Diplomacy Games

We catch up again with Noam Brown about his World Diplomacy Championship win this year in San Francisco and get an update from him. Plus the guys talk more about the Cane Toad Classic being held at the end of August. Intro and Diplomacy chat The guys introduce the venue and their drinks in this Athens inspired venue (0 mins 15 secs) Gavin outlines his plans for travelling on the cheap to Greece for WDC 2026 (3 mins) Interview with Noam Brown They set up the interview with Noam Brown  (6 mins 45 secs) Noam discusses how the WDC this year required a lot of attention and was pretty exhausted (8 mins) He talks about the four WDC's he's been to and what he's learned over the years (11 mins) They talk a little about Cicero and what Noam learnt from his involvment in the project and how he'd approach the issue of a broader reputation and AI  - if you don't want to listen to the technical stuff, fast forward to about 30 mins 20 secs (17 mins 15 secs) Noam discusses how much AI has improved since Cicero launched (2

We interview English - now Australian player - Robert Hillier about his Diplomacy experiences and more. We also have some great Diplomacy chat about how the game compares to other board games and Gavin points out similarities between Diplomacy and the TV show "The Traitors"

We're joined by relatively new but very experienced player Zoe Cameron as she shares great advice for new and existing players alike. Intro and Diplomacy chat The guys introduce the venue and their drinks (0 mins 10 secs) They set up this episode's interview with Zoe Cameron (3 mins 30 secs) Interview with Zoe Cameron The interview with Zoe kicks off who has only been playing since early 2024 but has got massively into the game and some of her thoughts on the game (5 mins 5 secs) They get into a discussion around the Venn diagram between strategic play, tactical play and relationship play (10 mins) Lizard brain contemplations (15 mins) They talk about their drinks for the interview and DBN After Dark (18 mins 20 mins) Zoe has some great advice for new players (22 mins 45 secs) They discuss the connections created from the game and the "free jazz of social dynamics" (25 mins 30 secs) She discusses the importance of vulnerability whether you're a new or experienced player (31 mins 20 secs) Zoe and Ken share

After three episodes recorded online, the guys at last get the tech working offsite at the bar again. They discuss WDC 2025, their upcoming tournament plans and their latest online games. Intro and Diplomacy chat The guys introduce the venue and their drinks (0 mins 10 secs) They talk about the 2025 World Diplomacy Championship and congratulate Noam Brown (who we interviewed about Cicero) (2 mins) We talk about the upcoming WDC's planned for 2026 (Athens) and 2027 (Chicago) and whether there will be another Asia-Pacific WDC in 2028 (7 mins) They get back to how their beers would be as Diplomacy openings (9 mins 30 secs) A little admin update on the podcast (15 mins) They talk about the challenge of getting 7 players for a local game (16 mins 30 secs) Gavin discusses trying to *maybe* get a family game of Diplomacy happening in Christmas-New Years (19 mins) Gavin gives an update on the Cane Toad Classic for 2025 - that said, since recording we have finalised details. The tournment will be run Saturday 30 an

The guys discuss one of them winning their first Diplomacy tournament and their latest games. Intro and Diplomacy chat The guys start rolling the show early before introducing the episode (after Ken encourages keeping in some pre-show discussion) (0 mins 10 secs) They talk about their drinks (4 mins) The Bangkok New Year's Tournament 2025 Ken won his first tournament! And also scored two best country trophies (6 mins 45 secs) He talks about his game that got him best Russia (12 mins) Ken discusses his final game playing as France (14 mins 30 secs) Ken talks about Kratom (17 mins 30 secs) Gavin talks about catching up with Stuart Barton and Max Roe Banks around his DBNI game (20 mins 10 secs) Gavin mentions he's going to the Melbourne Open {Post recording update - this didn't happen due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred closing Brisbane Airport and cancelling all flights}  (21 mins) He also talks about planning for the Cane Toad Classic in August this year (21 mins 30 secs) Ken asks Gavin around his favourite coun

Following on from last episode we discuss with Peter McNamara and Bradley Grace the fastest Diplomacy solo possible, all the math and all the reality of how to make it possible! Intro The guys introduce the episode and explain the latest comedy of errors plagueing the show. This includes recording at home again (another dumb reason why) and why Gavin is recording on his iPhone's speaker (0 mins 15 secs) Interview with Peter McNamara and Bradley Grace on soloing fast We begin setting the scenes for this episode's discussion with Peter McNamara and Bradley Grace about how to theoretically solo the board as quickly as possible and how to best practically achieve this (2 mins 25 secs) They discuss their drinks in the interview and the reason for the discussion (3 mins 30 secs) Peter talks about the theory behind how to solo as quickly as possible on the board in 1903 (7 mins 30 secs) Theoretically most players can get to 21 SCs in 1903 (9 mins 30 secs) Brad talks about the theory of reaching 21 SC in 1903 as E

