Most of the well known DIPLOMACY variants include a new or redesigned board, though there may not be radical changes. There are also as many, if not more, variants which retain the regular board and change only one or a few rules.

These variants are excellent for face-to-face play (though a few require a GM) since they are easy to learn and do not require play on a small unfamiliar board. The following list includes most of the simple variants known to me, though there are surely many more. Some resulted from misinterpretation of the old rules e.g., the Key Rule), some were originally used in new-board variants (double armies), and some were designed specifically for use with the regular board and rules (armed neutrals). These rules may be used as individual variants, or a number may be used in a single game. Some may seem unclear; in this case, either interpretation may be used. I have mot credited designers, even where known, in order to save space.

WINTER 1900: Before Spring 1901 players build in their home centers, which are all empty.

ANARCHY: There are many variations. 34 people may play, each beginning with one center, or 17 each with two centers. 7 may play, each beginning with three home centers. Centers may be selected by chance or by the players. A two-player version, with each player taking three countries of three randomly selected centers each, is spoerior to any other two-player verison I know of. Europeans all some of these variants Chaos, which is actually something quite different (see below). Anarchy usually begins with Winter 1900.

ARMED NEUTRALS: A neutral center is occupied by an army in civil disorder. This army is effective for a certain number of game years and is then removed. Another variation is a civil disorder army which defends only certain borders of a neutral, such as an army in Bel which defends only against armies attacking from Bur and Ruh.

BLITZKRIEG or DISORGANIZATION: Players must write orders for a move-season (spring or fall) before adjudication of the previous move-season's orders. Thus players write Fall 1901 orders and conditional builds before Spring 1901 moves are adjudicated.----After this adjudication Fall moves and builds may not be changed. Conditional retreats, or special retreat rule, are necessary.

HYPERSPACE: After each move-season (or alternatively, each Winter) each player may form one hyperspace link between any two spaces on the board, and one separation of two adjacent of linked spaces. Units may move along the linkages, but may not move between two spaces that are separated. Linkages may be separated, and separations re-linked, of course. Fleets may occupy land spaces at the end of a link, but armies may not occupy a spaces, e.g., after Spring 1901, England might link Nwg and Hol, and separate Ruh and Hol, in preparation for taking Hol in the fall.

TWIN EARTHS: Two sets are used. Each player plays the same country on both boards. Units may move between a space on one board and the some space on the other board (i.e., between Mun I and Mun II, or Bur II and Bur I, etc.). Victory criterion is usually doubled. Builds and removals may be made on either board so that a player might have five centers on each board, but 8 units on one and 2 on the other.

SUPPLY: Each Winter each unit must trace a contiguous line of spaces to the center supplying it, which have been captured by that unit's forces or which are designated friendly to that unit by the player who owns the space(s). Capture takes place in any season for supply purposes. This eliminates such an omalies as guerilla fleets far behind the line and similar historical nonsense.

CHANGING OF THE GUARD: A fleet and an army of the same country may exchange places as long as each move will otherwise succeed, e.g., F Pie-Mar, A Mar-Pie. This would fail completely if some other unit is ordered to Pie or Mar.

EXCHANGE: Like Changing of the Guard, except that units of any type and any nation may participate so long as both agree.

YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE: When a unit is annihilated (including retreat off the board), it may never be rebuilt. Thus that country will be permanently one unit short.

ANNIHILATION RULES: (1) A unit is never permitted to retreat off the board when another retreat is possible. (2) When a unit is annihilated, it may not be rebuilt the following winter, leaving the country one short the next year unless it has lost a center.

AIR POWER:Each center is worth 4 supply points. Armies and fleets require 3 points, air units require 4 for support. An air unit may fly up to four spaces total in a move-season. It may support an attack on or defense in the space it is bombing. Any number may bomb a single space. An air unit may not capture a space.

SUBMARINES:These are like fleets except that a sub may move in a subspace under a normal sea space as well as on the surface. Many variations of this and the air power rule are possible.

KEY RULE: A unit which is ordered to move gives up its right to the space it is moving from, even if its move fails. Thus, if A Vie-Gal fails, A Bud-Vie dislodged Vie even if it attacks without support.

CUTTING OF THE CUTTING OF SUPPORT: A unit may not cut support if its space is attacked. There may also be cutting of the cutting, etc.

ATOMIC WEAPONS: Each player receives one bomb per year (or one each move-season). Bombs may be carried by other units. A bomb may be fired one space (perhaps more later in the game) and destroys everything in that space at the end of the move (including the supply center for a specific period). If there are many bombs, then a stalemate is likely unless range is increased later in the game.

MULTIPLE UNITS: Each country is allowed a double army or double fleet (or even triple units, etc.). The unit should be specified (perhaps secretly at the start of the game). A leader unit can be added which doubles any unit it is with; more than one leader can be used as well.

BORDER PROHIBITIONS: Units of a particular country, or coming from a particular direction, may not enter certain spaces for a specified period, e.g., players might be prohibited from entering other player-countries in 1901.

BUILDS: (1) Units may be built in any center in a player's hands, not just home centers; or in any province; or in any province in the home country. (2) A player may build in an open home center even if another player owns the center (guerilla build); of course, the player must first be entitled to a build.

SUPPORT: A unit may support in place another unit that is ordered to move. If the move fails, then the unit is still supported in its beginning space, e.g., A Gal-War, A Bud (S) A Gal (H); then a two-unit attack on Gal fails.

BASIC DEFENSE: All centers have a permanent basic defense of one, which is added to any unit occupying the center but operates for the owning player even when no unit occupies it. This basic defense may instead bu used only for home centers, or for certain centers or provinces specified by the player (fortresses built by the player, in other words). A wild variation is that the basic defense applies against all countries, even the owning country unless the center is actually occupied.

COASTAL CRAWL: A fleet may move from a coast of a double coasted province to another coastal space, while another fleet in that coastal space moves to the other coast of the double-coasted province, e.g., F Spa(sc)-Por, F Por-Spa (nc).

SPRING RAID: When a player occupies another player's center in the spring, the center becomes neutral and must be captured as any other neutral center.

CENTER OWNERSHIP: (1) Centers may be captured in any season. (2) A pilayer may loan a center to another for support of a unit, but may rescind the loan at any time, forcing the former recipient to find new supplies by the next winter for any unit which was supported by a loan. (3) Centers may be given outright. (4) The owner and occupier of a center may agree that the former will retain the center even though the latter occupies it.

TIME: Game years may last three moveseasons instead of two.

ESCALATION:Units need never be removed for lack of centers.

CONVOYS: (1) Fleets in coastal spaces may convoy. (2) All units may convoy (e.g., A Bre, F Eng, and F Wal (C) A Pa, -Liv). (3) An army is annihilated if its convoy is disrupted by dislodgement of one of the fleets. (4) Any attack on a fleet disrupts a convoy. (5) Alternate convoy routes may be ordered in case one route is disrupted, (6 ) A fleet convoying an army of another country may annihilate it. (7) Fleets may carry armies by forming army fleets (A/Fs).

DECOY UNITS: A player may build in ev; ery open home center every winter. H may only have as many real units as supply centers. The rest are fake units which are destroyed when attacked and may not affect combat though they may be ordered to support, etc. as a decoy). This works best with a GM.

KRIEGSPIEL: Players know the location only of their own units and units in adjacent spaces or variations thereof. Requires a GM.

ANONYMITY III: Players do not know which of the other players is playing which of the other countries. Requires a GM.

CHAOS: Each player writes orders for the other six countrtes as well as his own. Chance determines which set of orders will be used for a country. Works best with a GM so that players do not know who wrote the orders which are used.