STRATEGIC GAME THEORY FOR MANAGERS
Diplomacy
The Board Game of International Intrigue
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Today’s Presentation
 Overview of Diplomacy
 Overview of Game Theory Aspects of the Game
 Lessons Learnt from playing Diplomacy
 Applying Lessons from Diplomacy to the Real World
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Diplomacy is a board game set in pre-World War I Europe – the
objective of the game is to control Europe
Game Board
Each player represents
one of the seven
powers of Europe:
England
Germany
France
Italy
Austria-Hungary
Turkey
Russia
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The game is based on military strategy and negotiating skill with
chance playing almost no role
Overview of the Game
 Diplomacy is a game of:
– Negotiations
– Alliances
– promises kept
– promises broken
 In order to survive, a player
needs help from others
 In order to win, a player
must eventually stand
alone
Rules of the Game
 Game Board consists of 34 supply centres
– 22 occupied and 12 unoccupied at start of game
 Each country starts with control of 3 supply centres
(except Russia with 4)
 Each controlled supply centre represents one piece on
the board
 When a player captures a new supply centre they can
build another fleet or army
 Winner is the player who captures 18 supply centres
 At the beginning of each turn, players meet together
one-on-one or in small groups to discuss their plans
 Then orders for each piece are written in secret
 Then the orders for all countries are revealed and
resolved simultaneously
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Game Theory Aspects of the Game
 Win-Win & Win-Lose
– Initial moves are win-win since 12 unoccupied supply centres can be shared
– Alliances can create further win-win opportunities
– However, once all supply centres are occupied the overall game becomes win-lose
 Simultaneous Moves
– Each player must write their moves in secret and all orders are resolved simultaneously
 Sequential Moves
– Game consist of up to 40 simultaneous interactions
– Therefore, many opportunities for players to be rewarded or punished for prior moves
 Uncertainty of Information
– Uncertainty over the moves of other players
– Uncertainty as to the intentions of other players
– Uncertain as to whether information obtained during negotiations is credible or not
 Important role of Signalling
– Actions of other players speak louder than words
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Lessons Learnt from playing Diplomacy
Player’s do not always behave as expected
– Nationalistic pride (e.g. Russian player trying to occupy their German homeland)
Player’s may make a incorrect move deliberately
– Maintains reputation through plausible deniability rather than obvious back-stab
Importance of understanding the personality / traits of the other players in the game
Importance of Reputation and Signalling
Importance of always hoping for the best but planning for the worst
Importance of forgiveness when it is mutually beneficial
Importance of committing to a long-term strategy
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Applying Lessons from Diplomacy to the Real World
•Trust
•Attention to detail
•Deviousness
•Rationality vs emotion
•Complex inter-relations
•Difficult to anticipate others’ moves
•Many players adds to complexity
–Rationality powerful
–Calculations / permutations difficult
–Emotion can override
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