Colonial Diplomacy is a board game very similar to the original, Diplomacy. Gameplay is nearly identical to the original. Seven players fight to control the board through diplomacy. Movement is turn-based, but all players' orders are executed simultaneously, unlike Risk.
Setting
The game is set in Asia in the late 19th Century. Much of the board is controlled by European colonial powers. The powers include: England, Russia, Japan, Holland, Turkey, China, and France.
Differences
Colonial Diplomacy includes a couple of notable additions, which differentiate the Colonial Diplomacy from the original Diplomacy.
- Trans-Siberian Railroad – A railroad that extends across Russia from Moscow to Vladivostok. The railroad can be used by Russia to move armies anywhere along the railroad. The TSR may only be used by Russia. Russian armies are allowed to move through other Russian armies, but foreign armies can block the passage of armies on the TSR.
- Suez Canal – The Suez Canal is the only way to move between the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea. Use of the Suez Canal is controlled by whoever is in control of Egypt. The use of the Suez Canal increases in importance later in the game as expansion becomes both more important and more difficult.
Reception
Colonial Diplomacy won the Origins Awards for Best Pre-20th Century Board Game of 1995 in a tie with The Three Days Of Gettysburg by GMT Games.
Colonial Diplomacy won the Games 100 for Abstract strategy in 1995.
References
- "1995 list of winners". Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design. Archived from the original on 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2014-01-14.
- "Games 100". Boardgamegeek.com. Retrieved 31 July 2012.