The guys suffer from user error while catching up for our Christmas episode. Seasons greetings everyone! Intro and Diplomacy chat The guys introduce the episode and why this is the second recording of it (0 mins 15 secs) Ken describes his own homebrewed ale before it gets their creative juices going on the most incredible Russian opening ever (2 mins 30 secs) The greatest Diplomacy solo challenge (8 mins 50  secs) Ken talks about the "Return of the Mac" game (15 mins 15 secs) He goes onto discuss the December 2024 God Save the Zine edition (apologies Ken accidentally says it was in Diplomacy World) on page 23 by Ian Bond - a Tetris like way of looking at the Classic board (16 mins 40 secs)   Ken discusses how Ian's design reminds him of what's achieved in the variant Alacavre, which looks like a fantasy map but has exactly the same connections as a Classic board. That said Ken then points out the stats for this variant are totally different to Classic statistics, which shows how habitual we are when we appr

The guys talk about the 2024 Asia Pacific Diplomacy Championship and the creation of the Asia Pacific Diplomacy Association. And of course have a few drinks! Intro The guys introduce their drinks (0 mins 15 secs) The 2024 Asia Pacific Diplomacy Championship They begin talking about their attendance at the Asia Pacific Diplomacy Championship and Ken winning the Shane Cubis Award (1 min 30 secs) Gavin corrects the audio levels and talks about their venue (3 mins 45 secs) They get back to talking about the tournament and their games (5 mins 30 secs) Gavin shares some Diplomacy advice he got earlier (15 mins 30 secs) They talk about the Australian scene currently and how it is growing in quality and quantity (17 mins 30 secs) Catch up with Max Row Banks, Asia Pacific Diplomacy Champion The guys set the scene for the chat, recorded immediately after Max found out he was the 2024 Champion (18 mins 30 secs) The interview begins with Max talking through his game (19 mins) Max talks about playing as Russia, Germany

The guys catch up after a busy few months IRL and talk about aspects of their favourite game Intro The guys introduce the venue and their drinks (0 mins 15 secs) They explain why the recording schedule hasn't been so great this year (2 mins 30 secs) Diplomacy chat Ken shows Gavin the prototype trophy for the January 2025 Diplomacy tournament planned for Bangkok (3 mins 15 secs) The guys get some more drinks and discuss their upcoming attendance at the Asia Pacific Diplomacy Championship (13 mins) They talk about the "Toadiest Toad" award at the Cane Toad Classic (14 mins 30 secs) They come back to the Asia Pacific Championship and their aspirations for the tournament. Listeners - just so you know this episode is being released the day before the championship starts (16 mins 30 secs) They talk about the Canberra tournament being help 3 weeks later and the plan to have a top board (20 mins 20 secs) Gavin gives a couple of apologies due to the recording schedule being a bit lax (23 mins 20 secs) They discuss tr

The guys interview Jacob and Jamal from the A Christian and Buddhist Walk into a Bar podcast as a cross over episode. Plus Gavin discusses WDC in Milan and more. Intro The guys open the show and introduce their drinks and venue (0 mins 10 secs) Gavin has a cough but goes into his experience playing at the 2024 WDC in Milan (2 mins 40 secs) Interview with Jamal Blakkarly and Jacob Traeger from the podcast A Buddhist and a Christian Walk into a Bar about Diplomacy and faith The guys start introducing the interview with Jamal and Jacob, co-hosts of the podcast A Buddhist and a Christian Walk into a Bar for a cross-over episode about Diplomacy and faith (9 mins) The interview begins as the four of them set up the nature of the episode for each of the podcasts' audiences (11 mins) Ken explains the game for the other podcast's audience (16 mins) They discuss the link between each of their religious and spiritual perspectives and Diplomacy (17 mins 30 secs) Gavin discusses Jamal's double stab on him during the Melb

