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The first time I heard about World DipCon, it was the same year the Y2K bug threatened to shut down my computer and force me to play-by-candle-light. Fortunately, the bug never took a bite and we didn't have to invest in alternate forms of lighting and living essentials. Unfortunately, it wasn't until a year later that I discovered World DipCon and DipCon were two separate events. In my own defense, Y2K was the first time I'd ever experienced tournament level play, Face-to-Face. Traditionally, whenever North America played host to World DipCon, DipCon was rolled into a single event. As a result, this newbie mistakenly associated one with the other. Besides, it's common practice to shorten or abbreviate terms so it was easy to mistake World DipCon as simply DipCon. It's practically the same event anyway, right? Wrong! The average Diplomacy player may know the difference between DipCon and World DipCon, but I've often wondered how many people know the full history behind the two events. I didn't until I dug a little deeper and asked some of our hobby veterans. It came as no surprise that DipCon remains a valued tournament tradition like no other. DipCon, started in 1967 and, confined to the North American continent, is the longest-running Diplomacy tournament in the world. Host conventions are challenged to produce the best tournament possible and held accountable by the hobby elite. Yes, the DipCon concept gave birth to World DipCon as both tournaments are awarded to host sites by a majority vote of all attendees. Denver, CO played host to WDC in 2003; while Birmingham, UK in 2004; and Baltimore, MD in 2005. This year's WDC champion, Vincent Carry of France, edged out this editor in the last hour of the final day. [Congratulations Vincent!] Though the 2003 DipCon champion remains undetermined at the time of this writing, I'm confident the victor will carry the North American title with great honor. Both DipCon and WDC events are prestigious and award their champions handsomely with honor and accolades. Champions are immortalized in print, web and word of mouth. Featured in this edition of the Zine is Edi Birsan's outstanding article, The DipCon Story, which, in my opinion, successfully captures the history and sportsmanship of DipCon. "While DipCon has evolved into the North American DipCon it has always been open to all comers. In fact, in 1986 and again in 2000, the tournament was won by players from the United Kingdom. In all of the DipCons there has never been a nationalistic bias in the tournaments and DipCon remains as one of the outstanding examples of gaming at its best for the love of the game. --Edi Birsan" Perhaps, due to a conflict of interest you missed WDC earlier this year. Not to worry because, for the very first time, WDC was segmented from DipCon this year -- a decision made by the North Americans in 2002. Please join me in Washington, D.C., as the Potomac Tea and Knife Society plays host to this year's DipCon event where seventy players [or more] will compete for the honor and prize of the 2003, North American DipCon champion. See you there!
Enjoy The Pouch,
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