Speed Europa

SPEED EUROPA (EUROPE 1901)

All of Speed Europa's new designs, maps, icons, documentations, and codings by JW Copyright 2005 All Rights Reserved

Visit http://www.speeddiplomacy.com

Variant Overview:

1.Speed Diplomacy is potentially a SYSTEM applicable to any variant idea. Speed Diplomacy variants provide frequent and widespread player interaction, mobility, and fluidity, all of which make diplomacy rather important:

1.1. Low density and small supply center (SC) clusters provide maneuver room yet with fast board movement and continuous player interaction.

1.2. "Distant" neutrals (no one can reach a neutral SC in the first turn) provide a greater variety of openings yet with fast player interaction derived from home center distribution.

1.3. Two versions of Speed Diplomacy exist as of July 2005; Speed Europa (Europe 1901), and Speed Treaty Ports (China 1900).

2.NAME = Speed Europa (Europe 1901)

2.1. START = spring 1901 (Standard), unless you choose a Winter 1900 start to customize your forces.

2.2. PLAYERS = 7, Standard's Austria, England, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and Turkey.

2.3 VICTORY CONDITIONS = 18 of 35 SCs (Standard i.e. a majority of total SCs).

2.4. SPECIAL RULES = No, 100% Standard unless you choose to add a rule variant.

2.5. MOVEMENT NOTES = Armies can move between Ireland and Liverpool, and between Sicily and Naples (in effect, Liverpool and Naples are canals like Kiel). St. Petersburg, Spain, Schleswig-Holstein, Finland, Thrace, Gascony, and North Africa are bicoastal (indicated by dotted lines on the printable conference maps). Standard's province names were retained as much as possible but note the adjacency changes; e.g., Mid-Atlantic Ocean no longer abuts Brest (the "Mid" is now a longitudinal rather than latitudinal reference).

2.6. DESIGN NOTES = Some of the more exciting theoretical results for fall 1901 feature an Italian army in Spain (no more French monopoly on the Iberian goldmine), a French army in Liverpool, a Russian army in Kiel, a German army in Switzerland (a 35th Supply Center), an Austrian army in Smyrna, a Turkish army in Venice, and an English army in Tunis (the latter two require multinational convoys or a winter 1900 start). Italy might hold the most intriguing set of new possibilities.

Whereas most variants of Diplomacy's Standard map tend to add provinces that tend to increase the time it takes to traverse the board (a valid choice), Speed Europa operates on the opposite premise by overall removing obstacles to cross-board player interaction. Speed Europa substantially unravels the comfortable openings/stalemate lines/alliances/strategies so a fresh, bottom-up appraisal is necessary.

2.7. PROVINCES = 90, with 35 SCs Europa is slightly less dense than Standard Diplomacy: Only ONE SC (3% of total) touches three or more SCs (compared to 24% of SCs that touch 3+ SCs in Standard.

New Province List:

(Continental): Switzerland (35th SC, equally-spaced 4-way F-G-I-A contest) Baden-Wurttemberg (separates Mun from Swi) Schleswig-Holstein (separates Kie from Den) Thrace (separates Con from Bul) Bessarabia (separates Sev from Rum) Walachia (separates Bud from Rum) Transylvania (separates Bud from Rum) Bosnia (separates Bud & Tri from Ser)

(Isles): Ireland (land-bridged) Sicily (land-bridged) Faroe Isles Corsica Crete Cyprus Gotland Iceland Majorca (Balearic Isles) Sardinia Shetland Isles

Other redrawn provinces separate: Ven-Tri StP-Nwy Kie-Net (Hol) Mar-Swi Mar-Spa