GUEST COLUMNIST SERIES: 5. Power in Diplomacy

The “Guest Columnist” series was a spoof series I created using caricatures of politicians or commentators. Some will be well-known to everyone; some infamous in the UK. I’m sure you’ll be able to recognise most! Pimp Jung On “The Supreme Leader’s Strategic Triumph: A Glorious Victory” Dear Esteemed Comrades and Honourable Players, it is withContinue reading “GUEST COLUMNIST SERIES: 5. Power in Diplomacy”

DBNI 2023 – Spurtings of a Spectator

What makes a good game of Diplomacy? I’ve got to be honest, for me the DBNI didn’t seem to meet any of the thoughts I had about this. First, I wasn’t playing. Come on, how often do you really enjoy watching a board game as opposed to playing it? I was suspicious of the newContinue reading “DBNI 2023 – Spurtings of a Spectator”

Why online play needs longer deadlines

I thought I’d be able to find it in “The Game of Diplomacy”, Richard Sharp’s book. You know, I often just look at the chapters on each power when I’m reading this but, having skimmed through it, I’m going to sit back one day and read it all. Pearls of wisdom doesn’t do it justice,Continue reading “Why online play needs longer deadlines”

PBEM Diplomacy – New Events Coming in 2023

I’ve had a lot of time on my hands recently – far too much time, in fact. One of the outcomes of this was the start of a new project based on playing Diplomacy by email. I was thinking how I haven’t played a game of Diplomacy by email for ages. In fact, I haven’tContinue reading “PBEM Diplomacy – New Events Coming in 2023”

The Grantland Discussions: A Storm of Daggers

Diplomacy is designed to encourage betrayal, there’s no getting away from that. The game is meant to be played by people who communicate; who can forge alliances; who can maintain those alliances long enough to get close to the winning line and then, when that line’s in sight, who are prepared to stab their allyContinue reading “The Grantland Discussions: A Storm of Daggers”

The Grantland Discussions: A Clash of Styles

One of the reasons Diplomacy is so successful is that it is easily adapted to playing the game in very different ways. Designed to be played face-to-face, it has been played by mail, by email, on websites, on apps, on forums and, most recently, in the virtual FTF form. The rules around deadlines need toContinue reading “The Grantland Discussions: A Clash of Styles”

The Grantland Discussions, Introduction

I don’t know when I came across the Grantland article on Diplomacy, but I’m glad I did. I’ve read a number of articles on the game; this one, “The Board Game of the Alpha Nerds” by David Hill, is the best by far. The reason it works is that it was composed ‘at’ the 2014Continue reading “The Grantland Discussions, Introduction”

It’s been quite a while

And I’ve missed it, honestly. I like writing this blog, putting my woeful thoughts down on… well, whatever this is… sharing the good stuff that’s out there about Diplomacy. However, I think I have an excuse: organising the Online Diplomacy Championship has been taking up a lot of time. And, just when I thought weContinue reading “It’s been quite a while”

ODC IV – How do I enter?

This is just another post about the Online Diplomacy Championship, this year being hosted by Playdiplomacy. For some background on the ODC, see my previous post. Here, I just want to give some info about how to get involved. First, register on Playdiplomacy.com. Registration is free and playing in the tournament is also free. Yes,Continue reading “ODC IV – How do I enter?”

The Online Diplomacy Championship 2022

Playdiplomacy is hosting the 2022 Online Diplomacy Championship – ODC IV! You can find the basic tournament information on the Playdiplomacy Forum or the Diplomacy Hub. To enter you’ll need to be registered with Playdip but the tournament is free to play (for those of you who don’t want to go Premium). The host tournamentContinue reading “The Online Diplomacy Championship 2022”