Good article with legitimate points, but personally, I like variants of all types (and I find Indians of the Great Lakes and Known World, which both have a lot stalemate lines, very playable). I think the original game is looked at too much as the holy grail of Diplomacy, as it is not without flaws itself, and in fact, I think Abstraction III does a nice job of expanding the original by enhancing playability and balance. I also think there are variants superior to the original, like Modern II, and new map features and extra rules can add a new element of fun and exploration (so long as they are not ridiculously complex), as with Rinascimento. While I think the relationships among players is the key element of Diplomacy, I think what makes a strong variant is a high degree of playability, i.e., the outcome is rarely the same. And that can be on maps both similar to and very different from the original.