Diplomacy Games

Interview with Nathan Barnes & Eric Mead from DiplomacyCast

Amby visits Seattle and interviews the hosts of the podcast DiplomacyCast, Eric Mead & Nathan Barnes in Seattle. They talk about what happened to their show, their thoughts on why face-to-face Diplomacy rocks and their variant suggestions. Plus Kaner discusses his efforts to get a face-to-face community started in Brisbane and Dip news.

Intro

• The guys introduce the show, their drinks and the venue (0 mins 10 secs)

Interview with Nathan Barnes & Eric Mead from DiplomacyCast

• Amby introduces Nathan and Eric in what is planned to be a joint podcast (5 mins 30 secs)
• Eric explains what happened technically to the site for a little while (6 mins 10 secs)
• Nathan talks about the Seattle Diplomacy scene. Amby reflects how the size of Seattle & Brisbane are about the same, but the community of players' size is radically different. They talk about what you need to do to create a strong community in a local area  (9 mins 20 secs)
• They discuss how the 50th DipCon (the North American championship) is scheduled in Seattle for 2019 (11 mins 20 secs)
• They go onto a bit more detail about the hard work needed to create a local community (13 mins)
• Nathan reflects on his first games with Diplomacy, his initial online play before moved back to face-to-face with tournaments (18 mins)
• Eric then discusses his first Diplomacy experiences (19 mins 55 secs)
• They talk about why they no longer player online. Nathan says its due to the core nugget of interpersonal relationships being only achievable in face-to-face games. Eric says he no longer plays online as he found it sucked up too much of his time (22 mins 20 secs)
• Nathan says he did enjoy the challenge of "pick up" games (taking over a CD'ed position) (26 mins 20 secs)
• They talk about the high you get playing face-to-face (28 mins 20 secs)
• They discuss "tells" in face-to-face and how the dynamics are different to online (29 mins 30 sec)
• Eric talks about how a competitive face-to-face game forces more decisive decision making and considerate of longer-term strategy (34 mins)
• Nathan discusses how its worth playing a tournament at least once (35 mins 45 secs)
• They do recognize though that some of the best Dip players are online players (37 mins 30 secs)
• Nathan puts forward the importance of having a nimble plan, Eric talks about listening to your gut on unit placement (39 mins 30 secs)
• Nathan also discusses how face-to-face uses far more means to work out what is going on in the game with both body language and who is talking to who (41 mins 15 secs)
• Amby asks how the guys use their Diplomacy skills in their careers and day-to-day dealings (43 mins 30 secs)
• Nathan explains the key thing Diplomacy teaches you, which Eric describes as a "super power" (47 mins)
• Eric explains what happens when players only think about their own agenda & the importance of empathy (51 mins)
• Amby asks about what happened to the DiplomacyCast podcast while Eric & Nathan explain why they wanted a second Diplomacy podcast to happen. Eric goes into the detail for why the show is having a break (52 mins 45 secs)
• Eric and Nathan discuss what they enjoyed most from their podcast... their April Fools shows (1 hr 7 mins)
• They then discuss the shows they are most proud of (1 hr 15 mins 15 secs)
• Amby learns all about how America is different to Australia when it comes to shift changes, tipping and voting (1 hr 18 mins 40 secs)
• Amby asks what impact did running the podcast have on how other players treated them (1 hr 19 mins 45 secs)
• Nathan discusses Seattle street life during a smoke break (1 hr 23 mins 30 secs)
• Nathan asks Amby what he gets out of playing Diplomacy online (1 hr 25 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss the dichotomy of players introduced to the game either love it or hate it (1 hr 27 mins)
• Amby discusses how he likes the challenge and deciding when to stab (1 hr 28 mins)
• Amby introduces the Divided States variant to the guys - a game with 50 players (1 hr 30 mins)
• Eric discusses his life long dream - a life size real-time Chaos game... on a basketball court (1 hr 31 mins 40 secs)
• Eric & Nathan ask Amby why he plays variants (1 hr 38 mins 15 secs)
• They ask about whether Amby has ever played 1900 - Amby answers by discussing the PlayDip Tournament of Time and the games 1812 Overture and Dissolution (a variant based on the breakup of the Soviet Union (1 hr 40 mins)
• Eric and Nathan talk about their own variant they created: Diplomacy Winks (1 hr 42 mins 20 secs)
• Nathan discusses his Roulette variant (1 hr 48 mins)
• After listening to the way Roulette works, Amby discusses the Versailles variant where you control one main known country and one smaller secret country (1 hr 51 mins)
• Eric introduces his other variant concept: God Diplomacy (1 hr 54 mins)
• Nathan explains face-to-face players don't really care too much about variants, as fundamentally they don't care about the board (2 hrs 0 mins)
• They discuss how much better it is for online players turning up to face-to-face games with a plan are so much better than non-committal players, which tends to occur in online games. (2 hrs 0 mins)
• Nathan and Eric give their final pitch to give a tournament a chance, if for nothing else but the chance of an intense “high” (2 hrs 6 mins)
• Eric recommends their Jim O’Kelly episode that outlines what you need to do to build a local community (2 hrs  9 mins 20 secs)
• Amby gives his thoughts on using digital marketing to target people interested in Diplomacy (2 hrs 10 mins 30 secs)
• They talk about teachers who introduce Diplomacy to students and how they can create slow-burn players for the future (2 hrs 12 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss how the game better suits non-gamers, and how it is less about winning and more about playing. Nathan suggests getting psychologists into the hobby before discussing how the game develops your skills for the office (2 hrs 15 mins)
• They wrap things up, with Nathan and Eric calling for new podcast ideas… beyond Diplomacy (2 hrs 20 mins)

Discussion about the interview

• Kaner and Amby return to talk about the interview (2 hrs 21 mins 20 secs)
• They discuss Nathan and Eric’s variant ideas - focusing on the Chaos concept (2 hrs 22 mins 30 secs)

Kaner is trying to create a face-to-face community in Brisbane

• Kaner brought together some Warhammer games & Mrs Kaner to play a face-to-face game… and they had a blast! (2 hrs 23 mins 40 secs)
• The guys discuss their thoughts further on getting a local community going (2 hrs 26 mins)
• Amby asks Kaner how he explained how the game works (2 hrs 28 mins)

Amby and Kaner are going to a tournament

• Amby and Kaner plan to go to the Melbourne Open, a face-to-face tournament planned for mid March (2 hrs 33 mins 20 secs)

Online Diplomacy news

• DemonOverlord is organising the 2019 championship and is calling for players across the different Diplomacy sites (2 hrs 34 mins 45 secs)
• Interactive maps have now been coded by Tobi for all variants at vDip to make it easier to submit orders (2 hrs 36 mins 20 secs)
• New ezine editions are now out for Diplomacy World and Diplomacy Pouch - which includes our interview with Andrew Goff (2 hrs 38 mins 20 secs)
• Amby gives a belated apology for the gap in episodes, and congratulates Murcanic for winning the 1066 Tournament (2 hrs 40 mins)
• The guys wrap up the episode (2 hrs 42 mins)

 

Venue: T.S. McHugh's, Seattle & Little Big House, Brisbane.

Drinks of choice:

Seattle:

Nathan - Gin soda with a splash of tonic

Eric - Pinot Noir from Oregon; Bushmills whiskey and soda on the rocks

Amby - Charles & Charles, cabineret syrah; Washington Hills cabernet; tequila, soda water & lime

Brisbane:

Kaner - Balter XPA from Balter Brewing Company, Queensland

Amby - Rightbank shiraz from Margaret River, Western Australia

 

Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. Or if you want to help improve the audio equipment you can donate at Patreon. Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone!

Interview with Andrew Goff, WDC 2018 winner & small variants

 

Amby interviews Andrew Goff, winner of the 2018 World Diplomacy Championship in Washington DC. The guys then discuss Andrew's advice before talking about current games and playing small variant maps.

Intro

• The guys introduce the show, their drinks and the venue (0 mins 10 secs)

Interview with Andrew Goff

Warning it sounds like the audio dropped off in a couple of spots in the recording for a few seconds. Amby went back to the original audio and it sounds like it was when recorded. No idea why. Sorry folks!!!

• Kaner and Amby start discussing the prelude to the interview with Andrew Goff, World Diplomacy Champion for 2018 (5 mins)
• The interview begins with Andrew setting the scene for where he currently is (6 mins)
• Andrew talks about the tournament, the experience and how it compared with previous tournaments (6 mins 45 secs)
• He discusses the benefit of having a round off during the tournament (9 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks about the greatest challenge Andrew had during the tournament - Doug Moore's gameplay during the rounds (10 mins)
• Andrew discusses surprises through the tournament - especially the online players turning up to face-to-face tournaments, and how face-to-face players are increasingly changing their styles (14 mins)
• Amby asks about the evolution of gameplay in the last few years (16 mins 15 secs)
• Andrew talks about game theory and broader strategy in the game (17 mins 45 secs)
• Andrew discusses diversity in the game - with more younger players and women coming into Diplomacy (19 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks about other's game play when it comes to excellent stabs (21 mins)
• They discuss the top board and how things were different on that board compared to the preliminary rounds (22 mins 45 secs)
• Andrew talks about the process for selecting the countries to play on the top board (the Paris Method) and his experience playing England - his least favorite country to play (25 mins)
• You can view the top board for WDC on Backstabbr. Andrew discusses the thinking behind Liverpool holding, and why he wanted to be the first player stabbed in the west (26 mins 45 secs)
• At this top level Andrew discusses the nature of avoiding being the top target, and cultural differences if you present yourself strong (30 mins)
• The time limit and its impact on gameplay (31 mins 30 secs)
• They talk about the end of the game (35 mins)
• Amby asks about Andrew's plans to defend his championship in 2019 in Marseilles (39 mins)
• Amby asks about plans for an Australian based tournament in the future. Andrew challenges Amby to get things happening in Brisbane (40 mins 20 secs)
• They wrap up the interview (43 mins)

 

• Kaner and Amby return and talk about the interview. Amby asks Kaner about his thoughts on Andrew's insights (43 mins 30 secs)
• They talk about a more strategic style of gameplay (44 mins)
• Kaner loves the generalisation from Andrew about what works on Americans and wonders if its true (46 mins)
• Amby brings up how online players are increasingly getting into face-to-face (47 mins 20 secs)
• They talk about both going to the March 2019 Australian championships (48 mins 15 secs)
• Next they talk about putting on a Brisbane based game in the Australian winter of 2019.. Amby discusses the WebDiplomacy Forum thread about some Australian-New Zealand online players playing together (49 mins)
• Kaner reflects how the time limit impacts the gameplay. Amby suggests a cheeky way Kaner can boost his ranking (51 mins 20 secs)

