A fantastic game, in part because there is absolutely no luck.

You can cheerfully assume any set of ethics or lack thereof to play, and I have seen the utterly ruthless and the upright and naive have success at it.

Any less than seven players, however, and the pleasure of the game diminishes dramatically.

I think it's the best board game ever. But not for everyone. No dice, no luck, just pure strategy. Chess for more than two people. Simple moves but complex strategy. Diplomacy is the word! You really get an insight into the way people think, and the way they act, even if it is only a game? My tips; Talk to everyone even if you need to attack them, don't try to do too much at once, never lie or break a treaty. Just like real life.

We had a group of seven who would play this in the early 1970's. It is a great study in human nature--loyalty, greed, avarice, anger, betrayal, lying, etc. You try to take over Europe.

This is a great game. We recently started a game at school but stopped because of GCSE's. I'm not a geek and am 1 of the sportiest in my school but love this game because its great to see ur friends/allys face when u attack them. Its great to be england working with russia or germany and i have won many games as turkey. Especially when allied with either russia or austria. But you're screwed if russia and austria gang up on u. LOL.

All skill--there is no luck involved here. Five stars only if you are the type to commit several intense hours (or weeks for correspondence play) into a ruthless strategy game. Loads of fun. Warning #1: It takes a while to learn--make certain someone there knows the game thoroughly. The only other drawback is that you need seven players for a good game and weak or disinterested players make for a dull game. Warning #2: It's addicting and will absolutely consume you. I have some of my middle school students play and they lose all focus on schoolwork--but they sure learn their European geography!

Promises to be more fun than it usually is. I've had some really great games but usually it just drug on or we ended up arguing the rules. Try getting seven people to read a confusing little pamphlet printed in tiny type before they start. Which is another problem unless you have at least four or five people it isn't that much fun and you really need seven. Not a bad game, but if I had enough people to play it I think I'd rather play Trivial Pursuit or Risk. Still watching that look on an erstwhile ally's face when you roll through their country in a turn is priceless; a perfect excuse to be a real jerk without actually doing anything that's really that bad or ruining any friendships.

Very old game. hard to figure out at first. somewhat fun. Risk is 10 times better.

This is one of the few strategy games I enjoy. I usually try to honor agreements and hold to them, and I try not to be duplicitous about being an ally of someone. But when it comes to self-preservation, then unfortunately it becomes no-holds-barred for me. I never enjoyed being Italy; I always wanted to be the Russian Empire or Great Britain.

The people that play this game are generally not nice.

I played this game religiously in high school... one of the teachers acted as a "mentor" for an informal gaming club. I have always loved it for the fact that there really is no element of chance. If you're not a shrewd negotiator (and a good bluffer!), you are a sitting duck! I recently purchased the CD-ROM version, and I'm looking forward to playing. Diplomacy's a classic!