Original 1958
Original 1958 Diplomacy
These Original 1958 Diplomacy version rules have been assembled using the existing sources and where potential issues have been noticed these have been addressed by additional interpretation and clarification.
1. The object of the game is for a Great Power to gain 18 of its units on the map. Note this is not the same as the 5th Edition victory conditions which is define in terms of supply centres.
2. Austria-Hungary (Austria), France, Germany and Italy each begins the game with 2 armies in its home capital and 1 fleet in its home navy base. The United Kingdom (England) starts with 2 Fleets and 1 Army - all in London. The Ottoman Empire (Turkey) starts with 2 Fleets and 1 Army – all in Constantinople. Russia starts with 2 armies and 1 fleet in Saint Petersburg (the Russian navy base is on the south coast) and 1 fleet in Sevastopol. Austria-Hungary’s capital is Vienna; its naval base is Trieste. France’s capital is Paris; its naval base is Brest. Germany’s capital is Berlin; its naval base is Kiel. Italy’s capital is Rome; its naval base is Naples; The Ottoman Empire’s capital and naval base is Constantinople. Russia capital is St. Petersburg which is also one of its naval bases; its other naval base is Sevastapol. The United Kingdom’s capital and naval base is London.
3. A Great Power may have any number of armies in its home capital and any number of fleets in a home navy base. However, combined they have only a combined strength of one unit when defending the capital or navy base. No more than one unit may exist in any other province or sea space EXCEPT temporarily in a coastal province to enable army boarding (see rule 6 below). Multiple units in one capital and/or naval base may not support one another, nor may more than one of them support the same unit outside that capital and/or naval base.
4. An army may not move to enter its own capital if that space is occupied by one of its own fleets and a fleet may not move to enter its own naval base if that space is occupied by one of its own armies. However, this does not prevent the building of new units in these capitals and/or naval bases. A Russian fleet may enter St. Petersburg (north coast) if the south coast naval base is occupied by one or more Russian fleets or vice versa. A fleet may be built in St. Petersburg (south coast) if the north coast in occupied by a Russian fleet.
5. Armies are always built in the home capital. Fleets are always built in a home naval base (in which case Russia must specify which for a particular build). If a Great Power loses all its naval bases it may not build any fleets until a home naval base is recaptured. If a Great Power loses its capital, it designates another home supply centre as its capital, though if re-captured the original capital will automatically become the capital again. There can be more than one build in a capital or naval base per turn. There can be more than one disbandment in a capital or naval base per turn.
6. The convoy rule does not exist in the Original 1958 version. Its counterpart is the boarding rule, which has its own complexities not adequately covered in the original rules. Where these inadequacies have been recognised then additional explanation is given below.
- If an army and a fleet of the same nationality are planned to be in the same coastal province, the army may be ordered to board the fleet and the fleet may be ordered to move that same season.
- A fleet may enter a coastal space occupied by an army provided that the army is ordered to board the fleet that turn and the fleet is ordering to board an army.
- An army may enter a coastal province occupied by a fleet provided it is also ordered to board the fleet that turn and the fleet is ordering to board an army.
- An army and a fleet may enter a vacant coastal province if both are also ordered to board that turn.
- A non-moving army ordered to board that turn cannot support, but can be supported.
- A non-moving fleet ordered to board that turn cannot support, but can be supported.
- A moving army ordered to board that turn may be supported.
- A moving fleet ordered to board that turn may be supported.
- While an army is on board a fleet, it can neither support nor engage in combat.
- A fleet with an army on board may enter a coastal space and engage in combat, but the army must be disembarked if successful. It may disembark the army into that coastal space provided that the fleet leaves the coastal space in question in that move to the sea space or coastal province that it came from. If the fleet fails to leave the space then the army remains on board.
- A fleet in a sea space my support another unit.
- A fleet carrying an army may receive support and any support offered to the army being carried is treated as support for the combined army and fleet.
- A fleet may move from a coastal province to a sea space keeping a boarded army on board.
- A fleet may move from a sea space to another sea space with an army on board.
- A fleet may hold in a sea space with an army on board.
- If a fleet is destroyed due to dislodgement then any army that it has on board is also destroyed.
