Diplomacy Games

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 approach the Classic Diplomacy board (21 mins 20 secs) They go onto creating a new game of Alacavre for Diplomacy Games podcast listeners - just pop over to vDiplomacy, create an account if you haven't got one already and join the game at DiplomacyGames plays (password/invite code is just the word podcast) (33 mins 50 secs) They discuss geographic linguistic differences across Australia and Gavin's old casual job he had at the Regatta Hotel. He goes onto mention this was around the time he played Diplomacy for the very first time - through the variant Machiavelli. You can find out all about this in our Patreon feed in a week or so from now (38 mins 50 secs) The guys give a proper status update about the show and the likely release schedule/quality over the next 6-12 months (43 mins 30 secs) They advertise many "development opportunities" available for listeners who'd like to help the show. If you're able to help let us know on the podcast contact form (47 mins 20 secs) Ken also suggests if there are interview guests you'd like to hear on the show to let us know (50 mins 20 secs) Ken reflects back on Diplomacy and 2024  (51 mins 45 secs) He then discusses his upcoming attendence at the South East Asian New Years tournament being run by Sascha Heylmann on 24-26 January and their recording plans for early 2025 (53 mins 40 secs) Ken presents the "Better vDiplomacy player" plaque to Gavin for getting a higher score and ranking than Ken this year (56 mins 20 secs) The guys start wrapping up the show (1 hr 1 min) Venue: At home, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Ken - Kaner's own dark ale Gavin - Casillero del Diablo shiraz from Chile 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 pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

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 and France (20 mins 15 secs) They talk about Max winning the championship by one SC (22 mins) Ken asks about Max's favourite moment in the event (22 mins 45 secs) They talk about the competiting players (23 mins 30 secs) Ken asks where to next (24 mins 20 secs) Max also won Best Strategist in the tournament (25 mins 10 secs) They begin wrapping up the chat (26 mins 30 secs) Gavin hadn't relistened to the interview when he and Ken caught up and incorrectly says he hasn't played against Max, even though Max touched on it at the Cane Toad Classic when Gavin had to make numbers for a board (27 mins 45 secs) Round table discussion on the new Asia Pacific Diplomacy Association They move onto a post-championship discussion around the earlier agreement to establish the Asia Pacific Diplomacy Association, a regional equivalent to what North America and Europe already has (28 mins 30 secs) Andrew Goff gives a brief overview of what's happening (31 mins 15 secs) Jamal Blakkarly provides his input into the discussion (33 mins 15 secs) Dominick Stephens reflects on how the New Zealand hobby could build from the association's approach (35 mins 15 secs) Shane Armstrong talks about where the hobby is at in Sydney and how the association can help (36 mins 50 secs) Andrew gives a hat tip to Lei Saarlainin in setting an original vision (38 mins) Ken suggests moving to a quiter location (39 mins) Diplomacy chat The guys have moved to Gather for a quieter atmosphere. Gavin reflects on regular feedback - positive and negative - from listeners about recording in a bar. And other related reflections (39 mins 30 secs) They discuss some of his thoughts on the association and some of the benefits from it (43 mins 20 secs) Ken talks about the new Renegade Studios variant, "Era of Empire" (49 mins 30 secs) Gavin reflects on his repeated efforts to reach out to Renegade's media team about an interview on how they're taking the game forward - but unfortunately with no response (56 min) The guys ask if anyone has a connection into the people from Renegade Studios, please get in touch as we'd love to know the strategy they're taking the game (58 mins 45 secs) FYI - don't message us on X, as we don't go there anymore (1 hr 1 mins) Gavin is now on a Tscharke Shiraz from the Barossa and Ken is on a Balter XPA. Gavin gives his limited insights of the Russian language (1 hr 2mins) Around the grounds Gavin's joined an unranked Divided States game and has actively encouraged the one guy who didn't stab him to walk into his SC's (1 hr 3 mins 30 secs) Ken moves onto his Imperial Diplomacy game where he's doing pretty good as Prussia (1 hr 5mins) They move onto Gavin's anonymous World War IV game where he's still doing well (1 hr 7 mins) Gavin asks Ken on tactics when it comes to convoys and movements to keep it legal (1 hr 11 mins) They start wrapping up (1 hr 16 mins) Venue: Little Miss Sunshine and Gather, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Ken - Young Henry's Cloudy Cider and Balter XPA Gavin - Little Miss Sunshine Breezy Pale Ale and Tscharke 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 pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

