THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE #377

November 6, 2016


Jim Burgess, 664 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908-4327 USA, (401)351-0287, jfburgess of gmail.com


E-MAIL/WEB ONLY ISSUE! PDF will be available on the website. We also are being reproduced in Eternal Sunshine.


Web Page Address: http://www.diplom.org/Postal/Zines/TAP/index.html


YOU can still join Kendo Nagasaki, hop in!!! This issue was delayed partly by my health (update at the end) and partly by LOTS of late orders. I didn't change the next deadline (which is Summer for the two Diplomacy games), but I do want to get things done before/around Thanksgiving, so think about getting orders in that you owe quickly!
This issue continues the szine/subszine inversion. As most of you know, this thing began as a "subszine" to Terry Tallman's North Sealth, West George in NSWG #16, then became its own szine with a host of subszines. Since Terry's passing, we lose our thirty year fervent hope that someday NSWG would have been resurrected and I could go back and swear my fealty to the Toadfather. The subszines remaining will appear as sub-subszines to our flipflopped home in Doug Kent's Eternal Sunshine. I'm set on continuing my GMing, and I'm starting to write a bit, hope there might be more, especially when I feel better. Feel free to communicate with me about how you want to help or what you want to play, or if anyone else wants TAP subszine status.
For production, in addition to the HTML's of each separate product on the web page, I also have a PDF that you can print of the entire subszine (including my famous handdrawn maps!). You can just print the maps if you like, but remember maps are for pikers anyway, you don't need no steenkin' maps, keep them up in your head where they belong. I'm having trouble with the upload interfaces, part of the diplom.org site move consequences. I'll get it fixed as soon as I can. I need to stay within the security of the site (which is very important!!!!) while getting access to change the web site's index and files for the szine. It shouldn't be that hard, but my first, second, and third attempts didn't work.
The website address is still: http://diplom.org/. I had a glitch in the webpage update process, but I hope it will be fixed soon.
There are currently 77 members of the official TAP subscriber list, which is starting to come back up. http://lists.asciiking.com/mailman/listinfo/tap is the current list website. YOU need to make sure you're on this list. I'm trying to add some of the newer subscribers who aren't there. It's really easy, just click on that link or copy and paste it into your browser. If you have questions or problems, PLEASE ask. There you can check your subscribing options and whether you're registered. Register if you want to get TAP E-Mailed regularly. Some people have had trouble with the attachments, so I have switched to sending the link in the announcements, I see that does help. Please let me know about other issues, but it puts priority on getting the link up again. Apologies for the recent confusions.


THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE FEATURES SECTION (CONS/LETTERS/MUSIC)
((For upcoming cons around the world: http://www.diplom.org/Face/cons/index.php, success, we have badgered all the Con directors to post their Cons, so it is reasonably up to date now. And there remains lots of interest in the FTF community, and linking E-Mail/Web players to FTF. Also, the Facebook page for European Tournament Diplomacy, https://www.facebook.com/groups/1500292310187264/, Diplomacy in Europe, has been really active and the place to be in the hobby these days. If you're on Facebook, hook up there! The Nor'Easter sequence of four tournaments will be continuing next year, culminating in North American DipCon this next year at Carnage in Vermont!
Carnage (http://www.carnagecon.com/) is now over and TAP favorite Chris Martin is the champion! It sounded like they had a great crowd of more than 40 players. Remember that I'm leading TotalCon again, which has MOVED! TotalCon will be February 24-26, 2017 at Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel, 181 Boston Post Road West, Marlborough, MA. For those following closely, this is basically where the Boston tournament was last year, before Randy and Alan Levin moved it to Cambridge.
TotalCon is New England's largest general gaming convention and is one of the places that we as a hobby reach out and make the Diplomacy tournament circuit known to other gamers. We picked up quite a host of brand new players last year, and expect to do more of that this year. Thanks to the entire TotalCon staff for their hospitality and helpfulness. The Rounds will be: Round 1 on Friday night at 7PM, Round 2 at 10AM on Saturday morning, Round 3 at 7PM on Saturday, and Round 4 at 1PM on Sunday, with an ending by 5PM. The first three rounds are unlimited in length. Please think about making plans to come. Pre-registration for the whole weekend is 65 dollars or 75 dollars at the door. I will be having two crash rooms with pay what you can, feel free to start reserving your spot now!))


