May also occur later on in the game to a whole bunch of provinces. For
instance, Italy and France may make Pie/TYS/WMS/GoL/NAf a DMZ with the extra
proviso that France doesn't build F(Mar) and Italy doesn't build F(Rom).
See also DMZ.
For each supply center above the number the player
started with, award 1 point. For each center below the starting number,
subtract 1 point. No points are deducted once the SC count has dipped below
the country's starting number (3, 4 for Rus). A players standby rating would
be the sum of all their scores from the games in which they appeared.
Players who are immediately wiped out or take hopeless positions are not
penalized for being immediately attacked and decimated or helping out in a
situation that no one else wanted. On the increase side, someone who takes over
a strong country gains points not for the win, but for the increase in size
over which he presided.
This system would favor frequent players (5 games with an increase of 3
SC's is worth more than 1 win). See also Rating Systems For Standby Players
and Rating Systems (KW).
The 1979 DipCon was held in the East (Region I), the charter provided that
the 1980 DipCon be held in either Region II or III. In 1981 it had to be held
in either Region III or IV and in 1982 in either Region IV or I. (In the
original draft only one region could bid for DipCon.)
Amendments to the charter have to pass at two consecutive DipCons. The
charter was amended at DipCon XIII, 1980/81, when the region boundaries were
redrawn, XVI, XVII and XVIII.
DIPL-L was not pushed over Usenet as a place to go and the discussion rate
remained low until it was rediscovered in 1991. By then Danny was no longer at
MIT and was experiencing difficulty looking after the list, ownership of the
list passed to Nick Fitzpatrick in March
1992. With the formation of the Usenet group rec.games.diplomacy interest in
the list decreased and with the setting of a feed between rec.games.diplomacy
and dipl-l the dipl-l list was only of interest to those who did not have
access to Usenet.
List Owner.
_Diplomacy Statistics_ contains the number of games (broken down as
regular, Youngstown and other), number of registered player, and judge
release version for each judge. It also contains a running total of all games
currently underway and monthly readership and article numbers for the Usenet
newsgroup rec.games.diplomacy. See Zine Names (KW).
The above point count is modified again by weighting the results according
to the difficulty of the powers played so that the point count from one game is
given by: Point Count = Points*(Average Modifier/Country Modifier).
The weights for each power are determined from the results of rated games.
Different tables are generated for different types of game. The tables for
standard diplomacy (DSI 8th ed) are:
A player's rating is the average of his points. There is a six-game minimum to
appear in the in the ratings table. However a player who has played in fewer
than six games is given sufficient hypothetical game results of zero to
increase their game count to six. See also
Rating Systems (KW).
See also Rating Systems (KW).
Volume I: The Best of Diplomacy World: A collection of all kinds
of articles chosen by
Walt Buchanan, Conrad von Metzke,
Rod Walker and
Kathy Byrne Caruso. Strategy and Tactics, diplomacy,
hobby history, variant games (complete with rules and maps), and more.
During the period 1986-89, several Israeli computer scientists (Sarit
Kraus, Daniel Lehmann and Eithan Ephrati) wrote a Diplomat in Y-Lisp. (See
for example "An Automated Diplomacy Player", in "Heuristic Programming in
Artificial Intelligence" (Eds: D N L Levy and D F Beal; Ellis Horwood, 1989
pp 136-153). This program is capable of negotiating like a human, and on a
strategic level could beat Avalon Hill's
program regularly. Unfortunately, the hardware for which this Diplomat was
designed no longer exists.
In 1990, the Diplomacy Programming Project was formed to promote the
programming of diplomats. A simple language (DPP Protocol) was devised in order
to standardize the communication among diplomats, and a standard Diplomat
Interface was written in order to coordinate communication between (humans and)
programs written in different programming languages by different programmers,
and in order to serve as an Adjudicator. In 1991, Loeb and Hall published
"Thoughts on Programming a Diplomat", and in 1992, Loeb published "Challenges
in Playing Multiplayer Games" both in "Heuristic Programming in Artificial
Intelligence", and beginning in 1992 work has begun in Bordeaux on the
implementation of a Diplomat based on these ideas. In comparison to the Israeli
diplomat, the Bordeaux diplomat is founded principally on the strategic level
and it is compatible with the DPP Protocol.
