In desperate need of a diplomacy-based strategy game

[SirPlindington]

When I play civilization sims (Is that what you'd call them? I don't really know), be they 4X Space Games or more grounded, I tend to take the more diplomatic route. I prefer peace and technology to warmaking. Call it an aversion to fighting, call it a desperate plea for peace in a war-torn age, but mostly just call me crap at it. Diplomacy, trade and culture, on the other hand, are things I can usually do pretty well, and I enjoy building my civilizations around those a lot more. But a lot of civilization games are based off of conflict, which is fine but it's just not really my thing. As a result, I find myself sorely lacking in new games to play, which gets tiresome after a while. Therefore, I'd like some new ones recommended. They can't be all too beautiful though, because otherwise my laptop will reverse every repair done on it in the past 5 years and burst into flames, probably taking my house with it. This is not something I'd like to see happen, needless to say.

TL;DR I need some civilization-esque games based off of diplomacy rather than war, preferably not too taxing on the ol' PC. Which is basically the title of the thread, so I really didn't need any of this, but goddamit, that was an almost coherent paragraph and I'm not wasting it!

 

[Tanis]

It's possible to win via diplomacy in both Galactic Civilizations 2: Endless Universe and Civ5.

 

[The Madman]

Crusader Kings 2 is the game you're looking for. The entire point of the game is diplomacy and politics while combat is very much a secondary concern. It's also one of the best strategy games released in years and definitely worth checking out.

Other than that there's a fun oldie called Kings of Dragon Pass I picked up awhile back from gog which is very much a diplomacy driven game. Unique concept as well, very fun little title. Hard as hell though.

Then you've got your trade sim style strategy games. The Victoria and Guild series namely, those are largely diplomacy driven.

But most of all I still say Crusader Kings 2. It's just a brilliant strategy game and if you're in the mood for scheming politics and backstabbing, it's the best out there!

 

[MindFragged]

i'm not massively into strategy for similar reasons to you - i prefer diplomacy to the straight up 'build a war economy and trounce everyone as quickly as possible' route, and i find this often ill catered for. in AoE i often find i fall behind on the score table early on because of my insistence on proper town planning

sid meier's civ series is a good 'un for chaps like us. I'm not sure if you were referring to the series in your use of the term 'civilisation-esque' or if this was just a general term :S

either way, nice to know i'm not the only one who likes to crush my enemies with unstoppable pacifism (Ghandi is my favourite civ character, obviously )

 

[Smiley Face]

I see Civ 5 being mentioned a lot, but that doesn't seem right. I mean, yes, diplomacy is a factor in Civ, but it's not really the basis of the game. I've been playing a lot recently, and what usually happens is I'm leaving well enough alone, focusing on infrastructure and rapid scientific and economic growth, when some uppity jackass declares war on me. Then I have to raise a small army on short notice, usually quite smaller than my opponent's, but nevertheless I'll wipe out their attacking force and lose 1, 2 troops at the most. Now suddenly I find myself with a sizable army and a completely undefended, warmongering neighbour who's just stabbed me in the back. So I march in there and remove them as a threat, get some breathing room, and now all of a sudden, everybody's denouncing me, and I have to make do with poor trade deals for the next few centuries.

My point being that Civilization V is not a game which has pacifism as a serious option. You're going to get into wars, unless you really put yourself at an advantage to avoid them - it's not a strategy the game really supports.

That said, I don't really know many games which do have pacifistic diplomacy as a good option, so I dunno. Just thought I'd address the Civ V question.

CAPTCHA: danish robot dancers.

What the...

 

[verdant monkai]

TL;DR I need some civilization-esque games based off of diplomacy rather than war, preferably not too taxing on the ol' PC. Which is basically the title of the thread, so I really didn't need any of this, but goddamit, that was an almost coherent paragraph and I'm not wasting it!

Try Shogun 2 with graphics on pretty low it may work with your pc. look into it before you buy it because it may need very high specs, but I'd say its just what you are looking for.

 

[Eleuthera]

Paradox games are generally pretty good for this.

Victorie (2) and Crusader Kings (2) have both already been mentioned. I'd like to ass Europa Uuniversalis (3) to that list. It is quite possible to play most of the game without (serious) war, it's not completely avoidable though, as war is very much a part of history and therefore of historical simulators like this.

 

[Nikolaz72]

Other than that there's a fun oldie called Kings of Dragon Pass I picked up awhile back from gog which is very much a diplomacy driven game. Unique concept as well, very fun little title. Hard as hell though.

Hard as hell? Guess... xD

I learned that if you screw the war gods and the diplomacy gods and go with the cow gods, and trade food for cows, and metal for cows, and goods for cows. Dedicate all your farmland to cows.

In the end you will just live off of your cattle, and droughts won't hurt you because duh. Cattle. You don't need outer patrols because, ehm. Cattle. And enemies winning battles against you won't hurt you because again. No farmland to burn, just cattle.

