DIPLOMACY AtoZ Version 4.x c.dat (4/19)
Mark Nelson
CALHAMER, ALLAN B. (1) <RE/MN:89-90/Aug93> The man who invented DIPLOMACY,
reputedly over a period of fourteen years before it was first published in 1958
by Calhamer. An American with an academic background in several relevant
disciplines including history and geography, he has since written countless
articles on the game for the likes of {_Diplomacy World_} and was guest of
honour at {World Dip Con I} in Birmingham in 1988, where he achieved greater
fame as "the guy with the beard".
Has played in several postal games and been GoH at numerous conventions.
See Personalities (KW).
CALHAMER AWARDS (1) <MB:Jun80> {IDA} awards in categories such as Outstanding
{GM}, {variant}, {zine}, publication, {press} release, press series, regular
game, variant game, technical article, established zine, new zine, single
contribution to the hobby and others. Now dormant. See Hobby Awards (KW).
CALHAMER POINT COUNT (1) <MB:Jun80> A {rating} or scoring system named after
the game's inventor, giving 1 point for a win, and 1/N points for a N-way
draw. It reflects the "win-only" philosophy. In the "Averaged C.P.C", this
score is divided by the total number of games, and in the "weighted version",
corrections are made for the relative success of the 7 countries. Present
custodian is Doug Hollingsworth. See Rating Systems (KW).
CALHAMER TOURNAMENT SCORING SYSTEM (1) <MB:Mar82> A winner gets 30 points;
losers nothing. In games not won each player gets 10 points plus his number of
centres. If the leader has more than 8 all other scores are reduced by the
amount the leader has in excess of 8. No one may score more than 3 times his
number of centres. A sole leader gets 2 extra points. A very similar system
was used at Dipcon XIII in Michigan in June, 1980. See Rating Systems (KW).
CALHAMERIAN (1) <MB:Mar82> See "Win Only". Example: ODD.
CANADIAN DIPLOMACY ORGANIZATION (CDO) (1) <MB:Jun80> The most stable N.A. dip
organization, it has sponsored The National, an Ombudsman and his advisory
committee, and {Orphan Games} service, a Code of Ethics, and English and French
{novice} {zines}. Now under the leadership of Francois Cuerrier and Randolph
Smythe.
CANADIAN VARIANT BANK (1) <MB:Jun80> See Variant Bank North.
CANALCON (1) <MN:Aug93> A week on a boat on British canals with British
{Hobby} members. Ran in the early 1980's.
& CANALS See WATERWAYS.
CANCON (1) <AoS:88> Short for Canberra Games Convention. Held on the
Australia Day weekend in January each year and venue for the hobby's major
tournament, the Australian Diplomacy Championship.
& CANCON (2) <MN:Nov93> Canadian `national' diplomacy convention held in Toronto
each Summer.
Year #Players Winner
1988 30 Marc Peters (USA)
1989 26 Fred Hyatt (USA)
1990 ?? Cal White (Canada).
& CANCON (3) <CW:Jul95> Please note the difference in spelling between OUR
Cancon and the damned Aussie bastards CanCon... Their deference to us in
this matter is all that prevented an international incident at
DixieCon/{DipCon}/{World Dipcon} a few years ago which WOULD have seen me
forced to pummel Andrew England and John Cain about the eyes, ears, nore
and throat. Hmmph.
CAPORETTA OPENING (1) <MB:Jun80> See Illyrian Opening and Italian Openings
(KW).
CARBON COPY ZINE (1) <MB:Jun80> Literally, copies are made by using carbon
paper, though nowadays Xerox will often be used. Circulation is naturally
low. This is resorted to when a GM loses his reproduction facilities, and does
not want to delay or relinquish his game. Usually this lasts for a short time
only, but it can go on for a long time e.g._Narsil_ and _Dorsai_.
CARDINAL RULES OF POSTAL DIPLOMACY (1) <MB:Jun80> 1. Write plenty of letters.
2. Get your moves in on time. Absolutely nothing outranks these, and failure
to follow them can nullify any other skills that you bring to bear on the game.
& CARE BEAR (1) <MN:Sep93> A derogatory reference to games which are not
{Cutthroat}. Used in internetland. Term devised by Nick Fitzpatrick.
& CARUSO, Kathy (nee Byrne) (1) <MN+JB:Aug94> Kathy entered the Hobby, as
Kathy Byrne, in the late 1970s/ early 1980's and quickly gained a reputation
as being one of the top players in the hobby; she is one an elite band of
players to win three games playing as Italy, she won the 1981 {Nixon Award},
won the Whitestonia Best Player Poll in 1982 and placed 4th out of 120 at
GenCon East in 1982.
