rec.games.diplomacy Frequently Asked Questions

Last modified Oct 24, 1994

This article will be posted to rec.games.diplomacy, news.answers and rec.answers every two weeks.

The latest version of this file can be retrieved by anonymous ftp at rmii.com in /pub2/starkey/rec.games.diplomacy.FAQ.1 and rec.games.diplomacy.FAQ.2. The latest version of the FAQ can also be retrived by Email. Mail starkey@rmii.com with "FAQ request" in the subject and the FAQ will be mailed to you. Also, a HTML version of this file can be found at ftp://rmii.com/pub2/starkey/rec.games.diplomacy.FAQ.html.

Many FAQs, including this one, are available on the archive site rtfm.mit.edu in the directory pub/usenet/news.answers. The name under which a FAQ is archived appears in the Archive-name line at the top of the article. This FAQ is archived as games/diplomacy-faq/part1 and games/diplomacy-faq/part2.

There's a mail server on that machine. You send a e-mail message to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu containing: help in the message body.


Please read this FAQ before posting to rec.games.diplomacy!

Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes. There are always mistakes... Send all additions, changes, suggestions, comments, questions, answers, etc. to starkey@rmii.com with "FAQ" in the subject.


To help with the reading of this document, new changes are listed with a plus characater '+' before the paragraph and table of contents. A new change is a change since the last publishing of the FAQ on r.g.d.
Attention newcomers! We are always trying to make our FAQ easier for newcomers, especially with regards to the Judge and Internet games. If you had problems understanding anything, please let me know so I can change/clarify these issues. Send your questions/problems to starkey@rmii.com.

Table of Contents

  1. Diplomacy and rec.games.diplomacy
    1. Posting to rec.games.diplomacy
    2. What is Diplomacy?
    3. What is Avalon Hill?
    4. Where can I get the Diplomacy rules?
    5. Information/Newsletters about Diplomacy
    6. Books on Diplomacy
    7. Diplomacy Conventions/Tournaments
    8. Diplomacy Clubs
    9. Favorite Diplomacy acronyms
    10. Questions about rules
    11. Diplomacy A-Z

  2. Variants
    1. Standard
    2. Gunboat
    3. Youngstown
    4. Chaos
    5. Machiavelli
    6. 1898
    7. Loeb9
    8. Britain
    9. 1914
    10. Warp
    11. Pure
    12. Blind
    13. Crowded
    14. Shift Variants
    15. Fleet Rome
    16. Asia
    17. Aberration
    18. Milan
    19. Wraparound
    20. Chromatic
    21. Root Z
    22. Global variants
    23. Variant A-Z
    24. Others

  3. Internet/Play by Email games
    1. What is EP?
    2. EP play by Email games
    3. What are EP Numbers?
    4. What are Boardman Numbers?
    5. What are Miller Numbers?
    6. Hall of Fame
    7. What is the Diplomacy Adjudicator ("Judge")?
    8. What Judges are available?
    9. Judge FAQ for beginners
    10. Judge FAQ for non-beginners
    11. FTP sites
    12. FTP by Email
    13. Gopher Server
    14. WWW Servers
    15. Mailing lists
    16. The Diplomacy Subject Index
    17. Postscript maps - what are they?

  4. Diplomacy and Gaming Zines
    1. Email Zines
    2. Postal Zines

  5. Computer versions of Diplomacy
    1. IBM version
    2. Macintosh version
    3. Amiga version
    4. Commodore-64 version
    5. NeXT version
    6. UNIX/X windows version

  6. Legal issues
    1. Is it legal to get the rules by Email?
    2. Why is it legal to get the map in postscript?

  7. Programming Projects
    1. Diplomacy Adjudicator (Judge)
    2. Mapit
    3. Diplomacy Programming Project (DPP)

1. Diplomacy and rec.games.diplomacy

Charter of rec.games.diplomacy:
   The newsgroup would be for the discussion and organization of the game
   Diplomacy.  Both regular (ie face to face) and play by mail would
   be discussed.

1.1. Posting to rec.games.diplomacy

Please read this document before posting to rec.games.diplomacy. Most of your questions will be answered in this FAQ. Please be thoughtful about your articles as they are also sent on a mailing list to a number of people.

