I'm confused by the existing game: one player has 6 points, everyone else has 5, but the site says you start with 100.
(Also, it doesn't seem particularly anonymous for the points to be displayed.)
The worth in points means relative to the pot in that game, in terms of supply centers owned.
So we all paid 5 points to enter (thus people starting with 100 have 95 left), and the "worth" is calculated based on our relative power in the game. The sum will always be 35+/-1 for rounding. Currently Russia has 6 points because they have 4 SCs while everyone else has 3. Once we conquer all neutral SCs, the worth will pretty much be equal to SC count.
Now that you understand it, you can safely ignore it since those actual values mean nothing for a game like this (a winner-takes-all, and everyone shares equally in a draw).
Related: Diplomacy as a Game Theory Laboratory by Yvain.
I've been floating this idea around for a while, and there was enough interest to organize it.
Diplomacy is a board game of making and breaking alliances. It is a semi-iterative prisoner's dilemma with 7 prisoners. The rules are very simple, there is no luck factor and any tactical tricks can be learned quickly. You play as one of the great powers in pre-WW1 Europe, and your goal is to dominate over half of the board. To do this, you must negotiate alliances with the other players, and then stab them at the most opportune moment. But beware, if you are too stabby, no one will trust you. And if you are too trusting, you will get stabbed yourself.
If you have never played the game, don't worry. It is really quick to pick up. I explain the rules in detail here.
The game will (most likely) be played at webdiplomacy.net. You need an account, which requires a valid email. To play the game, you will need to spend at least 10 minutes every phase (3 days) to enter your orders. In the meantime, you will be negotiating with other players. That takes as much as you want it to, but I recommend setting away at least 30 minutes per day (in 5-minute quantums). A game usually lasts about 10 in-game years, which comes down to 30-something phases (60-90 days). A phase can progress early if everyone agrees. Likewise, the game can be paused indefinitely if everyone agrees (e.g. if a player will not have Internet access).
Joining a game is Serious Business, as missing a deadline can spoil it for the other 6 players. Please apply iff:
If you still wish to play, please sign up in the comments. Please specify the earliest time it would suit you for the game to start. If we somehow get more than 7 players, we'll discuss our options (play a variant with more players, multiple games, etc).
See also: First game of LW Diplomacy
Well, the interest is there, so I've set up two games.
Game 1: http://webdiplomacy.net/board.php?gameID=164863 (started!)
Game 2: http://webdiplomacy.net/board.php?gameID=164912 (started! First phase will be extended to end on the 4th of August)
Password: clippy
Please note a couple important rules of the webdiplomacy.net website: