Diplomacy Games

Playing to win: interview with kevdog8, rannjohnson & Dr Recommended

With Coronavirus still rolling, the guys interview kevdog8, rannjohnson and Dr Recommended on Amby's soloed Undivided States game - the biggest SC count of all time. Plus lots of current games discussed. As much fun as you can have at home during self-isolation!

Intro

• The guys introduce the show from home with all pubs still closed due to Coronavirus. They discuss their drinks and Kaner's doomsday drinking den (0 mins 10 secs)
• Amby talks working from home and Diplomacy. Kaner gives his take (2 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks what Kaner's been up to Diplomacy wise. Kaner discusses his new Diplomacy white board inspired from the Diplomacy Briefing (5 mins 40 secs)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Amby puts on some tunes with DJ Luter One (8 mins 55 secs)

Undivided States interview

• Kaner talks about the Youtube video he's made of the Undivided States map (below). You can also see each map as the game turns progressed on vDip. Amby (who soloed as New York) gives his thoughts on the video (11 mins 20 secs)

https://youtu.be/tnGzmgA_sbc

• Kaner asks what were the songs Amby listened to while playing the game. They were:

The Last Night of the Proms version of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture:

Little River Band's Playing to Win (after Amby started thinking he had a chance of soloing):

• They start to introduce the interview with the final players in Undivided States:  kevdog8 (Kentucky), rannjohnson (Florida) and Dr Recommended (Montana). ingebot was also in the final group of players (Hawaii) but wanted to put his post game analysis into a global message: (13 mins 50 secs)

Ok, so here's my thoughts on much of the game. I took over as Hawaii that had just killed California and took control of Southern half of the west coast North america. My main opponent off the bat was Texas, with an Arizona in between acting as a buffer state, and a stalemate lasted for quite a while until I launched an invasion of Mexico from two fronts, at which point I was also able to gather enough resources to kill off Arizona. With a bit of luck in northern New Mexico, as well as a very unfortunately timed NMR from Texas, this helped me breakthrough. Florida, who until then was sort of an ally against Texas, suddenly attacked me instead, not that I blame them, it's what I would have done if our mutual target suddenly collapsed and the spoils mostly went to the other party. As Texas shrunk further and became more compact, I decided it wasn't worth it to continue grinding down Texas, and turned my attention North to kill Idaho and Alaska, mostly to kill Alaska since it was clear they won't be going to hold back expanding New York, and thereby hold the northern straits in my hands, with killing my longtime ally Idaho more of an add-on thing (the success of this may have been part of why I attacked Florida with the add-on of Montana later). Florida and I made up to fight Kentucky together, I simply to defend AMR and in my mind didn't view it as aggression. During this time I also supported both Montana and Colorado to counter Kentucky. Therefore, in my calculus, myself+Florida+Colorado+Montana = coalition to stop Kentucky. As New York grew, however, this calculus changed, and given Kentucky and New York were allied, I decided that instead of trying to fight that alliance directly, why not act in a way that helps one part of the alliance in order to weaken the alliance. This led to my decision in Spring 2060 to launch an offensive along my entire front to kill Montana, Colorado and Florida to help Kentucky grow. After that, things became a slow grind, as my expectations didn't pan out, Kentucky failed to grow significantly, and as New York grew closer to the solo I sort of lost the will to fight, a few seasons I even forgot to enter moves around Alaska since entering moves for this game became part of my "daily routine" instead of a fun thing to do, I basically even stopped looking at what had happened the previous season since I no longer cared and I wouldn't have mattered or be "news" anyways, just New York slowly growing. In a way, I'm glad this game was over because the last 20 odd years of it was "suffering" for me. Sometimes I would attack Florida again, and then make peace again, just so I would have something interesting to attempt, since preventing New York from soloing was increasingly remote.

• The interview begins with kevdog8, rannjohnson and Dr Recommended. Amby rambles a little before asking kevdog (Kentucky) about his relationship with Amby (New York) (14 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks rann (Florida) about his take on North Carolina's collapse (18 mins 15 secs)
• They discuss the back and forth stabbing routine by New York and then Hawaii against Florida  (19 mins 20 secs)
• Amby discusses with Dr Recommended (Montana) about where he saw the greatest threat was coming from (20 mins 50 secs)
• Amby asks Doc about his thoughts on the Swiss cheese process New York made of him (22 mins 30 secs)
• Amby discusses Kaner's advice that if took out Doc's final SC in the fall of his final set of moves to solo, Doc would survive. Unfortunately that wasn't the case (24 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks the guys whether they listened to the episodes and whether they worked out which player Amby was (27 mins 15 secs)
• Kaner discusses Spring 2078 and Amby's concerns that Hawaii was inviting Kentucky into his supply centers (29 mins)
• Amby discusses his concerns that Hawaii was throwing Kentucky the solo, to force New York to draw. They also discuss who had put in draw commands (it was a hidden draw games) (31 mins 15 secs)
• They discuss what aspects of their strategy would they have changed (33 mins)
• Kaner mentions Amby being in a similar situation with a fleet log-jam near Alaska, similar to what was discussed around the Straits of Florida (38 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks if the game wasn't gunboat would the game more likely end in a draw (39 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss the points bump you get coming 1st, 2nd or 3rd on such a big map (40 mins 30 secs)
• They talk about what elements of Technostar's Divided States map do they like and what if anything would they change (42 mins 20 secs)
• Kaner asks their thoughts on the sealanes (44 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner asks about the idea of being able to convoy on rivers whether that would change the dynamics of the board (46 mins)
• Kaner - as a non-American - asks about the guys thoughts about the geography of the map (46 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks about the pronunciation of Arkansas. Kaner asks why it isn't pronounced Ar-Kansas (49 mins 40 secs)
• Kaner asks about early in the game eg spring 2025, whether the guys would've predicted certain players to make it to the end (50 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks if any players felt they got a lucky break in the game (52 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner and Amby begin to wrap up the interview (56 mins 30 secs)
• The guys return. Amby's dog - a lagotto romagnolo - starts barking (57 mins 35 secs)
• Kaner asks Amby his thoughts on the interview (59 mins 30 secs)