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 trying to get regular games going and what is the 'secret sauce' (25 mins) A small local football digression (27 mins 30 secs) Around the grounds Ken asks how Gavin's online games are going (31 mins 45 secs) They talk about what happens when someone blocks your growth corridor off on a large map (34 mins 15 secs) Ken talks about his gunboat Imperial game against the big boys (37 mins 30 secs) They talk about the value of holding a build back (42 mins 15 secs) The guys start wrapping things up and remind listeners around our Patreon feed (44 mins) Venue: Babblers, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Ken - Stone and Wood Pacific Ale Gavin - Paratheon Silver Shiraz from the Barossa Valley   Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. And don't forget if you want to help pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

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 Melbourne Open (22 mins 45 secs) They discuss the evolving nature of Diplomacy, its connection with your life and learning moments (25 mins) Gavin talks about inadvertantly injecting Diplomacy into the game of Monopolyn (41 mins) Jamal asks whether God likes Diplomacy (43 mins) The nature of the discussion turns towards Buddism and Diplomacy, and Jamal reflects on Catholicism in Italy (49 mins) Jacob asks about whether there's any place in the game of Diplomacy for some of the key aspects of the major religions (57 mins) Gavin reflects on the face to face nature of the game as a way of meeting great people and traveling to amazing locations (1 hr 5 mins) Just search Christian Buddhist bar on Google to find Jamal and  Jacob's podcast if you want to hear more of A Christian and a Buddhist Walk into a Bar (1 hr 11 mins) The guys reflect on the discussion with Jamal and Jacob (1 hr 12 mins) Gavin talks about how he enjoyed spending time travelling and visiting Diplomacy players during his trip, including Jamal, Bradley Grace, Chris Brand and John Avena (1 hr 16 mins 45 secs) He goes onto talk about WDC 2025 in San Francisco and WDC 2026 in Athens, with a shout out to Spyros, podcast listener and TD for WDC in Athens (1 hr 22 mins) Gavin discusses officially holding the Cane Toad Classic tournament in Brisbane the weekend of 24-25 August 2024. Register your interest at the Australian Diplomacy tournament form (1 hr 26 mins) They talk about a pre-game for the first weekend in August but since recording we've fallen short and won't be happening (1 hr 30 mins) The guys begin wrapping up the show, and Gavin does an extra Bradely Grace shout out on 3 words (1 hr 35 mins 15 secs)   Venue: Longwang, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Ken: Balter XPA from the Gold Coast, XXXX Bitter from Brisbane (during the interview) Gavin: Balter XPA from the Gold Coast 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 pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.  

  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 tournament, the scoring system and gameplay (29 mins) Davide goes into how the top board is determined and Gavin asks about the Lingua Franca in the tournament (41 mins 40 secs) Ken asks about using new technologies to improve communication in other languages in tournaments (45 mins 10 secs) Gavin draws on his previous visit to Milan many years ago and asks about Davide's expeditations on travelling before or after the tournament (49 mins) They talk about the WhatsApp group for the tournament (50 mins 50 secs) Davide talks about the idea of betting and bottles of wine before a brief discussion on Spaghetti Bolognese (55 mins 30 secs) The guys discuss the interview (59 mins 30 secs) Gavin mentions the Team game concept being considered for WDC Milan (1 hr 6 mins) Diplomacy chat Ken asks what Gavin's doing with his online games while he's away (1 hr 11 mins) They discuss some of Gavin's vDip games (1 hr 15 mins) Ken asks about buying into games (1 hr 20 mins) The guys wrap up the show (1 hr 28 mins) Venue: Skype because Ken has buggered up his hand, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Ken: XXXX Bitter from Brisbane Gavin: De Bortelli Sacred Hill Shiraz, "Wine of 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 pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.  

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 Australian school yard Hand Ball - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handball_(schoolyard_game) - he also discusses swearing (50 mins 30 secs) Ken delivers some big news from Sweden (55 mins 15 secs) He asks Gavin about his thoughts on networking the board vs the strategy of the board - you can hear about this for less than $2 a month in our Patreon feed (55 mins 50 secs) Gavin cracks some news about his plans for May and June this year (57 mins 50 secs) They discuss the What the Dr Recommended segment (1 hr 6 mins) The guys kick off an Around the Grounds segment and start talking about some of their online games (1 hr 7 mins 50 secs) They start wrapping up the show (1 hr 20 mins)  Venue: Maniax and then Brew, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Ken: Maniax Mead and Stone and Wood Pacific Ale Gavin: Two to the Valley pale ale by Newstead Brewery and a Don Ramon tempranillo 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 pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.    

