Episodes
Saturday Apr 03, 2021
Face to Face is back! Interview with Jamal Blakkarly winner of PoppyCon 2021
Saturday Apr 03, 2021
Saturday Apr 03, 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.
Friday Mar 19, 2021
Interview with Peter McNamara
Friday Mar 19, 2021
Friday Mar 19, 2021
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.
Sunday Mar 07, 2021
Diplomacy Chat
Sunday Mar 07, 2021
Sunday Mar 07, 2021
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.
Saturday Feb 20, 2021
Interview with John Dansie
Saturday Feb 20, 2021
Saturday Feb 20, 2021
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)
Saturday Jan 30, 2021
The Juggernaut Victorious!
Saturday Jan 30, 2021
Saturday Jan 30, 2021
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.
Saturday Jan 16, 2021
Interview with Edi Birsan
Saturday Jan 16, 2021
Saturday Jan 16, 2021
We catchup with legend of the game, Edi Birsan, around so, so much about Diplomacy. Your head will spin! Plus the guys discuss their virtual WDC experience and webDip 2020 World Cup.
Intro
- The guys introduce today's venue and location before discussing their drinks (0 mins 10 secs)
Interview with Edi Birsan
- They start introducing the interview with Edi Birsan (3 mins 40 secs)
- Amby asks Edi how he got started in the game in the 1960's (4 mins 40 secs)
- Amby reflects on Edi's response about psychologists using the game to build resilience. Edi gives some further detail and touches on Kissinger playing Diplomacy and integration of schools in South Africa using Diplomacy (12 mins)
- Edi discusses the importance of younger people being open to the game during formative learning and intervening with a player about their behavior (16 mins)
- He discusses his mantra about Diplomacy (18 mins 15 secs)
- He talks about using the game as a tool for learning about trust (20 mins 30 secs)
- Note: around this point someone in Amby's neighborhood starts noisy gardening - takes about 20 mins for Amby to Google how to fix/mute it
- Amby asks about how Edi was able to find players for his first game and playing postal (23 mins)
- Edi discusses how Diplomacy helped him talk and negotiate in some of his first jobs (28 mins)
- Amby asks where the game sits in popularity/awareness now, compared to previous decades. Edi discusses how word about the game got out early on and goes onto discuss tournaments (28 mins 45 secs)
- He asks about how Diplomacy game style has changed over time (34 mins 30 secs)
- They talk about virtual games, introducing video but what you'd miss out (40 mins 40 secs)
- Kaner asks about Edi's advice for playing well. Edi discusses understanding player's motivations (44 mins 30 secs)
- Amby asks Edi about the first time he came up with Lepanto opening (48 mins 20 secs)
- Amby asks how the Lepanto opening got its name. You can read Edi's article on the Lepanto here (55 mins 45 secs)
- Edi talks about his interactions with Allan Calhamer (57 mins 45 secs)
- He discusses how Calhamer didn't design for stalemate lines, draws, game culture and balance of power (1 hr 2 mins 30 secs)
- Amby asks Edi about his personal experience with politics and how Diplomacy helped him (1 hr 8 mins 15 secs)
- He reflects on the current situation in American politics and brings it around to the game (1 hr 14 mins)
- They start wrapping the interview up, with Edi reflecting on his Diplomacy experience in Australia and when the pandemic is over, where are you going to go in the world for the game (1 hr 23 mins)
- The guys come back after the interview and reflect on it (1 hr 25 mins 20 secs)
- They talk about the Lepanto and Amby's ill-fated opening of Germany attacking Russia in spring 1901 (1 hr 29 mins)
News and chat
- The guys discuss the current Covid restrictions and short lockdown in Brisbane (1 hr 38 mins 45 secs)
- Their efforts to get the numbers for a face to face game continue to be an issue with people still a little freaky about Covid locally (1 hr 41 mins)
