The Zine

Winter 1997 Adjustment Issue

Your Publisher: About The Diplomatic Pouch

Keep up with the Pouch with this latest installment of the always entertaining (snore) update column.

Brandon Clarke: Discovering the Religion of "Donism"

Brandon recently attended the annual Don Diplomacy Challenge in Australia. Here, read not only an excellent review of the tournament, but of how he was spiritually enlightened (?) and athletically entertained in the meantime.

Wagoner and McLachlin: Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Diplomat

The Great Diplomat explains all about how he unraveled the mysteries in last issue's "Dead Letters Affair."

David Norman: Judge Variant List

Ever wonder how many variants the computer judges support? Ever wonder just how busy the variant creators, implementors, and testers who push the hobby forward are? Ever wonder if a certain idea you've had for a variant is already on the judges? Well, wonder no more, as David gives us an exhaustive, up-to-the-moment list of variants in each stage of support on the judges.

The Editor and the Readership: Pouch Deposits

Anyone want to guess what this column is? No fair peeking....

Gary Kennedy: A Diplomatic Cryptic

Diplomacy players who enjoy the British "Cryptic" type of crossword puzzles are bound to like what Gary has put together. Ready your keyboard and take a stab (pun intended) at filling in all the blanks.

Szykman and Hand: DipSticks

Speaking of pencil puzzles, Simon checks in with the solution to last issue's word search, and a brand new effort, this one an acrostic puzzle! And that's not all. Manus misunderstood what Simon was putting together, but it gave him a bright idea, so he whipped up a little pencil puzzle of his own for you. Well, guess what? Manus's idea was the same as Simon's! (Great minds think alike?) The upshot of it is that you get to scratch your head over two supply center acrostic!

Mark Kinney: The Smell of the Copy Toner

If you are are thinking about getting into the postal 'zine publishing act, you'd be well-advised to read Mark's words of wisdom, culled from his years of experience.

Dan Shoham: The Diplomacy Academy

In this installment of Dan's ever-popular game review column, he takes us into the world of "troi," a Crowded game he won as Turkey, to illustrate some of the aspects of no-partial press negotiations.

Vince Mous: From Russia With Love

Vince's article series on the Modern variant continues with his in-depth look at Russian openings and strategies. Learn how to play Russia, the Modern way.

Graeme Ackland: Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Diplomat

After settling the last affair, Holmes and Watson had barely time to indulge themselves in those snifters of brandy that seem ever-present at Baker Street before another problem involving the nefarious Sultan -- this one "The Case of the Suwati Refugee" -- was presented to the pair.

Tony Swinnerton: Playing the Key

The Key opening -- giving Serbia to Italy in 1901 with Austrian approval -- is among the more risky but rewarding options. Should you try, in your next game, to surprise the board and get that pivotal extra army into the Turkish theatre? Read Tony's advice before you decide against it!

Various: Songs for the Season

In what you can only hope won't become a tradition, we present a number of beloved seasonal tunes, unashamedly rewritten for our unique readership. Just be thankful there are only four of them.

Theo Kermanidis: Super-Alliances in Modern Diplomacy

Theo dives into the Eastern Mediterranean to discuss in-depth one of the very functional partnerships in the Modern variant, and in the process sheds some light on how to play what he calls "super-alliances" (such as the juggernaut) in any game.

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