Diplomacy Games

Interview with Ed Sullivan/GoHornsGo and Village Idiot/Ewok on Media Wars 2

The guys unpack Amby's draw in Media Wars 2 and get the take of the board topping Ed Sullivan/GoHornsGo and Village Idiot/Ewok in an interview. Plus much more.

Intro and Diplomacy news

• The guys begin at Bar Brutus and do a mea culpa (0 mins 10 secs)
• With some clever editing we've removed all the fucking train noises. They talk about their recent holidays that have partly delayed episodes (2 mins 10 secs)
• Kaner talks about a board game he bought: Imperial Struggle (5 mins 50 secs)
• Amby asks how a Diplomacy game would work if you couldn't eliminate a player in the first 3 game years (7 mins 50 secs)
• Amby flags the upcoming decision on the hosting of the 2032 Olympics on 21 July 2021, where the guys are trying to make Diplomacy an Olympic sport (10 mins 50 secs)
• He then goes to talk about a new Diplomacy app - Primacy. It is on iPhone and Android, but Kaner couldn't find it in the Google Play store. You can find Primacy in GooglePlay and Primacy on iPhone (12 mins 20 secs)

Media Wars 2 interview with Ed Sullivan/GoHornsGo and Village Idiot/Ewok

• They start introducing the interview with Ed Sullivan/GoHornsGo from The Diplomats and Village Idiot/Ewok who both topped the board in Media Wars 2 (13 mins 45 secs)
• The interview starts with some audio issues at the start for Amby, sorry folks we're aiming to upgrade some of our tech soon to improve things (16 mins)
• Village Idiot/Ewok discusses his subbing in (18 mins 50 secs)
• Amby asks about the coms when Village Idiot (Russia) started taking SCs from Ed (Germany)  (20 mins)
• Amby tries to understand how Ed worked with Ezio (France) in 1901 (22 mins 30 secs)
• Ed talks about player pressure points (25 mins)
• They discuss Amby's 1901 moves (26 mins)
• Amby asks about their gameplay, building trust and reputation (27 mins 50 secs)
• Ed reflects on Legendary Tactics approach (Austria) at the time (34 mins 15 secs)
• Amby discusses the transition from Lady Razor to Village Idiot before they discuss the north-south split (36 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss the Commowealth vs Non-Commonwealth (40 mins 50 secs)
• They discuss the fallout between Germany (Ed) and France (Ezio) over Belgium and France going quiet (43 mins 20 secs)
• Amby discusses the southern alliance's plans to encourage Ed's growth and why his spidey senses told him to draw (45 mins 40 secs)
• Amby asks them both about their positive takeaways from the game and what they'd like to do again in the future (51 mins)
• He then asks about what they learnt from the game (52 mins 20 secs)
• Amby gets greedy and asks for their advice about is gameplay (54 mins 55 secs)
• They discuss Media Wars 3 (57 mins 20 secs)
• They guys return and discuss their thoughts on the interview and Kaner playing for the podcast next time (58 mins 30 mins)

Media Wars 2 wrap-up

• Following the interview Kaner asks Amby about his take on the game as Italy. Amby starts by discussing his spring 1901 move of Venice to Tyrolia (1 hr 2 mins)
• Amby discusses goals and Ed's goals at the start of the Diplomats (1 hr 4 mins)
• They discuss building relationships, putting yourselves in the shoes of others and knowing how people have previously played the game (1 hr 10 mins)
• Amby talks about rebuilding trust with players, particularly Legendary Tactics as Austria. Kaner asks about Amby's relationship with Oliver Lugg as Turkey (1 hr 15 mins 20 secs)
• Kaner asks why France (Ezio) kept attacking Amby (1 hr 18 mins)
• They talk the end game (1 hr 20 mins)
• They discuss Kaner's thoughts on playing in Media Wars 3 (1 hr 23 mins)