It was relaunched in December 1983 and since then it has become one of the
top zines to play postal diplomacy in. The GMing is excellent and the standard
of opposition top class. It has become a little isolated from the mainstream of
the British hobby and contains many readers from the 1970s. It is one of the
best written zines in the UK and is always an entertaining read. _Dolchstoss_
Mk II was the winner of the 1991 and 1992 Zine Polls. See Zine Names (KW).
Downfall I was designed by Hartley Patterson (who had been active in UK
Tolkien fandom for many years) and was first published in _War Bulletin_ 50
(circa 1973-4). It quickly attracted a following and several games were
started, including a couple of games in the States.
After this initial burst of enthusiasm interest waned and the game was not
played again until the end of the decade when Pete Lindsay (who had played in
some of the earlier games) ran a game in his dipzine _Bron Yr Aur_. One of the
players was Glover Rogerson who would be responsible for relaunching the
variant in the early 1980s as the main game in his new dip zine Denver Glont.
Through publicity in Denver Glont the game rapidly attracted a cult
following and it became almost de rigeur for every new zine to open a waiting
list for the game.
Extensive play testing throughout the 1980's (over 50 games were started
in the UK) led to a multitude of different versions being published. By the
end of the 1980's there were about 16 different Downfall marks, many of which
added chrome in an attempt to impart even more flavour to the game; often at
the expense of playability.
With the fold of Denver Glont and Vienna (a zine responsible for much of
the redesigns in the latter half of the decade) interest in the variant has
once again waned, although there are several games being run in New Zealand at
the time of writing.
Most Downfall games feature Gondor, Gandalf, Rohan, Saruman, Elves,
Dwarves, Umbar and Mordor as player powers. There are personality units for
Gandalf, Aragorn, the Fellowship, Saruman, Sauron, and Faramir. There is a ring
piece which has a crucial role in the game, basically you either win by
destroying the ring or by wearing it (becoming evil in the process, but gaining
special powers) and conquering the board.
Downfall games usually contain extensive press releases, usually parodying
the style of the book and press sagas are common. See
Variant (KW).
After any season a player may propose a 'draw', a 'joint win' (the same) or
a 'concession' (where the other players agree that one country will win). If it
is in the opinion of the GM a reasonable proposal, he will ask
for votes on it. Failure to vote may well be counted as assent.
Many of the people responsible for designing the game and producing the
first set of modules/add-ons had been postal Diplomacy players in the 1960's
and some of them had been zine editors/involved in hobby politics. Many of the
first D&D players were Diplomacy fans.
At different times various people have run D&D games in dip zines. These
games have normally taken one of two approaches: (1) Design a party and wander
around the GM's dungeon; (2) A campaign style game. On the whole these have
not lasted any length of time and with the advent of pro PBM games fewer of
these games are being offered. In fact I haven't seen any for several years in
the dip hobby (although role-playing fans may still run them.)
DIPCON YEAR # Host Dip Winner Site Diplomacy Winner
I 1966 9 John Koning Youngstown, OH ???
II 1969 11 John Koning Youngstown, OH ???
III 1970 35 Jeff Key Oklahoma City Betsy Childers
IV 1971 25 Rod Walker San Diego ???
V 1972 49 Len Lakofka Chicago Richard Ackerley
VI 1973 49 Len Lakofka Chicago J. Smythe/Conrad von Metzke
VII 1974 49 Len Lakofka Chicago ???
VIII 1975 51 G. Anderson Chicago ???
IX 1976 140 Avalon Hill* Baltimore Thomas Reape
X 1977 ? GenCon Lake Geneva, WI Mike Rocamora
XI 1978 ? GlasCon L.A. ???
XII 1979 110 Origins V Chester, PA Ben Zablocki
XIII 1980 56 MichiCon* Detroit Carl Eichelberger
XIV 1981 ? Pacificon* S.F. Ron Brown
XV 1982 161 Atlanticon* Baltimore Konrad Baumesiter
XVI 1983 118 MichiCon* Detroit Joyce Singer
XVII 1984 91 DalCon* Dallas Jeff Key
XVIII 1985 60 Dragonflight Seattle J.R. Baker
XIX 1986 76 Marycon Fredericksburg, VA Malcolm Smith
XX 1987 51 Madcon Madison, WI. David Hood
XXI 1988 23 Greg Ellis San Antonio, TX Dan Sellers
XXII 1989 55 PeeriCon San Diego Hohn Cho
XXIII 1990 100 DixieCon** Chapel Hill, NC. Jason Bergmann
XXIV 1991 58 CanCon Toronto Gary Behnen
XXV 1992 31 Poolcon Kansas City Marc Peters
XXVI 1993 56 Pacificon S.F. Hohn Cho
XXVII 1994 ?? DixieCon Chapel Hill, NC. Bruce Reiff
XXVIII 1995 AvalonCon V Hunt Valley (MD)
(#) Number of players in Diplomacy Tournament. May not
include people who played in only 1 game.