She is an avid player of standby positions, has outstanding record in
postal play and has always been a prolific, and entertaining, press writer.
In the early 1980s she had articles and letters published in
scores of zines on a wide variety of subjects and ran two subzines,
Kathy's Korner in Whitestonia and Kathy's Kode in Coats of Arms. For many years
she ran Kathy's Korner, which started out as a subzine to Whitestonia, which
was renowened for its distinctive lettercolum (based described as gossippy
sillness) which is heavily based on Kathy's unique eye for wacky nicknames
which all regular contributors were required to have or a contest would
choose one for them.
It currently is running down to a fold after a decade of publication and 180
issues. In the mid 1980' she was actively involved in Hobby politics, in
particular the Great Feud. No other female has made as big a contribution as
Kathy has to the hobby.
See Personalities (KW).
CASSETTE TAPE DIPLOMACY (1) <MB:Jun80> An idea pushed by {von Metzke} and Pete
Webber, it didn't get far.
& CDO See Canadian Diplomacy Organization
CENTRAL GAMESTART SERVICE (1) <MB/MN:Jun80+Mar82/Apr92> The origins of the CGS
stem from the early days of the {NGC}. At this time NGC zines did not operate
separate waiting lists for games, instead there was one central NGC waiting
list for whatever games potential {GMs} wanted to run. This ensured that
waiting lists filled quicker than would otherwise been the case as the entire
NGC membership were informed of openings, rather then them being restricted to
readers of a particular zine. At some stage NGC zines started to operate
their own waiting lists and the central waiting list ceased to exist. I (MN)
believe that the central waiting list was never formally called a CGS.
After the demise of the NGC the CGS was `revived' by Richard Hucknall.
Players, usually {novices}, would apply for a {gamestart} and when the
organizer had seven names he would send this gamestart to any editor that
wished to run a CGS game. The aim was to provide a quick, and easy, way for a
novice to enter into a Diplomacy game without worrying as to which zines were
good zines to play in since the organizer could filter out `poor' zines by not
sending them CGS games.
The line of custodians is: Richard Hucknall, Malcolm Brown, James O'Fee
and finally Richard Hucknall again. At some time Tom Tweedy became custodian,
who passed it onto Nick Kinzett. Kinzett abandoned the CGS circa 1986, by
which time it had become impossible to run: Most people entering the hobby at
this time had no qualms about deciding which zine they wanted to play in and
didn't seem to mind playing against more experienced players. The demand for
the CGS had dropped to such a small extent that in order to fill games at
anything like a reasonable speed, experienced players were being drafted in to
make up numbers --- defeating one of the main reasons for the existence of the
CGS. The demise of the CGS resulted in the birth of _Springboard_, but that is
another entry...
& CENTURY CLUB (1) <MB:Jun80/Mar82 + MN: Sep93> The honor roll of zines which
have reached 100 issues. In North America it includes:
A Droite A Guache (174 issues, Hal Naus) , The Abyssinian Prince
(Jim Burgess, 130+), The Appalachian General (150+, Dave McCrumb),
Big Brother (Charles Reinsel, 100), BOAST (335+, Herb Barents),
Brobdingnag (155, Richard Shultz 1-24, John McCallum 25-90, Ed Halle 91-108,
Rod Walker 109-115, Bob Ward 116-155), Brutus Bulletin (109, John Michalski),
Bushwacker (234, Fred C. Davis Jnr), Cheesecake (136+, Andy Lischett),
Claw and Fang (124, Don Horton), Costaguana (219+, Conrad von Metzke),
Diplomacy Digest (130, Mark Berch), Diplomag (105+, Fred C. Davis Jnr 1-42,
Ron Brown 43-51, Bruce Poppe 52-66, Fred C. Davis Jnr 67-),
Diplophobia (114, Don Miller), Dippy (327+, Jim Benes), EFGIART (186,
Doug Beyerlein), Erehwon (128, Rod Walker), Fol Si Fie (202, Randolph Smythe),
The Gamer's Zine (166+, Eearl E. Whiskeyman Jnr), Graustark (604+,
John Boardman), Hoosier Archives (332, Walt Buchanan 1-250, Eric Verheiden
251-316, Rod Walker 317-332), Kaissa (200, W.E.J. Hinton Jnr),
Kathy's Korner (180+, Kathy Caruso, nee Byrne), Lemon Curry (122+,
Don Del Grande), Liberterrean (232, Jim Bumpas 1-227, Kevin Kozlowski 228-232),
Magus (100, Steve & Daphne Langley), Passchendaele (107, Francois Cuerrier),
Perelandra (100+, Pete Gaughan), The Pouch (111, Nick Ulanov), The Prince
(114+, Jim Meinel), Protozoan (107+, Scott Cameron), Retaliation
(133, Dick & Julie Martin), Runestone (375, John Leeder), Saint George and
the Dragon (100, Robert Sergeant), Shaaft! (138, Andy Philips), Stab
(117, John Koning 1-67, Conrad von Metzke 69-117), Ter-ran
(182+, Steve Heinowski), Vertigo (110+, Brad Wilson), Voice of Doom
(100, Bruce Linsey), Whitestonia (129, John Caruso), Wild and Woolly
(144, Charles Brannan) and Yggdrasil Chronicle (155, John Van De Graaf).