Around the grounds

• Kaner talks about how he went in You Ratty Bastard where he was part of a three way draw in Italy. This was a 1898 game so you start with one unit only and its played under fog of war conditions (1 hr 24 mins 20 secs)
• They discuss the interfaces to view previous maps from earlier turns (1 hr 27 mins)
• Amby talks about his game as England, establishing his homeland in Scandinavia (1 hr 31 mins)
• They return to Kaner's game (1 hr 32 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner talks about being surprised when Austria starts sending fleets into the Med, after building fleets in Rumania! (1 hr 37 mins 30 secs)
• They do a points update (1 hr 41 mins)
• Amby discusses his Who Controls America variant that he's playing in G-Man's Cloak and Dagger series. The game is called Dystopian Post-Truth Knockdown-Dragout. Kaner talks about the players and the SC and territory names (1 hr 41 mins 50 secs)
• Amby touches on his anonymous Divided States game (1 hr 47 mins)
• Kaner discusses spectating other people's games (1 hr 48 mins 30 secs)

Other stuff/wrapup

• They discuss the Summer Classic game (1 hr 51 mins 30 secs)
• Amby does a shout out to Mad Monarch for an Apple Podcast review. You can rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts (1 hr 52 mins)
• Amby does a quick correction about Primacy, which we have since found out was wrong too. You can find Primacy in GooglePlay and Primacy on iPhone (1 hr 53 mins 40 secs)
• The guys conclude the show (1 hr 56 mins 30 secs)

Venues: Bar Brutus, Saccharomyces and Maeve Wine Bar, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner: Balter Lager

Amby: Balter Lager

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 improve 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 Isabelle Vladoiu

The guys interview Isabella Vladoiu from US Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights about how the game relates to real life Diplomacy. Plus they discuss their games and a public service announcement from all Mods.

Intro and Diplomacy news

• The guys are still at the Empire Hotel.  Amby disses Google.  They do a drinks update (0 mins 10 secs)
• They give a Diplomacy face to face update and ideas to get more people into the game (3 mins 30 secs)

Interview with Isabelle Vladoiu from US Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights

• The guys set the scene for their interview with Isabelle Vladoiu, founder of US Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights, a not for profit organization (6 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner and Amby welcome Isabelle to the show. Kaner asks about the sort of work she does (7 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner reflects on reputation and asks how a diplomatic negotiation takes place (12 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks about soft skills in breaking through an impasse and re-establishing trust (17 mins)
• Amby asks Isabelle about her understanding of the game Diplomacy (19 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner touches on Isabelle's point about linguistic barriers, and throws to Amby to discuss his previous experience with Google Translate Diplomacy (24 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner asks about backdoor diplomacy, they go onto discuss deliberate false statements (30 mins)
• They start wrapping up the interview reflecting on the role of etiquette and where listeners can learn more about US Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights (38 mins)
• The guys reflect back on the interview and their thoughts on its application to the game Diplomacy (40 mins 45 secs)

Ar-Kansas chat

• Amby gives Kaner an update on the pronunciation of Arkansas (45 mins 30 secs)

Around the grounds

• Kaner asks Amby about how he's going in their joint game "Ratty Bastards 2" (49 mins 30 secs)
• Amby reflects on the fog of war nature of the game (52 mins 15 secs)
• Amby talks about his other anonymous game, "DSA" a Divided States game (56 mins 15 secs)

Public service announcement

• As a Mod at vDip, Kaner gives an example of what NOT to do when dealing with mods at webDip, playDip, Backstabbr etc (1 hr 0 mins)
• The guys wrap up the show (1 hr 8 mins)

Venues: Empire Hotel, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner: Mahogany American Brown Ale by Brendale Brewing Company

Amby: Maxwell's Silver Hammer shiraz from the McLaren Vale

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 improve 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.

Kaner vs Brother Bored

Kaner takes on Brother Bored in a live France vs Austria game and learns a few lessons. Amby is also "learning lessons" in his Media Wars 2 game.

