Diplomacy Magazine From: loeb@geocub.UUCP (Daniel LOEB) Date: Fri, 22 May 1992 15:18:09 +0000 Issue #287 of Chapter Two of the Electronic Protocol By Daniel Loeb (loeb@geocub.greco-prog.fr) May 22, 1992 Distributed via: rec.games.pbm rec.games.board dipl-l (max50k) ------------------------------------------------------------- Electronic Protocol Games played on the Diplomacy Adjudicator ------------------------------------------------------------- **** TABLE OF CONTENTS **** (note PARTS 1-2 and 3-4 are distributed separately this week) PART ONE - Opinions, Letters, and Editorials: The European Judge Variant Series: Ten Man Diplomacy Mark's Column: Game indexes, Round robin diplomacy, Runestone poll, Dippy Zines, Back Issues Comments on "Diplomacy A-Z" The Russian Balloon Summer is Coming Diplomacy Article Archives Service: Openings, Surveys, Questionnaires PART TWO - Summary of all moderated games on the Judge: For more info about the Judge For more info about the Electronic Protocol PART THREE - Report from the Battle Front Iona - 1904 summary PART FOUR - "Diplomacy A-Z" (Version 2.0) - Part 4 (M-Q) ***** PART THREE ***** **** IONA - 1904 Summary Historical Supply Center Summary -------------------------------- Ven Nap Edi Lvp Par Por Bel Mun Ber Swe Stp Mos Con Smy Rum Ser Vie Year Rom Tun Lon Bre Mar Spa Hol Kie Den Nor War Sev Ank Bul Gre Bud Tri 1900 7 X T 6 I P U D V G W W B K S 7 C H 4 U 3 9 R 0 G A 1 F Y J Z E 8 1 1901 7 T T 6 U P U D V G W V S K C 7 C H 4 U 3 9 R 0 G A 1 G 0 1 E Y 8 8 1902 G 7 T 6 U P U D V G D V S K C C C H 4 U 3 9 R 0 G A 1 G A 1 0 E 8 8 1903 G T T 6 S D U D V V D V S C C C C U 3 U 3 9 R 0 G A 1 G A 1 1 8 9 8 1904 G T T D U D U ? V V D V S C 9 U C U 3 U 3 9 R A G A 1 G A 1 1 8 8 8 Ven Nap Edi Lvp Par Por Bel Mun Ber Swe Stp Mos Con Smy Rum Ser Vie Year Rom Tun Lon Bre Mar Spa Hol Kie Den Nor War Sev Ank Bul Gre Bud Tri Changes ------- Supply Center: Sev Tun Kie Edi Vie Mun Lon Bre Was: 0 6 C S 9 C D D Now is: A D U U 8 9 S D/S Supply Center Counts -------------------- Year A B C D E F G H I J K P R S T U V W X Y Z 0 1 3 4 6 7 8 9 1900 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1901 1 2 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 1902 2 3 2 1 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 2\2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1903 2 3 2 1 4 1 1 2 2 3 3 1 3 2 1 2 2 1904 3 1 1-2 1 4 1 1 2-3 2 3 3 3 2 2 2 Builds and Retreats ------------------- A: 1 build in Ankara C: Retreat Kie-Ruh plus 2 removals, or Disband Kie plus 1 removal D: If S retreats to Bre, then 1 removal S: Retreat Eng-Iri/Wal/Nth/Pic, or Disband Eng and build in Bel, or Retreat Eng-Bre, and build in Bel U: 2 builds in Den and Nor 0: ELIMINATED 6: ELIMINATED 8: 1 build in Tri ***** PART FOUR ***** **************************************************************** * A DIPLOMACY A-Z <VERSION 2.0> A DIPLOMACY A-Z <VERSION 2.0>* **************************************************************** Part 4 (M-Q) MADMAN (1) <MB:Jun80> A variant style sometimes used when fewer than 7 players show up. One country, generally Italy, is ruled by a Madman: After the moves are submitted, but before they are exposed, a randomly selected player writes moves for the country without diplomacy. This is repeated each season until elimination. Has been played postally. MAGINOT OPENING (1) <MB:Jun80> F(Bre)-MID, A(Mar) SA(Par)-Bur is the most popular French opening. This assures that France can have a say in all three of her bordering neutrals, and, if there is A(Pie), Mar can be guarded without risk to Spa. The mere threat to Mun usually pins down the German army, making Bel and Ruhr more accessible in F01. See English Maginot. (2) <RE:89-90> A strong French opening featuring the Spring 1901 orders: F(Bre)-MAO, A(Mar) SA(Par)-Bur. It assumes an understanding with England over the English Channel, and though it must be regarded as anti-German, the opening still allows France the opportunity to take three neutral centres in Autumn (with A(Bur)-Bel, A(Mar)-Spa and F(MAO)-Por). Naming it after the Maginot Line has emphasized its defensive qualities, but there can be no doubt that the opening poses a direct threat to Munich, and may signal a frontal assault on Germany by an Anglo-French alliance. This is both a strength and a failing, as it exposes France to a stab from England and is likely to cause maximum offense to a neighbour who is not usual an initial threat to France. However, it does assure the French player of a say in Belgium's future (a useful bargaining chip even if France cannot take the centre himself) without leaving Burgundy unguarded - and still allows him to take both the Iberian centres in 1901. MAJORITY OF UNITS ON THE BOARD (1) <MB:Jun80> The victory criterion prior to 1971. Under is a player could win with e.g. only 17 units by annihilating an enemy unit (1965I) or could be forced in a draw with 18 by being unable to build a 17th unit (1966AA). MAP ERRORS (1) <MB:Jun80> Our Diplomacy map should not be taken too literally. Belgium has been given a chunk of France, including Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne. This was presumably done to make sure that Bel bordered ENG. More mysterious is the fact that Hol has been given part of Belgium (Antwerp area). McCALLUM MERITORIOUS SERVICE AWARD (1) <MB:Jun80> Now defunct, named after John McCallum, publisher of