Diplomacy Zine -- EP #197 Chapter Seven From: Eric_S_Klien@cup.portal.com Date: Wed, 19 Sep 1990 23:46:44 +0000 Issue #197 of ELECTRONIC PROTOCOL: ************************************************************************ The best way to get information during a nuclear war is to listen to the Emergency Broadcast Radio Network, which is the organization that broadcasts those tests all the time: ANNOUNCER: This is a test. For the next thirty seconds, you will hear an irritating, high-pitched squeal. We here at the Emergency Broadcast Network are bored to death, waiting for a real nuclear war, so for the past few years we've been varying the pitch of the squeal just a little bit every time. Our theory is that if we find just the right pitch, it will drive certain species of birds insane with sexual desire. We know we're getting close, because during our last test a Cleveland man carrying one of those enormous portable radios turned up real loud was pecked to death by more than three hundred lusting pigeons. ************************************************************************ Chapter One contains: BLITZKRIEG, GETTYSBURG, RED STORM RISING, and PASSCHENDAELE And is published by daybell@aludra.usc.edu/Donald Daybell Chapter Two contains: DRAGONSLAYER, JACAL, MANHATTAN, VERSAILLES, DRESDEN, and KHAN And is published by sinhaa@mcmaster.ca/Anand Sinha Chapter Three contains: DAWN PATROL, BERLIN, EL ALAMEIN, SQUALANE, UNGAWE, CAPTAIN CAVEMAN, BRUSILOV OFFENSIVE And is published by cwekx@htikub5.bitnet/Constantijn Wekx Chapter Four contains: NICKEL, OZARK, DEADLY DAGGERS, YORKTOWN, MONTREUIL-SUR-MER, FIRE WHEN READY Chapter Five contains: ARCHANGEL, BORDEL, ERIS, MASADA, and YALTA And is published by jjcarette@watami.waterloo.edu/David Gibbs Chapter Six contains: TOKUGAWA, BERLIN WALL, HIROSHIMA, GENGHIS KHAN, SEA LION, VIOLENT PEACE And is published by ps9zrhmc@miamiu.bitnet/Peter Sweeney ------------ Chapter Seven ------------ Spring '06 of the game GROUND ZERO (EP #47) (GM is eric_s_klien@cup.portal.com/Eric Klien) France: 7103_3417@uwovax.uwo.ca/John Bryden Germany: Truls Arnegaard (trulsarn@ifi.uio.no) Russia: uunet!devcom!sma/Steve Adams Turkey: willis@trwind.ind.trw.com/Willis Marti Austria: Bhua_cif@uhura.cc.rochester.edu/Bobby Huang The new Austrian player has had problems contacting both Russia and Turkey. These countries should try all means to contact him NOW! I have orders from all players but Austria. Summer '02 of the game HELM'S DEEP (EP #57) (GM is eric_s_klien@cup.portal.com/Eric Klien) Germany: CONNELLY@uinpla.npl.uiuc.edu/Jim Connelly Italy: fnd@beach.cis.ufl.edu/Frank Di Vincenzo France: bmers58!dgibbs@bnrgate/David Gibbs Russia: sybase!sean@sun.com/Sean Fitts England: sinhaa@mcmaster.ca/Anand Sinha Turkey: steveb@cs.utexas.edu/Steve Benz Austria: {att,decwrl,rutgers,uunet,etc}!bcr!pyuxd!dxp or uunet!bcr!pyuxd!dxp@sun.com/Dave Peak Austrian F GRE was annhilated Fall '02 of the game HELM'S DEEP (EP #57) (GM is eric_s_klien@cup.portal.com/Eric Klien) Germany: CONNELLY@uinpla.npl.uiuc.edu/Jim Connelly Italy: fnd@beach.cis.ufl.edu/Frank Di Vincenzo France: jjcarette@watami.waterloo.edu/David Gibbs Russia: sybase!sean@sun.com/Sean Fitts England: sinhaa@mcmaster.ca/Anand Sinha Turkey: steveb@cs.utexas.edu/Steve Benz Austria: sun!uunet.uu.net!tnc!m0103/David Breeding AUSTRIA HAS A TOUGH DAY! AUS: F Adriatic Sea - Trieste A Budapest S F Adriatic Sea - Trieste A Galicia S A Serbia - Rumania <A Serbia - Rumania>[***] ENG: <A Belgium - Picardy> <F English Channel S A Belgium - Picardy>[att] <F Irish Sea - Mid-Atlantic Ocean> F Norway - Sweden <F North Sea - Belgium> FRA: <F Brest - English Channel> <F Mid-Atlantic Ocean S F Brest - English Channel>[att] A Marseilles S A Paris - Burgundy <A Paris - Burgundy> <A Picardy S A Paris - Burgundy>[att] GER: F Baltic Sea - Gulf of Bothnia A Kiel - Berlin A Munich S A Ruhr - Burgundy <A Prussia - Warsaw> <A Ruhr - Burgundy> ITA: A Albania S A Rumania - Serbia F Apulia - Adriatic Sea F Ionian Sea S F Apulia - Adriatic Sea A Venice S F Adriatic Sea - Trieste RUS: F Black Sea - Rumania A Rumania - Serbia F St. Petersburg(SC) - Livonia A Ukraine S A Warsaw H <A Warsaw S A Galicia - Silesia>[nso] TUR: F Aegean Sea S A Greece H A Bulgaria S A Rumania - Serbia F Constantinople S A Bulgaria H A Greece S A Rumania - Serbia Press: The Weekly World News, Vatican Edition. (All Hail the Holy Profit...) POPE GOES FISHING This week Pope Franjesco I went fishing out in the Adriatic. He took out "Vatican One", stationed out of Apulia, out to one of his favorite fishin n' holes: The Adriatic. When asked about the situation out east the Pope claimed that all efforts would be made to stop that "madman". There has been no comment as to identity of who he was talking about. AND NOW, WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR: Italy -> Austria: The name of the game is Diplomacy, not "Get miffed when things don't go your way"... Position Report Fall 1902 Game HEL AUS: A BUD A GAL F TRI = 3 ENG: A BEL F ECH F IRI F NTS F SWE = 5 FRA: F BRE F MAO A MAR A PAR A PIC = 5 GER: A BER F GOB A MUN A PRU A RUH = 5 ITA: F ADR A ALB F ION A VEN = 4 RUS: F LIV F RUM A SER A UKR A WAR = 5 TUR: F AEG A BUL F CON A GRE = 4 Supply Center Report Fall 1902 Game HEL AUS: BUD TRI VIE = 3( 3) ENG: BEL EDI LON LVP NOR SWE = 6( 5) + FRA: BRE MAR PAR POR SPA = 5( 5) GER: BER DEN HOL KIE MUN = 5( 5) ITA: NAP ROM TUN VEN = 4( 4) RUS: MOS RUM SER SEV STP WAR = 6( 5) + TUR: ANK BUL CON GRE SMY = 5( 4) + Winter '02 of the game HELM'S DEEP (EP #57) (GM is eric_s_klien@cup.portal.com/Eric Klien) Germany: CONNELLY@uinpla.npl.uiuc.edu/Jim Connelly Italy: fnd@beach.cis.ufl.edu/Frank Di Vincenzo France: jjcarette@watami.waterloo.edu/David Gibbs Russia: sybase!sean@sun.com/Sean Fitts England: sinhaa@mcmaster.ca/Anand Sinha Turkey: steveb@cs.utexas.edu/Steve Benz Austria: sun!uunet.uu.net!tnc!m0103/David Breeding Spring '03 turn is due by next Sunday, although I will publish earlier if I get results earlier. Winter '02 results: ENG: F Liverpool B RUS: A Moscow B TUR: F Smyrna B Position Report Winter 1902 Game HEL AUS: A BUD A GAL F TRI ENG: A BEL F ECH F IRI F LVP F NTS F SWE FRA: F BRE F MAO A MAR A PAR A PIC GER: A BER F GOB A MUN A PRU A RUH ITA: F ADR A ALB F ION A VEN RUS: F LIV A MOS F RUM A SER A UKR A WAR TUR: F AEG A BUL F CON A GRE F SMY Press: Ottoman Statesman ----------------- "Shah Takes Bath" With the Russian speedboat team at dock in Rumania, the Shah pronounced that the Black Sea was once again safe to bath in and splashed right in. The nation greeted this with considerable jubilation, and was, as a whole, ready to bear with the coastal flooding which resulted. "Underarm Patrol To Defend `Line of Death'" Ayatollah Joe Bob, of the Conservative Reformed Fundamentalist Born-Again Orthodox Shiite Moslem Right-to-life Jihad, sent off the newly formed naval arm of the `Hairy Underarm' brigade. Joe Bob decreed, "The reason that the infidels have not yet executed a Lepanto is because they fear our strength, and know that Mohammed is behind us in everything we do. He claims he has never heard of the Lepanto and still remains poised to carry it out even as we speak... Poised, like a snake, waiting to strike if we lapse in our defenses. But with this fleet, all will see that our soil and water will never be sullied by heathen invaders." "Tight Fit in Balkans" Sheik Abdul the Expendable, having now lasted 2 years in his assignment, hosted a gala celebration at the embassy in Rome to celebrate his survival. Sheik Abdul also hailed the news of the newly constructed fleet in Smyrna as "An end to the threat of Lepanto for years to come!" Others at the party weren't quite so optimistic. The noted Austrian Physicist, Karl Kaboomstein, was predicting that the amount of gunpowder in the Balkan region was quickly approaching a critical mass which, he said, could set off a chain reaction which would blow a hole from Venice to the Black Sea. Dr. Kaboomstein also unveiled another theory in which he suggests "Hippos could fly if you can only push them hard enough..." The French nation, having experienced a period of diplomatic difficulties, would like to announce that they have purged their diplomatic corps, and expect that no further problems will occur. The new French diplomatic corps would like