- If a fleet in coastal province is disbanded due to adjustment then any army that is has on board is disembarked and not destroyed.
- If a fleet at sea is disbanded due to adjustment then any army that is has on board is also disbanded.
- An army on board a fleet may be disbanded as part of an adjustment, in which case the fleet is unaffected.
7. The movement of a fleet to a coastal province that contains an army for the purposes of boarding that army and the actual boarding process takes place as one move. The movement of an army to a coastal province that contains a fleet for the purposes of boarding that fleet takes place as one move. The notation used for boarding (embarking) is: F ppp1 - ppp2 B nnn1 (if a moving fleet) or F ppp1 B (if a non-moving fleet) or A ppp3 – ppp4 B nnn2 (if an army) or A ppp3 B Where:
F = fleet (optional);
A = army (optional);
ppp1 = the coastal province or sea space in which the fleet started the move or is holding;
ppp2 = the neighbouring coastal province in which the army to be boarded is located;
ppp3 = the province in which the army to be boarded started the move or is holding;
ppp4 = the neighbouring coastal province in which the army is to be boarded;
B = board (embark)
nnn1 = the nationality of the army to be boarded (the same nationality of the fleet is assumed if this is missing).
nnn2 = the nationality of the fleet to be boarded (the same nationality of the army is assumed if this is missing).
The B notation is required by both units.If missing from either order then a stand-off is assumed. This is particularly important when it comes to international boarding. A fleet cannot be ‘hijacked’ into boarding an army, simply because the army ordered the boarding. Similarly, an army cannot be ‘Shanghai-ed’ simply because the fleet ordered the boarding.
The notation used for boarding (disembarking) is: F ppp1 - ppp2 Where:
F = fleet (optional);
ppp1 = the sea space or coastal province in which the fleet started the move;
ppp2 = a neighbouring coastal province in which the army to be disembarked;
The disembarking in automatic once the fleet moves to a coastal province. A fleet may not disembark and army and embark a different army in the same turn.
8. Fleets may swap provinces provided different coasts are used (eg. F Spa(nc) - Por; F Por – Spa(sc)).
9. Kiel has its canal which operates as per the 5th Edition Rules.
10. Albania and Switzerland are now, initially neutral, supply centres and act as such in all respects.
11. There are several new provinces and sea spaces. Some provinces and sea spaces with ostensible similar 5th Edition counterparts have different names and abbreviations (and possibly different neighbours).
12. The 5th Edition Denmark is split into two separate areas – Denmark (a coastal province) and Kattegat (a sea space).
13. Constantinople is substantially different from the 5th Edition province of the same name. A new sea space – the Sea of Marmara – connects the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea. There is no direct land connection between Constantinople and Ankara.
14. Finland now has a north and south coast.
15. Particular note should made that the abbreviation ‘bot’ now refers to the Bay of Tunis and not the Gulf of Bothnia. The latter is now named the North Baltic Sea (NBS). The former Baltic Sea is now named the South Baltic Sea (SBS).
16. Tunis is no longer a supply centre.
17. Only named provinces and sea spaces are playable.
18. The first game year is 1914.
19. The following 35 provinces are supply centres. Also show is their initial ownership and type if not merely a supply centre.
Albania neutral
Ankara Ottoman Turkey
Belgium neutral
Berlin Germany - Capital
Brest France – Naval Base
Budapest neutral
Bulgaria neutral
Cologne Germany
Constantinople Ottoman Turkey – Capital and Naval Base
Denmark neutral
Edinburgh United Kingdom
Erzerum Ottoman Turkey
Greece neutral
Holland neutral
Kiel Germany – Naval Base
Liverpool United Kingdom
London United Kingdom – Capital and Naval Base
Marseilles France
Moscow Russia
Naples Italy
Norway neutral
Paris France - Capital
Portugal neutral
Rome Italy - Capital
Rumania neutral
Serbia neutral
Sevastopol Russia - Naval Base
Spain neutral
St Petersburg Russia – Capital and Naval Base (south cost)
Sweden neutral
Switzerland neutral
Trieste Austria-Hungary – Naval Base
Venice Austria-Hungary
Vienna Austria-Hungary - Capital
Warsaw neutral
20. As the version’s map is required to show multiple units in capitals and naval bases, and during boarding, and when boarded at sea, then new conventions will be used to show the status of units. The map has been drawn with boxes to the left and right for each Great Powers capital and/or naval base. If more than one unit occupies one such province then a large aster isk in a hexagon coloured using the Great Powers unit colours will be shown in the province on the map and the armies and fleet icons will be shown in the named box. If an army is boarded on a fleet then the army icon will be shown overlaying the fleet icon. A fleet in St. Petersburg (north coast) is always shown on the map and not in the St. Petersburg box.