Around the grounds

• Kaner starts discussing his Heptarchy IV game Hep Bros (54 mins)
• Amby references the History of England podcast he's listening to, where he's currently up to the War of the Roses, and how it could be applied to the HeptarchyIV board (56 mins)
• They look at the stats for the variant and find its not very balanced at all (58 mins)
• Amby starts discussing one of his recent games (Salt air and Blood) that he won on the North Sea Wars variant designed by sqrg - a four player variant with some weird whacky rules around the North Sea which connect to economic supply centres. He then goes onto discuss the funny rule where once your unit takes an economic SC, you can't move it back into the Central North Sea (60 mins)
• He then goes onto discuss his gameplay needed to win the game (1 hr 4 mins 30 secs)
• Amby then talks about the normal Dip gameplay that also happened on the board (1 hr 7 mins 20 secs)
• They then look at the stats for the variant (1 hr 9 mins)
• After some more drinks, the guys go onto discuss their game they played together: Ver-Dunny, using the variant 843: Treaty of Verdun created by Milan Mach. Kaner makes an initial incorrect guess on which player Amby was, although Amby picked Kaner correctly (the game was anonymous.) Respect to the 3rd player in the game, lydiia. This was an anonymous, gunboat game (1 hr 10 mins 15 secs)
• Kaner-Amby argy-bargy aside, they both agree this was a great map and variant and offered a lot of opportunity as a 3 player map (1 hr 15 mins)
• They check the stats for the variant finding solos are frequent but the split between all three players is incredibly close, showing a highly balanced map, which would be great for a tournament map (1 hr 16 mins)
• Amby talks about he's on a roll with 3 solos, bouncing up from 100 in the vDip Top 100 up to the 50's (1 hr 19 mins)
• Kaner asks Amby's thoughts on the 4 player South America map (1 hr 19 mins 30 secs)
• Amby brings up another game he's involved in, the 5 player variant Manifest Destiny, created by Morg and coded by Enriador. Kaner doesn't some aesthetics like the covered wagon icons and the blue used for the USA. Amby discusses the gameplay and map (while maintaining the anonymity of the game). Amby gives Kaner a history lesson about the Republic of Texas. Amby asks our Texan diplomacy players to get in touch to correct anything we got wrong - NOTE: since this podcast was recorded the game has actually ended - Amby was playing Mexico if you care to check the result (1 hr 20 mins)
• Kaner says the map reminds him a bit of the variant Imperium (based on the German invasions of Rome) (1 hr 27 mins)
• In preparation for his trip to Italy, Amby has been relistening to the History of Rome podcast and has got all excited again about his variant creation idea based around the Crisis of the Third Century (scroll down half way down for previous discussion about this in episode 22). The variant has Roman civil wars, barbarians and the Antonine plague - Amby later checked at it was actually the Cyprian plague. He goes onto discuss maybe having it based around the Fall of the Tetrarchy when there were four competing Roman emperors (1 hr 28 mins)
• Kaner starts talking jibberish about the variant Fubar with the main player - and totally overpowered - Fatflap. They look into the variant which is totally WTF. Amby curses sqrg - making a great variant with North Sea Wars and then making something as bizarre as Fubar (1 hr 30 mins)
• Kaner brings up the South America four player variant by Joe Janbu, and ported across to online Dip by Oliver Auth (1 hr 35 mins 45 secs)
• More drinks arrive and the guys talk about the bank vaults and bathroom in the Boom Boom Room. Amby says he'll put up photos of them, but then when the guys left they forgot! Hopefully a couple of days after the podcast goes live he'll get some photos (1 hr 39 mins)
• They get back to Diplomacy and talk about Amby's non-rated 5 day constant NMRing Imperial game. He talks about his current gameplay as Russia and his thinking when he decided to stab China - a further NOTE: due to the number of people in the Boom Boom Room the guys started talking really loud to make sure they were recorded. So unlike previous Amby advice to turn the podcast up, this time you might need to turn it down! (1 hr 42 mins 30 secs)
• Amby then gives an anonymous update for his Divided States game (1 hr 49 mins)
• Kaner brings up the discussion about having a Newspaper game - a grey press public posting. In this variant you can pretend to be another country without anyone knowing who it really is. Check out the grey press fog of war Classic Newspaper game thread on vDip to learn more  (1 hr 51 mins 30 secs)
• Amby mentions the previous By Jingo game as an example of how it works (1 hr 55 mins)
• Amby talks about his world tour with the bank's money. He mentions there will hopefully one more podcast in mid-November, but then radio silence until January when Amby gets back. While he's away Amby is planning to organise a few interviews while he's away (1 hr 58 mins 15 secs)
• The guys wrap up (2 hrs 2 mins 30 secs)

 

Venue: Boom Boom Room, Brisbane.

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - 150 Lashes Pale Ale from James Squire, New South Wales

Amby - Terrazas de los Andes, Malbec from Argentina

Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. Or if you want to help improve the audio equipment you can donate at Patreon. Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone!

How to choose a variant, stabbing, Hundred & the Munich Uber driver

Both guys drink beer. Both guys grow luxuriant beards. And most importantly both guys talk Dip: Great discussion on the perfect stab, how to decide what game to play and the Munich Uber driver. Doesn't get better than this.

Intro

• Amby ditches red wine for an episode while Mrs Amby is away and enjoys a beer with Kaner (0 mins 10 secs)
• They discuss Anglo-Saxon pronunciations and how it relates to the brewery they're drinking in and start  (1 mins 20 secs)
• Next up is an impromptu chat about the variant Ankara Crescent and how it got inspired but a bit of silliness. Kaner explains how moves work in the variant (4 mins)
• Kaner moves onto Cataclysm another silly movement rule variant where fleets and armies are amphibious and can move to sea, coastal and land territories (7 mins 50 secs)
• Amby touches on Kaner's plan to try to work out what variant to play next (9 mins 10 secs)

Around the grounds

• But first Kaner asks Amby about the 1066 variant Tournament and how it's going (10 mins)
• Kaner proposes little icons next to player's names for winners of tournaments. They briefly digress to the Known World 901 Tournament and while the tourney is pretty much fell apart, its clear that Eki83 is the clear winner and Amby is officially the worst player of the variant (12 mins 20 secs)
• Amby tries enticing Kaner to maybe play Sopwith (which we covered in episode 6), Kaner instead suggests he'd rather be game master (16 mins 20 secs)
• Amby starts talking about his games, beginning with an Imperial game where he's playing as Russia. There have been many NMR's, they discuss the perils of games with long phases.  Amby does a blow-by-blow account of his gameplay and what's been happening on the board. Kaner makes fun of Amby for buying into an unrated game  (18 mins 30 secs)
• Next up are the anonymous games Amby is in - a Divided States game (33 mins 40 secs)
• Kaner takes on the role of American geography professor and Amby plays American history professor (35 mins 30 secs)
• Amby then talks briefly about his anonymous Atlantic Colonies game and his strategy of trying to limit the number of Dip games he has to lessen the impact of sitters (39 mins 30 secs)
• The guys get new drinks. Kaner discovers the podcast has a Twitter account (41 mins)
• Next its joke time; warning the joke at 45 mins is a little rude (42 mins 40 secs)

Kaner decides what variant to play next

• Kaner teaches Amby how to sort the variants table on vDip (47 mins)
• Kaner decides he doesn't want to play a hot game (49 mins 15 secs)
• They throw around ideas about playing Imperium, Edwardian and Spice Islands, before he decides on... Heptarchy IV. He then sets up a new game called Hep Bros (51 mins 30 secs)

Variant review: Hundred & timing for the perfect stab

• Amby talks about a Hundred game called "Want a 3 player game?" - one of the few three player games - set around the Hundred Years War. Amby gives a hat tip again to the History of England podcast (59 mins)
• He goes onto discuss his game play in the opening, and how he successfully timed his stabs on England (1 hr 5 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss the positioning of territories, particularly the landbridge between Calais and London (1 hr 7 mins)
• Amby then works out the timing to then stab France to successfully solo the game (1 hr 8 mins)
• They discuss what is needed in a perfect stab (1 hr 9 mins 30 secs)
• Amby talks about why he chose this variant and why it ticked all his boxes before they talk about the two things the guys don't like about the variant (1 hr 11 mins)
• The guys give a hat tip to the variant creator Andy Schwartz, map designer Derek Carlson and coder Oliver Auth (1 hr 13 mins)
• They compare how this as a 3 player game compares to 1066 and 843: the Treaty of Verdun. The guys then decide to play a gunboat anonymous game of Treaty of Verdun called Ver-dunny (1 hr 17 mins)
• Amby gives some tasting notes before talking about a guy downstairs at the bar who looks like a modern day Munich Uber driver with a canny resemblance to Hitler (1 hr 19 mins)