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 round 1 and 2 games and observations from the first day (14 mins) Sascha (Thailand via Germany) joins the chat and they discuss the international player's views on why they came to an Australian tournament and what they like about Australia from their visit so far (19 mins) They talk about the prospects of a WDC in Australia is a few years (26 mins 30 secs) Australian stereotypes (32 mins 35 secs) They eventually move on to each discuss their first day at the tournament (38 mins 45 secs) They move onto how things will change in their gameplay for day two and the additional role to the TD in supporting wellbeing (1 hr 23 mins 45 secs) The discussion wraps up (1 hr 53 mins) Airport Tournament wrap-up (BONUS shoe story) The guys give their recollections of the chat (1 hr 53 mins 30 secs) They discuss their trip back from Andrew Goff's to their apartment and Ken's Ned the "Shoe Man" Kelly story (1 hr 57 mins) Ken announces he came third in the tournament (2 hrs 3 mins) Ken flags to watch his second round Turkey game when it airs on DBN (2 hrs 7 mins 30 secs) Gavin talks about his first round Italy getting an Italian army in Sevastapol in fall 1902 (2 hrs 9 mins) They discuss upcoming tournaments including the Hung Parliament Handicap in Canberra, getting a Canetoad Classic in Brisbane happening in August and another Melbourne tournament in October (2 hrs 14 mins) Gavin flags that our scheduling has been thrown out a bit before wrapping up (2 hours 16 mins) Venue: The Taphouse (Melbourne Airport) and Andrew Goff's place, Melbourne Drinks of choice: Ken:  Stomping Ground red ale by the Taphouse and so, so many Gavin: Stomping Ground pale ale zero alcohol and many, many more 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 pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.  

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 changes in a tournament where there is no top board (34 mins 30 secs) Zach talks about how Covid killed the local Minnesota club (37 mins 30 secs) Zach asks about the Australian "Snake Pit" virtual league on Discord (39 mins 15 secs) They talk about the concept of an International Diplomacy Federation (41 mins) Zach puts on the record about him winning his DBNI first round and top board, and how it'll happen (46 mins) They wrap up the interview (48 mins 20 secs) Around the grounds They move bars to the Dark Red Wine Bar and discuss their new drinks as a mid-game (55 mins) The guys talk about a "Big Hitters" game staring to form at vDiplomacy, currently planned on a Haven map (1 hr 1 mins) They talk about heading off to the Melbourne Open this weekend (1 hr 5 mins) They wrap up the show (1 hr 9 mins) Venue: The Prince Regent & the Dark Red Wine Bar, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Ken:  Young Henry's XPA and Moretti Lager (from Italy) Gavin: Balter XPA and a Primitovo from Apulgia, Italy 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 pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

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 online players increasingly attending face to face tournaments (23 mins) Gavin asks about Chris' drink (26 mins) Ken asks about how did the idea of combining DipCon and Cascadia come about (27 mins 40 secs) He then asks about the logistics of getting to the tournament (30 mins 30 secs) They talk about the social aspect of the tournament (32 mins 15 secs) Gavin asks Chris about whether he'll attend WDC in Milan (34 mins) Ken asks about how to register and get advice on getting to the tournament (35 mins 40 secs) They start wrapping up the interview before moving onto discussing the interview (38 mins) Ken gets up to some maple syrup smuggling (47 mins 30 secs) Diplomacy chat The guys discuss the two upcoming tournaments in Australia: the Melbourne Open hosted by Andrew Goff in the first weekend of March and the Hung Parliament Handicap in Canberra hosted by Jamal Blakkarly on 12-14 April (48 mins 30 secs) The guys give their take on Renaissance Italy (57 mins) They discuss having a tournament in Brisbane during August called the "Canetoad Classic" and get into the trophy (1 hr 1 min) The guys move onto a new venue, moving to Rothwells and discuss their mid-game drinks (1 hr 7 mins) Around the grounds Gavin talks about the last episode where the guys agreed to play the new South of Sahara variant, but Ken then CD'ed and left the game (1 hr 14 mins) They move onto Gavin's Europa Renovatio game as Portugal (1 hr 18 mins) Ken flags he hasn't got around to any Big Stick Diplomacy variant updates. They then talk about a few games broadly (1 hr 26 mins) Ken talks about how to flag in a gunboat how to flag to get on with it and draw (1 hr 29 mins 30 secs) The guys start wrapping up the episode (1 hr 32 mins 45 secs) Venue: The Gresham & Rothwell's, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Ken:  Cooper's Sparkling Ale from South Australia and Wilder gluten free pale ale Gavin: Capa Sigle Tempranillo from Castilla la Mancha in Spain and a 2018 Bordeaux 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 pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

