Diplomacy Games

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.

Interview with Jon from Backstabbr

This episode we have an interview with Jon, one of the developers at Backstabbr. Plus we talk recent news, around the grounds and our latest face-to-face Diplomacy game.

Intro

• The guys introduce the show, their drinks and plans for their face to face game that day (0 mins 15 secs)
• They discuss what to do if you get 8 players, with Kaner bringing along maps for the USA variant (classic Europe but with the USA and wrap around world) and Celtic Britain. He also brought some other maps including Ancient Mediterranean (5 players) and 1600 (9 players)  (3 mins 15 secs)
• Amby makes a mess (7 mins 15 secs)

News

• They discuss the news before teasing the interview. Amby talks about the WDC 2021 website in Bangkok, Thailand is now live! They talk a little about the event and how playes should start thinking of putting aside some coin if you're a bit short of cash (8 mins)
• Amby goes onto discuss the new Asia Pacific Diplomacy Association. This is a replacement to the less active Diplomacy Association of Australia and New Zealand (DAANZ) but with Asia now included. Its planned to be similar to the North American and European equivalents. There's plans for a Grand Prix of events across the Asia Pacific (12 mins 45 secs)
• He then discusses how as part of the Grand Prix its planned to have a Brisbane/Queensland tournament (14 mins 30 secs)
• Gary (Phlegmatic at PlayDip) got in touch about the upcoming MaccCon3 in the UK on the 14-15 March 2020. Its going from invitation only event to an open event. Gary also said MidCon was coming back in November 2020 and would act as the UK Championship for that year. Plus they're looking at a larger Tour of Britain with multiple tournaments (16 mins 45 secs)

Interview with Jon from Backstabbr

• Amby gives the preamble to the interview (20 mins 45 secs) - NOTE: there are some very small glitches in the recording where a word or two drops out due to Skype lag
• The interview starts (Amby only - the tech didn't work for Kaner) (22 mins 15 secs)
• Jon explains his role at Backstabbr and discusses what the site is all about and the difference between it and the other online Diplomacy sites (23 mins)
• He starts outlining the sandbox mode in Backstabbr and what you can do with it with adjudication, showing the orders in a face to face game etc (25 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss the Backstabbr community and use of Discord and sub-Reddit and the developers' intent to focus on the core game (30 mins 40 secs)
• Amby asks how players involved in the Diplomacy Nexus use Backstabbr (32 mins)
• Amby asks about the number of players using Backstabbr - this has a one of those nasty recording dropouts, sorry! (33 mins 40 secs)
• They discuss plans for the future (35 mins)
• Amby asks why there's no "e" in Backstabbr (39 mins 10 secs)
• They discuss whether the site's developers play face to face in the Seattle scene (seeing they're based there) (40 mins 40 secs)
• Jon discusses the games the developers are now playing - while balancing real life commitments (41 mins 30 secs)
• They talk about whether the developers play Diplomacy online (42 mins 15 secs)
• After a rather vague question from Amby about beers, Jon leaves his parting thoughts, particularly about taking Diplomacy into different places (45 mins)
• The interview wraps up before the guys return with their thoughts (48 mins 30 secs)
• They talk about using Backstabbr during tournaments (53 mins 30 secs)

Around the grounds

• They touch on anonymous games they're both in. The first one is Kicking Butts which is a gunboat fog-of-war Classic game (55 mins)
• Next up is Cry God for Harry! where Amby is still slowly growing while Kaner says things aren't looking promising (58 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner asks for Amby's advice for a game Amby is almost out of (59 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner talks about two Renovatio Europa games he's in and his psyche around detaching himself in a whimsy. Amby seems to be following instead a bitter strategy in some of his games (1 hr 0 mins 30 secs)
• They move onto Amby's Undivided States game which he feels is starting to head toward the end game (1 hr 2 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss having a post face-to-face game wrap-up and then a bonus podcast episode for Patreon supporters of the show. They also decide to hold over the newbie episode to the Christmas show (1 hr 3 mins 20 secs)
• The guys discuss the idea of having a Brains Trust segment of the show with the leading players of the online sites and possibly face-to-face. Then they wrap up the segment (1 hr 5 mins)
• But just as quickly... they're back! Amby remembers his WW2 Global Boogooloo game is over and forgot to talk about it. One of the players (RanseStoddard - who was playing Portugal) after finding out about the podcast covering the game, gave Amby some feedback: on Kaner's panhandle discussion  (1 hr 8 mins 20 secs)

