Diplomacy Games

The guys interview game designer, World Boardgaming Champion and CEO Matt Calkins about his love of Diplomacy. Intro The guys introduce the show, their drinks and tonight's venue (0 mins 15 secs) Interview with Matt Calkins The guys introduce today's interview (6 mins 30 secs) Amby asks when Matt first got into Diplomacy and which aspects of the game's design he likes (7 mins) They discuss some of the board games Matt has commercially published and their relationship with the game. Matt's games include the award winning Sekigahara (the most similar to Diplomacy), Tin Goose and Magnet (10 mins) Matt talks about the World Boardgaming Championships (12 mins) Amby asks about the cross-overs between gaming and the business world (15 mins) Photo credit: Forbes Magazine Kaner asks about creating board games and Matt's favorite country to play in Diplomacy (16 mins) Amby asks about Matt's favorite board games in his library in the photo taken in Forbes magazine (23 mins) Amby asks how Matt uses board gamin

The guys celebrate their 100th podcast by inviting Andrew Goff, Brandon Fogel, Brother Board and CaptainMeme on to play their Diplomacy Trivia Extravaganza. Intro The guys introduce their 100th show, their drinks and tonight's venue, including a story or two (0 mins 15 secs) They start introducing the Diplomacy Trivia Extravaganza with Andrew Goff, Brandon Fogel, Brother Bored and CaptainMeme as contestants. They also mention if you join the Patreon feed, next week's bonus episode is the guys coming up with the questions (6 mins 40 secs) The Diplomacy Trivia Extravaganza Amby is acting as the game show host and begins by introducing the players and some of their Diplomacy background. Kaner is the adjudicator (7 mins 50 secs) They begin the questions (11 mins 50 secs) After a score update, the game moves onto the lightening round (34 mins 15 secs) The lightening round concludes and we move back onto the normal set of questions, followed by another score update (47 mins 45 secs) Goffy does a promo for P

The guys discuss their games and Amby reflects on the similarities between the hit Netflix series Squid Game and Diplomacy. Intro & Around the grounds The guys introduce the show, their drinks and tonight's venue (0 mins 15 secs) Amby admits he's hit his limit in how many games he's joined up. They discuss the Dawn of the Enlightenment game they're both in  (5 mins 15 secs) Amby is playing France and discusses the challenges of playing colonial positions in addition to Europe (13 mins) They discuss spectating a game with the view to taking over a civil disorder position in High Renovatio Jackpot (18 mins) Kaner asks if any of Amby's games where he's takes over civil disorder positions he's going well in (22 mins) Amby discusses his Divided States anonymous game, No Name 11, where New Hampshire (red) has lost its homeland and re-established itself in Alaska (23 mins 15 secs) Amby goes onto discuss getting shafted in the Mongolian Empire game Screaming Jugular Bloodaxe Gusher (28 mins 45 secs) Amby

Kaner & Amby catch up with Diplomacy novelist R. Jamie Langa, talk about the new recorder & lots of Diplomacy stuff. Intro The guys introduce the show and discuss the new audio recorder they've had to buy thanks to our Patreon supporters (0 mins 15 secs) You can provide a one-off contribution of $5 towards buying the new recorder at our Diplomacy Games Patreon feed (5 mins) Amby talks about how he's gotten into Aussie Peppa Pig ** language warning! ** (6 mins) Interview with R. Jamie Langa, Diplomacy novelist The guys start introducing this show's interview guest R. Jamie Langa, author of Diplomacy novel "Art of the Stab." (8 mins 30 secs) The interview starts with Amby asking why Jamie decided to write a novel based around the game (10 mins 30 secs) They discuss why Diplomacy isn't more a part of popular culture (14 mins) Amby asks what drew Jamie to writing the book. He outlines what he was trying to achieve in the story (22 mins) Kaner asks about Jamie's process for writing the book (27 mi