A +indicates a zine that is still running.
These are all American zines except for: Runestone, Fol Si Fie,
Passchendaele (Canadian) and Brobdingnag (started off as an American zine and
then a Canadian took over). [Since all are zines, none have the _x_ format.]
CENTURY CLUB (2) <MN:Nov92> At the time of writing 15 British Diplomacy Zine
have produced 100+ issues. Eight of these have folded: Zeeby (100, Nick
Kinzett), Chimaera (102, Clive Booth), 1901aat (104, Mick Bullock), Home of The
Brave (116, Geoff Challinger), NMR! (127 (?), Ken Bain and Brian Creese),
Mad Policy (160, Richard Walkerdine), BDC Journal (169, Don Turnbull) and
Courier (about 240, Don Turnbull). The seven still in production are:
C'Est Mag (131, Pete Sullivan), Dolchstoss (Richard Sharp), Gallimaufry (Steve
Doubleday), Greatest Hits (Pete Birks), Hopscotch (Alan Parr), Ode (John
Marsden) and Take That You Fiend (Kevin Warne and John Harrington).
CERTIFIABLY PLAYABLE (1) <MB:Jun80> A label of approval for variants that was
to have been bestowed by the {Diplomacy Variant Commission}.
See variant Jargon (KW).
CGS (1) <MN:Apr92> See Central Gamestart Service.
CHALKER RULE (1) <MB:Mar82> An obsolete rule which said that a player could not
save his own position by attacking it in order to establish a {beleaguered
garrison}.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD (1) <MB:Jun80> Procedure whereby exactly two units
exchange places without benefit of convoy. Illegal under the 1971 Rulebook.
The exchange can be done via convoy or by using the Merry-go-round. Permitted
in some variants.
CHAOS (1) <MB:Jun80> Don Miller's 1966 variant in which each player writes
orders for all 7 countries. GM makes a random selection for each country to
select orders to be used. Miller did reveal the names of those who wrote the
selected orders, and, for a while, all orders submitted. See
Variant (KW).
CHAPESS (1) <AoS:88> Word used by some women players to describe themselves.
CHAPTER TWO (1) <MN/DL:Nov92> A Chapter to {Electronic Protocol} created by
{Danny Loeb} when {Eric Klien} became overwhelmed by the number of games on the
{Judge}. Danny published brief details on current Judge Games (obtained from
the Judge using the Summary and History commands). Danny also ran articles
(including some {DPP} articles, Version <2.0> of the AZ and details from his
opening library), provided details on Judge waiting lists, end game statements
for finished games, commentary on "interesting" games and news/discussion on
the Judge. The first issue, cunningly called issue one, appeared June 14
1991. With issue five, July 2nd 1991, Danny changed his numbering system to
correspond with that used in Electronic Protocol, issue 5 was called issue
246. The first 8 issues of Chapter Two were actually called Chapter Eight
(at this time there were, in theory, seven other Chapters being pubbed), but
then Danny was instructed to devalue the Chapter Number.
Issue 290 (August 17th 1992) was the last one produced by Danny, issues 291 to
301 were produced by {Nick Fitzpatrick}. Nick passed on the
editorship because of general overload.
Joshua Smith became publisher of Chapter Two with issue 302 (January 27th
1993) and instigated a new editorial policy for the running of Chapter Two.
"EPC2 is distributed in four separate sections. Section Zero will provide
administrative information about EPC2. Section One will contain articles
written about Diplomacy in general or electronic Diplomacy in particular.
