THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE #299

December 30, 2005

Produced by Jim Burgess, 664 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908-4327 USA, (401)351-0287

Accessible through Internet at burgess of world.std.com (all E-Mail addresses are reported in this format, replace the " of " with "@"; if you bounce try sending to me from another account. Some of you have been getting bounced messages from my ISP's spam protection, if that happens to you, USE my backup E-Mail at jfburgess of gmail.com!!! Don't complain that my E-Mail keeps bouncing without forwarding the bounced message to that address. Then I can forward it to the ISP help to get it dealt with.

Web Page Address: http://www.diplom.org/DipPouch/Postal/Zines/TAP/index.html

Happy New Year, remember that next issue is the big.... 300! Send me something for that issue. Do it now...... I also had my seemingly New Year annual "loss of E-Mail" where I typed something wrong and blew out some E-Mail. If I didn't respond to something in the last month, or it isn't in here and should be, let me know. I think I have everything I have for issue #300 properly saved elsewhere.

We've got a new subszine in this issue from W. Andrew York.... Andy's initials are WAY, so we've got By the WAY.... get it? Andy's starting out by running the ubiquitous "By Popular Demand", so please jump in and play, I know I am going to play. We also have some other subszines and a hint from Rip Gooch that he might be back soon. Other big news (see more below) is that Tim Haffey has resigned as Diplomacy World lead editor; however, I have located a replacement, Andrew Neumann is going to join us from the Bad Ass Bay Area club that Edi Birsan and Adam Silverman have been building up in recent years. Andrew's going to do a great job, and support him by writing articles, E-Mail him at andrewneum of gmail.com. Join the diplomacyworld group on Yahoo to see all the electronic issues as they come out and for more news. Another short, quick issue leading up toward next issue's biggie.

The postal sub price is still $1.50 per issue in the US and Canada, with double that for other foreign subbers(or $3.00 per issue sent airmail). Players in current games and standbys will continue to get the issues for free, and future game starts (except for Nuclear Yuppie Evil Empire Diplomacy, which is free) cost $20.00 ($15.00 for a life of the game subscription and $5 for the NMR Insurance.n play in subszines for free and just jack up the issue page count. See the revised game start announcements below!

Check out the connections in the Diplomatic Pouch with all of the information you need to play Diplomacy on the Internet at: http://www.diplom.org/DipPouch/

I also have taken over the Postal portion of the Pouch: http:/evel.diplom.org/DipPouch/Postal/

and TAP on the web is there at: http://www.diplom.org/DipPouch/Postal/Zines/TAP/index.html

where the szine resides in html format. Presently, issues from #190 to the current issue are there, and I will be updating the back issues gradually someday. Also, check out Stephen Agar's more extensive efforts at: http://www.diplomacy-archive.com and http://www.diplomacy.co.uk

Peter Sullivan's subszine is out of stasis, and all the back issues can be accessed via :

http://www.burdonvale.co.uk/octopus/index.html.

Peter was saying that he would be unlikely to be starting any new games in the Octopus until "at least the start of 2002." He had been hereby declared to be in official indeterminate stasis and that date was now a "whenever". But Peter is now clearly back and appears in most issues!!! In the meantime, Rip Gooch and Dave Partridge had been picking up the choo-choo game slack in TAP. But Rip also has been missing in action lately, I don't have an update but he and Dave Partridge communicate. Contact Rip at xyropedes of canada.com or Dave at rebhuhn of rocketmail.com for more info.

The TAP mailing list has moved! It now is even BETTER protected than it was. I even have a bit of trouble posting to it. To post to this list, send your email to: tap of diplom.org. But this is completely moderated, it won't go out to the list unless I approve it. In general, I intend to keep traffic down to just the szine, as we've been doing and I'll put your LOCs in here.

General information about the mailing list is at: http://www.diplom.org/mailman/listinfo/tap

You can sign up from there, or send E-Mails to: Tap-request of diplom.org; with the word `help' in the subject or body (don't include the quotes), and you will get back a message with instructions. You must know your password to change your options (including changing the password, itself) or to unsubscribe. Normally, Mailman will remind you of your diplom.org mailing list passwords once every month, although you can disable this if you prefer. This reminder will also include instructions on how to unsubscribe or change your account options. There is also a button on your options page that will email your current password to you. A big, big thank you for Millis Miller for setting this all up!!

THE SEARCH FOR KEVIN TIGHE

There is a very special "search for" coming up in issue #300, and I'm going to offer a hundred buck reward for that one, so I'm also going to up the ante on Kevin through issue #300 to $1 billion dollars.... no, make that $100, can't quite afford to be THAT generous. There have been some recent "sightings" of Kevin Tighe. You have one more issue to find him for a hundred bucks!!! And he's the reason I first started this feature (for those of you who don't recall) and he's the one I continue to be most interested in finding. This may take a bit of real detective work, but as a hint, like many of us Diplomacy players, I believe he is out there making money on some of the poker circuits. I also would like ALL of the previous found people who are still getting the szine to write me SOMETHING for the 300th issue for this section. I know I've been having Doug Beyerlein write me lots of little notes along the way, not all of whom I've been printing, and so I have some things from him already. But he may want to send me something else. What should you write? Something on what you've been up to, a reminiscence of Diplomacy times or friends past, whatever, it's up to you, but I want something from as many of you as possible. While we're at it, some of you other old timers still getting the szine (you know who you are, but I'm thinking most particularly of people like Tom Nash, Dan Stafford, Bruce Geryk, and Steve Hutton, most of whom were once szine editors) also should write me something!!!

Feel free to spend the time looking for some of the backlog. Let's get Derek, Sylvain, Steve, Ed, Tom, Bill, Gregory, and ESPECIALLY Kevin found too!!! This is a regular continuing feature of the szine and I will be introducing a new "search for" every five issues. Moreover, you can win a $25 prize for finding some previous target who went unfound in the original $50 period. That means that if Steve Heinowski or Ed Henry or Tom Hurst or Bill Quinn or Gregory Stewart or Derek Nelson or Sylvain LaRose or John Smythe is "found" from now on it is worth $25.

Winners will receive credit for Dip hobby activities that I will pay out as requested by the winner. Subscribe to szines here or abroad, run your own contests, publish a szine, finance a web page, GO TO A DIPLOMACY CONVENTION or whatever. Spend it all right away or use me as a bank to cover hobby activities for years. What must you do to win? Get me a letter to the editor for TAP from the person we're searching for.

This is very important, just finding them doesn't do it. They have to write me a letter. The final judge as to the winner of any contest will be the target himself and I reserve the right to investigate the winning entry. When you find someone I'm looking for, you should ask him to send me a letter for print that includes a verification of who "found" him.

INTERNATIONAL SUBSCRIPTION EXCHANGE NEWS

The British representative is the editor of Mission From God, John Harrington. John may be contacted at 1 Churchbury Close, Enfield, Middlesex EN1 3UW, UK.

E-Mail: fiendish of operamail.com, John.Harrington of tfeurope.com

Please include the full name and address of the foreign publisher with your order, if possible, as well as the szine title. Make your check in US dollars out to me personally or in GBP to John if you're doing things from that end. I will conduct business for Canadians as well, if I can, but prefer to deal in US dollars with them if possible, or Canadian dollars cash. To subscribe to American szines, the system works in reverse.

We have closed the European continental branch, as I think most of you had figured out.

And the ISE in Australia hadn't had much real action in recent years, and Brendan Whyte has moved on to Jerusalem!!! Brendan still produces what I find to be the most readable small szine in the worldwide hobby. Did you all realize that? Write to Brendan at his new Jerusalem address and ask him about subscribing, I'm not sure what the new deal will be. Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem 91905, ISRAEL. His travelogues are wonderful, I particularly enjoyed the recent one describing his trip to Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius and the areas around and in-between. You all know what countries those are right? He also had a wonderful experience in a few hours on Belarussian soil stuck in a border crossing.

WORLDMASTERS04 SECTION

See http://www.worldmasters.net/wm04/ for details on progress on the WORLDMASTERS04, the Round 2 games are going and nearing resolution.

I got called in as a STANDBY for Turkey in game WM04R221!!! Now I'm negotiating with Buffalo (E), Glenn (F), Dan (A), Urco (T), and Ian (I). Lee-man as Germany was first one out. This is fun, let's see if I can shake the game up a bit. Right now Buffalo and Glenn are leading with those two likely going on to the semis. We just torched Ian and knocked him to the brink of elimination and Urco's in a pretty awful position. Can Dan and I challenge Buffalo and Glenn? More on that as the game develops. I've been hearing that Dave Partridge's game is pretty interesting too, but haven't seriously looked in on any of the others.

It is helping now that I've joined the Yahoogroup WM04-Chat where this discussion is happening. You can join too! But most of the talk there has been about Yann Clouet and the French Hobby's new "World Palmares Evaluation" of FTF Diplomacy Play. Of course, Yann Clouet comes out #1, further backing up winning the John Koning award, and I am 1442nd (in a tie with Mark Nelson and Tony Dickinson, among others!). This uses lots of tournament results, more than 750 of them, and really is quite comprehensive. See those rankings at: http://www.18centres.com/SPIP3/article.php3?id_article=199

DIPDOM NEWS SECTION (with letters)

Obscure and not-so-obscure ramblings on the state of the hobby and its publications, custodians, events, and individuals with no guarantee of relevance from the fertile keyboard of Jim-Bob, the E-Mail Dip world, and the rest of the postal hobby. My comments are in italics and ((double quotation marks)) like this. Bold face is used to set off each individual speaker. I should also make a note that I do edit for syntax and spelling on occasion.

The game Diplomacy is a copyrighted product owned by Hasbro and all reproductions or other use of that material in this szine is intended to be personal use and not infringe on those rights in any way. All reproductions are done at a heavy financial loss to the editor and thus are without the remotest possibility of commercial intent, except to promote THE game, the Game of Diplomacy, which you all should purchase from Hasbro or other duly licensed distributors.

Stephen Agar has matched the Hasbro rule lists and more with some of the even older rulebooks. Check these out if you like:

http://www.hasbro.com/default.asp?xcc_gameandtoyinstructions

http://www.hasbro.com/instruct/Diplomacy.PDF

http://www.hasbro.com/instruct/Diplomacy(OlderVers).PDF

Nice of them to make BOTH of these available. And all seven different US rulebooks for Diplomacy can now be found here courtesy of Stephen Agar (relatively new address for this):

http://www.diplomacy-archive.com/diplomacy_rules.htm

Check out current and back issues of Diplomacy World - Yahoogroup diplomacyworld

Also, I need any Hobby Award Nominations NOW (!!!) for:

The 2005 Don Miller Award for Meritorious Service;

The 2005 Rod Walker Award for Literature;

The 2005 John Koning Award for Player Performance;

The 2005 Fred Hyatt Award for GM Performance;

A 2005 Kathy Byrne Caruso Award for Lifetime Achievement (if warranted).

The Hobby Awards Committee is Jim Burgess (Chair and Treasurer), Fred Davis, Jr., Melinda Holley, Gary Behnen, Jamie Dreier, Paul Kenny, Mark Stretch, and Robert Lesco. The award ballot for this year will be publicized in my Issue 300 coming right up.

Diplomacy World Issue Deadlines:

Deadline Spring 2006, Issue #97: March 1, 2006

I have #96 in my hands and I intend to publish it as soon as I get this issue out with the announcement that Andrew Neumann is taking over the lead editorship from Tim Haffey.

Editorial Board for Diplomacy World:

Andrew Neumann, andrewneum of gmail.com - New Lead Executive Editor!

Tim Haffey, 810 53rd Ave., Oakland, CA 94601 USA; trhaffey of aol.com - Ex-Lead Editor and Archives Editor

Jim Burgess, 664 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908-4327, USA; burgess of world.std.com - Co-Editor and Publisher

Stephen Agar, 4 Cedars Gardens, Brighton, UNITED KINGDOM BN1 6YD; stephen of stephenagar.com - Webmaster and Non-US Postal

Rick Desper, 5440 Marinelli Road, #204, Rockville, MD 20852, USA; rick_desper of yahoo.com - Demo Games

Dave Partridge, 15 Woodland Drive, Brookline, NH 03033, USA; rebhuhn of rocketmail.com - US Postal

ATTENTION: There is a new company doing a new PC Diplomacy game:

http://www.paradoxplaza.com/news.asp?ArticleID=239&Page=News

This game is out and available. You all should read the interview in the Spring 2005 movement issue of the Diplomatic Pouch (and I mean ALL!!!!!!! of you!!!!!) that I think you can find at:

http://www.diplom.org/Zine/S2005M/

Contact Susana Meza, pr of paradoxplaza.com, the PR Director for more info or if you want demos or help with a Diplomacy convention! To find out more general information on DIPLOMACY please visit www.diplomacy-pcgame.com or contact pr of paradoxplaza.com

David Hood (Fri, 28 Oct 2005 20:30:31 -0400)

Time to start making your plans to attend the 2006 North American Diplomacy Championships, held February 24-26, 2006 in conjunction with Prezcon in Charlottesville, VA. The Diplomacy tournament will be run by David Hood using the Dixiecon/Prezcon system that has been utilized in several past Dipcons. There will be four Diplomacy rounds beginning on Friday night, with no time limits except for the Sunday round.

Dipcon is always a highlight of the Diplomacy circuit for the year - get more information now at www.prezcon.com and www.dixiecon.com or you can email the tournament director at davidhood of dixiecon.com for specific information. The Prezcon folks are committed to making this a very special Dipcon, with a specific Dipcon registration fee and T-shirt, so check out their site for more information. The Dipcon committee of David Hood, Michael Lowrey and Andy Marshall has many years of Diplomacy tournament direction experience between them, so screw-ups are extremely unlikely. And Director of Fun Andy Marshall has guaranteed you WILL have fun at this Dipcon, or your money back.

BE THERE OR BE, WELL, SOMEWHERE ELSE THAT'S NOT AS GOOD.

David, davidhood of dixiecon.com

MUSIC AND MOVIES SECTION (WITH COMMENTS ON OTHER ARTS AND SOCIETY)

Tell me anything you like about the recent past in music. List a top two, a top ten, or a top 100, I don't care, just tell me something!! We're beginning to gear up for a "best of 2005" section, I'll have mine next time. Also, I have an all-time movie list from Fred Davis.... any of the rest of you that want to write ANYTHING for the 300th issue should feel yourself duly invited.

Kent Pollard (Sat, 3 Dec 2005 19:29:10 -0800 (PST))

Hey Jim...I want to thank you for sending me all the zines! Believe it or not...I have all of them...only they have never been opened yet! I know... "the Gods must be Crazy." Anyways I wanted to say Hello. I hope life has been treating you well...I have finally entered into the 21st century with a new laptop. The last computer that I owned was an I.B.M 286 which I mainly played a battle game of Roman conquest. Legion upon legions...Time has passed too quickly. But, life is very good at present...How goes the Zine?

Kent, awargamer7 of yahoo.com

((Quite well, next up is issue #300, and I hope you and all the other silent partners will write me something, even something short like this.))

Mark D Lew (Fri, 30 Dec 2005 12:36:48 -0800)

Jim-Bob,

I haven't piped up about the A's recently. Been crazy busy. ((Yeah, join that club, I always forget how the holidays does that to you, especially us singer types - though my singing load was slightly lighter this year.))

I read a lot of columns suggesting that the Milton Bradley trade was a change in direction for Billy Beane, but I don't see it that way. It was classic buy-low, sell-high. Yes, of course, Bradley is a risk, and not just because of his attitude. There's a good chance he won't work out at all. On the other hand, there's a possibility he'll be great, and a possibility he'll be good. You make your best estimate of the probabilities and that's the value of the player. It's not like the whole team has been rearranged around Bradley, so if he gets cut in April it won't ruin the team. ((Yup, I understand completely. You know, putting an entire team together in the Beane style is like that, you have a whole host of interconnecting probabilities and then if something doesn't work out you have second and third options already lined up.))

On the flip side, Ethier is also someone who may or may not work out. Yes, he was the second hottest prospect in the A's system (after Barton), but he's still just an outfielder who hit very well in AA and is untested elsewhere. Maybe he'll be great, or maybe he'll be the next Adam Piatt (another one-time Texas League MVP, whom Ethier compares closely to). Piatt was a decent major-league player for a little while but certainly not a star that one hates to have given up. ((I should certainly say so. People always have a tendency to overrate the second level prospects. And the true stars are few and far between. And even within that, pitching of all kinds and pitching prospects especially are worth much more than outfielders. Corner outfielders are the most dime a dozen commodity in the market right now.))

The point is, Ethier's market value is at a high point right now, thanks to his stupendous season at AA. Meanwhile, Bradley's already depressed market value was shoved down even further by the post-DePo management in Los Angeles, to the point where if no one were buying they'd have to give him away for free. In terms of estimated probable value to the team, Ethier for Bradley - which is how the trade is commonly characterized - is about a wash.

What makes it a bargain is the part everyone leaves out. Oakland actually got two players in the deal, Bradley plus middle infielder Antonio Perez. Not that Perez is all that, but the fact that it was a two-for-one deal is what makes it a good deal for Oakland. Beane has had his eye on Perez for a long time, and I wouldn't be surprised if the inspiration for the deal was focusing attention on the Bradley aspect in order to wheedle out Perez as a "throw-in" - sort of like how in 2001 he wheedled Mark Ellis from KC under the guise of trading prospects for Johnny Damon. ((In the "probability model" more players is always worth more, so getting two for one is generally better, since you have "diversified your risk" just the same way you do if you take one stock and sell it to buy two others.))

There's a great comment about trading from Atlanta's John Schuerholz, in a recent interview:

http://www.talkingchop.com/story/2005/12/29/133254/47#readmore

answering a question about how he seems to have gotten the better of Beane in the deal for Tim Hudson: "My view is that when you make a deal, the most important thing is to make your team better. The next most important thing is to make the other team better...because if you do that often enough, there's going to be a lot of guys lined up to do a deal with you. That's always been my philosophy in the 25 years I've been general manager. Why would you want to do anything else? So somebody writes something or says something about what a steal we made...I don't care about making steals. I care about making our team better. And the second most important thing is that, hopefully, the other team gets better."

The same thing applies in any multi-player game, particularly one that's all about the trading, like Monopoly. (Monopoly, incidentally, is surely the most underrated game on Board Game Geek. Not that it's a fabulous game, but it's not nearly as bad as it's made out to be by people who played it incorrectly as kids and never bothered to learn the real rules.) Every trade in Monopoly improves both of the trading players at the expense of the other players who don't trade. Thus, the best way to win is to be the guy who does the most trading. The idea is not to make a rip-off trade in which you snooker the other guy. The idea is to make a whole lot of win-win trades with all your opponents. ((Diplomacy is the same kind of game as well, and more so.))

That said, I think Oakland got the better end of the Bradley-Perez-Ethier deal. But if Ethier turns out to be great for the Dodgers, so much the better.

mdl, markdlew of earthlink.net

((Up here in New England all discussion had revolved around the so-called "disaster" of Johnny Damon going to New York. I think the deal has to be seen in light of the fact that the Yankees are WAY over the salary cap, so this ensures that essentially they are paying a marginal tax rate of 40% on Johnny's contract for all four years (that makes the $13 million contract an $18.2 million contract, and does ANYONE think that is not overpaying for him???). So, yes, the Yankees have possibly the league's best hitting lineup, but they will have trouble adding anything else without paying that 40% tax while the Red Sox have some flexibility now. And this will happen for four years now. It's not that the Red Sox won't miss Damon, but they couldn't afford to come anywhere close to that contract, and I don't think the Yankees really could either. But they and we will see. This is more or less the same thing that happened with Pedro Martinez last year. That was the best decision too. I like the way the Red Sox are going, but it is quite a reorganization of the team. The latest is that Kevin Millar, who is pretty well useless and won't be back, says that the Red Sox are making a big mistake breaking up the team. Yes, really. Well, if the psychology of the players like that matters, I guess we'll find out this year. But I doubt it, baseball really is pretty much an individual game. Unfortunately, Goz is right, the kind of game that the Yankees and Red Sox are playing is not like the game that the others are playing. But the Red Sox are trying to act like the A's while spending up to the tax limit. And the Yankees are set to keep playing above the salary cap for at least the next four years, so every new player costs them the tax. And George doesn't care. And the Red Sox will make at least one other big deal before the day is done (possibly the big Lugo/Ramirez/ where they give back up Andy Marte that they got from Atlanta earlier in the offseason) that will shore some of their current holes up. The Red Sox can still spend more money before they have to start paying the luxury tax since they lose Damon's salary.))

THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE GAMES SECTION

"So I called up George and he called up Jim, I said let's make a deal.

He said he'd talk to him. Gonna start a church where you can save yourself,

You can make some noise, When you've got no choice...

You told me useful things, what people think of me, I guess I should thank you.

It's true, then I agree... I'm all alone, I've got no choice,

I'm all alone, I've got no choice."

From "Got No Choice" by the incomparable Mark Cutler, from the CD Mark Cutler and Useful Things.

If you want to submit orders, press, or letters by E-Mail, you can find me through the Internet system at "burgess of world.std.com". If anyone has an interest in having an E-Mail address listed so people can negotiate with you by computer, just let me know. FAX orders to (401) 277-9904 if you let me know in advance to be sure the fax machine is set up.

I am continuing to note cut or failed support orders with a small "s" instead of a capital "S". This will make it easier on the E-Mailed version of the szine to see what happened, since the italics don't show there. The italics DO show on the web page just fine.

Standby lists:

Mike Barno, Dick Martin, Brad Wilson, Jack McHugh, Glenn Petroski, Steve Emmert, Mark Kinney, Vince Lutterbie, Eric Brosius, Paul Rauterberg, Bob Osuch, Doug Kent, Sean O'Donnell, Vern Parker, Heath Gardner, Paul Kenny, Jeff O'Donnell, and Dan Gorham stand by for regular Diplomacy.

Let me know if you want on or off these lists, especially OFF. Standbies get the szine for free and receive my personal thanks.

GAME OPENING INFORMATION

We've got lots of openings in the subszines, check them out!!! Especially, contact Rip Gooch for Railway Rivals, see Rip's subszine elsewhere in most issues of TAP. Come on, help me out!!! Contact Rip Gooch directly at xyropedes of canada.com. Rip has been a bit missing in action lately, but I am assured that he SHALL return.

I'm ready to start a new Breaking Away game, who's interested??? Challenge David Partridge again as he is in, so are Brendan Whyte and Alexander Woo. Anyone else?

I am willing to open another new game if there is enough interest!!! Also, is there any interest in another game of Nuclear Yuppie Evil Empire 7x7 Dip? I know it may be getting tired, but I really like it. We have Karl Schmit and Sean O'Donnell on the list, let's get seven!! It's FREE!!!

I also am starting a game of the variant I designed, Spy Diplomacy. Signups for that are now open. I'll publish the rules shortly or you can look at them at www.variantbank.org. Bruce Edwards and Eric Ozog are signed up. I'll try to remember to punch in the rules in the next issue.

John Harrington is offering to guest GM a game of Office Politics. Any interest in that?? Let me or John know! Jody McCullough and Bruce Edwards are interested, anyone else?

And since Colonia is over, Harold Reynolds is looking to start something else.

Also, I am going to design some postal rules for Devil Take the Hindmost, and we have an opening here: Bruce Edwards, Mike Barno, and Eoghan Barry are signed up. Postal rules from me will be forthcoming shortly, on my never ending to-do list. I will get them in SOON! I'm more likely to get these things started if I see some interest..... I've GOT to do this now, Eoghan is getting tired of waiting....

Right now, the other thing going is the Modern Diplomacy game with Wings. Sean O'Donnell, Bob Holt, Rick Desper, Alexander Woo, Dave Partridge, and Eric Ozog are signed up for that. I will start it when I get a full complement of players, the other Modern game is now done!

TAKING OVER ISHKIBIBBLE'S REGULAR DIPLOMACY GAMES

I'M TRYING TO TAKE OVER Phil Reynolds' two regular Diplomacy games somewhere in TAP. One is going to Harold Reynolds' subszine, since Colonia is over and I'll take the other. I am calling for orders from everyone NOW, and whichever game looks easier to start I will give to Harold, but I'm getting no response. Should we just shut these down?? I have Phil's last issue, #44, but that was published way back in December of 2003. I'm not sure if people have moved or whatever in that time, so a little help would be appreciated. And I hope everyone comes back, but I might need some standbys. I'm going to start nagging so I can get these restarted. Please let me know if you care playing, thanks to Karl Schmit for responding each time that he's in....

Us and Them: Winter 1901 was published and it was early on, but I think I can find all the players. Hank Alme (Austria), Karl Schmit (England), John Power (Germany), Tim Snyder (Italy), and Fred Wiedemeyer (Russia) are all here already and Paul Boymel (Turkey) and Marc Ellinger (France) are locatable. Please let me know if you plan to continue!!!

We are the Champions: This one is even earlier, ONLY Spring 1901 had been published. But again, most of the players are around here, and I've located Paul Boymel (Italy) and Marc Ellinger (Turkey). Dave Partridge (Austria) is here of course, Graham Wilson (England) is just joining us, Fred Wiedemeyer (France) and Kevin Wilson (Germany) are here. Paul Risner probably is not going to be able to continue in the game.

You can find that last issue of Phil's szine at:

http://www.diplom.org/DipPouch/Postal/Zines/ishkibibble/ishkibibble_44.pdf

Call for orders is NOW, the next season after the results above. You should already have submitted these before. Then I'll give one of the games to Harold. I'm not getting any traction or writebacks on these games, does everyone just want to abandon them???

SPIRALS OF PARANOIA: 2005A, Regular Diplomacy

THE DUE DATE FOR WINTER 1902 IS JANUARY 21ST, 2006

Fall 1902 - REVISITED

AUSTRIA (Rauterberg): a gal-RUM, a SER S f gre-bul(sc), a BUD S a gal-rum, f gre-BUL(SC).

ENGLAND (Wiedemeyer): a yor-WAL, a SWE h, f nth-ENG, f NWY S a swe.

FRANCE (Tretick): f spa(sc)-MID, f mid-NAT, a gas-BRE, f IRI S f mid-nat, a por-SPA.

GERMANY (Ozog for Tallman): a kie-BER, a MUN S a ruh-bur, f ber-BAL, a ruh-BUR,

a bel-PIC, f DEN S f ber-bal.

ITALY (O'Donnell): a TUS h, a apu-GRE, a NAF h, f ION C a apu-gre.

RUSSIA (Sundstrom): a war-GAL, a ARM-ank, a rum-UKR, a fin-STP, f GOB S a fin-stp.

TURKEY (Biehl): f ANK h, f aeg-SMY, a bul h (d r:con,otb).

Supply Center Chart

AUSTRIA (Rauterberg):

TRI,VIE,BUD,ser,bul,rum

(has 4, bld 2)

ENGLAND (Wiedemeyer):

EDI,LVP,LON,nwy,swe

(has 4, bld 1)

FRANCE (Tretick):

PAR,MAR,BRE,spa,por

(has 5, even)

GERMANY (Ozog/Tallman):

KIE,BER,MUN,hol,den,bel

(has 6, even)

ITALY (O'Donnell):

ROM,NAP,VEN,tun,gre

(has 4, bld 1)

RUSSIA (Sundstrom):

WAR,STP,SEV,MOS,bul

(has 5, even)

TURKEY (Biehl):

ANK,SMY,CON

(has 3, even or bld 1(r:otb))

Neutral:

none

(Total=34)

Addresses of the Participants

AUSTRIA: Paul Rauterberg, 3116 W. American Dr., Greenfield, WI 53221,

(414) 281-2339 (E-Mail) trauterberg of wi.rr.com

ENGLAND: Fred Wiedemeyer, Box 92010-Meadowbrook RPO, Edmonton, ALBERTA CANADA T6T 1N1,

(780) 465-6432, wiedem of planet.eon.net

FRANCE: Buddy Tretick, 9607 Conaty Circle Spotsylvania, VA 22553-1953

United Parcel Service ONLY: 5023 Sewell's Pointe Way, Fredericksburg, VA 22407, (540) 898-3386

cell (540) 226-5771 (E-Mail) berniebuddy32 of verizon.net

GERMANY: Terry Tallman, PO Box 782, Clinton, WA 98236, (360) 331-5698 ($2)

terryt of whidbey.net

GERMANY: Temporary Standby is Eric Ozog, PO Box 1138, Granite Falls, WA 98252-1138,

(360) 691-4264, ElfEric of Juno.com

ITALY: Jeff O'Donnell, 402 Middle Ave., Elyria, OH 44035-5728,

(440) 322-2920 or (440) 225-9203 (cell)

RUSSIA: Matt Sundstrom, 1760 Robincrest Lane South, Glenview, IL 60025, (847) 729-1882,

Matt.Sundstrom of bbdoch.com or mattandzoe of earthlink.net

TURKEY: John Biehl, #8 - 11530 84th Avenue, Delta, BRITISH COLUMBIA, V4C 2M1 CANADA,

(604) 591-1832 ($7); jrb of dccnet.com

Game Notes:

1) Terry is still having some medical problems, but rather than hold up the game anymore, Eric Ozog has agreed to pay attention to the game and negotiate and submit orders for Terry. We all hope this will be a brief interlude. Eric originally brought Terry into the Diplomacy hobby all those many years ago, and so I'm glad he's agreed to do this.

2) I have a discrepancy on Buddy's cell phone number. Note above I have x5771, while below in his press he says it is x5571. One is a typo, the other is correct. Could Buddy or someone please clarify? Thanks! Note also that the postal service is NOT delivering to Buddy's current address yet (this is an amazing thing to me, but I guess in growth areas happens), so you have to mail to him at his OLD address even though he doesn't live there any more. Confusing to me and to all of you and sorry for the confusion. E-Mail him, that's probably best.

3) I made a mistake in using the correct Austrian orders last time, and I verified this with Internet time stamps. Thus, here is Fall 1902 again with new Austrian orders. I have Winter orders from most of you and have held some press that revealed what you intended to build (Yes, Jeff, this includes you! So to the rest of you, you'll have to wait for the next installment.).

Press:

(FROM FRED): I am appreciative to Eric for playing the game as it is, not basing his play base on "old friendships" as it appears Uncle Bernie might have expected. Really, what else is Germany to do with all those armies?

(LON to PAR): For what's it's worth, Terry had said he would go after you too if you didn't stick with the western triple.

(FROM FRED): Life is life, Diplomacy is just a game, Merry Christmas and best of luck and health to all, esp. Uncle Bernie and Mr. Terry.

(JIM-BOB REPLIES): I hope you all had a Merry Christmas as well!

FLIP FLOP: 2003G, Regular Diplomacy

THE DUE DATE FOR FALL 1906 IS JANUARY 21ST, 2006

Summer 1906

AUSTRIA (Wiedemeyer): has a SER, a BUD, a NAP, a VEN, a UKR, a MOS, a TRI.

ENGLAND (Schmit): has a HOL, f ENG, f POR, a BUR, f MID, f NWY, f NTH, a FIN.

FRANCE (Jeff O'Donnell): has f TUN, a PAR, f SPA(SC), a MAR, a GAS.

GERMANY (Sundstrom): has f HEL, f BAL, a DEN, a WAR, a MUN, f SKA.

TURKEY (Levinson): R a ser-GRE; has a BUL, f AEG, f TYH, a GRE, f ION, f BLA, a SEV, a RUM.

Addresses of the Participants

AUSTRIA: Fred Wiedemeyer, Box 92010-Meadowbrook RPO, Edmonton, ALBERTA CANADA T6T 1N1,

(780) 465-6432, wiedem of planet.eon.net

ENGLAND: Karl Schmit, 1509 O'Keefe Road, DePere, WI 54115, (920) 338-8402,

diplomacy of new.rr.com ($4)

FRANCE: Jeff O'Donnell, 402 Middle Ave., Elyria, OH 44035-5728,

(440) 322-2920 or (440) 225-9203 (cell)

GERMANY: Matt Sundstrom, 1760 Robincrest Lane South, Glenview, IL 60025, (847) 729-1882,

Matt.Sundstrom of bbdoch.com or mattandzoe of earthlink.net

ITALY: Don Williams, 27505 Artine Drive, Saugus, CA 91350, (661) 297-3947,

wllmsfmly of earthlink.net or dwilliams of fontana.org

RUSSIA: Sean O'Donnell, 1044 Wellfleet Drive, Grafton, OH 44044, (440) 926-0230,

sean_o_donnell of hotmail.com

TURKEY: Alexandre Levinson, 1, allee des Marniquets, 78430 Louveciennes FRANCE, don't need phone,

levinson7 of hotmail.com ($5)

Game Notes:

1) Everything sailing along here - well, maybe not see the press and I had complaints from people in this game about problems updating the web page. I've solved those now so these should be up promptly.

Press:

(FROM FRED): Merry Christmas and best of luck to all.

(JIM-BOB REPLIES): I hope you all in this game and throughout the szine had a Merry Christmas as well!

I CAN'T FIND MY MONEY!: 2001F, Regular Diplomacy

THE DUE DATE FOR SUMMER 1912 IS JANUARY 21ST, 2006

THE DUE DATE FOR FALL 1912 IS FEBRUARY 18TH, 2005

Spring 1912

AUSTRIA (Parker): f ION S f gre-aeg, f TYH S f ion, a vie-GAL, a WAR h, f EAS S f gre-aeg, a PIE h,

a BUL h, a ven-TRI, a apu-VEN, a SEV-arm, a nap-ROM, a SER S a bul, a STP h, f gre-AEG.

FRANCE (Kent): f BRE S f pic-eng, a PAR-bur, a SPA-mar, a WAL h,

f PIC-eng, f tun s TURKISH f aeg-ion (nso).

GERMANY (Wilson): f kie-HOL, f BEL S f eng, a MUN-bur, f nth-EDI, a bur-GAS,

f ENG s a lon-wal, a LON-wal, a NWY h, a MAR s a bur-gas, f edi-CLY, a RUH-mun.

TURKEY (Miller): f aeg S a con-bul (d r:smy,otb), a ARM h, a CON-bul.

Addresses of the Participants

AUSTRIA: Vern Parker, 337 Winter Hill Place, Powell, OH 43065, (614) 402-5139

VernDip of aol.com is preferred

ENGLAND: Mark Kinney, 4830 Westport Road, Apt D, Louisville KY 40222

alberich of iglou.com

FRANCE: Douglas Kent - Unit E, #30694-177, Federal Correctional Institution McKean,

PO Box 8000, Bradford, PA 16701

GERMANY: Kevin Wilson, 18623 Santa Maria Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70809, 225-751-3857,

ckevinw1 of cox.net

ITALY: Formerly was Heath Gardner, 1510 W. Friendly Ave., Greensboro, NC 27403-1207

metaphorman of gmail.com

ITALY: Mike Barno, 634 Dawson Hill Road, Spencer, NY 14883

mpbarno of lightlink.com

RUSSIA: Rick Desper, 5440 Marinelli Road, #204, Rockville, MD 20852

(301) 977-7691, rick_desper of yahoo.com

TURKEY: Tim Miller, 258 New Mark Esplanade, Rockville, MD 20850,

tim of webjudge.net

GM: Jim-Bob Burgess, 664 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908-4327, +1 401-351-0287

burgess of world.std.com

Game Notes:

Press:

SECRETS: 1999D, Regular Diplomacy

THE NEW DUE DATE FOR FALL 1920 IS JANUARY 21ST, 2006

PRE-Fall 1920 - LAST Delay or new Standby will be called

ENGLAND (Gorham): has f LON, a GAS, f NAO, a KIE,

f MID, f ENG, f HOL, f POR.

FRANCE (Sasseville): has f MAR, f SPA(SC), a RUH, a BUR.

GERMANY (Barno): has a CON.

RUSSIA (Parker): has a MOS, a STP, a BER, f DEN, a NWY, a WAR.

TURKEY (Linsey): has a ARM, a UKR, a SIL, f WES, a SEV, f GOL, a MUN, a GAL,

f NAF, f AEG, a TYO, f PIE, a BOH.

Addresses of the Participants

ENGLAND: Dan Gorham, PO Box 90, San Ignacio, Cayo, BELIZE, frdan of btl.net

FRANCE: Roland Sasseville, Jr., 38 Bucklin Street, Pawtucket, RI 02861, (401) 481-4280 ($0)

roland6 of cox.net and ICQ: 40565030

GERMANY: Mike Barno, 634 Dawson Hill Road, Spencer, NY 14883, (607) 589-4906

mpbarno of lightlink.com

RUSSIA: Vern Parker, 337 Winter Hill Place, Powell, OH 43065, (614) 402-5139

VernDip of aol.com is preferred

TURKEY: Bruce Linsey, PO Box 234, Kinderhook, NY 12106

GonzoHQ of aol.com

Game Notes:

1) The FREGT draw is rejected, there are no new proposals. We're off the draw clock, as seems clear at this point.

2) I did lose some E-Mail (see top of szine) and I worried that Dan's orders might be among them. I could not contact him, so I decided to extend the deadline ONE more time. If Dan does not respond and get orders in, a new standby will be called.

Press:

FINDING THE COMMUNITY: Breaking Away, Designer's Rules

CONGRATULATIONS TO RICK DESPER WHO HUNG ON FOR THE VICTORY!!!

Game Notes:

1) The rules are on the TAP website in the Tinamou section. Ask if you have any questions. New game start in this, who wants to play again (or for the first time)??? We have two signed up so far, see the list in the game opening section. I want to start this up soon, so sign up!!!

Press:

Personal Note to You:

File translated from T_EX by T_TH, version 3.30.
On 03 Jan 2006, 17:31.