Avalon Hill Machiavelli Board Game - Historical-Strategy - 4-8 Players - Ages 14+

I haven't played this game in years, but it is a gem. Essentially, this game is very similar to Diplomacy, though it takes place in renaissance Italy as opposed to all of Europe. There are several different factions, including the Papal States and the Turks, though as I recall you really need about six players to make this game fun. Machiavelli is a game of negotiation and backstabbing as no player is powerful enough to win on his own and must gain allies. Yet, as soon as you start to take the lead, your allies will turn on you to prevent your victory, so you must forge new alliances. Players alternate between negotiation sessions, then each write down the moves for their various armies, navies, and garrisons, then reveal them simultaneously. In this way, you can tell someone you are going to help them, but at the critical moment you can stab them in the back. Some of the key differences between Machiavelli and Diplomacy, I recall, are first of all the garrisons. This is a unit that remains in a city to protect it even as armies march around it. You can transform your armies and navies into garrisons one turn, then the next turn you can transform them into whichever unit you wish. This is cool because it means that throughout the game you are not stuck with armies when you need navies, and vice versa. As one player plays the role of the Pope, he can excommunicate any player in the game, or declare a Crusade against the Turk. This presents potential disincentives for talking to the ex-ed player. Also, the game introduces random events like the plague, which can wipe out military units in certain cities. Because of this, Machiavelli is a bit more random than Diplomacy, but it also ensures that it is not just a carbon copy of Diplomacy with a new skin. If you like highly strategic games, or if you are a fan of Diplomacy, it might be worth the money for this out of print title. Hopefully, before too long, Fantasy Flight Games, Wizards of the Coast, Mayfair Games, or some other big company will acquire the rights to this game and give it the new edition it deserves.