Post face-to-face game chat

• The guys return post-game with Laloma who played Austria and got the most SCs at the end of the game: going from 5 SCs to 10 in the final year (1 hr 13 mins)
• Kaner asks about Laloma's approach at the start, particularly her dealing with Turkey over the Balkans (1 hr 14 mins)
• In the game Amby played as Russia and Kaner was Italy. They discuss the start of the game with Germany doing a reverse Alpine Chicken sending Munich towards Venice (1 hr 15 mins)
• They discuss how Ty and Beth drew neighboring countries again as France and England. They discuss Ty's big beaming smile towards the end of the game when he was in the lead, until 3 players threw SCs to Laloma to spite Ty and ensure he didn't come first  (1 hr 16 mins 15 secs)
• Laloma talks about her plans to take Tristan (Turkey) off the board. Kaner asks Amby about a Russian northern game and his plans there, before quickly changing to a southern game. Amby talks about being stabbed (1 hr 18 mins 30 secs)
• Laloma's lift turns up and she has to go. Kaner and Amby continue the show. You can check all the orders from each player in Backstabbr (1 hr 20 mins 40 secs)
• They discuss Fall 1902 when everyone seemingly independently moved into Germany (1 hr 21 mins 50 secs)
• Kaner discusses his thoughts stabbing Austria at one point in the game (1 hr 23 mins)
• They discuss Ty's "Line that can't be crossed", which Kaner broke (1 hr 24 mins 55 secs)
• The guys have a yarn about drinking and different generations' take. They discuss their Piss Fit plans for Thailand in WDC 2021 (1 hr 28 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner returns to his anti reverse Alpine Chicken rant (1 hr 32 mins)

Presidential campaign update

• Kaner discusses his next election plank (1 hr 34 mins 45 secs)
• Amby provides some Vice-Presidential advice on another plank, before Kaner stamps his presidential authority on the situation (1 hr 35 mins 45 secs)
• They discuss having some reasonable planks - learning Diplomacy and geography in Year 10 (1 hr 40 mins)
• The guys wrap up the show before reminding listeners you can hear bonus podcast episodes for Patreon supporters of the show (1 hr 42 mins)

Venue: The Stanton and then post-game the Hornblower Bar, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - The Hills Cider from the Adelaide Hills

Amby - Little Creatures Pale Ale from Freemantle

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.

Make Diplomacy Great Again #MDGA

The guys talk what makes a good Diplomacy neighbor, a new upcoming variant, bonus stuff for our Patreons and their 2020 Presidential/VP bid to Make Diplomacy Great Again #MDGA.

Intro

• The guys introduce the show before Kaner taunts Amby on maths (0 mins 15 secs)
• They discuss their drinks and the venue for tonight, Frankie and George. They provide a tease about a recording for our Patreons  (1 min)
• They talk about the recent fires in Queensland and New South Wales (3 mins)

Newbie Chat (part 3): Neighbors for Newbies

• The guys introduce their 3rd segment for newbie players, this time talking about what makes a good neighbor for each player on the Diplomacy board. But first there's some 80's Australian TV trivia (3 mins 45)
• We begin with Germany and talk about who would make a good neighbor to Germany (6 mins 45 secs)
• Amby suggests a ballsy move for a German opening. Kaner explains his reverse experience. They argue about what "lucking out" means (12 mins 30 secs)
• Austria is next (15 mins 30 secs)
• They move onto Turkey. Kaner questions Amby's suggested good neighbor for Turkey (17 mins 45 secs)
• Amby gives his tasting notes of Kaner's beer (22 mins 45 secs)
• Next the guys talk Italy (24 mins 45 secs)
• When talking Italy they touch on the Lepanto opening (27 mins)
• The guys give a shout out the now defunct DiplomacyCast podcast, especially for face to face advice (30 mins 15 secs)
• France is next (31 mins)
• England's good neighbors (33 mins)
• The guys then wrap up with Russia (35 mins)

New podcast: the Diplomacy Podcast

• Amby stumbles through explaining how he found the Diplomacy Podcast from Erik van Mechelen in Minnesota (37 mins 20 secs)
• Its a much shorter digestible chunk format than our show (40 mins 30 secs)