Brobdingnag, Lauritania, and other fine zines of the 60's and early 70's. MATHOM (1) <MB:Jun80> A supply centre which you keep, but don't actually need - you just don't want someone else to have it. From Tolkien fandom. McKEJO OPENING (1) <MB:Jun80> An unorthodox Western Triple alliance, which sends German armies to Bel and Hol, plus F(BAL)-Swe, even as England convoys into Den --- thus, the Western fleet is in BAL rather than BAR. Used by McLendon, Kendter, Sr and Jones in 1979AK, it gives England a strong hand. (2) <MN:May92> The fleet is in BAL because Russia has probable stood Germany out of Sweden in Autumn 1901. MENSA DIPLOMACY CLUB (1) <MB:Jun80> Mensa is the organization for those whose IQ exceeds 130. In Britain, the M.D.C spawned 1901 And All That. When its editor could not continue to open just Mensa games, the membership requirement was dropped. Associated in the US with Claw and Fang and Bushwhacker. MERRYGOROUND (1) <MB:Jun80> The rotation of three or more units. Thus, F(Hol)-Bel, A(Ruh)-Hol, A(Bel)-Ruh all succeed. This sometimes happens accidentally if nationalities are not the same. METAGAMING (1) <MB:Jun80> (1) In tournament play "playing" the scoring system, presumably to do thing you might not ordinarily do. (2) In postal play, linking play in several games to maximize overall performance. See Cross Game Alliance and Seven Player Tournament. METZKE, Conrad von (1) <MN:Jan92> American hobbyist active in the postal hobby on and off since the mid 1960's. Part of an active San Diego crowd that discovered FTF diplomacy at the beginning of the decade, many of whom would publish zines before the decade was out. Conrad's COSTAGUANNA was one of the first diplomacy zines and has been published (with many interruptions and folds) since the mid 1960's. Conrad is a renowned writer, an excellent press-writer and responsible for importing RAILWAY RIVALS to the American hobby. Rumoured to be the tallest member of the hobby. MICHICON (1) <MB:Jun80> A Wargaming convention held near/in Detroit, the first was around 1971. It hosted Origins in 1978, and DipCon in 1980. Associated with Detroit Metro Wargames. MILLER NUMBER CUSTODIAN (1) <MN:Jun80> The person who assigns Miller numbers for variants, named after Don Miller. MNCs have included Lew Pulsipher, Conrad von Metzke, Bob Sacks and now Greg Costikyan. Occasionally associates for Europe like Steve Doubleday and Michel Feron have been used. The system is the same as for Boardman Numbers, with two lower case letters tacked on to indicate the specific game, e.g. gy for US Diplomacy III MIMEO (1) <MB:Jun80> In this, one types on a stencil, which is mounted on a machine, and ink is pressed through it. Advantages: Good print even after 100 copies, easily corrected, can sometimes use material typed on ordinary paper by others (pseudoxerox), high legibility. Can't use colors. Present examples are Why Me? and Toronto Telegram. MINISTAB (1) <MB:Jun80> An exception to the "rule" that the stab should always be a disabling blow, a ministab is usually the seizure of just one centre, or the placement of one unit in a demilitarized zone. The stabber hopes that the stabbee will be either unable to retaliate, or unwilling to terminate the alliance for a relatively small offense. The ministabber must judge whether the one centre (or whatever) is worth the loss of trust that will occur even if no retaliation is forthcoming. The insidious thing about ministabs is, like potato chips, if the first one is good, its hard to resist a second. Countries have been nibbled to death. MISDIRECTION (1) <MB:Jun80> The act of giving the wrong impression without actually lying. This has the advantage that (1) You can avoid the visceral response usually invoked in those who have been lied to (2) Your credibility is not completely destroyed, and may not even be seriously damaged (3) The victim may not be completely sure he was deceived, feeling that it was partly or entirely his own fault for drawing an incorrect inference. MISWRITTEN ORDER (1) <MB:Jun80> A player who does not wish to make a move that he is obliged to make may deliberately miswrite the order. While the others may realize that the error is probably deliberate, there may still be some doubt. Care must be taken that the error is not correctable under the "badly written order" sentence of the Rulebook. On a rare occasion one may induce this error in another, by asking a careless enemy *not* to make a certain (miswritten) order, in the hope that he'll copy the order directly from your letter. There is a risk that when a genuine error occurs, it may be though deliberate. MIX POINTS (1) <MB:Jun80> The number of different ways that an attack can proceeds, often, the number of pieces adjacent to the target. A common tactical problem is whether to use the spring season to increase the mix for a fall attack, or to go with the lower mix in the Spring, hoping to get two attacking seasons rather than one. MNC (1) <MB:Jun80> Miller Number Custodian (qv). MULTIEDITOR ZINE (1) <MB:Jun80> A zine with two or more editors of roughly equal status. Examples include NMR!, Lonely Mountain, Arrakis and Paroxysm. Husband and wife combos include Down Alien Skies and Flying Dutchman. MULTIPLE UNIT (1) <MB:Jun80> Some variants permit ``stacked'' units of double, triple etc strength. Rules vary on whether an attack on one cuts them all, how they