If you wish to post a game opening announcement, we ask you to please use the keyword "OPENING:" at the beginning of the subject line of your article. A game opening includes new games and missing powers for all Judge and non-Judge games. Other information about the game (game name, variant type, power available, number of centers) would also be very helpful in the subject line.


1.2. What is Diplomacy?

We'll start off with a little history. Diplomacy was first published in 1958 by Alan Calhamer in a limited edition of 500 sets. It was substantial revised and reprinted in 1969 by GRI. Avalon Hill, the current distributor in the United States, started to publish the game in the mid 1970's.

(Taken from the front cover of the Diplomacy rules.)

"Diplomacy" is a game of skill and cunning negotiations. Chance plays no part.

In "Diplomacy", each player guides the destinies of one European power through the intricacies of international politics. By negotiating alliances with other players and careful planning, each player seeks control of Europe. "Diplomacy" tests your ability not only to plan a campaign, but also to outwit your fellow players in diplomatic negotiations.

"Diplomacy" is a realistic game of strategy without dice, and nothing left to luck alone. "Diplomacy" pits man against man in an exciting battle of wits. Up to seven can play.

Of course, Diplomacy has gone a lot farther since the original game was published.


1.3. What is Avalon Hill?

The Avalon Hill Game Company is the distributor of Diplomacy in the United States and many other excellent board games.

Contact Avalon Hill at:

4517 Harford Road
Baltimore, MD 21214 USA

or better yet, call toll free at:
1-800-999-3222 or
(410) 254-9200

I think you can get a nifty catalog for US$1.

1.4. Where can I get the Diplomacy rules?

Diplomacy can be bought in your local hobby/games store or from Avalon Hill. Prices from Avalon Hill are (USD):
	Diplomacy Game	$25.00
	Mapboard	$10.00
	Rules		$ 5.00
	Basic Rules	$ 2.00
	Game Pieces	$ 5.00
	7 maps		$ 3.00
Avalon Hill's address and phone number are above.

1.5. Information/Newsletters about Diplomacy

The General

The General is a magazine devoted to all games that Avalon Hill produces. It often contains new rules/ideas, background to how particular games were designed, demo games featuring top class players explaining their strategies, details on forthcoming games and general wargaming news. Often an issue will be devoted to just one or two games. In the past there have been several issues devoted to Diplomacy and Rod Walker once had a regular column on Diplomacy which appeared every issue. Not too useful for people who just play Diplomacy.

1.6. Books on Diplomacy

The Gamer's Guide to Diplomacy by Rod Walker

Available in some game store and directly from Avalon Hill.

The Gamer's Guide to Diplomacy is, in the words of an old friend, "the next best thing to actually playing." While I might not go that far, I would say that any neophyte to Diplomacy with a little time and money to spare should pick up a copy.

Physically speaking, the guide is about the size of a thin magazine. It includes appx 35 pages of information ranging from historical (the who's who of the ruling class in 1901) to neat little tricks to help you play better to detailed suggestions for openings and alliances for each of the powers. There is also a sample game and some information about the hobby itself: the postal system, tournaments etc.

For my money, the most interesting part of the guide is the analysis of the various powers. The author goes through, power by power, and suggests how that power should best negotiate with each other power. He then lists several possible openings for that power and explains the strengths and weaknesses of each opening, and how these openings relate to the powers' various neighbors (i.e. is it a pro-German or anti-German opening.) The conclusion of the analysis of each power includes (IMHO) a less that thorough analysis of the midgame and endgame play for the power in question.

The author's advice viz negotiations and and openings in strongly slanted by his (unstated but apparent) strong belief in alliance play (i.e. the belief that one should choose another power and stick with that power at least through the middle of the game.

Oh, yes. I would be remiss in my responsibilities if I did not mention that the Guide contains some very funny cartoons which, IMHO, make the Guide all the more valuable.

The Game of Diplomacy by Richard Sharp

The following description has been modified from the DIPLOMACY A-Z.

One of only two books on Diplomacy to be commercially published (Arthur Barker Ltd, London, 1978), it quickly went out of print, it has been an item of desire ever since. Every Diplomacy fan should have a copy, but it has dated and many would argue that the book is not very well balanced; presenting a distorted picture of the game.