NEW FEATURE: ROCK AND ROLL BANDS AND MOMENTS THAT MATTER
((If anyone from TAP or ES has ideas for more things to talk about here let me know. I do have four or five ideas lined up here already that I just have to write. I have been nudged... comments from any of you also are welcome.))


THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE LETTERS SECTION
More are welcome!!!


THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE GAMES SECTION
Standby lists: Brad Wilson, Jack McHugh, Drew James, Paul Rauterberg, Doug Kent, Paul Kenny, and Hugh Polley stand by for regular Diplomacy. Just let me know if you want on or off these lists.


GAME OPENING INFORMATION
I'd love to do another game of Spy Diplomacy, but it requires commitment that seems in short supply these days, but let me know if you want me to reprint the rules. Especially with Doug Kent bowing out, is there some other Variant in which there is interest? Please ask!!!
REGULAR DIPLOMACY: Two games continue. Is there something else we want to start? I have some ideas on how to do "By Popular Demand" differently... Let's see if there is interest in a new regular game. Signups please?
BREAKING AWAY: Keeps going with most people now over the second sprint line.
KENDO NAGASAKI: Send in your guesses!!!


THE TERRY TALLMAN MEMORIAL: 2016A, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR SUMMER 1903 IS NOVEMBER 19TH, 2016
Spring 1903
AUSTRIA (Black): a VIE-gal, a BUD S a vie-gal, f ALB h, f aeg-GRE, a BOH-sil, a con-BUL.
ENGLAND (Cohen): f iri-WAL, f lon-NTH, f nth-NWG.
FRANCE (Begbie): f ENG S f pic-bre, f spa(sc)-POR, f pic-BRE, a MAR h, a GAS S a mar.
GERMANY (Polley): a BER-sil, f den-BAL, a MUN-boh, f bel-HOL, a KIE S f bel-hol, a ruh-BUR.
ITALY (Ellinger): f gol-WES, f MID-bre, a PIE-mar, a TYO-mun.
RUSSIA (Zarr): a WAR-gal, f NWY S f swe, a stp-FIN, f SWE S a stp-fin, a SEV-arm, a UKR S a war-gal,
f RUM-bla.
TURKEY (Wiedemeyer): f eas-AEG, f BLA s AUSTRIAN a con-bul, a SMY-arm.


E-Mail Addresses of the Participants
AUSTRIA: Thaddeus Black, thaddeus.h.black of gmail.com
ENGLAND: David Cohen, zendip18 of optonline.net
FRANCE: Gavin Begbie, gavinbegbie of gmail.com
GERMANY: Hugh Polley, hapolley of yahoo.ca
ITALY: Marc Ellinger, mellinger of blitzbardgett.com
RUSSIA: Harold Zarr, skip1955 of hotmail.com
TURKEY: Fred Wiedemeyer, wiedem of telus.net


Game Notes:
1) Note Summer comes very fast, but there are NO retreats, if people would rather submit Fall orders this month, we can move on. Your choice.


Press:
(TURKS to THE WORLD): Don't worry everyone. I 've got Syria protected!


THE DON WILLIAMS 57 MEMORIAL: 2014A, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR SUMMER 1907 IS NOVEMBER 19TH, 2016
Spring 1907
AUSTRIA (Ozog): a bud-TRI, f adr-ION, a ven-ROM, f naf-WES, a BUR s ITALIAN a pie-mar (nso),
a tri-VEN, a con-BUL, a MUN S a bur, f TUN-tyh.
FRANCE (Ellinger): f SPA(SC) s a gas-mar, f ENG s GERMAN a bel (otm), a PAR s a gas-mar (imp),
f MID S f eng, a gas-MAR, a bre-GAS.
GERMANY (Abbott): a LVP-edi, a bel-hol (d r:pic,otb).
ITALY (Wilson): f GOL C a pie-spa, f NAP-tyh, a PIE-spa.
RUSSIA (Rauterberg): a stp-NWY, f sev-BLA, a war-SIL, a mos-STP, f nwg-NAO, f EDI h,
f YOR S f nth-lon, f nth-LON, a hol-BEL, f CLY S f nwg-nao, f hel-NTH, f bul(sc)-AEG,
a RUH S a hol-bel, a RUM S AUSTRIAN a con-bul.