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 who loves the game Diplomacy which has a certain reputation (17 mins 45 secs) They discuss the role of AI when assisting the Briefing (26 mins) Gavin gives a shout out for anyone listening to the show who wants to step up, give back to the community and be recognised for their work re-using podcast conten in other areas eg Youtube (31 mins) Umble shares two secrets, one on starting the Briefing and getting Captainmeme back into the game (32 mins) He discusses winding things back a bit, while still ensuring the Briefing will keep on going (39 mins) Umble discusses old Diplomacy zines and how in the past it impacted on relationships (44 mins) He finishes up by discussing their Diplomacy awards coming up (47 mins) The guys return - this time in a new venue - and discuss the interview (52 mins) Diplomacy chat They discuss the new venue - an 80's rock bar called Alice - and their drinks (57 mins 30 secs) Some 80's pop culture banter (59 mins) Ken awards the trophy between the two of them on who is The Better vDip player, with Ken still beating Gavin (1 hr 0 mins 40 secs) New variant - South of Sahara The guys discuss the latest new variant on vDip "South of Sahara", created by David E Cohen and brought to vDip by Enriador and Tobias Florin (1 hr 3 mins 30 secs) They discuss this new 5 player variant. Gavin shares a conversation with David about the variant and some of his new upcoming variants (1 hr 5 mins) Ken shares a story about transforming units in Known World 901 and they agree to playing a South of Sahara game together (1 hr 12 mins 30 secs) Due to the very dark lighting they decide to switch drinking venues (1 hr 15 mins) Variant development update: Big Stick Diplomacy The guys have moved to Red Queen Gin and begin planning further their Big Stick Diplomacy variant (1 hr 15 mins 45 secs) Ken gives Gavin a geographic history lesson (1 hr 41 mins) Henry Kissinger update The freaky Henry Kissinger moment (1 hr 47 mins) Bronze Age Diplomacy play testing Gavin bought into this variant being play tested. You can view the game at vDiplomacy with the opening positions viewed on the variant page (1 hr 54 mins 30 secs) He goes on to discuss what he felt coming towards the end game and why as a variant creator he felt the need to stab his long term ally (1 hr 57 mins 15 secs) The guys start wrappin up the show, but have a mea culpa for our Patreon supporters. Gavin's slightly misplaced the recording from last episode and is looking for it. It'll come out soon (2 hrs 7 mins) Venue: Embassy Hotel, Alice and Red Queen Gin, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Ken:  Black Haze stout infused with egg nog, Sundance Surprise, Ritual and Ceremonies Gavin: Black Hops Goat hazy IPA, Buffalo Trace on the rocks, barrel aged Negroni 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 pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.  

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 mins 45 secs) Ken asks about Sascha's takeaway thoughts on what went well and what could've been done differently for future tournaments (31 mins 30 secs) They talk about long term thinking for a tournament circuit concept. Sascha reflects on this in the southeast Asian context with the idea of it being somewhere like Denang in Vietnam in August 2024 (36 mins 30 secs) If you want to find out more and join Sascha's Whatsapp group for the New Years or Southeast Asian championship, use our contact us link and we'll hook you up! Or private message Vaultboy on vDiplomacy (45 mins 30 secs) The guys wrap up the interview (52 mins) The guys return and give their thoughts on the interview (52 mins 50 secs) Ken and Gavin move bars to the Press Club (54 mins 50 secs) Diplomacy news and chat Brother Bored’s Diplomacy Dojo podcast is back after a bit of a hiatus (56 mins) They discuss PlayDip recently being hacked and give their thoughts about the massive amount of gambling advertising on the site (58 mins) Ken announces that we’re going to be part of trying to get a face to face scene happening on the Gold Coast (about an hour south of Brisbane) (1 hr 2 mins) Gavin announces a small development in the urban legend about Diplomacy being the favourite game of Henry Kissinger. Note: this was recorded prior to the announcement of Henry Kissinger’s death (1 hr 6 mins 30 secs) The guys turn to their new proposed variant across multiple theaters of war at the end of the 19th Century and have an update for listeners (1 hr 20 mins 15 secs) Gavin resets expectations on a Christmas extravaganza for the next episode (1 hr 37 mins) He goes onto discuss a suggested title for this variant (1 hr 39 mins 15 secs) They talk about a name for the variant and coalesce on "Big Stick Diplomacy" (1 hr 47 mins 30 secs) The guys begin wrapping up the episode (1 hr 49 mins) Venue: Press Club, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Ken:  Valley Hops hazy IPA Gavin: The house cabernet sauvignon. 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 pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