The guys catch up for some drinks to discuss their games, with Kaner sharing his Diplomacy theory of crab shells and faultlines. Plus the Middle Earth variant. Intro & Around the grounds The guys kickoff and Kaner outlines why he dislikes playing England  (0 mins 10 secs) They discuss the venue and their drinks (3 mins 50 secs) They talk about the lockdown that never happened and a general Australian COVID update (6 mins 15 secs) Amby discusses an Australian MP who has wild theories about COVID. Amby shows his website domain that didn't get reregistered (8 mins 30 secs) Kaner shares a joke or two with Amby and chats about measuring systems (11 mins 30 secs) They grab some more drinks and Amby looks into abandoned games (17 mins 30 secs) Kaner wants to out Amby and himself when in anonymous games (23 mins) Kaner asks Amby about fleet builds on rivers in Divided States games & ideas for better gameplay (25 mins 45 secs) Amby talks about his Spice Islands game and rulebook press (32 mins 45 secs

The guys interview Bryan Pravel and Zach Moore from DBN about Diplomacy at the Olympics and where the game is going. Intro The guys are in pre-lockdown. They expect the government will do a lockdown when they planned to record so catch up on Skype instead.   (0 mins 10 secs) Interview with Bryan Pravel & Zach Moore from DBN The guys welcome Bryan and Zach to the show, before jumping into the 2032 Olympics and DBN's plan to partner with 2032 Olympics broadcaster NBC (5 mins) Amby asks what steps DBN needs to take to be ready by 2032 (8 mins 20 secs) They discuss how people interested in interning at DBN can apply and what skills they need (10 mins) Amby asks what's going on in the background of a live broadcast game (13 mins) Amby discusses the professional broadcast feel of the show, and asks how that could improve in the future (16 mins 15 secs) Kaner asks Bryan and Zack on how an Olympic Diplomacy competition should be held and which nations are most likely to take gold, silver & bronze  (19

The guys interview Osbert, a high school student on a younger player's perspective on the game Diplomacy. Plus podcast drinking game ideas, Diplomacy chat & Kaner's games. Intro The guys are at X-Cargo. They flag the first half of the show will be PG rated and discuss their drinks  (0 mins 10 secs) They set the stage for today's interview with Osbert, a younger person who plays Diplomacy (3 mins 30 secs) Interview with Osbert: a young player's perspective on Diplomacy Amby asks Osbert - a high school student - about how he got introduced to Diplomacy (4 mins 30 secs) They explore why Osbert returns to the game (7 mins 30 secs) Amby asks how Osbert have approached things where people don't know his age (9 mins 30 secs) Amby asks about Osbert's approach to communication in the game and what other skills he's got from the game (11 mins 30 secs) They explore what is an ideal game for Osbert (15 mins) They discuss using gunboat to improve tactics (17 mins 15 secs) Amby asks where Osbert learns about

The guys interview Matt and David, creators of the Primacy app which is playable on Apple and Android platforms. Plus 2032 Olympics talk, around the grounds and Amby's Summer Classic experience. Intro and Diplomacy news The guys are at the Guilty Rogue and discuss Brisbane officially hosting the 2032 Olympics. So its time to make Diplomacy an Olympic sport (0 mins 10 secs) Amby asks if Diplomacy was an Olympic sport right now, who'd be representing their players and which countries would have a team (2 mins) They talk specialist players for each country and what would be the scoring system for Diplomacy at the Olympics (5 mins 30 secs) Amby talks about the need for an International Diplomacy Federation to advocate for the game to be in the Olympics (8 mins) Interview with Matt and David from the Primacy App Kaner & Amby start setting up the interview (10 mins 30 secs) The interview starts. NOTE for listeners, Amby had some recording troubles so his audio isn't as good as normal (11 mins 15 secs) A

The guys unpack Amby's draw in Media Wars 2 and get the take of the board topping Ed Sullivan/GoHornsGo and Village Idiot/Ewok in an interview. Plus much more. Intro and Diplomacy news The guys begin at Bar Brutus and do a mea culpa (0 mins 10 secs) With some clever editing we've removed all the fucking train noises. They talk about their recent holidays that have partly delayed episodes (2 mins 10 secs) Kaner talks about a board game he bought: Imperial Struggle (5 mins 50 secs) Amby asks how a Diplomacy game would work if you couldn't eliminate a player in the first 3 game years (7 mins 50 secs) Amby flags the upcoming decision on the hosting of the 2032 Olympics on 21 July 2021, where the guys are trying to make Diplomacy an Olympic sport (10 mins 50 secs) He then goes to talk about a new Diplomacy app - Primacy. It is on iPhone and Android, but Kaner couldn't find it in the Google Play store. You can find Primacy in GooglePlay and Primacy on iPhone (12 mins 20 secs) Media Wars 2 interview with Ed

