Introduction To MeetUp Is there anybody left in the Diplomacy hobby who doesn’t know what MeetUp.com is? Well, just in case, here’s an update on what’s going on in the hobby’s fastest growing segment, MeetUp Diplomacy. After reading it you can decide for yourself if you agree with me that MeetUp Diplomacy just might be the tool we need to grow the hobby. This article is for: the “just curious,” the group finder who knows what he wants, and the group organizer wannabe. However, it’s also for Dippers who don’t know about MeetUp, Dippers who do know about MeetUp but want to know more, People who join multiple MeetUp Dip groups (You know who you are.), People who join multiple MeetUp groups of all kinds just so they can brag to their friends about how many MeetUp groups they belong to, and People who joint a MeetUp group and then never show up (You also know who you are.) Navigating Your Way Around a MeetUp Diplomacy Group Web Site If you’re not already familiar with the MeetUp Diplomacy Group web site format you should be. Since most of the MeetUp group web sites pretty much follow the same format once you understand the basic system it’s just a matter of hunting for what you are looking for and, fortunately, MeetUp makes it pretty easy (And that’s even for me!). Begin by going to this site http://www.meetup.com/San-Diego-Diplomacy-Players/ Take a few minutes or a fat hour and work your way through the various links and such, clicking on each to see what it does and where it might lead. Don’t get too involved in this. You’re just doing an initial reconnaissance mission. Look at the Mast Head and its components: Home, Members, Sponsors, Photos, Pages, Discussions, More, Group Tools and My Profile. These are important. The left column also includes some important information, especially if you’re looking for a new Diplomacy group. Here you’ll find: Group Name, Location, Date Founded (remember the sponsoring site of the Dip group may be much older than the actual Dip Group site), About Us, Diplomacy Players, Group Review, Upcoming Meeting(s), Past Meetups, Organizer(s), We’re About, and People in this group are also in… The center section includes news and announcements about the group’s next or current MeetUp, recent MeetUps (including number of players, rating and photos). This is where to go if you’re looking for a MeetUp event to go to. The right section is called What’s New and is the best place to find the latest news and announcements from the Organizer, assistants, members, etc. If you go to the MeetUp.com/find page you’ll find, near the top, a gray bar. On the left is white box in which you want to type the word DIPLOMACY. Then you’ll see the word within and a list of options. Pick the ANY DISTANCE option. The word of is followed by a space where you can enter your hometown (or wherever you are) such as OCEANSIDE, CA. Then you have two options: Groups or Calendar. Take your pick but I suggest you start with Groups. Hit enter and you’ll come up with a list of nearby groups. I’ll repeat this later to make sure you got it. This line is the Kabala stone of MeetUp. Finding a MeetUp Diplomacy Group Exclusively Dip Exclusively Diplomacy MeetUp Groups are just that, groups devoted exclusively to Diplomacy and its variants, although they may occasionally play the other odd game. These groups tend to be smaller in number of members with quarterly or bimonthly or even monthly meetings. They usually consist of a hard core few who show up for every game, those who occasionally show up, and the rare newbie who is always welcomed with opened arms and much rubbing of hands. Board Games The Board Games MeetUp Groups usually mention Diplomacy among their offerings and a board is often shown in photos, although it may not be played at every MeetUp session so it’s best to inquire of the organizer before you go. Other Diplomacy like games, such as Risk, Machiavelli, etc. are also popular. The largest board gaming MeetUp groups can have hundreds of members and offer multiple games on a regular basis. The A List This list includes 9 exclusively Dip MeetUp groups, 3 Board Game MeetUp groups that include Diplomacy as one of their featured games and 1 ringer that looks the look and walks the walk but doesn’t talk the talk. The ringer is indicated with a *. I trust you can figure out the others, or perhaps you shouldn’t be playing Diplomacy… San Diego Diplomacy Players/3-14/52/4/2/5/Silverman, Peery/San Diego, CA Bay Area Diplomacy Association/2-09/131/3/1/21/Hull/Concord, CA Diplomacy Players of Los Angeles/8-14/26/1/2/”J”/Santa Monica, CA Strategy Board Games in Downtown Eugene/9-13/56/5/1/28/Mark Alfano/Eugene, OR First Friday Night Game/5-10/170/4/6/52/Andy Rice/Vancouver, WA Pacific Northwest Diplomacy/6-12/48/2/20/Chris, John Jamison, Vancouver, CANADA Strategy Board Games Group/3-12/323/4/3/61/Raymond/Denver, CO Windy City Wesels Diplomacy Club/10-07/108/20/8/209/Jim O’Kelley, Dan Burgess, Nate Cockerill New England Diplomacy/1-12/30/3/2/Bob Holt, Jim Burgess/Cambridge, MA The NYC Diplomacy and Risk Meetup Group/10-03/178/4/42/David Greene/NYC, NY Digital Diplomacy New York City/8-12/67/1/11/Swiss Consulate New York City* Philadelphia Diplomacy Club/7-09//67/2/14/ Ry4an Brase, Christian Pedrone/Philadelphia, PA Potomac Tea & Knife Society/8-12/14/2/59/Joseph & Lori Wheeler, Jeff Ladd/Silver Spring, MD There are 24 MeetUp groups listed under “Diplomacy Board Games” on the MeetUp FIND list, including many large groups located in major metro areas across the country. Check them out! Finding an existing MeetUp Group for