to offer the Pope the best of luck at his fishing hole, and hopes that he catches himself a big one. -Pour Le President, Je suis David Gibbs. Fall '01 of the blind game BRUSILOV OFFENSIVE (EP #68) (GM is fnd@beach.cis.ufl.edu/Frank Di Vincenzo) I was wrong to be looking for these results. This game has been published in chapter three for some time. Spring '01 of the game AUSTERLITZ (EP #71) (GM is loeb@rita.laas.fr/Daniel Loeb) Austria: Army Budapest -> Rumania. (*bounce*) Austria: Army Vienna -> Trieste. Austria: Fleet Trieste -> Adriatic Sea. England: Army Liverpool -> Wales. England: Fleet Edinburgh -> North Sea. England: Fleet London -> English Channel. France: Army Marseilles SUPPORT Army Paris -> Burgundy. France: Army Paris -> Burgundy. France: Fleet Brest -> Picardy. Germany: Army Berlin -> Kiel. Germany: Army Munich -> Ruhr. Germany: Fleet Kiel -> Denmark. Italy: Army Rome -> Apulia. Italy: Army Venice HOLD. Italy: Fleet Naples -> Ionian Sea. Russia: Army Moscow -> Ukraine. Russia: Army Warsaw -> Galicia. Russia: Fleet Sevastopol -> Rumania. (*bounce*) Russia: Fleet St Petersburg (south coast) -> Gulf of Bothnia. Turkey: Army Constantinople -> Bulgaria. Turkey: Army Smyrna -> Ankara. Turkey: Fleet Ankara -> Constantinople. The next phase of austerlitz will be Movement for Fall of 1901. The deadline for orders will be Wed Sep 12 23:30:00 European Summer Time. Summer '01 of the game AUSTERLITZ (EP #71) (GM is loeb@rita.laas.fr/Daniel Loeb) Nothing happened. Fall '01 of the game AUSTERLITZ (EP #71) (GM is loeb@rita.laas.fr/Daniel Loeb) Austria: Army Budapest -> Rumania. (*bounce*) Austria: Army Trieste -> Serbia. (*bounce*) Austria: Fleet Adriatic Sea -> Trieste. (*bounce*) England: Army Wales -> English Channel -> Brest. England: Fleet North Sea -> Norway. England: Fleet English Channel CONVOY Army Wales -> Brest. France: Army Marseilles -> Spain. France: Army Burgundy SUPPORT Fleet Picardy -> Belgium. France: Fleet Picardy -> Belgium. Germany: Army Kiel -> Holland. Germany: Army Ruhr -> Munich. Germany: Fleet Denmark HOLD. Italy: Army Apulia SUPPORT Army Venice. Italy: Army Venice HOLD. Italy: Fleet Ionian Sea -> Tunis. Russia: Army Ukraine -> Rumania. Russia: Army Galicia -> Budapest. (*bounce*) Russia: Fleet Sevastopol SUPPORT Army Ukraine -> Rumania. Russia: Fleet Gulf of Bothnia -> Sweden. Turkey: Army Bulgaria -> Serbia. (*bounce*) Turkey: Army Ankara -> Constantinople. Turkey: Fleet Constantinople -> Aegean Sea. Ownership of supply centers: Austria: Budapest, Trieste, Vienna. England: Brest, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London, Norway. France: Belgium, Marseilles, Paris, Spain. Germany: Berlin, Denmark, Holland, Kiel, Munich. Italy: Naples, Rome, Tunis, Venice. Russia: Moscow, Rumania, Sevastopol, St Petersburg, Sweden, Warsaw. Turkey: Ankara, Bulgaria, Constantinople, Smyrna. Austria: 3 Supply centers, 3 Units: Builds 0 units. England: 5 Supply centers, 3 Units: Builds 2 units. France: 4 Supply centers, 3 Units: Builds 1 unit. Germany: 5 Supply centers, 3 Units: Builds 2 units. Italy: 4 Supply centers, 3 Units: Builds 1 unit. Russia: 6 Supply centers, 4 Units: Builds 2 units. Turkey: 4 Supply centers, 3 Units: Builds 1 unit. The next phase of aust will be Adjustments for Winter of 1901. The deadline for orders will be Thu Sep 20 08:37:33 European Summer Time. Publisher comments: Quote is from Dave Barry, "You'll Look Radiant" provided by dougi@astro.as.utexas.edu/Doug Ingram Letters related to quiz that was published in EP #192: From: "Matt Crawford" <matt@oddjob.uchicago.edu> " The biggest surprise in the voting is that nearly everyone voted for a minimum wage. If the government thinks everyone should earn $20000 a year, it seems pretty stupid to try to do this by forcing all employers to pay $20000. If an employer can only pay $19000, then the person can't get a job and then has to go on welfare which pays him the $20000. It would be much better if the government let him take the job that paid $19000 and then gave him $1000 a year in welfare." It's only a surprise to you, because all Libertarians voluntarily put blinders on. The fact is, all Libertarians