Intro and Diplomacy news

• The guys discuss the venue, drinks and set the scene for today's episode (0 mins 10 secs)
• Kaner discusses the Summer Classic virtual tournament being held 23-25 July (2 mins 35 secs)
• They discuss work and life commitments have been getting in the way of their Diplomacy interests (5 mins 20 secs)

Kaner vs Brother Bored live game: France vs Austria

• Amby sets the scene in the Kaner vs Brother Bored game of France vs Austria. Brother Bored also has the game on his Youtube channel (6 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss the Spring 1901 openings (8 mins 15 secs)

 

• Amby goes through the Fall 1901 orders (11 mins)

• Brother Bored gives a fun fact about Trieste (11 mins 30 secs)
• Next up is the builds (12 mins 15 secs)
• Spring 1902 moves are then discussed (14 mins 30 secs)

• Brother Bored explains some of his thinking as they enter Fall 1902 moves (16 mins 20 secs)

• After builds they start on their spring 1903 moves (18 mins 20 secs)

• After reviewing spring 1903 moves they move on. Amby gives his thoughts on the likely outcome (21 mins 20 secs)

• They discuss the fall 1903 outcome. Brother Bored gives his views on Kaner's moves. The guys then do builds and prepare their spring 1904 moves (25 mins 30 secs)

• The orders are in for spring 1904. The guys dissect it all before clicking away for fall 1904 moves (31 mins 30 secs)

• The fall outcome is in! After builds and discussion they start preparing for spring 1905 (36 mins 15 secs)

• Spring 1905 blossoms throughout Brother Bored's side of the board with all those vacant neutrals. They dissect where the game is at and start clicking away for fall 1905's moves. Brother Bored gives some perspectives on playing as Austria compared to France (42 mins 30 secs)

• The game is done with Brother Bored proudly at the winner's podium! They discuss creating content in this format. They talk about doing this again in the future and decide on the highly balanced 843: Treaty of Verdun variant (48 mins)
• Kaner and Amby are back and discuss their thoughts on the game with Brother Bored. Don't forget you can also watch this in Brother Bored's Youtube channel (56 mins 40 secs)
• After discussing Treaty of Verdun again, they discuss deliberately balanced variants and find their not as balanced as you think (1 hr 2 min 45 secs)

Media Wars 2

• Kaner asks Amby how his Media Wars 2 game is going. The game is up to spring 1908 with only England (Floridaman) eliminated (1 hr 5 mins 30 secs)
• Amby gives an update on what's been happening with hat tips to Oliver Lugg and Ed Sullivan (GoHornsGo)  (1 hr 6 mins 50 secs)

Venues: Empire Hotel, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner: Mahogany American Brown Ale by Brendale Brewing Company

Amby: High Country Hops Hazy Harvest Fresh Hop 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 improve 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.

 

• The guys start wrapping up the show with a bit of a tease about the next episode (1 hr 15 mins)

Coming off a small break

The guys have had a small break and come back re-energised for the game. They discuss an upcoming face to face game, Media Wars 2 and test unbreakable alliances.

Intro and Diplomacy news

• The guys discuss the venue and throwing stones (0 mins 10 secs)
• They discuss they're out of lockdown and Kaner explains how he'd taken a break from the game for a little while. He talks about his decision making process for choosing a game to join (2 mins 50 secs)
• Amby's had a lot going on in real life too and has reduced the number of his games (4 mins 55 secs)
• Amby discusses the volume of Diplomacy content coming from the DBN and Legendary Tactics (7 mins)
• Kaner asks what is Amby's worst country to play (7 mins 55 secs)
• Amby discusses some of the recent Diplomacy Briefing releases (11 mins 20 secs)
• The guys discuss the u/trampolinebears Diplomacy map and what Kaner did to create his board, as asked by Dan Bahler (12 mins)
• They've also got an email from Daniel McNamara about playing a face to face game in Brisbane. The guys land on Saturday 29 May as a tentative date (15 mins 50 secs)
• Amby discusses getting the timing right to also get a game happening at one of the local university's board games club (19 mins)
• The guys give a shout out to the Minnesota Diplomacy Club for their recent COVID safe face to face game (20 mins 40 secs)
• Kaner and Amby move downstairs to the La Costa bar. ** Audio quality warning ** We have no idea what happened but this part of the show sounds like it was recorded inside a tin can. Sorry folks! (21 mins 40 secs)
• They discuss their drinks (22 mins 20 secs)