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 Diplomacy championship top board experience and his stories on gameplay (16 mins 45 secs) He talks about his main lesson: be 10% less aggressive (21 mins 30 secs) Bradley and Ken talk about their discussions from watching the WDC shadow top board. They discuss Diplomacy as a spectator sport (23 mins 30 secs) Bradley talks about the repechage round which determined whether he or Edi Birsan made the top board. He then gives his views on how he would've done on the top board as Germany (26 mins) He asks Gavin why he built an army as Turkey in winter 1901 rather than a fleet (29 mins) Ken asks if Bradley had a favorite game he played at WDC (30 mins) As flagged the 2nd part of the interview wasn't recorded (sorry - you just missed half an hour of gold). Gavin flags our next Patreon episode has a great WDC discussion recorded involving Chris Brand, Jamal and Bradley (37 mins) A great new variant? On the way back from Erawan Falls in Thailand on a mini bus, Gavin and Ken came up with the idea for a fantastic new variant, an alternate history variant set during the Spanish-American War, where a broader war occurs including Britain, France, Holland and Portugal. The variant involves conflict across 4 diffent theaters of war and different power dynamics across the quadrants to create balance across the board (43 mins 15 secs) Around the grounds Ken discusses a couple of the few games he's in at the moment (1 hr 4 mins) Gavin talks about two games he drew in - an Ancient Mediterranean game and an Imperial game (1 hr 6 mins) He then discusses an American Conflict game he was eliminated in (1 hr 12 mins 30 secs) They talk about trying to get a face to face game happening locally. Ken discusses the new 6 player Greek city states map he purchased at WDC (1 hr 13 mins 30 secs) They begin wrapping up the show (1 hr 15 mins) Venue: Antico, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Ken:  Stone & Wood pale ale Gavin: A glass of Italian montepulciano (missed the name of the vineyard when ordering) 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 pay off the audio equipment... or buy the guys a drink, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

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 secs) Amby’s stab (24 mins 30 secs) Turkey starts threatening Turkey (27 mins) Amby discusses his misorder and how it all unraveled (31 mins) They discuss their top learnings from this game and the end game (38 mins) They start wrapping things up with some final thoughts to help for WDC (52 mins) Kaner & Amby return and give their thoughts on the discussion with Reily before moving onto a strategy talk (54 mins 30 secs) Diplomacy talk They talk about timings for next episodes following the guys going to Thailand (1 hr 2 mins) The guys have moved from their starter bar (Prince Consort) to the Gatsby Lounge in Fortitude Valley and their new drinks (1 hr 4 mins) Around the grounds They kick off their current games discussions with their podcast listener game based on Nine Dash Line (1 hr 6 mins 30 mins)  They discuss a proposed new variant at vDip set in New Zealand amongst Maori tribes by Porter Zach (1 hr 18 mins)  They review some of the other new maps in development (1 hr 23 mins 30 secs) They move onto a couple of Amby’s game including an American Conflict game and an Imperial Diplomacy game where he’s Britain (1 hr 30 mins) Amby gets block sizes mixed up before they discuss getting some variant maps printed for games without 7 players (1 hr 41 mins) The guys wrap up the show (1 hr 45 mins) Venue: Prince Consort, Finn McCools & the Gatsby Lounge, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Kaner: Balter XPA, Guiness and 150 Lashes pale ale Amby: Torbruk Woodcutter's shiraz, Guiness and St Hallet’s Faith 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 pay off the audio equipment... or get the guys more drunk, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

With just a month until the first World Diplomacy Championship in Asia we catchup with organisers Andrew Goff and Lei Saarlainen about WDC Bangkok 2023, plus lots more. Intro The guys introduce their drinks and tonight’s venue (0 mins 10 secs) They discuss why Italy doesn’t open more often to the west and some crazy openings (5 mins 35 secs) Interview about WDC Bangkok with Andrew Goff and Lei Saarlainen They introduce the interview today with Lei Saarlainen and Andrew Goff about WDC 2023 in Bangkok (14 mins) We discuss what’s planned (16 mins 40 sec) They discuss how language is approached at the tournament (20 mins) Andrew and Lei discusses what makes this WDC different to previous tournaments (25 mins 10 secs) Kaner asks about what Bangkok is like for visitors flying in and what to do. Andrew gives some tricks to remember for visitors (29 mins 45 secs) Lei also mentions there is a side tournament being held a week later in Siem Reap in Cambodia including visits to the Angkor Wat temple complex. Andrew also gives context for scheduling during the tournament and a WhatsApp group (33 mins 50 secs) They discuss time limit plans for the games (38 mins 20 secs) Kaner asks about the tournament scoring system (41 mins 20 secs) Amby goes onto discuss which official version of the rules will be used - the new board or rules played for many years (44 mins 10 secs) Amby asks about the cultural style of the tournament gameplay (48 mins 20 secs) He goes onto ask about the local climate and how should people be packing (52 mins 30 secs) They discuss some of the challenges maintaining momentum for the tournament during the pandemic (56 mins) They begin wrapping up the interview (1 hr 1 min) They goes give their thoughts on the interview (1 hr 2 mins 30 secs) Amby incorrectly says the Siem Reap tournament will be in a temple - he misheard Lei - ignore this bit folks! (1 hr 7 mins) Diplomacy chat Kaner asks about getting a face to face game in Brisbane (1 hr 13 mins) Amby discusses the Curious Western Triple  (1 hr 14 mins) The guys talk houses and the Kaner & Amby Gardening Show (1 hr 28 mins)  Around the grounds The guys discuss their Nine Dash Line game (https://www.vdiplomacy.com/board.php?gameID=55953) which they’re playing with podcast listeners (1 hr 33 mins 40 secs) vDip has new variants again thanks to tobi1 and Enriador. Kaner talks about his anonymous East Indies game where he’s getting screwed over (https://www.vdiplomacy.com/board.php?gameID=55953) (1 hr 41 mins 50 secs) Amby touches on some of his games. First up is an email only game run by David E Cohen for the Mandate of Heaven variant. He discusses his interesting gameplay strategy - big shout out to his ally Rob (1 hr 46 mins 20 secs) Amby talks about his American Conflict game - a Civil War variant with the European powers joining in at the same time (https://www.vdiplomacy.com/board.php?gameID=56035#gamePanel) (1 hr 51 mins 15 secs) Next is his Imperial game as Britain (https://www.vdiplomacy.com/board.php?gameID=55996) (1 hr 54 mins 30 secs) The guys wrap up the show (2 hrs 2 mins 30 secs) Venue: Babylon, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Kaner: 150 Lashes pale ale Amby: Kaesler shiraz from the Barossa Valley Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. And don't forget if you want to help pay off the audio equipment... or get the guys more drunk, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