You can obtain a photocopy of this book by writing either

Richard Sharp
Norton House, Whielden Street, Amersham, BUCKS. HP7 0HU England
(5 pounds)

or

Fred C. Davis Jr.
3210 K Wheaton Way, Ellicott City, MD 21043. USA
(US$7, US$8 overseas)

Novice Packages

If you are interested in reading more about Diplomacy tactics and strategy you should buy a copy of one of the "Novice Packages" produced by Diplomacy fans. In North America two packages are available: "Masters of Deceit" and "Supernova". In the UK "The Novice Package". Sorry, I don't know how to get any of these packages.

1.7. Diplomacy Conventions/Tournaments

Diplomacy Conventions and Tournaments from around the world! If yours isn't here, let me know and I'll put it in!

West Midlands Diplomacy Tournament

18 November 1994
Royal Angus Hotel, Birmingham, UK
Contact:
Brian Williams
30 Rydding Lane
Millfields Estate
West Bromwich
West Midlands, B71 2HA

National Diplomacy Championship Finals

19-20 November 1994
Royal Angus Hotel, Birmingham, UK
Contact:
Brian Williams
30 Rydding Lane
Millfields Estate
West Bromwich
West Midlands, B71 2HA

1.8. Diplomacy Clubs

Diplomacy Clubs from around the world! If yours isn't here, let me know and I'll put it in!

Diplomacy Club of Canberra

Meets 1st Friday Night of each Month
Burn Club, Kambah, Australia
Contact:
Andrew Geraghty (06) 231 2686
Doug Stewart (06) 282 1634

Sydney Diplomacy Club

Meets once a month - next meeting Sunday 4th April 1993
222 Maroubra RD. Maroubra Junction, Australia
Contact:
Harry Kolotas (02) 975 1538
Miguel Taliana (02) 344 5070

Victorian Diplomacy Club

Meets 1st Saturday of Every Month
2nd Flr, Union Building, Melbourne University, Australia
Contact:
Michael Chau (03) 899 3438
Frank Meerbach (03) 401 4356

1.9. Favorite Diplomacy acronyms


1.10. Questions about rules

Note that this section is not a substitute for the rules. If you don't have the rules, this section will not help you out. Please purchase the rules legally from Avalon Hill. See section 1.3.

Eventhough the rules are very straight forward, there are always questions about certain situations. We will try to answer most of these here.

1.10.2. In the Loeb9 variant, is it possible for a unsupported army to move from Cordoba to North Africa?

Yes, since all moves succeed (except in case of a conflict). Crd-NAf is also valid for purposes of cutting support, and as a possible retreat destination.

1.11. Diplomacy A-Z

The DIPLOMACY A-Z is a collection of terms relating to Diplomacy: names of openings, alliances, strategy, tactic ploys, organizations, variants... and trivia. The current version contains some 1100 definitions (including many dealing with the email hobby).

Version 4.0 of the DIPLOMACY A-Z is available by anonymous FTP at nda.com in /pub/diplomacy/Documents/AtoZ.tar.Z.

You DON'T need to know anything in the A-Z to have a good time playing Diplomacy, but if you are curious about the history of the Diplomacy hobby you should dip into the A-Z and feast your eyes...


2. Variants

Reprinted from the DIPLOMACY A-Z

VARIANT (3) <RE:89-90> Any game of Diplomacy using rules other than those issued by the publisher, but which is based on them in some way, may be considered a "variant" (thus arguably postal Diplomacy is itself a "variant"). However, the term "variant" is usually applied only to one of the vast numbers of games designed by enthusiasts in which a new mapboard is used to replace the standard one, or in which the rules are changed, amended or extended. Variants exist which transfer the game from a European milieu to the world of Tolkien's Middle Earth, to a worldwide setting or to medieval Italy. Others add new units like submarines and air forces, increase the number of players or provide for hidden movement, like Kreigspiel chess. So many variants have appeared over the years that a number of "Variant Banks" have been established within the postal hobby to collect them into archives. Most prominent among these are the United Kingdom Variant Bank (U.K.V.B) and the North American Variant Bank (N.A.V.B).

A list of commonly used variants on the Internet follow below:


2.1. Standard

This is the original game with the seven powers with the map of Europe. A postscript copy of the standard map is available by FTP (section 3.11) or FTP by Email (section 3.12) at nda.com. Also available at nda.com are editable maps (both black-and-white and color) for players who have access to xfig, an X-windows program.