- They talk about state border restrictions and Amby discusses the Australian Lamb Board's annual Australia Day video - which beautifully explains the current situation in Australia, fast forwarded to 2031 (1 hr 42 mins 15 secs)
Kaner's Virtual World Diplomacy Classic experience
- We move onto the recent Virtual WDC and discuss how the guys went (1 hr 44 mins 15 secs)
- Kaner blames Amby on missing a game (1 hr 45 mins)
- Amby discusses his games, particularly his second game (1 hr 47 mins 30 secs)
- Kaner talks about his experience with technology and interface for his first virtual game (1 hr 54 mins 45 secs)
- Amby discusses his technical troubles and how to better use airpods when communicating on Discord (1 hr 58 mins 15 secs)
- Kaner talks a little more about his games (2 hrs 0 mins 30 secs)
- They talk about match ending times and how it impacts propensity to stab (2 hrs 2 mins 15 secs)
WebDip 2020 World Cup
- The guys talk about their Democracy Sausages team and how they're going (2 hrs 3 mins 30 secs)
- Amby reflects on the high calibre of the players and talking about future gameplay (2 hrs 5 mins 30 secs)
- Kaner talks about how he's preferring gunboat now when he's playing online (2 hrs 8 mins)
Wrapping it up
- The guys plan ending this recording, and next episodes to record (2 hrs 10 mins 30 secs)
- They finish the episode up (2 hrs 13 mins)
Venue: Brisbane Brewing Co., Brisbane
Drinks of choice:
Kaner: My Shout stout from Brisbane Brewing Co.
Amby: Tropical XPA and Walker west coast IPA 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.
Saturday Jan 02, 2021
Happy New Year and holidays
Saturday Jan 02, 2021
Saturday Jan 02, 2021
Due to holidays our next normal episode will be out in two more weeks.
Saturday Dec 19, 2020
The Lying Interview
Saturday Dec 19, 2020
Saturday Dec 19, 2020
What makes a good Diplomacy lie and can you pick one when you hear it? The guys catchup with academics Jordan Boyd-Graber and Denis Peskov about their paper on lying and Diplomacy. Plus Sloth, a player in the study, also joins us. And don't forget Christmas 2020 and much more.
Intro
- The guys have got the recorder working again, although they're trying something different so it doesn't cut out again. They discuss their drinks and venue (0 mins 10 secs)
- They throw around a couple of jokes (2 mins 20 secs)
- The guys set the scene for the interview today with Jordan Boyd-Graber, Denis Peskov and Sloth about their paper, It Takes Two to Lie: One to Lie and One to Listen. The paper discusses machine learning and the ability to detect lies through Diplomacy (3 mins 10 secs)
Interview with with Jordan Boyd-Graber, Denis Peskov and Sloth
NOTE: Amby tried recording this interview in stereo for something different. Not sure it really works. Gives us your feedback (either on this page's comments area or by contacting us)
- Kaner and Amby welcome Jordan Boyd-Graber, Denis Peskov and Sloth to the show before Amby asks Jordan to give the background to the paper and why it concentrated on Diplomacy as a means of concerted lying (4 mins 40 secs)
- Denis discusses the process around using identifying messages and whether the sender lied or whether the receiver thought it was a lie. He also touches on his discovery and now love of the game (8 mins)
- Amby tries bringing Sloth's perspectives into the game as a player in the study and his thoughts on lie detection (11 mins 30 secs)
- Amby asks Denis about player prediction of lies vs the artificial intelligence's ability. Jordan gives his perspective (14 mins 15 secs)
- Amby goes onto ask about factors to indicate more likelihood to lie or tell the truth (17 mins 15 secs)
- They explore whether there were points of time in the game when lying was more likely to occur (27 mins 30 secs)