Kaner & Amby catch up to discuss the upcoming new official board game rules, their game with podcast listeners and much more. Intro The guys introduce their drinks and tonight’s venue (0 mins 5 secs) New board game rules & face to face They talk about the proposed board updates and rule changes from Renegade, the new publisher (7 mins) Amby discusses the beer taps before they move onto the last 2 rule changes (25 mins 40 secs) They discuss whether any of the upcoming tournaments from August on, including WDC, will be playing against the rules (33 mins) The guys talk about their plans for WDC in Bangkok (43 mins 40 secs) Amby discusses timing for their next face to face game in Brisbane (45 mins 10 secs) Around the grounds Kaner and Amby in the last episode talked about playing the Nine Dash variant with podcast listeners. This has now happened and can be found at vDip. The guys give a shout out to all listeners/players in the game  (47 mins 20 secs) They talk about the interesting aspects of this variant’s board before they talk about how the game is going for them and other players (49 mins 30 secs) Amby talks about the Aberration V anonymous game he’s in and then discusses his World War IV game (1 hr 3 mins 30 secs) The guys start wrapping up (1 hr 8 mins 40 secs) Venue: Miss Demeanor, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Kaner: Black Hops pale ale Amby: Tscharke’s Shiraz, Shiraz, Shiraz from the Barossa Valley Just a reminder you can support the show by giving it 5 stars on iTunes or Stitcher. And don't forget if you want to help pay off the audio equipment... or get the guys more drunk, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

Lots of stuff been happening in the guys' lives, so they catch up to discuss the game. Intro The guys give some context for the delay in podcast episodes (0 mins 10 secs) Kaner gives Amby his belated Christmas gift (1 mins 50 secs) They discuss their face to face game in January, their first game since Covid. They discuss having another game in mid-April (5 mins 20 secs) The guys move onto discussing ChatGPT and using it for a Diplomacy game. Kaner discusses the jail breaked version (10 mins 30 secs) They realise they'd forgette to introduce the bar and their drinks (13 mins 45 secs) Amby talks some more about ChatGPT and what it knows about our podcast (16 mins) Amby asks Kaner about circular movements in Diplomacy. Kaner uses as an example a Classic Britain game. They go onto discuss the dynamics of how England got off Great Britain (25 mins 30 secs) They discuss the two new variants at vDip: Cold War Redux (a 4 player version) and Nine-Dash Line. They discuss creating a password protected game for our listeners and give away the password when you listen (35 mins) Kaner discusses a northern California variant map, a New York City variant and David E Cohen's South of the Sahara variant (48 mins) In discussing the Russian civil war, Amby discusses the Czechoslovak legion creating havoc in central Russia (54 mins) The guys move to a new bar Black Hops session ale and Lato Wild West red blend. Kaner talks chilli vodka (56 mins) Kaner discusses his Mistletoe Grinding Shoepolish Mudcake game (1 hr 1 min) Kaner's games he stole from Amby and bottom feeders (1 hr 6 mins 30 secs) Why they can't play Bot games at the moment against each other (1 hr 14 mins) Amby talks a little about his games (1 hr 16 mins 40 secs) Amby goes back to the January face to face Brisbane game and how he did not lie to players (channeling his inner Cicero) (1 hr 18 mins 50 secs) The guys wrap the show up (1 hr 20 mins) Venue: Criterion Hotel and Before + After, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Kaner: Great Northern lager and Black Hops session ale Amby: Balter XPA, Pepperjack Shiraz from the Barossa Valley and Lato Wild West red blend   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 pay off the audio equipment... or get the guys more drunk, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.

