Forum: boardgames.stackexchange.com
Tags: <diplomacy><play-time>
Title: How long does it take to play Diplomacy?
Question: I guess this varies a lot from game to game, but I've seen everything from 120 to 360 minutes, and wondered where the average lies.  If it's closer to 360, I don't think I will bother to buy it. I know how rarely Axis & Allies is taken out of its box...

Answers:
sents: text: Odds are that you're not going to want to get it (which is tragic, as it's a great game), since it's a long-play game.
text: I've found that a game typically takes 4 hours or more.
text: Interestingly, new player groups and experienced player groups will typically take about the same amount of time.
text: New players take time because they're figuring out the rules, but they're not going to be nearly as Machiavellian.
text: Experienced players take time because they're creating plots within plots and being devious, which leads to protracted engagements on multiple fronts.
text: If you really want to make a game of Diplomacy cruise along, I recommend the following: 1)
text: Have an experienced player resolve all orders at the end of each turn.
text: That helps speed things along.
text: 2) Set a solid time limit for each turn, like five minutes.
text: Five minutes is very long for the first three or four turns, but by the eighth turn it's barely enough time to write your orders.
text: Yes, setting a time limit impairs your ability to engage in negotiations, but it'll make the game end in a reasonable amount of time.
text: Another option: Play in one-hour (or two-hour) sessions.
text: Leave the board set up between sessions.
text: Long ago, I made a copy of the board, mounted it on foam-core, and stuck color-coded push-pins in it to "save" the state of the board between games.
text: Something nice about this is that you can do all the diplomacy and negotiation you want to, and you can engage in diplomacy between games.
text: That's a big part of Diplomacy (go figure), and can make for a really fun experience.
answer_details: author: boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/612/invisiblejon
score: 11
sents: text: I would say that its about 5 hours on average.
text: Its not that the game ends at that point so much as the game is agreed to be a foregone conclusion by that point, even when it might not have been, due to fatigue/disillusionment from the players :P.
answer_details: author: boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/71/GWLlosa
score: 4
sents: text: As mentioned in other answers, 4-5 hours is an accurate average length.
text: I'd also go as far to say that 1/2 of all games are never 'officially' complete - more often a leading player and assumed winner is agreed upon.
text: I'd argue strongly that neither points detract from the game
text: , it's length and involvement is half the fun - but if you don't feel you have that sort of time to invest, it may be worth avoiding.
text: It's worth pointing out that Diplomacy has a lot less pieces to wrestle with than Axis & Allies and to a certain extent, an easier ruleset to learn.
text: Its slow point is diplomacy, which is easier to tweak, rather than the (very fiddly) physical move phases of Axis & Allies.
answer_details: author: boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/73/Jon Hadley
score: 3
sents: text: As the consensus opinion is: yes, it definitely will take you a whole day to get through a game of Diplomacy - why not play it as a PBM (or PBEM, or whatever kids are calling it these days) instead?
text: Just because something comes with a physical board doesn't mean you have to gather your friends and sit round a table.
text: A Diplomacy game is quite an undertaking, but you needn't complete it in one gruelling sitting.
text: Amortize the endless wrangling and backroom deals over a period of weeks - the thrill of finally backstabbing your "dearest allies" will stay just as sweet!
answer_details: author: boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/436/thesunneversets
score: 3
sents: text: My experiences have been varied, but much like @GWLlosa, I have found it to be, at a minimum, 5 hours.
text: We often take a weekend day - say a Saturday or a Friday holiday off of work - to play the game.
text: This way we can start around 10 AM, have lunch in the middle, dinner later and then stop whenever people are done.
text: It is a fun, quality game, just one I never plan on finishing.
text: That being said, I have heard of (but never been a part of) cut throat groups where the game goes much faster, but I think you have to have a group of people who are willing to backstab at the right times, and are willing to betray alliances for a win, something that tends to be less common amongst friends in my experience.
answer_details: author: boardgames.stackexchange.com/users/422/aperkins
score: 1

Summary of the answers:
An average length is 4-5 hours. Try taking a weekend to play the game.
4-5 hours is an accurate average length of the game. Many take a whole day to get through a game of Diplomacy and dedicate a weekend day to play the game with breaks in between.