Section Two will chronicle some of the discussions about Diplomacy taking
place on rec.games.diplomacy, the press channels of games on the various
Judges, and via e-mail. Section Three will report on the status of the
various Diplomacy Adjudicators, and will include end-of-game reports and
other game-related information." (Chp2, January 1993.) See also
Zine Names (KW).
Editor Issues.
Danny Loeb : 1 (June 14th 1991) to 290 (17th August 1992).
Nick Fitzpatrick: 291 (26th August 1992) to 301 (26th November 1992).
Josh Smith : 302 (January 27th 1993) to 303.4 (11th Febuary 1993).
Richard Shipley : 304 (June 3rd 1993)
CHAPTER EIGHT (1) <MN:Jan93> The current name used by {Eric Klien} for his
email zine {Electronic Protocol}. Over the years Electronic Protocol has used
different Chapter numbers.
The first eight issues of {Chapter Two} were called Chapter Eight.
See also Zine Names (KW).
& CHICKEN AND EGG CONVOY An entry that needs to be written.
& CHOICE SET-UPS See VARIABLE PLACEMENT.
CHURCHILL OPENING (1) <MN:Mar92> The English opening A(Lpl)-Edi, F(Lon)-NTH,
F(Edi)-NWG. This is a little more risky than the Northern Opening as England
can not guarantee securing a build in Autumn 1901 but it offers more
flexibility, England can order F(NWG) CA(Edi)-Nwy & F(NTH)-SKA to exert
pressure on Swe in Spring 02. Perhaps a sign that England is more interested in
securing a presence in Scandinavia than resolving the E/F/G situation and hence
an early hint of a triple alliance. See also English Openings (KW).
CIRCUS MAXIMUS (1) <TNP:87> Game of chariot racing, Ben Hur style. Sometimes
played postally.
CIVIL DISORDER <PB:1980> A.k.a. anarchy and CD (or cd if you feel the
capitals should refer to "Corps Diplomatique"--I'm not fussy). The state a
country enters when no-one runs it anymore.
& CLASSIC DIPOMACY (1) <MN:Nov95> Sometimes used as a synonym for
{1958 Diplomacy}.
See Variant (KW).
CLASSICAL LEPANTO (1) <MN:May93> {Richard Sharp's} name for the opening
F(Nap)-ION, A(Ven)H and A(Rom)-Apu. See also Italian Openings (KW), Lepanto.
CLEAN FOLD (1) <MB:Mar82> A fold is clean if the remainder of the {sub} fees
are returned and the {GM} (if there are games going to other GMs and/or
publishers) cooperates in placing the games. The GM must do all this in a
reasonable period of time so that the games are not unduly delayed, and traders
don't send a lot of extra copies in exchange for a defunct zine. See Fold.
CLINE 9-MAN VARIANT (1) <MB:Jun80> Robert Cline invented one of the first
expanded board variants in 1966; the most recent version is in DW #17. Barbary
States in North Africa and Persia in the southeast are added, along with six
new neutrals, some additional sea spaces, and off-board movement around Africa;
considered very playable. See Variant (KW).
CLOAKED ERROR (1) <MB:Jun80> An error which is not detectable by a player (e.g.
{GM} prints a build wrong).
COA <PB:1980> Change of Address.
& COASTAL CRAWL (1) <MB/AP:Jun80/1986> A procedure whereby two units exchange
places by virtue of the fact that their final coasts are different,
e.g. F(Bul/ec)-Con, F(Con)-Bul(sc). Illegal under the 1971 rulebook,
but in some variants it is actually encouraged by the rules.
COCKRELL, Marie (1) <MN:Nov 92> See BEYERLEIN, Marie.
CODE OF ETHICS OF THE CDO (1) <MB:Jun80> This code for {GMs} obliges them to
correct errors as quickly as possible, submit possible disputes to CDO
Ombudsman, be punctual, inform prospective players of variances in GMing
procedures, keep in contact with {hobby} institutions, use replacement players
"whenever possible", avoid GMing practices which will make games irregular or
unratable, behave in an honest and impartial manner, explain actions taken, try
to keep good communications between GM and players, and, believe it or not,
"give players the benefit of the doubt where differences of opinion arise."
CODEWORD (1) <MB:Jun80> A player may submit several sets of orders, with the
{GM} to make the selection of which to use according to which codeword is sent
by another player. This is done to save correspondence time when coordination
is essential. Many GMs do not permit this; most {HRs} are silent on the point.
Extensive discussion appears in _Diplomacy Digest_ 32.