The guys interview Isabella Vladoiu from US Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights about how the game relates to real life Diplomacy. Plus they discuss their games and a public service announcement from all Mods. Intro and Diplomacy news The guys are still at the Empire Hotel.  Amby disses Google.  They do a drinks update (0 mins 10 secs) They give a Diplomacy face to face update and ideas to get more people into the game (3 mins 30 secs) Interview with Isabelle Vladoiu from US Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights The guys set the scene for their interview with Isabelle Vladoiu, founder of US Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights, a not for profit organization (6 mins 30 secs) Kaner and Amby welcome Isabelle to the show. Kaner asks about the sort of work she does (7 mins 30 secs) Kaner reflects on reputation and asks how a diplomatic negotiation takes place (12 mins 30 secs) Amby asks about soft skills in breaking through an impasse and re-establishing trust (17 mins) Amby asks Isabelle about he

Kaner takes on Brother Bored in a live France vs Austria game and learns a few lessons. Amby is also "learning lessons" in his Media Wars 2 game. Intro and Diplomacy news The guys discuss the venue, drinks and set the scene for today's episode (0 mins 10 secs) Kaner discusses the Summer Classic virtual tournament being held 23-25 July (2 mins 35 secs) They discuss work and life commitments have been getting in the way of their Diplomacy interests (5 mins 20 secs) Kaner vs Brother Bored live game: France vs Austria Amby sets the scene in the Kaner vs Brother Bored game of France vs Austria. Brother Bored also has the game on his Youtube channel (6 mins 30 secs) They discuss the Spring 1901 openings (8 mins 15 secs)   Amby goes through the Fall 1901 orders (11 mins) Brother Bored gives a fun fact about Trieste (11 mins 30 secs) Next up is the builds (12 mins 15 secs) Spring 1902 moves are then discussed (14 mins 30 secs) Brother Bored explains some of his thinking as they enter Fall 1902 mo

The guys have had a small break and come back re-energised for the game. They discuss an upcoming face to face game, Media Wars 2 and test unbreakable alliances. Intro and Diplomacy news The guys discuss the venue and throwing stones (0 mins 10 secs) They discuss they're out of lockdown and Kaner explains how he'd taken a break from the game for a little while. He talks about his decision making process for choosing a game to join (2 mins 50 secs) Amby's had a lot going on in real life too and has reduced the number of his games (4 mins 55 secs) Amby discusses the volume of Diplomacy content coming from the DBN and Legendary Tactics (7 mins) Kaner asks what is Amby's worst country to play (7 mins 55 secs) Amby discusses some of the recent Diplomacy Briefing releases (11 mins 20 secs) The guys discuss the u/trampolinebears Diplomacy map and what Kaner did to create his board, as asked by Dan Bahler (12 mins) They've also got an email from Daniel McNamara about playing a face to face game in Brisbane. T

No show due to real life stuff. Back in two weeks.

The guys interview Jamal Blakkarly, winner of PoppyCon 2021, the first face to face Diplomacy tournament since Covid (excluding that 7 player European championship.) Plus they chat about Media Wars 2 and much, much more. Lockdown intro and Diplomacy news The guys set the scene about the most recent lockdown in Brisbane and their drinks  (0 mins 10 secs) They're going to do their first live interview on the show. They set the scenes for the interview (4 mins 20 secs) Amby discusses briefly the guys' France v Austria 1 on 1 game on their Patreon feed and give a shout out to our latest Patreon supporter (7 mins) Amby flags that their $3 Patreon supporter level which used to get you a position in Kaner's presidential cabinet if he won (9 mins 15 secs) He goes onto discuss how Brisbane now has the sole negotiating rights with the International Olympics Committee for the 2032 summer olympics. Amby proposes that we need to get Diplomacy as an offcicial olympic sport and set up a lobbying campaign (10 mins 30 se