  The guys interview Davide Cleopadre, the tournament organiser of the 2024 World Diplomacy Championship in Milan, Italy. Intro The guys open the show being recorded on Skype and introduce their drinks with a couple of stories along the way (0 mins 10 secs) Interview with Davide Cleopadre, TD for the 2024 WDC in Milan They start introducing the interview with Davide Cleopadre, the tournament organiser (11 mins 50 secs) The interview begins and Gavin asks Davide why he nominated Milan as the host for the 2024 WDC (14 mins) Gavin talks about the culture in Italy and Australia and how they've very similar (16 mins 15 secs) Davide talks a little around the venue and eating too much (19 mins) Gavin asks what will people walk away remembering about this particular WDC. Ken bowls a curve ball  (21 mins 20 secs) He goes onto ask about the structure of the tournament... with a little lasagne and gnocci talk... and not to put any sauce on anything in Australia (24 mins 15 secs) They talk about the rounds in the tourna

The guys open the show and introduce the venue, Maniax, an axe throwing bar (0 mins 10 secs) Gavin mentions a Bizarre Map originally published on X, which explains what bits of Australia are like if they were American (6 mins 15 secs) They also discuss the old pronunciation issue for “Arkansas” (8 mins 20 secs) The guys flag there’s no interview this episode, and an update where they stuffed up an interview (9 mins 30 secs) Gavin talks about setting a regularly scheduled day each month so people can put it in their calendar eg second Sunday or the month (16 mins 45 secs) They get invited to throw axes and receive a safety briefing and before having a throw - apologies if it gets a little quieter at this point but there’s understandable a bit of space between the recorder and where we throw the axes (19 mins 45 secs) The guys give a wrap up of their axe throwing games (41 mins) They move onto a new bar and discuss the venue and their drinks (45 mins) Gavin talks about not acting his age. Read more about Austra

The guys discuss their latest face to face tournament, the Melbourne Open and have an around the card table discussion with many great players. Plus Ken's shoe story. Enjoy! Intro The guys open the show discussing their drinks, Gavin's incredible rustiness and a little about the tournament (0 mins 15 secs) They mention DBN is having a chat also coming up blow by blow about the tournament  (9 mins secs) Card table chat around Melbourne Open and player experiences The guys introduce the card table chat with various players from the Melbourne Open and Ken teases the tale of two shoes. Bear in mind that occassionally with so many people speaking it can be confusing briefly (9 mins 30 secs) The chat begins with Karthik Konath (USA), Craig Percell (New Zealand), Ken, Steve (Melboune), Peter (Melbourne), Jamal (Canberra), Goffy (Melbourne) and Robert (Melbourne via London), meanwhile Gavin discusses a skit in Aunty Donna and his poor consistent games at the end of day one (10 mins) They begin a debrief on their rou

The guys interview Zach Moore about all things NADF. Plus we talk our online games. Intro The guys open the show talking about some recent off topic discussions (0 mins 15 secs) They discuss their drinks and initial venue  (1 mins 30 secs) Loser's round stuff (3 mins 30 secs) Interview with Zach Moore about NADF The guys start introducing their interview with Zach, current NADF President who gives us a tour of his car (6 mins 30 secs) Zach explains how he took over the presidency of NADF from Siobhan Nolen, and his purpose in the role and the Code of Conduct (9 mins) He discusses the more proactive measures he'd like to see to get ahead of behaviours that cause problems and how the NADF Board is assisting (13 mins) They discuss improving diversity in the game (16 mins) Zach talks about this year's DipCon in Vancouver and his experience, including his game with Jamal Blakkarly (20 mins 30 secs) Gavin asks about why non North Americans didn't perform as well at DipCon (28 mins) They discuss how play style chan

The guys interview Chris Brand about the upcoming 2024 DipCon/Cascadia Open in Vancouver. Plus we talk upcoming tournaments and our online games. Intro The guys open the show about Gavin's wife's recent interest in Ticket to Ride and talk about a number of other board games (0 mins 15 secs) They discuss their drinks and initial venue which they last visited in episode 2 (4 mins 20 secs) Ken's been brewing beer (6 mins 20 secs) Interview with Chris Brand The guys start introducing their interview with Chris Brand, WDC winner and tournament organiser for this year's DipCon/Cascadia Open in Vancouver (10 mins 15 secs) Gavin asks about the tournament from 3rd to 4th February 2024 and how it'll be different being run as a DipCon (12 mins 30 secs) They talk about the scoring system and player's from different locations' playing style versus the West Coast style (15 mins 30 secs) They go onto discuss responsibilities in organising the tournament (20 mins 40 secs) Chris talks about the rounds and the impact of onlin