2.2. Gunboat

This variant can be combined with other variants (including standard). In this variant, all of the other players remain anonymous to you. Just like other games, some gunboat games allow press, and some do not.

2.3. Youngstown

The Youngstown variant of Diplomacy follows the same rules as standard Diplomacy with an expanded map. Three new powers are added: China, India and Japan.

Note on the Judge that the Indian player must use the letter "N" rather than "I" when signing on since "I" is reserved for Italy.

Victory conditions are 37 supply centers.

For more info about Youngstown, mail your local Judge "get info.youngstown". A postscript map is available by FTP (section 3.11) or FTP by Email (section 3.12) at nda.com. Also available at nda.com are editable maps (both black-and-white and color) for players who have access to xfig, an X-windows program.


2.4. Chaos

The chaos variant is played by 34 players, each owning a single supply center on the standard Diplomacy map. The game starts in Winter of 1900 at the adjustment phase. Each player starts out choosing which type of unit they wish to build and progressing from there. When building units, a unit may be built at any owned supply center.

Victory conditions are 18 supply centers.

For more info about Chaos, mail your local Judge "get info.chaos ".


2.5. Machiavelli

Really an independent game from Diplomacy. 8 players in a map of Italy. Uses money, bribes, famines . . .

For more info about Machiavelli, mail your local Judge "get info. machiavelli". For the rules, mail your local Judge "get rules.machiavelli". A postscript map is available by FTP (section 3.11) or FTP by Email (section 3.12) at nda.com.


2.6. 1898

In the 1898 variant the game starts in winter of 1898 with each power having one unit. Each country must capture its other home centers before it can build in them.

The victory conditions remain 18 centers.

For more info about 1898, mail your local Judge "get info.v1898".


2.7. Loeb9

Loeb9 is a nine player variant with a slightly modified map. The two new powers are Norway and Spain.

The victory conditions are 20 centers.

For more info about Loeb9, mail your local Judge "get info.loeb9". A postscript map is available by FTP (section 3.11) or FTP by Email (section 3.12) at nda.com. Also available at nda.com are editable maps (both black-and-white and color) for players who have access to xfig, an X-windows program.


2.8. Britain

In the Great Britain variant each English province is a supply center and England starts with six armies. Thus, England is the "strongest" country, but can't do anything until another player agrees to convoy one of his armies (or he is forced to debuild one of his units and then builds a fleet after retaking the supply center).

The victory conditions are 19 centers.

For more info about the Britain variant, mail your local Judge "get info.britain".


2.9. 1914

The 1914 variant of Diplomacy is based on an article in The General. (The General is published by the manufacturer of Diplomacy to give you an idea of how good this variant must be!) This game is much more realistic than regular Diplomacy, you even can get bombers starting in Winter 1917.

2.10. Warp

A warp game is usually any game with very fast deadlines. Usually 24 hour or 48 hour warp games are played.

2.11. Pure

This is a simple traditional variant of Diplomacy. There are the usual seven countries. There are seven spaces on the board - one corresponding to each country - its home supply center. These spaces are all connected by land one with another. Initially, each player begins with one army in his home supply center.

Victory conditions are 4 supply centers.

For more info about the pure variant, mail your local Judge "get info.pure".


2.12. Blind

In this variant, the locations of all pieces are secret. You discover the locations of enemy pieces when you attack them or are attacked by them. You also discover the location of enemy pieces by spying. Each country begins with 2 spies, in any home centers. You lose a spy if you lose your capital, and both spies if you lose all your home centers. Spies that are destroyed are replaced each year in any home territory provided that you have enough home centers to support them.

Each spy may: move, hold, or counter espionage. Spies themselves are completely invisible -- they may move through any space regardless of the presence of other units. Spies are never dislogded, and can only be destroyed by counter espionage. A spy performing conter espionage kills all enemy spies in the area. If two spies both CE the same area, both die. If a spy survives, it provides complete information on the unit occupying the area and its actions in the just completed turn.


2.13. Crowded

Crowded is an eleven player variant that uses the standard map with the exception of having a supply center in Ruhr. Four new powers are added: Balkan, Lowland, Norway and Spain.

Victory conditions remain 18 supply centers.