- Amby reflects on the difference in physical presence to the game in face-to-face vs online, he asks about people blaming real life as a crutch for a lie. They also discuss people's perceptions of what is a lie. Sloth points out how people don't mind lying, they just don't want to get caught lying (30 mins 30 secs)
- Kaner asks about deceitful language online and its impact on machine language into the future (34 mins 20 secs)
- Kaner goes onto ask about whether anyone has approached some of the big Diplomacy websites about their datasets (40 mins 20 secs)
- Amby gives his thoughts about the methodology using both a combination of the words people use (eg a lie) and the ability to stab (42 mins 40 secs)
- Jordan needs to leave the interview. Amby asks if there were any zones people were more likely to lie about. Denis asks his own questions to Kaner and Amby on who gets stabbed the most, and also which country was more likely to stab (45 mins 50 secs)
- Denis discusses some of the lies sent through from Kaner and Amby in their recent games to see if the IA could predict if the lies were lies. You can view the questions and predictions here (49 mins 40 secs)
- Sloth asks about elements of truth. Denis discusses the data rather than the emotional aspects (55 mins 30 secs)
- Amby asks about future research plans in this space (57 mins 20 secs)
- Amby starts wrapping up the interview. Just a reminder, you can read the paper if you want to learn more (58 mins 50 secs)
- The guys return back and discuss what they got out of the interview (59 mins 40 secs)
- Kaner flags how good it would be if webDip and other sites had an option to be part of the lying research so players keep records on whether they lie/predict a lie. Amby discusses the possibility of league tables for Best Diplomacy Liar or Best Predictor of Lies (1 hr 7 mins)
- Amby asks about how could you apply the same Lying methodology beyond text based chat, extending to voice communication games eg on Discord, and whether their lying styles change (1 hr 11 mins)
It's Christmas time
- The guys keep their annual tradition of exchanging Diplomacy themed Christmas gifts (1 hr 13 mins 20 secs)
Around the grounds
- They talk about the bar they went to before recording and death metal (1 hr 16 mins)
- Kaner grabs a round of drinks (1 hr 20 mins 20 secs)
- The guys start talking about the virtual World Diplomacy Cup they're both in as team mates with the Democracy Sausages (1 hr 23 mins 15 secs)
- Kaner talks about his France vs Austria game where he's playing against Austria (sorry can't link to the game as its anonymous and part of the rules) (1 hr 26 mins)
- Kaner goes onto discuss his gunboat game a little (1 hr 34 mins)
- He continues with a bit of Lepanto discussion (1 hr 37 mins 10 secs)
- Amby starts talk surreptitiously about his full press game (1 hr 42 mins 30 secs)
Variant development
- Now that Kaner is on holidays, he's back to working on the Age of Enlightenment variant (1 hr 46 mins 30 secs)
- Kaner talks about developing it on the Russian lab. Amby wants to piggyback on this for his variants and after questioning from Kaner talks about the Ice Age variant (1 hr 47 mins 30 secs)
- The guys talk Squirrel Wars and coming up with a plan (1 hr 50 mins)
- Kaner plays with Amby, changing the global coast line for a variant map. Amby insists he won't change the Ice Age map, but has future plans for a Global Warming variant with sea levels rising (1 hr 51 mins 45 secs)
- They grab another drink before starting to wrap up, prior to our Patreon bonus recording and wish everyone a great Christmas (1 hr 57 mins)
Venue: Jolly Roger bar, Brisbane
Drinks of choice:
Kaner: Four Pines pale ale from Sydney, Australia
Amby: Three Sheets pale ale from the Lord Nelson brewery in Sydney and Bleeding Heart cabinet sauvignon from 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.
Sunday Dec 06, 2020
RIP Recorder
Sunday Dec 06, 2020
Sunday Dec 06, 2020
The guys discuss their current and upcoming games, try finishing off their unbreakable Juggernaut alliance before the recorder packs it in.