Kaner is writing an article for Diplomacy World

• Former interviewee Chris Martin suggested the guys write an article about the podcast for the Diplomacy World magazine. They then brainstorm what should go into the article that Kaner is going to write. Kaner learns about hashtags with the concept of #F*ckingIdiots. Amby plugs Patreon due to a drop off in people donating to the show, Amby learns about audio levels from Kaner. They talk about Brisbane's crappy train network, filming Kaner's knees and talking to players. They discuss what happened to the DiplomacyCast podcast and acknowledge our podcast should get more into the webDip and playDip space (1 hr 23 mins)
• They touch on the Tournament of Time over at playDip, discuss being Old Farts and what else needs to go into the article (1 hr 34 mins)
• Amby discusses General Kessad's step learning curve and absence from playing Dip. Kaner talks about playing Dip in the old days, drawing on the walls and passive rage holding (1 hr 40 mins)
• Amby suggests we have a Random Questions episode where any player can ask a question - ask at the Twitter account, website, email or via the forum thread in vDip. They also suggest alternative means  (1 hr 46 mins)

Is the Munich Uber driver still downstairs?

• The guys make their way downstairs and Kaner casually walks past the bar to check out Herr Hitler (1 hr 49 mins)

Venue: Æther Brewing, Brisbane.

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - Miso and Honey Pilsner and the Golden Axe cider from Æther Brewing, Brisbane, Australia

Amby - Pitchfork Saison, Hop Skip & Jump IPA and the Mayor of Milton lager from Æther Brewing, Brisbane, Australia

 

Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. Or if you want to help improve the audio equipment you can donate at Patreon. Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone!

Sabotage!

The guys get together for a good old fashioned Diplomacy chat, but things very much take a recurring theme of the name of the bar: Sabotage! They talk sitters, tournament rule "changes" (depending on your perspective) and alcohol sabotaging Amby's brain twice when trying to remember Diplomacy players' names.

Intro

• After introducing their venue and drinks, Kaner jumps straight into joke time (1 min)

Around the grounds

• Kaner asks Amby about his Crusades 1201 game and his attempt to get from one end of the board to Jerusalem. When this was recorded the anon game was still going but only 2 days later wrapped up. To make it easier to understand Amby was playing England in "Remove Kebab" (3 mins)
• Amby discusses the direction he gave his sitters when he went bush, and discusses the intended/unintended sabotage where the sitter ignored Amby's strategy, including this game and another. Amby had been attacking France in this gunboat game, but had made peace so they can all concentrate on the Ottomans. But his sitter ignored Amby's game plan and stabbed France taking a SC off him instead. He talks about his strategy at the end game of trying to get a draw against Ottomans, which was ultimately unsuccessful - congrats to Mephisto on the win  (6 mins 15 secs)
• Kaner talks about his secret fear about getting a sitter who can play better than him (9 mins 20 secs)
• Amby discusses the Punic Wars game "Old Med" where he was playing as the Helleni and got eliminated. This was a public press game. Amby discusses his strategy with Puni which fell apart very quickly (10 mins 40 secs)
• They discuss the default position of Dip players online always referring to each other as males. They ponder why this happens and would love to get the perspectives of a female online player abut this (13 mins 20 secs)
• They return back to Punic Wars where Amby discusses his next game plan, trying to split Puni and the Romani without success. He discusses how it is an uneven number of SCs so a two way draw is impossible unless a player chooses to NOT take a neutral SC, and Amby's attempts to sway Puni or Romani. Amby was ultimately correct as Puni (LovelyPinkEgg) who was ahead the whole game but got stabbed by Romani (nikhil) who took the winner take all victory (14 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner touches on the Known World 901 Tournament and asks how that is going. Amby discusses his views on the matter - a bone of contention in the vDip forum thread! (19 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner asks about the process Amby followed to find a sitter, and discusses the country swap tool vs giving login details to a sitter before becoming a little precious. Amby then discusses how he thought one of his sitters had changed his password to screw him over... sabotage! Or maybe not...  (21 mins 30 secs)
• They get another drink and after moving discuss how Amby thought the bar way have been Diplomacy focused being called Sabotage (26 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner brings up Amby's slipping rankings before coming up with a cunning plan for boosting your ranking (28 mins 30 secs)
• Amby brings up the Divided States game he was in where he initially did very well, only to now be eliminated. They move onto his other Divided States game (which is also anon) which he's doing not badly in... for the moment. Amby discusses how everyone, including his allies have started stabbing him like crazy (31 mins 15 secs)
• Amby mentions yet another game he's been eliminated from (also now just ended) - Foggy 81 where he played as Russia. Congrats to Dr Helmut Kohl - aptly playing as Germany - who won (35 mins)
• Then its onto Amby's suggestion for a new variant: Shadow Fog. A fog of war variant where the other players' units and SCs are all greyed out. In this variant idea you don't know who is who and who owns what, making it even harder to work out if another player is about to solo. Kaner suggests adding grey press into the mix  (35 mins 45 secs)
• After a new set of drinks they talk skate boarding (42 mins 30 secs)

Variant chat: Greek Diplomacy

• It's been a while since we had a focus on a specific variant, but its back! Kaner discusses Greek Diplomacy (44 mins)
• Kaner talks about the special rules: 4 coin bidding for SC's and what units can be built where. Amby gets distracted by Kaner's "300" efforts and a unique rendition of "Sweet Caroline" (46 mins)
• Kaner talks hacking the system and why he thinks two wrongs make a right (52 mins)
• Next he reminds Amby about the Chaoctopi variant (54 mins)
• They get back to Greek Diplomacy with the amount of sea territories and Amby questions whether armies should be able to traverse small bodies of water (54 mins 30 secs)

Forum etiquette

• The music goes quiet as Kaner brings up forum etiquette and forum thread management (1 hr 1 mins)
• The guys talk about assorted Dip issues (1 hr 7 mins)
• Some last minute jokes (1 hr 8 mins 30 secs)
• Amby makes it clear he's not going to WorldDip Con 2016 before the alcohol makes him forget Dip player names the second time (1 hr 10 mins 30 secs)

 

Venue: Sabotage Social, Brisbane.

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - Newstead Dark Ale from Brisbane, Australia

Amby - Schild shiraz from the Barossa, Australia

Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. Or if you want to help improve the audio equipment you can donate at Patreon. Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone!