Around the grounds

• Amby discusses a "Big Hitters" game he's proposed at vDip for people with 2000+ vDip points (1 hr 2 mins)
• Amby's Cry God for Harry! game has just finished in a 9 way draw. It was an anonymous game and the guys can now advise who they played as: Amby played as England and Kaner as Genoa (1 hr 6 mins)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• They discuss CCR's writing style (as the Golden Horde) (1 hr 8 mins 30 secs)
• Amby mentions he created the game title as he wanted to recreate Shakespeare's Henry V and the English victories over France, only to find MAK (France) was a great ally. They go onto discuss Tanteno's position as Switzerland in the middle and various alliances (1 hr 10 mins 15 secs)
• Kaner ponders what brought the Golden Horde to put in a draw (1 hr 14 mins 15 secs)
• Amby briefly discusses his one-time plans to try to get to Jerusalem on crusade (1 hr 16 mins 30 secs)
• After some more drinks, Kaner asks Amby if he's going to join any large games (1 hr 20 mins)
• They discuss Kaner's EU IV game, but they give a more high level overview of the game (1 hr 21 mins 30 secs)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• They move onto Kaner's Silent Europe game (1 hr 31 mins)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• They discuss the changes in the game over time, including a brief Scottish attempt in 1585/1590 to create a kingdom in the Holy Land (despite losing all other SCs) (1 hr 35 mins)
• They talk about ideas for what players should be doing (1 hr 42 mins)
• Kaner asks Amby about his Discord Order of the Dragon game. He's playing as the Golden Horde and just stabbed his ally Lithuania. He talks about the bizarre rules and how different it is to a standard classic game: neutrals you can marry, thralls, vassal states, marrying your heirs to other players' heirs, dynasties being killed off if their heirs are killed (1 hr 43 mins 30 secs)

 Venue: At home

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - XXXX Bitter from Brisbane

Amby -Young Henry's Newtown Australian Pale Ale from Sydney

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 asks about the broken love hearts on the board (Arges - southern part of modern day Rumania and Novgorod - modern day St P). Amby talks about the unit placement and territory border headaches (1 hr 46 mins 15 secs)
• Kaner asks why Amby has two heirs (1 hr 55 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner's head starts hurting but gives credit to Alex Ronke for the variant's creation (2 hrs 1 min)
• The guys wrap up the show (2 hrs 2 mins)

Playing tournaments during Coronavirus: interview with Garry Sturley & Andy Harris

Like most of the world the guys are stuck at home thanks to the Coronavirus. They interview Garry Sturley and Andy Harris on attending the MaccCon tournament while effectively in lockdown. Plus a bit of a games and variant development update.

Intro

• The guys introduce the show from home due to pubs all being closed due to Coronavirus. They try to replicate the feel of being in a bar  (0 mins 10 secs)
• They talk the local government elections and Amby's vote for Kaner (7 mins 20 secs)
• Kaner sends Amby a text - a whiteboard version of Diplomacy (8 mins 45 secs)
• They talk about Amby's poncho antics and the special one-off release of a Patreon episode for everyone stuck at home (10 mins 40 secs)

Interview with Garry Sturley and Andy Harris on MaccCon and the Coronavirus

• They introduce the interview (12 mins 20 secs)
• They all discuss accents (13 mins 20 secs)
• They discuss Andy's location in Jersey in the Channel islands (16 mins)
• Amby asks about the MaccCon tournament and how Andy participated remotely with Facetime (18 mins)
• Andy talks about the logistics for how he participated. He also discusses the downsides (24 mins 15 sec)
• Garry discusses the challenges of being a tournament director and player and using Facetime (28 mins)
• Andy discusses CoronaCon being run by the London Diplomacy Club on the weekend 4-5 April (30 mins)
• Kaner gives his thoughts on using battle bots as a way of doing it before they discuss CoronaCon a bit more (34 mins 20 secs)
• Amby asks what lockdown is and isn't in the UK (39 mins 30 secs)
• They talk about drive through bottleshops, VB and Bundaberg rum (42 mins)
• Amby asks about where the Diplomacy Tour of Britain is at now with Coronavirus (48 mins 45 secs)
• Amby suggests the idea of a Diplomacy Tour of Britain based on the territories on the board. Andy has a suggestion for a tournament in Jersey (51 mins 15 secs)
• Amby asks how Andy and Garry how they placed in the game they played at MaccCon (56 mins)
• Kaner asks about the scoring system for the tournament (58 mins)
• Amby asks about how British gameplay is different to European gameplay (59 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks what Andy means by "diploming" (1 hr 4 mins 30 secs)
• Garry discusses the use of counters on the board (1 hr 5 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks Garry how his gameplay differs between face-to-face and online Diplomacy. Garry plays as Phlegmatic over at PlayDip and Diplomacc at webDip (1 hr 8 mins 30 secs)
• Garry recently signed up to be one of our Patreons. Amby asks what role he's interested in doing in the US Government once Kaner is elected president. Garry gives his answer for what role he'll be doing: Ambassador to Belgium (1 hr 13 mins 15 secs)
• Andy asks about what the Australian Diplomacy scene is like if he visits (1 hr 15 mins)
• The guys wrap up the interview (1 hr 19 mins)

Post interview chat

• They guys return with new drinks. Kaner talks about his robot idea in more detail (1 hr 19 mins 40 secs)
• Kaner asks Amby what he got out of the interview and they talk about Coronavirus and the game (1 hr 27 mins)

Around the grounds

• Kaner discusses him getting his ass kicked in EU IV (1 hr 32 mins 45 secs)
• Amby discusses a small break from alcohol after PoppyCon (1  hr 37 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner asks about Amby's games. He thinks his Cry God for Harry game is heading to a draw. His other game Fake NewsLeak Interference Democalypse is continuing ok. He says he's dead as England and Canada in the 1812 Overture game and about to start playing in Order of the Dragon. (1 hr 40 mins 45 secs)
• Amby discusses how Order of the Dragon works  (1 hr 44 mins)
• Kaner shares his screen and discusses new variants in development at vDip: Pits of Horror, Scottish Clan Wars, Tiglath-Pileser (1 hr 48 mins 30 secs)
• They talk about making new variants before wrapping up the show (1 hr 52 mins 30 secs)

Venue: At home

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - Cloudy Sommersby apple cider

Amby - Brand's Laira Barrelman cabernet sauvignon from the Coonawarra

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.

