Diplomacy is very possibly the greatest board game ever created. It's a game wherein your performance is based almost entriely on your skill at manipulating others. Sort of like poker, but without the chance. Seven people play. To survive the game you must ally with others. To win the game you must attack and beat your allies.

The game play itself is simple in the same way that chess is simple. The rules provide nothing more than an elegant framework on which to build your plots, lies, and betrayals. I often describe the game as chess for seven players when introducing the game to new players. I find that the chess reference helps to calm their fears that it might be anything like the awful game Axis and Allies. The board is pre-WWI Europe, but that's significant only it determining where the different squares will be.

I recently put up a tutorial I've put together that's designed to help new players learn the game. I hope to put together video and PDF versions to go with the HTML version.

The rules of the game are owned by Hasbro, which got the game in 1999 when it bought The Avalon Hill Game Company. All things Dip related are best searched for at The Diplomatic Pouch where I'm the head of the Showcase section.

There's a lot more to dip including an active, intelligent newsgroup and a thriving PBEM (play-by-email) community. However, giving any more info would be just plain redundant after that link to the excellent Diplomatic Pouch site.