Diplomacy zine -- Big England issue From: Eric_S_Klien@cup.portal.com Date: Tue, 06 Jun 1989 01:19:23 +0000 Issue #68 of ELECTRONIC PROTOCOL: Spring '08 of the game PANZER (BNC number 1989H) TURKEY DOESN'T LET ANYTHING STOP HIS MOVE INTO THE ION! AUSTRIA: (A VEN SA GERMAN MUN-TYR) ENGLAND: F NOR-SWE, A FIN SF NOR-SWE, A STP SA LIV-LIV, (A LIV-H) A HOL-H, F DEN-H, F NTS SA HOL-HOL, F HEL SF DEN-DEN FRANCE: A GAS-PAR, F MAR-H, A APU-ADR, (F ION-H), F TUN SF ION-ION A TYS SF ION-ION, A ROM SA VEN-VEN GERMANY: A MOS-LIV, A PRU SA MOS-LIV, A WAR SA MOS-LIV A UKR-MOS, A KIE-H, A RUH SA KIE-KIE, F BER SA KIE-KIE A BUR-GAS, A BUD-VIE, A MUN-BUR, F BAL-GOB TURKEY: A TYR-PIE, A TRI SA AUSTRIAN VEN-VEN, F GRE SF AEG-ION F EME SF AEG-ION, F ALB SF AEG-ION, F AEG-ION (at last!) F BUL(sc)-AEG Press: None. GM Notes on PANZER: France must retreat or disband F ION. ION can go to ALB or NAP. England must disband A LIV. Fall '04 of the game MAELSTROM (BNC number 1989AA) THE GERMAN MONSTER PREPARES TO TAKE OVER THE BOARD! AS THE TURKISH DRAGON TRIES TO KEEP PACE... ENGLAND: F BAR-NWS Out of the ice-locked harbor before the freeze! (A NOR-H) Idling away the time by dividing a large number by a list of all primes smaller that the square root of the number! F NTS-ECH Binoculars at the ready... I know there's a nude beach here somewhere! F IRI-MAO The new fleet tentatively unfurls it sails! Trim the gaff topsail! F BRE SF IRI-MAO The old salts help the new recruits out, cheering them all the way! Tighten up that jib, boys! A GAS-PAR Looking for one measly decent cup of coffee! Who says we only drink tea? A BEL-BUR Tired of not knowing whether to call itself Belgish or Belch! Burgandish has a nice ring to it! FRANCE: (F MAO-BRE), (F WME-SPA(sc)), (A MAR-SPA), A TUS-ROM (F TUN SF ITALIAN TYS-ION) GERMANY: A HOL-BEL, A RUH SA HOL-BEL, F DEN-NTS, A STP-NOR, F SWE SA STP-NOR (A MUN-TYR), (A GAL-VIE), A SEV-H ITALY: (A VIE-TRI), (A BUD SA VIE-TRI), (A TYR-VIE), A PIE-VEN, F ROM-NAP (F TYS-TUN) RUSSIA: (F BLA-SEV) TURKEY: A SER-BUD, A RUM SA SER-BUD, A BUL SA RUM-RUM, (F TRI SF ADR-ADR) F ADR SF TRI-TRI, F AEG-ION, F SMY-EME GM Notes: Italy had to disband A Bud. England can retreat A Nor to Fin. If he does so he will have to disband another unit. France can retreat F Mao to Naf, Por, Gas, or Nao. If he does so he will lose his build. Germany will only have room for two of his builds. ENG: BRE EDI LON LVP PAR STP = 6( 6) FRA: MAR POR ROM SPA TUN = 5( 4) + GER: BEL BER DEN HOL KIE MOS MUN NOR SEV = 11( 8) +++ SWE WAR ITA: NAP VEN VIE = 3( 5) -- TUR: ANK BUD BUL CON GRE RUM SER SMY TRI = 9( 7) ++ Press: When all else fails follow directions. Tur-Ita: How's it going? Black Sea (Tass) The Russian Czar anounces that he has formally abdicated his throne. He acknowledges the disgrace brought upon the Russian people as his fault, and begs for their forgiveness. Press spokesman for the Czar said that he has decided to move to America, and live out his life in peace. He asks only that the Anglo-German rulers be fair to the peasents of Russia, and allow them self-determination in the future. Did someone call a pig pile on Italy? I'm sure I heard someone call a pig pile on Italy. Fall '03 of the game RED STORM (BNC number 1989AB) (GM is MaryFW@cup.portal.com) Fall 1903 Results for Red Storm ------------------------- Orders: Fall 1903 England: A Wal-LIV, F CLY S A Wal-Liv, <F NTH-Lon>, F Nwg-NWY, A STP-H Germany: F Gob-SWE, F Bal-DEN, <A MOS S A Pru-War>, <A PRU-War>, A HOL play Gin Rummy with A Bel (hold), A Ruh runs screaming at the Italians (A Ruh-MUN) Russia: A Bud-SER, <F LIV-Pru>, F Rum-BUL(ec), <A SEV-Mos>, <A UKR-War> Turkey: <F AEG-Gre>, <A GRE-Alb>, <A <SER> S *Russian* A Bud>, <F CON-Aeg>, <A SMY-Con> Italy: A Vie-BOH, A TRI S *Russian* A Bud-Ser, A Mun-KIE, <A VEN-Alb>, F ADR C A Ven-Alb, <F ION-Gre> France: F ENG-Nth, F MAO-Eng, A Bre-PIC, A BEL S *English* F Nth-Hol, A LON-H, <F <LIV>-H> Orders inclosed in <> have failed. The final position of each unit is given in all CAPS. If the final position is inclosed in <>,then that unit must retreat. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Centers: England: -1 Liv, Edi, Nwy. StP Germany: -0 Ber, Mun, Den, Hol, Swe, Mos Russia: +1 War, Sev, Ser, Bud, Rum, Bul Turkey: -1 Con, Smy, Ank, Gre Austria: none Italy: +1 Rom, Nap, Ven, Tri, Vie, Kie, Tun France: -0 Par, Bre, Mar, Spa, Por, Lon, Bel ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Press: England: Those damn Francs are sleeping with the Italians! Germany: Hmmmm.... Turkey : Die! Die! Die! (Oh, are they dead already? Sorry!) Italy{ : Hmmmm.... Austria: Gurgle gurlge... France : Die Enleesh peeg-dogs! Russia : Gurgle, gurlge... sputter.{ I am ALIVE!{ I am ALIVE! All : Hmmmmm..... Wales (Reuters) The new English Prime Minister, brought to power after the late French Invasion, has announced a plan for beating back the French armies, and returning England to her former might. "We shall fight them on the beaches" he said. England is "making diplomatic overtures to any and all countries who fear French conquest." "We must keep Europe safe for fish and chips!" he exclaimed. "None of that brie rot." We hereby demand that the French withdraw all forces from England and the English Channel, which rightly belongs to England. Guess who sent this press. Here are several clues. 1. there is an E in my name. 2. I am going to win this game :-) 3. It has only snowed here once in the last ~10 years Hurry, don't be late!! You could already have won....... Paris (AP) The French Government has found, prosecuted, and put to death@@ three British spies working within Paris. The British agents were found guilty of espionage and supporting terrorist acts. At such a crucial point in the bloody war that has plagued the France for the past two years, it was fortunate that France was able to remove the British scum before the French plans for this Fall could be communicated back to England. The King of France has ordered that any other suspected spies be arrested and brought to trial. The King demands that the English Prime Minister come out of hiding and formally surrender to the French who have done their level best to ensure that no civilians were harmed during the heated battles. The King was heard to say, "My men will not stop the hunt for the evil Prime Minister until they have found him and brought him to trial. I believe that even the English people have lost faith in him." The King vows that any Brit that resist the French forces will be put to death at once. The Kings parting words at the Annual Social in Paris last night were, "Now the English people will have a leadership that they can lookup to". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Red Storm GM Notes: Remember Red Storm? Has it really been a month since our last 'orders'? Well here it is. Back by popular demand. The game you've all forgotten... Red Storm! After a number of set back I feel we've reach a point where we have a good group of players who aren't going to mess around by 'forgetting' to send in orders. So with no more delays, let the game go on! I asked this with the last posting I had, but I'll ask it again here and elsewhere. When sending your orders PLEASE include something to let me know that it relates to Red Storm and not to any of the other games I'm in (either GMing or playing) online. Oh, one last item before I forget... Retreats/disbands/builds are due IN my mailbox by 10:00pm EASTERN time this TUESDAY, June 6th 1989. Should any of you be having computer that keeps you off-line my number is 617-569-4049. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Autumn and Winter '04 of the game PEARL HARBOR (BNC number 1989AV) (GM is Adams@multiflow.com/Steve Adams) ============================================================================== Retreats : AUSTRIA : A TRI retreats to BUD RUSSIA : F ANK disbands ============================================================================== Builds : (number of total supply centers are in []) (+ = build, - = disband, 0 = no change) AUSTRIA : 0 [3] ENGLAND : +1 [7] F London FRANCE : 0 [5] GERMANY : 0 [7] ITALY : 0 [5] RUSSIA : -2 [2] F Ankara diabands, F Black Sea disbands TURKEY : +1 [5] A Constantinople ============================================================================== Unit Locations : AUSTRIA : A Vienna, A Serbia, A Budapest ENGLAND : A St. Petersburg, F Norway, F English Channel, F Mid-Atlantic, F Western Mediterranean, F Tunis, F London FRANCE : A Picardy, A Brest, A Paris, A Burgandy, F Marsailles GERMANY : F Kiel, A Warsaw, A Munich, A Ruhr, A Belgium, A Tuscany, A Silesia ITALY : A Bohemia, A Trieste, F Adriatic, A Albania, F Greece RUSSIA : A Sevastapol, A Ukraine TURKEY : F Rumania, A Bulgaria, F Ankara, A Smyrna, A Constantinople ============================================================================== _Weekly World News_ 1904 Builds Edition RUSSIAN NAVY COMPLETELY DISBANDED! ENGLISH BUILD YET ANOTHER FLEET! TURKS RAISE AN ARMY! Russia, having suffered severe losses in the last few seasons has abandoned her navy, scuttling craft off the coast of Ankara, and in other parts of the Black Sea. Two Russian armies remain to defend Moscow and Sevastapol. In London, the Royal Navy has launched yet another fleet. England definately rules the seas, as only the Italian Navy has fleets in open water. The Turkish fleets are currently tied up in the Balkans, a German fleet sits in Kiel, and one Italian Fleet occupies Greece. Afrer regaining all lost home territory, the Turks have built an Army and may now seek further conquest. Having vanquished the Russians (with help from England and Germany) she is free to concentrate her units on territorial gains. ============================================================================== Spring 1905 moves are due Sunday, June 4, at 10PM EDT. Happy Diplomacy! -Steve (gm) Spring '05 of the game PEARL HARBOR (BNC number 1989AV) We have lost the Italian player. The new player will be raymond_w_setzer@cup.portal.com. Moves due next Sunday, the 11th. #6 PEARL HARBOR (GM is Adams@multiflow.com/Steve Adams) ENGLAND: Jim@xn.ll.mit.edu/Jim L. Washburn GERMANY: Ron@synthesis.com/Ron Lay RUSSIA: Dwood@umdc.umd.edu/David Wood TURKEY: Jhl@frith.egr.msu.edu/John H. Lawitzke AUSTRIA: Okamoto@hp-ses.hp.com/Jeff Okamoto ITALY: Raymond_w_setzer@cup.portal.com/Ray Setzer FRANCE: Jwilson@s.cs.uiuc.edu/Jeff Wilson Fall '03 of D-DAY (BNC number 1989AW) (GM is MaryFW@Cup.portal.com) Moves not received from all players, results will be e-mailed. Spring '02 of NAVARONE (BNC number 1989AX) (GM is Pwoodruf@orion.cf.uci.edu) Orders for SPRING 1902 (failures in parentheses) AUSTRIA: A Tri - Vie, A Bud S A Tri - Vie, F Alb - Gre, A Ser S F Alb - Gre ENGLAND: F Edi - Nrg, F Nth C A Lon - Den, (A Lon - Den)*, F Nor S German F Den - Swe**, A Bel holds FRANCE: F Por - Mid, A Spa - Gas, A Par - Pic, A Bur S English A Bel A Mar S A Bur GERMANY: (A Ruh - Bel)*, A Hol S A Ruh - Bel, (F Swe - Nth)#, F Ber - Kie, (A Mun - Tyr)## ITALY: A Tyr - Boh, (A Ven - Tyr)##, (A Rom - Ven)@, (F Tun - Ion)## RUSSIA: F Bot - Swe, A Gal - Sil, F Rum hold, A StP hold, A Ukr - War TURKEY: A Con S A Bul, A Bul S Russian A Rum, (F Aeg - Ion)##, (F Smy - Aeg)@ Notes: * Fails to dislodge equally supported unit. ** No such order # No such unit, non-adjacent provinces ## Bounce (meets equally supported attack) @ Own unit does not move Units: Austria: A Vie, A Bud, F Gre, A Ser England: F Nrg, F Nth, F Nor, A Bel, A Lon France: F Mid, A Gas, A Pic, A Bur, A Mar Germany: A Ruh, A Hol, F Den, F Kie, A Mun Italy: A Boh, A Ven, A Rom, F Tun Russia: F Swe, A Sil, F Rum, A StP, A War Turkey: A Con, A Bul, F Aeg, F Smy ******************************************** PRESS: ****** FUTURE LOOKS BLACK FOR GERMANS Geneva (Agence Presse Suisse) -- Panic was reported in the streets of Berlin as fleets and armies of four nations bear down on the fatherland. The Kaiser was however encouraged by a vow from the Admiral of the Kriegsflotte to "rid our home waters of the vile British invaders." He also urged the people of Belgium not to be misled by British claims that troops currently occupying that country were only intended to ward off German attacks. BELGIANS GRATEFUL Brussels (Belgiessche' Nieuwsagentie) -- King Leopold extended the grate- ful thanks of the Belgian people to the armies of Great Britain and France for preserving them from German imperialism. AUSTRIAN LEADER HOSPITALIZED DURING NEGOTIATIONS Rome (AP) - The tense atmosphere of the European Diplomatic Conference was heightened this week after it was reported the Austrian emperor Franz Vick had been rushed to the Holy Roman Hospital outside the Vatican. Apparently, Emperor Vick collapsed during crucial negotiations between Europe's top leaders and entered into a temporary coma; when the Emperor revived later at the hospital, he was diagnosed as suffering from an acute case of diplomatic confusion. "It's a very common occurance," the Emperor's doctor told reporters. "I've seen it happen hundreds of time, and it's usually not a pretty sight. Of course, it used to be a lot worse - back in the mid 1800's we'd have old Metternich in here every other day, knocked out cold by one liberal revolt or another." By the end of the day, however, the emperor had recovered and was accepting questions from the reporters. "Yeah, well, it get's pretty confusing: A tells you B is lying and B tells you A is lying - I think it just got to the point where the double-talk overloaded my brain and it shut down. I tell you, I really miss the good old days of simple mortal combat..." The emperor is ex- pected to be fully recovered and back at the negotiating table within the week. ****************************************** Pete's Points: Thanks to everyone for being prompt. The proposals for two- week turns and for Friday deadlines appear to have failed on a 2-2 and 1-1 tie, respectively. I will be out of town Tues-Fri, so won't be able to forward mail during that time. Fall 1902 deadline is Sunday, June 11. If possible, please submit (contingent) retreats and builds with your move; if I get builds from everyone I will publish them with the results, which will al- low more time for diplomacy. Once again, press is encouraged; I will publish my own comments as press from time to time, originating in neutral countries. Eric's Points: Pete forgot that I don't allow illegal orders. If someone submits illegal orders then legal orders should be requested from him. This is to protect the large amount of novices from blowing a game simply because of a simple mixup. We'll let them get blown out by their diplomatic errors instead. If I was the GM I would have ruled that F Swe-Nth really meant F Den-Nth and wouldn't have even bothered to contact the player. (This is a really common error and I can find only one meaning for the player's orders.) Since we can't obviously replay the season now that everyone knows what moves were made I will rule that the move WAS F Den-Nth and it failed because Nth was in the way. (Pretty long winded to say that the results stand, eh?) Spring '01 of BLITZKRIEG (BNC number not known) (Your GM is now dougi@astro.as.utexas.edu/Doug Ingram... Would John Murray please send all the moves back to Doug to make sure that he has them all. Thanks for being the temporary GM even though you didn't have to do much.) Update: kschroes2@umdul.bitnet has been able to establish contact with most players, a deadline will be set sometime this week as soon as he is able to contact ALL players. Talking about e-mail problems, I bounced about 10 messages when the SUN machine went down. Fun! GM comments: If anyone would be interested in going on some rollercoasters, let me know. And I have player openings as usual. Enjoy this big issue, we won't have one so big for quite some time... Taken from THE CREAM SHALL RISE! #4: WHAT THEY'RE SAYING By Bruce Linsey I've read a huge variety of opinions on the Runestone Poll from many different hobby members and old farts alike, especially over the course of the last year. They have apperaed in both public forums and private letters to me. Being a shameless person, I thought I'd have to share a few of these with you. Here's what Diplomacy hobbyists think about the Runestone Poll and its humble little ol' custodian... Conrad Von Metzke: "Bruce Linsey's work with the Runestone Poll is one of the great glories of the Diplomacy hobby." Rory Noble: "Thank you to Bruce Linsey and Nelson Heintzman for their work on this year's poll. Keep up the good work, guys, you are definitely appreciated." Jason Russ: "Congratulations on another great job done on the R.P." Robert Belle: "I thank you for allowing me to participate in the Poll, and commend you for your work and the service that you are providing us games. Bruce, keep up the good work!" Mark Edmonson: "Thank you for all your help in getting involved in postal Diplomacy. Your unselfish efforts for this wonderful hobby do not go unnoticed. If I can ever be of any help to you, please let me know." Rob Boyd: "I have sent for several zines, and plan to get into one game as soon as can be arranged (no need to o.d., I can do that later). Your help has been pviotal in my decision to pursue this hobby." Matt Chen: "Your effort is truly above and beyond the call of duty." Rob Barnette: "I want you to know that it's people like you, who take the time and effort, that make the gaming hobby so enjoyable for everyone else. Keep up the good work...thanks for letting me participate in this year's Runestone Poll. It's easy to tell how much this means to you. Let me know how it turns out." Robert Sacks: "Do not deal with Bruce Linsey under any circumstances ... New players and publishers should not be exposed to him." John Kador: "Good job on the Runestone Poll and Cancer Society fund- raising...I just heard from Steve Smith, a dippy player in Chicago. He got my name from CREAM and is arranging face-to-face games here. So it's doing more good than you know." Gred Ellis: "Congratulations also have to go to Bruce Linsey for another outstanding effort in producing THE CREAM SHALL RISE! and to Linda Courtemanche for sponsoring the pledge drive." Luke Clutterbuck: "I am staggered by the amount of work you put into CREAM! It is a magnificent achievement." Mark Berch: "The Poll represents a tremendous amount of time and effort. 441 people took the time to vote. Dozens of pubbers publicized it or distributed ballots for it, and Bruce and his assistant Nelson Heintzman put in a tremendous amount of effort getting the results tabulated and published." Brad Wilson: "The poll is a biased, laughable 'institution' that caters to a few types in the hobby who are out of touch with the mainstream...Hitler put a lot of effort into his war machine too." Hugh Christie: "Bruce Linsey has done an absolutely fantastic job with his THE CREAM SHALL RISE!. Jim Robertson: "Excellent job at TCSR! First one I've seen, but enjoyed it immensely." Ty Hare: "Thanks for the copy of TCSR. An outstanding piece of work." Jim Michaels: "Terrific job on THE CREAM SHALL RISE! I never expected such a detailed analysis of the Poll results." Kate Robison: "I would also like to comment on the quality of the publication for the Poll. I was impressed -- easy it ain't!" Dave Carter: "Just a little note to say that I got TCSR and I'm really impressed (again) with the amount of information contained in it. You also did a super job with the layout, etc. Thanks for 1/2 naming a hobby award after me. When I frist heard over the phone that you had done so, I felt for sure it had to be for 'the sleaziest zine'. So long as Bob Acheson never wins the award it will be a great tradition." Stephen Dorneman: "On another subject, let me both congratulate and commend you for your work on the Runestone Poll. THE CREAM SHALL RISE! was fascinating reading even for a non-statistically-inclined person like myself, and Penny especially liked the extra touches of the ribbons on the cover and the fold-out graph bar inside. Most important, though was the money raised for the American Cancer Society -- I hope that you'll continue the Poll's association with the DAAC in the future." John Caruso: "If I had been selected to run the poll...I wouldn't subject 'the populace' to hundreds of pages of 'statistically significant', useless data. I would think that a simple listing of the results should suffice." Stuart Lance: "Thank you for your effort in producing THE CREAM SHALL RISE! It was obviously a labor of love -- you certainly did not get rich off of it!" Rob Grier: "As to the Runestone, I was amazed to say the least. You must have spent considerable time and energy in coming up with it, but it damn sure was time well spent, no matter what others will say. I think it's top notch!" Simon Billenness: "Many thanks for a fascinating issue of THE CREAM SHALL RISE! I'm quite satisfied with eleventh place, though I see I should have kept quiet about my prediction that PRAXIS would win!" Jim Benes: "Kudos to Bruce Linsey for all of the work he put into his 1987 Runestone Poll." Charles Fargo: "I just got my copy of TCSR and am VERY impressed! The amount of time spent is obvious and I appreciate the effort. This was easily the best $1.00 this year." Francois Cuerrier: "Bruce has invigorated this project with a lot of personal time, energy, and money. The fact that it shows is undisputable. I have known him since 1978 when he first subscribed to PASSCHENDAELE. Through the years he has consistently shown great capacity for thorough analysis, level-headed debate, and constructive enthusiasm... My support for the project is just as unwavering, to the extent of volunteering a $50 donation to help Bruce with his costs." Stephen Wilcox: "Your effort is bound to make this year's poll even better than last year (is that possible?)." Dick Martin: "The poll has a long and tarnished past--hardly worthy of all the whitewash and praise lavished on it lately. If it has any tradition at all, it isn't something to be proud of. That I don't get along with Linsey is no secret. He is the essence of all that is worst about this hobby: a self-serving, childish, egomaniacal, gloating, bizarre, vindictive person who must hurt anyone he can't control by force or flattery...If he wasn't so sick, it might almost be funny." Bob Gossage: "There is one thing that makes TCSR more than a boring collection of votes -- its presentation. You presented something that would otherwise only be 88 pages of numbers, into something that was enjoyable to read -- good job, Bruce!" Nhan Vu: "I received my copy of THE CREAM SHALL RISE! the other day. What can I say? Maybe...WOW! I expected a quality job, but you've outdone yourself this time. It must have taken a lot of time just to glue on the ribbons on the front and the fold-out graph. How did you find the time? A price increase is definitely okay. The price you charged me didn't even cover the postage! This year's issue was even better than last year's issue (which is quite an accomplishment). And then there's tallying in 441 votes. Even if the program computes most of the data, someone has to input the data, right? That's a lot of data. I would have gotten a headache just from typing out the voter list. Let me be one of the many in congratulating you on a fine effort. I don't know what else to say, except keep up the good work! I can't wait until next year's issue comes out. I figure the number of voters will be even larger next year. This is beginning to make my head spin." Nick Kinzett: "For seeking OVERSEAS votes... you must be 1) mad; 2) too enthusiastic to ignore! Therefore please find my votes on the reverse of this sheet..." Fred Davis: "An incredible outpouring of 441 ballots from all corners of the postal hobber has assured the validity of the 1987 Poll..." Jimmy Williams: "I will gain much status and prestige by voting in the Runestone Poll, especially if the GMs see my name; well, ONLY if the GMs see my name." Mike Lee: "Thanks for remembering me at Runestone time. Some people write at Christmas, other manufacture holidays of their own. Yours is among the more creative." Jack Garrett: "Thanks for including me in this year's poll. You have really made me feel welcome to this hobby...Although I have only been involved in postal Diplomacy for a few months, I have greatly enjoyed the experience and I hope to continue for many years to come. With helpful people like yourself promoting the hobby, there should be many more newcomers involved in the years to come." Harold Zarr: "Enclosed with this letter is my ballot for your Runestone '88 Poll. Hopefully you will be able to get even more replies than last year. No doubt the recent article in the GENERAL will provide a significant boost in the popularity of PBM Diplomacy." Steve Rush: "Thanks so much for the free copy of THE CREAM SHALL RISE!; it was awfully nice of you to do. Also, I was amazed at the amount of effort you must have put into the publication. I sincerely believe you make the greatest effort to come up with a statistical method to actually gauge which zines and GMs are the best." Vicki Reynolds: "I think that any poll that has achieved the remarkable record of 441 participants of Diplomacy games should be accorded some respect. Is there any possiblity that more Diplomacy players can be contacted next year? Is there anything I can do to assist you in expanding your poll base? If there is, please let me know." Julie Martin (Dick's wife): "The poll is a joke, regardless of my opinion. It is, statistically speaking, a farce, and if Bruce wasted the time and effort of 441 people... he (and you) are the ones with a problem." Larry Peery: "It is appropriate at this point to mention, I think, that Bruce's efforts with the Runestone Poll in the past few years have not gone unrecognized by the hobby. He is this year's recipient of the Don Miller Memorial Award for service to the hobby, an honor he has certainly earned." Bruce Linsey: There's much more, of course, both pro and con, but three pages is plenty. I appreciated all your comments. And (gasp, ahem, wheeze) I wouldn't be me if I didn't print them. Seriously, thanks for all the feedback. I'm not going to stop blushing for several months yet... Taken from DIPLOMACY WORLD #44: ENGLAND By Melinda Ann Holley England is one of the few countries which allows the player to keep his options open until the Winter 1901 builds without having to worry about one of his home centers being grabbed. If France has not opened to the English Channel, there is no way England will lose a home center in 1901. England can traditionally open to the North Sea, Norwegian Sea, and Edinburgh while keeping most of his options open. By successfully negotiating with either France or Germany (or both) for Belgium and with Russia for Norway, England has until the Winter 1901 builds to finalize his plans without fear of an immediate invasion. As an island country, England must rule the seas surrounding his home centers. One point which the successful English player must stress to his partner(s) is that they will build a minimum of fleets or no fleets at all. Any country wanting to conquer England must build fleets as England obviously cannot be reached by land. If England is successful in getting his neighbors to avoid building fleets, there is no way England will be eliminated. In my opinion, the English players should build fleets in Winter 1901 in order to maintain control of the surrounding seas. I really don't see armies as necessary until 1902. England's first objectives should be (1) control of the surrounding seas; and (2) targeting the coastal centers of his primary target. Even if France and Germany both build fleets in Winter 1901, England's fleets (except in the direst circumstances) can stand them off and retain control of the surrounding seas. If a worst-case scenario develops with France and Germany both building hostile fleets in Winter 1901, England should be able to convince either Italy or Russia (or both) and possibly Austria as well to help him attack the F/G alliance as they will be likely targets once England is finished. Many players will build both an army and a fleet in Winter 1901. My own opinion is that this is a mistake (one that I've made myself). There are indeed times when building both an army and a fleet is the only way to go. Your neighbors could be a little nervous seeing all those English fleets suddenly appearing. Building an army in Winter 1901, however, seems to me to be cutting your options. If your target is France, building F London and F Liverpool is the logical way to go. England must gain control of the Channel, Irish, and North Atlantic in order to force the Mid Atlantic while preventing France from threatening an English home center. If England's target is Germany, then control of the Helgoland is necessary to attack Denmark, Kiel, and Holland in 1903/1904. If England's target is Russia, then fleets are necessary to force the Barents and Skagerrak while controlling the North Sea. My basis for building two fleets in 1901 is that by building fleets England can: 1) maintain control of hte surrounding seas (which is absolutely vital to England's continued existence); 2) set up all sorts of convoy possiblities in the next few years; and 3) enable support for attacks on coastal centers giving England's armies a much-needed beachhead. All this works, of course, if England and France are working in perfect harmony against Germany. France's armies, at this point, should be forcing the Burgundy/Ruhr area. An E/F alliance will keep the English Channel neutral. This is so basic a condition of an E/F alliance that few violations are ignored. Usually France will agree not to build any fleets in Brest in return for no English fleet builds in Liverpool. England might be able to build F London without getting France upset if he has adhered to this agreement. If England has gotten two builds in 1901, he can explain the necessity of building two fleets (Edinburgh and London) since building F Liverpool would violate their agreement. One fleet is necessary to use against Germany (forcing the Skagerrak or Helgoland) while the other fleet moves against Russia. The Russian campaign has usually been discussed by England and France at this point if not sooner. England can make this build evidence of his intention to battle Russia. With an E/F alliance, the first target will be Germany. England must maintain friendly relations with Russia even to the point of encouraging him to join in on the attack. While Russia's help would be valuable in tying down German units in the east, it is usually far better to encourage Russia to concentrate in the south (or encourage Austria & Turkey to FORCE Russia to concentrate in the south). Russia usually wants Denmark as part of his share of the German spoils. Since Russian units in Denmark and Sweden threaten Norway, England is really better off with Russia safely occupied elsewhere. As soon as Germany is severely crippled, England must turn his attention towards Russia if he intends to maintain the E/F alliance. From this standpoint, it is definitely better if Russia has not taken any German centers. If Russia is firmly committed in the south and struggling for his life, then an English attack will meet with little resistance. If England intends to stab his French ally, then continued good relations with Russia or ensuring Russian attention elsewhere is necessary. An E/G alliance will traditionally deal with France first. Again, England must maintain friendly relations with Russia or make sure that Russia will be too busy fending off a vicious attack from his neighbors to worry about English expansion. Here, England must also open early negotiations with Italy who will certainly view English fleet expansion in the Mid Atlantic as somewhat threatening. In order for France to be eliminated quickly, Italian help is almost a necessity. France can prevent Germany from entering Burgandy and England from obtaining the Channel in 1901. However, if Italy pulls a "Mussolini" and opens to Piedmont, France may have to sacrifice all his builds in 1901 in order to insure that an Anglo/German/Italian invasion does not enter his home territory. If France has bounced Germany in Burgandy, bounced England in the Channel, and opened to Spain, he still has Italy threatening Marseilles. France has to gamble. He can sit in Spain (hoping Italy won't order A Pie-Mar) or order A Spa-Mar (hoping that Italy WILL order A Pie-Mar). Here Italy would be doing himself a favor by ordering A Pie s (F) A Spa-Mar or A Pie s (F) A Bur-Mar if France has NOT bounced Germany in Burgandy. This situation is a pure gamble but sometimes pays off. With France eliminated, England must insure that Italy does not enter the Mid Atlantic. Using the Mid Atlantic (as well as North Africa and Spain) as a DMZ between the two sea powers is a good way of creating a naval buffer zone. A profitable E/I alliance is often established with England to concentrate in the north while Italy attempts to control the south. The victim of such an alliance would be the German if the east is still in turmoil. If England does decide to stab his German partner, Italy's help would be invaluable. If England decides to maintatin the E/G alliance, a decision will have to be made as to whether England will attempt to attack Italy or move on Russia. Germany's help in either case would be immense. The problem of the North Sea has wrecked many an E/G alliance. For the sake of both countries, it should remain a neutral zone. England can afford this concession to his German partner if Germany agrees to station his fleet east of Denmark (or remove it entirely at the first available opportunity). However, if England is going to attack Russia, it is almost a foregone conclusion that a fleet will be stationed in the North Sea. This will make Germany a little nervous especially if the German becomes deeply involved elsewhere. If England plans to attack Germany, F North Sea is vital in order to convoy armies to the continent. The E/R alliance usually flounders over control of Scandinavia and builds in St. Petersburg. English units in Denmark and Norway can cause Russia to lose Sweden very quickly. Yet a Russian fleet in Denmark in 1902 can slip into the North Sea very quickly and cause severe damage (especially if the Russian has built F Stp(nc) in Winter 1902). An English presence in Norway is a continual threat to St. Petersburg. Perhaps the best defense to this is for Russia to order F Swe-Nwy on a continual basis. England, unless positioned correctly, would lose Norway if an attack were made on St. Petersburg from Norway. (This could be avoided, however, if an English fleet could bounce the Russian Swe-Nwy while the English unit in Norway moved to St. Petersburg. If Germany is still an English ally, Sweden could also be taken the same year with Germany ordering Den-Swe and England ordering Nwy-Stp and a fleet to the North Sea in the spring. The Russian unit would then be parked in Norway and dislodged by a combination English/German attack in the fall.) While the E/R alliance could flounder because of this, the alliance itself could prove effective. I participated in an E/R draw where Scandinavia was a very minor problem and quickly settled to the satisfaction of both parties. If the English and Russian players work well together, Scandinavia will not be a problem at all. The E/R alliance can eliminate Germany first or allow for a mid-game alliance. For example, England and Germany could unite against France at the beginning of the game then English could stab Germany with Russia's help once France is eliminated. Possible triple alliances for England include the ever-popular Western triple consisting of England, France, and Germany. This alliance usually develops when a powerful R/T alliance has developed in the east. However, it does leave England very vulnerable to an F/G stab unless England is very sure he controls the seas and works to insure that neither France nor Germany have an occasion to start building fleets. A second possible triple is England, France, and Italy. These three countries, working together, present a solid western front. Italy and England build fleets to control their respective coastal areas while France builds the armies. On paper this looks very formidable as each partner has his own sphere of influence and the possiblity of a rogue partner grabbing his neighbors' home centers are somewhat remote. The problem is that France is committed to building armies and only Paris if easible for building armies and getting them into play immediately. Army Brest takes too long to get to the front (unless convoyed by an English fleet) and A Marseilles is sure to upset the Italian. A third possible triple is the Northern Triple consisting of England, Germany, and Russia. Scandinavia is a possible bone of contention here. Traditionally, England gets Norway; Germany gets Denmark; and Russia gets Sweden. As far as I'm concerned, the best way to avoid this is to get everyone to agree to demilitarize the Scandinavian area entirely. As a practical point, it's very difficult to get three competitive individuals to agree to this. Suspicion occurs when someone plays conservatively and keeps his unit in place. The beauty of this alliance, however, is a solid northern front. England is free to ally with Germany and head south leaving a small residual force in the north to keep the Russian honest. It also prevents England from being caught "in the middle" of any triple alliance and later squeezed out by his partners. In this particular instance, it is Germany who is the cream filling in the cookie. Another possible triple alliance consists of England, Russia, and Turkey. This configuration presents a cresent-shaped alliance. Egland is free to work with either Germany or France and later stab the survivor. The drawback here is that once the R/T part of the alliance gets rolling, they may decide they don't need England. If, by that time, England has revealed he's working with Russia and Turkey, he may have a very difficult time finding a suitable replacement alliance. Two other possible triples which come to mind are: (1) England, Austria, Turkey (I've heard of this but never been a part of it nor been a victim of it. I've heard, though, that it can be devastating); and (2) England, Italy, Russia (this would allow each partner his own seperate and distinct sphere of influence and allow for a great deal of cooperation without the imminent possiblity of losing home centers in a stab). The most important part of any alliance (whether it's two, three, or more countries) is that the people involved COMMUNICATE. There's been many a great alliance which has fallen apart because one or more of the individuals did not communicate with his partners. I am enjoying moderating this zine, keep that mail coming! Eric Klien Up