Around the grounds

• While Kaner isn't in any games, Amby gives an update on his online Diplomacy games (23 mins 15 secs)
• Amby's Europa Renovatio team game has ended in a draw, despite Amby feeling the game should've played out a lot longer. They talk about proposed future team games, before Amby outlines his team members: Naples, Livonian Order and Morocco (Amby was Austria) (23 mins 45 secs)
• He's also in an anonymous gunboat Divided States game and is doing reasonable at the moment (31 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner asks about how Amby is going in the Media Wars 2 game. Amby gives an update and his thinking on recent moves (33 mins 45 secs)

Podcast survey

• Amby flags they're going to be running a survey soon to help improve the podcast. Hopefully this will be ready by the next episode (41 mins 30 secs)

Unbreakable alliances: the German-Austrian Anschluss

• The guys set the scene about their original moves in 1901 and where they were up to (44 mins 15 secs)
• They discuss what Kaner should be building (47 mins)
• The guys get peckish and order some chips (fries) that creates all sorts of confusion in the kitchen... you'll understand why soon (51 mins 20 secs)
• They start their planning for spring 1902's moves (52 mins)
• Then there's more confusion with the orders not being processed (56 mins 15 secs)
• They try another game where their alliance is France-Germany and start planning a Sealion (1 hr 0 mins)
• Their spring 1901 game orders went through only for Amby to misorder. They decide to cancel the game  (1 hr 2 mins 45 secs)
• So NEXT, they start an unbreakable alliance as Italy and Turkey (1 hr 4 mins)
• They plan Fall 1901's moves and discuss getting an AI update from the folks at webDip. BUT they can't adjudicate orders again. They check the forums and find out its broken at webDip (1 hr 7 mins 30 secs)
• The guys wrap up the show (1 hr 10 mins)

Venues: Cielo Rooftop bar and La Costa bar, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner: Young Henry's Pale Ale

Amby: Alpha Box and Dice grenache from South Australia

 

 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 improve 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.

Podcast scheduling update

No show due to real life stuff. Back in two weeks.

Face to Face is back! Interview with Jamal Blakkarly winner of PoppyCon 2021

The guys interview Jamal Blakkarly, winner of PoppyCon 2021, the first face to face Diplomacy tournament since Covid (excluding that 7 player European championship.) Plus they chat about Media Wars 2 and much, much more.

Lockdown intro and Diplomacy news

• The guys set the scene about the most recent lockdown in Brisbane and their drinks  (0 mins 10 secs)
• They're going to do their first live interview on the show. They set the scenes for the interview (4 mins 20 secs)
• Amby discusses briefly the guys' France v Austria 1 on 1 game on their Patreon feed and give a shout out to our latest Patreon supporter (7 mins)
• Amby flags that their $3 Patreon supporter level which used to get you a position in Kaner's presidential cabinet if he won (9 mins 15 secs)
• He goes onto discuss how Brisbane now has the sole negotiating rights with the International Olympics Committee for the 2032 summer olympics. Amby proposes that we need to get Diplomacy as an offcicial olympic sport and set up a lobbying campaign (10 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner outlines his decision to take a break from playing games at the moment (16 mins 40 secs)

Interview with Jamal Blakkarly

• Kaner & Amby bring Jamal into the interview. He quickly grabs a beverage (20 mins 30 secs)
• The guys congratulate Jamal on his win, beating Shane Cubis by one-eighth of an SC. Kaner asks which was the best game/country he played (23 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks Jamal what it was like to be at last playing face-to-face tournaments since Covid (23 mins 45 secs)
• They talk about the vibe of the tournament and the players. Kaner asks about how aware Jamal was about the points (28 mins)
• Jamal discuses the mistakes he learnt in the tournament (31 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks if Jamal's brother Jarni played (34 mins 50 secs)
• They discuss Jamal's game style and how its developed over time (36 mins 20 secs)
• They talk stabbing (39 mins)
• Amby asks about the social aspect of the tournament outside the games (46 mins 45 secs)
• He asks about what interaction he had with Shane as they headed toward the end of the tournament (49 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner asks if Jamal has a favorite country to play (51 mins 30 secs)
• Amby does a couple of shout outs for the other main tournament players (54 mins 40 secs)
• They start wrapping up the interview (57 mins)
• Post interview Kaner discusses how he sucks as England (58 mins)