After almost 4 years the guys bring back creator and publisher of the Diplomacy Briefing, Umbletheheap, to see where the weekly email newsletter is at and where it's going. Plus we award the end of year Best Player award between each other, the new South of Sahara variant and progress on the Big Stick Diplomacy variant. Intro The guys open the show and discuss their drinks and initial venue which they last visited in episode 14. They discuss why Russia doesn't open Warsaw to Silesia more often. (0 mins 15 secs) Interview with Umbletheheap The guys start introducing their interview with Umbletheheap, creator and publisher of the Diplomacy Briefing (6 mins 15 secs) Umble gives a quick overview about what the Diplomacy Briefing is and its initial beginning (8 mins) He discusses the increasing role of many other great people contributing to the Briefing (10 mins 15 secs) Gavin asks about the professionalisation of the newsletter (14 mins 10 secs) Umble discusses his role in Ministry as a pastor yet being someone

The guys interview Sascha Heylmann who they met and played at WDC. Plus we address the myth of Diplomacy being the favorite game of Henry Kissinger... unfortunately surprisingly timely. Intro The guys open the show and discuss the venue and their drinks before they introduce their interview with Sascha Heylmann, one of the behind the scenes organisers at WDC in Bangkok (0 mins 15 secs Interview with Sascha Heylmann The interview with Sascha begins (2 mins 45 secs) How Sascha got into Diplomacy: both in Europe and in Bangkok. He discusses recent organising of games in Bangkok (4 mins 30 secs) They talk about the challenge of getting local players instead of ex-pats and more women involved into the game (9 mins) The guys talk about the challenge of playing a pre-dominantly a game communicating in English vs Thai, culture in the ex-pat and Thai communities and improving diversity in the game (15 mins) Sascha talks about upcoming steps in Diplomacy coming up for Bangkok and more broadly for southeast Asia (26 mi

The guys interview Bradley Grace about his love of Diplomacy. Plus they discuss a great new variant devised on a mini bus in rural Thailand and their online games. Intro The guys introduce themselves, the bar and their drinks for the evening (0 mins 10 secs) They discuss what life's like now back in Australia, instead of their super chill selves in Thailand. Ken talks about some of the places he visited in Thailand after Kanchanaburi (4 mins 30 secs) Interview with Bradley Grace They start introducting the interview for today's episode with Bradley Grace. Gavin flags they had tech issues recording the interview, so apologies there's a small break and then another 30 mins of the interview didn't record for some reason (8 mins 45 secs) Ken begins the interview and asks Bradley about how did he come to WDC. Bradley also discusses how he first got into Diplomacy (11 mins 30 secs) For some reason Zoom crapped itself so soon in the interview, but then we come back (14 mins 15 secs) Bradley talks about his virtual

Ken interviews Jamal Blakkarly, 2023 World Diplomacy Champion and co-host Gavin who also played the top board in Bangkok about the game and their similar styles and perspectices on Diplomacy. Plus, the podcast takes a new direction. Intro The guys introduce themselves in an entirely different way to the previous 120 episodes, with the cat out of the bag (0 mins 10 secs) They set up the interview today with Jamal, World Diplomacy Champ and Gavin who was also on the top board (2 mins 20 secs) They discuss the region and where they’re recording and flag because they’re recording on the River Kwai there may be occassional boat noise (which they try to prevent by pausing). They also discuss their drinks (4 mins) Gavin talks about the WDC tournament and the top board. Ken won best Russia and Gavin also picked up the Most Fun to Play With award (8 mins) They discuss the players on the top board and the Paris Method being used to decide who played which country (12 mins 5 secs) Ken gives his thanks to the organiser

With the guys about to head off to WDC in Bangkok, they play a face to face game & discuss their learnings to apply. Plus updates on their podcast listener game and new variants in development at vDip. Intro The guys introduce their drinks and tonight’s initial venue (0 mins 10 secs) They talk a little around their plans for Bangkok's WDC before a bit of an intro on their recent face to face game in Brisbane (3 mins) Chat with Reily Chapman on their face to face game in Brisbane The guys set up the context of their chat with Reily (previously on the show as Macca) about their recent face to face game in Brisbane (5 mins) The discussion starts as Kaner and Amby get into the Guiness  (6 mins)  Reily talks about his board topping game as Austria, and Amby’s poorly executed game as Italy (8 mins) Kaner discusses his game as Russia (12 mins) Amby’s psychological warfare against France (15 mins 20 secs) They discuss gameplay (19 mins) Kaner and Reily with different recollections of the same thing (22 mins 30 s