@cyan:
@tekkyy:
What kind of diplomacy usually occur?
With the standard out-of-box rules and victory condition I didn’t expect diplomacy to occur.
I would think of them more as threats than diplomacy. i don’t see how it can be sincere diplomacy. because the number one rule in WII was TOTAL SURRENDER or death.
You need to remember that we have separate teams playing each country, so that instead of two players, you have 5 teams. The diplomacy is between the Axis players, Germany and Japan, and the amoung the Allied players. The Axis players are normally discussing how to best handle Russia while holding off the US, and putting pressure on the UK. With the Axis, it normally goes something like the German player asking the Japanese player to hit Russia and force the Russians to move troops east while the German player hits the Mid East to force the UK player there and render India vulnerable. For the Allies, it is typically the UK player asking the US player to cover India and Australia so that he can help the Russian player in Karelia. We are using the Classic game and 2nd Edition rules.
Depending on how the game goes, we sometimes also use my Lend-Lease house rule, where the UK and the Russian player receive Lend-Lease production certificates that can be used to obtain additional units from the US, without reducing US production. It is similar in concept to the Lend-Lease rule for Russia in the Revised Rules, but applies also to the UK, does not reduce US production, and is based on a die roll. Once it is in use, the British receive one free destroyer and one free transport a turn, in addition to 12 plus a D6 die roll of certificates, while ther Russians receive one free fighter from Alaska and 6 plus a D6 die roll of certificates. I have made up Lend-Lease production certificates similar to the IPC certificates used in the game, and the players can also trade them back and forth in order to further cement deals. The German and Japanese player team are told that they can ignore agreements made with each other, this does of course hamper further cooperation, while the Allied players are told that there will be penalties for failing to carry out their obligations to the other allies.
The Allies are also told that they win or loose as a group, while the Axis players win individually. We have had cases of the German player winning the game while the Japanese player is wiped out. This happens when the US player focuses too much on Japan. I would guess that most of the players on the boards are either used to playing two-player face to face or two-player online. Once you have more than two players, the diplomacy and negotiating starts.