Kaner and Amby announce their potential Presidential election bid for 2020

• After some rambling they declare their potential bid for President and VP for next year's American election (41 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss the need for a lawyer to justify their non-American birth still qualifying them (44 mins)
• Kaner announces his first policy plank - compulsory voting (45 mins 15 secs)
• The guys are keen for listeners advice and support for our bid (47 mins)

Next face to face game in Brisbane: 1 December

• At the next match 3 out of the 7 confirmed players are female players, which is great to get that balance and participation in the game (48 mins)
• Kaner changes beers and talks about the bartenders' recommendations (49 mins 45 secs)
• If you want to play sign up (52 mins 15 secs)

Upcoming new variant - A Modern Europe

• Kaner discusses the upcoming new variant which is a Europa Renovatio meets Modern map made by Kurt. Its not live yet and while Kaner can see it (with his vDip mod powers), Amby can't. So sorry you'll need to wait a little longer to see this 20 player map (53 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner discusses Sealanes and Amby's original poo-pooing of them (59 mins 15 secs)
• Amby is reminded by Kaner that he created the Sealanes concept (1 hr 1 min 30 secs)

Around the grounds

• They briefly chat Silent Europe (1 hr 6 mins 15 secs)
• Then they move quickly onto Amby's Divided States game with Montana now down to 1 SC (1 hr 6 mins 50 secs)
• They talk about changes along the real life US/Canadian border; changes along the New York/Kentucky border (real life Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky); and changes down Florida way (1 hr 8 mins)
• Kaner gives his second policy plank - solid black borders along rivers and pan handle reform (1 hr 12 mins 20 secs)

• Amby gives an update to his WW2 Global Boogaloo game (which is now up to spring 1972), with Thailand now eliminated and Japan on the ropes (1 hr 14 mins 40 secs)

• Amby has lost the fun in his Funboat game where one of his allies stabbed him for 2 SCs (1 hr 16 mins 45 secs)

What the Dr Recommended

• The guys give an update in the Top 100 at vDip covering active players in positions 45-75 (1 hr 20 mins 30 secs)

Bonus for Patreons

• You can support the show to donate to the alcohol tab and better audio equipment AND NOW YOU WILL GET BONUS EXTRA CONTENT! (1 hr 23  mins 45 secs)
• The guys ask for feedback on what to include in the bonus shows for Patreon supporters (1 hr 25 mins 45 secs)
• You can sign up at https://www.patreon.com/DiplomacyGames. They guys then start wrapping up (1 hr 27 mins)

Venue: Frankie and George, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - Mexican Hot Chocolate stout and later a Witching Hour raspberry sour, Ballistic Brewery IPA in Brisbane

Amby - Hacienda Lopez de Haro Tempranillo from Rioja, Spain

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.

Slightly slurry Diplomacy

The guys start the show sober but by the end... oh dear. Part 2 of our newbie series, lots of post face-to-face game analysis and Amby learns about blocks up and blocks down.

Intro

• The guys introduce the show before their 3rd face to face game in Brisbane. Amby mentions he caught up with "The General" during the week for a Diplomacy crash course reminder (0 mins 5 secs)
• They are recording at the Croft House and introduce their drinks (1 min 45 secs)
• They bring up the tournament being held in Canberra this weekend (3 mins 30 secs)

Around the grounds

• Kaner talks about trialing tactics if you're behind in the board. Amby brings up his War in the Americas game "Rivers of Bruhs: David's Conquest" at PlayDip once he got boxed in (4 mins)

• They digress onto Australian movies before Amby explains his off the wall tactic and how it worked out. Recommended Australian films are Bad Boy Bubby (Kaner) and The Castle (Amby) (8 mins)
• Kaner gives an update on his Europa Renovatio games, starting with "Cry God for Harry!" (13 mins 30 secs)

• Amby asks Kaner about what bits of his strategy are working well and what's not (15 mins 25 secs)
• Kaner touches on his other Europa games, but as they're gunboats he's pretty vague (18 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner brings up a text message from Amby where he listened to a different song when playing his Divided States game, testing his superstitious hoodoo. Amby goes onto discuss the latest update on player positions (19 mins 20 secs)

Advice for Newbies (part 2): Making Moves

• The guys discuss the five types of moves and the nature of cutting support, choosing which unit to move if you suspect support will be cut and convoy subtleties (23 mins 15 secs)

Sample moves:

• Hold: A War (hold), A Sil -> War (attack) fails

---

• Move: A Con -> Bul, or F Ank -> BLA (both succeed)

---

• Move: resulting in a "bounce"/stand off.  A Par -> Bur A Mun -> Bur

---

• Support move: Par -> Bur, Mar support Par -> Bur. Mun -> Bur. Paris succeeds in taking Burgundy.