For more info about the crowded variant, mail your local Judge "get info.crowded". Editable maps (both black-and-white and color) for players who have access to xfig, an X-windows program, are available available by FTP (section 3.11) or FTP by Email (section 3.12) at nda.com.


2.14. Shift variants

The shift-right and shift-left Diplomacy variants follow the same rules as normal Diplomacy; the only difference is in the starting positions of the powers. Everyone begins the game with their units occupying the home centers of another power, with the units that power would normally have at the start of the game. Players must reach and retake their home supply centers since new units can only be built in one's own home supply centers.

Victory conditions remain 18 supply centers.

For more info about the shift-right and shift-left variants, mail your local Judge "get info.shift".


2.15. Fleet Rome

The fleet Rome variant is identical to the standard game except Italy starts with a fleet in Rome, instead of an army.

Victory conditions remain 18 supply centers.


2.16. Asia

The Asia variant of Diplomacy follows the same rules as standard Diplomacy with a different map (a map of Asia if you didn't guess). The seven powers are: China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, Siberia, Persia.

Note on the Judge that the Indian player must use the letter "N" rather than "I" when signing on since "I" is reserved for Indonesia.

Victory conditions are 21 supply centers.

For more info about the Asia variant, mail your local Judge "get info.asia". To receive an ASCII version of the map, mail your local Judge "get asia.asc".


2.17. Aberration

The idea behind the aberration Diplomacy variant was to have powers which history had passed by. Each of the nine powers is a nation that might have become a great power in the modern period if history had gone a little bit differently than it did. The nine powers are: Burgundy, Byzantium, Eire, Hungary, Israel, Poland, Sicily, Spain and Ukraine. The aberration variant follows the same rules as standard Diplomacy with a couple of minor exceptions and uses a modified map.

Victory conditions are 27 supply centers.

For more info about aberration, mail your local Judge "get info.aberration". A postscript map is available by FTP (section 3.11) or FTP by Email (section 3.12) at nda.com.


2.18. Milan

The Milan variant of Diplomacy follows the same rules as standard Diplomacy with a modified map. This variant strengthens Italy providing attacking rather than merely defensive power.

Victory conditions remain 18 supply centers.

For more info about Milan, mail your local Judge "get info.milan".


2.19. Wraparound

The wraparound Diplomacy variant uses a modified standard map with three new provinces and several new coasts are added. The map is rolled up into a torus, or doughnut, so that the top and bottom of the map are connected, as are the left and right sides of the map. For example, a unit can move from Syria (East Coast) to the Mid Atlantic Ocean.

Victory conditions are 19 supply centers.

For more info about wraparound, mail your local Judge "get info.wraparound".


2.20. Chromatic

In the chromatic variant, five colored powers vie for control of the rainbow colored mapboard. The five powers are Blue, Red, Yellow, Light and Dark. The chromatic variant follows the standard rules but uses a different map.

Victory conditions are 11 supply centers.

For more info about the chromatic variant, mail your local Judge "get info.chromatic".


2.21. Root Z

The Root Z variant of Diplomacy follows the same rules as standard Diplomacy with the following exceptions: There are two identical boards (that actually interlock to form a single board) and therefore there are two of each power. Players start out controlling one power on each board, though not necessarily the same power on both boards. Movement from one board to the other is allowed only by moving across certain borders which join the two boards. The idea for this variant comes from the mathematical concept of a cut in the complex plane.

Victory conditions are 28 supply centers.

For more info about Root Z, mail your local Judge "get info.rootz". A postscript map is available by FTP (section 3.11) or FTP by Email (section 3.12) at nda.com.


2.22. Global variants

The best global variant is the MERCATOR series of variants. The usual one (Definitive) is for 13 players but there are versions for upto 21 players. There are also optional rules which add in Planes, Submarines and the like; but they are rarely used.

MERCATOR isn't very popular in North America, but COLONIA is. This is a huge variant (in terms of the map size) and has attracted a considerable following. Smaller world variants worth looking at are SMALL WORLD IIR (By Fred C. Davis) and FINAL CONFLICT (By Tom Swider). Most of the other world variants suffer from defects.

You can get all these variants from the NORTH AMERICAN VARIANT BANK (see below).


2.23. Variant A-Z

The Variant A-Z is a huge compilation of Diplomacy variant descriptions brought together by Mark Nelson. The Variant A-Z is available by anonymous FTP from nda.com [192.150.206.1] in pub/diplomacy/Documents/variant.tar.Z.