Pissed at PoppyCon - a Patreon preview for those in Coronavirus lockdown

Kaner and Amby are hammered. They give their take on Day 1 of PoppyCon. Released first on Patreon, we wanted to share this with all you in lockdown going crazy due to the Coronavirus. Hope you, your family and friends are well.

The guys discuss Day 1 of gameplay at PoppyCon in Melbourne

• Amby complains its cold (1 min 15 secs)
• Amby gets tangled in a poncho (2 mins 35 secs)
• They discuss Austria getting eliminated from 5 SCs to zero in a single turn (3 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner was tempted to wipe Amby off the board in game one. Amby (Germany) was included in the draw with 1 SC, Kaner (England) ended in the draw with 8 SC (4 mins 45 secs)
• The Kaner asks Amby about his "How about we go get a beer" moment in game two when Amby (Turkey) was attempting to reconcile after stabbing Tim (Russia). Amby ended up in a draw with 9 SCs. Kaner wasn't in game two  (6 mins 10 secs)
• Kaner reflects his highlight of the game with the German army in Berlin taking the slow road to Norway. He also discusses Peter MacNamara's come back as England (10 mins)
• Kaner asks Amby why he didn't push harder against Russia (15 mins 45 secs)
• They move onto discuss game three briefy (16 mins 40 secs)
• Amby returns back to game one and asks Kaner what he thought of Amby's (Germany) opening (17 mins 15 secs)
• Amby discusses his switcharoo with Richard (Turkey) in discussions with Robert (Russia) (20 mins 50 secs)
• Amby asks Kaner how he thinks he's going to go the next day for the remainder of game three (22 mins 55 secs)
• They discuss how Kaner kept putting in incorrect orders as he drank more cider (23 mins 45 secs)
• They discuss the impact of Coronavirus on the number of players at the tournament (25 mins)
• Kaner wraps up the show (25 mins 30 secs)

If you like what you heard, we have another 7 Patreon episodes currently and put out new episodes each week between the normal show release. If you want to listen it costs hardly anything and helps us with the cost of drinks/better recording gear. Join and listen at https://www.patreon.com/DiplomacyGames

Venue: PoppyCon, Melbourne

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - A can

Amby - A glass

PoppyCon & interviews with Melissa Call & Andrew Goff

The guys make it to Melbourne for PoppyCon and discuss their plans for the tournament, an interview with host Melissa Call, and follow up interview with multi-WDC winner Andrew Goff and Melissa, before a wrap up of Amby's Divided States game and more.

Intro, news & their thoughts on what to do at the tournament

• The guys introduce the show, making it to Melbourne before the Coronavirus really started impacting. They introduce their drinks, venue and Kaner asks Amby what is game plans are for the PoppyCon tournament. Kaner goes onto give some history lessons about Victoria  (0 mins 10 secs)
• They give some local history (4 mins)
• They talk a little Coronavirus (6 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner discusses his three build England plan for the tournament. Amby asks about the prospects of a four build Russia and getting a bluewater Russian fleet in the Med to take Tunis in 1903. They go on to talk about how face to face games lend themselves more to crazy alliances happening compared to online (8 mins 55 secs)

Interview with Melissa Call

• The interview starts with Melissa (Mel) Call, the host of the PoppyCon tournament. Before recording Kaner asked Mel what her favourite country to play is. Her average SC count playing as Russia in Australia is 11 and hasn't been eliminated locally. Amby asks about what strategy do you need to follow to play a good Russia (18 mins)
• Kaner reflects on his Russian gameplay, which Mel advises on. Mel talks about not being the first person to 10 SC's (22 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner discusses Mel's tactic of getting bickering happening in the centre of the board (24 mins 50 secs)
• She discusses the value of a Russian-German alliance (26 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner asks about which alliance on the board gets her worried as Russia (28 mins 15 secs)
• Amby asks if Mel has any particular plans for this tournament. Kaner asks why France is her least favourite country. Mel also gives her thoughts as England and the English Channel (30 mins)
• Amby asks what the PoppyCon tournament is all about (33 mins 25 secs)
• Amby discusses how there is a certain thrill to a face to face tournament and his one time he's replicated it in the online environment (40 mins)
• Amby asks Mel how she feels when she's been betrayed (42 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner reflects how experienced players and relatively new players react very differently to a well orchestrated stab (43 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks Mel as a female Diplomacy player, how she feels she's been treated and how to get more women into the game (45 mins 15 secs)
• They discuss choice of words and deception (52 mins)
• Mel talks about playing people, not countries (54 mins)
• Amby asks about how Mel's strategy may change if she's up against a great player (54 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks how to approach things if your ally is showing tell-signs, impacting your alliance (57 mins 30 secs)