may be built and disbanded, etc. These tend to prevent stalemate lines from forming. See Multiplicity. MULTIPLICITY (1) <MB:Jun80> Richard Walkerdine's variant which uses a regular board, but allows units to merge to multiple strength and later resplit. Highly thought of, but rarely seen in US. MUNICH GAMBIT (1) <MB:Jun80> An English-German-Italian alliance which permits Italy to take Mun in F01. In S02, he is supported by GA(Bel) into Bur, permitting Germany to retake Mun in F02, even as Italy compensates by taking Mar. MUTUAL PUPPET (1) <MB:Jun80> See Puppet. A relationship in which players "exchange" control of certain units. For example, Russia may agree to do whatever Turkey wishes with his southern fleet, having it join Turkey's Medit armada. In exchange, Turkey loans the spare army to Russia. MUTUAL SUB (1) <MB:Jun80> An alternative to trading, in which each subs to the other's zine. There may not even be any money changing hands, just an exchange of credits on each sub account. Handy if there is a wide difference in publishing schedules or rates, or if the GM doesn't want to stick his subbers with the costs of zines he's getting. MUTUAL SUPPORT (1) <MN:Mar92> When one unit is supporting a unit which in turn is supporting that unit the two units are said to be in mutual support. Mutual supports are commonly found along stalemate lines. Instead of writing A(abc) SA (def) and A(def) SA (abc) some GMs allow players to abbreviate these orders to A(abc) MS A(def). Some GMs do not allow this, so it's a good idea to check the House Rules. NAMESAKES (1) <MB:Jun80> Two or more persons with the same name, the bane of rating systems. For example, there are three Dave Thomas' in Great Britain NATIONAL DIPLOMACY TOURNAMENT (1) <MB:Jun80> Sponsored by Philmar, it was to have been an UK-wide face to face Diplomacy tournament, with regional hears and a final in London in Oct 1979. NATIONAL FANTASY FAN FEDERATION GAMES BUREAU: DIPLOMACY DIVISION (1) <MB:Jun80> Possibly the earliest non-geographically based dip organization, it was active in the 1960's and was headed at one time by Rod Walker. NATIONAL GAMES CLUB (1) <MB:Jun80> The successor to the British Diplomacy Club (qv), recognizing the influx of Scrabble, Chess, Bridge and general wargaming players. A North American affiliate, run by Randolph Smyth, never really got off the ground. (2) <MN:Apr92> For an explanation of the NGC Central waiting list see CGS. NAVB (1) <MN:Jan92> Common abbreviation for the NORTH AMERICAN VARIANT BANK, the world's largest collection of diplomacy variants and recognized by most variant fans as being the decider of most matters relating to variant classification. Set up in the 1970's it has a had a succession of custodians. NEED A GAME (1) <MB:Jun80> A list of US openings in regular diplomacy, giving publisher's name, address and, until recently, the number of years he has been GMing. Traditionally publishes in DW. Original compiler was the DW editor, now done by Lee Kenter, Sr. O'NEIL, BILL (1) <MN:Jan92> Long serving member of the VIENNAMOB who was the first such to launch a zine after the fold of VIENNA. DE EXCIDEO runs a number of games (including the hobby in-game EMPIRES OF THE MIDDLE AGES) in a low-key manner. NELSON, Mark Ian (1) <MN:Jan92> Active in the British Hobby since 1984, active in the international hobby since the Summer of 1987 and involved in the email world since the Summer of 1990. A diplomacy phreak who has published over 200 fanzines and has had many, many, plans for really useful diplomacy projects; this is one of the few ones that got past the `this is a really good idea' stage... NEUTRAL ORDERS (1) <MB:Jun80> Substitute orders in place of All Units Hold in case of a NMR. The purpose is to avoid grossly unbalancing the game. They are especially important for Italy and England, who cannot easily gain a neutral without moving in both S01 and F01, but all countries except France can easily be denied a neutral if they do not move in S01. The usual criterion for S01 is that it can be a fairly ordinary move which does not place a piece alongside another's home center, with the exception of the Tri/Ven area, obviously. The most difficult problems occur with A(Vie) and F(Kie). Sometimes also used for F01 and W01, but very rarely later on in the game. Often these are listed in the HR's, which avoids a lot of ill feelings. Some times an outside person, who may not be named, will supply them. In the US and Canada, the majority of GMs use this system, though not in England. NEW BLOOD (1) <MB:Jun80> A listing of names and addresses of persons who appear to be entering the hobby, with the implied invitation to pubbers to send them samples of their wares. Zines that have listed these in the past include Runestone, Hoosier Archives and Graustark. NEWSZINE (1) <MB:Jun80> A zine designed to distribute news of the hobby. Includes Bulletynne Boarde and, for a while, Utopia, Ltd. NEW YORK CONSPIRACY (1) <MB:Jun80> A collection of creative and well known New York City players and publishers of the mid 1970's, including Gil Niger, Bob Lipton, Mike Rocamora, Howard Mahler, Nick Ulanov, Matt Diller, John Boardman, Scott Rosenberg, Ben Grossman, Stephen Tihor, Edi Birsan, Greg Costikyan, Bob Sacks, Evan Jones, Arnold Proujanski, Brad Hessel and Jeremy Paulson. NGC (1) <MN:Apr92> Common abbreviation for NATIONAL GAMES CLUB (qv). NGC RATING SYSTEM (1) <MB:Jun80> Kept by Wink Thompson, new players start with a score of 100. Game rating is the total of the 7 players' own ratings, allocated 30%-20%-15%-10%-5%-5%-5% to the players in order of finish +10% based on SC totals. NMR (1) <MB:Jun80> No Moves Received, sometimes covering No Builds/removals as well. For dealing with it, see Goodby Charlie, Tretick Standby System, Neutral Orders, Standard Openings and Phantom Orders --- all alternatives to All Units Hold. NORTH AMERICAN DIPLOMACY FEDERATION (1) <MB:Jun80> Organized in 1980 by Rod Walker, its Steering Committee is a collection of Hobby Custodians, such as the BNC, DW editor, Variant Bank heads, who want to coordinate hobby activities, provide for smooth succession when needed, and provide some minimum level of accountability. This is all to be done without changing the custodian's basic responsibility to his job. Provisions also exist for a GM/Publisher's Council, and for sustaining members. NORTH AMERICAN DIPLOMACY PLAYERS SURVEY (1) <MB:Jun80> Lew Pulsipher's Poll of the hobby's attitudes, characteristics (age, education, etc), attitudes toward e.g. various game endings, preference in zines, variants, organizations etc. A massive undertaking, the first had 158 respondents and was published in DW #6; the second in DW #9. NORTH AMERICAN VARIANT BANK (1) <MB:Apr92> See NAVB. NORTH AMERICAN ZINE POLL (1) <MN:Mar92> See Runestone Poll. NORTHERN DASH (1) <MB:Jun80> F(Bre)-ENC, A(Par)-Pic, A(Mar)-Bur is the ultimate in ignoring Iberia. This discourages other from going for Belgium, while preserving anti-German (if A(Mar)-Bur succeeds) or anti-English (if F(Bre)-ENG) options for F01 and beyond. Extremely pro-Italy. (2) <RE:89-90> Another French opening, but one that contrasts markedly with the Maginot Opening (qv). I believe the name was originally coined by Nicky Palmer, and involves the moves F(Bre)-ENC, A(Par)-Pic, A(Mar)-Bur. It is debatable whether this is an aggressive defense or defensively aggressive: it could be seen as a French version of the Austrian Hedgehog openings, standing off attacks from England (F(Lon)-ENC) and Germany (A(Mun)-Bur); alternatively, it could be regarded as an all-out bid for Belgium or attack on England. As a defensive posture, it can only be regarded as a sign of failed diplomacy, since if France can trust neither of his neighbours in 1901, he is surely doomed. Moreover, it doesn't even offer complete protection, as an Italian opening to Piedmont would expose Marseilles; as an offensive, it may be applauded for making such a distinct commitment against England (a power that many DIPLOMACY players regard as France's greatest threat in the early years, and which needs to be eliminated early if it's to be eliminated at all). However, the opening will deprive France of two certain builds in 1901 (Spain and Portugal) unless A(Mar) is stood off by Germany, and this will weaken France in 1902. Less severe is the "Belgian Gambit", which uses F(Bre)-MAO instead. NORTHERN LEPANTO (1) <MB:Jun80> See Illyrian Opening. NORTHERN OPENING, GALICIA VARIATION (1) <MB:Jun80> A(War)-Gal, F(Sev)-Rum, A(Mos)-Stp is the most pro-Turkey of all the Stp Gambit openings. NORTHERN OPENING, UKRAINE VARIATION (1) <MB:Jun80> A(War)-Ukr, F(Sev)-Rum, A(Mos)-Stp. This is about the lowest profile Russia can keep in the South and still send an army there, and may indicate Russia believes that there is triple R-A-T alliance to be had. NO-STANDBY POLICY OR ZINE (1) <MB:Jun80> A policy whereby all dropped positions are placed in civil disorder. Rare in North America, in recent years upwards of 60% of all British games have used it. It can result in only one player left in the game (1976IR). Pros and cons are discussed in Dragon and Lamb #40-42. In extreme cases, it results in a 6-player game at start (e.g. in 1979EP, in which no Austrian moves were ever made due to immediate dropout), though this is usually avoided by Good-bye Charlie. NOVICEGAME (1) <MB:Jun80> Some zines (particularly Liasons Dangereuses) have organized games solely for novices, so that they won't feel outclassed. The drawback is that these will be less of a learning experience, as the players will not be exposed to experienced players --- and one of the prime functions of player's first few games is supposed to be learning. Apparently, these games often have intense levels of correspondence, as players are in few games, and seek to make a good start in the Hobby. NOVICE GAMESTART PROJECT (1) <MB:Jun80> A proposal by Cal White and John Gross, never implemented. To have been sponsored by the IDA, games would have opened on a "general basis" and the players notified of their novice GM. The GM would send his adjudications to the Project, which would publish the results in a zine. GMs would be encouraged to take their games with them when they were ready to start their own zine. Orphans could also be fed in. Similar to the NGC gamestarts function. NOVICE SEMINAR PROGRAM (1) <MB:Jun80> Larry Peery's 300 page programmed instruction manual for beginners. NOVICEZINE OR PACKAGE (1) <MB:Jun80> An irregularly produced publication or package for the purpose of giving novices an overview of the Hobby. Examples have been: The Tangled Web we Weave (Swanson), V'La le bon Vent (Cuerrier), Novice Package (Agar), Ponevdra (Walker), Andromeda Chronicle (Labelle), Kaleidoscope (Lakofka), Cephids (IDA, CDO). OBRIENI ATTACK (1) <MB:Jun80> The single most popular Italian Opening, with A(Ven)-Tyr, A(Rom)-Ven, F(Nap)-ION, giving the player the option of attacking Vie, supporting into Tri or going for Munich, in addition to helping Russia take Vie. OBSOLETE RULES (1) <MB:Jun80> These include The Key Rule, the Swanson Rule, Gilliland Situation, Miller's Rule, Konig's Rule, Phillip's Dilemma, Reinsel/Beshera Rule, Walker Rule, Shargin Alternative Convoy, Brannon's Rule, etc. Most of these had to do with either convoys or retreats or support cutting, and were cleared up in the 1971 Rulebook. Apparently Charles Well was the first to start naming these rule disputes. OCTOPUS (1) <MB:Jun80> A(Mos)-StP, A(War)-Gal, F(Sev)-BLA appears to be very belligerent. But the southern moves can be sold as defensive measures to compensate for the fact that only one army is sent south. Neither Turkey nor Austria should feel seriously threatened, as you have apparently moved on the other as well, and a joint attack on both Austria and Turkey hardly seems likely if you are also moving to StP. Often, at least one of these will be an arranged standoff. A favourite of Richard Sharp's. (2) <RE:89-90> A Russian opening named by Richard Sharp which combines a strong defense in the south with an uncommonly powerful assault on Scandinavia. The name presumably derives from the way the opening exploits Russia's interests in so many spheres, spreading tentacles into several areas: the moves are A(Mos)-StP, A(War)-Gal, F(Sev)-BLA and F(StP,sc)-GOB. The Russian player who opens with this can expect to upset England, who usually looks to Norway as his only guaranteed build - in a game with an Octopus, only a full blown Northern Opening (F(Lon)-NTH, F(Edi)-NWG, A(Lon)-Yor) from England will do. A variation of this opening, also named by Richard Sharp, is the Squid, which takes on both the corner powers with A(War)-Ukr. ODD (1) <MB:Jun80> Doug Beyerlein's complex rating system, based on Calhamer Point Count and the handicap system used in Chess. Players can gain additional points by doing better than those with ratings better than their own. (See DW #3). ODDMOD (1) <MB:Jun80> A relatively complex rating system, in which the ODD system has been variously weighted. Standbys are rated. Details in DW Vol 3, #2 and DW #17. Present custodian is Blair Cusack, but no ratings have been published for several years. OFF-BOARD BOXES (1) <MB:Jun80> Originating in Atlantic, a unit enters a box (usually from a sea space) and on the next move can leave the box into a (designated) different sea space, usually far away. This allows fleets more rapid movement, tending to globalize the board, important if there are more than, say, seven players. (2) <MN:Mar92> It is also possible to have off-board boxes that armies can move into. This helps eliminate corner positions and encourages more diplomacy. An example is in Mark Nelson's Diadochi VI. OFFSET (1) <MB:Jun80> A high-technology printing technique, in which a page is photographed, a plate is made from this, and printing is done from this plate. Due to the high cost of the plate, this requires relatively large circulations to be reasonable in cost. Usually done with reduction, so that two pages of copy fit on one side. Examples are DW, Saint George and the Dragon, Dragon and the Lamb, Megalomania, Le Front de Liberation du Diplomacy, Kassia, Vortigen, Flying Dutchman and Diplomacy Digest. OFF-THE-BOARD RETREAT (1) <MB:Jun80> Novices sometimes overlook the fact that a unit can be retreated off the board, or disbanded, rather than retreated to another space. It can then be built for the following winter, if the SC count permits, possibly placing the unit where it is really needed. This commonly occurs when a country is stabbed and needs a unit to defend home centers, or if a player wants to call off a war by removing the piece from the area. OMBUDSMAN (1) <MB:Jun80> A third party who will settle GM-player disputes if consulted by both parties. May also settle intra-organization problems. Traditionally under the sponsorship of an organization, such as CDO or IDA, and is usually elected. See JudCom. ONE SHOT GAME FEE (1) <MB:Jun80> A fixed fee which also covers getting the zine for the life of the game. Little used (one is Gaustark). Opposite is free plus sub. ONE-SHOT GAMEZINE (1) <MB:Jun80> A zine devoted to a single, complete game. The first was The Grand Fenwick Gazette (1965, North Carolina). Rod Walker has produced several on variant games, and some dippy clubs have reprinted FTF games. OPSIMATH (1) <MB:Jun80> A player who pursues a foolish course of action (e.g. grudge war, or ignoring a leader) for a long period of time, and then changes his course only late in the game. ORCHIVES (1) <MB:Jun80> Scott Marley's California based Archives, based largely on Beyerlein and San Diego Archives material, and post May 1988 DW trades. ORIGINS (1) <MB:Jun80> A wargaming convention, originally founded by Avalon Hill which usually features a big dippy tournament. Origins I was in Baltimore (1975), II in Baltimore (1976), III on Staten Island, IV in Michigan, etc. Origins II and V hosted DipCons. ORPHANED GAME (1) <MB:Jun80> A game whose GM has abandoned it. The GM or players may arrange for another GM to take it over; otherwise it will become abandoned. ORPHAN GAMES PROJECT (1) <MB:Jun80> A