The Beautiful Game: Introduction

I’m not talking about the board. The image above shows, in my opinion, the most beautiful board design available (and, possibly, the best pieces – it’s just a shame that the pieces are slightly too big for the board!). I do love the original European version of the board, though, enough to have mounted it and have it on display!

(I should point out that this isn’t my mounted version.)

I have to admit that my attraction to this version is more emotional than anything. It is gaudy! But it was the first board I had and, well, you never forget your first love. More than anything else, it’s clear. By contract, the original board, published in North America, was a physical representation of Europe in 1901 (adapted for gameplay, of course) and wasn’t anything like as clear, in my view.

And, as I should be concentrating online, Playdip’s map is beautiful, regardless of what you think of the mechanics or the site itself:

The movement indicators aren’t perfect, but that’s just about the only complaint I’d have.

No, here I’m thinking about the game itself, online of FTF, tournament or friendly game. I am going to write about what is beautiful about Diplomacy.

Beauty, of course, is in the eye of the beholder. I can look at someone who is conventionally perceived as being ‘unremarkable’ and see them as being beautiful. Hell, I could be beautiful myself… OK, that’s a stretch, but you get the point.

With Diplomacy it isn’t the aesthetics, good or bad, of the game that makes it beautiful, though, but the gameplay.

In this series of posts, I’m going to discuss what, for me (the rest of you can go jump!) makes the game beautiful. There’s a list of posts below that are part of the series.

However, there’s another side to Diplomacy: the ugly side. So it only makes sense to look at what is ugly about the game, too… but that’s for another series!

What do you think? Beautiful or ugly? Let me know!

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POSTS IN THIS SERIES

• The Beautiful Game: Introduction
• The Beautiful Game: 1. A Unique Strategy Game
• The Beautiful Game: 2. The Perfect Setting
• The Beautiful Game: 3. Simple Mechanics
• The Beautiful Game: 4. Off the Board
• The Beautiful Game: 5. Truth and Lies
• The Beautiful Game: 6. Readily Adaptable
• The Beautiful Game: 7. Community

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SEE ALSO: The Ugly Game