COMBINED ORDER (1) <MB:Mar82> Players may combine orders without repeating
certain elements. E.g. A Lon-Kie; F Nth & F Hel C A Lon-Kie combines the two
convoy orders. For special cases, see {Mutual Support} and {Unexpressed Move}.
COMETZINE (1) <MB:Jun80> Like the heavenly body, it appears suddenly, dazzling
all with its brilliance and beauty. The zine receives plugs, cheques and
games, but when it fades or even vanishes, it leaves memories, bad vibes, and,
often, {orphans}. Good example is _The Fighter's Home_, Gorman's beautiful
offset zine which could not keep up its standards, and folded.
COMMENTARY (1) <MB:Jun80> Analysis of a game's tactics, strategy, diplomacy,
prospects, etc while the game progresses. Usually written by the GM, sometimes
by an outsider and rarely by a player. With an outsider, it is usually 1
season later (e.g. F01 moves with S01 commentary) but recently there has been a
trend towards running the game on a flyer and then reprinting the moves in the
main zine simultaneously with the commentary. Can be done on season-by-season,
or yearly basis. Commentator's ability to accurately describe the game is
severely limited by the fact that the commentator does not know the inner
workings of the game.
COMPENDIUM (1) <MB:Mar82> John Hopkins' compilation of all British {zines}
available and the games they run. See Zine Names (KW).
COMPLETED GAMES (1) <MN:Jan93> In 1985 {Richard Walkerdine} produced a survey
of the 986 completed games run in the British Hobby (1968-1985).
Wins 2-way 3-way 4-way 5-way 6-way C. Points %C. Points
Austria 80 29 25 43 10 --- 115.58 11.72 6
England 73 34 42 54 8 1 119.27 12.10 5
France 108 46 52 60 12 1 165.90 16.83 =1
Germany 119 35 55 41 11 1 167.45 16.98 =1
Italy 67 29 35 53 9 1 106.10 10.76 7
Russia 126 29 37 44 11 1 166.20 16.86 =1
Turkey 97 34 54 37 9 1 143.22 14.53 4
------------------------------------------------
Totals 670 118 100 83 14 1 986.00
See also Diplomacy Statistics (KW) and Dolchstoss Games.
& COMPLETED GAMES (2) <MN:Oct95> A summary of all games played in
Continental Europe (1971-1995) appeared in _Omnibus_ 4 (April 1995).
Wins 2-way 3-way 4-way 5-way 6-way C. Points %C. Points
Austria 36 9 14 15 4 2 50.050 10.93 6
England 47 12 27 18 3 1 67.267 14.69 =2
France 53 13 23 19 3 2 72.850 15.91 =2
Germany 47 15 16 14 3 2 64.267 14.03 =2
Italy 34 7 19 13 1 1 47.450 10.36 7
Russia 69 10 22 11 3 2 85.017 18.56 1
Turkey 51 14 23 18 3 2 71.100 15.52 =2
------------------------------------------------
Totals 337 40 48 27 4 2 458.000
See also Diplomacy Statistics (KW).
& COMPLETED GAMES (3) <MN:Dec96> Which of the seven countries on the
Diplomacy is the strongest? In what order do the ohter six follow after?
Thaddeus Black attempted to answer this question by compiling results
from the following sources:
986 UK postal games in the 1960's, 70's and 80's;
802 North American postal games in the 1960's and 70's;
583 North American postal games in the 1980's and 90's;
458 Continental postal games in the 1970's, 80's and 90's;
565 Judge e-mail games, mostly in the 1990's;
91 hand-adjudicated e-mail games.
avg points wins 2 3 4 5 6 7 losses win%
--------------------------------------------------------------------
-8.0 Austria -27840 269 112 169 150 50 13 4 2718 7.7%
+1.7 England +6054 287 161 258 182 51 15 4 2527 8.2%
+8.9 France +31086 341 156 269 188 64 17 4 2446 9.8%
-0.1 Germany -498 314 135 202 128 63 16 4 2623 9.0%
-15.2 Italy -53089 213 111 160 139 59 15 4 2784 6.1%
+10.9 Russia +38135 427 121 173 119 55 13 4 2573 12.3%
+1.8 Turkey +6152 310 138 251 146 53 13 4 2570 8.9%
--------------------------------------------------------------------
+-2.1 3485 games 2161 467 494 263 79 17 4 62.0%
std dev
The rating system used was the {Zero Sum Rating System}.
COMPLIMENTARY SUB (1) <MB:Jun80> A free {sub} given out of respect, a desire to
inform or falter, etc. Publishers have traditionally given them to Alan
{Calhamer}, {Avalon Hill}, family members, etc.