Interview with Andrew Goff and Melissa Call

• Andrew Goff (Goffy) joins the interview, as well as Mel's husband Matt and Goffy's partner Albert (59 mins)
• They return to the earlier topic of dealing with good players (60 mins)
• Amby asks Goffy and Mel what new players should do when it comes to trusting players (1 hr 1 min 15 secs)
• Goffy talks about new players learning from their mistake and finding someone you can trust and learn from them (1 hr 5 mins)
• Amby asks Mel about the bullshit detector and trust (1 hr 6 mins 15 secs)
• They discuss Goffy's "little drops of poison" and how other players view his gameplay. He gives his perspective on that (1 hr 10 mins 30 secs)
• Goffy talks about not worrying how many builds he gets in 1901, but then goes onto discuss a massive opening (1 hr 15 mins)
• He recommends online players coming to face to face and doing things they've never done before and watching the tight timeframes (1 hr 18 mins)
• Mel reflects that you can read a lot about the culture of the tournament by reading the rules. Goffy stresses not pissing off the tournament director (1 hr 20 mins 30 sec)
• Goffy gives his thoughts on tournaments with and without top boards (1 hr 27 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks what a newbie player should worry about (1 hr 28 mins 30 secs)
• They start discussing intermediate player strategy (1 hr 34 mins)
• Goffy announces the 2021 WDC will be held Battlefield Bangkok at the end of July 2021. He outlines how accommodation is great value in the area and its a fantastic venue (1 hr 35 mins 40 secs)
• Kaner gives a big wrap about Bangkok (1 hr 37 mins 50 secs)
• Goffy discusses a number of events for players at WDC 2021 (1 hr 39 mins)
• Goffy says he won't be playing as he'll the tournament director (1 hr 40 mins)
• Kaner asks Goffy about the culture of Australians spying on players' writing orders. They expand on gamesmanship, culture and rules (1 hr 43 mins)
• Goffy discusses you're only really new in tournaments for 3 or 4 games and how to do well in a tournament, although maybe not necessarily win (1 hr 48 mins 30 secs)
• Goffy mentions how some US players can hold a grudge. He then discusses how European games often end (1 hr 55 mins 30 secs)
• He talks about fake orders and unguarding your orders (2 hrs)
• His next intermediate tip is to not have favourite countries, alliances and players (2 hrs 30 mins 50 secs)
• Amby asks if when the countries are assigned in a tournament, does Goffy have a predetermined plan in mind (2 hrs 4 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss the Flying Dutchman (illegally having an extra unit on the board) and why tricks are for kids (2 hrs 9 mins 30 secs)
• They wrap up the interview (2 hrs 13 mins)

Post interview chat

• Kaner suggests the idea of recording discussions at the tournament (2 hrs 14 mins)
• The guys discuss hats (2 hrs 16 mins)
• They return to the conversation about recording discussions (2 hrs 18 mins 30 secs)
• Amby suggests that listeners give us a Shit Sandwich: something complementary, something you don't like and then end on something complementary again (2 hrs 19 mins 50 secs)

Amby solos his 50 player Divided States game

• Amby has won the Undivided States game that they've been talking about for almost two years. Amby starts discussing what worked in his favor (2 hrs 20 mins 45 secs)

 

• Kaner asks what its like ordering 127 units to order. In answering Amby talks about the holding vs attacking (2 hrs 23 mins 10 secs)
• Kaner asks Amby how it approached discussions on the game in the podcast and whether listeners at some point worked out who Amby was despite it being an anonymous game (2 hrs 24 mins 50 secs)
• Kaner then goes onto discuss Amby's hopes on rankings and how that went (2 hrs 28 mins 40 secs)

Future game plans & Diplomacy projects

• Amby discusses his Discord game and how he's interested in one or two of nopunin10did's upcoming Discord games: Saga of the Nine and Order of the Dragon. He also discusses getting more involved in the Nexus tournament (2 hrs 30 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner asks Amby, aside from this, whether he's going to take a break from variants (2 hrs 32 mins 40 secs)
• Amby mentions how the Minnesota Diplomacy Club and Windy City Weasles found Meetup brought in a lot of extra face to face players (2 hrs 33 mins 30 secs) [Amby post-episode: we obviously WON'T be doing this until the whole Coronavirus thing is under control]
• Kaner asks whether Amby might jump back into variant creation. Amby gives his thoughts on what he'd tackle, first up is a Classic map with standing neutrals. Kaner suggests maybe changing the opening unit types to a build start so Italy isn't totally hamstrung (2 hrs 36 mins)
• Amby discusses his next cab off the rank, a Roman Empire Crisis of the Third Century  variant (see previous discussion on this idea in episode 22) (2 hrs 41 mins 30 secs)
• Amby briefly touches on a "true" Cold War map (but forgets about detail) and then discusses a proto-historical Colonial map of the American east coast and how to approach gunpowder European powers against Native Americans (2 hrs 45 mins 20 secs)
• After another drink Kaner proposes a Khmer Empire map in southeast Asia. He goes onto discuss gopher's idea of a White Russia vs Red Russia variant. Then he gives his thoughts of the colonisation of the East Indies (2 hrs 48 mins 45 secs)
• They talk Melbourne shopping before announcing the show is no longer an Amazon affiliate (2 hrs 52 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner talks about being a Victorian with mix-allegiances and Australian namesays (2 hrs 55 mins)
• The guys start wrapping up the episode (3 hrs 0 mins 45 secs)

Venue: Saint and Rogue, Melbourne

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - White Rabbit dark ale from Healesville, Victoria

Amby - Tooborak American Gunslinger's pale ale from the Tooborak, Victoria

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

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 Mongolian Empire

The guys talk Corona Virus, Primaries, the new Mongolian Empire variant, current games & much more.