(*) also hosted Origins
(**) also hosted {World Dip Con}
Fall 1988 to March 1992 Danny Loeb
March 1992 to December 1993 Nick Fitzpatrick
December 1993 to Nick Fitzpatrick and David Kovar
Diplomacy AZ is phun,
Especially when it's all done!
Proof-reading's a chore,
And a terrible bore,
And printed, it must weigh a ton!
[Gets more and more pertinent with each issue!!]
Close Ally: Someone who you are blackmailing.
Bad Player: Someone who can't lipread.
"Think Ahead" Player: Someone who diplomes before the countries have been picked.
Paranoid Player: Someone who insists on being there when his drink is being poured.
Good Player: Someone who seems to win every week, but does it so quietly that
no-one seems to notice.
Demilitarized zone: The Black Sea
Confidence: An Austrian who bothers to draw up a seat, or an Italian who asks
what 4+1 is.
Optimism: Russian F(GOB) - Swe in Fall 1901
Trust: A weapon to use only when all else fails.
See Humour.
Delight: That your backstab worked.
Glee: The opponent you stabbed was also stabbed by someone else.
Gloating: Seeing an opponent who critically stabbed you get crushed.
Exultation: When it's you who delivers the coup de grace.
Bliss: 18 supply centres.
Anxiety: Wondering how many of your neighbours are plotting against you.
Fear: Finding that it's all of them.
Desperation: Trying to get their neighbours to stab them.
Despair: When they insist on fighting each other.
Exasperation: Just when you've fought off 2 of your neighbours, the
third comes barging in.
Frustration: Getting a build when all your home dots are occupied.
Vexation: Getting a build when someone else is occupying your home SCs!
Shock: Getting unexpected support from another player.
Loneliness: Exile in Iceland.
Sympathy: What's that?
See Humour.
Year First Second Third
1973 John Piggott Richard Sharp Andy Davidson (19 voters)
1974 Richard Sharp John Piggott Mick Bullock (20 voters)
???? Tony Ball
???? Roland Prevot
???? Nicky Palmer
1982 Mike Close Steve Jones John Norris (22 voters)
A digression. It's interesting to note that American player
Conrad von Metzke came 5th in the 1973 Poll and
6th in the 1974 Poll. See also Hobby Awards (KW).
See also QUOTATIONS and
Humour.
Points
win 7.00,
2-way 3.50,
3-way 2.33,
4-way 1.75,
5-way 1.40,
6-way 1.17,
7-way 1.00,
survival 0.50,
elimination 0.25,
drop-out 0.00.
Modifier Power
1.13 Austria
1.39 England
1.44 France
1.09 Germany
0.96 Italy
1.29 Russia
1.27 Turkey
----------------
1.22 Average
DIPLOMACY SKILLS INDEX (2) [MN:Nov96]
DSI4 : November 1994.
(a) Regular Diplomacy details.