Interview with a Newbie: The General talks about learning Diplomacy the hard way

What is the experience of learning Diplomacy like for a newbie? The guys interview The General about his trials and tribulations in the steep learning curve of getting your head around the game of Diplomacy.

Intro

• This is the first ever three way face to face episode, introducing Dip newbie “The General” and their drinks (0 mins 30 secs)

Interview with a newbie: chat with The General

• The General discusses his two games he’s signed up for (3 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks about how the communication is going. The General talks about being in a public press game. Kaner talks about the Diplomacy Archives and opening moves and strategies (5 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner confuses The General with Dip opening strategy names such as the Lepanto (8 mins 45 secs)
• The guys talk about building trust though bounces (11 mins 30 secs)
• The General discusses the most critical decision: what to call himself. Kaner and Amby cover old ground about how they got their player names (12 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner offers a “special prize” for anyone who guesses that the 406 stands for in Kaner’s player name (kaner406) (15 mins)
• They discuss why The General signed up for vDip rather than the other Dip sites (16 mins 30 secs)
• While talking The General’s first turn ticks over… only to find out he’s misordered. Kaner talks about how to check your moves (18 mins)
• Kaner explains self supporting neutral units and how they work on a board (20 mins 45 secs)
• Amby’s rule number 1: take shit, ideally from neutrals (22 mins)
• Kaner talks about the interactive map feature before they walk brass tacks on The General’s approach (23 mins)
• Kaner then explores some of the features around vDip - and a recommendation for Oli with some changed default settings  (32 mins 20 secs)
• Amby suggests an automated feature that could be sent via PM or email for anyone new signing up to the site (36 mins)
• They talk friendship groups, avoiding meta gaming and fake accounts (37 mins)
• Next up they talk the differences between public press, normal press, grey press and gunboat (40 mins)
• The General asks about how things vary between the opening and the mid-game (46 mins)
• Kaner talks about how to suggest intentions to players in gunboat games eg support holds, support moves (49 mins)
• Kaner discusses his “crab shell” strategy in gunboat games (51 mins)
• Amby switches his wine up to the d’Arenberg The Anthropocene Epoch Mencia from McLaren Vale, Australia before talking food (54 mins)
• Kaner gets back to talking about the mid-game (56 mins 20 secs)
• They discuss unit transformation options (58 mins 30 secs)
• Next up its drunken joke time (1 hr 1 min 30 secs)
• The General changes beers and starts drinking the same stout as Kaner (1 hr 4 mins 30 secs)
• They get back to Dip talk, discussing broader strategy (1 hr 5 mins 20 secs)
• The General proposes how the game would be great if it took into account geography and weather. The guys talk about the role of unpassable territory due to mountains/deserts/jungle, mountain passes in Rinascimento, how rivers are implemented, (1 hr 6 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner shows The General how to check past games for a variant and how players approached the board. They talk about how they use this feature from time to time and then spend some time unpacking how Diplomacy is like Risks’ older brother who drinks scotch (1 hr 8 mins)
• Amby introduces the concept of stalemate lines to The General (1 hr 20 mins)
• They proceed onto discussing in the process the Divided States variant and the nature of creating variants (1 hr 22 mins)
• Kaner touches on the upcoming World DipCon in DC (1 hr 25 mins 40 secs)
• The General asks about how the guys usually construct their podcasts and what they normally talk about (1 hr 26 mins 30 secs)
• Just when they guys think they’ve wrapped up the episode, they rewind and add an addendum where the General discusses how he assumed the rules of Risk were equally applied to Diplomacy, which created his misorder. They talk about how starting in the hobby can be a steep learning curve (1 hr 29 mins 30 secs)
• They talk a little again about openings on the Classic board and how to interpret a player’s intentions under gunboat conditions (1 hr 31 mins)
• The General asks about whether there’s a book about Diplomacy. Amby talks about it on Amazon, the Calhamer estate auction of the original boards and the different language versions of Diplomacy online (1 hr 34 mins)
• They then wrap it up (1 hr 36 mins)

Venue: Isle's Lane, Brisbane.

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - El Calavera Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout from Ballistic Beer in Brisbane, Australia

Amby - Mother’s Milk Shiraz from the Barossa and d’Arenberg The Anthropocene Epoch Mencia from McLaren Vale, Australia

The General - The Bent Spoke IPA from Canberra, Australia (although the guys misidentify it on tape as being from Newstead in Brisbane)

Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. Or if you want to help improve the audio equipment you can donate at Patreon. Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone!

Interview with Chris Martin about 2018 WorldDipCon

Our first arse-end episode! Aired the wrong way around deliberately, Amby interviews face-to-face player Chris Martin about World Dip Con 2018 in Washington DC before they discuss their current games.

Intro

• The guys explain this episode is recorded arse-end around (0 mins 15 secs)
• Kaner laments his Microsoft troubles and how it prevented him participating in the interview (0 mins 30 secs)
• Amby explains how the interviewee, Chris Martin, is more a face-to-face player and is the host of World Dip Con in Washington DC in October (1 min 45 secs)
• Kaner talks about what interested him in the structure of the tournament (4 mins)
• The guys talk about their drinks - Kaner has an El Calavera Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout from Ballistic Beer in Brisbane, Amby has a d’Arenberg The Anthropocene Epoch Mencia from McLaren Vale, Australia (5 mins 45 secs)
• They then turn to American politics (from an Australian perspective) (8 mins 45 secs)

