Battleground:Diplomacy (kingdoms variant)

I have always loved Avalon Hill's game Diplomacy. It has occurred to me that with slight tweaking it could make a very doable Battleground campaign engine.

The basic concept is this:

The game plays in all respects like Diplomacy except rather than the abstract combat/influence resolution system you overlay Battleground combat with battles generated by Kingdoms.

In Diplomacy you get a certain number of armies based on how many supply centers you control. You then give these armies move commands which are simultaneously revealed. If opposing armies try to move into the same territory they have a standoff or "bounce" and neither occupies the territory. If you designate an adjacent army as supporting your army to move and your opponent just has a single army with no support, your army will occupy the territory.

In the BG:D variant, instead of bouncing, equally matched armies will fight a kingdoms generated battle and a decisive victory gets your army into the space. If you have an army supporting your army, then even a marginal victory will get you the space. If you draw then you bounce.
The map and the rules can be downloaded from this site free of charge:
http://www.wizards.com/avalonhill/rules/diplomacy_rulebook.pdf

Here are some general rules to apply that will make sense once you read the rules.

All fleet combat is handled as per regular Diplomacy rules.

A fleet can support an army in BG:D just like in regular Diplomacy.

I'll add more as they come up.

Victory conditions are the same.

There are 35 supply centers on the map and control of 18 wins you the game. The result of a game of diplomacy is almost never assured as there is always the chance that all of the other players might actually trust through desperation and dismantle the leader. It doesn't happen as often as you'd think, but it happens often enough that you really never do know who is going to win.

The game accomodates up to seven players and has rules for fewer, even down to two. The two player version is called World War I for the obvious reason that there is no Diplomacy. It is generally considered not a fun way to play, but that isn't the case with BG:D as the battle resolution mechanic changes the whole feel around.

I really wish I had a dedicated game group with seven players as Diplomacy itself is a great game and with a regular gaming club this would be sweet.

I played Diplomacy online through an automated moderator and it is the funnest non-BG:FW gaming experience I have ever had, and that is saying a lot because I have gamed for over 30 years and have tried just about everything.