E-Mail Addresses of the Participants
AUSTRIA: Eric Ozog, elferic of juno.com
ENGLAND: Fred Wiedemeyer, wiedem of telus.net
FRANCE: Marc Ellinger, mellinger of blitzbardgett.com
GERMANY: Will Abbott, wjja9 of yahoo.com
ITALY: Brad Wilson, fullfathomfive675 of gmail.com
RUSSIA: Paul Rauterberg, paul.rauterberg of att.net
TURKEY: David Burgess, burgesscd of roadrunner.com


Game Notes:
1) The Russian concession and DIAS draw are both vetoed.


Press:
None spotted...




THE DIPLOMACY GAME: Breaking Away, Designer's Rules
THE DUE DATE FOR TURN 10 IS NOVEMBER 19, 2016!!
Turn 9
96 (replenish with a 3) Christian Doppler (Breaking Away!)
95 (no replenishment) Empty
94 (no replenishment) Empty
93 (replenish with a 3) Alpha, Baker, Anastasia
92 (replenish with a 6) Jerusalem
91 (replenish with a 7) Nicholas II, Rousseau, Raphael, Smirky
90 (replenish with a 11) Lafayette, Heart of Oak, Terrorised
89 (replenish with a 14) Hope and Glory, Alexis de Tocqueville, Jefferson, Charlie, Constipated
88 (replenish with a 19) Angst
87 (replenish with a 20) Donatello
86 (replenish with a 21) White Cliffs, Leonardo, Alexandra
85 (no replenishment) Empty
84 (no replenishment) Empty
83 (no replenishment) Empty
82 (no replenishment) Empty
81 (replenish with a 3) Michelangelo
-S-P-R-I-N-T- -F-I-N-I-S-H- -L-I-N-E-
80 (replenish with a 4) Arnold Schwarzenegger, Daniel Swarovski
79 (no replenishment) Empty
78 (no replenishment) Empty
77 (no replenishment) Empty
76 (no replenishment) Empty
75 (no replenishment) Empty
74 (no replenishment) Empty
73 (no replenishment) Empty
72 (no replenishment) Empty
71 (no replenishment) Empty
70 (no replenishment) Empty
69 (no replenishment) Empty
68 (no replenishment) Empty
67 (no replenishment) Empty
66 (no replenishment) Empty
65 (no replenishment) Empty
64 (no replenishment) Empty
63 (no replenishment) Empty
62 (no replenishment) Empty
61 (no replenishment) Empty
60 (no replenishment) Empty
59 (no replenishment) Empty
58 (no replenishment) Empty
57 (no replenishment) Empty
56 (no replenishment) Empty
55 (no replenishment) Empty
54 (no replenishment) Empty
53 (no replenishment) Empty
52 (no replenishment) Empty
51 (replenish with a 3) Billy Wilder
50 (no replenishment) Empty
49 (no replenishment) Empty
48 (no replenishment) Empty
47 (no replenishment) Empty
46 (replenish with a 3) Delta
45 (no replenishment) Empty
44 (replenish with a 3) Alexei


