No politician acts in perfect honesty. Some politicians deliberately deceive their constituents and other politicians. You are one of them.

Dodgy Diplomacy is a debate-oriented tabletop roleplay game where players act as devious politicians attempting to deceive each other and the public by intentionally using fallacious logic and misleading speech. The structure of gameplay follows a fairly common debate structure, in which participants prepare arguments, present them, then rebut the arguments of others. In this game, you will draw wildly inaccurate conclusions, present crumbling arguments confidently, and become unconvinceable. You will deliberately mislead, defraud, cheat, lie, and slander. Your seat in government depends on it.

To play, you will need something to make slides with, such as a computer, easel, slide projector, or a whiteboard. You will also need many "token" objects. We recommend at least 50 tokens per two players.

This game takes the form of five repeating phases.

Game Phases

  1. Topic Selection

  2. Preparation

  3. Presentation

  4. Scoring

Note
 Players should consider selecting the first topic before the first session and giving some number of days for preparation, then selecting the next topic at the end of each session.

Topic Selection

Before debate can begin, players must decide on a topic of debate. Players are welcome to select this using whatever means they desire. Alternatively, you can use this process as a starting point.

  1. Pick a topic

    • Business

    • Transportation

    • Energy

    • Defense

    • Commerce

    • Labor

    • Healthcare

    • Education

  2. Pick an event

    • Creation

    • Regulation

    • Expansion

Some examples may include:

  • Business regulation

  • Energy creation

  • Labor expansion

Once you have a larger topic, investigate current events to find a more specific issue for your topic.

Preparation

Once a topic is chosen, players slideshows of 10 slides, alongside any speeches or other preparation they wish. In this stage, you will deliberately introduce logical fallacies. Each speaker is allotted 10 tokens.

Presentation

The presentation phase consists of opening arguments and rebuttals. During opening arguments, players should keep track of any logical fallacies they spot in others' presentations. Players should also keep track of any topics they feel they can rebut. After each player presents their opening argument, other players rebut it, then the next player gives their opening argument. However, when it comes time for rebuttals, players may not address the logical fallacies committed by other players directly. Instead, players must use their own sound or fallacious reasoning to indirectly attack their opponents' arguments.

When a player spots an argument they know to be false, they take a token from the speaker’s pile. Only one member may take a token from the pile per slide. When the speaker is finished presenting, they maintain possession of any remaining tokens.

During rebuttals, if a player wishes to rebut, they may stake one of their tokens, and state their rebuttal. If the player convinces more than half of the other uninvolved players, they win their token back, along with one of the speaker’s tokens (if they have any remaining). Otherwise, the member loses their token, and the person they are rebutting gets it instead.

Scoring

Once all players have presented, the players count their tokens. The player with the most tokens writes a new "law" that becomes a cannonical part of the game world. The player with the next most tokens decides the next supertopic, and the player with the next most tokens after that decides the subtopic.

Notes

  • Remember to use safety tools. Since this is a social deception game, bleed can be an issue. Use lines, veils, remote controls, and debreifs as necessary.

  • Players are encouraged to satirize positions they feel are indefensible. However, players are also encouraged to experiment with dishonest presentations of viewpoints they agree with. Spotting deception is an important skill when investigating any argument, no matter whose side you’re on.

  • Players are encouraged to create a world out of their arguments. Subsume the winning player’s argument into the world, and use it as fuel for future debates.

  • Don’t be afraid to be inconsistent. That’s the point of the game, and the reality of politics.

  • Remember to have fun! Get a bit silly with it, draw ridiculous conclusions and use them as smokescreens for more insidious theses.