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Designer’s
Notes
I
believe that to be a valid variant, the variant must introduce more
than just a new map. It must offer some new tactical consideration,
and some fundamental change from the original. On these counts,
War in North America offers some interesting aspects to consider.
Firstly,
War in North America is a 6 player variant—something to play when
you can’t find that 7th player for Diplomacy but you
don’t want an unoccupied position. Secondly, the layout of the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans create a map without Diplomacy’s infamous
“Witches”. The Canadians and Mexicans are at the top and bottom
of the board, but the layout of the map ensures that they must deal
with more than one front. Finally, there is a new/unique province:
“Cape Horn”. Because there is no canal at Panama, ships following
a southerly passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific (or vice-versa)
must leave the board and journey round the Cape.
Standard
European Diplomacy is a balanced game, but perhaps Austria-Hungary
has the most difficult position to play. Because of my special
fondness for historical accuracy, in this designer’s opinion this
slight imbalance is quite proper, as Austria-Hungary did not survive
the Great War. Similarly, in War in North America, the Indians,
Texans and Confederates are perhaps faced with a more difficult
task than the Canadians, Union or the Mexicans. However, if all
players are aware of a positions inherent weaknesses, less pressure
is brought to bear on weaker positions, thereby strengthening these
positions to equality.
One
of my goals with this variant was to be as geographically and historically
accurate as possible, while still achieving a playable, enjoyable
game. Abe Lincoln was determined to maintain the Union, and never
considered permitting a peaceful secession with the Confederates,
even though many Federals and Rebels longed for a peaceful separation.
Unlike Austria and Italy—who are probably best off co-existing and
cooperating from the outset—I purposely designed the map so that
in the long term, the Union cannot suffer an independent CSA. I
tried to remain geographically true, and a few provinces might need
a little explanation.
Cincinnati
Cincinnati
is designed to illustrate how the Ohio River is a convenient 19th
Century highway from Pennsylvania to Missouri.
Natural
Boundaries
The
provinces between the Plains and the West Coast indicate the difficulty
of crossing the Rockies, while Gadsden doubles both as the “pass”
where Interstate 40 now runs as well as the location of the actual
Gadsden Purchase. The Bayou is an obvious natural boundary between
New Orleans and Galveston, just as the Badlands are a natural buffer
between the Great Plains and the Canadian heartland. Upstate is
surely separate from Boston and NYC because of the Alleghenies.
Canada
South of the St. Lawrence River
New
Englanders and Some Eastern Canadians will notice the absence of
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island north of New
England. In some iterations of this game we have had a province
there. If you add a province north of New England, it clutters
the map, but adds little to the game. No matter which name you
choose, it adds a lot of letters in a small space right beside the
already crammed “Gulf of St. Lawrence”.
NorthWest
Passage
Also
missing from Canada and the Great North are the islands between
the Baffin Bay and the Bering Sea. But adding Baffin Island, Victoria
Island, Ellesmere Island and others adds nothing to the game, as
these islands would be “impassible”. The Beaufort Sea, Bering Sea
and Baffin Bay were almost impassible to wooden ships of the era,
but when you figure that it takes 2 and a half years of game-time
for a fleet to move from the Davis Strait to the Pacific Ocean,
this is probably not entirely unrealistic.
Matagora
Bay
Matagora
Bay is exaggerated in size, but not so much in effect, as the line
of thin islands along Texas’ Coast separates these waters from the
Gulf of Mexico.
Seattle,
Washington
In
the game California is a U.S. possession at gamestart. California
and Oregon were both U.S. States at the start of the Civil War.
However, you may notice that California is actually California plus
Oregon. Seattle, Washington is labeled Oregon. The map is designed
so that Mexican, Indian and Canadian interests collide in the Pacific
NorthWest, and that’s why there are only 2 provinces for these three
states. I did not choose the name “Washington” because in areas
where European-American dominance was not already established, I
tried to select Native names. (For example, there is no British
Columbia, Alberta or Montana.) I did not choose to name the province
Seattle because Diplomacy has a naming convention whereby home centers
are cities and other supply centers are regions or countries.
City
Centers
Of
course, I broke this convention in New Orleans. While I had no
problem labeling Jacksonville as Florida, I couldn’t name New Orleans
“Louisiana” because the Bayou (half of Louisiana) was its own separate
province. Boston was left as is for two reasons: Massachusetts
is too many letters to fit near that small province, but also because
in some variations of the game, Boston has been a Union build center.
Southern
Supply Centers
My
apologies to residents of Atlanta, Raleigh or Charlotte; I selected
Savannah as the name for this province for several reasons, both
personal and historical. Unlink Atlanta, Savannah has no abbreviation
conflicts and is a port (a pretty important one at the time). No
disrespect intended to the other contenders, but I love Savannah’s
Southern charm, which is well preserved down by the River, and Savannah
(not Charlotte or Raleigh) was Sherman’s goal in his push to the
sea.
Jackson
won out over Mobile for two reasons. Firstly, we had a “Mobile
Bay” body of water on the map and I tried to avoid possible abbreviation
conflicts. (I liked Mobile Bay because there was a Civil War naval
battle in Mobile Bay, but the game is probably better off without
Mobile Bay.) Secondly, Grant’s battles in Shiloh and Vicksburg
were efforts to ultimately capture Jackson—not Mobile.
Capital
Cities?
Austin
and Washington D.C. are not on the map for similar reasons: the
infrastructures in these cities were not well developed in 1860.
These cities were not crucial to the regions where they are located.
Obviously Philadelphia was a much more important city for the Union
than Washington, though Abraham Lincoln was obsessed with keeping
Washington in Union hands. (It is fortunate that the U.S. capital
was moved from New York to Washington D.C., because Maryland and
Delaware would have surely seceded were it not for Lincoln’s decisive
maneuvers to take and hold these states.
Delaware
is a small state, but was home to one of the New World’s largest
gunpowder factories. If Maryland and Delaware had joined the Confederacy,
Kentucky may have went Southern. If Kentucky, Maryland and Delaware
had rebelled, Ohio may well have followed Virginia’s example and
split into North Ohio and South Ohio. (Cincinnati is farther south
than Alexandria Virginia, Robert E. Lee’s hometown.)
I
hope you enjoy playing this game and I look forward to hearing about
your exploits. Feel free to drop me an email.
Will
Nesbitt
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