Addresses of the Participants - Their Teams and Their Cards
AUSTRIAN TEAM (Andy Bate): andydbate of gmail.com (0 points)
A: Arnold Schwarzenegger 4, 7, 4, 4 (7)
B: Billy Wilder 3, 3, 3 (3)
C: Christian Doppler 10, 3, 3 (22)
D: Daniel Swarovski 3, 4, 4 (7)
Total Replenishments: 21 + 28 + 55 + 23 + 36 + 53 + 27 + 14 + 14 = 271
ENGLISH TEAM (Jim Reader): jim_reader of hotmail.com (12 points)
A: Jerusalem 10, 3, 3, 6 (14)
B: Hope and Glory 3, 5, 14 (7)
C: White Cliffs 3, 11, 21 (7)
D: Heart of Oak 3, 21, 11 (10)
Total Replenishments: 16 + 91 + 29 + 30 + 27 + 16 + 79 + 35 + 52 = 375
FRENCH TEAM (Hank Alme): almehj of alumni.rice.edu (5 points)
A: Marquis de Lafayette (Captain): 4, 10, 13, 11 (11)
B: Alexis de Tocqueville: 5, 12, 14 (8)
C: Jean-Jacques Rousseau: 3, 5, 7 (9)
D: Thomas Jefferson: 9, 15, 14 (8)
Total Replenishments: 22 + 62 = 29 + 38 + 26 + 49 + 86 + 32 + 46 = 390
GERMAN TEAM (Marc Ellinger): mellinger of blitzbardgett.com (8 points)
A: Player Alpha 6, 6, 9, 3 (17)
B: Player Baker 5, 3, 3 (17)
C: Player Charlie 3, 3, 14 (5)
D: Player Delta 3, 3, 3 (3)
Total Replenishments: 17 + 50 + 26 + 32 + 31 + 45 + 30 + 40 + 23 = 294
ITALIAN TEAM (Rick Desper): rick_desper of yahoo.com (43 points)
Team Name: Artists in a Half-Shell?
Coach: Master Splinter
Team Leader A: Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci 5, 3, 4, 21 (3)
Team Mechanic B: Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi 8, 7, 20 (5)
Team Navigator C: Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino 8, 3, 7 (3)
Team Sprint Specialist D: Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni 20, 3, 3 (12)
Referred to by common appellations in the report: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo.
Total Replenishments: 17 + 96 + 12 + 22 + 67 + 61 + 25 + 15 + 51 = 366
RUSSIAN TEAM (Andy York): wandrew88 of gmail.com (0 points)
Team Royal
A: Anastasia 4, 20, 3 (17)
B: Nicholas II 3, 3, 7 (20)
C: Alexandra 3, 3, 21 (15)
D: Alexei 3, 3, 3 (3)
Total Replenishments: 14 + 30 + 32 + 40 + 43 + 29 + 22 + 26 + 34 = 270
TURKISH TEAM (Brendan Whyte): BWHYTE of nla.gov.au (10 points)
The Turkeys
A: Angst of Ankara 13,14,19 (10)
B: Constipated of Constantinople 13,16,14 (12)
C: Smirky of Smyrna 19,6,7 (4)
D: Terrorised of Syria 4,7,11 (11)
Total Replenishments: 16 + 49 + 38 + 57 + 53 + 53 + 45 + 51 = 362


Press:
None this time...


Game Notes:
1) The rules are on the TAP website in the Tinamou section. Ask if you have any questions. Rules at:
http://www.diplom.org/Postal/Zines/TAP/Tinamou/rules/BreakingAway.htm
Up above in parentheses is the card you played to get to where you are in the field. The replenishment card is the last card in your list. Be careful to note that the card you played (the one in parentheses) is not available for you, for next turn. Just for fun, I keep track of total replenishment, by turn, which is a rough measure of how the teams are doing. Of course, it is lining up to get across the sprint and final lines in the right places that really counts. We can calculate an "efficiency score" later, which will be the ratio of scoring points per replenishment.
2) Three riders have been dropped from the pack, but I keep them moving along with their "3" for the rest of the game. Things are starting to get close to maneuvering for the Final Finish Line!


WHERE IN THE WORLD IS KENDO NAGASAKI
DEADLINE FOR TURN 5 OF THIS GAME IS NOVEMBER 19, 2016
Kendo Nagasaki for me comes from the series in Eternal Sunshine... The full rules for Where in the World is Kendo Nagasaki are in: http://www.whiningkentpigs.com/DW/es58.pdf. Send a guess!!!


TURN 1
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
Bernie Sanders, on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean No Guess Received

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
Hank Alme in Ellicott City, MD Christian De Castries in Caracas, Venezuela

Rick Desper: Doug Kent:
Wavy Gravy in West Hartford, CT Robert E. Lee in Lhasa, Tibet

Andy York: Peter Sullivan:
Jim Burgess in Portland, ME Joan Collins in Dallas, TX

HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: You have my gender correct, but I did most of the things I'm famed for a decade or two before your active period.


