There aren't any that I know of:
http://www.variantbank.org/articles.htm

The only information is here:
http://www.variantbank.org/results/rules/w/worlddip9.htm

Other than that, I've only found mirrors of the same information, which may be out of date:
http://diplom.org/Online/variants/world-dn2.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20031209143815/http://www.execulink.com/~ravgames2/dipmaps/info_world3.htm

Also:
http://www.ellought.demon.co.uk/variants.htm#World

I started one once, but yeah.....

I'll post a few thoughts later tonight when I have time. I've never seen a strategy guide for World but I've played a fair amount of games and most of the countries at this point.

thanks really appreciated.

Am flying blind a bit.

If you're playing World Gunboat, we did a ton of analysis on the forums a year or so back. It was the 17/17 Tournament, I believe.

I don't know about all the countries, but I can tell you about Argentina pretty well. You start off with a choice: go to war with Brazil or ally with Brazil. If you ally with Brazil, split South America up evenly and put the fleet from Chile into helping dedicate colonization of North America. You're also gonna want to move into Antarctica pretty quickly. What's very typical, however, is waging war with Brazil. In both cases, you're gonna want to talk to South Africa since they have the fleet in Sanae, and they are likely to start attacking you otherwise. If you wage war with Brazil, your job is to talk South Africa out of the fight for your continent. DMZ Southwest Atlantic since neither of you need it unless you are attacking each other. And talk up all the countries in North America, they also typically try to come into your continent, and they are impossible to fend off if Argentina and Brazil aren't allied or cooperating. You need to make sure you have control of Colombia quickly. That center has large amounts of strategic importance in fighting Brazil. You're also going to want to finish off Brazil quickly so that you can see about a piece of North America and definitely some part of Antarctica. From there, it's all you. To open, putting your army in Mendoza, one fleet into Peru, and the other into West Atlantic is a great move. Peru can either bounce or gain Colombia, and you pick up a center either way. Mendoza will bounce or pick up Uruguay, and that can be an advance against Brazil if you manage it. West Atlantic, if you manage to make it in, borders 3 SCs, 2 of which belong to Brazil. That position is threatening enough to scare Brazil out of moving to Uruguay to protect their own centers. There you go.

I haven't played as all the nations, but many are fun. Argentina has been taken care of, but playing as China offers something very different. A competent India and/or Pacific Russia is your biggest threat. I personally like to wrap up Pacific Russia quickly and go southward towards India /Oz. Otherwise, open aggressively into Lanzhou towards Bangladesh/Indian Home SC. Japan needs to be yours fast, or you're already getting a slow start. Starting conflict and a bounce between Oz and India in the first turn is a great idea.

Playing as Frozen Antarctica and Oz are pretty straightforward. Most of the time, it's war between the two. The home SC's are just positioned poorly for attacking anywhere else first. After wiping out one, move onto the closest SC cluster (Southeast Asia or Southern Africa, maybe Argentina).

Europe offers a very interesting position. It isn't very strong at first, but can be potent. I haven't had great success with it, but aggressively attacking the Near East and then North Africa works well and helps with fending off Russia. Diplomacy is a necessity here. It's best if Ghana and Libya are fighting, and Near East and India are fighting. Grab SC's fast, and you may be okay even if you can't hold them. Russia is your biggest direct threat.

Western Canada is particularly strong. It is one of the strongest nations on the map, second to perhaps Kenya. Securing Alaska and the Northwest are good ideas, and usually bouncing around against Quebec works well. The United States is a bit weak with multiple angles to cover and one unit generally moves south for a SC in the first year, strengthening WC in terms of position. If you can make peace with Pacific Russia and cause conflict between USA and Quebec, you'll be in great shape.

For Quebec, peace with Brazil is good, and causing conflict between Argentina and Brazil will keep Brazil out of the Atlantic. Grabbing Godthab in year one is standard, and WC often poses the biggest threat. If you survive and are one of the two North American nations left, wipe out the other one. Moving into South America is fairly common, but moving into Europe is also another route, as England can be left undefended.