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• Support move: failed due to a double bounce - Par -> Bur, Mar support Par -> Bur. Mun -> Bur, A Bel support Mun - >Bur

---

• Cutting support Par -> Bur, Mar support Par -> Bur. Mun -> Bur. Pied -> Mars (cuts support); Results in effectively Mun/Par bouncing again as Mar can't help now

---

• When deciding which unit to move and if you expect someone to break your support, look at alternatives
• eg instead of Paris attacking Burgundy, could Marseilles attack if another unit moved into Marseilles?
• Mar -> Bur, Par support Mar -> Bur, Spa -> Mar. Mun -> Bur. Pied -> Mars - results in France successfully taking Burgundy and preventing Italy moving Piedmont into Marseilles

---

• More units are needed to dislodge a support held unit eg A Bur, Par support hold Bur; Germany would need to hammer Burgundy with Bel, Ruhr and Munich. Here we have A Ruhr -> Bur, A Bel support Ruhr -> Bur, A Mun support Ruhr -> Bur

---

• Convoy: A Edi -> Norway; NTS convoy Edi - > Norway; you need to put in both. If you just move the army but don't mention the NTS fleet it is an illegal move.
• Note, we're using the Backstabbr sandbox to show the moves here. They show convoys different visually with little waves for the naval unit doing the convoying.

---

• Kaner explains how a double convoy works: Edi -> Norway, NTS convoy Edi - Nor NWS convoy Edi - Nor; if Den-NTS supported by Holland, convoy still succeeds

---

• Multiple convoy: A Nor -> Brest; F NTS convoy Nor -> Bre, F EC convoy NTS to Brest; Belgium taps NTS, convoy still succeeds
  - Can only convoy through sea territories, not coastal territories/canals
  - Can only convoy one unit at a time

---

• The guys wrap up the first segment of the show before heading down to their face to face game (38 mins 30 secs)

Post game analysis

• The guys report back in after playing 5 hours of face to face Diplomacy (38 mins 45 secs)

• They go through the players and which country they drew before the guys discuss their lack of poker faces (37 mins 20 secs)
• Kaner (Austria) laments Ty and Laloma (Russia and Turkey's) efforts to remove Kaner (41 mins 30 secs)
• The final make up of the board in Fall 1907 (when we ran out of time) was France and Turkey on 9 SCs, Russia on 8 SC's (43 mins)
• They discuss the physical placement of playing blocks when it comes to moves, supports, retreats, how fleets are placed etc (45 mins 15 secs)
• Kaner reminds Amby what the Flying Dutchman is again (50 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss how social games are different to tournament games and how Loloma played a great first game (53 mins)
• Kaner is thankful he survived with 2 SCs. Amby shares with Kaner some in-game discussion about Kaner (55 mins)
• They discuss the new weekly Diplomacy email newsletter "The Briefing" with the most recent edition talking about the WebDip Terminator Tournament organised by bo_sox48 and won by TheGhostMaker and other things in the briefing. Sign up for The Briefing (57 mins 30 secs)
• Being a bit drunk they remember toward the end to mention they're at the Hornblower Bar which they agree to keep as a "regular" bar for post face-to-face analysis. They also mention their drinks: Kaner is having the James Squire 150 Lashes at the Hornblower and had at the game Newstead Brewery's IPA and Porter. Amby is having the Chris Ringland CR Shiraz at the bar and during the game had the Newstead Brewery's Pale Ale and IPA (1 hr 1 min 30 secs) 
• 
• They guys then wrap up the show (1 hr 3 mins 30 secs)

Venue: The Croft House, Brisbane (pre-game) and Hornblower Bar (post-game)

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - James Squire Orchard Crush cider, Newstead Brewery IPA and Porter, James Squire 150 Lashes ale

Amby - Tempranillo Zinio, Newstead Brewery Pale ale and IPA and Chris Ringland CR 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 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.