clearing house for orphans and GMs who would like to rehouse them. Players were expected to contact the OGP director with the game info. Set up by Rod Walker, and run for many years by Greg Warden, it is presently in the hands of Ray Heuer, and is dormant. ORPHANZINE (1) <MB:Jun80> A zine devoted to playing just orphan games, either on a temporary basis until they can be rehoused (Fagin) or until completion (Black Sheep, EFGIART, Moby Grape, The Orphan, The Ultimate Chaotic Act (the last of which orphaned its own orphans). OVAL (1) <MB:Jun80> Peter Birks' Press Byline in Greatest Hits. PALMER, Nicky. (1) Active in the UK postal hobby in the 1970s, these days he takes a more passive role not playing in any games and writing the occasional letter. Became involved in the PBM scene and launched FLAGSHIP, a magazine that was intended to be, well, the flagship of the PBM world. In it's early days this gave the postal hobby some publicity but those days seem to be gone forever... PANDIN'S PARADOX (1) <MB:Jun80> The only paradox of the Rulebook. For example: France F(MID) SF(Spa/sc)-WES, F(NAP)SF(ION)-TYN; ITALY F(Tus) SF(TYN), F(TYN) CA(Rom)-Tun; ENGLAND F(WES) & F(LYO) CA(NAf)-Tus, F(Tun) SF(WES). Since the Italian convoy to Tun cuts the English support for F(WES), the French dislodge F(WES). But that dislodgement disrupts the convoy to Tus. Thus the Italian support given by F(Tus) is not cut, and so that English attack on TYN is foiled. Everything looks fine, right? But take things starting with the convoy to Tus. That cuts the support for F(TYN), so it is dislodged. That being the case, A(Rom) doesn't get to Tun, and so the support for F(WES) is not cut. That being the case, A(NAf) does get to Tus and so F(TYN) falls, which is just where we started. Both adjudications are correct --- but diametrically opposed. This has never actually occurred in a postal game; GMs who mention this in their HRs say that all units remain in place --- which, ironically is consistent with neither of the above scenarios! PAPER UNITS (1) <MB:Jun80> A unit in a variant which has no strength. Such a unit can take centres, but not against any opposition, and functions as a decoy for real units. See Decoy unit. PASSING A LETTER (1) <MB:Jun80> See Remailing A Letter. PAST, THE (1) <MB:Jun80> The good old days, when the Hobby was smaller and more personal, when newcomers were greeted with a blizzard of helpful letters from old hands, zines were regular, NMRs rare, press plentiful and witty, when the really major zines were gotten by nearly everybody, etc, etc. PASTICHE OPENING (1) <MB:Jun80> A(Con)-Bul, A(Smy)H, F(Ank)-BLA. This gives Turkey more flexibility than most openings, as he can claim that A(Smy)H means that he is neither anti-Russian nor anti-Austrian. However, if he does have F(BLA), he still has significant options against either country in F01. If a standoff occurs in BLA, telling Russia that you will order A(Bul)-Rum may divert his Fleet to Rum permitting you to enter BLA. Even if not, Con will be open for a build in W01, giving you F(Ank) & F(Con). See Syrian opening. PERCENTAGE RANKING (1) <MB:Jun80> Jack Masters' scoring system. For each country, a player's performance is expressed as a percentile, compared to how others are doing with the same country in the same year. Done on a year-by-year basis, permitting games to be rated as they continue. Presently he is rating only a limited number of games. PERMANENT SUBSTITUTE (1) <MB:Jun80> A few GMs permit a player to resign and name his own substitute, called a permanent substitute. This is quite controversial, as there is the suspicion that someone is being deliberately handed an undeserved victory. PERPETUAL ORDERS (1) <MB:Jun80> Orders that are repeated until countermanded. Generally used for small positions that have pieces that cannot expect to move or be dislodged. May be used by stalemate line members trying to convince the leader that they will not NMR. Some GMs do not permit; most do not mention them in their HRs. PHANTOM ORDERS (1) <MB:Jun80> A generalized term for substitute orders coming from someone outside the game (not the GM), usually an unnamed person. They may or may not be neutral, and are only very rarely used after 1901. Term is sometimes used derogatorily. PHILMAR (1) <MB:Jun80> Owners and distributors of Diplomacy in England. PHONEY LETTER (1) <MB:Jun80> You can "impersonate" *yourself* by writing an ally a letter which has no function other than to be remailed to a third party, for the purpose of deceiving him as to your true intentions. PHONEY READJUDICATION (1) <MB:Jun80> An extreme ploy designed to produce confusion, in which a player puts out a phoney issue of a zine. One or more party's moves are misrepresented. This was done in 1977ED by Tadek Jarski, but it succeeded principally in confusing his ally. It was also done in 1974N, with the player (Sharp) using the GM's own stationary and typewriter --- but it was foiled when the intended victim mentioned it to the GM. See Impersonation of the GM. PHREAK (1) <MN:Apr92> (1) A term used in the early 1970's to denote those individuals who hacked the U.S. phone companies and set up free phone calls etc. (2) More generally, any individual who is just interested in one hobby to an excessive degree: if they're not actually doing it they are thinking about it. A dip phreak would be someone who played