Diplomacy is simple on any home page. Somewhere near the top there will be a place to fill in the name of the game, Diplomacy, a location , San Diego, and a distance. Enter any for the maximum number of results. In seconds you’ll have links to all the available groups. It also pays to enter terms like board games, war games, etc. for more possibilities. Again, check their offerings to see if Diplomacy is mentioned. Starting a MeetUp Diplomacy Group: Things to Consider If you can’t find a nearby Diplomacy group or a board gaming group that might be willing to let you host a Diplomacy game on a regular schedule, consider starting a MeetUp Diplomacy Group of your own. It isn’t difficult to do. First think about these items. Purpose of the Group Will you be starting an exclusively Diplomacy Group or something broader? Be sure you mention the word Diplomacy and the geographical area you are going to serve in the name of your group. Try not to be too generalized. Age of the Group Most of the older Diplomacy groups were offspring of other Diplomacy clubs and organizations and they go back as far as ten years. In 2012 there were 5 MeetUp Diplomacy groups started with another in 2013 and 2 so far this year. There may be others out there as well. Size of the Group Think about the size of the group you want to start with and how big you want to grow. Big sounds better but it also leads to more problems when it comes to finding a place to play, a convenient time, etc. To start try to find the sweet spots of 7 or 14 regular players. That probably means you need a group membership of 25-50, but you don’t have to recruit that many for your first event. A small event that does well and grows is better than a big first event that slowly fades away. Frequency of MeetUps Some groups can strive for a monthly game and make it happen. For some that’s a bit of a reach and a bimonthly or quarterly MeetUp schedule works better. After all, with the MeetUp format you can add new MeetUps pretty much at will. Location of MeetUps Some groups look for a single location and stick with it. It could be someone’s home, a social club or rec center, a favorite pub, or even a church! Most of the smaller groups find a home setting works best and a rotation system of some kind divides the burden of hosting the group. Again, the MeetUp maps and such make finding a location a lot easier than it used to be. Organizer Sometimes a new Diplomacy MeetUp Group gets lucky and finds one person who can do it all, but it is usually better to have at least 2-3 people involved in organizing the meeting and handling the web site, games mastering, hosting, etc. Oftentimes the skills needed to get a new group up and going are not the same skills needed to keep it going smoothly. Think about what skills you have and which you might be lacking that requires staff adjustments. Funding The only real expense a MeetUp Diplomacy Group will have is paying the organizer’s dues since MeetUp doesn’t charge individuals to create an account, to join a MeetUp Group, or go to meetings. Instead, every MeetUp Group is responsible for paying a fee billed to the Group’s Organizer. Most Organizer’s treat this fee like a restaurant tab, sharing it with the group members by setting membership dues and/or charging event fees at individual Meetups. There are 3 price plans: $12 a month for 6 months (a single $72 charge), $15 a month for 3 months (a single $45 charge) or $19 a month. Organizers can run up to 3 Meetup Groups at a time under any of the above plans. If you’re unhappy for any reason, you can request a full refund within 30 days of your initial payment. Promotion Promoting a new Diplomacy MeetUp Group isn’t that hard, MeetUp even has tools that will help you. Using event notices, the membership list, and emails can keep your group members informed. It’s also a good idea for the Organizer and/or assistant organizers to join nearby similar groups, especially the bigger board gaming groups, to take advantage of their publicity venues. Don’t forget publications like DIPLOMACY WORLD and THE DIPLOMATIC POUCH which are also willing to promote FTF Diplomacy events. Finally, of course, the best publicity is good word of mouth publicity from people who came to a prior group event and had a good time. If you put on a good event word will spread. Oh, and don’t forget a smile and friendly greeting for a newbie can begin a relationship that will go on for years or decades, or even half-centuries. Right, Edi? Conclusion Let me encourage you, if you find the combination of Diplomacy and MeetUp irresistible, to put your money where your mouth is. To see what I mean go to http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/MEET/ Finally, to answer the question I asked in the beginning, I would say, “While MeetUp may not be The Tool the Diplomacy hobby needs to grow; it certainly is a tool we can put to good use.” Now do it!!! Further Reading First read the MeetUp.com website. Then read the individual sites for each Diplomacy or board game group you are interested in. Note those that have their own web sites. Read those. Note who the organizers are. Then search the DW and TDP web sites for articles about MeetUp, the various groups, the web sites for their parent organizations, and articles by their organizers. If you do all that you should have a good grounding in MeetUp Diplomacy. Larry Peery (peery@ix.netcom.com) If you wish to e-mail feedback on this article to the author, and clicking on the envelope above does not work for you, feel free to use the "Dear DP..." mail interface.