Intro
- The guys discuss their drinks, venue and proximity to the train line (0 mins 10 secs)
- They flag there's no interview this episode. They talk about producing the show (4 mins 45 secs)
- Kaner starts a discussion on having a face to face game, but it looks like the numbers aren't going to be there for a full board (6 mins 45 secs)
Around the grounds
- Amby starts discussing a Europa Renovatio game he bought into and how he's not doing well. He goes onto discuss his Imperial Diplomacy game where he's also doing pretty ordinary (9 mins 15 secs)
- He touches on his Declaration of War game (13 mins)
- They move to another bar due to the train noise and discuss their new drinks and venue (19 mins 20 secs)
- Amby finishes up his last game: Winning is for Losers and describes how there's many games within the game. He goes onto discuss the nature of being able to win the thread game, allowing players to force one order of a player. Amby gives credit to gopher's gameplay (21 mins 45 secs)
- The guys move onto their Europa Renovatio team game that is starting, discuss the way the game works and first thoughts on gameplay (32 mins 15 secs)
- Kaner goes onto discuss one of his Europa games that he's dying in (40 mins 30 secs)
- They go onto discuss their local Brisbane based team being part of the webDip World Cup, participating as the Democracy Sausages. They go onto discuss the other players before discussing the tyranny of the Australia timezone (44 mins 40 secs)
- Amby goes on a rant about the Chinese punitive nit-picking against Australia in the latest round of trade wars (53 mins 30 secs)
Return to the Juggernaut unbreakable alliance
- The guys bring up their Russia-Turkey game where they're testing alliances to see how well they work. They reset the scene where they were last up to in Fall 1907 (55 mins 40 secs)
Fall 1907
- They do builds and enter spring 1908 before planning their moves and adjudicating (59 mins)
Spring 1908
- Next up is their planning for fall 1908, their moves, adjudicating and builds (1 hr 10 mins)
Fall 1908
- Its spring 1909. The guys talk moves and then adjudicate (1 hr 20 mins 40 secs)
Spring 1909
- Onto fall 1909. Moves are planned before... (1 hr 30 mins)
- Something goes terribly wrong with the recorder and the guys have no idea how much was recorder (and lost.) As it turned out it was only about 5-10 minutes (1 hr 34 mins)
- They quickly wrap up the show (1 hr 34 mins 30 secs)
- If you want to help the guys with a donation to help get a new recorder, please seriously consider becoming a Patreon of the show.
Venue: Oche and Mr Chester Wine Bar, Brisbane
Drinks of choice:
Kaner: Oche pale ale from Brisbane and Mornington draught from the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria
Amby: Balter XPA from the Gold Coast and Rossovero Primitivo from Salento in Italy
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.
Saturday Nov 21, 2020
Interview with David Hood
Saturday Nov 21, 2020
Saturday Nov 21, 2020
The guys catchup with David Hood and talk about his role in DBN's Deadline News and much more. Plus a bumper amount of Diplomacy news and an Around the grounds. Enjoy!
Intro
- The guys discuss their drinks and venue... which apparently they've drunk at before. They discuss their rule on not recording in the same venue twice and whether it counts if the bar has changed hands/changed names (0 mins 10 secs)
- They quickly jump into the interview with David Hood (3 mins 15 secs)
Interview with David Hood
- They guys welcome David to the show before Amby asks about how he got into the game (3 mins 20 secs)
- Kaner asks about how David got involved in the Diplomacy Broadcast Network. David acknowledges the great work being done by Brandon Fogel, Zach Moore and Bryan Pravel and that he's just the recruited "talent" before he discusses his thoughts on the DBN (5 mins)
- Kaner asks how a typical Deadline News broadcast comes together (8 mins)
- Amby asks about David's suited up style on Deadline News before asking about the feedback on the show (10 mins 15 secs)
- David tells a story about getting the word out about the game (13 mins)
- He goes onto give his thoughts on the Virtual Diplomacy League post-Covid and why the separation between face-to-face and online players went on so long (14 mins 40 secs)
- Amby asks what keeps David's level of interest in Diplomacy so high for so long (19 mins 40 secs)