I've met act as if the had to submit to an IQ reduction in order to get their membership card. If the hypothetical employer cannot afford to pay $20k to get an employee, he goes out of business, reducing the supply of his product, allowing prices to rise until some other employer in the same business can afford to pay the $20k. My reply: Forcing employers out of business sounds much more harmful than having the government make up the additional $1000. Particularly, when competition overseas would be the probable new employer if costs were raised in the U.S. From: Jeremy Billones <jbillone@jarthur.Claremont.edu> >The biggest surprise in the voting is that nearly everyone voted >for a minimum wage. If the government thinks everyone should >earn $20000 a year, it seems pretty stupid to try to do this by >forcing all employers to pay $20000. If an employer can only >pay $19000, then the person can't get a job and then has to go >on welfare which pays him the $20000. It would be much better if >the government let him take the job that paid $19000 and then gave >him $1000 a year in welfare. This presupposes that welfare should match the minimum wage. I don't think so; welfare should be lower (certainly below the "poverty line) as an incentive to getting off the dole and in the workforce. I also think the theory that allows the government to specify an 8-hour workweek and restrictions on child labor also allows the establishment of a minimum wage. My reply: The 8-hour workweek should not be specified by the government. Restrictions on child labor are fine, since children have no control over their lives and their parents should have less ways to abuse them. The argument about elimination of jobs has always bothered me. If the work needs to be done, they'll hire somebody at the prevailing rate. If they can't, because the relative worth of the job is less than the minimum wage, then the job must not be worth doing from a demand standpoint. When the demand for the job rises high enough, the job will exist. Basing the existence of the job on the minimum wage, rather than the demand for the work, appears to be putting the cart in front of the horse. My reply: Jobs that are eliminated here would be transfered out of the country or simply eliminated if the jobs were in service areas that can't be provided by overseas companies. "then the job must not be worth doing from a demand standpoint". If an employer is willing to play any money for a job position it shows there is some demand. But obviously the demand for shoeshiners is lower than the demand for computer progammers. If necessary, the less critical parts of our society would close down as the minimum wage was increased. So to sum my arguement up: Raising the minimum wage reduces the amount of jobs. I believe that it is better to have people working than to be on the dole from the government. Particularly since I pay for that dole! From: MAGNUS@laban.UU.SE Although I'm an european, even if my country isn't a member of NATO, I didn't understand the question (in #192) about paying for our own defence. I have only had the opportunity to read the result in #194, which may be an explanation. Is this a big public discussion topic in USA? It's interesting for us to know such things, and possibly participate in the arguing. My reply: It is now a very big issue in the U.S. that we have hundreds of thousands of troops protecting Europe and Japan whose salaries are being paid by U.S. taxpayers. Now that Europe and Japan have further failed to pay their fair share in the gulf crisis, I expect that all these U.S. troops will be pulled out soon. When you have the Germans contributing more to the Russian defense than to the cost of the U.S. defense of Germany, it is time for action. Additional answers to quiz that was published in EP #192: Person number seven: >Military service should be voluntary. (No draft) Maybe (draft only in time of war) >Government should not control radio, TV or the press. Yes >Repeal regulations on sex by consenting adults. Maybe (are there any kind of STD disclosure laws?) >Drugs laws do more harm than good. Repeal them. No >Let people