A reasonably balanced six-player variant is possible, if a seventh cannot be found or punts. Italy is played by an inanimate object in the room; in other words it simply holds. Retreats are always made to supply centers if possible, and back into Italian territory if a supply center is impossible.
Rook: I have played several games in which it degenerated into what you are describing about halfway through. The losers stopped caring and the winners knew what they had to do.