A Game Called Diplomacy

When I was in London at S.O.A.S. studying with Noel Coulson and others in the Law School, way back when, some of us would gather on the occasional weekend for a board game. My favorite was the game of Diplomacy. (It could more accurately have been called Diplomacy and War, but that would have discouraged the more peace-minded from playing.)

The fun, to me, was in the diplomacy conducted in half-hour segments wherein deception had a major role as the players moved amongst themselves, making and breaking alliances in order to advance specific goals to gain control of the board.

Once the timer clanged to inform us that the diplomacy segment had ended, all moves on the board were made simultaneously. Many feathers were ruffled, of course, and some egos did not easily bear the double and triple-dealing, but the great food and company kept most of our group together.

Over time, I found myself looking at seasonal goings-on in the Middle East as if it was a board game: winter and summer diplomacy, spring and fall moves. Now? War, war, war. Where's the jar, jar, jar?