(2) <MN:Apr92> SUB is short for subscription.
COMPUTER FORMATTED ZINE (1) <MB/MN:Mar82/Jul95> The issue is typed into a
computer, which then prints it out on a letter quality printer which makes
copy suitable for photocopying. This permits easy editing of errors and,
in many cases, right justification. By 1990 most zines in North America
were written on computers. Early examples are
Richard Kovalcik's _The Tetracuspid_ (1-58, June 1975-October 1981),
Al Pearson's _Just Among Friends_ (1-28, October 1980-December 1982) and
Allen Wells' _Dot Happy_ (1-24, February 1981-February 192).
See also Computer Printed Zines.
COMPUTER PLAYED DIPLOMACY (1) <MB:Jun80> The first attempt at this was made by
Dave McDaniel, in 1963A, the very first postal dippy game. He was eliminated
in 1903.
& COMPUTER PRINTED ZINES (1) <MB/MN:Jun80/Sep94> These have not generally been
long lived; perhaps due to reliance on access to computers which can easily be
withdrawn. The zine is literally a computer printout. the first was
_High Liver_ (1-6, December 1966-March 1967). Early examples include
the first issue of Andy Phillips Shaaft!! (January 29th 1970, printed on an
IBM 407), Bob Van Andel's _Saeta_ (1-39, October 1970-August 1972),
Paul Rubin's _Vulcan_ (1-3, April 1971- April 1972), Scott Rosenberg's
_The Pocket Armenian_ (the first issues were printed out on a PDP-8 over the
Summer of 1974), Harry Riley's _Binary_, (1-3, September -October 1974) and
David Truman's _G*A*S*S*E*D_ (1-39, December 1974-April 1978, printed on an
IBM 370 Model 155 at the University of Toronto, first Canadian computer printed
zine). See also
Computer Formatted Zine.
COMPUTERIZED GMing (1) <MB/MN:Jun80+Mar82/Jan96> Although discussed frequently,
Loomis' _Flying Buffalo_ was the first to use such a system, with a program
written in BASIC for his North Star Horizon Computer. Other early
computer adjudicators were written by David Kleiman in 1981 (originally in
BASIC, sunsequently in pascal) and used in his zine _The Diplomat_ and in 1982
by Steve McLendon for GMing games in _D&L_ (running on an Apple).
In the 60's, Dan Alderson and Tony Pandin both started programs which were
never completed (the latter led to the discovery of {Pandin's Paradox}).
The first game to be computer GMd in the British Hobby was ran in
_Hopsotch_ (the game ran from 1984 to 1986), the only game of diplomacy to be
run in that illustrious zine! The program was written by Nicholas Clifton
and ran on a BBC micro.
CON <PB:1980> Not necessarily Constantinople or a clever rip-off. Can also
be an abbreviation for 'convention'. Eventually came to mean any meeting of
games-players in large or small numbers over a reasonably organized
weekend/day/fortnight (eg {Polycon}, {Eurocon}). Came from SF cons (Science
Fiction Conventions).
CONCEDED DRAW (1) <MB:Jun80> A Draw not including all survivors. Some HRs
(Boardman, Lipton, Verheiden) ban them.
CONDITIONAL ORDERS (1) <PB/TNP/AOS:1980/87/88> Orders whose execution are
determined by events in the game. They are conditional because you can vary
them according to the results of the moves. Legal for retreats, builds,
disbands and press. An unfortunate necessity of postal games playing. In the
Australian and British hobbies, retreats and builds are conditional upon
moves. In the States, they do it the other way around. See International
System.
CONFIRMATION OF RECEIPT OF ORDERS (1) <MB:Jun80> Players can usually arrange
this by enclosing a self addressed postcard along with their orders, for the
{GM} to sign and mail. Often, if a GM receives two seasons' orders at once, he
will say he has the advance orders in the {zine}.
CONFLICT-SIMULATION <PB:1980> What Europeans call Board-Wargames as a result
of still-existing prejudices against anything with 'war' in it.
CONQUEST (1) <MN:Nov92> A convention organized by John Marsden and Nick Kinzett
in the Autumn of 1985 in Hastings. Attended by 40-50 people, including games
designers David Watts and Jack Jeffe.
CONQUEST OF THE NEW WORLD. (1) <MB:Mar82> Lew Pulsipher's variant for 2-5
players set in the Western Hemisphere of 1500. See DW 25. See also
Variant (KW).