in over 100 postal dip games, or played dip 7 days a week and was constantly looking out for more players! Phreaks have an unhealthy obsession. The compiler of this AZ is not a phreak, he just doesn't have anything better to do with his spare time... (Neither, alas, did the proofreader...HR) PICARDY OPENING (1) <MB:Jun80> F(Bre)-MID, A(Mar)-Spa, A(Par)-Pic preserves France's options in Bel without antagonizing any of his neighbours by entering ENG or Bur, and provides some flexibility in defending Bre, either by tempting the English fleet with support into Bel, defending Bre with A(Pic), or doing a self-standoff in Bre. PIEDMONT SYSTEM (1) <MB:Jun80> A(Mar)-Pie, F(Bre)-MID, (Par)-? A standoff in Pie may be arranged. This can be of great value to France, as it permits him to take Spa without having to guess the intentions of any Italian A(Pie). The standoff also provides Italy with good camouflage if he intends to make a grab for Tri in F01. Otherwise, entry into Pie by France is more likely to be a back door attack on Germany than an attack on Italy. PIGGOTT'S LAWS OF FANZINES (1) <MB:Jun80> (1) Good Fanzines are produced for the benefit of their editors. (2) A good fanzine contains material which cannot be obtained elsewhere in the same form. PINNED TO THE WALL (1) <MB:Jun80> A procedure whereby a unit is trapped in a position where it is less than fully useful. Thus, Turkey may find RF(Arm) quite acceptable, as it not only threatens neither Smy nor Syr, but blocks the entrance of a Russian army there, so long as the fleet is immobilized. PLAY BALANCE/REALISM (1) <MB:Jun80> See Realism/Play Balance. PLAYER CODE (1) <MB:Jun80> To avoid forgeries, a player may give GM, or be assigned, a code which only he and the GM know. Unfortunately, while forgeries are very rare, NMRs produced by the inadvertent failure to use the code likely are not. PLUG (1) <MB:Jun80> A recommendation of sorts for a zine, or game opening, etc, in another's zine. Sometimes done on an informal I'll-plug-you-if-you-plug-me basis. POLISH CORRIDOR (1) <MB:Jun80> Prussia and Silesia. POSTAL (1) <MB:Jun80> The format introduced by John Boardman in 1963, it is the only practical (or desirable) format for many players. Unlike some other modes, communications cannot be overheard (except by consent of one of the parties), players have a great deal of time to study the board and plan what to say, there is time for friendships to form, press occurs, games can be completed easily, a written record of the game is generated, and generally, a strict following of the rulebook is used. POSTAL DIPLOMACY RATING COMMISSION (1) <MB:Jun80> Founded by Rod Walker, this was a group of (mostly) ratings masters, trying to agree on a uniform set of rating criteria, and determining the rateability status of disrupted games. Recently revived by Konrad Baumeister in his service zine Vanilla Fudge. PREFERENCE LIST (1) <MB:Jun80> A list submitted by the entrant into a new game of Diplomacy, ranking his preference for countries, with most preferred at the top. The GM tries to give people their top choice. Opposite of random draw. PRESS (1) <MB:Jun80> Creative material printed after the moves. This may be used to influence or discuss the game, tell jokes or stories, start arguments ("Press Wars"), and generally entertain, especially if the game itself gets boring. Contributions can come also from the GM or outsiders. A press game is one where the players are selected for their press writing skills. See Black Press, Grey Press and Joke Orders. (2) <RE:89-90> A phenomenon of the postal game (though not entirely unknown in face-to-face play, courtesy of blackboards and the like), press consists of "open letter" statements, usually no more than a line or two from one player to another, which are included in the game report. The limits and style of press permitted may depend on the Games Master (GM), who has to type it up, but there are traditionally four types of press, of which only one is universally banned. The first, "White Press", is the sort to be seen on almost any game report. The second, "Grey Press" involves one player issuing fake press supposedly originating from someone else (for example, Turkey issues this item: "Germany-England: Attack Russia next turn as planned".). Some house rules do not permit fake press using the suffix "(Govt)", short for "Government", such that press labeled "France(Govt)-England" _must_ have been sent in by France. "Black Press", which is never printed, involves impersonation of the GM, including fake deadlines, and (usually) fake changes of address for other players. Finally, there is the "Press Saga", which may have little or nothing to do with the game or its players, which may consist of very, very long submissions, and usually tells a story (of sorts) in episodes with each game report. Whether or not the GM publishes the entire saga unedited will invariably depend on his house rules...and how much time he/she has. (3) <MN:Jan92> The more common definition of Black Press is that includes all fake press releases. Thus Richard's "Grey Press" would be considered to be Black press. From the GM's point of view there are two problems with press: (1) He has to retype it and (2) There is often only a limited amount of space available in the zine to run press. Neither of these problems arises in email play. PRINTTHRU (1) <MB:Jun80> In