Variant Proposal: Heptarchy

[joe92]

I am filing the proposal that was always going to come for Heptarchy to be considered for site inclusion. Heptarchy doesn't really need any introduction. It's been run on this site 15 times. And even though it has been run so many times already the latest ongoing game which Wobbly recruited for took a measly 2 days to fill up. I've ran two games of this map at the same time. That's 14 interested players at the same time in the relatively small subforum of PbF. It's a very popular variant.

Heptarchy-blank-canvas.png (43.38 KiB) Viewed 5022 times

Variant Information

1. Variant name: Heptarchy
2. Player count: 7
3. Setting and time period: The British Isles circa 650AD
4. Variant rule changes: None
5. Rules: Standard dip rules apply

Proposal Questions

1. Has this variant been played via the PlayDiplomacy forums or Discord?
   Yes. This variant has been played a total of 15 times and the 16th game is in progress. It is the most popular map played through the forum.
   
2. Is this variant already supported on another Dip site? If so, which one?
   A non-geographically accurate version of the map is playable on vDip.
   
3. Where have you played or GM'd this variant before?
   I have GM'ed this game several times. I am also the one who reskinned it to look like the map above so it is geographically accurate. I have also played this game through this forum.
   
4. What about this variant would distinguish it from those the site currently supports?
   This variant focuses on a small geographical area, the British Isles, during a historically exciting time when 7 independent kingdoms ruled different parts of these lands.
   
5. If there are multiple disparate versions of the variant, why do you like the particular ruleset for this version?
   There are no multiple disparate versions of this variant that I can find. Standard dip rules apply.

Additional Points
Heptarchy may not introduce new rules or a new player count, but it is a very strong candidate for inclusion on the main site by way of popularity, number of play-tests and balance. It is by far the most popular variant we've run on this forum. Once Wobbly finishes game 16 it will have been run twice as many times as the second most popular variant, WitA (8 games), and more than twice as many times as the third most popular, Colonial (7 games). I'm sure it's inclusion on the main site would be very positively received.

[AKFD]

Would want this as well!

[StarkAdder]

I think another key criterion should be that we only add games that have been playtested multiple times and show good play balance. Too many variants favor just one power. Heptarchy has been playtested 16 times and has been shown to be well-balanced.

[Don Juan of Austria]

Thank you Joe for putting this up!! I was just thinking about doing it this morning, but ran out of time...plus, you said and put it together way better than I would have!

Heptarchy for the Win! Definitely one of my favorite variants.

[Iamnobody]

Absolutely agree.

This map does seem to be very well balanced.

[Strategus]

Apart from should not have Ireland starting with three fleets imo. Otherwise a good variant.

[Groo]

I agree - Heptarchy should go official before any other variant imo. It's a well balanced, fun map with plenty of test games played already on the forum.

edit: I wonder if we could also have Greek City States one day (possibly without the Empire as a 6 player variant)

[NoPunIn10Did]

I think this looks like a great candidate for future inclusion on the site.

[Woolgie]

There’ll be nothing left on the forum at this rate. But yes, I support this proposition.

[Don Juan of Austria]

There’ll be nothing left on the forum at this rate. But yes, I support this proposition.

Ah, but you underestimate the PlayDip community's creative juices!