If all nations had an equal force of 50/50, then sure, why not?

However, nations like Austria are heavily army dependent and England is fleet dependent. It wouldn't make things interesting, tbh.

When you say "move" do you mean just movements? Can units provide supports whenever they want, even if they are in a "no move" phase?

Is this a "all rights reserved" copyright?

This idea is kind of awesome.

What would make it go from "kind of awesome" to "really awesome"?

I'm afraid this is pants. Besides retarded's apt comments, you remove convoys from the game, so England would never have an army outside of England. You could hardly ever get a Russian F out if the Black Sea, etc etc. It makes movement more difficult so the game would slower and more awkward. Try it on a dry runthrough.

This would certainly make anyone who is in a position to convoy have a huge advantage. Germany would take Sweden 100% of the time. Russia would grab Rum 100% of the time. Actually, Russia would just lose the north 100% of the time. It would also make the whole game terribly slow and terribly unbalanced

I assume that you can still convoy, but the move order is disabled.

Ill expand the idea:

Every year a random temporary modifier/rule comes into play. On the start of the next diplomatic phase, the modifier/rule is removed and a new one is introduced. The next modifier/rule can be announced to make others prepare and think, or be hidden to surprise everyone.

A modifier could be this variant suggested here, but also many others. While it may not be interesting to play a whole game with this new rule, it could be interesting/silly to see it in play for just one year, along with the other shenanigans that could happen.

Another modifier that'd be fun is that at the start of the next build phase, all units are destroyed and must be rebuilt. All claimed SC are untouched.

Or another chaotic modifier could be that every player gets one additional army/fleet. The kicker is that these armies/fleets are randomly built on unused non-sc territory. The temporary unit only lasts for the year.

I think this Chaotic Variant could play well and produce a lot of enjoyment.

@retardedarcher: So what's the problem? I don't see a problem with army heavy and fleet heavy powers, it just makes it more interesting. You could balance more than normal, or less.. Lots of options, will be less stalemate-y I think.

@OB: Uhm I'd say all orders except convoy would be spring for fleets and fall for armies. So yeah, that means armies and fleets can't support move eachother in practice, changing most of the game.

@goldfinger: Hmm maybe army first, fleet second is better then? Solves the specific issues you mentioned.

@Tru Ninja: Uhh sure, just ask nicely :-)

@Steephie22: It's a cute idea, but it doesn't enhance gameplay as much as you think it does. It limits choice and the map isn't balanced for it.

steephie - no matter which order you do, England will always be the only nation not to receive an SC in 1901. Makes France and Germany far too powerful

It's not supposed to enhance. I think it would be fun to play as a variant, with a simple gentleman's agreement to follow the rules.

@gold: Maybe England doesn't need a build the first year, because it takes two years to get to England for France for instance. England simply has a more isolated position.

Italy probably gets 0 as well, the rest only one.

About 1000 other problems just sprang to mind, but some of them are interesting, I suppose.

Italy is guaranteed Tunis with the convoy

Not if armies move first.
Only adjacent territories can be reached in the first year since all fleets start on land and as such, they can't convoy.

Another option is that a fleet can convoy in Spring, but then it can't move in Fall.

Not sure if that's better

make it where people could choose: only move fleets that turn or move only armies that turn. not both

That'd be pretty wicked also..

But then there would be no convoys...

How about three choices: only order fleets, only order armies or only order convoys?

And maybe you have to pick a different option in Fall but maybe that's not good.

Once you start adding rules to make a variant work, eventually it dies under it's own complications, rather like the addition of epicycles to the circular orbits given the planets, which, when observation did not match calculation astronomers even added epicycles to the epicycles... Keep it elegant, keep it simple and try and make it worth playing.

Let me give an example. If you wanted to add a random complication factor, to the standard game try

Missing Orders Diplomacy
0. Standard rules apply, except where stated below.
1. Each move a player may only order N units where N = T - T/3. (N = Number, T = Total units).
2. The calculation us rounded up for fractions as per the English method.

Explication: Fractions higher than 0.5 = 1; 0.5 and smaller fractions = 0. So Russia at the start would order only 3 units, other countries 2. Thus, if you have 7 units you can only order 5 of them! Simple and straightforward.

What's complicated about either ordering fleets, armies or convoys though?

Steephie, it's simple the way you put it, but the too restricting. Problems are expounded above. You are going to have to add other rules in order to make it more playable; that's where the complication comes in. Why not play a game through by yourself under your rules, mocking up some orders to see what happens!

Actually, one possible way round it would be to order only armies or fleets in alternate years in Spring, and both in Fall, that way you free things up, but still present the player with restricted choices and a need to plan ahead.

I haven't heard any problems for that last idea. Not that it's been around for long but still.

What problems does it have?

I have to go to sleep, mon vieux. But I was mainly addressing the original idea. I don't have time to think it through again, but I'm sure others will respond. It woul help if you pull the threads out though... do you mean the player chooses which of the three he can do, or do all players have the same choice on the same move? G'night!

I dunno if the mods would mind if I make yet another thread?