Diplomacy Games

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

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

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

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• 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

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• 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

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• 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

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• 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

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• 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.

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• 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

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• 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.

Very superstitious

The guys go back to the 1970's with an old school guide to Diplomacy from Kaner while Amby channels his Stevie Wonder "Very Superstitious" habits. They start their Newbie Guide to Diplomacy and do an updated Around the Grounds for their games.

Intro

• The guys start with plastic glasses at the Wet Deck pool bar at the W Hotel overlooking the Brisbane River. Its already hot in mid-spring (0 mins 5 secs)
• They discuss how long Diplomacy has been played before Kaner brings out a 1978 Gamer's Guide to Diplomacy produced by Avalon Hill. Kaner talks about how he got a hold of it (2 mins 15 secs)
• Amby starts flicking through it and they discuss some of the 1970's cartoons in it. They then start talking about what's also in the guide and some strategies including options if you're down to a small number of SC's. (5 mins) 
• They talk about some of the variants in the guide they've never heard of, including Bid Diplomacy (13 mins 30 secs)
• They've forgotten to introduce their drinks belatedly. With the heat Amby is drinking a 28 Pale Ale from the Gold Coast and Kaner is drinking a Somersby cider (16 mins 30 secs)
• The guys quickly move onto an Around the Grounds digression involving a 1898 game being played by Kaner. While this variant is played on the classic board, how its different to Classic. Kaner provides words of sage advice in the fog of war 1898 game he's in and about to solo (17 mins 15 secs)

Kaner and Amby's Newbie Guide to Diplomacy - Part 1: The map

• The guys introduce this new segment to help new players to Diplomacy understand the game. If you're a non-newbie feel free to fast forward this bit (25 mins 15 secs)
• After some unplanned argy-bargy about what to cover off, they end up discussing initially the map, SCs, territories and how different units behave on different territory types (26 mins)
• They talk about how some coastal territories have two costs and how that impacts on the game, before discussing canal zones and impassable zones (32 mins 15 secs)

Diplomacy players' superstitions

• Amby starts discussing a recent habit that has now become a superstition (38 mins)
• He explains how when he sticks with his superstition and plays the same song his moves go well, but when he varied it once, it went terribly (39 mins)
• He talks about his Divided States two songs - the 1812 Overture and the Love Boat theme. He plays Spanish guitar songs in games where he's playing Spain (39 mins 30 secs) 
• He discusses what superstitions other players have expressed when asked on vDip, webDip, playDip and the DiplomacyGames Twitter account (42 mins 30 secs)

2021 World Diplomacy Championship

• The guys quickly discuss the 2020 tourney at Carnage but move onto the recently announced 2021 WDC in Thailand (49 mins)
• As a former Aussie expat in Thailand, Kaner gives his suggestions on where would be a good hosting location in Thailand (51 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner discusses his idea for a historical 13th century southeast Asian variant (54 mins)
• They briefly touch on a PM from Flame about tweaks to the Mongol Diplomacy variant (56 mins)

Around the grounds

• Kaner starts the segment by discussing some quality public press in a Europa Renovatio game he's been spectating (57 mins 40 secs) 
• Amby kicks off his game discussion with his WW2 Global Boogooloo game (1 hr 7 mins)

• The Europa Renovatio game Cry God for Harry! has kicked off. Its not a gunboat for once but its anon. The guys give their thoughts on their early moves without giving away who they are (1 hr 9 mins)  
• Amby's never ending Divided States game has taken a few more turns with the game dynamics changing again (1 hr 11 mins)

• They discuss the anon Silent Europe game they're both in and how Amby's superstition isn't working in this game (1 hr 16 mins)
• They then move onto Amby's playDip USA! game as Spain where Chile soloed. Amby gives some constructive - but positive - criticism he doesn't like about two things at playDip (1 hr 17 mins 30 secs)
• Amby discusses a second War in the Americas game at playDip he's in, also playing as Spain. He discusses the brutality of having to play 12 hour phases (1 hr 21 mins)

• Amby explains the main reason he joined this game is because its a "Stuff Happens" variant - and what type of crazy stuff happens (1 hr 25 mins)

What the Dr Recommended

• The guys return to the vDip Hall of Fame for the 20-somethings to position 50 (1 hr 28 mins)

Wrapping up

• They talk about their 3rd face-to-face game coming up in Brisbane on 27 October (1 hr 30 mins)
• The guys discuss donating to Patreon for the drinking fund or buying (at no extra charge to you) from our Amazon affiliate link (1 hr 31 mins)
• And then conclude the show (1 hr 33 mins)

Venue: Wet Bar, W Hotel, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - Somersby cider, pretty much mass produced everywhere

Amby - 28 Pale Ale, Gold Coast, 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 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.

Confessions of a lapsed Diplomacy player

 

The guys meet Matt. He's selling Amby his Diplomacy board. Why? He doesn't play Dip anymore. The guys find out why and try to bring Matt back to the game. Plus a big Around the Grounds session.

