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Diplomacy
Year
1959
Players
27
Play time
360min
Min age
12+
Weight
3.32
BGG rating
7.03
BGG rank
#882
Best with
7

Local copies

Rating: 9.0

Diplomacy, the classic boardgame of pure negotiation has taken many forms over the years. The first The Avalon Hill Game Co version has perhaps the widest release, but Avalon Hill re-released the game in 1999, complete with a colorful new map and metal pieces. In 2008, Avalon Hill released a 50th anniversary edition with a new map and cardboard pieces representing the armies and navies. In the game, each player represents one of the seven "Great Powers of Europe" (Great Britain, France, Austria-Hungary, Germany, Italy, Russia or Turkey) in the years prior to World War I. Play begins in the Spring of 1901, and players must negotiate and make deals with other players in order to have any success in expanding their borders. They will make both Spring and Autumn moves each year. with two kinds of military units: armies and fleets. On any given turn, each of your military units has limited options: it can move into an adjoining territory, support an allied unit in an attack on an adjoining territory, support an allied unit in defending an adjoining territory, or hold its position. Players instruct each of their units by writing a set of "orders." The outcome of the various orders is basically determined by the total strength of the units involved. There are no dice rolls or other elements of chance. With its incredibly simplistic movement mechanism fused to a significant negotiation element, this system is highly respected by many gamers. Avalon Hill Complexity rating - 3 Re-implemented by: Colonial Diplomacy Diplomacy: Classical Variant Diplomacy: Hundred Variant

Categories

BluffingWargameNegotiationPost-NapoleonicPolitical

Mechanics

Simultaneous Action SelectionArea Majority / InfluenceArea MovementSimulationPlayer EliminationNegotiationPrisoner's Dilemma

Best with how many players

1
Not rec.
2
Not rec.
3
Not rec.
4
Not rec.
5
Not rec.
6
Recommended
7
Best
7+
Not rec.

Community votes from BoardGameGeek

Language dependence

No necessary in-game text(53 of 65 votes)

Sub-rankings

  • Strategy Game Rank#668
  • War Game Rank#266

Learn to play

More videos

External data

Wikidata enrichment: 4 links · 2 facts · latest game data 06/20/2026.

Latest Wikidata run: ok · 06/20/2026.

Links

  • Official rulesboardgameswizard.com

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

  • Official rulesofficialgamerules.org

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

  • Official rulesboardgamegeek.com

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

  • Official rulesdiplom.org

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

  • Official FAQboardgamegeek.com

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

  • Official FAQstacken.kth.se

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

  • Official FAQdiploverse.com

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

  • Official errataboardgamegeek.com

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

  • Official errataboardgamegeek.com

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

  • Official erratadiplomaticon.com

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

  • Publisher supportplaydiplomacy.com

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

  • Wikipedia (da)da.wikipedia.org

    Source: WikidataUpdated 06/20/2026

  • Wikipedia (en)en.wikipedia.org

    Source: WikidataUpdated 06/20/2026

  • Wikidatawikidata.org

    Source: WikidataUpdated 06/20/2026

  • Imagecommons.wikimedia.org

    Source: WikidataUpdated 06/20/2026

  • Fan referencearmada-dip.com

    Source: Rules agentUpdated 06/22/2026

Facts

Publication date
1959
Publisher
Miro Company