"the supported army could do anything."

I have a new opening. Munich support Ber > Smy via flying.

But no, you didn't interpret the rules correctly.

Haha, nice rlum - you know that's not what he means :P Be nice! :)

As he says, you misunderstood the rules. If/As you played a slight variant with your friends, may I suggest you check through the official rules of diplomacy just quickly - that way you won't be surprised if you come across something else that doesn't process how you wish.

A quick highlight on the rules. Support hold can only support a unit that does *not* attempt to move. Of course, only issuing a move order is an attempt to move. Convoys, Holds, Support Holds, and Support Moves can all be Support Held so that unit gets extra protection should it be attacked.

The latest rules can be found here:

http://www.diplom.org/~diparch/resources/rulebooks/2000AH4th.pdf

These are the official rules of the game and are very good at explaining everything if you read through them thoroughly, not just skim them.

Also note, that even if Germany ordered Holland Support Belgium-Ruhr, the support wouldn't count because you can't hurt yourself that way.

This is actually a very important tactic as it allows you and your ally to protect Ruhr from an invading France army whether Ruhr makes it into Munich or not for example. If Ruhr moves then Belgium makes it in, but if Ruhr fails to move, bouncing in Munich, then Ruhr is not dislodged because Holland's support doesn't count.

@ Figle: Actually, I had to read his post like eight times. I genuinely thought it could do anything when I read it...

Our interpretation of the rules at school was a little unorthodox, too. If a piece attempted to move, then another piece could enter the province unsupported even if it bounced. Retreat phases often had the fiercest diplomacy... you may also enjoy this article on another weird interpretation: http://www.diplom.org/~diparch/resources/rulebooks/we_dont_need.htm

Variants are nice. You just have to recognize when you are playing one and when you are playing vanilla. :)

Talking of variants, I'll buy an icecream to anyone who programs the Machiavelli variant into on-line form, with ducates, assasinations and all. :)

Note: the ice-cream will not have one ball, not two balls, but even THREE balls!

@sys - Can you send me a link to the Machievelli rules please?