mimeo publishing, when material on one side appears (backwards) on the other side. Arises primarily from printing side two before giving side one at least twelve hours to dry, from letting the fluid level get too high, or from using too light a grade of paper. A fairly common problem. PROFESSIONALISM (1) <MB:Jun80> A vague term, generally denoting a non-amateur or non-hobbylike philosophy, product or financial state. Generally, but not always, used perjoratively by New Yorkers, often complimentarily by others. Uses include: GMing for profit (Rick Loomis, e.g.) use of offset printing, and sale of materials outside the usual postal channels (e.g. DW in game stores). PROMOTIONAL MAILING (1) <MB:Jun80> A mass mailing of unsolicited samples of a zine, with the goal of boosting circulation. Often done with one's first or second issue. PROPHETIC BUILDS (OR RETREATS, ETC) (1) <MB:Jun80> A system whereby a player submits his builds, removals and retreats along with his Fall moves (similarly, Summer retreats with Spring moves). Almost unheard of in North America, it is the norm in England. PROPZINE (1) <MB:Jun80> A zine designed for propaganda, generally with regard to hobby politics or personal feuding. It may take the form of an "open letter". Example: Vincit Veritas. PROSNITZ MANEUVER (1) <MB:Jun80> Or, "pulling a Prosnitz", this is a type of revenge in which an attacker throws all his forces against some of his enemies, leaving his SCs open to his least treacherous enemy. Supposedly, this arose from Eugene Prosnitz's capitulation to Edi Birsan, and stonewalling against Jeff Key and John Smythe. The irony was, the betrayal of Prosnitz was actually Birsan's idea. Prosnitz's stonewalling gave Birsan an important boost towards his victory in 1971BC, the first HA demo game. See Suicide against. PROSPECTS (1) <MB:Jun80> The ration of a player's SCs to the number of additional centres he needs to win. Thus, a 15 centre player's prospects would be 15/3=5.0 In a tournament scoring system suggested by Alan Calhamer, the points for each player would be allocated according to what proportion of the total prospects were his (see DW #2). PROVINCE ABBREVIATIONS (1) <MN:Feb92> In FTF games it is not practical to use full province names when writing orders and so players abbreviate the province names. In theory there is little excuse for doing so when playing postally but the practice is widespread (indeed I can't think of any player who always writes his orders out in full). This leads to GM defining standard abbreviations and woe betide anyone not using a GM's particular favourite abbreviation. There are differences between nations: Americans tend to use Tyr for Tyrolia whilst the rest of the world more commonly use Tyo, ENG is sometimes seen instead of ENC. Other American abbreviations are WES (for WMS), TYN (for TYS) and LYO (for GOL). PROXY ORDERS (1) <MB:Jun80> Orders submitted for Player A by Player B, done with A's consent, normally revokable. Like the related Joint Orders, their propriety and legality varies greatly. Players may seek to avoid responsibility for a given unit's orders by claiming (even falsely) that the orders were proxied. This latter case can be a more informal proxy, technically submitted by Player A, but by treaty done as A requests. For another approach, see Temporary Substitute Orders. PSEUDOFOLD (1) <MB:Jun80> An announced fold that is to take place in the future, or a drastic change in form, which doesn't quite come about. Examples are St George and the Dragon, Brutus Bulletin and Fol Si Fie. PUBLISHER (1) <MB:Jun80> The person who prints, collates, staples, addresses, stamps and mails the zine (though some of these functions he may arrange for others to do). This is usually the editor, but not always. DW was for a while published by Walt Buchanan, but edited by Conrad von Metzke, and John Weswig published Everything for a while, whilst Doug edited. PUPPET (1) <MB:Jun80> A player who agrees to order his units as instructed by the puppeteer, in return for some favour (usually survival), often forming the cutting edge of the puppeteer's attack. Were the puppet's units to be eliminated, the master would have to waste time bringing fresh units to the front. Further, he can dislodge the puppet's units, allowing them to take a strategic retreat. Sometimes the puppet's units form part of a stalemate line. The relationship may be short lived or insincere. The puppet may just be buying time until the opposition is more organized. The master may be seeking a way to finish off the puppet quicker than straight war. See Mutual Puppet. PURN (1) <MB:Jun80> A verb of unknown meaning. Long ago, Charles Reinsel threatened to come to NYC and "purn" John Boardman --- but never said what it meant. The word appears sometimes. QUICK RETREAT (1) <RE:89-90> Also known as a "Rapid Retreat", this is a Diplomacy tactic for responding to an unexpected invasion of a player's home centres, or perhaps a realignment of his alliances and/or strategy. A unit not occupying a supply centre, and too far from a home centre to reach it speedily, is dislodged, usually by an ally, in an autumn season, and the player disbands it rather than order a retreat. He is then entitled to build a replacement in a home centre, thus effectively swapping a distant unit for one at home, and perhaps an army for a fleet (or vice versa). Up