If you are interested in variants, grab a copy! This document should keep you busy for weeks!

Mark promises to have a catalogue of the rules for many variants REAL SOON!


2.24. Others

Mark Nelson <amt5man@ECUSUN.LEEDS.AC.UK> is the god of variants, and is the best person to ask questions. There are variant banks around the world.

If you live in North America and you want to find out more about Diplomacy variants then you should write to:

Lee Kendter Jnr
376A Willowbrook Drive
Jeffersonville, PA 19403, USA

Lee is North American Variant Bank Custodian and can answer your questions and supply copy of rules/maps for cost. You can also order a copy of the NAVB catalogue from him. This lists some 1200 or so dip variants. The current price is US$5.00.

The address for the British Variant Bank is:

Mark Nelson
email: amt5man@ECUSUN.LEEDS.AC.UK

Mark can answer questions on many of these if you want to ask before buying them (his own variant collection is about 600 strong). Many dip variants are not particularly interesting or playable...

Mark requests that if you do ask him questions about a variant's rules, you include the rules so he know exactly what you are talking about!


3. Internet/Play by Email games

Many Diplomacy games are played over the Internet with Email. If you can mail an Internet site, you can play in a Diplomacy game! For a quick start in an Internet Diplomacy game, read section 3.9 about the Judge.

3.1. What is EP?

This is an electronic magazine devoted to Diplomacy. The main editor is Eric Klien, (Eric_S_Klien@cup.portal.com). This 'zine is divided into 2 chapters, each covers certain games. Eric personally publishes chapter 1, which is distributed through rec.games.* on Usenet, and through DIPL-L. Eric also keeps a waiting list for players, and substitutes, for all sorts of obscure variants!

The games from the Judges are published in Chapter 2, by Rich Shipley (rshipley@access.digex.net). It is published about once a fortnight, and is also distributed through Usenet, and DIPL-L.

All EP games are assigned numbers and are published in the corresponding Chapter upon completion. Sean Starkey (starkey@rmii.com) is the Judge EP number master and assigns all qualifying Judge games an EP number. More about EP numbers is below.


3.2. EP play by Email games

If you want to play in a Electronic Protocol game, Email Eric Klien describing what kind of game you want to play. Make sure that you send him:
  1. Your name
  2. Home phone number
  3. Work phone number
  4. Fax phone number
  5. Home address
  6. Country preference
  7. List of Email addresses
Eric's Email address is Eric_S_Klien@cup.portal.com. He is always looking for standbys! If you want to jump in a quick game, send him a letter.

Eric frequently posts EP stats describing current games opening, waiting lists, etc.


3.3. What are EP numbers?

Rich Shipley (rshipley@access.digex.net) publishes Chapter 2 of EP, distributed through rec.games.diplomacy, DIPL-L (bit.listserv.dipl-l), DIPLOMACY-L (the one in oz) and a private mailing list. It is devoted to electronically adjudicated Diplomacy games. These games are supposed to be played by the ep.house.rules (send the command get ep.house.rules to your favourite Judge, well at least EFF). Essentially, they deviate from the norm, by the following rules

  1. Games must be moderated
  2. Games must be noNMR (which is the default)
  3. Games must be different site. (Exceptions granted for foreign language games.)
Most moderated games, on all Judges, which follow these rules, are part of EP.

Why be part of EP? This facilitates archiving, as well as allowing for a procedure to formally appeal GM decisions (a process that, while in existence, has never been necessary). It also makes getting replacement players easier, as some of us, only, or normally play, in EP games.


3.4 What are Boardman Numbers?

In the postal (ie, paper, ink and postage stamps) hobby, regular Diplomacy games are given a unique number at the start of the game, consisting of the year and a letter combination: 1994A for the first Dip game of the year, 1993Z for the 26th, 1994AA for the 2th, 1994AB, 1994AC and so on. At the end of the game, each player's name and performance is published in the postal 'zine "Everything". These numbers are assigned by the Boardman Number Custodian (BNC). The system is named after John Boardman, who gave out the first number, to the very first postal game, in 1963.