immigrate and emmigrate freely. No (not as long as there is a government subsidized welfare system) >Farmers should farm without quotas or subsidies. Yes >People are better off with free trade than tariffs. Yes (but not necessarily "our" people) >Minimum wage laws eliminate jobs. Repeal them. No (assuming some exceptions continue, i.e. waitress [I'm not sure of the current law]) >End taxes. Pay for services voluntarily. No (Yeah, right) >Europeans & Japanese should pay for their own defense. Yes (but the question implies that Europe doesn't - they do already) ---------- I'm aiming for 2 sigma right of the average. Let me know how this turns out. Eric's notes: Neither the Europeans or the Japanese pay their full defense costs. But they probably will within five years. And I have no idea what STD disclosure laws are. Person number eight: 1: no, national service should be universal and compulsory. 2: government should regulate profits (via an excess profits tax), but not contents. 3: mutually participative activity *in private* involving only consenting adults is not an appropriate object for any sort of societal regulation. 4: i wish i knew the answer to the drug problem! 5: emigrate freely, yes. immigration should be limited to (a) people who have talents or skills which will contribute to the welfare of the country; and (b) people whose support is guaranteed by a current citizen -- in other words, such immigrants would not be eligible for any governmental support or dole. 6: if farmers can't make a profit on their own, let them sell their land; farmland is very valuable, and as far as i know selling it would provide enough capital for most farm families that the interest payments would eke out their incomes reduced during a retraining period. it may be that some case can be made for subsidies for crops essential to the national welfare (eg jojoba for oil feedstocks?) but i don't offhand know of any compelling ones. 7: yes. 8: no. any firm which can't make enough profit to pay its workers a living wage doesn't deserve to be in business. if unemployment rises as a result, we'll go into a recession and the economy will re-stabilize with lower proces and wages. as you can see, my position requires that the minimum wage be subject to being lowered (or raised) as a result of changes in general wage levels and in cost of living. 9: be real! how can huge necessary public utilities originally be funded, except by surpluses in government income accounts? the days of the South Sea Bubble and the robber barons are over. tell me how soon we'd have all the technological spin-offs from the space program if it had had to be funded by a huge number of small individual voluntary payments from people who have to put food on the table and clothes on their kids' backs. 10: no, they and we should contibute to an international peacekeeping force and reduce nationalistic expenditures on arms. i admit that i don't know how it could be organized and supervised so as to evade the Praetorian Guard syndrome, but the present situation is intolerable. Person number nine: 1. Yes 2. Maybe 3. Yes 4. No 5. Yes 6. Maybe 7. Maybe 8. No 9. No 10. Yes In summary this gives us: Yes = 20 Points, Maybe = 10 points, No = 0 points. Personal issues: YYYMYYMNY = 140 YMYYYYYYM = 160 YYYMYYMNY = 140 NYYMYYNMN = 100 NMYMNYNMY = 90 ----------- = 630/9 = 70 Economic issues: YYYYNYYYM = 150 YYYYNYYYM = 150 NNNNNYNNN = 20 NYNNNYNNN = 40 YYYYYYYNY = 160 ------------ = 520/9 = 57.78 Our average for our first six voters was 80 and 63.33 which is classified as Libertarian wich was very wild. An additional three votes have changed things quite a bit, the average of 70 and 57.78 makes us a Libertarian/Centrist. Categories were: Left Liberal PI 100-60, EI 0-20 = 15 plus PI 100-80 and EI 40 = 4 plus PI 60, EI 0-20 = 3 Authoritarian PI 0-30, EI 0-30 = 16 plus PI 40, EI 0-20 = 3 plus EI 40, PI 0-20 = 3 Right Conservative PI 0-30, EI 70-100 = 16 plus PI 0-20, EI 60 = 3 plus PI 40, EI 80-100 = 3 Libertarian PI 80-100, EI 60-100 = 15 plus PI 70, EI 70-100 = 4 plus PI 60, EI 80-100 = 3 ---------------------------------------------------------- = 22 * 4 = 88 