Interview with Matt

• The guys welcome Matt, a lapsed Diplomacy player who is selling his board to Amby (0 mins 5 secs)
• Amby asks why Matt what’s going on (1 min 10 secs)
• Matt talks about how he’s turned more to Twilight Imperium as a Diplomacy engine substitute which is less “brutal” and more adaptable in gameplay (2 mins 15 secs)
• Matt talks about his interest in the game as a historian (3 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner reflects on his group of board game players and Diplomacy (6 mins)
• Matt discusses a couple of interesting Diplomacy gameplay moments (8 mins 50 secs)
• Amby raises the challenge of getting seven players actively involved who don’t disengage (11 mins 10 secs)
• Amby invites Matt and few friends to upcoming Brisbane face to face games. By the way apologies for a couple of minutes of loud kitchen background noise (12 mins 25 secs)
• Matt explains why he likes the purity of Diplomacy versus games with fiddly rules like Game of Thrones (13 mins 30 secs)
• They talk discussions strategies if you don’t have the perfect number of seven players before going onto discuss the game dynamics (16 mins)
• Amby starts wrapping up the discussions with Matt (19 mins)

Post-interview chat

• Kaner and Amby discuss the interview and hopefully they’ll have a few more face-to-face players who’ll come along to the Brisbane games (19 mins 30 secs)
• Amby discusses marketing speak and how its easier to keep an existing “consumer” or previous “consumer” of Diplomacy rather than try to land a new “consumer” and why Craig’s List may be a way to find Dip players who can’t find enough players for a game (21 mins 45 secs)
• They go onto discuss the issue of players disengaging and the purity of the game (22 mins 45 secs)
• The guys talk about the idea of a series for new players about the game (24 mins)

By the way, here's a photo of Amby's game that he bought (taken drunkenly on a Brisbane bus on the way home):

 

What the Dr Recommended

• Kaner and Amby bring back this older segment mispronouncing the top 25 players at vDip (25 mins 30 secs)

Around the grounds

Note: this was recorded 11 September 2019 - so the games have all moved on from when the guys discussed them.

• Amby gives an update on his USA! War of the Americas game at PlayDip and his recent experience being half stabbed. They discuss the different messaging system and draw request approach at PlayDip (30 mins)

• They move onto their vDip games, starting with Amby’s anonymous Divided States game which is now down to just 5 players (from an original 50 players). They go through the positions of each player to not give away who Amby is (33 mins 50 secs)

For full size map with detail go to the game map

• Next up is the Silent Europe Renovatio Europa game they’re both in (48 mins 20 secs)
• The guys grab another drink (by the way they’re still drinking the same) before moving onto the next Divided States game Amby is in: American Funboat (50 mins 50 secs)
• Then its Amby’s Google Translate game where he is about to die playing “Ron” Burgundy (54 mins 10 secs)
• Amby asks Kaner to read Ron Burgundy’s last message and whether he can work out what it means (56 mins 45 secs)
• Amby talks about the imgur page he created posting his Ron Burgundy memes (59 mins)
• They move onto their last game WW2 Global Boogooloo (59 mins 45 secs)

• Kaner starts talking about some games he’s involved in including a Fog of War 1898 game before starting to talk about the upcoming Cry God for Harry Europa Renovatio game (this has actually started since the podcast recording). He then talks about another new Europa game where some people have dropped out. Then it’s another Kaner Europa game which he describes as like stepping in dog shit. Amby has already been eliminated from this game (1 hr 2 mins)
• The guys start wrapping up (1 hr 7 mins)

Venue: Alba, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - 3 Bolt Pale Ale by Green Beacon Brewing, Brisbane, Australia

Amby - Juama Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre, 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 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.

Rise of the Bots: an interview with jmo and peterwiggin from webDip on AI & Diplomacy

What happens when a robot learns to play Diplomacy? Listen to jmo and peterwiggin (pw) from webDip on the most transformative online Dip development in many years. This is a game changer folks! Plus talk on WDC in Marseilles, DipCon in Seattle, the 2nd face-to-face game in Brisbane and panhandle closure. Phew... this is a packed episode!

Intro

• The guys channel Guns’n’Roses before discussing their drinks and venue (0 mins 10 secs)

• They discuss their previous recording with jmo and his post-interview discussion with the guys about bringing artificial intelligence (AI) to webDip. They give the context about the academic paper and the interview with jmo and peterwiggin (pw) - the techincal brains trust supporting the implementation before diving in (2 mins 30 secs)