The guys interview winner of the DBI Invitational, Peter McNamara about his gameplay. Plus Bronze Age Diplomacy, variant ideas from the guys and much more. Intro and Diplomacy news The guys talk about their drinks and venue (0 mins 10 secs) Interview with Peter McNamara Kaner & Amby begin to introduce the interview with Peter McNamara and what's coming up (2 mins 30 secs) The interview starts with setting the scene after Peter's win at the DBN Invitational.  Amby asks how people were invited to attend the tournament (5 mins) Amby asks about the earlier rounds and seeding (8 mins 20 secs) They discuss why Peter went for Italy. You can read his article in the Diplomacy Briefing (10 mins 20 secs) Amby asks about where Peter planned to take things in the mid-game (13 mins) Kaner asks about the geography of the board (14 mins) Amby asks Peter about stabbing allies (15 mins 20 secs) They discuss reading the board (17 mins) Amby asks about how Peter got into the game, before asking about how tournamen

The guys catch up for some drinks and a chat around their current Diplomacy endeavors and games. Intro and Diplomacy news The guys talk about their drinks and venue (0 mins 10 secs) They were hoping to play a face to face game on Sunday but have failed to get the numbers again (3 mins 45 secs) They also provide an update about their now non-attendance at PoppyCon in Melbourne, the first post-Covid face to face tournament in the world (4 mins 40 secs) Amby discusses ideas on how to drum up more people to come along to a game (9 mins 50 secs) Kaner gives a shout out to Peter McNamara on his victory at the DBN Invitational (14 mins) He discusses some of the upcoming virtual tournaments (16 mins 50 secs) Around the grounds Amby gives an update about his online games - a Mate Against Mate game called Happy Australia Day and his Imperial Diplomacy II game Pointy Pointy Stabby Stabby. Kaner discusses unit icons (18 mins 30 secs) He discusses his Europa Renovation team game where he's playing as Austria (24

The guys interview Australian Defense Force chaplain John Dansie on using Diplomacy in professional military education of officers. Plus they talk about upcoming face to face games, their online games and Kaner makes a helluva mess. Intro The guys restart talking about other podcasts and Amby gives a big thumbs up to Brother Bored's Diplomacy Dojo (0 mins 10 secs) They talk about their drinks (1 min 45 secs) Amby talks about Bin Chicken Paradise. More here. (2 mins 45 secs) Interview with John Dansie Amby starts setting the scene for our interview with Australian Defense Force chaplain John Dansie (5 mins 30 secs) The guys welcome John to the show (6 mins 30 secs) Amby asks John how got introduced to the game (7 mins) He asks about how John brought Diplomacy into the professional military education of Australian officers and want he wanted to get out of it. You can read his article on The Cove (8 mins 30 secs) Kaner asks about the feedback from players after the game (11 mins 45 secs) Amby asks abou

The guys record a back-to-back rather drunk episode. They talk about their (at the time) current games and prove the slow but effective Juggernaut alliance, before starting on an Anschluss alliance game. Intro & Diplomacy chat The guys restart on their 3rd drink at Brisbane Brewing Co and talk about their planned Diplomacy Wives Club interview they planned that never happened (0 mins 10 secs) Amby presents Kaner with his belated Christmas present (5 mins 30 secs) Around the grounds They provide (by now) a belated Around the grounds update, starting with their anonymous Europa Renovatio team game where Kaner is effectively playing gunboat despite the game being full press. Amby gives his take on how he's been going. They discuss a gentlemanly stab. (7 mins 40 secs) Kaner briefly touches on being in gunboat games before Amby discusses some of his games (14 mins 20 secs) Amby discusses the Winning is for Losers game (16 mins) [This game has actually since ended in a draw] The guys chat about differen

We catchup with legend of the game, Edi Birsan, around so, so much about Diplomacy. Your head will spin! Plus the guys discuss their virtual WDC experience and webDip 2020 World Cup. Intro The guys introduce today's venue and location before discussing their drinks (0 mins 10 secs) Interview with Edi Birsan They start introducing the interview with Edi Birsan (3 mins 40 secs) Amby asks Edi how he got started in the game in the 1960's (4 mins 40 secs) Amby reflects on Edi's response about psychologists using the game to build resilience. Edi gives some further detail and touches on Kissinger playing Diplomacy and integration of schools in South Africa using Diplomacy (12 mins) Edi discusses the importance of younger people being open to the game during formative learning and intervening with a player about their behavior (16 mins) He discusses his mantra about Diplomacy (18 mins 15 secs) He talks about using the game as a tool for learning about trust (20 mins 30 secs) Note: around this point someone

Due to holidays our next normal episode will be out in two more weeks.