Centrist PI 40-60, EI 40-60 = 9 plus EI 30, EI 50 = 1 plus EI 50, PI 70 and PI 30 = 2 plus EI 70, PI 50 = 1 ---------------------------------------------------------- = 88 + 13 = 101 Libertarian/Left Liberal = PI 80-100, EI 50 = 2 Libertarian/Centrist = PI 70, EI 60 and PI 60, EI 70 = 2 Left Liberal/Authoritarian = PI 50, EI 0-20 = 2 Left Liberal/Centrist = PI 70, EI 40 and PI 60, EI 30 = 2 Right Conservative/Authoritarian = PI 0-20, EI 50 = 2 Right Conserative/Libertarian = PI 50, EI 90-100 = 2 Centrist/Authoritarian = PI 40, EI 30 and PI 30, EI 40 = 2 Centrist/Right Conservative = PI 30, EI 60 and PI 40, EI 70 = 2 ---------------------------------------------------------- = 101 + 2*8 = 117 Left Liberal/Libertarian/Centrist = PI 80, EI 50 = 1 Left Liberal/Authoritarian/Centrist = PI 50, EI 20 = 1 Right Conservative/Libertarian/Centrist = PI 50, EI 80 = 1 Right Conservative/Authoritarian/Centrist = PI 20, EI 50 = 1 ---------------------------------------------------------- = 117 + 4 = 121 0-100 = 11 combinations so 11 * 11 = 121, I think I got it right! I added up the positions to make sure I didn't goof when turning a simple chart into the description of above. The Centrist position was smaller than the rest. Note that there are 17 possible categories. From: Jamie Dreier <PL436000@brownvm.brown.edu> Here is my answer to the Quiz Question from Danny Loeb in EP #195 The maximum "connectedness" of pairs of regions is 8. The following pairs are connected by 8 paths each: <North Sea, English Channel> <English Channel, Mid Atlantic Ocean> <North Sea, Mid Atlantic Ocean> <Ionian Sea, Mid Atlantic Ocean> [MAO - Eng] [MAO - Iri - Eng] [MAO - NAO - Lvp - Wal - Eng] [MAO - Bre - Eng] [MAO - Gas - Par - Pic - Eng] [MAO - Spa - Mar - Bur - Bel - Eng] [MAO - Wes - Lyo - Pie - Tyo - Mun - Ruh - Hol - Nth - Eng] [MAO- Naf - Tun - Ion - Aeg - Con - Bla - Sev - Mos - StP - - Bar - Nwg - Edi - Yor - Lon - Eng] ---------------------------- [Nth - Eng] [Nth - Lon - Eng] [Nth - Yor - Wal - Eng] [Nth - Edi - Lvp - Iri - Eng] [Nth - Bel - Eng] [Nth - Hol - Ruh - Bur - Pic - Eng] [Nth - Nwg - NAO - MAO - Eng] [Nth - Hel - Kie - Mun - Tyo - Pie - Mar - Gas - Bre - Eng] ---------------------------- [MAO - NAO - Cly - Edi - Nth [MAO - Iri - Lvp - Yor - Nth [MAO - Eng - Nth [MAO - Bre - Pic - Bel - Nth [MAO - Gas - Bur - Ruh - Hol - Nth [MAO - Spa - Mar - Pie - Tyo - Mun - Kie - Hel - Nth [MAO - Wes - Lyo - Tus - Ven - Tri - Vie - Boh - Sil - Ber - Bal - - Den - Nth [MAO - Naf - Tun - Ion - Gre - Bal - Rum - Ukr - Mos - Lvn - Bot - - Swe - Ska - Nth --------------------------- [Ion - Tun - Naf - MAO] [Ion - Tys - Wes - MAO] [Ion - Nap - Rom - Tus - Lyo - Spa - MAO] [Ion - Apu - Ven - Pie - Mar - Gas - MAO] [Ion - Adr - Tri - Tyo - Mun - Bur - Par - Bre - MAO] [Ion - Alb - Ser - Bud - Vie - Sil - Ber - Kie - Ruh - Kie - Ruh - - Bel - Eng - MAO] [Ion - Gre - Bul - Rum - Gal - War - Pru - Bal - Den - Nth - Lon - - Wal - Iri - MAO] [Ion - Eas - Syr - Arm - Sev - Mos - StP - Bar - Nwg - NAO - MAO] ____________________ I am assuming that Switzerland may not be included in any path. Given that, no other pairs of "8-connected" regions are possible. The reason is that each member of an 8-connected pair must have at least 8 neighbors. The only regions with 8 neighbors (or more) are MAO, Nth, Eng, and Ion. But Ion cannot be 8-connected to either Eng or Nth, because of the "bottleneck": [MAO-Spa-Mar-(Switz)-Mun-Sil-War-Mos] Any path connecting Ion to either Nth or Eng will have to pass through one of these regions, and there are only seven. Jamie Dreier Jamie is correct, here is Danny's complete answer: (A) There are several pairs of provinces with exactly 8 independant paths joining them. Here they are listed in full. No other pairs of provinces with 8 paths are possible nor are any pairs with 9 or more paths. However, the paths listed below for each set of provinces are not the only ones possible. ENGLISH CHANNEL <-> NORTH SEA Eng-MAO-NAO-Nwg-Nth, Eng-Iri-Lpl-Edi-Nth, Eng-Wal-Yor-Nth, Eng-Lon-Nth, Eng-Nth, Eng-Bel-Nth, Eng-Pic-Bur-Ruh-Hol-Nth, Eng-Bre-Par-Bur-Mun-Kie-Hel-Nth MID-ATLANTIC OCEAN <-> NORTH SEA MAO-NAO-Lpl-Yor-Nth, MAO-Iri-Wal-Lon-Nth, MAO-Eng-Nth, MAO-Bre-Pic-Bel-Nth, MAO-Gas-Bur-Ruh-Hol-Nth, MAO-Spa-Mar-Pie-Trl-Mun-Kie-Hel-Nth, MAO-Wes-TyS-Tus-Ven-Tri-Vie-Boh-Sil-Ber-Kie-Hel-Nth, MAO-NAf-Tun-Ion-Alb-Ser-Bud-Gal-War-Pru-Bal-Den-Nth IONIAN SEA <-> NORTH SEA Ion-NAf-MAO-NAO-Nwg, Ion-TyS-Wes-Spa-Gas-Bre-Eng-Nth, Ion-Nap-Rom-Tus-GOL-Mar-Bur-Bel-Nth, Ion-Apu-Ven-Trl-Mun-Ruh-Hol, Ion-Adr-Tri-Vie-Boh-Sil-Ber-Kie-Hel-Nth, Ion-Alb-Ser-Bud-Gal-Sil-Pru-Bal-Den-Nth, Ion-Gre-Bul-Rum-Ukr-War-Lvn-GOB-Swe-Ska-Nth, Ion-Aeg-Con-Bla-Sev-Mos-StP-Nwy-Nth IONIAN SEA <-> MID-ATLANTIC OCEAN Ion-Tun-NAf-MAO, Ion-TyS-Wes-MAO, Ion-Nap-Rom-Tus-GOL-Spa-MAO, Ion-Apu-Ven-Pie-Mar-Gas-MAO, Ion-Adr-Tri-Trl-Mun-Bur-Par-Bre-MAO, Ion-Alb-Ser-Bud-Vie-Boh-Sil-Ber-Kie-Buh-Bel-Eng-MAO, Ion-Gre-Bul-Rum-Gal-War-Pru-Bal-Den-Nth-Lon-Wal-Iri-MAO, Ion-Aeg-Con-Bla-Sev-Mos-StP-Nwy-Nwg-NAO-MAO MID-ATLANTIC OCEAN <-> ENGLISH CHANNEL MAO-NAO-Lpl-Wal-Eng, MAO-Iri-Eng, MAO-Eng, MAO-Bre-Eng, MAO-Gas-Par-Pic-Eng, MAO-Spa-Mar-Bur-Bel-Eng, MAO-Wes-GOL-Pie-Trl-Mun-Ruh-Hol-Nth-Eng, MAO-NAf-Tun-Ion-Aeg-Con-Bla-Sev-Mos-StP-Nwy-Nwg-Edi-Yor-Lon-Eng ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( QUIZ ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) From: loeb@moon.greco-prog.fr (Daniel Loeb) In order to keep my reputation as problem-poser, here is another one. (Q) In the game of chess, White has 20 possibilities for his opening. However, later in the game one can find positions inwhich their are many more possible moves. What is the chess position with the most legal moves? (The position must be one that can LEGALLY arise in a chess game, but you need not show how it can come up.) How many moves are possible? I will send Eric the answer next week. The following was scribed by <AS365156@Orion.YorkU.CA> code named Video Dienstag. I could use some more scribes! A View From The Other Side Of The Pond (Comments on the Protocol House Rules) By Stuart Eves Perhaps the most striking feature of the Protocol house rules is that NMRs and illegal orders are not allowed. While some might argue that this is more of a safety net than players deserve, I think personally that the improvement in the quality of games which results makes it worth sacrificing the possibility of player error. (One could argue that any player who needs to rely on his opponents making mistakes (illegal moves) is not the world's greatest diplomat!) The only common diplomatic ploy which becomes closed as a result is the deliberate misorder. This is one tactic which I feel is over- used and over-rated anyway, since if it works, and you convince your opponents that you made an error, then you gain a reputation as a player capable of mistakes, which may be hard to lose. It is difficult to inspire confidence in neighbours who consider you to be inefficient. In my enthusiasm for the NO-NMR house rule I guess I'm preaching to the converted. If you weren't in favour of the idea, I guess you wouldn't be subbing to Protocol in the first place. No zines currently operate this sort of house rule over here, but I really wish one did! Since the Protocol house rules are the only example of the genre from the U.S. that I've seen, I don't know whether offering players the chance to vote on house rule changes is a common practice. However, as someone brought up on dictatorial U.K. house rules, the policy adopted in Protocol appears marvelously enlightened. I wonder if players take advantage of the opportunity very often? It is possible that this article may suggest one or two areas where such changes might be seen as desirable. It should be borne in mind though, that my comments are based in part on the U.K. rule book, which is different to the one in use in the U.S. A number of Protocol's house rules are items rarely seen in the U.K. Perpetual orders and general orders are not exactly prohibited; they are just not mentioned in most house rules. Similarly, the DIAS issue does not receive a lot of column-inches over here. All the U.K. zines that I've seen are non- DIAS, but that may just be the way our rules are worded. Press is common in the U.K., but is not generally debated under the titles "Black, White and Grey". This may be because a number of zines allow reserved datelines, which rather changes the nature of the press. Basically, it turns some press "whiter than white", since you can be sure who it's from, and makes all other press some varying shade of grey. One of two of the Protocol house rules concerning obscure areas of the rule book did surprise me rather. Allowing self-dislodging convoys is one example. Though they are not prohibited by our rule book either, the conventional wisdom would appear to be that they are a bad idea. Diplomacy is, of course, only a rough approximation of true warfare. However, the basic principle that "you don't shoot the guys wearing the same uniforms as yourself" would seem to be what motivated the rules on self-dislodgement. With this in mind, it seems rather inconsistent with the spirit of the rules to allow self- dislodging convoys. Another area where there's definitely a lot of confusion concerns "unwanted convoys" (and, in particular, where an army moving from one coastal province to another is also convoyed, sometimes by a foreign player who wasn't asked to "help"). Considering the rarity of them, they do seem to receive a disproportionately large amount of attention, and the situation isn't helped by the fact that the U.S. and U.K. rule books differ in this area. Having said this, Rule XII.6 seems very vague indeed, and certainly needs replacement. Your version of the ambiguous convoy routes ruling actually helps here. "If one route succeeds the move succeeds" is consistent with the rule that units may exchange places if one or more is convoyed (e.g., A Ank->Con, F Con->Ank, F Bla C, A Ank->Con). Our rule book is inconsistent in this respect, since we allow the exchange of places, but our convoys fail if one route fails. Given your fortunate situation, why not just reword XII.6 as "Both a convoy route and an over-land route. If one route succeeds, the move succeeds", in order to be consistent with the other rules. (I accept that this will generate different outcomes to some situations.) This saves all the nonsense of trying to interpret the phrase "totality of the orders", or of getting players to state that they wish to be convoyed by a neighbour's fleet. You do not attempt to distinguish which route an army is taking in your ambiguous convoy rule; why attempt to do so here? I had not appreciated the problem with XIII.2, the other vague rule which you've replaced. Your solution is, of course, entirely sensible. "You must disband, you may build". In general, Protocol's house rules are much more specific than most zines, but there are a couple of items which I find totally the opposite. These are the items in the "How To Get Ejected" section. I refer to sections 2) and 3) regarding failure to conduct negotiations and goofy play. Nowhere are any time limits or definitions given as to exactly what will get you ejected. Is A Smy-Syr as a Turkish opening in 1901 goofy enough, for example? While some sort of time limit on communications could be imposed, I suppose, I don't see how "goofy" could ever be defined in anything other than purely subjective terms. There is always the risk that you'll penalize other players. If you can persuade an opponent to do something dumb, and he/she is then replaced for goofy play by a much more able opponent, it is a rather poor reward for your efforts. These concerns aside, the Protocol house rules are definitely superior to most that I've seen over here. Since I haven't actually been able to obtain a copy of the U.S. rule book yet, some of my comments may contain errors of interpretation, but I hope they have provided food for thought. Eric's reply: I have clarified my houserules based on the suggestions in this letter. Copies of the latest houserules are available at request, or if there is a lot of demand I could fill up an issue with them. ****************************************************************************** To join in the fun, send your name, home address, home and work phone numbers, and country preferences to Eric_S_Klien@cup.portal.com. ****************************************************************************** Up