USA requires strong diplomacy to ensure you aren't off to a slow start and that none of your North American rivals grow too quickly. Of course, start trouble with Quebec and WC, and Argentina and Brazil. It's hard with multiple openings and paths to take, but focus on one path and grow from there. WC and Quebec are most lethal to you, so take them out fast. Brazil is a curious ally here, as he can either take your centers or take Quebec's.

Kenya usually takes out South Africa first, and having 3 units versus 2 units often sets Kenya up to a strong start. The African continent has a good cluster of SC, making Kenya a nation that grows quickly. Stall Libya with either the Near East or Ghana and take Mozambique in the first couple of years. Beware of India. Beyond that, just go.

South Africa is a difficult one. Secure friendship with 2 of the following: Kenya, Frozen Antarctica, or Argentina. You'll be racing FA to the South Pole, and racing Kenya to gain a secure foothold in Africa. Ghana will also be very wary of your fleets. Diplomacy is key.

Ghana is a decent power. It can also grow quickly, if South Africa and Europe are not extremely ambitious. A 3 SC build in the first year is fairly common. If you can outmaneuver Libya, you're off to a great start. Watch out for South Africa and his fleets. That one ocean tile can be the end of your empire. Europe may seem weak, but is deadly when controlling the Mediterranean. Stir up trouble with Europe/Russia and South Africa/Kenya.

Libya is tough, but is surrounded by SC's. Like USA, pick a direction to focus on. In fact, you have even more options. Use diplomacy as your best friend, and talk to everyone. Someone is bound to figure things out about the 5 nations near you. Personally I like to befriend the Near East at first while limiting Ghana or Kenya. Both are big threats when they grow quickly. Figure out global politics quickly to figure out which one is off to a faster start.

Near East is a nation that is odd. No fleets at the start. Therefore, immediate weakness to Europe's Italian fleet and fights over Afghanistan and Armenia. Libya is too close for comfort, but your strongest ally in the first few years. Pick a direction and focus on it. Beware of India, as India can grow too quickly with Chinese/Pacific-Russian conflicts. As much as you may want Libya out, having Libya out means a stronger Kenya and that's not good either.

Russia can get 3 SC often as well. Scandinavia is fairly easy to secure. However, you may or may not get Armenia and Pacific Russia may be a pain. Europe is weak at first, so watch out. Near East is not much of a threat with an isthmus to attack you through. Beware of Pacific Russia and watch his builds. That will give away his plans. My advice is to attack Europe, although Europe can also be a good ally. Far enough away and a useful ally in breaking the isthmus that holds you back from the Near East.

Oh darn. Forgot Pacific Russia. With Pacific Russia, I like to befriend Russia and go for China. Make sure Russia is going for Europe though. Going for China will allow you to focus on Russia or India afterwards. China will inevitably build many fleets, and is also one of your greatest threats. A potent ally if chosen, China can provide a buffer against India, but it may be costly if you can't get builds. The Chinese Coast is one of the closest SC clusters nearby. Land travel is too slow and obvious. Eliminating China will allow you to build fleets and gain convoy chains to the Americas, or India.

As Brazil, similar play style as Argentina. Unfortunately, no SC on west side of South America. Either ally or go to war with Argentina. If you ally, head north and eat the American/Quebec SC cluster. Grabbing a home SC is a sneaky first year move. Make sure to split South America evenly with Argentina. Against all logic, grab the SCs in the northern half of the continent first if you want to wage war. It will give you the builds necessary to attack, seize, and hold the Argentine SC's. After defeating Argentina, commonly seen is an attack on North America. You can also go to Antarctica, but that proves less fruitful with less dense a SC cluster. Moving to Africa is hard with the African coastline providing plenty of spaces for support and is not advised.

Wow, quite the bag of worms you're digging into and even then you can only go so deep into customized strategies by country since (in my opinion) playing the players rather the geography is a much more worthwhile approach and when it comes to that it's all about adapting to the situation.

Here's my high level recommendations for playing this game.