CONTRADICTION (1) <MB/MN:Mar82/Nov92> A rulebook problem where any possible
adjudication violates one of the rules; i.e. there are NO correct
adjudications. These arise when there are conflicting rules with no order of
precedence given.
These have been eliminated over time from the rules, although there are
slight differences between rulebooks printed in different countries.
See {Berch's Ghastly Mess}, {Chicken and Egg Convoy}, {Finessed Cut},
{Pandin's Paradox} and {Unwanted Convoy},
CONTRADICTORY ORDER <(1) MB:Mar82> If the order for one unit does not match a
second unit's order to support or convoy, the orders are contradictory. E.g. A
Por-Spa, F Mid S A Por. NSO (No such order) is often placed after the
convoying or supporting unit.
CONTROL OF NEUTRALS (1) <MB:Mar82> A category of {variants} which permit a
player to control, at least temporarily, units not belonging to other players.
Includes {Active Neutrals}, {Intimate Diplomacy} and {Seven Years War}.
See also Variant Jargon (KW).
CONVOY PARADOX (1) <TNP:87> Arises when a convoyed attack cuts the support
for an attack dislodging the fleet. Usual ruling: the convoy stands.
COPY (1) <AoS:88> Text, such as an article, intended for publication in a
zine. As in "Copywriter": one who writes copy.
CORE ZINE (1) <MN:Jan92> A {zine} which is considered `essential' reading by
active hobbyists, often due to its extensive {hobby}, news coverage and
discussion of *important* hobby matters. There are often only a couple of core
zines at any one time and subbing to one of these is a good way to keep in
touch with the what's happening in the hobby.
CORFLU (1) <MB:Jun80> Correction fluid.
COSTAGUANA (1) <MN:Mar92> The 11th Diplomacy {zine} to be published, issue one
appeared on April 1th 1965, and continuing with many time-outs, stoppages and
folds to this day. {Conrad von Metzke's} zine probably holds the record for
the most times any one zine had gone under!
Costaguana has been one of the most influential dipzines the hobby has
seen, not because it ran many games, not because the games it did run were well
run and not because it contained stacks of articles on the game, but because of
the masterly writing appearing in it.
Costaguana was probably the first `fannish' zine, almost certainly the
first zine to be read because of the pleasure in reading it. Although by the
early 1970's it was widely circulated and the mailing list was a Who's Who of
the American Hobby, it exerted little influence on how American zines
developed; it was more influential in the UK and it has been claimed (by Pete
Birks) that it influenced the style and content of {_Ethil The Frog_} and
through Ethil {Richard Sharp} and Pete Birks, and through these individuals the
whole of the British Hobby.
Relaunched in the 1980's to critical acclaim, winning the {Runestone Poll}
in consecutive years and dominating the US Hobby of the time. Twenty years on
little had changed in Conrad's approach to producing a zine but the American
Hobby had changed sufficiently for Americans to appreciate the quality of the
writing and the quality of the zine. For more information read Pete Birks'
article "Costaguana" which appeared in Greatest Hits 142 (September 1988).
See also Zine Names (KW).
COUNTER EUROCON (1) <TNP:87> Hobby package tour to the Algarve organized by
Pete Birks in 1982. A great success, since the local wine was both excellent
and cheap.
COUNTRY VARIANT (1) <MB:Jun80/Mar82> Variants based on one country or other
very limited areas. Examples include Boyer's {Scotice Scripti III} and Mill's
Bhearna Baoghail (both Ireland), Leeder's {Gesta Danorum} (British Isles) and
Rosenburg's 1618 (Germany). See also Variant Jargon (KW).
COUP <PB:1980> A result, I suspect, of the increased influence of Bridge and
Poker on the hobby in the last five years. Also hard to define beyond
snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, coming up with a successful result
as a result of apparently bad (and deliberately so) play, and lulling the
opposing player into a false sense of security, finally administering a coup.
COURIER (1) <MN:Mar92> The second UK dip zine, launched by {Don Turnbull} in
October 1969 to carry the games started in {_Albion_}. Many of the early British dip
pioneers played in _Courier_ but it slowly slipped away from the mainstream of
the UK hobby and by the mid 1970's it was a slow zine with a small, but
dedicated, band of players. It continued until the end of the 1980's when Don
moved to the States, having produced over 230 issues - the only UK zine to have
produced more than 200 issues. Its hey-day was the early 1970's, from then
onwards it existed in a hobby of its own with no contact with the hobby that
Don had started. Strictly a {warehouse zine}. See also Zine Names (KW).
