Diplomacy Games

Interview with Spyros Dovas on WDC 2026 in Athens

After five months (maybe more?) between episodes, Gavin and Ken are back – and with WDC 2026 Athens about to happen, what better time to get the tournament organiser, Spyros Dovas, on the show to talk about everything you can expect from rocking up to Greece this year.

Intro

• Gavin and Ken kick off the show with cheers and reintroduce the podcast after a hiatus of over five months (0 mins 10 secs)
• Gavin explains the gap – his move away from Brisbane has made catching up with Ken less frequent, and a previously recorded episode went out of date before it could be released (1 min 30 secs)
• Gavin flags he's still searching for employment and shares his brief, unsuccessful foray into applying at Dan Murphy's – though he remains a loyal patron (3 mins)
• Ken notes that Gavin is heading to a certain upcoming tournament, and Gavin confirms he'll be attending WDC 2026 in Athens – flying via Singapore and living something closer to backpacker than five-star (4 mins 30 secs)
• Gavin talks about his travel plans, including the Athens itinerary, flying before the Middle East situation affected routes, and his fondness for Singapore's airport (6 mins)
• Gavin reflects that while he's been to Greece before, it's been about twenty years – and this time he'll be doing things differently (8 mins)

Interview with Spyros Dovas – WDC 2026 Organiser

• Gavin introduces Spyros as the tournament organiser for WDC 2026 (as distinct from Tournament Director Jamal Blakkarly) and hands over to him (9 mins 30 secs)
• Spyros explains how the venue came to be chosen – rather than a downtown Athens hotel, his wife suggested the beachside suburb of Saronida, about half an hour from central Athens, which he knows well (10 mins 30 secs)
• Spyros describes the venue logistics: as registrations grew, he booked an auxiliary venue nearby so there's now capacity for even a very large crowd (13 mins)
• Gavin asks Spyros to make the pitch: why should people come to WDC 2026 in Greece? Spyros covers the competitive angle (previous world champions, strong contingents from the US, Australia, and across Europe), the community experience, the setting, the weather, and the pricing advantages of being just before peak tourist season (14 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss the FOMO build-up section on the official WDC website (17 mins 30 secs)
• Spyros outlines the pre-tournament activities organised for Wednesday and Thursday (18 mins 30 secs):
  • Wednesday – a day trip to the island of Hydra, departing from Saronida to Piraeus and taking the fast boat across (approx. 1.5 hrs)
  • Thursday – a guided tour of the Acropolis with what Spyros describes as the best guides operating there, followed by a walk through Plaka and the historic centre, lunch by the sea, and an evening trip to watch the sunset from the ruins of the Temple of Poseidon
• Gavin enthuses about the Hydra day trip and reflects on the island's significance to Greek identity, noting it's less well-known internationally than Santorini or Mykonos but stunning (23 mins)
• Gavin shares that he's already visited the Acropolis and Parthenon once before, about twenty years ago with his family, but is genuinely excited to experience it again with expert local guides (25 mins)
• They discuss accommodation in Saronida – Spyros notes a good range from five-star hotels to Airbnbs at reasonable prices for this time of year, though availability is diminishing and people should book soon. He offers to assist anyone having difficulty (27 mins)
• Gavin mentions the Athens neighbourhood guide Spyros has put together – a Google Map indicating where to stay, where to avoid, and the character of different areas – inspired by advice Spyros gave his own son who is now studying at Bocconi University in Milan (29 mins)
• Gavin asks whether anyone stands out as a favourite to win. Spyros diplomatically declines to name names, noting at least a dozen players who wouldn't surprise him as champion – which he says makes the tournament all the more exciting to watch (32 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss the tournament format: four rounds in total, with a Friday afternoon opening round (around 5pm, to accommodate European day-of-travel arrivals), two rounds on Saturday, and Sunday morning featuring a top board alongside competitive play for all remaining players (35 mins)
• Gavin asks about the name of Spyros's Athens Diplomacy club – "The Gift Bearers" – and its tagline "Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts," which Spyros explains is a reference to Virgil's line about the Trojan War, chosen for its local resonance and edge. He also confirms there will be a welcome gift bag for all players at check-in (37 mins 30 secs)
• Gavin admits to attempting to read the Iliad in preparation and finding the going tough; Spyros explains that even modern Greeks find Homeric Greek fairly obscure, and discusses the remarkable linguistic density of ancient Greek compared to contemporary languages (40 mins)
• Spyros previews content he still plans to publish on the WDC website: a food guide covering local dishes people shouldn't miss and how to approach them, plus recommendations for experiencing authentic Greek nightlife and an Orthodox church service on Sunday morning (43 mins)
• They wrap up the interview with Spyros reassuring any hesitant attendees that Greece is safe, welcoming, English-friendly, and set up for international visitors (48 mins)
• Ken wraps up by expressing his jealousy and thanking Spyros (50 mins)
• Spyros signs off, noting the first round is exactly two months away from the recording date. If you want to attend WDC 2026 in Athens and haven't signed up yet, or want more info, go to https://athensdiplomacy.club/wdc2026/ (50 mins 30 secs)