Intro and news

• The guys introduce the show and quickly get into discussions around what's going on in the world (0 mins 10 secs)
• Amby explains why Hitler had a funny mustache (1 mins 45 secs)
• They discuss the Super Tuesday primaries and how their presidential campaign is going. Amby explains why they've got such a good chance of winning the election (2 mins 25 secs)
• They belatedly intro the bar and drinks, before Amby explains his vote winning strategy (4 mins 20 secs)
• The guys give a hat tip to our latest Patreon - Zachery Moore from the Minnesota Diplomacy Club - who'll be our Secretary of Convoy Operations when we're elected. If you want to contribute and become a Cabinet Secretary when we're elected and get our exclusive extra Patreon episodes visit https://www.patreon.com/DiplomacyGames (9 mins 10 secs)
• Amby delivers a shit sandwich, advising the Canetoad Classic tournament in Brisbane is being postponed a year (12 mins)

The Mongolian Empire variant

• A variant created by Kaner many years ago has at last come to life on vDip! After extra work by ninjanrd and coding by Flame from the Russian Diplomacy site, it can now be played (14 mins 20 secs)

 

• Amby congratulates Kaner and creates a similarly with Dan Carlin's incredible  Wrath of the Khans series (16 mins)
• Kaner outlines the 11 powers in the game (17 mins 20 secs)
• Kaner explains why the map is orientated east-west instead of north-south (20 mins)
• He goes onto discuss the affect of the Black Death on units/SCs (21 mins 35 secs)
• Kaner comes up with a clever plan to reduce the amount of noise coming from the tow truck (24 mins 25 secs)
• He then discusses the role of the Silk Roads and Trade Winds (25 mins 40 secs)
• They talk dogs in impoundment yards. Amby diverges for a moment and talks about the kids TV show "Bluey" that is created a stone's throw from many of the pubs they've recorded at in Fortitude Valley (30 mins)

• Amby then has a flash back to the 70's Australian police show also called "Bluey" that was then parodied in the early 90's by Australia's The Late Show, as "Bargearse" - a fat cop whose always farting, solving crimes by accident (31 mins 20 secs)

• Kaner goes back to Mongolian Empire and talks about geographic complexities from rivers, bridges, mountains, the Great Wall of China and city states with standing neutral armies (32 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks Kaner what it feels like to see something he's created now being played by people (38 mins)
• The guys return with new drinks and new batteries in the recorder (39 mins 20 secs)

Around the grounds

• Amby discusses his 1812 Overture game being played on Discord and facilitated through PlayDip (41 mins 20 secs)

 

 

• They discuss whether they should be playing more classic games online to improve their face to face gameplay and strategies (48 mins)
• The guys talk about Kaner's Europa Renovatio games (52 mins)
• Kaner talks about his Silent Europe game (54 mins)

• Amby reflects that Kaner's ranking may soon be getting an uptick with how he's currently going in multiple game (58 mins 55 secs)
• Amby talks about his Europa Renovatio game and briefly his Undivided States game (1 hr 2 mins 30 secs)
• Next up is Amby's involvement in G-Man's Cloak and Dagger series in the World Diplomacy X game Fake NewsLeak Interference Democalypse (1 hr 4 mins)
• They start wrapping up the show so they can record a bonus Patreon episode. Amby reminds Americans to write-in "Kaner" in their primary voting. Amby asks Kaner if he minds also running for Lord Mayor of Brisbane (1 hr 8 mins)

Venue: Doo-Bop Bar, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - Young Henry's cloudy cider from Sydney

Amby - Kalleske Moppa shiraz from the Barossa Valley

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

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 Doug Kent from Diplomacy World

The guys interview Doug Kent, Editor-in-Chief of the quarterly publication Diplomacy World. Plus they talk trust for newbies and their current games.

Intro

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

Interview with Doug Kent from Diplomacy World

• They begin to introduce the interview (5 mins 25 secs)
• Amby asks about how Doug got into Diplomacy (7 mins)
• Amby asks about Doug’s collection of old Diplomacy zines and whether he plans to bring any of them online (11 mins)
• Kaner asks if he has a favorite zine or collection (12 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks what came next for Doug after playing postal (14 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner asks about Diplomacy World and how Doug became the lead editor (16 mins 40 secs)
• Amby asks Doug how he feels the hobby has changed (24 mins 20 secs)
• Kaner asks what’s the most rewarding part of publishing Diplomacy World (29 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks if Doug plays much now (35 mins 5 secs)
• Amby asks about Doug’s future plans for championing Diplomacy (40 mins)
• Amby asks if there was an article in Diplomacy World about a hypothetical game between the top players in the past 20-30 years, who would those players be (44 mins)
• Amby asks for Doug’s take for contributors publishing under their online game name, rather than their real name. They also discuss what goes into Diplomacy World and what doesn’t  (52 mins 40 secs) 
• They discuss how people can contribute and support Diplomacy World (58 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks about any plans to scan older editions with optical character recognition so they’re searchable (1 hr 8 mins 40 secs)
• Kaner asks about Doug about preferred variants (1 hr 15 mins)
• The interview wraps up (1 hr 23 mins)
• The guys discuss their thoughts on the interview. Kaner commits to writing an article for Diplomacy World on sea lanes (1 hr 23 mins 30 secs)
• They talk about the Colonia variant and Kaner gives a history lesson. They discuss future interview planning. Kaner rules out WDC 2020 for him (1 hr 30 mins)
• They guys give their views on the Balkan Wars variant and Kaner explains Deviant Diplomacy to Amby (1 hr 34 mins)

Diplomacy news

•  The guys discuss their drinks in the context of Diplomacy (1 hr 36 mins)
•  They give an update on their tournament plans for March in Melbourne and the Canetoad Classic for May (1 hr 38 mins)

Newbie guide: Who can you trust?

• The guys kick off the segment and why trust is important (1 hr 40 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner explains his experience with being able to trust players, and describes the differences between face to face and online (1 hr 42 mins)
• Amby pauses the recording for a moment so Kaner can tell himself something off tape (1 hr 43 mins 45 secs)
• Amby discusses when a player is talking options with you, you start feeling trust developing. Kaner gives his counter-perspective (1 hr 45 mins)
• Kaner walks through an example about the English Channel and building trust (1 hr 46 mins 30 secs)
• Amby talks about gut feelings and players who hedge their bets (1 hr 52 mins)
• Kaner suggests the next Newbie segment should be Strategic considerations in discussions before Stabbing (1 hr 55 mins)
• Amby asks what you need to do to regain trust (1 hr 57 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks how you can trust in gunboat (2 hrs 1 min 30 secs)
• Amby discusses how heavy joint military build ups on borders that are coordinated and create a stalemate line can also build trust sometimes (2 hrs 5 mins)