Sure you need around 4-6000 to fully sustain yourself, but once you have that you will start getting so many cows that you can trade yourself to whatever you need, buying all artifacts and goods from everyone else. Heck, you can even sustain villages with five times the normal population (Just keep feasting to offset the over-population unhappyness) and kill every raiding party by sheer superior in numbers.

Alright, it got boring after my 'village' had the population of two towns. But It's fun to try at least once.

OT: Recommending Crusader Kings, and Crusader Kings. Dunno any other diplomacy-focused games.

 

[NicotineStainedSoul]

TL;DR I need some civilization-esque games based off of diplomacy rather than war, preferably not too taxing on the ol' PC. Which is basically the title of the thread, so I really didn't need any of this, but goddamit, that was an almost coherent paragraph and I'm not wasting it!

Try Shogun 2 with graphics on pretty low it may work with your pc. look into it before you buy it because it may need very high specs, but I'd say its just what you are looking for.

In what way is Total War Shogun 2 a diplomacy over war game. This is the exact opposite of what the OP was asking for. You have to wage war to win, the whole game is centered around war and real time strategy.

 

[Pink Gregory]

Imperialism?

It's fairly old, and sounds like what you're looking for, though I haven't yet played it myself, despite owning it.

http://www.gog.com/gamecard/imperialism

Probably something of a progenitor to the Paradox grand strategy titles, if anything.

Also there's a sequel.

http://www.gog.com/gamecard/imperialism_2_the_age_of_exploration

 

[lRookiel]

Mount and blade has nice diplomacy mechanics. I wouldn't call it a strategy though, more like an RPG/strategy mix.

 

[chronicfc]

Try Shogun 2 with graphics on pretty low it may work with your pc. look into it before you buy it because it may need very high specs, but I'd say its just what you are looking for.

Every time I've ever tried to have peace in Shogun 2 someone wars eventually. I can be minding my own business, building cash money, and then some dick of a clan forces me into defence stations.

Anyway, Crusader Kings 2 is a really good game, with some outstanding mods that can either enhance the base game, or set it in places such as the A Song of Ice and Fire or the Elder Scrolls mythos, fantastic if you are interested in either of those things. There's also Victoria 2, which is a game I have spent a little too much time on.

 

[Kathinka]

yeah, that's pretty much crusader knights 2 you are asking for. great game, looks really complex at first glance but after a few hours you'll know your way around the menues like it's nothing.

 

[verdant monkai]

Every time I've ever tried to have peace in Shogun 2 someone wars eventually. I can be minding my own business, building cash money, and then some dick of a clan forces me into defence stations.

I generally play on easy mode.

I'm not there for strategic or sense of achievement I just like the feeling of being a warlord, and looking at the tiny little men die for my amusement.

 

[Krantos]

Yeah, I'll Voice another recommendation for Crusader Kings 2 and Galactic Civilizations 2.

GalCiv2 is much more approachable, easier to learn, and the tone is kinda goofy sometimes. It's a nice fun experience. And I can personally guarantee it's possible to win without building a single military ship. That game was fun.

Crusader Kings 2 is much more serious and deeper, but has a VERY steep learning curve. It's also a bit less... well, it's basically pretty menu driven. 95% of what you'll be doing in the game is selecting options from a menu and tracking stats through other menus.

Both are absolutely great games though, and I recommend each.

Edit:

Galactic Civilization 2 is great for this.

One of my favorites was being an galactic arms dealer, using my cash and influence to keep all the other factions at war with each other, while at the same time pumping out fleets of ships which I then sold to the various factions to keep the wars going and well supplied.

While their people starved I was rolling in the cash, and every now and then I would buy a colony from them, only to sell them more ships to get my money back.

Ahh the good old days...

This guy knows how it's done! Gotta love the flexibility that game gives you!

 

[Entitled]

Crusader Kings II is definitely about diplomacy, but not so much about a civilization-building pacifist foreign policy type of diplomacy, as about a simulation of medieval feudal dynastic politicking.

It's not mainly about the details of warfare, but it's still pretty violent.

It's basically Game of Thrones - The Game, more so than the licencsed GoT games. It's all about incest, and intrigue, and arranged marriages, and assassinations, and legitimized bastards, and de jure land claims, and about rebellions, and deposed royal heirs taking back their birthright from usurpers, and about setting up your own council, distributing honorary titles, and cheating on your lord husband, and about putting heads on spikes.

 

[Froggy Slayer]

Dwarf Fortress

*hand pyramid of evil contemplation*

 

[Ironside]

Try Shogun 2 with graphics on pretty low it may work with your pc. look into it before you buy it because it may need very high specs, but I'd say its just what you are looking for.

Shogun 2 is certainly not what he is looking for. I love the game and whilst they have made improvements over the pervious games, diplomacy still has very little to do with how you play it. That is especially true when you hit the realm divide event in the base game and whatever the same event is called in FotS when what little diplomacy there was goes completely out of the window.

The games the OP probably wants to take a look at as many have already suggessted are a few of the paradox games - mainly the Crusader Kings, Europa Universalis and Victoria series, which have well developed diplomacy options and could theoretically be played without fighting a single war.