The guys interview Noam Brown from Meta about all the things you don't know about Cicero. Plus a good old Diplomacy chat. Intro The guys introduce the show and venue. Amby explains his screw up pre-recording (0 mins 10 secs) Amby asks for listener's feedback on the Christmas show and they discuss their drinks (6 mins) Interview with Noam Brown from Meta The guys start introducing today's interview with Noam Brown from Meta about the work they've done teaching their artificial intelligence (AI) agent Cicero into playing a very strong communicative game of Diplomacy (10 mins 30 secs) Amby mentions where you can learn more in other videos about Cicero: DBN, Meta's own videos and CaptainMeme's Diplostrats first and second videos (12 mins 30 secs) The guys begin the interview with Noam and discuss his early days experience with the game (14 mins) They discuss why Diplomacy was chosen to explore with AI (17 mins) Noam talks a little more about his pitch as a Meta employee and what benefits he put forward to the organisation (20 mins 40 secs) They discuss awareness of Diplomacy among team members (23 mins 55 secs) Noam talks about prior AI research and how it related to the research project (25 mins 30 secs) Kaner asks about what type of computing power is needed to run Cicero. Amby asks whether people could play against Cicero (28 mins) Kaner asks whether Cicero learns from games it plays and asks about Novel techniques used with Cicero (31 mins 45 secs) Amby asks what happens when humans play randomly against the bot and how it interrupts that (46 mins) Amby asks about when in the research process did the project team identify not lying works better (47 mins 30 secs) Amby goes onto query if someone could take off the "training wheels" to make Cicero lie (55 mins) They discuss why Cicero puts an emphasis on some locations on the board that some players ignore. He goes onto asking about Cicero's understanding of stalemate lines and other learnings from Cicero (56 mins) They go onto discussing the conversation style of Cicero and how players interact with it (1 hr 1 min) Amby asks about how Cicero responds to the reactions of human players. They discuss what Cicero would do if everyone wanted to be its ally (1 hr 3 mins 30 secs) They discuss why the named Cicero was chosen (1 hr 6 mins) Amby asks about the peer review process of publishing the paper to Science.org and Noam's thoughts on the media's reporting of the story (1 hr 7 mins) Amby asks about whether there are any plans to have Cicero publicly play in a leading tournament (1 hr 10 mins 50 secs) He asks if there's anything Noam would approach differently if he was starting the project now (1 hr 12 mins 20 secs) To find out more Noam encourages people to visit Meta's page on the project and again, CaptainMeme's video (1 hr 15 mins) The guys return and give their thoughts on the interview, plus Kaner's awesome question he didn't ask (1 hr 17 mins 30 secs) They talk about the idea of how Cicero could play and win the World Diplomacy Championship (1 hr 20 mins) Kaner discusses playing the meta game, how Cicero needed to learn to play differently against humans and playing the game with "the truth" (1 hr 24 mins) Diplomacy Chat Amby wants to explore the idea of playing a face to face game by being as open and honest as possible (1 hr 28 mins) The guys move to Newstead Social and order some new drinks and how they compare in a mid game. Kaner describes a wine he's recently had (1 hr 32 mins) Amby talks again about getting a face to face game on - spoiler alert... it actually happened! (1 hr 41 mins) The guys talk more about their plans when attending WDC 2023. Find out more at the WDC Bangkok website (1 hr 45 mins 30 secs) The guys start wrapping up the show (1 hr 55 mins) Venue: Green Beacon Brewery and Newstead Social, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Kaner: Apple cider by Green Beacon Brewery and Your Mum's Fav lager by Young Henry's Amby: Windjammer IPA by Green Beacon Brewery and West Cape Howe tempranillo from Margaret River in Western 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 pay off the audio equipment... or get the guys more drunk, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! *** Remember if you know something about how WordPress works and can help the guys, get in touch!!! *** Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.  