Interview with Chris Martin about World Dip Con 2018

• Then it’s back to the Chris Martin interview (12 mins)
• Chris is drinking a Fourteen Hands Cabernet Sauvignon from Oregon in the United States, Amby has a coffee (seeing its morning in Australia) (13 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks about the role of alcohol at face-to-face tournaments (15 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss the concept of a Drunk Diplomacy game (16 mins 50 secs)
• Chris talks about the Potomac Tea and Knife Society and their role hosting World Dip Con 30 at the Hilton Hotel in Washington DC, 5-7 October 2018 (18 mins 20 secs)
• They talk about the Russian connection for the tournament (19 mins 20 secs)
• Amby asks about the venue itself (20 mins 50 secs)
• They talk about how the current sign-up rate compares to previous WDC’s (22 mins 20 secs)
• Amby asks about the advantages for players who aren’t super confident about their abilities and what they can still gain, even if they’re eliminated (24 mins)
• Chris talks a little about the structure of the tournament (28 mins)
• Amby asks about how online players should approach the face-to-face environment and how your experience can work for you, but also how things vary (30 mins 15 secs)
• Chris talks about the scoring system for World Dip Con and how it impacts on gameplay (33 mins 45 secs)
• He goes onto discuss the timing within the event (40 mins)
• Amby asks the role of a face-to-face tournament coordinator and to what extent you need to reinvent the wheel, and how its all managed (41 mins 40 secs)
• Amby channels his inner Kaner with a series of questions. Chris drops a big hint for an Australian 2020 World Dip Con bid (44 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks how players with an online profile approach their face-to-face position (52 mins 30 secs)
• Chris discusses where he plays online: Backstabbr (55 mins 10 secs)
• Amby asks about Chris’ Diplomacy Academy on Youtube (59 mins)
• Chris talks about the difference between a tournament host vs director and videoing the top board (1 hr 2 mins 15 secs)
• To find out more about registering for World Dip Con visit the website (1 hr 3 mins)
• Chris tempts Amby with an invitation (1 hr 4 mins 30 secs)
• Then the interview gets wrapped up with Chris’ final thoughts (1 hr 6 mins)

The guys thoughts on the interview

• Amby gives his thoughts on Chris’ offer and mentions looking into an interview with the guys from DiplomacyCast (1 hr 7 mins)
• They talk about the prospect of a World Dip Con in Australia in 2020 (1 hr 9 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner talks about wanting to get involved in a face to face Australian game (1 hr 12 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner talks about his experience with Backstabbr (1 hr 13 mins 30 secs)
• He goes onto discuss his thoughts on managing seperate online vs face-to-face identities (1 hr 15 mins)
• They then discuss using tech to better manage the event and whether “meta-gaming” happens by default in tournaments (1 hr 17 mins)

What the Dr Recommended

• They discuss heading out to suburban Brisbane in January 2019 for a recording session at Ballistic Brewery (1 hr 19 mins 45 secs)
• The guys squeeze in a cheeky back end 51 - 100 of the vDip Hall of Fame with Australian accents (1 hr 21 mins)

Around the Grounds

• Kaner talks about his current games and how he’s getting destroyed in Punic Wars (1 hr 28 mins)
• Amby gets really surprised about Punic Wars being Fog of War at vDip, when it was non-Fog at the Diplomail Lab. Kaner gives his thoughts on who has the advantage on this map (1 hr 28 mins 40 secs)
• Kaner talks about his similarly poor performance in a WWIV Sea Lanes game (1 hr 33 mins 50 secs)
• Amby complains about everyone stabbing him all at once and implementing his mass migration strategy (1 hr 36 mins)
• They talk about an anonymous Divided States game they are both in, but on opposite sides of the board (1 hr 40 mins)
• Amby gives an evil/cheeky laugh about an anonymous Crusades 1201 game he is in and his plans for a valiant quest (1 hr 41 mins 30 secs)
• Amby talks about his last anonymous game he’s in and is doing well in - by the time the episode was released, Amby did in fact win his game (1 hr 46 mins 15 secs)
• They then wrap things up and give a sneak peek discussion on the next episode (1 hr 47 mins 30 secs)

Venue: Isle's Lane, Brisbane.

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - El Calavera Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout from Ballistic Beer in Brisbane
Amby - d’Arenberg The Anthropocene Epoch Mencia from McLaren Vale, Australia 

Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. Or if you want to help improve the audio equipment you can donate at Patreon. Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone!

Mud throwing Dip style

After a while between drinking sessions Kaner and Amby hook up again in a loud American bar for Independence Day before heading down to the Riverbar to throw Dip mud in each others' face.

Intro

• Kaner and Amby celebrate Independence Day by starting off in an American themed sports bar called “Fat Angel”. Amby is drinking a Mojo shiraz from the Barossa Valley, Kaner is drinking the Feral Warthog IPA from West Australia. The guys felt when recording it was too loud and plan to move to another bar (although listening later, it wasn’t too bad) (0 mins 5 secs)
• Now they’re at Riverbar. Kaner quickly throws in a heap of Australian colloquialisms before talking about his urinal experience (2 mins 30 secs)
• The guys recognise its been a while since we last got together in a pub for an episode (4 mins 45 secs)

A long around the grounds

• They talk about what they’ve learnt as a result of implementing some of Dr Recommended’s suggestion on which games to sign up to: gunboat games with longer phase periods. Amby acknowledges that he made some slip ups in his decision making on which NMR/CD games to join (5 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner talks about his WW4 game as Japan that has just wrapped up in a draw before saying how drunk he is already (10 mins 15 secs)
• The guys experience technical issues in the field being iPad-less (13 mins)
• They introduce their drinks: Amby has a Malbec Tarrazas Reserva from Mendoza, Argentina Kaner is drinking a Four Pines Kolsch from Sydney in Australia (14 mins 20 secs)
• Then it’s back to discussing the WW4 game. Amby asks about the strategy of throwing SCs to allies (14 mins 50 secs)
• They talk words (19 mins)
• Kaner discusses his desire to colour every territory on the map (21 mins 45 secs)
• Amby talks about borders in maps - the border aspects he likes, the bits he doesn’t like. He references the Crusades 1201 map and games he is in (23 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner asks whether the Crusades map is historically accurate (25 mins 15 secs)
• The guys give their thoughts on other possible Crusades variant ideas (27 mins 45 secs)
• Then Amby discusses the borders in the Edwardian variant and this thoughts (33 mins)
• Time for a discussion on the guys’ various Divided States, and why his “be nice to people” philosophy just does not work (39 mins 45 secs)
• Amby discusses very briefly the Known World 901 Tournament (46 mins 45 secs)
• He then talks about the 1066 Tournament (48 mins)

What the Dr Recommended

• Then its a quick “What the Dr Recommended” segment, going through the top 50 in the vDip Hall of Fame (49 mins 45 secs)

Kaner v Amby: fight time over scoring

• Kaner brings up a forum discussion on points and scoring. It doesn’t take long until he and Amby disagree with each other (52 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks Kaner about Ghost Ratings (1 hr 4 mins)

Dip World, red boxes and padlocks

• Kaner discusses the latest Diplomacy World issue 142, upcoming tournaments and an article from Enriador about the variant Florence on vDip (1 hr 7 mins 45 secs)
• Before wrapping things up they talk quickly about the red warning box and padlock changes that have occured on vDip and to some extent webDip (1 hr 11 mins)
• They then wrap up the episode (1 hr 14 mins)

Podcast bonus!

