Diplomacy is a game for seven players and greatly suffers if fewer than seven players are available. Each player assumes control of one of the seven great powers. Each power is represented by a different color. These colors differ depending on the country in which a Diplomacy set is produced. In this tutorial I'm using the North American colors with the exception that I'll be representing Russia as purple rather than white as a concession to my background color.

The powers in Diplomacy do not begin in identical positions. Some powers begin hemmed in corners (England and Turkey). Some begin surrounded by others (Italy, Austria, and Germany). One power (Russia) even begins with one more unit than the rest. The jury is still out as to whether or not the powers are all evenly matched, but rest assured that every power is someone's favorite and every power has a viable shot at winning.

The initial power selection is the only application of chance in the entire game. Players randomly draw their powers from a hat.

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Copyright (c)2002 Ry4an Brase