The Zine

Winter 1995 Adjustment Issue

The Publisher: About The Diplomatic Pouch

Surprise! An "About the Pouch" article which actually has some news to report! (Did you notice? The Pouch is a changed beast!)

Stephen Beaulieu: Under Control

Stephen checks in with the first article in a new series about becoming a good GameMaster. (Hey Stephen, you left out one of the "o"'s in the word "good" there in that little synopsis, but I fixed it for you.)

Manus Hand: Payola Diplomacy

Payola Diplomacy is sweeping the hobby! (Well, at least I like to say it is.) Here is the sweat of my brow -- everything I ever wanted to tell everybody about the Payola variant but which nobody ever asked.

Matthew Self: Lies, Damn Lies, and Diplomacy

Continuing his ongoing look at and presentation of the statistics which shape our little world, Matthew Self brings us Nick Fitzpatrick's latest Diplomacy Hall of Fame.

Paul Davidson: The Great Diplomacy Poll

Are you typical? Take a look at the questions Paul asked e-mail players everywhere and the answers he received and learn just how run-of-the-mill you really are after all.

Matthew Self: Library of Diplomacy Tactics

Matthew took it upon himself to catalog the various tactics which make up The Game, and we can all be very glad he did. Filling a void which has long existed is this tactical library, an essential for every player.

Vincent Mous: Modern Times

Take Diplomacy out of the Europe of the 1900's and put it in the Europe of the 1990's and what do you have? You have the Modern Diplomacy variant. Learn more about it from its creator.

The Readership: Pouch Deposits

Guess what. Yep. No surprises here. Correspondence sent to the Pouch, with some verbage wrapped around it. Enjoy!

Danny Loeb: The Diplomacy Programming Project

Timely as always, Danny checks in with a combinatorical look at the adjustment phase.

Pitt Crandlemire: The Big Dipper looks at Shift Variants

Pitt's triumphant return to The Pouch is marked by an insightful discussion of the shift-left and shift-right variants, in which you must fight your way home while watching your back.

Stephen Lepley: Incoming! Further Reflections of a Newbie

Stephen keeps playing, and keeps telling us what he thinks of the game. Follow his latest exploits in this installment of his article series.

Dan Shoham: The Diplomacy Academy

Dan dovetails with Jamie Dreier's Endgame series in this, his latest installment of the popular Diplomacy Academy. Take the Chopin Challenge to see if you too can discover the forced win which Dan grabbed in the game chopin.

Andy Schwarz: Touch Diplomacy

Wow! Payola, Modern, Shift, and now Touch. This is the variant issue, isn't it? Check out Andy's rundown of the Touch Diplomacy variant, in which you can't speak without being formally introduced.

Conrad Minshall: The Diplomacy Skill Index

Or maybe it's the rating systems issue. To go along with the article on the Hall of Fame is this, Conrad's latest issuance of the DSI.

Blast From The Past: A Study in Non-Orphaned Games

Following on the statistical articles presented in past issues of The Zine is this, Mark Nelson's look at games which do not lose their Master.

Jamie Dreier: Master Class

Jamie continues to educate and entertain in this, the latest gathering of the Master Class.

Bjoern Tore Sund: For English Native Speakers Only?

A non-native English speaker takes issue with how some players seem to answer this question.

Simon Szykman: Communication in No-Press Diplomacy

Simon's latest is a treasure trove for current and aspiring players of games which forbid press. At least the written word. But is the pen mightier than the sword? Simon shows how to approach making the two interchangeable.

Matthew Self: Stalemate Lines Again?

Matthew had too much time on his hands, which is something else we can be happy about, because he used that time to make the time-honored collection of stalemate articles known as "Stalemates A to Y" a proud part of The Diplomatic Pouch's Online Resources section. Here he discusses this effort and introduces the subject.

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