After a few years, custodians were assigned for various regions; there are currently custodians for the UK, Scandinavia, Francophone and Germanic Europe, in addition to the original custodian, now known as the North American custodian. Each custodian has a block of numbers he can give out, to avoid duplication of numbers around the world. Internet games were receiving Boardman Numbers (BNs) as far back as 1988, when Eric Klien first created Electronic Protocol (EP) (see section 3.1). No numbers were given to Internet games, between 1990 and 1993.

There is now an Internet BNC, who is giving out BNs to all standard Internet games, and eventually to all old games that never got one. The Internet BNC is Nicholas Fitzpatrick (nick@sunburn.uwaterloo.ca). If a game you are playing in, or are GMing, has not got one, please contact him. A log of all games with BNs is available from the Waterloo FTP site (see section 3.11), through WWW from the Diplomacy home page (see section 3.14), or by request from the Internet BNC. Both judge games, and hand-adjudicated E-mail games can receive BNs. The judge (release 5.6 and later) automatically notifies the Internet BNC of game starts, to allow him to assign numbers. Numbers can be set by the GM (or by anyone in non-Moderated games), with the SET BN command.

Non-Internet games (such as CompuServe, AOL, Genie, etc) must get BNs directly from the North American BNC, who is Andrew York (BNCYork@aol.com).


3.5. What are Miller Numbers

? Miller Numbers (MNs) are similar to Boardman Numbers (BNs), except that they are given to variants (including gunboat). All Internet games should either have an MN or a BN. A typical MN would be 1994ABCrb41; 1994 is the year the game started; ABC is similar to the letters in the BN, anywhere between A and AZZ (so far); rb41 is a 4 or 5 character code (2 letters and 2 numbers, or 2 letters and 3 numbers) identifying the variant, these numbers are controlled by the North American Variant Bank (NAVB) Custodian (see section 2.15), and are often referred to as NAVB Catalogue Numbers (NAVB CNs). Some examples are rb41, which is the code for the Fleet Rome variant, rb104 is used for partial-press gunboat, and xm23 is used for Youngstown IVa (the version on the judge).

MNs are named after the late Don Miller, who was the first postal Miller Number Custodian (MNC) in 1965. In addition to the North American MNC, there are MNCs in the UK and France.

Internet games first received MNs in 1990. In 1993 an E-mail MNC was appointed. He is Nicholas Fitzpatrick (nick@sunburn.uwaterloo.ca). He can give MNs to any E-mail variant game, including those on CompuServe, Genie, AOL, etc. If any game you are GMing, or playing in does not have an MN, please contact him. A log of all games with MNs, and also NAVB CNs in use in E-mail games, is available from the Waterloo FTP site (see section 3.11), through WWW from the Diplomacy home page (see section 3.14), or by request from the E-mail MNC.

The North American MNC is Lee Kendter Jr, 376A Willowbrook Drive, Jeffersonville PA, 19403, USA.


3.6. Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame is a compilation of all Judge games and EP non-Judge games finished in and after 1991, except those that were abandonded or where NMR excessively affected the games. Players receive points based on the outcome of the game. The Hall of Fame includes a list of all players and the games they have played.

The Hall of Fame is kept by Nicholas Fitzpatrick (nick@sunburn.uwaterloo.ca).

Points are based on the formula Points = (N-W)/W where N = # of players (7 in standard, 10 in youngstown) and W is # of winners (1) or people who shared in the draw. Ie, in a standard game, 6.0 points for a win, 2.5 for a two-way draw, 1.33 for three-way draw. (One exception, chaos games are deemed to only have 20 plyaers.) The top 100 players are ranked at the end of the list. Survivors get 0 points.

All Judge games, and non-Judge EP games are welcome for this list, except for games that meet the qualifications below. If you have games that are missing, or incorrect on this list, please contact Nick.

