The Zine
Spring 1998 Retreat Issue
-
Your Publisher:
About The Diplomatic Pouch -
Don't worry, this one won't hurt much.
-
Paul Windsor:
Caissa at the Diplomacy Table -
Let the benevolent Caissa clue you in on some key aspects of positional play.
Think you know what to look for and how to take advantage of different
strengths and weaknesses on the board? See what Caissa can teach you.
-
Tim Miller:
White-Partial Press
-
Tim continues his series on press by taking a look at the most popular of
the press settings: the plain vanilla.
-
Dann Fuller:
Openings Revisited
-
Dann lays out an ambitious plan to keep us all informed for years to come
on the way each power is being played.
-
Brian Kieslich:
A Cryptic Postcard
-
If Sherlock Holmes can solve Diplomacy mysteries, Brian figured other
professionals should be given the chance. Sure enough, he didn't have to
look far to find that Diplomacy can also be used to unravel espionage
webs!
-
Blast From The Past:
The Roots of Diplomacy -
The Pouch is proud to have decided to blatantly reprint an earlier published
work, just so that we can say that Allan Calhamer, the inventor of The Game,
is now a contributor to The Zine. Read what "ABC" has to say about the
origins of Diplomacy.
-
Brandon Clarke:
Other Thoughts on No-Press Opening Strategy
-
Brandon read the article on no-press openings in the last Zine issue and
realized he has a slightly different take. So he decided to share his own
thoughts on opening with some of the powers in No-Press.
-
David Norman:
Variable Length Tournament Diplomacy
-
Face-To-Face games can last all day and all night, and this has led
to any number of artificial game termination conditions for tournament
play. David thinks that none of these are perfect, and so he offers his
own idea. And frankly, I think he's onto something here....
-
Vaughn Ohlman:
True Blue
-
Are you a care-bear or a cut-throat player? Vaughn thinks you don't necessarily
have to be one or the other. He defines and promotes a middle ground that he
calls the "true blue" player.
-
Stimpson J. Cat:
Tricks of the Trade
-
If you're a player of the popular Payola variant, here are some tricks of
the trade from someone who's been around and used them to advantage. If you
are not a player of Payola, what the heck are you waiting for??
-
Graeme Ackland:
Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Diplomat -
Dr. Watson unravels last issue's Disarmament Conundrum. Learn how Holmes
took fifteen units off the board in the first two game-years.
-
Brahm Dorst:
Psychology and Diplomacy: Using Integrative Complexity to Predict Stabs
-
A few years ago scientists wanted to see if they could predict the
outbreak of war, by analysing the complexity of communication between
real world governments. Brahm attempts to apply their findings to
Diplomacy.
-
Various:
World DipCon VIII Reports
-
Read all about the most recent World Championships, held in Chapel Hill,
North Carolina at DixieCon. The Pouch has managed to badger a fair number
of attendees into providing their recollections. [And if you are interested
in the WDC results, they can be found here.]
-
Mark Nelson:
An Interview With Fred C. Davis, Jr.
-
Ten years ago, a couple of the hobby's big names, Mark Nelson and Fred Davis,
sat down for a talk. Read Mark's interview with Fred and learn a lot about
the hobby we all love.
-
The Editor and the Readership:
Pouch Deposits -
Surprise, surprise. It's the latest scribblings by your fellow readers.
-
Tony Nichols:
A Rating System for Diplomacy
-
It's the most contentious issue around these days. Manus decided to provide
PBEM player ratings, and then ensued the debate over which rating system(s) to
use. Here is the description of the chess-like system on which a consensus was
reached and which will soon (whatever that means) appear in the E-Mail section.
-
Brandon Clarke:
The New Zealand Diplomacy Championships
-
Kiwi players will be gathering this August for the national championships.
Read Brandon's announcement of the event, especially if you will be anywhere
nearby.
-
Thaddeus Black:
Concerning Stabbing
-
What fun is Diplomacy without exercising your right to stab? Not much, if you
ask Thad. So put that knife in your hand and take Thad's advice: use it.
-
Graeme Ackland:
Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Diplomat
-
Holmes and Watson tackle "The Strange Case of the Confederation of Neutral
States." Match wits with the Great Detective.
-
Tony Nichols:
The Grid for Diplomatic Cryptic II
-
Tony's gridless cryptic crossword puzzle in the last issue had a lot of readers
chewing their pencils. To help them along here is -- not the solution yet,
but -- the grid to fill in.
-
David Norman:
Scoring Draws
-
David's experience as a Brit playing for the first time with the American
face-to-face scoring system led him to ponder how draws should be scored.
Read what he proposes. [I (Manus) promised a counter-point article, but you'll
have to wait for that, because I haven't gotten around to writing it.]
-
Larry Peery:
Is It Time for a Chat Room?
-
A while back, Simon thought a chat room would be a nice addition to The Pouch.
Turning to the hobbyist most associated with the word "chat," he approached
Larry Peery, who is ready to lay out for us his plans for a DP CR. Help
Larry strike while the iron's hot and let's get a Pouch chat room up and
running.
[ The Zine |
The DPjudge |
Online Resources |
Showcase |
Postal |
Email |
Face to Face |
Gear
]
The Diplomatic Pouch is brought to you by
the DP Council.
The Zine section is maintained by
John Coffin (jcoffin@diplom.org).