DSI4 DSI5 DSI6 DSI7 DSI8
Austria 1.08 1.11 1.15 1.13 1.13
England 1.39 1.36 1.45 1.42 1.39
France 1.55 1.53 1.45 1.45 1.44
Germany 1.07 1.08 1.04 1.05 1.09
Italy 1.01 1.01 1.01 0.96 0.96
Russia 1.34 1.32 1.29 1.26 1.29
Turkey 1.12 1.15 1.19 1.28 1.27
# Games 264 292 327 370 413
(b) Broadcast-only Gunboat Games
DSI4 DSI5 DSI6 DSI7 DSI8
Austria 1.40 1.36 1.18 1.12 1.21
England 1.47 1.59 1.75 1.70 1.51
France 1.24 1.14 1.46 1.42 1.40
Germany 1.35 1.23 1.22 1.23 1.32
Italy 0.50 0.48 0.47 0.49 0.49
Russia 0.99 0.99 0.98 1.10 1.13
Turkey 1.70 1.86 1.64 1.63 1.61
# Games 25 28 36 39 49
(c) No Press Gunboat Games
DSI4 DSI5 DSI6 DSI7 DSI8
Austria 1.60 1.70 1.60 1.52 1.41
England 1.23 1.16 1.11 1.03 1.07
France 1.74 1.73 1.85 1.94 1.90
Germany 0.59 0.57 0.92 0.96 1.16
Italy 1.15 1.09 0.99 0.98 0.95
Russia 1.01 1.06 0.98 0.95 0.91
Turkey 1.52 1.53 1.38 1.50 1.45
# Games 62 67 84 89 135
(d) Anonymous partial-press Games.
DSI4 DSI5 DSI6 DSI7 DSI8
Austria 0.80 0.75 1.06 1.12 1.03
England 1.71 1.85 1.60 1.43 1.44
France 1.06 1.04 1.19 1.25 1.40
Germany 0.89 0.80 0.95 1.01 1.16
Italy 0.90 1.18 1.09 1.14 1.21
Russia 1.60 1.45 1.22 1.18 1.05
Turkey 1.54 1.43 1.44 1.36 1.06
# Games 41 49 76 107 152
DSI5 : March 1995.
DSI6 : November 1995.
DSI7 : April 1996.
DSI8 : November 1996.
A list of _Diplomacy World_ publishers and editors:
Issue Publisher Editor
1-15 Walt Buchanan Walt Buchanan
16-20 Walt Buchanan Conrad von Metzke
21-27 Jerry Jones Jerry Jones
28-38 Rod Walker Rod Walker
39 Kathy Byrne Rod Walker
40-59 Larry Peery Larry Peery
60+ David Hood David Hood
74+ Doug Kent Doug Kent
Volume II: The Complete Mark Berch
features a wide variety of articles by one of the hobby's best and most
prolific writers, including the infamous Shep Rose stories.
Volume III: Diplomacy Variants with maps, rules, and variant game
related materials. Over 50 complete variant games are included, along with a
separate map folio of 'ready for play' maps separate from the book.
Volume IV: The DW Demo Games includes the moves,
commentary, maps and press for Diplomacy's oldest on-going series of quality
games. Eight complete games are included.
Volume V: Conventions and Tournaments (DW 1-69).
Volume VI: Diplomacy Strategy and Tactics (DW 1-69).
Volume VII: Best of David Hood's Diplomacy World (DW 60-69).
Volume VIII: Complete Issues of WD 60-69 (2 parts).
See also Diplomacy World.
See Humour.
W D E S D CPS Av W = wins.
Austria 129 294 694 197 494 216.35 0.12 D = Draws.
England 129 328 471 331 549 227.92 0.13 E = Eliminations.
France 183 403 322 385 515 306.84 0.17 S = Survived but neither D or W.
Germany 187 326 490 315 490 285.70 0.16 D = dropouts.
Italy 117 334 475 378 504 218.80 0.12 CPS = {Calhamer Points}
Russia 193 322 462 303 528 287.37 0.16 Av = Average number of Calhamer
Turkey 161 339 455 369 484 265.00 0.17 Points.
GAME DROPOUT NUMBER
NAPG Non-orphaned games* 2.75 /pm 1.56
NAPG Orphaned games* 4.00 /pm 1.32
COMPU Non-orphaned games* 2.02 /pm 1.28
COMPU = Games played over Compuserve network.
NAPG = North American Postal Games
* Data from Everything 85 (May 1992) through Everything 1991 (March 1995).
a) miswritten orders (less common yet possible in judge diplomacy,
e.g. miswriting F Nth-Nwy as the also legal F Nth-Nwg)
b) incoherent orders (e.g. A Ser S A Bud, A Bud-Rum)
c) failing to defend an easily defendable SC (unless negotiated?),
e.g. A Kie h, A Mun h instead of A Kie S A Mun if enemy units are
in Ruh and Bur.
See also
long term strategical mistake,
short term strategical mistake and
tactical mistake.
This classification of mistakes is due to Robert Rehbold.
The whole A-Z, in pdf format, is HERE
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