First, just like in classic diplomacy games focus on local competition first and to do well with that just make sure you need to focus on your diplomatic relations and just make sure you're on the majority side when it comes to alliances. Similar to regular games where if you're (say) England you want to make sure you're allied with at least one of France or Germany or better yet both and take your pick of wars you do the exact same thing here. If you're China then don't be odd man out between you, Pac-Russia, and India; if you're Brazil try to get either Antarctica or South Africa on your side, and so on. The more friends the better. Little by little your relevant world expands so just make sure you've got relationships build as you need them.

Grow methodically and plug all your major vulnerabilities. Ever country has key weak spots that are critical to take control of, often they're waterways. Northern countries should put a lot of energy into holding Arctic Circle, Med Sea is pretty critical, NorthEast Indian. It doesn't always require a bloody battle to secure these locations, the right alliances and well maintained DMZ's can really take a lot of pressure off and free up a lot of forces that otherwise would be stuck in defending mode. USA and Brazil with one fleet each in NW and West Atlantic Ocean and peace treaties throughout the Caribbean/Sea of Mexico is a pretty sweet place to be.

Always think about your convoy lines. As you get later into the game you're going to really want to transport your guys around as quickly and easily as possible. It's not easy for India to pump armies into South America, but with four fleets in the right oceans you can certainly do it. Convoys become extremely important in the end game stages so you're going to want to put thought into it and make sure you eventually have control of the best routes and do your best to break up your competitions routes.

World Dip IX games really take lot of patience, but there's a very very good chance in these games just being persistent and a good communicator is going to get you pretty far. There's almost always one or two people who come in thinking they can play as individuals, and they get knocked out very early instantly clearing some of the playing field. There's almost always NMR's or surrenders at some point in the game which with the right luck you'll get to capitalize on it before your competition does and if not maybe time to start advertising for a replacement as quickly as possible. Also good advice is to keep an eye on the people who you can tell are growing weary of the game and befriend them strongly, there's very often opportunity for apathetic players to throw their territories to players they like just for the sake of moving on from the game and likewise you'll see some countries just suicide themselves into players they didn't like just for a dramatic exit. Try to influence that to your advantage.

That's all i got, hope it helps. Good luck!

Wow. You put it so much more succinctly.

But I still stand by what I said. As much as players can change alliances and outcomes, geography remains the same. Oz will always be a threat to FA and vice versa simply based on geography. Doesn't mean that they can't ally.

DISLCAIMER: Most of what I said are personal preferences and noticed tendencies among World games. There is no right alliance or guarantees in diplomacy. As I said, I haven't played all the nations, but those are my preferences when playing them and tips in terms of what I've seen.

Some people like to open north as Russia, some like to open south. Neither one is distinctively better than the other and it's up to the player to make it succeed.

The thoughts below are from gunboat perspective.

Argentina - Destroy Brazil and establish a foothold in Antarctica early. Then expand North. Argentina is a good draw as it has an advantage against Brazil the way the units are positioned to start.

Brazil - Hope you guess well against Argentina repeatedly and don't get hit in Venezuela by a fleet in Northwest Atlantic. Brazil sucks unless you somehow manage to get the upper hand early against Argentina, then it can be strong and should follow same approach as Argentina.

China - Mediocre draw. Generally easy to get upper hand vs Pac Russia but a competent India will do the same to you. If India makes mistakes you can do well. Lanzhou is a key province to take/hold if you want to survive early. If you can survive the early game China can be a force in mid game with easy access to the Pacific sea zones.

Europe - Similar draw to Brazil with Russia in the role of Argentina. If Russia is played competently you are in trouble and will need a lot of good guesswork to survive early on and get builds. You also often have to defend the Mediterranean against attacks from Ghana and/or Near East. If you survive the initial Russian assault and manage to neutralize him, then Europe can be a strong draw in the mid game and endgame with access to Med and Atlantic.

Frozen Antarctica - take out Oz and build an army early to get control of South Pole. Secure the rest of Antarctica and then expand north into Africa or SE Asia. Decent draw.