TURN 2
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
Eleanor Roosevelt in Baton Rouge, LA No Guess Received

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
Boris Johnson in Moscow, Russia F.D.R. in Lagos, Nigeria

Rick Desper: Doug Kent:
Eleanor Roosevelt in Belize City, Belize Eisenhower in Gettysburg, PA

Andy York: Peter Sullivan:
Al Capone in Rio, Brazil Dwight D. Eisenhower in Culzean Castle, Ayrshire, Scotland

Jim Reader:
Nelson Mandela in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: I had a somewhat more formal leadership position than you.


TURN 3
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
Huey Long in Baton Rouge, LA No Guess This Time

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
Eleanor Roosevelt in Los Angeles, CA Herbert Hoover in Santiago, Chile

Rick Desper: Doug Kent:
Simon Bolivar in La Paz, Bolivia Rommel in La Paz, Bolivia

Andy York: Peter Sullivan:
Kenesaw Mountain Landis in Sao Paulo, Brazil Dwight D. Eisenhower in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Jim Reader: Mark Firth:
Donald Trump in the White House Lyndon B. Johnson in Salonika, Greece

HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: We knew each other and interacted with each other in our professional lives, but there was a famous meeting I once helped to orchestrate that you were not invited to.


TURN 4
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
No Guess This Time No Guess This Time

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
FDR in Valparaiso, Chile Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov in Ascuncion, Paraguay

Rick Desper: Doug Kent:
Teddy Roosevelt in Brasilia, Brazil. No Guess This Time

Andy York: Peter Sullivan:
George Marshall at Asuncion, Paraguay No Guess This Time

Jim Reader: Mark Firth:
Che Guevara Nazca Desert of Peru looking at lines Winston Churchill in Beverly Hills

HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: You were dead before the famous meeting I alluded to last time, but of course I did work with you closely across our careers.


LAST WORD: So, really, it mostly was because some of you were slow getting me orders that delayed this issue; however, I have had a VERY active medical month. Following up on my back surgery, I had two weeks of radiation treatment to knock out some remaining cancer in my back. This was not horrible, but tiring and seems to have contributed to messing up my fragile digestive system, so I'm having trouble putting back on the weight I need to gain. I'm a total of more than 30 pounds down from my original weight before being sick. With more diligence and planning I'm making some headway on this though. Another issue is the strength and coordination in my legs from the damaged nerves in my back. I have a great set of physical therapists and with diligent work the last two weeks give me real hope for regaining full mobility, from a place before the surgery where I couldn't walk. Let's call that a bit of a miracle.
But the big issue is that I'm fully engaged in a new immunotherapy targeted treatment that has the potential to take this whole thing out entirely. In about a month I should know if I'm making good progress. I'm sure you've all been hearing about these issues, there seems to be really low side effect potential from this specific one, but you have to watch for immune systems run wild issues. But it gives a lot of hope for going forward. But if all this sounds complicated, still, it really is. I'm always happy to hear from any of you individually and I really do feel everyone's support! This whole thing is difficult in any case, but knowing people are thinking about you really helps keep me calm.
Otherwise, of course, there seems to be this election thing coming up in a few days. I think one speaks for everyone except perhaps Donald Trump, who definitely gets off on all the attention, that we are glad this is all about to end. Almost no matter what happens it will be better than what us and the World have been going through.
Hobbywise, as noted above, we are near the end of a great 2016 in the Diplomacy FTF tournament hobby, both in the US and around the World. Showing that fairness prevails, if you've been following the Chris Martin produced videos of the Top Board at this summer's World DipCon, you know he has put in countless hours to entertain us and deservingly he wins the last tournament of the North American year, at Carnage in Vermont. Thanks, as always, to Robert Rousse and Dave Maletsky and anyone else who helps support our involvement at Carnage every year. Anyway, Chris just got Spring 1908 from the summer World DipCon reviews up this past week. But Chris is one of the real mensches of the hobby, and he doesn't get the credit he deserves enough. He took in a big Turkey board top in the last round to take the title. I offer my sincerest and most special congratulations!!!


File translated from TEX by TTH, version 3.85.
On 06 Nov 2016, 23:09.