need help understanding the rules of Diplomacy.

[zintapritie2]

A friend got it for me for my birthday, and while it seems fun I can't wrap my head around the rules. can someone do an ELI5 for this?

I'm also not sure if this is where to post this, but I'm not sure where else to go.

[DarthWader]

Hi! Did you look under "Guides" and then "Game Rules"?

If you have questions, feel free to ask. Darth Wader.

[Guns of Brixton]

There's also an excellent mentoring program here: https://www.playdiplomacy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=292&t=45634

Sign up for a mentor game where you play against other newbies learning the rules and peculiarities of this site under the guidance of an experienced mentor. You'll learn not just the nuances of the rules but get a feel for strategy, how/what to communicate with the other players, what suggestions make sense to trust and what to suspect or call BS on, etc.

[jay65536]

In my opinion, the later editions of the rules are not written with learning in mind. You might try to read some older editions of the rules. They are much more straightforwardly written (in my opinion). You can find them all at diplomacy-archive.com. The early-90s edition is what I used to learn from.

[benilzha3]

A friend got it for me for my birthday, and while it seems fun I can't wrap my head around the rules. can someone do an ELI5 for this?

I'm also not sure if this is where to post this, but I'm not sure where else to go.

[Solar Flare]

Seven-player games can be a bit complex. If you want to play a vey casual two-player game to get used to the mechanics, I would be more than happy to coach you...

[sroca]

Most of the game is simple math. One unit has to support another unit since each unit only has "one power" so to speak. Support can be cut by attacking a supporting army. Imaging it with real armies helps. Can't support one army when your being attacked by another. There's some more complex stuff but most of those deal with convoys. The orders solver on the main site can be really helpful. Use it to try out some moves and if anything is confusing you can post the results here or in a PM and I can explain.

[Figital]

I note that this question was posted with exactly the same wording by a user with a different account name (zintapritie2).

Are these accounts linked?

[WHSeward]

It's probably a forum spammer doing some probing. The damage has been done forum-wise. Nothing happening on the game side.

[AardvarkArmy]

First thing - thank your friend! He just gave you the greatest game ever invented!

The three most important things to know are:

1) the turns are simultaneous. This is different than almost every other game, from chess and checkers to monopoly and candyland. Orders are written down by all players then revealed simultaneously

2) in general, every piece can do one thing each turn - move (attack) one space, support (assist) another unit to move one space, hold steady, support another unit to hold steady, or fleets can "convoy" army units across water. But just as the simple moves of pawns and bishops in chess opens myriad possibilities, likewise the simple orders written for each unit in diplomacy can set of a multi-layer chain of events... because your simple orders are in conflict with the simple orders of other players

(I believe this site has some very good guides to help you decipher how these moves can impact one another... but the simple rule is numerical superiority - 2 units trying for a certain location will defeat 1; 3 will defeat 2; 7 will defeat 6.)

3) In addition to the simultaneous moves, the other facet of this game that is mostly unique is that lying and deception and betrayal -- far from being rule-breakers or bad-sportspanship -- are actually encouraged and even crucial in this game. Somewhat like Poker, the trick is to know when to lie, and know when you are being lied to