Engineer

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Engineered Diplomacy V.14:

Created by Hugh Polley

http://ca.geocities.com/hapolley/index.html

  • Units added to Standard game: Fighter Unit, Engineered Unit, Prison Unit
  • Rules added to Standard game: MadMan Rules
  • Optional rules: Bid Partnerships, Survival rules

License And Disclaimer

These rules are the property of Hugh A. Polley! Anyone may publish them without permission unless they are receiving money for doing so. Anyone using these rules to run a prize game may do so if he gives one free Player Position to Hugh Polley. Hugh may then sell, give away, or use that Player Position.

The Standard Game Rules

The Game of Diplomacy is a sole copyright of Avalon Hill/Hasbro

State - An area can be in or out of a state of existence.

Orders - On the Fall or Spring turn a unit may make only one of three possible orders:

1.Hold - no order
2.Move to an adjacent area
3.Support a moving or holding unit

An Areas 'State' is dependent upon a unit existing in the area, or not, and units attempting to move into the area or not. This State of existence's stability is determined by the value of orders balancing out. When they do not the areas unit occupational existence changes.

Type of Units: There are two Units a Fleet and an Army. Armies can be convoyed by fleets and Fleets can move along and into coastal land areas. Only a single unit can be in a area on any given turn.

Turns or Seasons: There are four turns Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall. Spring and fall are the unit movement turns, Winter and Summer are the Retreat turns, Winter is also a unit building season.

The game economic system: You may build units in your home centers whenever your supply centers out number your units. Supply areas are usually marked on the map with a circle around a black dot or square.

Adjudication rules: Each unit has a value of one for moving or holding or supporting. Each Support Order a State receives increases its value by one. A Unit moving into an area occupied by another unit is said to be attacking that area. An attacking unit moving into an area unbalances its State by removing its support value unless it is supporting an attack upon the attacking State.

Deciding outcomes: The value of all the area States are added up. When one areas moving State has a greater value than an opposing areas State its unit moves and the opposing unit is moved to a Stateless area or removed from existence.

Convoys: A Navy at sea in a Convoy State may aid in an Army moving from one coastal area to a different Coastal Area.

1.A Convoyed Attack does not cut support of a Navy which is Attacking a

Convoying Navy.

2.A Navy supporting a Convoying Navy can not have its support of that

Navy cut by a Convoyed attack.

3.A Navy supporting by accident or design a Navy convoying an attacking

Army can be dislodged by that Army.

The moves are adjudicated in two phases, a Navel Convoy Phase then a Land Phase. This is somewhat realistic as generally Navy battles decide successful invasions rather than vice versa. If any possible Convoy route is disrupted by a dislodged Navy the convoyed Army does not move.

Introduction And Rule Summary

The "Rules for Diplomacy" Copyright 1971 will apply, except where stated otherwise. Note that as in the standard game each unit can execute only one order. The Engineer Rules worry some players because like the Diplomacy Rules they seem complex. This is because they define the game environment as created by all the restrictions rules place upon play. To actually play the game all you need to understand is how to create your orders. Here are all the orders possible in ED. Most you already know from the standard game! The new ones are CD, D, T and convert;I don't count (*) as it is almost never used and (-) still works. Unit designator changes from the standard game: N is for Navy, F is for Fighter, but if you make a mistake and use F for N computer corrects same.

Order Examples:
A Mun-Try
A Mu S N Ber
N Nth C A Lon-Bel
A Lon * Bel France(nations allowed to convoy)
(F)ighter Lon D A Lon-Bel
F Lon D A Hol
(E)ngineer Lvp builds Army
Convert N Edi to Army (works when there is an E in Edi)
CD Mun Ber for A Mos-Sil
A Mos T E Hol

(CD): If a country, say Russia, sends in no moves; you can bid one or more of your completed moves for the movement of a Russian unit.

(*) indicates convoyed movement, eliminating a rare convoy problem. A Countries name after the order prevents a kidnapped convoy, another rare move. You can sill write the order in old style (A Lon-Bel)

(E)ngineer units can build or Convert units in the Winter turn when on a supply center.

(D)amage! A (F)ighter can damage all supports for a Unit or Unit move.

(T)ransport! A military unit can order a Engineer unit to its location if not attacked by another countries military unit.

1. Concept

Think of Armies, Navies, Fighters and Engineers as military divisions rather than individual units. Engineer divisions can construct Navel, or Plane equipment from local materials and thus turn Armies into Navies or Fighters. You can think of Fighters as having lightly armed ground forces and towed gliders giving them the ability to change bases or move quickly to unoccupied areas not controlled by a great power.

Hugh's Engineered Variant is an Abstract Diplomacy Variant because no matter the Diplomacy Map the rules will work. There are Home Supply Centers or Build Centers (BC) just as in Standard Diplomacy. However each country is allowed to use its Engineered units to create temporary Build Centers in addition to its Home BCs. The idea here is to give a country the ability to project power rapidly to a front were he is on the attack.

