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The Diplomacy Variant Bank contains a huge number of variants on Diplomacy, ranging from completely different maps and powers, to minor tweaks of the rules. I was searching for a variant that would play well face-to-face, while being shorter than the original and I came across Diplowinn.

I tried Googling for this and didn't come up with much in the way of reviews or game reports. I want to know whether Diplowinn has any problems compared to the original. In particular, does this version result in draws more or less frequently.

Also the description says that stabbing is more attractive in this variant. Is that the case, and does it consequently feel nastier to play?

Judging by the lack of references on the internet I'm not too expectant of a good answer, and so I'll endeavour to play this variant the next time I get a chance.

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    I've never played it, but it seems like it gives a huge advantage to whoever has an early lead. This would make it very hard for a coalition to take them out, which to me ruins the entire purpose of Diplomacy. You might as well just say that whoever is leading in 1904 wins.
    – bwarner
    May 10, 2012 at 19:55

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Hello @tttppp from 5+ years later!,

I actually called my buddies up to try this variant after seeing your question as the variant looked intersting. Our game lasted about 3 hours (around a table) and was very satisfying as we often stop games around 1910 due to stalemates. It is necessary to note that Italy and Turkey (countries that usually turtle until their neighbors get invaded) were easily overran when they ended up trapped with 4 Supply Centers. It was relatively easy for England to solo the game in 1906 as he did not require too many troops to defend. And those that did, were fleets in the Atlantic which doubled as offensive fleets. Stabbing was very common in our game as you run out of nearby SCs to pick up. Based on the game we played, I would say it would be less likely to see a draw when powers such as the conservative 2-4 SC players get eliminated slowly.

I know this answer comes 5 years after your question but I hope it helps!

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    Thank you for this answer! It is indeed about five years too late for the event I planned, but never-the-less really interesting to read about your findings. A three hour variant sounds pretty good to me, even if it's less balanced than the original!
    – tttppp
    Jun 14, 2017 at 18:08

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