How to Play

• Learn to play Diplomacy in 5 minutes
• Introduction To Diplomacy

Introduction to Diplomacy Powers

Diplomacy is an extremely balanced game. In the hands of an experienced player, every power has a chance to top the board. However, some powers are more difficult for newer players than others. Learning about the strengths and weaknesses of each power can help you in your negotiations and decision making. Always remember that you should play the other players, not the other powers. Your interactions and negotiations with other players will have far more impact on your success than which power you or your neighbors are playing. 

• Austria
• England
• France
• Germany
• Italy
• Russia
• Turkey

Openings

To an experienced player, which opening you choose can speak volumes about your intent in the opening portions of the game. Understanding which openings help achieve which goal, and perhaps more importantly, how the rest of the board is likely interpret the intent of your openings, are valuable skills to have. Always keep in mind that Diplomacy is not like chess. Negotiations and relationships are just as, if not more important than where you move your pieces. Your openings should always support your goals, not the other way around. 

• Get out of the Box
• Interactive Openings Library
• Andrew Goff's Diplomacy Openings Page

Alliances

Alliances in Diplomacy tend to be fluid. Any group of committed players can make any alliance work. However, there are some alliances that occur more naturally than others. These alliances occur so frequently, they have often been named. Familiarizing yourself with the more common alliances and the vocabulary used to describe them can help you negotiate more effectively.

• Diplomacy Alliances Wiki Page

Stalemate Lines

A stalemate line is a position on the board that prevents any further advance by the enemy. Stalemate lines are a pretty complex topic. Generally speaking, a newer player does not need to understand them in detail. What is important is that the new player know that these positions *do* exist, and that they become more meaningful the longer the game is played. In most Windy City Weasel bar games, there is not enough time for stalemate lines to become a meaningful part of the game. In house games, and particularly in tournament games, they become more meaningful because of the longer game length. If a veteran player starts talking to you about stalemate lines in the first few years of the game, be aware that they may be trying to use fancy vocabulary to influence your play to their advantage. If its been a few years, you might want to listen more closely, particularly if you are part of an alliance from one side of the board trying to hold back and alliance from the other side of the board. Here are a few resources where you can learn more about stalemate lines:

• The Gamer's Guide to Diplomacy Stalemate Lines
• A Visual Index to Stalemate Positions

 Scoring Systems

The Diplomacy rulebook provides one victory outcome, controlling 18 or more supply centers, or "soloing." Because Diplomacy is such a balanced game, a "solo" is extremely unlikely. As a result, the Diplomacy community has invented scoring systems designed to evaluate games where no one "solos" so that we can play the game competitively. Many systems have been used over the years, all of which have pros and cons. The Windy City Weasels use a scoring system called "Sum of Squares" which we feel encourages the behaviors we value most, balance of power, fluid alliances, and backstabbing. Other scoring systems are designed to encourage different behaviors, or to incentivise those same behaviors a different way. If you only play with the Weasels, you really only need to learn our scoring system. If you ever play online or travel to play with other clubs or at tournaments, you should be aware they may not score their games the same way. Generally speaking, every scoring system will reward you for capturing more supply centers than your opponents.

Here are some of the more common scoring systems in the hobby today:

• Sum of Squares
• Draw-Size Scoring
• Carnage
• C-Diplo (Common in Europe, not as common in North America)

Advanced Strategy & Tactics  

Want to learn more? Check out the Wise Old Weasel Strategy Blog and Advanced Strategy & Tactics section for more articles and links! 

Here are a few other resources that Weasel veterans recommend. Keep in mind that many of the articles on these sites are older and written with Draw Based or C-Diplo style scoring systems in mind. The majority of the content will still apply, but there may be a few subtle differences between what these authors suggest and what applies in Weasel league and tournament play:

• If you like Podcasts, The Diplomacy Podcast is a great resource. The hosts are tournament regulars and because this is a newer resource, their advice is pretty applicable to Weasel club and tournament play.
• The Diplomacy Archive has a great collection of Diplomacy related articles that have been collected over the years. This site is a little easier to search than the online "Zines" that follow. 
• The Diplomatic Pouch has a tremendous backlog of newsletters and strategy articles. Several club veterans had their start in competitive play through this website.  
• Diplomacy World has been around for over 40 years and is considered by many one of the flagship publications of Diplomacy related materials. Reading the backlog of articles will expose you to the tremendous history of this hobby and the thoughts and opinions of some of the hobby's greatest members. 

