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You could always join an online PBEM game via The Diplomatic Pouch.

The game of Diplomacy, except 80 years in the future. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005EBA0

You can play it over e-mail as well. www.diplom.org is a good place to start.

Probably my favorite table top game of all time is Dipolmacy...but alas it was really hard to find people that would actually want to play. (i even asked my ex to play for my bday and she looked at me like i was a crackhead and followed it up with "I [her] better be drunk." Needless to say it didnt happen :-( )
But all isn't lost, places like http://www.diplom.org/index.py was created for us loners out there to play this great game.

If you like risk, and have 4-5 hours to play, try diplomacy.

There's everything you need to know about Diplomacy here, including how to join an online game, and how to improve your gameplay.

There's better - real, live on-line Diplomacy, with sophisticated maps in PDF form. Google wouldn't add anything. See http://www.diplom.org/ and check out the DPPD server. As Manus would say: Stab you soon!

Here is an introduction for people that don't know (yet) the fantastic game called Diplomacy. It is available as a board game, a computer game , or you can just play it by email. Highly recommanded !

I was trying to get a group going, but we were missing 2 players for a full game and the group lost interest. I still play a lot on some of the internet judges, and you can find information on those here. Very easy to do, the commands are simple to learn and there are enough game types (orders due weekly, daily, weekdays, etc) that you'll find one that interests you.

--trb

For all things Diplomacy, including how to play by email through the automatic adjudicator, see The Diplomatic Pouch, run by the mighty Manus Hand.

I wish I had mod points. Go Diplomacy! You can even play online until you decide to buy the game, with an easy to use web interface, here : Diplomatic Pouch

• The Diplomatic Pouch
• The Stabbed
• diplomacy-archive.com

I really think the future of online gaming is not going to be 3D accelerated shooters. These types of games appeal to a much larger audience and almost everyone has the hardware to handle it.

Some of my favorite online games?
Kingdom of Loathing - Hilarious multiplayer RPG
The Game Show - A daily phrase puzzle similar to family fued.
Diplomacy - Famous war game without random elements.
Global Combat - Risk-like war game, except all moves are made at the same time.

Games are short term goals. The longest games last an hour or two at most.

Igh...

The trick to diplomacy is to either play an on-line game with strangers, or find gamers who are socially mature and aloof enough to separate role-play from personal ambitions. I've seen people get incredibly pissed over broken promises and bad faith in this game.

It's a lot worse in long, drawn out games. When you're finishing it in a matter of hours at a game table, it's not quite as bad, though I have seen good and friendly people leave in a huff after losing or prematurely resign, leaving dead pieces on the board.

But don't let that put you off. It's a fantastic game, in my opinion far superior to Risk on many levels. The game theory used here-in is far, far more complex and interesting.

To give the uninitiated an idea, basically everybody moves simultaneously. All moves are written secretly on a piece of paper. Whether your moves succeed or not depends on what other people's moves were. There's an open round of discussion, debate, and, well, diplomacy before each move writing. Nobody can win without help.

Seriously, give it a try. But if you play it in person, make sure someone in your troupe has the charisma to keep good feelings all around.

Doesn't anyone play Diplomacy? It's much more interesting. No dice involved, no randomness at all.

Diplomacy is now being played via email by thousands of people all over the world. It's a great way to play the game, especially if you don't have six other friends who have six+ hours to spend playing a board game. For more info, check out The Diplomatic Pouch

If a turn lasts an hour, you'll spend 40-50 minutes talking strategy with your enemies and/or allies. (i.e. doing "diplomacy" in the real-world sense of the word). This is the meaty (and the fun) part of the game.

Then you write down your orders for your troops, and everyone reveals their orders at once (usually to cries of "you bastards!", "oops!", or both) When the orders are unsealed, it's deterministic - no random elements; things "work" or "don't work" based on whether you've been able to persuade your allies to go along with your plan, or misled your adversaries into traps.

Real-world example - History of WW2/Europe written as though it were a game of "Diplomacy":

Game begins in '39. Germany/Italy tells Russia they want Poland, but not to worry, that's as far as they'll go if Russia stays out of it. (Stalin to Hitler: "OK, we'll sign your non-aggression pact. You stay out of Russia, we let you take Poland.")

Germamy is then able to concentrate on wiping out France in '40, and do serious hurt to Britain without worrying about an attack from the East. (DeGaulle to Hitler: "Oops.")

Confident that Western Europe is now safely held, Germany goes for global domination (vs. splitting Europe between Germany and Russia) and backstabs Russia in '41. (Stalin to Hitler: "You bastard!")

As a result, Russia/US/UK form an alliance which wipes out Germany/Italy in '44-45. (Russians take out Germans from Moscow to Germany, US/UK takes out Germans from France to Germany. UK takes over North Africa, and jumps from there to wipe out Italy. Mussolini to Italy: "Oops. *chokeswingswingswing*")

Germany's toast. With only three players left on the board, US/UK briefly consider backstabbing Russia in '46, but choose stalemate instead of going for global conquest. (Players to each other: "Fuggit. We've had enough. Let's go for beers.")

Game ends in '45. Europe remains split between NATO and the Warsaw Pact for 50 years.

Thankfully, all three leaders in '45 were smart enough to realize the difference between bits of wood on a cardboard map and 50 million dead (on all sides) plus another 20-30 million to "finish the game".

(And also thankfully, when you're playing Diplomacy, it is just bits of wood on a cardboard map, so you can just "go for world domination" with a clean conscience :-)