But wait, there’s more! The guys add an encore jokes segment (1 hr 15 mins)

 

Venue: Fat Angel's (briefly) and then Riverbar, Brisbane.

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - Feral Warthog IPA from West Australia and then Four Pines Kolsch from Sydney, Australia

Amby - Mojo shiraz from the Barossa Valley, Australia and then Malbec Tarrazas Reserva from Mendoza, Argentina.

Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. Or if you want to help improve the audio equipment you can donate at Patreon. Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone!

 

Interview with Dr Recommended

Kaner has too much shit going on to head to the pub... the shame! But we wanted to at least share with you this interview with vDip's Dr Recommended. Everyone is drinking during the interview and its a bit of fun, especially discussion about the on again/off again relationship between Doc and Amby.

Interview with Dr Recommended

• Amby asks Doc about where he hangs out in the online Dip world (0 mins 5 secs)
• Kaner asks how Doc first got into Dip (2 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner observes how a number of school groups have started playing Dip online and asks Doc’s take on this (6 mins)
• Everyone discusses what they’re drinking while recording - Doc: Hop Henge Deschutes Brewery strong IPA from Oregon; Kaner: Mercury Hard Cider from Tasmania; Amby: Fleur de Cap shiraz from South Africa and McGuigan Brothers Shiraz from “southern Australia” (7 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner asks Doc about why he and Amby never seem to get on in a game (10 mins 30 secs)
• Amby gives his take on his poor gaming relationship with Doc (14 mins)
• Doc talks about stabbing Amby again (19 mins)
• Amby asks if his own playing style is too trusting. Doc talks about his general strategy (21 mins)
• Kaner starts asking a question before Amby interjects and asks how Doc can humanly play 31 games at once (26 mins)
• Amby asks about what skills from Diplomacy can be applied elsewhere (28 mins 45 secs)
• Doc explains where his handle came from. Amby and Kaner discuss how they got their handles. They discuss having a thread about what the 406 in kaner406 stands for (30 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner gets to his planned question, asking about communication and Doc’s decision making on allying vs not allying (33 mins 30 secs)
• They talk about playing a full press game of Mate Against Mate together (37 mins)
• Kaner asks about Doc’s performance stats and whether there are any spectacular wins he’s had - Doc discusses a WWIV game on vDip (38 mins)
• They discuss the Google Translate game they all played together 3 years ago (41 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner asks about the tournaments Doc is in (45 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks how middling players in the Hall of Fame can lift their game. They go on to discuss how the ratings system could be improved (48 mins 15 secs)
• The guys talk about their “What the Doctor Recommended” segment and the need to give it a refresh. Doc asks for more singing (54 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner talks about how the Hall of Fame at webDip works really well with recent changes. Doc discusses how he’s catching up with RUFFHAUS in real life with their wives (57 mins)
• Amby asks relationship advice from Doc and what she thinks of his habit (60 mins)
• Kaner asks Doc if there are any other form of stats that could be applied beyond win-draw-survive-defeated (1 hr 2 mins 40 secs)
• Amby notes how Doc has been playing many of the new variants that have come to vDip. He asks which of the new variants really interest him (1 hr 6 mins 30 secs)
• Doc gives his top 3 favourite variants (1 hr 10 mins 45 secs)
• Amby reflects on unit expectations and feedback from David E. Cohen on his original plans for his maps to not include transform options. Doc and Kaner talk about playing a 901 Known World game with a gentleman’s agreement on not transforming (1 hr 12 mins)
• They start wrapping up the interview and ask Doc if he has any further comments (1 hr 16 mins)

Venue:  Sorry folks, no pub (interview only)

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - Mercury Hard Cider from Tasmania

Amby - Fleur de Cap shiraz from South Africa and McGuigan Brothers Shiraz from “southern Australia”

Dr Recommended - Hop Henge Deschutes Brewery strong IPA from Oregon

Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. Or if you want to help improve the audio equipment - after listening to this episode's audio quality we're sure you'll agree you can donate at Patreon. Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone!

 

Better late than never

Amby fucked up. This was recorded over a month ago but with too much real life shit it's only going up now. Consider it a point in time episode as half the games discussed finished. But we guess its better to get it out anyway and try to get better. Good philosophy for Dip anyway! Apologies on the general drunkedness.

Intro

• After a post-production issue the guys open at the Brewski, just down the road in Caxton St. The guys give their diplomacy drinks analysis  (0 mins 45 secs)
• They move onto discussing all the new variants on vDip (although by the time this comes out, they'll probably be only new-ish). First up is the War of the Austrian Succession which Amby play listed at the Russian Diplolab (5 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner points out Amby has a fellow history buff in gopher, a vDip mod and player who has some ahistorical concerns with the variant and map (7 mins 15 secs)
• Amby gives a Diplomacy player update about the Klemens von Metternich book he's reading. Kaner discusses the book he's started reading History of Eastern Europe by Vegas Gabriel Liulevicious (10 mins 15 secs)

Variant chat

• Amby then discusses a podcast series he's just started: The History of England  by David Crowther and its connection with the Diplomacy variant Heptarchy (12 mins 20 secs)
• Kaner moves onto another book recommendation, Bernard Cornwell's The King Arthur Trilogy. The guys talk archery briefly (15 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks Kaner what happened to him creating variants before being distracted by a pigeon. Then Kaner gives his new variant idea set in post-apocalyptic New York. Amby gets further distracted in a post-apocalyptic zombie style discussion about his workplace , before Kaner gets back on track with his idea (18 mins)
• Amby discusses his variant Ice Age that never got finished, but discusses how close it may in fact be.  (22 mins 20 secs)
• Kaner talks about the new Dev Tools on vDip which explains how Enriador has pumped out so many new variants (24 mins)
• Then its back onto discussing the new recent variants including Machiavelli (25 mins 45 secs)
• The guys go onto discuss recent games they've played (27 mins 45 secs)
• Next up is a discussion on the new map Edwardian, interesting starting positions and cool little rules (29 mins 15 secs)

