Diplomacy Games

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) Amb

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) Am

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 plannin

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

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 Stat

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

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 mo

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 Ha

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 dri

  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 noi

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 t

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 o

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

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

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

The guys interview Emmanuel du Pontavice about WDC 2019 in Marseilles, before talking about new variants including Technostar's latest massive map, Europa Renovatio, War in the Americas and 1898. Plus a bit of chatter about their current games. Intro The guys are at Felon’s Brewery and start the show talking about Amby’s clumsiness and glasses (0 mins 10 secs) Amby starts with a Felon’s Australian Pale Ale while Kaner is on a Treehouse Cider from the Granite Belt Cider Company (2 mins 10 secs) Interview with Emmanuel du Pontavice about WDC 2019 in Marseilles The guys start introducing their interview guest: Emmanuel du Pontavice, who is one of the tournament coordinators for the 2019 World Diplomacy Championship (WDC) in Marseilles, France from 30 August to 1 September (3 mins 30 secs) The interview begins with Amby asking about the details of WDC this year. Emmanuel points potential players to the website which is available in English, French and Italian (4 mins 20 secs) Kaner asks about budget and acc

Kaner's work has him under the pump, so this episode is just a short intro from Amby and then an interview with Ajax about Diplomacy Nexus: a community bringing players together from the various online platforms to battle it out in cross-platform Dip tournaments. Intro Amby introduces the show. Kaner is busy with real life stuff so no pub recorded episodes for a couple more weeks. Amby then introduces this episodes' interviewee: Ajax from the Diplomacy Nexus tournament  (0 mins 10 secs) Interview with Ajax from the Diplomacy Nexus Ajax founder of Diplomacy Nexus describes what its all about and how it supports chat across multiple players from different Diplomacy platforms. It currently has 600 players enrolled from webDip, vDip, playDip, Conspiracy, Duplicity and Backstabbr  (2 mins) He discussed the current tournaments being played on Nexus - Cold War 1v1 and a seasonal classic tournament (2 seasons a year) (3 mins 45 secs) Kaner asks how countries are assigned. Ajax describes the basics behind players

The guys squeeze a lot in a short time: Rebranding, getting the word out about diplomacy groups around the world, Amby shares his efforts to get a Diplomacy community going in Brisbane & how you can do the same, new variants, site updates, billionaires & the good ol' Australian democracy sausage. Intro The guys stuff up the podcast entry and then get into an argument about pronouncing Toowong before talking a little about the Royal Exchange hotel, known locally as the RE (0 mins 5 secs) The guys introduce their drinks (2 mins 20 secs) Face-to-face and old school wisdom Amby and Kaner discuss rebranding the podcast to reflect both face-to-face and online Diplomacy (3 mins 40 secs) The website now has a Google Map showing where people can find Diplomacy groups, or can advise their group/interest in creating a group (7 mins) Amby talks about his efforts to get a Diplomacy community up and running in Brisbane, and what you can do to copy their strategy. The guys have almost got enough people who’ve

Kaner & Amby start settling back into the online scene but have started applying their face-to-face Dip ninja skills to online gameplay. Plus their current games and new variants.  Intro The guys introduce the show and reflect the site and podcast album art probably needs to reflect Diplomacy as a whole - online and face to face (0 mins 5 secs) They’re drinking at Finney Isles in Fortitude Valley. They talk about their drinks and settling back in. (1 min) Amby says that family commitments in reflection will prevent him from going to the 2020 WDC in Vermont. Kaner still may go. But neither of the guys can swing Marseilles 2019 (5 mins) Amby brings up his (failed) Montana theory about Kaner’s online handle of kaner406 and talk a little about America (6 mins) Kaner talks about his thoughts on connecting in with local gaming groups and introducing Diplomacy. (10 mins) Amby discusses a little keyword research he’s done about potentially targeting people interested in the game to come along to a social fa

Kaner & Amby fly to play in the Melbourne Open Diplomacy tournament. They get schooled but can they come good in the end? Intro in the airport Venue: Brisbane Airport Drinks of choice: Kaner & Amby - 150 Lashes Australian pale ale by James Squire Brewery The guys are recording initially at the Brisbane domestic airport waiting for their flight to the Melbourne Open face-to-face tournament (0 mins 10 secs) They discuss their hopes to catch up with players outside of the games (4 mins 20 secs) Kaner talks about his return to the Melbourne “big smoke” talking about growing up in rural Victoria (6 mins 15 secs) Kaner discusses the recently completed Divided States game drawn 3 way’s between Technostar (Kansas - 128 units), EmpireStrikesBack (Vermont - 78 units) and Tobi1 (New Hampshire - 73 units). It’s generally considered this particular game probably had the most SCs/units controlled by a player in any Diplomacy game (7 mins 50 secs - if edited out the bing bing) They introduce their beers - m