Interview with jmo and peterwiggin about AI and Diplomacy

• Amby apologises up front as the interview they recorded with jmo and pw a week ago didn’t get recorded (4 mins 40 secs)
• They get straight into what the webDip crew have been doing with the University of Montreal to develop bots that can play Diplomacy at a pretty high level on the classic map. Jmo explains how it all works at a high level and how you can play games with bots (5 mins 15 secs)
• He discusses the processes for drawing (8 mins 50 secs)
• Conceding has also been brought into webDip from vDip, and ratings won’t be affected. He discusses how if you don’t get enough real life players you can fill it with bots. Jmo discusses it going live on “this coming Friday” which is the day this podcast episode is released (9 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks about the dynamics for how the bot thinks, drawing from 150,000 games as part of its intelligence (11 mins 30 secs)
• Pw talks about the machine learning process, neural networks, training the bots and reinforcement learning (13 mins)
• Kaner confirms his understanding of how the bots open and pw discusses. They then discuss the bots’ “memory” and throwing support to the bots (21 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner and Amby discuss their joint test game against the bots (Kaner was France, Amby was England) and reflect how quickly the bots started wiping them out. Amby asks about the extent the bots think about strategy and planning for the future (26 mins)

Kaner (France) & Amby’s (England) bot test game where it was up to in the interview

• Amby asks about how the bots draw from previous game data sets to make its decisions (32 mins 30 secs)
• Amby goes into more detail around the bots’ thinking and determining its own logic versus mathematical analysis of data (35 mins 15 secs)
• Kaner asks about the bots’ names and how human players are likely to respond to AI players (37 mins 20 secs)
• Amby asks about whether the bots recall its previous games, understanding what works and takes on a personality, or does it effectively reboot everytime (41 mins 10 secs)
• Jmo expands and talks about how bots can be set up to fill games in webDip where a player goes into civil disorder (CD’s) (43 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner asks about whether the bots and their code will be available on other Diplomacy sites (48 mins)
• Amby mentions how bot games are unranked, but asks whether there will be future tournaments/league tables for human players against the bots (50 mins 30 secs)
• Amby talks about his own solo game against the bots and how he’s stalemated the bots. He asks based on what’s transpired whether that would allow for a successful draw (52 mins 45 secs)

Amby’s solo game (Russia) which he stalemated before taking up Kaner’s suggestion

• Kaner asks whether things would change if Amby used his Silesia unit to do something different (57 mins 15 secs)
• Amby as reflects on how has got used to the Interactive Map Order Interface at vDip and found webDip’s drop down menus not as intuitive. He asks whether there’s plans to move that functionality across (59 mins)
• Amby asks whether other variants - like Ancient Med - have a sufficiently large dataset to draw on to bring across to bot games (1 hr 01 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner asks whether there’s any future opportunity for truncated communication for the bots. They go onto discuss avoiding Skynet (1 hr 3 mins 20 secs)
• They talk about the go live date (7 pm Friday 13 September US Eastern time) and how webDip players can provide feedback on the bots before wrapping up the interview (1 hr 9 mins)

Post-interview discussion

• The guys come back from the interview and discuss how badly they did (1 hr 12 mins 10 secs)

By the way, here’s the end of Kaner’s solo bot game as Russia where he got smashed!

• Kaner talks about how he expected to go in against the bots for them to act like newbies but was shocked how hard they played. Amby discusses his plans to stab Kaner in the game but never got the chance (1 hr 15 mins 20 secs)
• They discuss is metagaming against bots metagaming? Kaner goes onto discuss where game types could go (1 hr 16 mins 20 secs)
• Amby talks about the bots doing well by drawing on data sets whose decision making would have been based on real life games which may have included negotiations (1 hr 18 mins 45 secs)
• Amby encourages all players regardless of which platform you play to play the bots (1 hr 21 mins)
• They talk about the names for the bots and scope for other variants eg France vs Austria (1 hr 22 mins 45 secs)

Other Diplomacy news

• The guys get some more drinks, with Amby describing his wine (1 hr 28 mins)
• They go onto discuss the recent WDC in Marseilles (1 hr 29 mins 20 secs)
• Next up is a discussion about DipCon 2019. They discuss the black tie event (1 hr 32 mins)

• The guys talk about their upcoming second face-to-face game in Brisbane for Sunday 15 September (1 hr 34 mins 20 secs)
• They go onto talk about what a game organiser should do if they haven’t got seven players and their options (1 hr 35 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks Kaner if he got any pan handle emails (1 hr 36 mins 50 secs)
• Amby explains why he doesn’t like the Chromatic variant (1 hr 40 mins 50 secs)
• The guys start wrapping it up and discuss getting them more drunk by donating via our https://www.patreon.com/DiplomacyGames, or use our Diplomacy Games Amazon account (costs you no more!) to improve our audio gear (1 hr 42 mins 30 secs)

Venue: Alba, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - 3 Bolt Pale Ale by Green Beacon Brewing, Brisbane, Australia

Amby - Juama Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre, 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 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 Nathan Barnes about DipCon 2019

The guys interview Nathan Barnes about DipCon 2019 in Seattle before shooting the breeze on diplomatic uniforms, face-to-face games, current online games and what exactly is the Florida Panhandle.

