Diplomacy is a strategic board game in which seven players compete for military control.
The rules are very simplistic, as everything has been diluted down to the bare.
minimum. But the game itself is very complex, as it focusses on secret discussions.
between players to make plans, deals, threats, and lies. This makes for a very exciting,.
turbulent game. The Diplomacy Programming Project (DPP) aims to develop a complete.
Diplomacy-playing software package. There are many difficulties to be overcome first,.
though. Not only are seven-players games extremely complex, as seven different minds.
control the progress of the game, but the simplicity of the rules mean that a human player.
can easily gain a good mental grasp of a game position, so the computer cannot hope to.
beat him by simple number crunching. Another obvious difficulty that the DPP faces is.
the problem of diplomacy. Understanding what other players say, determining which.
things are relevant, calculating what you should say, and translating that into prose are all.
very tough problems in the field of Natural Language Processing. The first clear step is to.
develop an artificial language to capture the variety of things which may need to be said.
in the game of Diplomacy. The DPP has produced a "protocol" with this aim in mind.
Unfortunately, the protocol, as it stands, is unsatisfactory. .
All warfare is based on deception. Therefore, when capable of attacking, feign.
incapacity; when active in moving troops, feign inactivity. When near the enemy, make it.
seem that you are far away; when far away, make it seem that you are near. Hold out.
baits to lure the enemy. Strike the enemy when he is in disorder. Prepare against the.
enemy when he is secure at all points. Avoid the enemy for the time being when he is.
stronger. If your opponent is of choleric temper, try to irritate him. If he is arrogant, try to.
encourage his egotism. If the enemy troops are well prepared after reorganization, try to.