Around the grounds

• The guys grab another drink and discuss a gunboat fog of war game Kaner is still in (2 hrs 7 mins 55 secs)
• They talk about the solo win by Agnaar on the Europa Renovatio map, taking the number one spot on vDip  (2 hrs 11 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner touches on an anonymous Europa Renovatio game he's in (2 hrs 14 mins 30 secs)
• Amby discusses his Cry God for Harry! game and how well the Golden Horde and Marmluks are doing (2 hrs 16 mins 45 secs)

 

• Amby touches on his Undivided States game (2 hrs 21 mins 15 secs)
• Next up is Amby's 1812 Overture game being run on Discord (2 hrs 24 mins)
• The guys wrap up the show (2 hrs 28 mins)

Venue: Empire Hotel, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - Young Henry's pale ale from Sydney

Amby - Maxwell Silver Hammer shiraz from the Barossa

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

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 Erik van Mechelen

The guys interview Erik van Mechelen from the Minnesota Diplomacy Club & host of the Diplomacy Podcast. Plus lots of around the grounds, drinking & openings for newbies.

Intro

• The guys introduce the show, their drinks and the venue (0 mins 10 secs)
• Amby talks wine and getting fat (2 mins 50 secs)

Interview with Erik van Mechelen from the MN Diplomacy Club and the Diplomacy Podcast

• Kaner starts introducing this episode's interview with Erik van Mechelen from the Minnesota Diplomacy Club, creates the Diplomacy Podcast and writes books on Diplomacy (4 mins 35 secs)
• The interview starts with Erik, how he got into the game (6 mins 40 secs)
• They talk about getting involved in the local Minnesota Diplomacy scene (9 mins)
• Kaner asks about the migration of the Diplomacy culture from Chicago to Minnesota. Erik talks about scoring systems (14 mins 45 secs)
• They talk about giving back to the Diplomacy community (17 mins 50 secs)
• Kaner discusses the dynamics of the game of Diplomacy (19 mins 50 secs)
• Amby asks about why new players turn up to a face to face game, and how do you retain players (20 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss getting a player base and creating a tournament (26 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner discusses his Thai experience getting players involved before asking about the Janus scoring system (27 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner asks about using the game of Diplomacy in an educational setting (32 mins)
• Kaner asks about why Erik created his own Diplomacy podcast (35 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks about Erik's work writing a Diplomacy book. Erik reflects on Andrew's Goff's writing style in the Italian Renaissance in Diplomacy World. Erik talks about his Diplomacy: Conversations with Barbosa and How to Win at Diplomacy (37 mins 50 secs)
• Kaner asks if Erik has ever played any Diplomacy variants (42 mins)
• Kaner asks about favorite country to play (45 mins 40 secs)
• Amby reflects on planned fun openings that quickly become default openings once negotiations start (46 mins 40 secs)
• Kaner asks about the logistics of games in Minnesota. Erik talks about his upcoming tournaments (52 mins 10 secs)
• Amby asks Erik how to get involved in Minnesota and where to listen to Diplomacy Podcast before wrapping it up (54 mins 10 secs)
• The guys return and give their thoughts on the interview (56 mins 15 secs)

Diplomacy chat

• They talk about going to Melbourne for their upcoming tournament (1 hr 0 mins)
• Kaner asks about using Meetup to promote the game in Brisbane (1 hr 1 mins 20 secs)
• They return to post-interview chat (1 hr 3 mins)
• The guys get their creative juices going about the Europa Renovatio variant (1 hr 6 mins)
• Amby talks about the Kill Lithuania and also Scotland game dominated by Denmark (1 hr 8 mins)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Kaner grabs some more drinks (1 hr 13 mins)

Around the grounds

• Kaner talks about one of his Renovatio Europa games, Silent Europe and Tiemcen's raiding behind Scottish lines. Kaner discusses the nature of aiming for clusters of SCs (1 hr 15 mins)
• Amby discusses trying to work out what's going on a board he's on and paranoia caused by a single player (1 hr 24 mins)
• Amby discusses listening to the History of Byzantium podcast and whether the Renovatio Europa map needs to be altered so Constantinople doesn't fall so easily to better reflect reality (1 hr 28 mins 20 secs)
• Amby talks about his DMOL shirt and hot weather before Kaner talks about a variant idea (1 hr 34 mins 20 secs)
• Kaner talks about his fog of war Classic game where he killed off Amby (1 hr 37 mins)
• Amby complains about being defeated in game after game after game, most recently as Ukraine in A Modern Pickle (1 hr 42 mins)
• He's even getting shafted in the 1812 Overture game on Discord GM'ed by nopunin10did (1 hr 45 mins)

Newbie Openings

• The guys return after ordering drinks and a snack. Amby reflects on an American Gridiron game on TV and how cold it looks (1 hr 54 mins)
• They kick off the Newbie segment on Openings by starting with playing as England. Kaner makes Amby a generous offer (1 hr 56 mins 15 secs)
• Next up is a discussion on opening as Turkey (2 hrs 2 mins 50 secs)
• The guys discuss German openings and the Western Triple (2 hrs 6 mins 15 secs)
• Italy follows, and they reflect on the Modern Italy strategy discussed by Erik (2 hrs 10 mins)
• Onto Austrian openings (2 hrs 13 mins 45 secs)
• France is up next (2 hrs 18 mins 30 secs)
• Last but not least are Russia's openings (2 hrs 21 mins 15 secs) 
• They try to make sense of the Gridiron game (2 hrs 27 mins 50 secs)
• They guys start wrapping up the newbie segment and the show (2 hrs 29 mins)

 

Venue: Hotel Carrington, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - Young Henry's cider and Young Henry's pale ale from Sydney

Amby - Saltram's shiraz from the Barossa

 

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

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 Umbletheheep from the Diplomacy Briefing

Kaner and Amby interview Umbletheheep, publisher of the weekly email newsletter the Diplomacy Briefing, and discuss people in the Dip community giving something back.