Intro

• The guys introduce the show and flag today’s episode has an interview with Nathan Barnes who is coordinating the 50 year anniversary of DipCon at the Washington Athletic Club in Seattle (0 mins 10 secs)
• They discuss their drinks briefly (3 mins 20 secs)
• Amby mentions this is the second time Nathan has been on the show, previously interviewed about their former podcast, DiplomacyCast (4 mins)

Interview with Nathan Barnes about DipCon 2019

• The guys welcome Nathan back to the show (4 mins 30 secs)
• Nathan talks about the upcoming DipCon which is being held 6-8 September 2019 (5 mins 30 secs)
• Each round is going to have a different scoring system based on the different scoring systems used over the years at DipCon and one round will be a black tie themed event and recognizing the efforts of Diplomacy folks over time (7 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner asks whether Nathan has a favourite scoring system (8 mins 40 secs)
• Amby asks about whether the tournament is exclusively for Americans or if players from other countries can attend (12 mins)
• Kaner asks about the black tie round (13 mins 30 secs)
• Amby discusses the photo used on the Black Tie page. Nathan discusses the Diplomatic Uniform… and swords (15 mins 30 secs)

• Amby asks about the timing closeness of DipCon compared to WDC this year (19 mins)
• Kaner asks about accomodation near DipCon before they talk Vegemite (21 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks about how Washington Athletic Club was chosen as the venue. Nathan talks about the grandeur and setting of WAC (24 mins 20 secs)
• They discuss the impact of alcohol on the gameplay (27 mins 20 secs)
• They discuss plans for celebrating DipCon’s 50th year and the scoring process (29 mins)
• Amby asks if people haven’t played at a tournament, what would they expect to get out of it  (32 mins 20 secs)
• Kaner asks what people attending should get out of it (36 mins 20 secs)
• Amby gives Nathan an update on his progression into creating a face-to-face community (39 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks about “regulars” to tournaments (42 mins 55 secs)
• They talk about witnessing who is talking to who and their physical responses (44 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks about the physical space being used for games and for negotiations to occur (46 mins)
• Nathan encourages folks to sign up at https://www.dipcon2019.com/ (46 mins 50 secs)

Post interview chat

• The guys come back from the interview and discuss their thoughts. Kaner confuses Amby before they talk snakes (49 mins 30 secs)
• Amby plugs the Diplomacy Games Amazon affiliate account. We need 2 more American sales to keep the account going (53 mins 45 secs)
• The Amazon page now has a Kaner & Amby’s Book Club section for whenever we’ve talked about books on the show. Amby mentions he’s reading a biography called Bismark by Alan Palmer (54 mins 40 secs)
• They return to discuss the interview again. Kaner talks about his Diplomatic Uniform - dressed as Crocodile Dundee.

• Amby talks about Australian diplomat Sir Les Patterson (56 mins 20 secs)

• They talk about DipCon’s scoring system (60 mins)
• Amby discusses the contribution of older players to the game (1 hr 3 mins)
• Amby talks about how he plays Monopoly using his Diplomacy skills. Kaner similarly talks about using his Diplomacy skills in Settlers of Catan (1 hr 4 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss creating a new segment of the show for new players. The guys ask listeners to provide their suggestions for what we should talk about to help inform new players. Just go to our Contact us page to provide your suggestions. Amby discusses cutting support as a potential area to discuss (1 hr 9 mins)
• The guys discuss the upcoming second face-to-face game in Brisbane for the weekend of 14-15 September (1 hr 15 mins 20 secs)
• Amby suggests another way of finding new players to join a local face-to-face community: using CraigsList or Gumtree, reaching out to people selling Diplomacy boards. If they are selling because they find it hard getting 7 people for a game, invite them to join your community (1 hr 16 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner suggests promoting upcoming games through flyers at board game shops and where you’re holding the event (1 hr 18 mins)
• Kaner reflects on Nathan’s comments about American’s wanting a scrappy game. They discuss the different cultural aspects of the game (1 hr 19 mins 20 secs)

Around the grounds

• Kaner asks how Amby’s Google Translate game is going. Kaner quotes one of Amby’s Ron Burgundy posts. Amby actually shares what the real message was. He talks about his approach for this game after drawing Burgundy (1 hr 22 mins)
• Amby discusses Kaner’s great idea about how to deal with their anonymous gunboat games - by talking about players still in the game, which may be them or may not be them. This episode they talk about Choose Your Weapon, starting up in Scandinavia before progressing around the board (1 hr 30 mins 45 secs)

• They move onto the next Europa Renovatio game that they are both in, before Kaner talks about his other Europa game (1 hr 49 mins 45 secs)

• Amby suggests a few tweaks to the Europa Renovatio map to create a new variant set in the 13th century with a major Mongol player (1 hr 53 mins)
• They discuss whether this would make it unbalanced or not, and if so, what variant rules would be needed to counter this (1 hr 55 mins)
• Kaner digresses for a moment with a history lesson for Amby (1 hr 56 mins 50 secs)
• They go back to the variant idea and discuss different concepts for how the fog of war could work, before landing on the religious fog of war concept. They discuss how great it would be if Technostar edited his existing variant to support this new variant idea (1 hr 59 mins 50 secs)
• Next up, its Amby’s never-ending Divided States game (2 hrs 2 mins 30 secs)

