Diplomacy

For 2 - 7 players, Diplomacy is the ultimate strategy game of pure skill - there is no luck or the roll of a dice to decide the outcome. The aim is to conquer Europe by grand army or battle fleet through negotiation, alliances, secret treaties, broken promises and shattered nations.

The rules are simple and game-play is relatively straight-forward but game-time is long and can take in excess of 3 hours.

In the game, players represent 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. Each power has both an army and a naval fleet and on each turn players can instruct their units to one of the following: 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 their position. The orders must be written down and then executed with the outcome determined by the rules of the game, i.e. no dice rolls or other elements of chance.

Diplomacy's impetus on negotiation, along with the absence of luck or chance determining outcomes, has won the game many plaudits over the years. It remains a highly respected board game and a must-have for fans of the genre.

Contains small parts. Unsuitable for children under 36 months.