2. Seven Player Game Start Up

  • Each country will start the game with that county's units, and SC's associated with that game map.
  • On the standard map Russia will have 3 BCs and one StP SC with Fighter Field Moscow instead of A Moscow.
  • Instead of Navy Naples Italy starts the game with Fighter Field Naples.

3. Convoyed Attacks

XII 5. Rules for Diplomacy 1971 state that:

If a convoyed army attacks a fleet which is supporting a fleet which is attacking one of the convoying fleets, that support is not cut.

Engineer adds: That no fleet convoying a military unit not dislodged before convoys are executed can be dislodged after convoys are executed. If a foreign unit convoyed by one of your Navies attacks one of your coastal supporting Navies that Navy can be dislodged!

This puts an end to convoy paradoxes!

Definitions And Orders

1. Units Orders and Abbreviations

The abbreviations are easy to remember just think of the word and you have the symbol! A,B,C,CD,D,E,F,-,*,H,M,N,R,S,T

(A)rmy
(B)build Unit
(C)onvoy
(CD) Civil Disorder
(D)amage
(E)ngineer
(F)ighter Field
(H)old
(M)ove [- or *]
(N)avy [Fleet]
(R)emove Unit
(S)upport
(T)ransport

2. A Supply Center (SC) is an area on the Diplomacy map, which can maintain one military unit for the country owning it.

3. A Build Center (BC) is a (SC) Diplomacy map area owned by a country were military units can be built in the winter turn in accordance with the number of SCs the country owns.

4. A Military Unit is a standard diplomacy unit or a Fighter Field unit. They can be ordered to Move, Hold, Support or Damage (Fighters only).

5. Economic Units

  • An Engineered Unit (E) is, a unit that can turn any SC it is on in the Winter turn, into a temporary Build Center.
  • A Prison unit (P) is a (E) unit captured by another country in the Fall or Spring season.

Engineer Unit Rules

1. E Unit Powers

  • On the Winter turn an (E) unit located on a SC not occupied by a military unit can build a military unit.
  • On the Winter turn an (E) unit can convert an occupying Navy to an Army, or an occupying Army to a Navy, or either to a Fighter Field or vice versa.

2. E P Unit Creation

  • Every 4 SCs a country has supports or creates one (E) unit in the Winter season, except in the case were a (E) unit is captured and turned into a (P) unit. The country losing the (E) unit can not recreate it until after the resultant (P) unit is disbanded. (See 4)
  • Each player will always be entitled to have one (E) unit. After that he may have one (E) unit for every 4 SCs he owns.
  • On the winter turn an (E) unit may be created on any of the countries BCs with, or without a military unit occupying that BC.

3. P unit properties

  • An enemy unit in the same area as the (E) unit at the end of a spring or fall season captures the (E) unit turning it into his (P) unit.
  • A Captured (E) unit becomes a (P) unit until it is disbanded in the next spring season after its capture.
  • Unless Transported out a (P) unit must always be attached to a military unit or be disbanded.
  • In the Winter turn a Player's (P) unit on a SC may convert a military unit (N,F,A) into a different (N,F,A).

4. E P Unit Movement

  • An (E) unit may move in one of two ways

(1) It may attach its self to a military unit occupying its area in the Spring or Fall season. [AE Mos-StP] (2) Another unit may order it to transport to its area. (See 4d)

  • A dislodged military unit can not move the (P) or (E) unit attached to it.
  • A dislodged Army, Navy or Fighter's (P) unit is disbanded.
  • Any military unit may order one of its country's (E,P) units to be transported to its location, provided the military unit does not make any other order, Support, Damage, Hold or Move. The military unit ordering the move can be anywhere on the map. If the unit ordering the transport is not attacked by another countries unit, and the (E) unit exists, the transport succeeds, otherwise it fails.

[A StP T E Rum]

  • A Bugout occurs when an (E,P) unit successfully is Transported out of an area in the same Fall or Spring season that another countries military unit occupies the area. By so doing the E unit avoids capture.

5. E P Unit Disbandment

  • (E) and (P) units can not co-exist at the end of a Fall or Spring season. If by some occurrence they end up in the same area, the (P) units are disbanded. If more than one (E) unit is in the same area, they are both disbanded.

Fighter Field Unit Rules

1. Unit Combat Chart

============================================================================
Unit Combat Support Hold Retreat Damage
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fighter 0 1 1 0 cuts supports
Army or Navy 1 1 1 0
Decoy Unit 0 0 0 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Building A Fighter Field Unit

A Fighter Field Unit may be built instead of a Army or Navy. It can Move, Support or Damage on a fall or spring season up to two areas away from its location. Movement by another military unit into its base location has no affect upon its execution of Support, or Damage or two area change of base orders! Because it is a military unit, any SC it occupies in the Winter turn belongs to its country and supports one build.

3. Holding

A Fighter Field can defend against a moving (A) or (N) unit if supported by at least one other A,N,F unit or if it has executed a hold order. If the order [F Mos holds] is written this is the same as saying F Mos S F Mos and has the power value of one.