Media Wars 2

• Amby announces the Media Wars 2 game (a game of Diplomacy content creators) has now started. He gives an outline of the players and the moves at the end of 1901 (59 mins)
• Kaner asks Amby why he thinks Austria tried moving into Venice (1 hr 6 mins 20 secs)
• Amby reflects on the number of units in fall 1901 that just held (1 hr 10 mins 50 secs)
• Amby mentions his plans for why he moved to Tyrolia will be discussed in the Patreon episode before they wrap up (1 hr 15 mins 45 secs)

 

Venues: Locked down at home, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner: Somersby cloudy apple cider

Amby: Wynns Coonwarra estate cabinet shiraz merlot

 

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 improve 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 Peter McNamara

The guys interview winner of the DBI Invitational, Peter McNamara about his gameplay. Plus Bronze Age Diplomacy, variant ideas from the guys and much more.

Intro and Diplomacy news

• The guys talk about their drinks and venue (0 mins 10 secs)

Interview with Peter McNamara

• Kaner & Amby begin to introduce the interview with Peter McNamara and what's coming up (2 mins 30 secs)
• The interview starts with setting the scene after Peter's win at the DBN Invitational.  Amby asks how people were invited to attend the tournament (5 mins)
• Amby asks about the earlier rounds and seeding (8 mins 20 secs)
• They discuss why Peter went for Italy. You can read his article in the Diplomacy Briefing (10 mins 20 secs)
• Amby asks about where Peter planned to take things in the mid-game (13 mins)
• Kaner asks about the geography of the board (14 mins)
• Amby asks Peter about stabbing allies (15 mins 20 secs)
• They discuss reading the board (17 mins)
• Amby asks about how Peter got into the game, before asking about how tournaments extend you as a player (18 mins 15 secs)
• Amby asks what Peter has learnt recently in games, before discussing Peter's game play (20 mins)
• They discuss intuition vs computational approaches to the game, before discussing reputations (23 mins 20 secs)
• Kaner asks Peter how he finds the virtual environment (27 mins)
• They discuss tournaments of the future (28 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks what Peter was looking for in an ally in the final DBN Invitational game. Peter discusses goals (32 mins 45 secs)
• They discuss the length of the games in the DBN Invitational (36 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks if there was a tournament trophy before asking about whether Peter would play Italy again next time or whether he'd go for another country (40 mins 50 secs)
• Kaner asks about his thinking process during the game and scope for innovation in openings (52 mins 30 secs)
• Peter asks the guys when they'll have a face to face game in Brisbane again (44 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks Peter if he thinks there's different Diplomacy scenes in Australia. They talk about the upcoming PoppyCon tournament (46 mins 30 secs)
• Peter discusses his plans for the upcoming WDC's (49 mins 30 secs)
• The guys wrap up the interview (51 mins)
• Kaner and Amby return, with Amby trying to advocate attacking Russia from the start (52 mins 15 secs)
• Amby asks Kaner what else he got out of the interview (55 mins 15 secs)
• Amby discusses Peter's strategy of picking Italy in the final game and patience (58 mins)

Around the grounds

• Amby brings up his Europa Renovatio team game as Austria and how he went from doing well to being stabbed all round (59 mins 45 secs)
• Amby discusses the concentric circles on the board (1 hr 6 mins 15 secs)
• The guys move bars to O'Skulligans and discuss drinks (1 hr 9 mins 30 secs)
• Amby starts discussing a new variant in development he's testing. He talks about the way variant developers are doing this while Oli is unavailable on vDip (1 hr 11 mins 15 secs)
• He talks about the work Fake Al has been doing on Bronze Age Diplomacy where Amby is playing as Syria (1 hr 13 mins 30 secs)

