On the Blog

I decided that it might be useful to have a list of blog series and stand alone posts here. I know there's the archive but that doesn't necessarily link series of posts.

Series

Links here will take you to the first post in the series.

Stand alone posts

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WHAT IS DIPLOMACY? - Part 5: Variants

A variant is a game of Diplomacy where the rules or context are different from the standard game as designed by Allan B Calhamer. There are three types of variants: context variants, map variants and rules variants. Context Variants Context variants are those games that are played with a wider context. They may be tournament games, other scored games, or remote format games. These aren't often recognised as variants as such, as variants tend to be within the other two types discussed below. But the context the game is being played in will have an impact on how some players will play the game, and so they are certainly a variation of Dip. Maybe they should be called "variations" rather than variants but does it really matter? Map Variants Diplomacy has been adapted to different maps, or boards. Not surprising as the general idea of the game, pitting competing powers against each other in a localised region and time in history, can be adapte...

Tournament Scoring - Part 3: Draw Size Scoring (DSS)

If we're looking to score Diplomacy games based on the rules of the game, there are just three outcomes: a win, a draw, and a loss. A scoring system based on these outcomes would therefore be based on whether the game was won, or whether it ended in a draw. These systems are called Draw Size Scoring systems (DSS). The basic model for DSS systems is: The result is based on how the game ends only. If you win the game outright (solo), you take all the points in the game. If you are part of the draw at the end of the game, you receive the points avaialble in the game divided by the number of players in the draw. If you lose the game, you receive 0 (zero) points. The most basic version of this is the Calhamer Point system, designed by the great and good ABC himself. If you soloed, you earned a point. If you drew the game, you scored a number of points based on how many people you drew with. So a 4-way draw would provide 0.25 points, a 5-way draw 0....

Tournament Scoring - Part 2: What should a good scoring system do?

As I mentioned in the first post in this series , if you're playing in a tournament, you're playing a variant of Diplomacy. This must be kept in mind when we're evaluating scoring systems. The games are already variants so having them scored just means the variant aspect is increased. However, the scoring system should change the nature of the game as minimally as possible. Ideally, even in the context of the variant you are playing - whether that variant is that the game is part of a tournament only, or whether it's being played online - the scoring system should try to meet the objectives of Diplomacy, not alter them. Objectives of Diplomacy The objective of the game is to win. This means owning 18 SCs. If the game is unlikely to end in a solo victory, then the surviving players can end the game in a draw. This means that players should be looking to survive in most cases, and certainly to be in a position to be part of the draw. Draws Inc...

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