Post-interview chat

• Gavin and Ken return and reflect on the interview – particular enthusiasm for the Acropolis guided tour and the Hydra day trip (51 mins 30 secs)
• Gavin reveals a bonus travel tip: on arrival in Athens before the tournament, he'll be visiting the island that Spyros's family originally came from – a recommendation straight from Spyros himself with full insider knowledge of where to go (53 mins)
• Ken shares a reflection on visiting Venice as a teenager and then studying the Italian Renaissance in Year 12, noting how historical knowledge transforms the experience of being in a place – relevant for anyone heading to Athens (55 mins 30 secs)
• They confirm the tournament details: four rounds, Friday to Sunday (22–24 May), with a top board on Sunday. Gavin checks in on the 21st (57 mins)

Around the grounds

• Ken mentions he's been quietly plugging away at a couple of online gunboat games, with mixed fortunes (58 mins 30 secs)
• Ken floats the idea of setting up a game of the vDiplomacy Greek Diplomacy variant – winner of the World Variant Design Contest in 2010 – to coincide with WDC Athens. Gavin enthusiastically signs up - This game has since begun and you can view it at  (59 mins 30 secs)
• Gavin gives an update on his Europa Renovatio game (a 36-player variant set in pre-fall-of-Constantinople Europe) – he was positioned for a potential solo before getting dogpiled, and is now manoeuvring to encourage a draw - This has since finished in a draw with Gavin now able to reveal he was playing as the Teutonic Order (1 hr 1 min)
• Ken provides an overview of Europa Renovatio for listeners who haven't played it, and the two discuss a potential improvement: adding sea lanes across the Sahara to fix the unrealistic around-Africa single-move connection (1 hr 5 mins)
• Gavin asks whether Ken will bring a recorder to WDC – answer: depends on whether everything fits under the 7kg carry-on limit (1 hr 9 mins)
• Gavin shares his excitement after scanning the WDC 2026 player list – strong contingents from Australia, France, Greece, the UK, and the US, plus many familiar names from the online scene. Tempers expectations about his own chances of making the top board (1 hr 10 mins 30 secs)
• The guys wrap up the show (1 hr 12 mins)
  
  

  Venue: At home

  Drinks for the interview:

  Oops – we forgot to mention what our drinks were and we don't remember, although Ken definitely had one of his homebrews. 
  
  Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. And don't forget if you want to help pay off the audio equipment… or get the guys more drunk, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.
  
  

Interview with Alex Duffy: Diplomacy AI vs Diplomacy AI

We chat with Alex Duffy who as Head of AI Training at Every Consulting run an amazing project where different AI models competed against each other in Diplomacy. Plus we discuss the upcoming Australian Open tournament.

Intro

• The guys introduce the show and Gavin flags he'll be moving further away from Ken, so the show will become more online than face-to-face  (0 mins 15 secs)

