Best Diplomacy board game edition?

[benzodiplomacy]

Having played a couple of games on PlayDip, I wanted to get a physical copy of the game for myself, if I can ever convince enough of my friends to sit down around a table long enough to play it.

On the assumption that the '50th Anniversary edition' from Avalon Hill might be a fairly grand affair, I went for that from Amazon; however, on arrival it is a little disappointing, being entirely cardboard pieces (armies, fleets, and territory markers), and with several provinces too small to accommodate both a unit and a marker. Looking around on eBay, I see that there is a 1981 edition from Gibsons Games that seems to have plastic miniatures for the armies and fleets, which at least would be a little more appealing, even if it doesn't solve the cramped feeling in provinces such as Rome.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good-quality edition of Diplomacy, that can be bought in the UK? What's everyone's favourite edition?

[asudevil]

Not sure what version it is...but I play on one that has metal...yes metal...gunships and artillery pieces...Its REALLY nice.

[SaltySailor]

My preference is the one I learned on back in about 1970. The 1961 edition by Games Research. Wooden playing pieces in a burgundy box with a clean, understated map. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Diplomacy-Games-Research-board-game-1961-Very-Good-Free-Shipping-/331209316944?pt=Games_US&hash=item4d1d9d1a50

But, even beyond that, would be a custom built board. (Someday when I get the urge for a project). http://gatheringwood.com/custom-diplomacy-game-board/

[valent]

My preference is the one I learned on back in about 1970. The 1961 edition by Games Research. Wooden playing pieces in a burgundy box with a clean, understated map. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Diplomacy-Games-Research-board-game-1961-Very-Good-Free-Shipping-/331209316944?pt=Games_US&hash=item4d1d9d1a50

But, even beyond that, would be a custom built board. (Someday when I get the urge for a project). http://gatheringwood.com/custom-diplomacy-game-board/

Nice board!

I have the plastic pieces. I learned using the wool blocks -- that'll probably always be my preference. I've never seen the metal.

[Ecallaw]

I have been using the Waddington Games version very similar to Games Research version same board and wooden pieces the box is a darker purple with gold lettering and of course its in French and English for Canada

[DipInRoad]

The best version is always the one you grew up with. For me, it's the Gibson games version.

However if you head over to gameboardgeek you'll be able to see how many different versions of the game there are, and there should be images of most of the versions, to help you decide which versions you like the look of. After that it's a case of how much you can afford and checking Ebay on a regular basis.

[-Gambit-]

The one with Plastic Stars and Anchors for units!

[BlueBorjigin]

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Diplomacy-Game-C ... AQ:CA:1123

This is the link to the eBay page where I bought mine. 1971 version, topographical map, wooden cubes and rectangular prisms as pieces, even still had all of the original conference maps unmarked (for $14.99!!!). If the thumbnail image doesn't display, mouse over where the image should be and you'll be able to see the zoomed-in version.

Can't tell much of a difference between the 1971 I purchased and the 1961 SaltySailor linked to. That wooden custom one, though, mmmmmm.

[theletterjay]

Here are a few suggestions for creating/buying a nicer look for game pieces, depending on how much money you want to spend.

The version with the metal pieces is the 1999/2000 Hasbro(Avalon Hill) Big Box Edition, and it comes with a pretty hefty pricetag (usually $70 USD or more) because of its premium units. A lot of people seem to like to combine the 50th anniversary board with these metal pieces, apparently the colors match quite nicely. You can get this edition, or even the classic Dip editions with wooden or plastic pieces through the boardgamegeek.com marketplace. Lots of european sellers on there.

Another solution might be to find pieces on boardgameextras.co.uk. Looks like it has some nice ships from Seafarers of Catan, in quite a few colors, as well as other Catan related units in the same colors that could be used for armies.

These presuppose that you will get to play it often enough to justify the additional price. At the end of the day, the board could be lines in the sand with rocks for units, what matters most is that you have a group of people to play with who will really throw themselves into the experience. The board and pieces themselves are just a place to watch your meticulously prepared strategy be torn to shreds by your "allies", while they high-five each other and steal all your supply centers and snacks.

If you buy used, here is a link to a site detailing the various versions, along with pictures. It is a bit old, missing the last dozen years or so since its a dead site, but it is comprehensive.

These are the Avalon Hill versions - http://mysite.verizon.net/~vze4r2c2/Dip ... US-AH.html
(at the top of the AH page, is a set of dead links to the other publishers versions. To see them, just replace the part of the full link after .../Diplomacy/ with the same part of the html name you see on mouse-over of the page you want to see. For example, to see the Games Research versions, you would replace US-AH.html in the above link with US-GRI.html)

For what its worth, I just ordered the 50th anniversary edition too. Most people suggest that the cardboard chits are flimsy and feel cheap, so I will probably replace them with something else eventually. However, I'm not sure that I see the problem with trying to fit two pieces on one territory, why would you need to do this at all?

[WHSeward]

Having played a couple of games on PlayDip, I wanted to get a physical copy of the game for myself, if I can ever convince enough of my friends to sit down around a table long enough to play it.

Nice! Everyone that plays online should own a copy of the game just out of support for the copyright owners.

Even if you never get a ftf game together, there is still a good reason as a player to own a copy. End-games where battle lines are stretching across the board can be very complex and I find them impossible to sort out in my head when you need to look forward a couple of moves. Instead, I always break out my board and start walking through different iterations of orders. I think this practice can be the difference between winning and losing in complex end-games. I watch lots of players make mistakes in this phase of the game, and I am pretty sure they don't own a copy of the game so they aren't able to look ahead adequately which is much easier to do with pieces to move than with a map on a screen or paper and pen.

However, I'm not sure that I see the problem with trying to fit two pieces on one territory, why would you need to do this at all?

.
Ben is referring to the ownership markers.

Ben, ditch the markers. Real men can remember what SCs the powers own! (OK, in truth, I am dating myself. I have the 1976 AH edition and markers were introduced much, much later to the box sets - I'm not sure when. We got along without them just fine.)