• Amby discusses his decision to stab Babylonia and discusses the dynamics of the map (1 hr 20 mins)
• He reads some info from Fake Al about how limited variant development can still happen at vDip (1 hr 25 mins)
• They discuss possible options for which variant to develop, with a particular focus around flooding/raised water levels (1 hr 29 mins)
• The disagree on what to do: a flooded planet, continent or city. Try FloodMap to have your own play with flooding maps (1 hr 33 mins)
• They move again to a new bar, Greaser, but have a recording dilemma with about 15 minutes talking about Fake Al and Bronze Age Diplomacy disappearing (1 hr 37 mins)
• Amby and Kaner discuss who from the podcast will be in the upcoming Media Wars 2 game and other players (1 hr 38 mins)
• Amby has won a ranked game with the 1066 variant  (1 hr 43 mins 15 secs)
• But lost and was eliminated in his Imperial Diplomacy game where he played as Holland (1 hr 46 mins 45 secs)
• The guys do a What the Dr Recommended update for vDip (1 hr 48 mins)
• And then wrap up the show (1 hr 51 mins 30 secs)

Venues: Royal George Hotel, O'Skulligans and Greaser, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner: Five Seeds cider, O'Skulligan's house lager

Amby: Little Creatures IPA, an unknown Barossa 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 improve 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.

Diplomacy Chat

The guys catch up for some drinks and a chat around their current Diplomacy endeavors and games.

Intro and Diplomacy news

• The guys talk about their drinks and venue (0 mins 10 secs)
• They were hoping to play a face to face game on Sunday but have failed to get the numbers again (3 mins 45 secs)
• They also provide an update about their now non-attendance at PoppyCon in Melbourne, the first post-Covid face to face tournament in the world (4 mins 40 secs)
• Amby discusses ideas on how to drum up more people to come along to a game (9 mins 50 secs)
• Kaner gives a shout out to Peter McNamara on his victory at the DBN Invitational (14 mins)
• He discusses some of the upcoming virtual tournaments (16 mins 50 secs)

Around the grounds

• Amby gives an update about his online games - a Mate Against Mate game called Happy Australia Day and his Imperial Diplomacy II game Pointy Pointy Stabby Stabby. Kaner discusses unit icons (18 mins 30 secs)
• He discusses his Europa Renovation team game where he's playing as Austria (24 mins 30 secs)
• They move onto an anonymous Divided States game they're both in, avoiding discussing who is who, but doing a breakdown of everyone's openings. And in the process probably getting a few bits of geography wrong (29 mins 20 secs)

• Kaner moves onto his games, starting with his webDip World Cup gunboat game where he was part of a three way draw as Austria. You can follow their discussion around key phases by going to the map history page (53 mins)
• They grab some more drinks and its onto another win by Kaner as Turkey on a Classic 1897 map. They discusses the random fun bonkers of Italy in the game, paying attention to Fall 1905  (1 hr 7 mins 5 secs)

• Amby asks Kaner what he's getting out of playing gunboat at the moment (1 hr 18 mins 20 secs)
• The guys wrap up the show (1 hr 20 mins)

Venue: Indooroopilly Hotel, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner: Orchrd Crush cider by James Squire

Amby: Balter XPA and Ridoch 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 improve 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 John Dansie

The guys interview Australian Defense Force chaplain John Dansie on using Diplomacy in professional military education of officers. Plus they talk about upcoming face to face games, their online games and Kaner makes a helluva mess.