Interview with Alex Duffy

• They introduce the interview with Alex from Every Consulting and GoodStartLabs about different AI models playing against each other in Diplomacy (4 mins)
• The interview kicks off with Alex discussing the research project he ran at Every Consulting where various AI Large Language Models (LLMs) competed against each other in Diplomacy (6 mins 45 secs)
• Gavin asks Alex how he got into Diplomacy originally (9 mins 50 secs)
• They discuss the thinking behind the project. During his answer he mentions the Twitch stream of the AI models playing against each other - you can view this on their AI Diplomacy Twitch channel (11 mins 15 secs)
• They look at how data should be structured and presented to the LLMs (15 mins 45 secs)
• Alex talks about the different style of play adopted by each LLM - you can read their summary on the Every Consulting AI page (18 mins 45 secs)
• Gavin asks about how different models approached strategy nnd iterative training of the models so they learn from how they perform in games (24 mins)
• Gavin reflects on how he sometimes plays in cycles of play (32 mins)
• They discuss why the game Diplomacy keeps being used researched in the AI space (34 mins)
• Alex introduces his lates project: The Battle of Bots. You can find out more and register your interest on their Battle of the Bots web page (40 mins 30 secs)
• They reflect on the newer generations of players bringing their enhanced technology experience to the game (45 mins)
• Alex asks Gavin and Ken what they've learned from playing Diplomacy to apply to real life (48 mins 30 secs)
• Gavin asks Alex whether he plans to get more into playing Diplomacy face to face (53 mins 45 secs)
• Alex discusses other games he's interested in getting into more (57 mins)
• Just a reminder, you can find out more and register your interest on their Battle of the Bots web page (1 hr 0 mins)
• Ken suggests some games he feels would be appropriate to research. Alex provides his email address to hear listener's suggestions on other games ot look into (1 hr 2 mins)
• They begin wrapping up the interiew (1 hr 5 mins 30 secs)
• The guys reflect on the chat (1 hr 7 mins)

Diplomacy Chat

• Gavin is off to compete in the Australian Open, being hosted the weekend of 21 to 23 November. Plus they talk about the Bismark Cup  (1 hr 23 mins)
• After some tangental talk, they return full circle to the Australian Open. Gavin mentions doing some recordings when not playing, however, with his house move he can't find the recorder which is packed somewhere (1 hr 33 mins)
• They discuss getting and staying in the right zone, and reflect on Mitchell and Webb's the Inebriati sketch (1 hr 37 mins 30 secs)
• Gavin incorrectly cites Mitchell and Webb again, but it is actually Stephen Fry and Hugh Lawrie's Treaty of Westphalia sketch (1 hr 39 mins 30 secs)
• The guys start wrapping up the show (1 hr 40 mins)

Venue: At home

Drinks for the interview:

Gavin: Proximo tempranillo from Rioja, Spain

Ken: Poet's Country Crisp lager from Yenda, NSW

Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. And don't forget if you want to help pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes!

Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone.

Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

Interview with Adam Silverman: So you want to run a tournament?

We catch up with Adam Silverman and explore what to think about if you're running a tournament for the 1st time or the 21st time. Plus an overview of how the 2025 Asia Pacific Diplomacy Championship went at the Cane Toad Classic.

Intro and Diplomacy chat

• The guys introduce the venue and their drinks (0 mins 15 secs)
• Gavin gives a quick update on how the Cane Toad Classic went and introduce the topic of  what do you're thinking about if you want to host a tournament (4 mins)

Interview with Adam Silverman on how to run a tournament

• They start the interview with Adam, host of World DipCon 2025 and begin discussing how his games have been going so far this year  (5 mins 45 secs)
• Gavin asks Adam about what the difference is like between running a small or regular size tournament - like a standard Whipping tournament - and something as big as World DipCon (8 mins 50 secs)
• Adam discusses the importance of having people helping tournament organisation and what to be mindful of (11 mins 15 secs)
• The key things to aim for in tournament attendence (15 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss space and what to look for in a venue (20 mins 45 secs)
• Gavin and Adam talk about social activities and how to manage and plan for that (25 mins 30 secs)
• They talk about covering tournament costs (32 mins 30 secs)
• Adam discusses responsibilities for those assisting him with the tournament (37 mins)
• He shares what he's changed over the years based on player feedback (43 mins 15 secs)
• They discuss the NADF Code of Conduct (46 mins)
• Ken suggests the idea of a tournament finance officer (47 mins 45 secs)
• Gavin asks if Adam's taken anything away from our tournaments he's attended and brought to his own (50 mins 40 secs)
• The interview starts wrapping up before Ken and Gavin give their thoughts on key takeaways for them (52 mins)

Cane Toad Classic wrap up: how to improve a tournament

• Gavin and Ken discuss player feedback from the tournament to help with future Cane Toads, plus the guys' own learnings (1 hr 0 mins 15 secs)
• Gavin starts sharing his ideas for next year's Cane Toad Classic, including the prospect of it moving to the Gold Coast in 2026  (1 hr 9 mins 30 secs)
• The guys get another round of drinks - and we get an update on how their next drinks taste as a Diplomacy mid-game before discussing further options to consider for next year and a possible future year venue (1 hr 12 mins 30 secs)