21. The following provinces and sea spaces are playable on the map and have the abbreviations shown.
Province/sea area Full name order:
Adriatic Sea adr
Aegean Sea aeg
Albania alb
Algeria alg
Anatolia ana
Ankara ank
Apulia apu
Arctic Ocean arc
Bavaria bav
Bay of Biscay bob
Bay of Tunis bot
Belgium bel
Berlin ber
Black Sea bla
Bohemia boh
Brest bre
Budapest bud
Bulgaria bul
Burgundy bur
Calabria cal
Cape Finistere fnt
Cape St Vincent csv
Caucasia cau
Clyde cly
Cologne col
Constantinople con
Denmark den
Eastern Mediterranean Sea ems
Edinburgh edi
English Channel eng
Erzerum erz
Finland fin
Flanders fla
Galicia gal
Gascony gas
Greece gre
Gulf of Lyon gol
Holland hol
Ionian Sea ion
Irish Sea iri
Kattegat kat
Kiel kie
Liverpool lvp Livonia lvn London lon Lorraine lor
Marseilles mar Mesopotamia mes Montenegro mon Morocco mor Moscow mos
Naples nap North Atlantic Ocean nao North Baltic Sea nbs North Sea nth Norway nwy
Paris par Piedmont pie Persia per Point St Martin psm Pontus pon Portugal por Prussia pru
Rome rom Rumania rum
Sea of Marmara mrm Serbia ser Sevastopol sev Silesia sil Skagerrak ska Smyrna smy South Baltic Sea sbs Spain spa St Petersburg stp Swabia swa Sweden swe Switzerland swi Syria syr
Transylvania tra Trieste tri Tunis tun Tuscany tus Tyrolia tyl Tyrrhenian Sea tys
Venice ven Vienna vie
Wales wal Warsaw war Western Mediterranean Sea wms White Russia wru White Sea whs Wessex wsx
Yorkshire yor Main Abbreviation order: adr Adriatic Sea aeg Aegean Sea alb Albania alg Algeria ana Anatolia ank Ankara apu Apulia arc Arctic Ocean
bav Bavaria bel Belgium ber Berlin bla Black Sea bob Bay of Biscay boh Bohemia bot Bay of Tunis bre Brest bud Budapest bul Bulgaria bur Burgundy
cal Calabria cau Caucasia cly Clyde col Cologne con Constantinople csv Cape St Vincent
den Denmark
edi Edinburgh ems Eastern Mediterranean Sea eng English Channel erz Erzerum
fin Finland fla Flanders fnt Cape Finistere
gal Galicia gas Gascony gol Gulf of Lyon gre Greece
hol Holland
ion Ionian Sea iri Irish Sea
kat Kattegat kie Kiel
lon London lor Lorraine lvn Livonia lvp Liverpool
mar Marseilles mes Mesopotamia mon Montenegro mor Morocco mos Moscow mrm Sea of Marmara
nao North Atlantic Ocean nap Naples nbs North Baltic Sea nth North Sea nwy Norway
par Paris per Persia pie Piedmont pon Pontus por Portugal pru Prussia psm Point St Martin
rom Rome rum Rumania
sbs South Baltic Sea ser Serbia sev Sevastopol sil Silesia ska Skagerrak smy Smyrna spa Spain stp St Petersburg swa Swabia swe Sweden swi Switzerland syr Syria
tra Transylvania tri Trieste tun Tunis tus Tuscany tyl Tyrolia tys Tyrrhenian Sea
ven Venice vie Vienna
wal Wales war Warsaw whs White Sea wms Western Mediterranean Sea wru White Russia wsx Wessex
yor Yorkshire
22. The following map shows the abbreviations.
