# Diplomacy rule question - is this correct, or is my adjudicator bugged? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 12, 2004, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomacy-rule-question-is-this-correct-or-is-my-adjudicator-bugged/254687 "2004-07-12T12:49:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomacy-rule-question-is-this-correct-or-is-my-adjudicator-bugged/254687/1 "2004-07-12T12:49:30Z")
I’m currently gamemaster in a play by email game of Diplomacy among a few buddies. The following situation has occured: There are German armies in Gascony and Piedmont, a French army in Marseilles, a Turkish fleet in Gulf of Lyons and a Turkish army in Tuscany. Turkey and France are allied against Germany. Germany has ordered A Pied-Mar with support from Gas. France has ordered A Mar-Pied, and Turkey has submitted supports for this from GoL and Tus. My adjudicator software (usually reliable, but as every software not guaranteed to be bug-free) has come to the result of A Mar moving into Pied and dislodging the German army there (and disbanding it, since there were no empty provinces for retreat around). I’m not entirely convinced by this; there were no units bouncing A Pied out of Marseilles, and since units cannot switch provinces (A Mar-Pied, A Pied-Mar), wouldn’t this result in a stalemate, with no unit moving. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomacy-rule-question-is-this-correct-or-is-my-adjudicator-bugged/254687/2 "2004-07-12T12:50:50Z")
Oops, forgot the (albeit evident) question: Am I right, or is the software? ---
**Author:** ![Satyagrahi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@Satyagrahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satyagrahi)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomacy-rule-question-is-this-correct-or-is-my-adjudicator-bugged/254687/3 "2004-07-12T17:06:31Z")
If I read your description of the situation correctly… A Pied-Marseilles A Gas S A Pied-Marseilles A Marseilles-Pied A Tuscany S A Marseilles-Pied F GuflOfLyons S A Marseilles-Pied So… You’re got an attack with strength with a strength of 3 and an opposing attack with a strength of 2. The result is that the army in Marseilles enters Piedmont and the army in Piedmont is dislodged. What’s the problem? Or is there some unit involved? ---
**Author:** ![Satyagrahi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@Satyagrahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satyagrahi)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomacy-rule-question-is-this-correct-or-is-my-adjudicator-bugged/254687/4 "2004-07-12T17:08:28Z")
That should be: some \OTHER\ unit involved? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomacy-rule-question-is-this-correct-or-is-my-adjudicator-bugged/254687/5 "2004-07-12T17:24:46Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > There are German armies in Gascony and Piedmont, a French army in Marseilles, a Turkish fleet in Gulf of Lyons and a Turkish army in Tuscany. Turkey and France are allied against Germany. > > Germany has ordered A Pied-Mar with support from Gas. > France has ordered A Mar-Pied, and Turkey has submitted supports for this from GoL and Tus. > > My adjudicator software (usually reliable, but as every software not guaranteed to be bug-free) has come to the result of A Mar moving into Pied and dislodging the German army there (and disbanding it, since there were no empty provinces for retreat around). > > I’m not entirely convinced by this; there were no units bouncing A Pied out of Marseilles, and since units cannot switch provinces (A Mar-Pied, A Pied-Mar), wouldn’t this result in a stalemate, with no unit moving. I don’t understand what your last sentence means, especially ‘bouncing’. As Satyagrahi said, it’s a dislodgement by the better supported French move A Mar-Pied. Incidentally: - two units can’t exchange places, but 3 (or more) can. - if the support of one of the Turkish units had been cut, then it would indeed be a stalemate/standoff. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diplomacy-rule-question-is-this-correct-or-is-my-adjudicator-bugged/254687/6 "2004-07-12T18:25:07Z")
The adjudicator is correct. A Mar -\> Pie has 2 supports, and A Pie -\> Mar only has 1. What may be confusing you is usually supports for a move don’t help you defend a territory. For example, if France’s order was A Mar -\> **Bur** with two supports and that attack failed, the Germany attack from Pie would succeed since the supports given to the French attack don’t count for defense. However, this doesn’t apply when the two units are attacking **each other’s territories**. In that case the one with the higher number of supports wins.