Diplomacy chat

• Gavin has played for the first time in 5 years a virtual game using Backstabbr and Discord in a round of Snake Pit (1 hr 30 mins 30 secs)
• He discusses how it all went and what his experience was like - Gavin played as Austria and developed a great AIR with Sigurd (Italy) and Rob Hillier (Russia). You can view the game on Backstabbr, including an Austrian army in Liverpool (1 hr 33 mins)
• Ken mentions the latest DBN Deadline news discussing a new AI Diplomacy model, and we give a big thanks to DBN for covering in Gameday Live the Cane Toad Classic (1 hr 41 mins 30 secs)
• They talk about upcoming Australian tournaments before wrapping up the show (1 hr 46 mins 15 secs)

Venue: Lang's Lounge, Brisbane

Drinks for the interview:

Gavin: Sally IPA by Your Mates Brewery, Queensland and a cheap and cheerful red

Ken: Stone & Wood Hazey IPA, New South Wales followed by a Sally IPA

Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. And don't forget if you want to help pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes!

Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone.

Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

Interview with Noam Brown, WDC Champion 2025

We catch up again with Noam Brown about his World Diplomacy Championship win this year in San Francisco and get an update from him. Plus the guys talk more about the Cane Toad Classic being held at the end of August.

Intro and Diplomacy chat

• The guys introduce the venue and their drinks in this Athens inspired venue (0 mins 15 secs)
• Gavin outlines his plans for travelling on the cheap to Greece for WDC 2026 (3 mins)

Interview with Noam Brown

• They set up the interview with Noam Brown  (6 mins 45 secs)
• Noam discusses how the WDC this year required a lot of attention and was pretty exhausted (8 mins)
• He talks about the four WDC's he's been to and what he's learned over the years (11 mins)
• They talk a little about Cicero and what Noam learnt from his involvment in the project and how he'd approach the issue of a broader reputation and AI  - if you don't want to listen to the technical stuff, fast forward to about 30 mins 20 secs (17 mins 15 secs)
• Noam discusses how much AI has improved since Cicero launched (23 mins 45 secs)
• Gavin asks how Noam would approach Cicero differently if he had his chance today and how general purpose models impact that (25 mins 45 secs)
• Gavin asks how did non-Diplomacy people respond to him winning the World Championship, the scoring structure for the tournament and his games (30 mins 20 secs)
• Noam is given some hypotheticals if he was on the top board for WDC 2026 in Greece (42 mins 15 secs)
• They discuss why no-one has ever won back to back WDC's (46 mins)
• Ken asks about Noam's "meta" approach to building up his skills and gameplay (47 mins 30 secs)
• Gavin asks how Noam feels about the change from working at Meta to OpenAI and where AI is at now and into the future (52 mins 30 secs)
• Noam discusses the advice he's given to non-Diplomacy people about what they can get out of the game (1 hr 0 mins 30 secs)
• The interview wraps up and the guys discuss their thoughts from the interview (1 hr 2 mins 45 secs)

Diplomacy chat

• Ken asks Gavin about what how WDC in Athens is going to be run  (1 hr 6 mins)
• Gavin discusses his time at the Sydney Cup (1 hr 8 mins)
• Want to attend the Cane Toad Classic (30 and 31 August)? >> Register using our form << (1 hr 19 mins 45 secs) 
• Ken discusses why he thinks he tends to play well as Russia (1 hr 24 mins)
• They grab another beer and reflect on how it is as a mid-game (1 hr 29 mins)
• Gavin invites our listeners to >> complete a survey about the podcast << (1 hr 33 mins)

Around the grounds

• Ken discusses a Europa Renovatio game he's in (1 hr 34 mins)
• Gavin talks about his two games. They discuss the way sea lanes are used in the WWIV sea lane variant. Ken discusses how you could remove stalemate lines having overseer zones on a Classic map (1 hr 39 mins)
• Ken talks about the Diplomacy Variant Club at Discord (1 hr 48 mins 30 secs) 
• The guys start wrapping up the show (1 hr 52 mins)

Venue: Kafenio, Brisbane

Drinks for the interview:

Gavin: Mythos lager from Greece

Ken: Mythos lager from Greece

Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. And don't forget if you want to help pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes!

Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone.

Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

Interview with Robert Hillier

We interview English - now Australian player - Robert Hillier about his Diplomacy experiences and more. We also have some great Diplomacy chat about how the game compares to other board games and Gavin points out similarities between Diplomacy and the TV show "The Traitors"

Interview with Zoe Cameron

We're joined by relatively new but very experienced player Zoe Cameron as she shares great advice for new and existing players alike.

Intro and Diplomacy chat

• The guys introduce the venue and their drinks (0 mins 10 secs)
• They set up this episode's interview with Zoe Cameron (3 mins 30 secs)

Interview with Zoe Cameron

• The interview with Zoe kicks off who has only been playing since early 2024 but has got massively into the game and some of her thoughts on the game (5 mins 5 secs)
• They get into a discussion around the Venn diagram between strategic play, tactical play and relationship play (10 mins)
• Lizard brain contemplations (15 mins)
• They talk about their drinks for the interview and DBN After Dark (18 mins 20 mins)
• Zoe has some great advice for new players (22 mins 45 secs)
• They discuss the connections created from the game and the "free jazz of social dynamics" (25 mins 30 secs)
• She discusses the importance of vulnerability whether you're a new or experienced player (31 mins 20 secs)
• Zoe and Ken share a story - you can also hear Ken's original discussion on our previous episode (37 mins 30 secs)
• Zoe says she's coming to the Cane Toad Classic, with Ken showing her the Toadiest Toad trophy (40 mins 45 secs)
• She talks about different  geographic playing styles (43 mins 30 secs)
• After Ken asks about Zoe's best game she discusses getting the best sense of flow in a game (51 mins 30 secs)
• She talks about an upcoming Melbourne tournament she's organising for 17-19 October 2025 (59 mins)
• Zoe gives a shout out to tournament organisers before they start wrapping up the interview (1 hr 5  mins)
• The guys chat about the interview (1 hr 7 mins)
• Gavin acknowledges he probably needs to try giving Discord a go again (1 hr 11 mins)

Cane Toad Classic - it's happening!

• They talk about the tournament the weekend of 30-31 August at Meeple and Mug in Brisbane's West End, the social and formal structure for games (1 hr 13 mins)
• Ken talks about the trophies, including the infamous Toadiest Toad award (1 hr 18 mins)
• They talk about the upcoming Sydney Cup on 21-22 June (1 hr 21 mins)
• The guys wrap up the show (1 hr 23 mins)

Venue: The Prince Consort, Brisbane

Drinks for the interview:

Gavin: Pepperjack Malbec

Ken: Young Henry's Newtowner Pale Ale

Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. And don't forget if you want to help pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes!

Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone.

Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

Back in the bar

After three episodes recorded online, the guys at last get the tech working offsite at the bar again. They discuss WDC 2025, their upcoming tournament plans and their latest online games.

Intro and Diplomacy chat

• The guys introduce the venue and their drinks (0 mins 10 secs)
• They talk about the 2025 World Diplomacy Championship and congratulate Noam Brown (who we interviewed about Cicero) (2 mins)
• We talk about the upcoming WDC's planned for 2026 (Athens) and 2027 (Chicago) and whether there will be another Asia-Pacific WDC in 2028 (7 mins)
• They get back to how their beers would be as Diplomacy openings (9 mins 30 secs)
• A little admin update on the podcast (15 mins)
• They talk about the challenge of getting 7 players for a local game (16 mins 30 secs)
• Gavin discusses trying to *maybe* get a family game of Diplomacy happening in Christmas-New Years (19 mins)
• Gavin gives an update on the Cane Toad Classic for 2025 - that said, since recording we have finalised details. The tournment will be run Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 August, with social activities starting Friday night. Check out the details at the Cane Toad Classic web page  (21 mins)
• Ken talks about visiting webDiplomacy and saw they had a new forum. They talk about vDiplomacy being spam-bombed with Ken dropping the ball on his Mod responsibilities (32 mins)

Around the grounds

• Gavin is in just one game, with Ken joining some new games (36 mins)
• Gavin goes on to talk about the Magic Hour at vDip and how he's smashing Ken in the Best vDip player rankings (38 mins)
• He discussed drawing in a 6 way Imperial game as Holland (42 mins)
• Ken is playing another Zeus game (43 mins)
• The guys then wrap up the show (46 mins)

Venue: Caxton Street Brewing Company, Brisbane

Drinks for the interview:

Gavin: Caxton Street Brewing IPA

Ken: Caxton Street Brewing IPA

Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. And don't forget if you want to help pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes!

Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone.

Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

The Bangkok New Year's Tournament champion

The guys discuss one of them winning their first Diplomacy tournament and their latest games.

Intro and Diplomacy chat

• The guys start rolling the show early before introducing the episode (after Ken encourages keeping in some pre-show discussion) (0 mins 10 secs)
• They talk about their drinks (4 mins)

The Bangkok New Year's Tournament 2025

• Ken won his first tournament! And also scored two best country trophies (6 mins 45 secs)
• He talks about his game that got him best Russia (12 mins)
• Ken discusses his final game playing as France (14 mins 30 secs)
• Ken talks about Kratom (17 mins 30 secs)
• Gavin talks about catching up with Stuart Barton and Max Roe Banks around his DBNI game (20 mins 10 secs)
• Gavin mentions he's going to the Melbourne Open {Post recording update - this didn't happen due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred closing Brisbane Airport and cancelling all flights}  (21 mins)
• He also talks about planning for the Cane Toad Classic in August this year (21 mins 30 secs)
• Ken asks Gavin around his favourite country preferences (26 mins)

Around the grounds

• Gavin discusses a Colonial 1885 game he's in as France before they move onto the challenges of variants where sea territories get stalemated (27 mins 35 secs)
• Ken talks about taking advantage of a player's repeated orders (35 mins)
• They move onto a Europa Renovatio game where there's now only four players left (38 mins 20 secs)
• Ken discusses the Zeus variant he's playing (45 mins)
• The tech starts giving out with Gavin not hearing Ken (48 mins)

Part 2

• The guys are back about a week and a half later. We both went through a cyclone which cancelled Gavin's plans to get to the Melbourne Open - airport closed and flights all cancelled (50 mins)
• Ken provides an update on game he was hoping to solo in (52 mins 30 secs)
• Gavin points out in vDip a winner take all game results in vDip rankings all going backward except for being buying in (no change) with the winner getting all vDip points (58 mins)
• Because of the recording delay, Gavin runs through the Top 3 placed winners at the Melbourne Open - big congrats to Tianyu Sun! (1 hr 1 min)
• Gavin gives his next interstate tournament plans (1 hr 2 min 15 secs)
• They start wrapping up the show and flag they're about to record a Patreon episode
  
  

  Venue: At home, Brisbane

  Drinks for the interview:

  Gavin: D'Arenberg The Stump Jump Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre from the Barossa, South Australia

  Ken: Kaner's dark ale home brew

Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. And don't forget if you want to help pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes!

Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone.

Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

The fastest Diplomacy solo possible with Peter McNamara and Bradley Grace

Following on from last episode we discuss with Peter McNamara and Bradley Grace the fastest Diplomacy solo possible, all the math and all the reality of how to make it possible!

Intro

• The guys introduce the episode and explain the latest comedy of errors plagueing the show. This includes recording at home again (another dumb reason why) and why Gavin is recording on his iPhone's speaker (0 mins 15 secs)

Interview with Peter McNamara and Bradley Grace on soloing fast

• We begin setting the scenes for this episode's discussion with Peter McNamara and Bradley Grace about how to theoretically solo the board as quickly as possible and how to best practically achieve this (2 mins 25 secs)
• They discuss their drinks in the interview and the reason for the discussion (3 mins 30 secs)
• Peter talks about the theory behind how to solo as quickly as possible on the board in 1903 (7 mins 30 secs)
• Theoretically most players can get to 21 SCs in 1903 (9 mins 30 secs)
• Brad talks about the theory of reaching 21 SC in 1903 as England (11 mins 15 secs)
• Peter talks about a Backstabbr sandbox with Italy in 1903 with 21 SC (12 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss the mathematical equation to solo in 1903. Peter doesn't have it at hand, so Gavin finds it on ChatGPT with lots of other useful elements for this strategy (14 mins 30 secs)
• They all move onto the practical dynamics of being able to solo as quickly as possible, with Brad discussing soloing in 1904 (22 mins)
• Peter gives his perspective on why he could never solo that fast (26 mins)
• Ken asks about being able to make 18 with your own units, without other countries convoying (30 mins 45 secs)
• They talk about the practical aspects for how to convince players to allow you to solo so fast (37 mins 40 secs)
• Peter blows away the myth of The Return of the Mack (42 mins)
• Peter manages to find the sand box for the game at the 2020 Poppycon (45 mins)
• Ken and Gavin pay tribute to both Peter and Bradley as players and ask about their upcoming tournaments - apologies if they talk about tournaments that happened. Remember, things are pretty busy for the guys now so sometimes the podcast episodes come out much later then when they were recorded (50 mins 30 secs)
• The interview wraps up (55 mins)
• The guys give their perspectives on the interview and an update on the math sent post-interview by Peter - apologies for the bad audio from the breeze. They ask if anyone is aware of a solo by 1903 (56 mins)
• Ken talks about heading over to the Southeast Asian New Years Tournament, with Gavin asking if he's going to try a fastest solo ever effort (1 hr 2 mins)
• They also discuss busting (unfortunately) the Return of the Mack myth (1 hr 5 mins)