Intro

• The guys introduce the 60th show, their drinks and the venue (0 mins 15 secs)
• Kaner talks about being tempted to make a cheeky stab and they both discuss paranoia (3 mins 20 secs)

Interview with Umbletheheep from the Diplomacy Briefing

• Kaner starts introducing this episode's interview with Umbletheheep who publishes the weekly email newsletter "Diplomacy Briefing" (5 mins 45 secs)
• The interview begins with Amby welcoming Umble to the show and asking why he created it (7 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks about the format of the newsletter (9 mins 50 secs)
• Umble discusses how long it takes to curate the information (12 mins 20 secs)
• Amby asks about what feedback and suggestions Umble gets from his readership (14 mins 30 secs)
• Umble discusses prioritizing new content into the newsletter, checking out old Diplomacy magazine articles and planning ahead with an outline (19 mins)
• Amby asks about current trends for how players approach the game vs using an old strategy and approach players have forgotten (22 mins 10 secs)
• Kaner asks where the handle "Umbletheheep" came from (26 mins)
• Amby asks how much his persona's approach is similar to his own (28 mins 50 secs)
• Amby asks about whether Umble plays much face-to-face and attending tournaments (32 mins 15 secs)
• They explore Umble's plans for improving his own personal gameplay (38 mins 10 secs)
• Amby asks about the audience of the newsletter (43 mins 10 secs)
• Kaner discusses his thoughts on the newsletter and asks why Umble ended up at Nexus when he re-engaged in the online game (45 mins)
• Amby asks Umble where he sees the game going geographically (48 mins)
• Umble discusses scratching a creative Diplomacy itch (53 mins)
• The interview starts wrapping up (56 mins)
• The guys return and discuss their thoughts on the interview and playing postal Diplomacy (57 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner asks Amby about what else he got out of the interview (1 hr 1 min 20 secs)
• Kaner says he'd love to read the old article mentioned about Diplomacy widows  (1 hr 3 mins)
• The guys start wrapping up the show (1 hr 4 mins)

Venue: Proud Henry, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - Archer IPA from no idea

Amby - Trescothic grenache from the Barossa Valley, 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

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 Ira Hall on Diplomacy and Christian faith

Kaner and Amby interview Ira Hall, a Christian pastor and Diplomacy player. The guys delve into how Christians manage the Bible's strong stance on lying, deceit and deception while still playing Diplomacy. Plus they travel to Kaner's stomping ground of Ipswich and discuss a heap more Diplomacy stuff.

Intro

• The guys introduce the show, their drinks and the venue (0 mins 15 secs)
• They correct the dates for the Melbourne Open tournament, which is actually 14-15 March (3 mins 45 secs)
• Next up is confirmation of the Canetoad Classic tournament in Brisbane on 2-3 May and talk about gaming pieces. Amby discusses goal setting and his plans to attend two interstate tournaments (5 mins 15 secs)
• Kaner talks about the 4th Nexus tournament coming up and an invitation to an 1812 Overture forum game. Kaner discusses being overly committed in 6 games (10 mins)
• They discuss strategy vs tactics before returning to what's involved in the 1812 variant. Note, we went into more detail about this map in an earlier episode (12 mins 45 secs)
• The guys talk about going to Ipswich at least once a year, before providing an update on their Presidential campaign. They discuss Kaner's latest plank allowing historical smoking in historical Federal buildings (20 mins)
• They discuss jurisdictional responsibility when Cabinet titles are very similar. Kaner answers with a similar chicken analogy. When we're elected if you want to be a Cabinet Secretary it's only $3 a month by becoming a Patreon supporter (23 mins 20 secs)

Interview with Ira Hall

• The guys provide the background to this interview with Ira Hall before jumping in (26 mins 30 secs)
• Ira starts by discussing how he got into Diplomacy and his recent role as Alman, a playDip moderator (27 mins)
• He discusses what he did as a Cheater Hunter at playDip and his thoughts on why some players cheat (30 mins)
• Kaner asks about common cheating behavior (32 mins 20 secs)
• Amby asks about how Ira felt when busting a cheater (34 mins 10 secs)
• Amby asks about whether Ira's played face-to-face (36 mins 10 secs)
• The guys explore how Ira balances as a pastor the Christian Biblical teachings of not lying or being deceitful against being a Diplomacy player (38 mins 30 secs)
• Ira discusses reputation and trustworthiness (41 mins 15 secs)
• He talks about a number of games at playDip and the choice of language to avoid lying while maintaining a reputation (43 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks about Christians who have a literal interpretation of the Bible and their views on lying and deceiving, even in a game (48 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner asks Ira about his advice to new, or relatively new players to the game. He discusses the importance of trying different things in your communication to someone who stabs you (56 mins)
• Amby asks Ira about taking the solo win versus a draw (1 hr 0 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner asks about what other variants Ira enjoys (1 hr 3 mins 40 secs)
• Amby asks Ira if there's any other thoughts on the game (1 hr 6 mins 30 secs)
• They wrap up the interview (1 hr 8 mins 30 secs)
• They guys are back and give their thoughts on the interview (1 hr 10 mins)
• Kaner discusses his more "eye for an eye" nature rather than "turning the other cheek" (1 hr 12 mins)
• They discuss the "metagame" element of your reputation preceding you. They talk about blocking players' whose personality clashes with yours (1 hr 16 mins 45 secs)
• They talk about reliability and going into civil disorder (CD'ing) (1 hr 20 mins)
• Kaner suggests checking your block lists and if you can't remember why they pissed you off, think about unblocking them (1 hr 23 mins)