The guys celebrate the festive season with Round 2 of Diplomacy Trivia, some Christmas gift giving and much, much more. Intro The guys introduce the show, venue and drinks. They throw in a bit of weather talk (0 mins 10 secs)   The guys introduce the 2022 Christmas Diplomacy Trivia game and contestants: reigning champ Markus Zijlstra/CaptainMeme, 3rd place 2022 WDC player Peter McNamara, variant extraordinaire David E. Cohen and podcast Patreon supporter and well known player Hal Schild (7 mins 30 secs) The trivia contest kicks off (8 mins 45 secs) The first question starts (11 mins) The visual for which country was not altered in the very last prototype of Realpolitik before it became Diplomacy is: (20 mins 30 secs)   The next visual question relates to this board (23 mins) The contest round up with the winner declared (1 hr 5 mins) The guys return and give their thoughts on the contest (1 hr 7 mins) Christmas gifts and Diplomacy chat Being Christmas the guys exchange gifts (kind of) (1 hr 12 mins) They talk about their plans for WDC 2023 in Thailand (1 hr 20 mins 30 secs) Amby shares his dream about the winner of WDC 2023 (1 hr 24 mins 15 secs) Amby asks Kaner if he plans to do a fact finding tour for his Southeast Asian variant of the Khmer kingdoms (1 hr 27 mins) The guys get some more drinks and describe them as mid-games (1 hr 29 mins 30 secs) Around the grounds Kaner discusses briefly one of his new Europa Renovatio games (1 hr 32 mins 30 secs) Amby talks about the David E. Cohen Mandate of Heaven email game he's in where he's playing as Shu (Orange) (1 hr 33 mins 30 secs) Amby has been playing with ChatGPT to see how it can improve his Diplomacy game (1 hr 40 mins) The guys start wrapping up the show (1 hr 46 mins 30 secs) Venue: Brewdog, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Kaner: Hazy Jane Pale Ale and Gateway to Helles Pilsner from Brewdog Amby: Brewdog IPA from Brewdog and Willie Smith's Organic Apple Cider   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 pay off the audio equipment... or get the guys more drunk, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! *** Remember if you know something about how WordPress works and can help the guys, get in touch!!! *** Lastly, don't forget to subscribe so you get the latest Diplomacy Games episodes straight to your phone. Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.  

The guys interview Stephen Agar, creator of the Diplomacy Archive for zines and the Variant Bank, on getting back into the hobby. Plus the guys talk cheese and languages. Oh and their games too. Intro The guys introduce the show, venue and drinks. They grab some lunch and then return (0 mins 10 secs) Interview with Stephen Agar The guys start setting the scene for their interview with Stephen Agar, creator of the Variant Bank and collector of Diplomacy zines around returning to the hobby (4 mins 15 secs) The interview begins with Stephen talking about running postal Diplomacy back in 1976 and his progression initially with the hobby (4 mins 30 secs) He starts talking about creating in 1999 Diplomacy Archive and Variant Bank. He goes onto discussing how he received 1000's of UK Diplomacy zines and how he's looking at providing them to the British Library (11 mins) He discusses rediscovering  aspects of the game from rereading and cataloging zines and how only about 10% of all zines are online (15 mins) Stephen goes onto discuss how he's inherited about 1,600 variants from the North American Variant Bank which aren't online (17 mins 30 secs) They discuss why interest in variants have reduced in the Diplomacy community compared to the 1960's and 70's (22 mins) He talks about the ingenuity and fun in variants like Abstraction, Multiplicity and light hearted variants like Vain Rats, Deluge and Geophysical Diplomacy (27 mins 30 secs) Amby asks what you'd typically find in a zine edition before progressing to a general discussion around views around how the community has evolved (33 mins 45 secs) Stephen talks around the passing of veterans in the community (44 mins 45 secs) Amby asks about what things were like in the postal Diplomacy scene (47 mins 30 secs) They talk a little around Richard Sharp and his book on the game (50 mins 15 secs) The conversation moves onto the physical nature of zines, Diplomacy folklore and the challenge of dealing with old web tech (53 mins) They discuss how people can contribute to Stephen's project (59 mins 30 secs) Stephen talks about stalemate lines and correspondence with Allan Calhamer and Stephen's 1959 edition of Diplomacy (1 hr 8 mins) Stephen asks if anyone is interested in a postal Diplomacy zine to reach out to him by email (1 hr 16 mins) The guys return to give their thoughts on the interview (1 hr 18 mins) Amby reflects on the difficulty of getting sufficient players for an email game, talking about the David E. Cohen game he's in and gives a thanks to David for creating the connection with Stephen (1 hr 30 mins 45 secs) Around the grounds Kaner announces he's about to win a Germany 1648 game which he thinks will be over by the time this episode goes out (1 hr 37 mins 50 secs) They talk cheese and languages (1 hr 44 mins) Amby discusses one of the games he's in and the guys can't remember which variant they both previously agreed to play (1 hr 54 mins) The guys talk about Daniel Lester winning the 2022 Web Diplomacy Championship and touch on the announced plans for 2023 WDC in Bangkok, Thailand (1 hr 59 mins) They start to wrap up the show (2 hrs 3 mins) Venue: Greenglass, Brisbane Drinks of choice: Kaner: Pipsqueak cider from Little Creatures, Freemantle Amby: Château La Reyne Malbec from Cahors , France 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 pay off the audio equipment... or get the guys more drunk, you can also donate at Patreon, plus you get extra podcast episodes! *** Remember if you know something about how WordPress works and can help the guys, get in touch!!! *** 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.