• Kaner and Amby argue about what the Florida Panhandle is (2 hrs 3 mins 45 secs)

• They get back to the map (2 hrs 8 mins)
• Kaner mentions a fog of war game he’s in but doesn’t want to talk about it yet. Amby’s new Divided States game “American Funboat” has started - he may or may not be in a state with a panhandle (2 hrs 10 mins 50 secs)
• They discuss the frequent joining and leaving of players in the pre-start Cry God for Harry, Europa Renovatio game (2 hr 12 mins 30 secs) 
• Amby touches on his WW2 Global Boogooloo game (1937 World at War variant) (2 hrs 13 mins)

• Amby then turns to his USA!! Game, a War in the Americas game at PlayDip. This is a non-anon game where Amby is playing as Spain (pink) (2 hrs 16 mins)

• Kaner gets onto a panhandle rant again (apologies there’s some audio distortion in the background - couldn’t work out how it happened/how to get rid of it) (2 hrs 17 mins 20 secs)
• The guys wrap up (2 hrs 23 mins)

 

Venue: Death and Taxes, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - Windjammer IPA by Green Beacon Brewing, Brisbane, Australia

Amby - Sh Sh Shiraz by Tscharke Wines, 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 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 Zack Twamley from When Diplomacy Fails

The guys interview Zack Twamley, the host of the history podcast When Diplomacy Fails. They talk about parallels between the game and real life events. Plus Google Translate chat and their first Face to Face game in Brisbane.

Intro

• Kaner and Amby start by forgetting to introduce themselves before celebrating their 50th episode at Gilhooley’s Irish Pub and running through their drinks  (0 mins 5 secs)
• They then discuss their upcoming guest, Zack Twamley, host of the history podcast When Diplomacy Fails (1 min 20 secs)
• Zack recently completed an 85 episode series about the Treaty of Versailles and has name dropped the game Diplomacy a number of times on his podcast (2 mins)
• Amby gives a quick run down about the Delegation Game that Zack ran which involved a lot of the same set of Diplomacy skills in drafting an alternate history Treaty of Versailles (3 mins)
• The guys then throw to the interview (4 mins)

Interview with Zack Twamley from the When Diplomacy Fails podcast

• Kaner and Amby welcome Zack to the show (4 mins 15 secs)
• Zack talks about his recent holiday in Sicily. He discusses the books he took to read: Dan Jones’ The Plantagenets and Bernard Cornwell’s multi part series about the archer Thomas of Hookton. Amby touches on Kaner’s prior recommendation about Bernard Cornwell’s Arthurian series beginning with The Winter King (5 mins)
• Amby touches on Zack’s show and his occasional name dropping about the game Diplomacy. Zack talks about his experience with the game in a caravan one holiday and how it was so unlike any other game he’d played before (6 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks Zack to give his perspective on what makes Diplomacy very different to any other games (10 mins)
• Amby touches on the recent interview with Baron von Powell and the random element in Diplomacy being the players and their behavior (11 mins 30 secs)
• Zack asks about a couple of Baron’s variants, Amby explains particularly 1900 and its more historical bent (12 mins 40 secs)
• Amby asks Zack about what 2 or 3 players in history would make excellent Diplomacy players (16 mins 45 secs)
• Amby quotes Zack quoting Colonel House in episode 73 of When Diplomacy Fails, talking about Lloyd George which sounds like a critique of a Diplomacy player. He goes onto discuss House’s thoughts about the main contenders in Paris after World War One (22 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks who was a poor Diplomacy player at the peace conference, Zack then discusses who was a surprisingly good player (26 mins 45 secs)
• They discuss the similarities and differences between When Diplomacy Fails and Diplomacy Game (35 mins 30 secs)
• Amby talks about Zack’s “The Delegation Game” and to what extent it turned out the way he expected (36 mins 50 secs)
• Zack discusses which players of the Delegation Game he felt would make great Diplomacy players (41 mins)
• Amby touches on Zack’s other job as a university lecturer discussing European politics. He queries the nature of Brexit and how it relates to the game Diplomacy (44 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner asks about what historical similarities to Brexit are there (48 mins 50 secs) 
• The guys ask Zack where Diplomacy Games listeners can go to if they want to learn more about his show (57 mins 40 secs)
• The three guys talk about an online collaboration game (1 hr 0 mins 30 secs)
• Amby provides info to Zack’s audience if they want to learn more about Diplomacy Games, finding face to face communities and online Diplomacy sites (1 hr 1 min 20 secs)
• The guys start wrapping up the interview (1 hr 4 mins)

Post interview chat

• Kaner and Amby return post-interview and give a few apologies (1 hr 5 mins 15 secs)
• They talk about how good it would be to get Zack in a game and set a goal for episode 100 (1 hr 6 mins 45 secs)
• Amby reflects that in addition to this being episode 50, when this episode drops its been 3 years since the podcast started (1 hr 7 mins 45 secs)