Around the grounds/variant suggestions

• They come back and discuss the strength of the Golden Horde in the Cry God for Harry game, and discuss how the gameplay is not too different to real life history (1 hr 24 mins)
• Amby suggests again to Technostar (the variant creator of Europa Renovatio) about whether this variant could have fog of war added (1 hr 26 mins 20 secs)
• Kaner also has some improvement suggestions. For starters he'd like to see "sealane" overseer zones in the Sahara territories. Amby disagrees and suggests a chopped off Africa with sealanes at the "bottom" of Africa to connect the Red Sea and Atlantic but have travel slower than the current direct connection  (1 hr 27 mins 20 secs)
• His second thought is introducing geographic boundaries to allow for mountains and passes (like in the Rinasciemnto variant) and navigable rivers that could allow convoys (1 hr 30 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner is thinking about whether he can make these variant changes himself (1 hr 35 mins)
• Kaner brings up their fog of war Kicking Butts game, which Amby has just been eliminated. Amby laments how many games he has been recently killed off in. He's worried about his ranking (1 hr 36 mins 30 secs)

Newbie segment: Newbie negotiations

• Next up is the latest installment in their newbie series, this time focusing on Negotiations (1 hr 38 mins)
• Kaner reflects on his first Diplomacy negotiation and what approach to adopt when during negotiations. Amby discusses the common negotiation approaches from newbies (1 hr 39 mins 30 secs)
• Amby flags that they're about to record a new intro episode to the show. They then go onto discussing a range of common terms used in Diplomacy which newbies need to learn, starting with a bounce (1 hr 41 mins 40 secs)
• They grab another quick drink after being interrupted by a freight train. Amby switches his beer to XXXX Bitter. They talk about old school beers in Australia. Amby tells a story about Fosters (1 hr 46 mins 45 secs)
• They return back to newbie discussions and commonly used terms, moving onto a DMZ, a NAP and an alliance  (1 hr 48 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss communication and developing social skills. Amby talks about keeping players in the game (1 hr 57 mins)

Celebrating 10 years of vDiplomacy

• They discuss how vDiplomacy turns 10 years old this month. They talk about their personal highlights and all the Diplomacy variants there (1 hr 59 mins)
• They talk about how players have come and gone during that time and its waves over time. Kaner asks Amby if he had the time, what variants would he create (2 hrs 4 mins)
• Kaner brings up the Seattle variant that Ira discussed (2 hrs 7 mins 30 secs)

Wrapping up

• They wrap up the show (2 hrs 8 mins)

Venue: The Commercial Hotel, Ipswich

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - XXXX Bitter by Castlemaine Perkins, Brisbane

Amby - 150 Lashes by James Squire and XXXX Bitter by Castlemaine Perkins, Brisbane

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 or you can also shop at Amazon using our affiliate link. It costs exactly the same to you, but Amazon give us a small cut and it doesn't cost you a cent more!

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.

A Very Diplomacy Christmas 2019

It's Christmas! And the guys get very drunk talking Diplomacy. 'Nuff said!

Intro and Christmas chat

• The guys introduce the show, their drinks and the venue (0 mins 15 secs)
• They quickly touch on their Presidential election campaign and introduce a new Hawaiian shirt plank and discuss Kaner's new look (3 mins)
• Kaner and Amby are planning to go to the next Melbourne Open tournament on 21-22 March 2020 (5 mins 50 secs)
• They announce an official Queensland tournament, being run by Tony Collins. They discuss possible names for the tournament and land on The Canetoad Classic (6 mins 50 secs)
• They talk about ideas for WDC 2021 and getting the word out about Diplomacy to ex-pats in Thailand. Kaner talks about when he ran a Diplomacy game when he was living in Thailand  (11 mins 30 secs)
• The guys grab another beer and talk home brew (18 mins)
• They exchange Christmas presents. Kaner gives Amby a DMOL - Diplomatic Man of Leisure - t-shirt. Amby gives Kaner a pan with maps of Florida and the contiguous United States stuck to the pan  (21 mins 20 secs)

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Around the grounds

• Amby discusses how his American Funboat and Undivided States games are going (30 mins)
• Kaner reflects on the nature of the large map variants and how players can afford to lose units in their rear for much longer periods of time. Kaner uses the example of how Tiemcen has been able to sustain losses in the rear to sneak into Scottish territory  (35 mins 30 secs)

• Kaner discusses playing a country where you have no interest... or you don't like the color, before moving onto discuss regional dominance in a game Kaner is in and also Cry God for Harry (50 mins)
• They move onto their classic Fog of War game (56 mins 50 secs)
• Amby talks about a real time Germany v Italy game he played at webDip against Roadhog. Kaner discusses how great players can think 4-5 turns ahead (57 mins 30 secs)
• Amby talks about the pressure of the live game and how tight to the line he took it. He also discusses a misorder that made a big difference (1 hr 1 mins 15 secs)
• Kaner gets more beers and they discuss how some players' language when communicating in games online can come across very weird (1 hr 4 mins)

Newbie segment

• Kaner discusses The Concise 33 Strategies of War by Robert Green. He suggests discussing the strategies in the book to help newbies. The land on Pick your battles carefully. They discuss avoiding two front wars or unnecessarily provoking players (1 hr 6 mins 15 secs)
• They discuss how in their last face to face battle Sean as Germany didn't pick his battle well. Kaner goes on to read a great passage from the book about penetrating your enemies' minds (1 hr 13 mins)
• Amby tells a joke (1 hr 17 mins)
• They discuss going on a crusade (1 hr 19 mins)

Election and DMOL update

• The guys put out a reminder you can get bonus show content if you become a Patreon supporter of the show for just $2 a month. But for just a dollar more ($3 a month) we'll let you join our Cabinet when we're elected to the White House. Just let us know when you sign up about your portfolio and how you can relate it to Diplomacy (1 hr 20 mins)
• Kaner lets people know if you want a DMOL (Diplomatic Man of Leisure) shirt to get in touch with him - just use our contact form. Currently $40 Australian, which is probably about $30 US including postage (1 hr 25 mins)
• The guys wrap up the show (1 hr 27 mins)

Venue: Soapbox Brewery, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - Honey Porter by Soapbox, Brisbane

Amby - "The Rant" IPA by Soapbox, Brisbane

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 or you can also shop at Amazon using our affiliate link. It costs exactly the same to you, but Amazon give us a small cut and it doesn't cost you a cent more!

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.