Game Rules & ELO Explanation

What You'll Find on This Page

Rules of Diplomacy

The Map, Units, & Objective

1. Each game involves a number of players, each representing a major power with its own unique color.
2. The map is divided into named provinces. There are three types: inland, coastal, and water provinces.
3. There are two unit types: armies and fleets. Armies can move to inland or coastal provinces. Fleets can move to coastal and water provinces.
4. Only one unit may occupy a province at any time.
5. All units have equal strength: 1 point.
6. Units may receive support from other units to increase their strength in conflicts. The unit with the highest combined strength wins a conflict.
7. Certain provinces are marked as supply centers. Each player starts with a few of these, called their home centers.
8. The goal is to control a majority of supply centers. Alternatively, the game may end in a draw if all surviving players agree to it.

Sequence of Play

9. Each game year consists of five phases: Spring Orders, Spring Retreats, Fall Orders, Fall Retreats, and Winter Builds.
10. Players negotiate during any phase using private or group messages, we use Discord for this and you can find a link in the websites homepage.
11. Orders are submitted in secret and resolved simultaneously.

Orders Phase

12. Each unit can be ordered to:
    • Hold in place.
    • Move to an adjacent province (armies via land, fleets via water or coastlines).
    • Support another unit’s hold or move order (only into adjacent provinces).
    • Convoy an army using a fleet located in a water province. Convoys can chain multiple fleets from origin to destination.
13. You may support or convoy other players' units.
14. A unit that is moving cannot be supported to hold. Only holding, supporting, or convoying units may receive support to hold.

Order Resolution

15. If two units of equal strength move into the same province, they bounce and neither succeeds. If they are an unequal strength the stronger force wins.
16. Two units switching places will bounce unless one is convoyed. Chains of moves (e.g., a three-way rotation) are allowed.
17. A failed move still defends with strength 1.
18. A unit is dislodged only if attacked with more total strength than its own hold strength (including support).
19. Support is cut if the supporting unit is attacked (unless the attack is from the province it's supporting into).
20. Dislodged units cannot provide support and have no effect on the attacker’s origin province.
21. However, dislodged units may still cut support or bounce moves in other areas.
22. You cannot dislodge or cut support from your own units.
23. If a province involved in a bounce contains a unit, that unit is not dislodged.
24. If a fleet convoying an army is dislodged, the convoy fails. The army does not move.

Retreats

25. Dislodged units must either retreat to an open province or be disbanded. Armies may not retreat via convoy.
26. Retreats cannot be made to bounced provinces or the origin of the attacker.
27. If no valid retreat exists, the unit is disbanded. If two retreat to the same province, both are disbanded.

Builds

28. You gain control of a supply center by occupying it after the Fall Retreat phase. You keep it until another power captures it.
29. Your unit limit is equal to the number of supply centers you control. During Fall Builds, you may build in unoccupied core centers or must disband excess units if you have too many.

Special Map Mechanics

30. Some provinces have split coasts. When fleets move into them, the specific coast must be chosen. This affects movement and support possibilities.
31. Other provinces have inland waterways. These allow fleet movement but do not permit convoys.
32. Some province connections may not be obvious, for instance, two water bodies may not connect directly and require moving through an intermediate space.
33. Likewise, some adjacent-looking land provinces may not actually connect (e.g., due to intervening terrain or map design). Always refer to the current game map.

Quick ELO Explanation

ELO is based on your final placement in a game, it increases if you place higher and decreases if you place lower. To avoid excessive punishment for early eliminations in large games, a compression system has been implemented that rewards surviving while maintaining a mostly zero-sum structure.

Detailed ELO Calculation

The ELO system aims to fairly reward final standing.

This system reduces punishment for early knockouts and promotes longer-term play strategies.