Around the grounds

• The guys start talking about their current online games. Kaner begins by discussing his three Renovatio Europa games (1 hr 9 mins)
• Kaner poses some questions about the connection between the Red Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in this variant. Amby agrees with Kaner’s argument on the ahistorical nature of this connection. They discuss options for how to maybe manage cross-African journeys. They also touch on which powers appear to be consistently doing overly well. Kaner talks about his games (1 hr 10 mins 30 secs)
• Amby discusses his Renovatio Europa games. They discuss how players can “kiss and make up” in gunboat games despite initial conflict (1 hr 18 mins)
• Amby turns to his anonymous Divided States game which has been going over a year in real life (over 40 game years) which is starting to plateau. He discusses the recent changes in alliance blocks on the board (1 hr 20 mins 30 secs)
• Amby says he’s been eliminated in his Versailles game at PlayDip, but his War of the Americas game is still going (1 hr 25 mins)
• The guys talks about Amby’s Google Translate Diplomacy game with a couple of choice quotes (1 hr 26 mins)
• They agree to head to their live face to face game and come back to discuss it and the Translate game in more detail (1 hr 28 mins)

Post live face-to-face game wrap up with Tony the Butcher from PlayDip

• The guys introduce Tony the Butcher (a PlayDip player) who attended the face to face game in Brisbane. He played as Austria and got the equal highest number of SCs at the end of the game. Incidentally Amby drew Turkey and Kaner got France (1 hr 28 mins)
• They talks about the newer players Tristan, Beth and Ty and how they did well. Strangely enough Rob who was the most experienced player got smashed up a bit (1 hr 30 mins) 
• Amby reflects that he didn’t get the same adreniline rush in this game as the Melbourne Open. They discuss having regular games now in Brisbane every two months (1 hr 33 mins 30 secs)
• Amby asks Tony about his experiences at PlayDip. Kaner discusses using the Fog of War map as a taster for Classic players to try variants (1 hr 34 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner shows Tony the Renovatio Europa 34 player variant and talks about the board and playing a map of this type. Amby explains how sealanes and overseer zones (1 hr 36 mins 30 secs)

Google Translate game

• Kaner and Amby discuss the Google Translate game going on at vDip using the Aberration V map. Players need to push their message through at least seven languages. All are published on full press (1 hr 39 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner reads some sample recent messages (1 hr 41 mins 30 secs)
• They discuss the nature of this being an unrated game. They ask about ratings at PlayDip (1 hr 45 mins)
• Kaner talks about his recent win as Russia in a 1898 Fog of War game (1 hr 48 mins) 
• Amby digresses about the face to face game and seeing less experienced players not understanding the rules/writing orders. They talk about what’s easy in the game to pick up and what’s not (1 hr 51 mins 30 secs)
• They ask Tony about his experience playing his first face to face game in a while (1 hr 54 mins)
• Kaner talks about how in face to face you notice who is talking to who and how animated they can be and how you don’t get that in online games. They talk about how the game ebbed and flowed (1 hr 55 mins)
• The guys wrap up (1 hr 59 mins)

Venue: Gilhooleys, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Kaner - Kilkenny, Ireland

Amby - Guinness, Ireland

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 jmo from webDiplomacy

The guys interview jmo from webDip about all the great recent - and future - developments over there and how it relates to vDip. Chat also about Minecraft Diplomacy, playing Diplomacy in the navy and much more.

Intro

• Show introduction and discussion about Kaner and Amby’s drinks (0 mins 5 secs) 
• They are getting together before their first face to face game of Diplomacy in Brisbane. Amby suggests if trying to grow the game locally, perhaps reaching out to university board game clubs to facilitate a game (2 mins 40 secs)
• Kaner talks about his father’s Diplomacy experience in the Australian navy (4 mins 20 secs)
• The guys introduce their interview with jmo1121109 from webDip (7 mins 20 secs)

Interview with jmo from webDip

• The guys welcome jmo from webDip to the show and asks about his role there (8 mins 5 secs)
• Jmo talks about some of the recent changes at webDip and why these were made. He also discusses how the webDip code improvements can then be used by other sites like vDip, the Russian site etc (9 mins 20 secs)
• Amby asks about the new forum functionality at webDip (12 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner asks what else has been happening over at webDip. Jmo acknowledges the great coding work being done by squiggs44 to help  (16 mins 50 secs)
• Amby gives his thumbs up to the new rating systems for active players (18 mins 40 secs)
• Amby asks about other work at webDip. Jmo talks about tobi’s reliability/excused ratings and bringing that to webDip and then discusses the new tournament functionality now at webDip (21 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner explains the noise in the background, Amby flags with jmo whether the tournament functionality allows for a particular country allocation process (32 mins)
• Amby asks about the webDip Discord community and how its used. (34 mins)
• Amby asks jmo if people wanted to help webDip, what skill sets are needed right now. Jmo talks about the role of mentors and people with a technical interest. He touches in the positive impact doing technical work at webDip to help professionally when growing your career (39 mins)
• Amby asks about how the process works currently at webDip and what’s proposed in the future for supporting mentoring (45 mins 20 secs)
• Jmo talks about webDip’s School of War (48 mins)
• Kaner discusses how vDip incentivize people with little icons next to their names. Jmo likes what’s suggested and says he’s going to steal it (49 mins)
• Amby asks Jmo to give a quick overview about what ghost ratings are and what Squiggs44’ is doing to bring ghost ratings to webDip (50 mins 30 secs)
• Jmo discusses other future work planned on webDip like “dark mode”, how to see more live games, extended phase changes and bringing over vDip’s point and click interactive orders. He then mentions his final big change: a sandbox mode (54 mins 45 secs) 
• Amby asks about what communication is happening across the different Diplomacy site admins (59 mins 45 secs)
• Amby asks Jmo how can we grow the hobby more (1 hr 2 mins 30 secs)
• Jmo is asked about whether he gets to play much (1 hr 4 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner asks what the numbers after jmo’s handle mean (1 hr 6 min 30 secs)
• Jmo finishes up with a longer term project to improve the way misturn delays are handled (1 hr 7 mins 15 secs)

