The animal that is most likely to be allowed entrance to a formal event, the penguin – at least the king penguin – would get in.
Penguins seem to be seen as one of the comedy animals of the world. Perhaps pandas, and even red pandas (that aren’t related to pandas at all), come close to penguins for comedy value.
They waddle around on land in a way that makes them look like they’re wearing feet that are a couple of sizes too small for them. In the water, of course, they’re incredibly graceful but, well, we don’t tend to spend a lot of time in the water with them.
King and Emperor penguins look like they’re constantly planning a trip to a high class restaurant or private function. Their colouring is reminiscent of a wedding suit, complete with a bow tie.
And, of course, there’s the infamous Batman villain, who was usually seen as a common thief with a gimmick in the silver age of DC comics a la Burgess Meredith. Nowadays, of course, the Penguin is portrayed as a hard-beaked mod leader. Still, the traditional character just added to the comic relief view of the creature.
The Diplomacy ‘Penguin’
In Diplomacy, a ‘Penguin’ is a very formal player. They seem to have an idea that the game should be played with a high degree of etiquette that would match the formality of a royal audience.
Talk with a Penguin about playing Diplomacy and you’ll find that they believe you should always do this and you should never do that. For them, it’s about a high level of politeness. In the UK, we have a phrase: “It’s just not cricket,” that means that something is irregular or rude, with cricket being a game of high civility.
There is some link, here, to the rules that have grown up around international diplomacy, too. Diplomats must always be on their best behaviour; they must always use the correct terms of address; they must be seen to be civil in everything.
The reality, of course, is that international diplomacy has always been about the underhand (lack of) rules of espionage as much as about superficial etiquette. The ultimate goal of a diplomat, of any level of seniority, is to gain for their state the most advantageous position as possible… and to make things as difficult as possible for their competitors.
A Penguin’s insistence on etiquette in Diplomacy doesn’t match reality. Diplomacy isn’t about ‘never’ or ‘always’ or about strict rules of politeness. It’s about doing what works for you in any situation.
This isn’t to say that anything goes, if only because some things you may do won’t benefit you. Some things that go on in the Hobby simply harm the Hobby and should be pushed out of it. And, of course, politeness is a much more useful tool than rudeness when trying to build an alliance.
Penguins, though, tend to hamper themselves as players. Their refusal to use more aggressive tactics and strategies means that they miss some opportunities. They can be a tough ally to work with.
THE DIPLOMATICON 
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