Around the grounds

• Gavin discusses buying into a game he didn't remember buying in to (1 hr 6 mins 30 sec)
• The theory about dogs and their owners and picking up a great position that with some fast talk is doing very well (1 hr 8 mins)
• Ken discusses his Imperial game (1 hr 10 mins 45 secs)
• Despite talking about the vDip for podcast listeners, the game is no longer available - sorry folks with all the busy real life stuff tihs episode was recorded about a month before it came out (1 hr 15 mins 45 secs)
• They touch on the last time they were in Thailand when they came up the idea of Big Stick Diplomacy. They talk about whether to add to the variant the ability to move from one theatre to another, but allowing for a delay getting there eg using David E Cohen's ocean stacking or similar for naval travel (1 hr 19 mins)
• The guys start wrapping up the show (1 hr 25 mins)

Venue: At home, Brisbane

Drinks for the interview:

Gavin:- Hempranillo Australian shiraz-tempranillo

Ken: Kaner's dark ale home brew

Bradley: Coors beer

Peter: Penfolds shiraz

Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. And don't forget if you want to help pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes!

Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone.

Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

Christmas 2024 Diplomacy

The guys suffer from user error while catching up for our Christmas episode. Seasons greetings everyone!

Intro and Diplomacy chat

• The guys introduce the episode and why this is the second recording of it (0 mins 15 secs)
• Ken describes his own homebrewed ale before it gets their creative juices going on the most incredible Russian opening ever (2 mins 30 secs)
• The greatest Diplomacy solo challenge (8 mins 50  secs)
• Ken talks about the "Return of the Mac" game (15 mins 15 secs)
• He goes onto discuss the December 2024 God Save the Zine edition (apologies Ken accidentally says it was in Diplomacy World) on page 23 by Ian Bond - a Tetris like way of looking at the Classic board (16 mins 40 secs)
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• Ken discusses how Ian's design reminds him of what's achieved in the variant Alacavre, which looks like a fantasy map but has exactly the same connections as a Classic board. That said Ken then points out the stats for this variant are totally different to Classic statistics, which shows how habitual we are when we approach the Classic Diplomacy board (21 mins 20 secs)
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• They go onto creating a new game of Alacavre for Diplomacy Games podcast listeners - just pop over to vDiplomacy, create an account if you haven't got one already and join the game at DiplomacyGames plays (password/invite code is just the word podcast) (33 mins 50 secs)
• They discuss geographic linguistic differences across Australia and Gavin's old casual job he had at the Regatta Hotel. He goes onto mention this was around the time he played Diplomacy for the very first time - through the variant Machiavelli. You can find out all about this in our Patreon feed in a week or so from now (38 mins 50 secs)
• The guys give a proper status update about the show and the likely release schedule/quality over the next 6-12 months (43 mins 30 secs)
• They advertise many "development opportunities" available for listeners who'd like to help the show. If you're able to help let us know on the podcast contact form (47 mins 20 secs)
• Ken also suggests if there are interview guests you'd like to hear on the show to let us know (50 mins 20 secs)
• Ken reflects back on Diplomacy and 2024  (51 mins 45 secs)
• He then discusses his upcoming attendence at the South East Asian New Years tournament being run by Sascha Heylmann on 24-26 January and their recording plans for early 2025 (53 mins 40 secs)
• Ken presents the "Better vDiplomacy player" plaque to Gavin for getting a higher score and ranking than Ken this year (56 mins 20 secs)
• The guys start wrapping up the show (1 hr 1 min)

Venue: At home, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Ken - Kaner's own dark ale
Gavin - Casillero del Diablo shiraz from Chile

Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. And don't forget if you want to help pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes!

Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone.

Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.