Intro

• The guys restart talking about other podcasts and Amby gives a big thumbs up to Brother Bored's Diplomacy Dojo (0 mins 10 secs)
• They talk about their drinks (1 min 45 secs)
• Amby talks about Bin Chicken Paradise. More here. (2 mins 45 secs)

Interview with John Dansie

• Amby starts setting the scene for our interview with Australian Defense Force chaplain John Dansie (5 mins 30 secs)
• The guys welcome John to the show (6 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks John how got introduced to the game (7 mins)
• He asks about how John brought Diplomacy into the professional military education of Australian officers and want he wanted to get out of it. You can read his article on The Cove (8 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner asks about the feedback from players after the game (11 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks about deception and lack of trust and how officers would apply that experience in a real world scenario (13 mins 30 secs)
• He goes onto ask about players who didn't do well and how they related to it (16 mins 40 secs)
• Kaner discusses the soft skills Diplomacy teaches when it comes to leadership (18 mins 45 secs)
• They discuss playing without deception (22 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks about the format of the games. John talks about the creative strategies used by players (24 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks what feedback John has received from the higher ups (26 mins 45 secs)
• They discuss the use of wargaming in the military (28 mins)
• Amby asks what feedback John got on the paper published in The Cove (29 mins 15 secs)
• They discuss what John hopes to get out of the experience (31 mins)
• They go onto ask what John would like to see in two years time (32 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks about whether any players after the game maintained an interest in Diplomacy (34 mins 20 secs)
• Kaner discusses about  his father playing Diplomacy in the Australian Navy (39 mins)
• They wrap up the interview (41 mins 30 secs)
• Post interview the guys give their thoughts. Amby would like to know if other militaries use the game in a similar way (43 mins 30 secs)
• The guys talk about the use of Diplomacy as a teaching tool in schools and universities (47 mins 45 secs)

Diplomacy chat

• Kaner and Amby have moved to Blute's Bar. They talk about their new drinks (49 mins 40 secs)
• The guys talk about the first post-Covid face to face tournament - PoppyCon in Melbourne at the end of March - and whether they'll attend. They discuss the positives and negatives (52 mins 10 secs)
• Amby says they have five players who can make a 7 March face to face game in Brisbane. So they just need to get another two folk for a game (58 mins 15 secs)
• Kaner flags how the virtual Diplomacy League has created a map of where players are so you can organise face to face games once Covid calms down a bit. Sign up on their Google form (1 hr 1 mins 40 secs)
• Kaner and Amby are hosting their own virtual game for Patreon supporters of the show. If you're interested why not sign up as a Patreon friend of the show (1 hr 3 mins 20 secs)

Around the grounds

• Amby starts with the Winning is for Losers game which is now over. It ended in a draw (Amby as England on 2 SCs) with gopher pulling a strong Austrian position of 14 SC's (1 hr 4 mins 20 secs)
• His declaration of war game is now over in a draw, with Amby being the last knocked out (1 hr 9 mins)
• He's just alive in an Imperial II game (1 hr 11 mins 50 secs)
• They move onto their webDip World Cup games. Amby's game has just finished in a 4 way draw. Amby was England and ended on 9 SCs (1 hr 13 mins)
• Amby discusses the liberating feeling of having 100% control of the Baltic/Gulf of Bothnia (1 hr 15 mins)

• Kaner talks abut his games, but being gunboat he doesn't want to provide game links/maps (1 hr 19 mins)
• Amby returns to his webDip game and reflects on a recent episode of Brother Bored's Diplomacy Dojo on how to play England (1 hr 23 mins 20 secs)
• They grab some more drinks. Kaner starts talking about a Classic 1897 game and how it works as a variant (1 hr 28 mins)
• Kaner gets overly excited and starts gesticulating his arms around causing a helluva mess! (1 hr  33 mins 30 secs)
• They come back post beer incident (1 hr 34 mins)
• Amby touches briefly on his Europa Renovatio team game (1 hr 35 mins 30 secs)
• He's also started a Mate Against Mate Australian variant game, where Amby is playing as Indonesia (1 hr 37 mins 20 secs)

Venue: Blute's Bar, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner: Coopers Pale Ale and Young Henry's Pale Ale

Amby: Little Creatures IPA and Angove organic 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 improve 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.

 

• The guys then wrap up the show (1 hr 40 mins)

The Juggernaut Victorious!

The guys record a back-to-back rather drunk episode. They talk about their (at the time) current games and prove the slow but effective Juggernaut alliance, before starting on an Anschluss alliance game.

