The guys go back to the 1970's with an old school guide to Diplomacy from Kaner while Amby channels his Stevie Wonder "Very Superstitious" habits. They start their Newbie Guide to Diplomacy and do an updated Around the Grounds for their games.
Intro
- The guys start with plastic glasses at the Wet Deck pool bar at the W Hotel overlooking the Brisbane River. Its already hot in mid-spring (0 mins 5 secs)
- They discuss how long Diplomacy has been played before Kaner brings out a 1978 Gamer's Guide to Diplomacy produced by Avalon Hill. Kaner talks about how he got a hold of it (2 mins 15 secs)
- Amby starts flicking through it and they discuss some of the 1970's cartoons in it. They then start talking about what's also in the guide and some strategies including options if you're down to a small number of SC's. (5 mins)
- They talk about some of the variants in the guide they've never heard of, including Bid Diplomacy (13 mins 30 secs)
- They've forgotten to introduce their drinks belatedly. With the heat Amby is drinking a 28 Pale Ale from the Gold Coast and Kaner is drinking a Somersby cider (16 mins 30 secs)
- The guys quickly move onto an Around the Grounds digression involving a 1898 game being played by Kaner. While this variant is played on the classic board, how its different to Classic. Kaner provides words of sage advice in the fog of war 1898 game he's in and about to solo (17 mins 15 secs)
Kaner and Amby's Newbie Guide to Diplomacy - Part 1: The map
- The guys introduce this new segment to help new players to Diplomacy understand the game. If you're a non-newbie feel free to fast forward this bit (25 mins 15 secs)
- After some unplanned argy-bargy about what to cover off, they end up discussing initially the map, SCs, territories and how different units behave on different territory types (26 mins)
- They talk about how some coastal territories have two costs and how that impacts on the game, before discussing canal zones and impassable zones (32 mins 15 secs)
Diplomacy players' superstitions
- Amby starts discussing a recent habit that has now become a superstition (38 mins)
- He explains how when he sticks with his superstition and plays the same song his moves go well, but when he varied it once, it went terribly (39 mins)
- He talks about his Divided States two songs - the 1812 Overture and the Love Boat theme. He plays Spanish guitar songs in games where he's playing Spain (39 mins 30 secs)
- He discusses what superstitions other players have expressed when asked on vDip, webDip, playDip and the DiplomacyGames Twitter account (42 mins 30 secs)
2021 World Diplomacy Championship
- The guys quickly discuss the 2020 tourney at Carnage but move onto the recently announced 2021 WDC in Thailand (49 mins)
- As a former Aussie expat in Thailand, Kaner gives his suggestions on where would be a good hosting location in Thailand (51 mins 30 secs)
- Kaner discusses his idea for a historical 13th century southeast Asian variant (54 mins)
- They briefly touch on a PM from Flame about tweaks to the Mongol Diplomacy variant (56 mins)
Around the grounds
- The Europa Renovatio game Cry God for Harry! has kicked off. Its not a gunboat for once but its anon. The guys give their thoughts on their early moves without giving away who they are (1 hr 9 mins)
- Amby's never ending Divided States game has taken a few more turns with the game dynamics changing again (1 hr 11 mins)
- They discuss the anon Silent Europe game they're both in and how Amby's superstition isn't working in this game (1 hr 16 mins)
- They then move onto Amby's playDip USA! game as Spain where Chile soloed. Amby gives some constructive - but positive - criticism he doesn't like about two things at playDip (1 hr 17 mins 30 secs)
- Amby discusses a second War in the Americas game at playDip he's in, also playing as Spain. He discusses the brutality of having to play 12 hour phases (1 hr 21 mins)
- Amby explains the main reason he joined this game is because its a "Stuff Happens" variant - and what type of crazy stuff happens (1 hr 25 mins)
What the Dr Recommended
- The guys return to the vDip Hall of Fame for the 20-somethings to position 50 (1 hr 28 mins)
Wrapping up
Venue: Wet Bar, W Hotel, Brisbane
Drinks of choice:
Kaner - Somersby cider, pretty much mass produced everywhere
Amby - 28 Pale Ale, Gold Coast, Australia
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Thanks as always to Dr Dan aka "The General" for his rockin' intro tune.