Ghana - My personal favorite draw. Strong position with easy access for fleets, weak Libyan neighbor and early control of East Atlantic Ocean. If you can get a fleet into Algeria and then take Med you are off to the races. Only downside is that Kenya also often gets strong early which can slow your expansion.

India - can almost always guarantee 2 and often 3 builds in year 1 just by moving East towards China and Thailand. I find that India usually gets off to a fast start but can get stalled in the mid game, especially if Kenya or one of Oz/Frozen Antarctica moves fleets northward. Overall a strong draw due to advantageous early position vs China and few natural enemies.

Kenya - a strong draw as Kenya is poised to knock South Africa out early due to the 3 vs 2 advantage if you leave Libya alone early. That is usually the approach I take as it can also payoff with Libya slowing Ghana early. Africa has lots of SC so getting control of the continent and then expanding east puts you in a good spot. Ghana also often gets strong early, so your biggest challenge will be gaining upper hand vs him.

Libya - Pray. Near East and Europe might not attack you if you are lucky but Ghana and Kenya are almost certain to early if not immediately and they have significant advantages due to unit placement at start and position of SCs. Worst draw in the game in my opinion.

Near East - not sure I have ever played this one. Lack of fleets leaves you vulnerable to Europe in Med and Armenia and Saudi Arabia are both bottlenecks, which is good for defense but bad for expansion. Seems like a tough draw as only real avenue for early expansion is towards India but India almost always gets 2-3 builds in year one.

Oz - A poor draw, start out at a disadvantage vs. Frozen Antarctica and India often ends up with a fleet nearby that can hit you at any time. Best chance is to hope that FrA player is incompetent or NMRs.

Pacific Russia - Hope that Russia and/or China NMR early. Otherwise this draw sucks. Almost as bad as Libya, but a little easier to stay alive a few extra turns.

Quebec - a decent draw which turns into a great draw if USA sends the army in Texas at Western Canada instead of you. Try to establish an upper hand against Western Canada early on and then expand South and East. I find that sending two units at Manitoba/Hudson Bay pays off better than taking Godthab in year one sometimes.

Russia - take West Siberia on first move with support and then leave Pac Russia alone while you beat up on Europe. Once you have Europe under control, build Northern fleets and move East into Pac Russia and West into Godthab. This is one of the best draws, only downside is that it can be tough to get fleets south quickly.

South Africa - try to hold your own against Kenya early. The split forces make this a bit of a tough draw, but if you can survive early the ability to build in both Africa and Antarctica comes in handy.

USA - Weakest of the 3 North American nations the way units are spread out at start. If you can survive early being able to

Western Canada - very similar to Quebec, try to gain control of Manitoba early and then Hudson Bay. If the USA army in Texas moves towards Quebec instead of you then you should do very well. After defeating Quebec, usually move into pacific and go after Pac Russia and/or China (Arctic Ocean is a vital sea zone to control as well). Often there will be an opportunity to move into South America early as well.

Also I think the thread Tasnica mentioned is
http://webdiplomacy.net/forum.php?threadID=1041128&page-thread=1#threadPager

I think that tourney was before I joined the site but I would definitely be up for it if we could somehow get 17 interested players.

Gunboat World IX is most definitely a different flavour of game, so definitely geography plays a lot more into it. I would have to imagine they are likely plagued with even more NMR's/surrenders then the full press one's.

They definitely are. Most World games don't ever finish in a flat out win, and most draws include 4-7 people. These games are too drawn out (sheer size of map) and commitment is hard to count on when there are so many people.

It's only really a slight majority of draws in the 4-7 range but outcomes are still pretty across the board. Having just looked at the most recent 30 finished games there were the outcomes:

Solo's=8
2-way draw=0
3-way draw=5
4-way draw=6
5-way draw=5
6-way draw=3
7-way draw=1
8-way draw=0
9-way draw=1
14-way draw=1

That means 43% end in a three-way or better (26% of which are solos) and 46% fall in the 4-7 range.

Sorry. I was just estimating. Perhaps 3-6 would be a better range.

*hattip* to these gentlemen for making a pretty awesome on-the-spot strategic overview!