4. Area Range of Operations

  • A Fighter Field may move to any land area adjacent to its position.
  • A Fighter Field can not move to a land area two areas away unless it is one of that countries SCs, or the SC is unoccupied and owned by the games neutral country. It can support and damage up to two areas away without restriction.

5. Combat Power

A Fighter Field has zero moving power and can only successfully move when unopposed or by receiving more additive support power than opposing units. See Chart.

6. Support

A Fighter may support an action in an area it can reach in the same way as the standard diplomacy support move. It is however the only unit who's support can not be cut by an attack on its Field [area location]. As in the standard game supporting a movement into an adjacent area keeps its support from being cut from that area.

7. Fighter Damage Order

A Fighter may Damage another players order in one of two ways

a. By damaging, a supported move order, whose destination area the fighter can reach.

b. By damaging, a supporting or holding unit, located at a specific area the Fighter can reach. With the movement order case (a), all supports for that order are cut. With the Supporting or Holding order case (b), both the unit's support order and all supports for the unit are cut.

8. Defending against a Fighter Damage order

Whenever two or more opposing Fighters meet over a destination area (A) all of their orders are canceled! This means that ground orders are not cut by the Damage order! Army (1) supports Navy (2) to area (A) is good!

Madman Rules

1. The Neutral Country

  • A non-playing Madman Neutral country is considered to control all SC's not owned by the playing countries.
  • This country can not build units but its SC's can maintain units already in existence.
  • A Country which has no Home Centers, and less than two military units is out of the game, and any remaining SCs and units become the Neutral country's madman possessions.
  • The GM may declare that a two time No Moves Received (NMR) country's units and SC's now belong to the MadMan Neutral Country.

2. A Player Madman

  • If a player has not sent in orders before the deadline then his position is a madman one for that season. Players have at least 48 hours, in the e-mail game, to send in orders for these units.

3. Bidding for a Madman's Order

  • A player bids for each NMR'd country's individual unit in Civil Disorder by offering up one or more of his ordered units for Civil Disorder. Rules for Diplomacy ' XIV3' For this purpose we consider each NMR'ed player's individual unit as being unordered and therefore in Civil Disorder.
  • A player may send in a mad man order for each of his existing units! He can have two or more of his units bid for the same movement order.

4. Solution for biding wars

  • For each Area with a Unit in Civil Disorder, the number of exactly the same orders for the unit, gives a bid value for that order
  • The largest bid value is used to eliminate all order bids the same or smaller than the largest bid.
  • After the above has been done for each CD Area, the bids which are left are the winning bids and their sponsoring units are in CD for that season.
Example:
F StP to Nor
A Mos to Sil
A Vie to Tri
N Ion support A Nap
A Nap holds
[Russia bids F StP, A Mos for Madman Turkey N Bla-Ank]
[Austria Bids A vie for N Bla-Ank]
[Italy bids N Ion, A Napl for N Bla-Sev]
Total Bids: 3 for F Bla-Ank, 2 for N Bla-Sev

F Bla-Ank would happen and F StP, A Mos, A Vie would be ordered to Hold; Ion and Nap would keep their oridginal orders.


A Bid Partnership Game

1. Bidding rules

The Madman bidding rules, without the CD penalty, are used to form game partnerships. Each partner has bids equal to the unit total within the partnership. He may send in one or more moves, the same or different, for each of the partnership units. Or send in no moves for one or more of the units in order to bid more on a desired move.

2. Leaving a partnership

In the summer season a player may get out of a partnership by finding a player who will add his name to a partnership document form. If this happens any remaining players must be teamed up by some type of draw agreed to before the start of the game. If a player signs more than one partnership form he must remain with his present partner or be cast into the draw pool if that partner has moved on.

3. Winning the Game

A 18 supply center partnership wins the game unless the larger partner asks to become independent for the rest of the game.

Face To Face Play And Map Unit Symbols

Army - Colored or numbered thick Wooden Rectangle.
Navy - Colored or numbered narrow Wooden Rectangle.
Fighter Field - An on end army Wooden Rectangle.
Engineer Unit - Numbered or Colored Cardboard Circle.
Prison Unit - Numbered or Colored reverse side of Engineer unit with line through center

Survival Game

1. Weakest Link

A Diplomacy e-mail Zine could host a survival game of Engineered Diplomacy were the subscribing audience could after 1902, in a 10 or more player variant, vote off the weakest or most underachieving player. His units would become madman units see [E].

2. Player Communications

All players in the game would communicate with one another through the game host site. They would not know the names or e-mail of the other players, nor would they get to view the game commentary in the host Zine.

3. Game Commentary

Someone in the host Zine would get to see all correspondence and would run a game column. Commenting on the ebb and flow of the game, alliances, deceptions, tactics, strategy, and prospects. Also polling of the subscription audience on things such as most deceitful player, best tactician, worst moves made by a player etc.