | N | ||
| Pacific Southern Ocean | PSO | N | ||
| Red Sea | Red | N | ||
| Rhineland | Rhi | N | ||
| Rhodesia | Rho | N | ||
| Rome | Rom | Y | I | IP |
| Rumania | Rum | Y | N | |
| Saudi Arabia (ec) | SaE | N | ||
| South Africa | Saf | Y | B | BF |
| Saigon | Sai | Y | F | FF |
| Sakhalin | Sak | Y | N | |
| South Atlantic Ocean | SAO | N | ||
| Sardinia | Sar | N | ||
| Saudi Arabia | Sau | Y | N | |
| Saudi Arabia (wc) | SaW | N | ||
| Sichuan | Sch | Y | C | CA |
| Scotland | Sco | Y | B | BF |
| South China Sea | SCS | N | ||
| Sudan | Sdn | N | ||
| Seattle | Sea | N | ||
| San Francisco | Sfo | Y | A | AQ |
| Shanghai | Sha | Y | C | CF |
| Siam | Sia | Y | N | NA |
| Sicily | Sic | N | ||
| Silesia | Sil | Y | G | GA |
| Siam (ec) | Sme | N | ||
| Siam (wc) | Smw | N | ||
| Somalia | Som | Y | I | IF |
| Solomon Sea | SoS | N | ||
| South Pacific Ocean | SPO | N | ||
| Spratly Islands | Spr | N | ||
| Stalingrad | Sta | Y | S | SA |
| Sudentenland | Sud | Y | N | |
| Suez | Sue | Y | B | BF |
| Sweden | Swe | Y | N | |
| Switzerland | Swi | Y | N | NA |
| Sydney | Syd | Y | B | BF |
| Taiwan | Tai | Y | J | JF |
| Taranto | Tar | Y | I | IF |
| Tashkent | Tas | Y | S | SA |
| Tibet | Tib | Y | N | |
| Timor Sea | TiS | N | ||
| Tokyo | Tok | Y | J | JF |
| Toulouse | Tou | Y | F | FF |
| Transjordan | Tra | N | ||
| Turkmenistan | Trk | N | ||
| Trondheim | Tro | N | ||
| Transjordan (sc) | Trs | N | ||
| Truk Lagoon | Tru | Y | J | JF |
| Transjordan (wc) | Trw | N | ||
| Tsushima Straits | Tsu | N | ||
| Turkey | Tur | Y | N | NA |
| Tuscany | Tus | Y | I | IA |
| Tyrrhenian Sea | TyS | N | ||
| Urals | Ura | N | ||
| Venice | Ven | Y | I | IA |
| Vladivostok | Vla | Y | S | SF |
| West Atlantic Ocean | WAO | N | ||
| Western Australia | Wau | N | ||
| Washington DC | WDC | Y | A | AF |
| West Indies | Win | Y | N | |
| West Pacific Ocean | WPO | N | ||
| West Sea of Japan | WSJ | N | ||
| Yakutsk | Yak | N | ||
| Yalta | Yal | Y | S | SF |
| Yemen | Yem | N | ||
| Yellow Sea | YeS | N | ||
| Yorkshire | Yor | N | ||
| Yugoslavia | Yug | Y | N | NA |
| Yukon Territory | Yuk | N | ||
| Yunnan | Yun | Y | N | NA |