- He asks how people's approaches to the hobby has changed over the years (20 mins 50 secs)
- Amby asks what elements have had the greatest impact in the way the quality of players have stepped up (23 mins 45 secs)
- David discusses how the forward plan for DBN's Broadcast News comes together (26 mins 30 secs)
- Amby flags they're planning their first post-Covid face to face game hopefully in December. David talks about how DBN may have to approach coverage when face to face starts up again (29 mins 15 secs)
- Kaner asks about the editing done by DBN before asking why David became the news anchor (33 mins 40 secs)
- Amby asks why there's a lot of lawyers playing Diplomacy (35 mins 40 secs)
- Kaner asks David about playing online. He goes onto discuss how he's enjoying a few variants on vDiplomacy and what he likes to see in variants to make it a good, playable game (37 mins)
- Kaner goes onto ask about whether David has a favorite broadcasting moment so far. David discusses the "openings" discussion in October's Deadline News and its impact (46 mins 40 secs)
- They start wrapping up the show (49 mins)
- The guys give their thoughts on the interview (49 mins 30 secs)
Latest news
- Kaner starts talking about eCarnage and gives shout outs to Bill Hackenbracht and the other top players in the tournament (52 mins)
- He discusses the Bourse and how it was run on the top board at eCarnage with market game rules (55 mins)
- Kaner goes onto discuss how he's keen to run and play in another Bourse game and how he's thinking of running it (59 mins)
- They discuss the 2021 World Cup over at webDip about being part of a local Queensland team and including Peter McNamara as a player seeing he's from Queensland (1 hr 3 mins 20 secs)
- Kaner talks about the ghost rating system being introduced at webDip (1 hr 8 mins)
- He discusses his love of the Politics thread at webDip. Amby gives an update about the American presidential result. Kaner says he's pretty happy with how he performed in the write in candidate front (1 hr 10 mins 30 secs)
Around the grounds
- The guys get some new drinks before Kaner asks Amby about his Winning is for Losers game. He discusses his thoughts on when a player doesn't respond to your messages and how it can feed your suspicions (1 hr 17 mins)
- Amby discusses his Cloak and Dagger A Modern Europe game he's still in (which has since drawn with Amby as a 1 SC Germany) (1 hr 25 mins)
- Kaner then asks about Amby's Machiavelli game where he was also part of the draw as Austria (1 hr 26 mins 30 secs)
- Amby goes onto discuss CD'ing in an Imperial Diplomacy game due to being away camping and being outragously drunk 1 29 30
- Next is a North Sea Wars game (which he has since been defeated in) before discussing a Europa Renovatio game he bought into a vacant position, where all of a sudden he's getting his arse kicked (1 hr 30 mins 30 secs)
- Kaner asks about Amby's last game, a Declaration of War variant played on the Fall of the American Empire map (1 hr 33 mins)
- The guys flick over to Kaner's games, starting with a Europa Renovatio game (1 hr 35 mins 40 secs)
- Kaner plays a Hundred Years game with Amby (not to be confused with the Diplomacy game Hundred) testing Amby's historical knowledge (1 hr 36 mins 20 secs)
More Diplomacy news
- The Virtual Diplomacy Classic is being pulled together by Bill Hackenbracht 18-20 December, with five rounds being held around the world. Learn more about it on the Liberty Cup website (1 hr 44 mins 30 secs)
- They touch on the Foreign Policy journal and its article about Diplomacy and its applicability to real life politics (1 hr 46 mins)
- They talk about their first face-to-face game in Brisbane since Covid started. If you haven't put your hand up to play and you're around, let us know (1 hr 49 mins)
- Amby does another shoutout to try to find a friend of the show who can help with a little WordPress problem for the Diplomacy Games website (1 hr 51 mins 50 secs)
- They start wrapping up the show before giving a teaser for the type of content in the Patreon version of the show (you can listen for just $2 a month) (1 hr 52 mins 50 secs)
Venue: The Prince Consort, Brisbane
Drinks of choice:
Kaner: Young Henry's pale ale from Sydney, Australia
Amby: Balter XPA from the Gold Coast, Australia and D'Arenberg Lovegrass 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.