Belated around the grounds

• The guys talk about their Divided States anon gunboat game - without giving away exactly who they are playing as. Amby discusses how open Technostar's board is, which makes it so hard to defend yourself effectively in without opening yourself up to a stab (35 mins 30 secs)
• They look at a number of Divided States games and note how in almost all games New Mexico is doing very well and question whether that part of the map favors New Mexico too much (42 mins 20 secs)
• The guys start getting their 4th drink and Kaner gives a blow by blow update on his phoenix progress as Japan in the ongoing WWIV “World Amazing” game (46 mins 30 secs)
• Amby builds on Kaner’s approach about sending out love and it working, but when Amby does it he keeps getting stabbed (51 mins)
• Amby tries a joke on Kaner, before they exchange barbs and jokes further - with the odd screw up on delivery due to drunkedness (57 mins 45 secs)
• Back to Dip, Kaner talks about a CD position he took over for a game (1 hr 4 mins 40 secs)
• Amby talks about the United States of Insanity II game he's in (1 hr 6 mins)
• Amby asks Kaner about his new pussy cat (1 hr 9 mins)
• They digress further onto other wildlife in Australia including wombats, tree kangaroos, drop bears, cane toads and spiders. They then discuss snakes, geckos and air conditioning (1 hr 12 mins 45 secs)
• Back to Amby's Divided States game where he's playing in West Virginia, talk about excessive drinking (1 hr 17 mins 15 secs)
• Amby discusses the Tournament of Time at PlayDip and his more limited than expected involvement in the 1812 Overture game before the drinking monster causes them to digress again. Amby thanks team mate BigJoe for stepping in due to poor internet and doing much better than he was doing  (1 hr 25 mins 30 secs)
• Amby disparages the millennials behind them who are glued to their devices. Amby would post the photo except of an issue he'll mention next episode (1 hr 35 mins)
• They very briefly talk about Amby's win in a Dutch Revolt game. They discuss how the borders and connections between territories aren't always clear (1 hr 36 mins 45 secs)

Venue: The Brewski, Brisbane.

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - Dainton Red IPA from Victoria, Australia

Amby - Atze's corner shiraz from the Barossa Valley, South Australia.

Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. Or if you want to help improve the audio equipment - after listening to this episode's audio quality we're sure you'll agree you can donate at Patreon. Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone!

 

Interview with Kestas, the "Godfather" of online Diplomacy

Today we're going back, way back. 2004 and Kestas' creation of the code based that got WebDip, vDip, PlayDip and many more up and running. Plus a discussion on Bourse progress and the odd tangent or two.

Intro

• The guys discuss Anzac Day in Australia and their family connections to Australia’s military participation (0 mins 10 secs)
• Then it’s time to discuss their drinks and Caxton Street (6 mins 45 secs)

Interview with Kestas

• Kestas talks about playing the game and why he’s not the guy to talk strategy: rather he enjoyed building the adjudicator and forum. He discusses how the community slowly built up in the early days (16 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner asks about what issues arose during the early days of webDiplomacy (19 mins)
• Amby asks where the first PHP diplomacy instance went live (20 mins 50 secs)
• They discuss the rationale for why the code was made available as open source so others could download and share (22 mins 15 secs)
• Kestas talks about when he does play Diplomacy,  how the game filled an itch when he was at university and why he doesn’t like Turkey (23 mins 15 secs)
• Kestas gives a shout out to Alex who runs Italian Diplomacy (webDiplomacy.it), he goes onto discuss how he’s happy to be contacted by others wanting to create a new Dip server, particularly in a language other than English. He talks about the translation functionality that is used on webDiplomacy.it (25 mins 30 secs)
• He goes onto to discuss what it feels to have his code so widely used. Kaner asks about whether Kestas would change anything if he had the chance again (27 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks about how the adjudicator and code have been used for variants beyond Classic. He asks whether Kestas considered variants in the way the code was developed (31 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks whether Kestas has chatted much with admins from Diplomacy communities online beyond webDip (34 mins)
• Kestas discusses his recent work on the webDip forum (36 mins)
• He describes what he enjoyed most about the recent changes he’s made to webDip and the code (39 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks about how to best mitigate the use of hacks, and developing more cleaner code. Kestas gives a big hat tip for GitHub (41 mins 30 secs)
• Amby raises how some forum based Dip games use more than two units as the current code doesn’t support three or more unit types. He asks Kestas whether the code could be expanded to support more than two units (44 mins 30 secs)
• Then its Kestas’ ideas on how the code and forum could be improved further, including cross-server games (49 mins 30 secs)
• Kestas clarifies how the relationship currently works with PlayDip (53 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner asks about the old-days of webDip’s forum and how it evolved (54 mins 30 secs)
• Everyone goes off to get a new drink before Kestas asks the guys about where the podcast came from and Kaner & Amby’s involvement in the face to face scene (58 mins 30 secs)
• Kestas is asked about when he recognised the need to introduce moderators to the community and why multi-accounters do what they do (1 hr 1 min)
• Kaner asks about what happens when people offer to help (1 hr 6 mins)
• Amby asks how people can get in touch with Kestas to contribute further to the code (we won't put it here in the notes so bots don't spam Kestas!) They explore Kestas’ cultural heritage (1 hr 7 mins 30 secs)
• Wrapping up Kestas thanks the WebDip donors and mentions a new server upgrade is coming  (1 hr 9 mins 30 secs)

Thoughts on the interview

• The guys discuss what came out of the interview they were surprised to here (1 hr 12 mins 30 secs)
• They go onto discuss multi-accounters, gaming the system and opening the kimono (1 hr 14 mins 15 secs)
• Then they offer for anyone caught multi-accounting, or thinking of multi-accounting, what their motivations were so they can come on for an interview  (1 hr 20 mins)
• Next up is their discussion about having more than two units in Diplomacy variants - which would allow online New World Order, Dissolution and Nuclear Diplomacy. Amby then goes to town on possible unit types (1 hr 23 mins)
• They discuss the benefits of cross-platform tournaments (1 hr 31 mins 30 secs)

Bourse

• After a new round of drinks the guys move onto discuss growlers and chat Bourse (1 hr 32 mins 45 secs)
• Amby explains how he missed submitting his Bourse orders and how the strategy and value approach has totally changed compared to other Bourse games. They then talk shop about the game in progress (1 hr 34 mins 15 secs)

Wrapping up

• Amby experiences the same “tech team” family issues that Kaner recently experienced (1 hr 50 mins 40 secs)
• Amby then talks about his firepit and how he likes burning timber and cooking meat on the flame, before he gets distracted and starts talking about the film “Spies Like Us” and wrap up (1 hr 51 mins 45 secs)

Venue: Fitzenberger, Brisbane.

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - No Shoes Brews' Paradise Cit(rus)y - Saison/Farmhouse Ale from Brisbane, Queensland

Amby - Berg Rue Shiraz from Heathcote, Victoria

Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. Or if you want to help improve the audio equipment (or get us more drunk during episodes) you can donate too at Patreon. Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone!