The Zine

Winter 1999 Adjustment Issue

The Guest Editor: About The Diplomatic Pouch: Guest Editor Brandon Clarke takes you for a quick look at the latest happenings around The Pouch and the hobby.
Manus Hand: The Blue Water Lepanto: Manus puts pen to paper and details how Austria can play an Austria/Italy alliance while keeping the reins firmly in his own hands, and with the added bonus of better prospects for timely gains against the Turk. (Since it is Manus's zine, I figured it's only polite to let his article have top billing.)
Theo Kermanidis: The Lepanto Bluff: Theo continues the discussion of Lepanto-esque openings, this time with a twist that I'm sure will appeal to those who draw Italy and whose negotiation style includes a heavy dose of deception.
Chris Martin: Martin On Diplomacy: The Top Table: The 1998 World Champion starts off what promises to be a very welcome series of articles, "Martin On Diplomacy." [I'm already calling it "MOD" for short. --Manus] In this first column, Chris gives us his impressions on the Top Table concept that is widely used in European Diplomacy tournaments.
Brandon Clarke: In Pursuit of the Bismark: Your Guest Editor recounts and reviews the events of an entire year of Face-to-Face tournament Diplomacy downunder, chronicling his efforts to win the Bismark Cup, Australasia's highest prize in Tournament Diplomacy.
Nick Smith: Arise, Lazarus, and Walk! -- Coming Back From the Dead in Diplomacy: Nick seeks your stories about amazing Diplomacy comebacks ... if you've had an amazing comeback, read this article and send details of your experience to Nick so that he can put together an instructive series of articles about how they happen.
Bruce Duewer: Machiavelli -- Money Money Money Money: Bruce continues his article series on the Machiavelli variant. This time, he deals with a variety of monetary strategy and tactics, and with assassination.
Simon Szykman: Where to Buy Diplomacy: In this hiatus between the Avalon Hill release of the game, and the forthcoming (but late in arriving) re-issue by Hasbro, one of the most frequently asked questions we hear is, "Where can I get a copy of the game?" More frequently than you think. (Are you listening, Hasbro?) Simon does us all a favor (especially Manus, who has written so many "Hasbro is reissuing it but it's not out yet, so good luck" messages that his typing fingers hurt) by going over the currently available options.
Chip Crain: The Triple Alliance Revisited: Chip takes Stephen Agar's Triple Alliance article, and extends the concept. The result is a strong springboard start for Germany, Austria, and Italy that will carry them into the midgame and beyond.
Larry Peery: If I Build It, Will They Come?: Oh I bet they'll come, because look what Larry has built! A shrine to the hobby's perennial big event!
Will Black: A Review of the Don Challenge Cup (From a Winner's Perspective): Will Black, the first player from either Australia or New Zealand to cross the Tasman Sea and win a tournament in the other country tells how he did it.
Pat Brennan: Seeing Is Believing -- Or, How To Solo Without An Endgame: Pat recently completed his first Judge PBEM game, in which he took Germany from four SC's when he took over half way through 1904, to twelve SC's at the end of 1909, and then to twenty SC's at the end of 1910! In an informative, modified version of his EOG statement, find out how he did it, and the lessons that can be learned from his experience.
Bob Steinke: EIDRaS Explained: The ARMADA, the Diplomacy organization in the U.S. Rocky Mountains, has decided to use EIDRaS as its scoring system for their member rankings. Bob explains EIDRaS so that those of us who aren't mathematicians can figure out how it works.
Brandon Clarke: Meta-Gaming?: Following the events of the last half of 1999, the topic of meta-gaming is very current downunder. Because of this, I decided to look around the web and find out what other people had written about the topic, and well, it spawned an article of my own in response.
José Torres: Press -- By a Newbie and For a Newbie: The Pouch's resident newbie (until you all catch onto him!) offers his insight on press for other players new to the game. How to be a newbie without sounding like one.
Tim Miller: Abandonment Free GMing -- What a GM Can Do to Minimize Abandonments: Tim Miller shares his GM'ing experience with us, giving tips on how to GM, and also specific hints for GM'ing newbies and oldbies.
Joe Brennan: No More Long Waits for Replacements: ...And while we're on the subject of abandonments, Joe Brennan shares his model for how we can play without long waits for replacement players.
The Editor and the Readership: Pouch Deposits: All by itself, Manus and Simon's article in the last Issue Eliminating the Paradox in Diplomacy produced a veritable mountain of mail! So much so that those letters have got their own article (see below). Here is the rest of the mail, on a wide and varied range of topics; some of it very entertaining reading.
Larry Peery: So Who Were The Greatest Diplomats...?: Last issue Larry asked the readership to list the ten greatest diplomats of the last thousand years. You can see how some of the readers responded in the Deposits column, and here is Larry's own list!
The Readers Go Completely Berko!!!: About The Convoy Paradox Resolution: An enormous amount of mail regarding Manus and Simon's article, Eliminating the Paradox in Diplomacy, filled the mail bag to overflowing. Read the spirited debate, all of it...and there's loads, believe me! (And Manus, after seeing this, I'll never forgive you for making me the Guest Editor!)