The guys return from the interview

• Kaner and Amby talk about a post-interview discussion about possible future developments at webDip  (1 hr 8 mins)
• They discuss their thoughts about the interview itself (1 hr 9 mins)

Diplomacy Minecraft

• They move onto a forum post at webDip about playing Diplomacy on Minecraft (1 hr 9 mins 30 secs)
• The way the discussions are planned for the Minecraft game (using Discord), Amby feels doesn’t resemble the nature of real Diplomacy which could be achieved inside the Minecraft interface (1 hr 12 mins 30 secs)

More post-jmo chat

• The guys return to the jmo interview and discuss the sharing and code between webDip and vDip (1 hr 15 mins)
• They talk about the rankings changes and possibly the future application of ghost ratings. They then discuss the “in demand” skills the online community needs right now (1 hr 18 mins)
• Amby talks about a mentor marketplace to match up new and existing players. Kaner talks about the positive real life career implications of participating in the community with coding and mentoring (1 hr 19 mins 20 secs)
• The guys wrap up the show (1 hr 21 mins)

Venue: Claude and Corbett, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Amby and Kaner - Claude and Corbett Lager, 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 Baron von Powell, creator of 1900

The guys interview Baron von Powell, legendary Diplomacy variant developer of 1900, Ambition and Empire and the College of Cardinals. Plus an Around the Grounds and more. Enjoy!

Intro

• The guys are still at Felon’s Brewery in a back-to-back session. Kaner talks beer yoga (0 mins 30 secs)
• Amby switches to a Felon’s IPA while Kaner sticks to the Treehouse cider (1 min 30 secs)
• They move onto introducing the interview with Baron von Powell (2 mins 50 secs)

Interview with Baron von Powell

• • Amby explores the nature of Baron von Powell’s name (3 mins 30 secs)
  • Baron shares how often he has played Diplomacy (4 mins 55 secs)
  • Baron talks about postal Diplomacy (7 mins)
  • Amby reflects on Baron’s views about Slack after his experience during the Tournament of Time at PlayDip  (8 mins 10 secs)
  • Baron discusses his fascination with the game going back to the 80’s (10 mins)
  • He goes onto talk about responding to an article in 1998 in Diplomacy World about improving Classic. He goes onto discussing how this became the 1900 variant, with now over 500 games played - you can play 1900 at PlayDiplomacy (premium account needed) and vDiplomacy (14 mins)
  • Kaner discusses his first exposure to 1900 and the concept of Siberian reserve army. Baron talks about his role and where he drew inspiration. He goes onto discussing how he tried improving the Classic map to better reflect the “powerhouse” nature of Germany. He talks about not radicalizing the game, but better reflecting the historical nature of the map for when the game starts at 1900 (16 mins 15 secs)
  • Amby agrees with Baron’s historical thinking (19 mins 20 secs)
  • Amby goes onto ask with the 500 games that have occurred, to what extent the balance is improved (21 mins 40 secs)
  • Baron talks about the rule changes of 1900 (24 mins 15 secs) 
  • Kaner asks whether territories in 1900 that are impassable in Classic (eg Iceland, Ireland) are used (28 mins 15 secs)
  • Baron mentions how stalemate lines are rarely used effectively in 1900 (30 mins 30 secs)
  • Kaner asks Baron about his other well known variant: Ambition & Empire. Baron talks about partnering with Jeff Kase on developing his variant and how its different to 1900 (31 mins)
  • Baron discusses the creation of the Diplomacy point and how they work (34 mins 20 secs)
  • They touch on the Tournament of Time and the nature of how the games worked out based on team strategy (37 mins)
  • They discuss the Dissolution variant and why Baron loves it so much (39 mins 45 secs)
  • Kaner asks about Baron’s latest project: College of Cardinals (10.3 mb PDF download), a variant he’s been developing for 9 years with Timothy Hayward. He begins by talking about some of the early difficulties designing the game (41 mins 20 secs)
•  
• 
• • He discusses the nature of the role of the Pope and the process of electing the Pope. He talks about the difference in complexity between a Classic game and highly detailed variants like College of Cardinals (44 mins 30 secs)
  • Kaner discusses his experience in previous Crusade variants and how difficult it is to get armies to the Holy Land. Baron talks about how the College of Cardinals tries to address this with the option of a Crusade being called and how it works (47 mins)
  • Amby asks about how Excommunication impacts on gameplay (48 mins 45 secs)
  • Baron talks about Crusade objectives and how convoys work: including effectively “land” convoys. He then discusses how Diplomacy points come into play (50 mins 45 secs)
  • They discuss the Islamic powers in the game. There are 7 Catholic players, 2 Orthodox players and 3 Islamic powers (53 mins 45 secs)
  • Baron says listeners can read the rules and view the map when he sends them through to Kaner & Amby (56 mins 20 secs)
  • Baron discusses Papal Bulls (57 mins 15 secs)
  • Amby asks about the process for electing the Pope (58 mins 50 secs)
  • Baron reflects how the variant evolved how the nature of the Pope changed over time (1 hr 0 mins)
  • Baron flags the variant is in hiatus currently, but says he’d love to see enough committed players play another game. Amby discusses how it would really suit a forum game at PlayDip.  (1 hr 2 mins 30 secs)
  • Kaner asks whether there’s a period of history that Baron feels is crying out for a variant to be made. Baron gives his thoughts (1 hr 5 mins 15 secs)
  • Baron leaves us with his passion: a strategic simulation of Lord of the Rings, a game he has been developing since 1981 (1 hr 9 mins 40 secs)