Intro & Diplomacy chat

• The guys restart on their 3rd drink at Brisbane Brewing Co and talk about their planned Diplomacy Wives Club interview they planned that never happened (0 mins 10 secs)
• Amby presents Kaner with his belated Christmas present (5 mins 30 secs)

Around the grounds

• They provide (by now) a belated Around the grounds update, starting with their anonymous Europa Renovatio team game where Kaner is effectively playing gunboat despite the game being full press. Amby gives his take on how he's been going. They discuss a gentlemanly stab. (7 mins 40 secs)
• Kaner briefly touches on being in gunboat games before Amby discusses some of his games (14 mins 20 secs)
• Amby discusses the Winning is for Losers game (16 mins) [This game has actually since ended in a draw]
• The guys chat about different pronunciations in Australia. Below is the video posted by gopher on the stupidity of the discussion (and a good synopsis of two drunk Aussies talking Diplomacy - while bitching about pronunciations) (18 mins 20 secs)

• After more beers, Amby talks about buying into a game (Enjoy Division) where a player CD'ed. He was eliminated and then the players drew. Amby talks about Dr Recommended's great game as Portugal (22 mins 30 secs)

Finishing off the Juggernaut

• The guys return to their game against the bots in their final installment of testing the Juggernaut (32 mins)
• They update the situation on the board after fall 1909 (34 mins)

Fall 1909

 

• The guys start planning their moves for spring 1910 (39 mins 30 secs)
• They then finalise, do retreats and dissect the moves (46 mins 30 secs)

Spring 1910

• Next up, Fall 1910. The guys do their planning (49 mins 30 secs)
• Time for adjudicating moves for Fall 1910 (54 mins)

• The guys plan builds (55 mins 30 secs)
• Then its onto disbands and Spring 1911 (57 mins 20 secs)
• The guys finalise and discuss what happened with the Spring 1911 moves (1 hr 2 mins)

Spring 1911

• The guys then plan their fall 1911 moves (1 hr 2 mins 40 secs)
• We finalise orders and review what happened including Kaner's fuck up with Gulf of Lyon, before moving onto builds (1 hr 6 mins 20 secs)

Fall 1911

• Onto spring 1912 with Kaner taking special care to not screw up again (1 hr 8 mins)
• The guys then review what happened with orders and retreats (1 hr 10 mins)

Spring 1912

• They then plan fall 1912 with the start of some breakthrough moves  (1 hr 11 mins)
• They review the orders after adjudication (1 hr 16 mins)

Fall 1912

• And its onto spring 1913 and plan how to make the Jug unstoppable with some tricky forward retreat plans from Kaner (1 hr 20 mins)
• They finalise and dissect the board after getting some more beers and discuss Amby's fuck up (1 hr 25 mins)

Spring 1913

• Onto fall 1913 now with plans as they start heading toward the end game (1 hr 26 mins)
• The turn adjudicates and the guys explain what happened  (1 hr 30 mins 45 secs)

Fall 1913

• They decide to wrap up the game, especially after Kaner's treacherous build (1 hr 33 mins 50 secs)
• They acknowledge once more that while the Juggernaut is successful its a real slog. You can view the game at webDip (1 hr 35 mins)

Kaner wants to play another game: the Anschluss

• They discuss the other bot games they paused and Kaner gives the go ahead for an unbreakable alliance between Austria and Germany. They plan their moves for spring 1901 (1 hr 37 mins)
• The game adjudicates and they discuss the moves (1 hr 40 mins)

Spring 1901

• They begin planning for Fall 1901 (1 hr 41 mins 30 secs)
• They ready orders up (1 hr 43 mins 10 secs)

Fall 1901

• At this point the SD card in the recorder fills up and stops recording. Amby apologies post-show about what happened and gives a tease about next week's Patreon episode (1 hr 44 mins 30 secs)

Venue: Brisbane Brewing Co., Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner: Walker west coast IPA from Brisbane Brewing Co.

Amby: Walker west coast IPA and the Session ale from Brisbane Brewing Co.

 

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 improve 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.