[gknoy]

Thanks for this! I didn't know it existed. It might help me enjoy the mechanical aspects without the angst of politics. ;)

https://sites.google.com/site/diplomacyai/QuickStart/

[qznc]

On http://www.vdiplomacy.com/ you can play 2-player variants. This turns it into a pure tactics chess-like game.

Also, gunboat style (no communication possible) is quite popular online.