Note: There are two articles about College of Cardinals in Diplomacy World from 2013 and 2014 (http://www.diplomacyworld.net/pdf/dw124.pdf page 36 and http://www.diplomacyworld.net/pdf/dw126.pdf page 39)

Post-interview

• The guys are back in the brewery and reflect on the interview (1 hr 12 mins)
• They both express their interest in sinking their teeth into the variant although it has 60+ pages of rules and contents. If a test game happens it’s likely to be in 2020 (1 hr 14 mins 45 secs)

Sage of the Nine - Norse mythology variant being tested

• The guys talk about a new variant “Saga of the Nine” a Norse mythology variant developed by Alex Ronke with Chris Helwig that is being playtested (1 hr 18 mins
• Kaner walks on the wildside - committing to FOUR games (1 hr 21 mins)
• Kaner after NMRing in a game he was in with Amby, experienced the new reliability system over at vDiplomacy (1 hr 22 mins)
• The guys get back to the Norse variant with Kaner really interested in the Saga of the Nine variant (1 hr 23 mins 45 secs)

Brisbane Backstabbers face-to-face game coming up

• The guys have organised a local face-to-face game for Sunday 28 July at Vault Games. If you’re interested in this game or future games, please register (1 hr 25 mins 45 secs)

Around the grounds

• Amby touches on a Versailles game he’s playing at PlayDip - note since recording Amby has already been eliminated (1 hr 27 mins 45 secs)
• They discuss the Edwardian game at vDip that Amby was getting smashed in (1 hr 29 mins 50 secs)
• They get into trouble by mostly playing anonymous and gunboat games which limits clarity of the conversation in the podcast (1 hr 30 mins 30 secs)
• They get back to the Edwardian game “Smoking jackets and single malt scotch” and Amby talks about the nature of the game and the caliber of players he was trying to attract - note since recording Amby has surprisingly been included in a draw (1 hr 32 mins 30 secs)
• Kaner brings up how G-Man runs a similar “Cloak and Dagger” series of high end players (1 hr 34 mins)
• Amby discusses how the alliances in the Edwardian game are constantly flipping (1 hr 34 mins 45 secs)
• Kaner mentions - after recounting - he’s actually in FIVE gunboat games at the moment: three Europa Renovatio games and two 1898 Fog of War games (1 hr 39 mins)
• Kaner talks about one of these games where he is being absolutely destroyed (1 hr 39 mins 30 secs)
• They return to the anonymous gunboat A World at War 1937 variant game: WW2 Global Boogaloo which Kaner NMRed in (as Thailand). They talk about the game as best as they can, which is easier for Kaner as everyone now knows who he was playing (1 hr 42 mins 30 secs)
• Amby mentions how he’s waiting on two games to still start: American Funboat (Divided States variant) and Cry George for Harry! (Europa Renovatio variant) (1 hr 48 mins 30 secs)
• The guys start wrapping up the show, reminding folks if they want to support the guys getting drunk visit our Diplomacy Games Patreon page, if you want better audio visit our Diplomacy Games Amazon page and of course rate and review the show on your favorite podcast platform (1 hr 49 mins)

Venue: Felon's Brewery, Brisbane

Drinks of choice:

Amby - Felon's IPA by Felon's, Brisbane

Kaner - Treehouse Cider by the Granite Belt Cider Company, Warwick

 

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.