• The CODCon Open: Our oldest tournament by two months, the Open is held annually in April at the small CODCon gaming convention at the College of Dupage. Our focus at this tournament is on introducing tournament Diplomacy to our players, but we usually draw a traveler or two every year, and the event is part of the North American Grand Prix circuit. We held CODCon for the first time in April 2007.
  
  
• Weasel Moot: Our signature tournament is Weasel Moot. This event tends to be more competitive than CODCon and usually draws players from both coasts and points in between. In recent years, as the event has grown in importance on the Grand Prix circuit -- the Weasel Moot champ went on to win the Grand Prix in 2010, 2011 and 2012 -- we've welcomed two to three boards' worth of travelers. Weasel Moot even hosted the World and North American Diplomacy Championships in 2012 and 2016. We held Weasel Moot for the first time in June 2007, and since then, the event has bounced all over the calendar. At various times, we've held it in July, August, September and November. The tournament champion holds the title of Alpha Weasel until the next year's Moot.

League Play

• Windy City Weasels Diplomacy League: Our league is the most active in North America. We average more than two games per month. We play games at members' homes, in bars, and other venues. We score all of our games using the Sum of Squares scoring system, and each player's best three scores count toward the season standings. Each season runs from September through August. The top dues-paying Weasel at the end of the Season wins our coveted Weasel of the Year title and also the top seed in the Weasel Royale club championship game. We also award Best Country awards to the top dues-paying member of each country, with the caveat that no player can win more than one Best Country award. In addition, we award Rookie of the Year to a newcomer each year. The winner of this award does not have to be a dues-paying member. We usually play our bar games on weeknights, starting at 6:30 p.m., typically. We use a fast clock and always end no later than 11 p.m. House games are usually on weekends and normally are open-ended.
  
  
• Bar Room Brawl Series: In addition to counting as regular league games, we track bar games separately in a subset of our league called the Bar Room Brawl Series.  Again, each player's top three bar game scores count in the standings. At the end of the season, the top seven players, regardless of membership status, will be invited to compete in the Bar Room Brawl Championship Game.
  
  
• Red Wednesdays: Starting in October 2014, the second Wednesday of every month will be Red Wednesday at the Red Lion in Lincoln Square. Join us for dinner, drinks and Diplomacy on Red Wednesday, the second Wednesday of every month!
  
  
• Thunder Thursday: Starting in January 2018, the fourth Thursday of every month will be Thunder Thursday at the Scout in the South Loop. Honor the Norse god of thunder on the fourth Thursday of every month!

The Windy City Weasels are committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for everyone to experience the joys and agonies of Diplomacy. Diplomacy is a collective human endeavor. We may be competitive, manipulative, and even dastardly, but we are all here to have fun.

To that end, please observe the following:

1. Be a human being. Treat everyone with the respect they deserve, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, or ability to play Diplomacy.
2. Refrain from harassment of any kind. This includes unwanted physical contact, threats of violence, unwelcome sexual attention, and comments related to personal identity or appearance.
3. Avoid becoming intoxicated to the point that you cannot play or are disturbing the ability of others to enjoy themselves.

Violations of the code of conduct should be reported as soon as possible to an official club representative, including the tournament director for tournaments, the host for house games, or the War Weasel or any other Sneak member. All communications will be strictly confidential. The club representative will mediate in good faith and take whatever action he or she deems appropriate to resolve the situation, including pausing a game, censuring players, or requiring players to leave the event without refund. The Sneak will review all reports of inappropriate behavior and take further action if needed, including suspension from future league or tournament play or expulsion from all club activities.

Any attempt to abuse the code of conduct in order to gain advantage in any game will not be tolerated. This code of conduct applies at any club event, on the board and off.

The War Weasel (Brandon Fogel, 773-909-2992) and the Sneak (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) may be contacted at any time for any reason. All communications will be strictly confidential.

The CODCon Open, the event that put tournament Diplomacy back on Chicago's map, returns for a 12th installment, April 14-15 at the College of DuPage in west suburban Glen Ellyn. We will be using a central clock with drop dead timing and Swiss Pairings to seed our boards. To reach the sweet Swiss Alpy mountaintop, you have to beat the best!