COURTESY COPY (1) <MB:Jun80> When a publisher writes about someone, especially
in a critical vein, and the person does not normally get the zine, it is
traditional to send him a copy of the issue, or of that article. Applies
sometimes to letters too. Hard feelings have sometimes resulted when people
aren't informed about what others are writing about them.
& CP COUNT STRIKE (1) <MN:Aug94> The number of {Calhamer Points} you would
expect to gain if you used a particular opening 100 times. Based on a
survey of openings used in British Postal Games by {Richard Sharp}, who
devised the term. See Winning With {France, Italy Turkey} (in the UNIX sense!).
CRAYNE, Dian (1) <MN:Nov92> The first women to play postal diplomacy as Austria
in 1963B. Became Dian Pelz during the course of the game by marrying one of
the players in the game. Marriage was a shrewd move within the context of the
game! See also Personalities (KW).
CREDIT (1) <PB/TNP:1980/87> The amount of money owned by you but in the
possession of the {GM}. This maybe expressed in terms of issues or in an
absolute money sense. The GM likes this figure to be positive.
CRIMEAN CRUSHER (1) <MB/MN:Jun80/Aug95> Turkey opening to Bul, BLA and Arm is an
aggressive opening that allows all three pieces to be used against Russia in
the fall. Even if the fleet move succeeds, though, if Russia is in Rum, Ukr
and Sev, Turkey must still second guess Russia for a second center if Austrian
help is unavailable, and may lose BLA in the process. Called by {Richard Sharp}
the {Russian Attack}. See also Turkish Openings (KW).
CROSS GAME ALLIANCE or REPRISAL (1) <MB/TNP:Jun80/87> Certainly one of
the most controversial practices is that of linking together postal games
by e.g. retaliating against someone in Game B for his actions in Game A,
or making a deal whereby favours in game A are repaid in Game B. These deals
place players in only a few games at a considerable disadvantage, and
reduce everyone's ability to conduct diplomacy. These deals often involve
{standby} positions. Cross Game Alliances (Effects, Reprisals) are
frowned upon as unethical. Few players however are immune from the desire
to avenge past humiliations. See Trans-gaming.
CROSS GAME CONSIDERATIONS or EFFECT (1) <MB:Jun80> One game can influence
another even if there are no formal ties and even if the two games do not
overlap in time: Information from one game can be carried over into another.
If you have learned from one game that a given player is a very loyal ally,
or is careless at writing orders or constantly passes letters around or will
never ally with someone who has stabbed him, etc, you will allow that
information to influence your play, even if you are opposed to
Cross-Game deals. See Trans-gaming.
CROTTLED GREEPS (1) <MB/MN:Jun80/Nov92> An SFism which was introduced into the
diplomacy hobby by John Piggott in a press release in von Metzke's K-35. It
hopped the Atlantic to become popular in England.
CROUCH'S MISTAKE (1) <MB:Jun80> In England, the failure to include a deadline
in the zine.
CRT <PB:1980> The Combat Results Table, used in war games.
CRUD (1) <MB:Mar82> Nickname for Dick Martin.
& CUT THROAT (1) <MN:Sep93> A style of play where your objective is to win or
be in the minimum sized draw. The term was used by email players that objected
to the style of play where others would form game-long alliances. At least
one cutthroat game was run in were the players agreed to play in this style.
CUTTING A SUPPORT (1) <MB/HR/MN:Jun80/Apr92> To render a support invalid. When
a unit is attacked, that support is said to be cut. The exception is when the
supporter is supporting an attack on the would-be cutter. Thus, support is
only cut by an attack "from the side".
An example. France: F(Bre)-ECH, F(MAO) SF(Bre)-ECH; ENGLAND: F(IRI)-MAO,
F(ECH) SF(IRI)-MAO. The French support from MAO is cut by the English unit
attacking from IRI. The English support from F(ECH) is cut by the French fleet
in BRE. Result: no unit moves.
If ENGLAND had ordered F(IRI) SF(ECH)-MAO, F(ECH)-MAO then the adjudication
would have been different. England now has two units attacking MAO (no unit
cuts the support from IRI) and so the French fleet is dislodged. France has
one unit attacking ECH (remember that the French fleet in MAO has been
dislodged so its support is cut) but since England had vacated ECH then the
F(BRE) moves there unopposed.
CUTTING AN ATTACK (1) <MB:Jun80> The only way an attack may be rendered void is
when the attack is via convoy, and one of the convoying fleets is dislodged.