Games will not be granted points if:

  1. The victory condition is less than one half the total number of centres+1. ie 9 centre Standard games (halden), or 25 centre Youngstown games will not get points. Machiavelli games must have a win condition of 23 cities, not 15 (as most of them do), and RootZ should have a win condition of 35 centres, rather than the 28 that they all have now. (some completed 36 centre Youngstown games and 15 city Machiavelli games will be overlooked)
  2. A player who was abandoned or resigned, returns to the game while their original power is still alive. (1 centre, one phase mercy positions may be overlooked)
  3. Same-site games (games already in the Hall of Fame will be grandfathered)
  4. Games where an NMR move took place. If just one or two of a power's units NMRed, or if the NMR was in the retreats or disbands, then the NMRs will be ignored.
  5. Games where the name of the game is highly offensive.
  6. Variants such as Nuclear Yuppie Evil Empire.
In cases 1-4 and 6, the game will be listed in the Hall of Fame, without points. A current copy of the Hall of Fame can be retrieved in the following places:
  1. Anonymous FTP to nda.com [192.150.206.1] in /pub/diplomacy/HallOfFame/halloffame.#.Z: This file is UNIX compressed. Old issues are at this site also.
  2. Anonymous FTP to FTP.FU-berlin.de [130.133.4.50] in /pub/misc/diplomacy/hall-of-fame/hall-of-fame.#.Z: This file is UNIX compressed. All of the old issues are at this site.
  3. Ask Nick for a copy directly.

3.7. What is the Diplomacy Adjudicator ("Judge")?

The Diplomacy adjudicators are computer programs that moderate, and assist in the moderation of Diplomacy games. All moderated games on the Judges are eligible for inclusion in Electronic Protocol.

The Judge presently supports the following variants; Standard, Youngstown, Loeb9, Chaos, 1898, Crowded, Machiavelli, Britain, Pure and Fleet-Rome. Press and no-press gunboat versions of all these games are available.

To get information on how to play in a game, send "help" (no quotes) in the body of a mail message to one of the Judges below. Also read section 3.9 for a beginner's FAQ on the Judge.

If you use the Judge, please thank its author, Ken Lowe. Send a postcard or a T-shirt (size: large medium to small large) to:

Ken Lowe
University of Washington JE-30
4545 15th Ave NE; Suite 300
Seattle, WA 98195

3.8. What Judges are available?

There are many Judges available around the world. All Judges have a 4 character abbreviation (which is after the name in the following section). Currently, the most popular Judge is the EFF Judge (USEF).

Washington, USA (U of Washington Judge)

The first Judge created was at the University of Washington, and was kept by Ken Lowe (jdr@u.washington.edu). In May 1994, the Washington Judge closed.

Thanks Ken for all the time and effort you've put into the Judge!!!

Massachusetts, USA (EFF Judge) [USWA]

In November 1992, after Ken's announcement the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) opened up a new Judge to take away some of the traffic from Washington's Judge. The address is
judge@morrolan.eff.org
and the operator is David Kovar (kovar@morrolan.eff.org) David requests that only moderated games be started on the EFF Judge. Any unmoderated games will be removed.

Durban, South Africa [ZADU]

A full fledged Judge is running in Durban, South Africa. The address is
judge@owl.und.ac.za
The operator is Russel Vincent (vincent@cc.und.ac.za) The South African Judge is open for all games.

Manitoba, Canada (U of Manitoba) [CAMA]

In January 1993 a new Judge was announced at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. The address is
judge@cs.umanitoba.ca
The operator is Arne Grimstrup (agoper@ccu.umanitoba.ca) Arne is planning for only a few games on this Judge. If you wish to start up a game on this Judge, please ask Arne.

Australia (Defence Science and Technology Organisation)

In February 1993 a Judge was publicly announced in Australia.
judge@dipvax.dsto.gov.au
The operator is Grant Ward (gaward@dsto.gov.au).

New Mexico, USA (New Mexico Tech) [USNM]

A new Judge has sprung up in New Mexico.
judge@nmt.edu
The operator is
Eric Wagoner (ewagoner@nmt.edu). Games can only be created by Eric, please write ewagoner@nmt.edu to request games...

Toledo, USA (University of Toledo) [USTO]

A new Judge opened up in April 1994 in Toledo
judge@math.utoledo.edu
The operators are Michael Frigge (mfrigge@math.utoledo.edu) and Travis Ruelle (ruelle@isp.nwu.edu). Games can only be created by the operators. Games can be requested at judge-request@math.utoledo.edu.

California, USA (CalTech) [USCA]

A new Judge opened up in September 1994 in California
judge@ugcs.caltech.edu
The operator is Kevin A. Roust (roustk@cco.caltech.edu). All games must be moderated and created by Kevin. Games can be requested at judge-request@ugcs.caltech.edu.

A complete list of the Judges is available by FTP from nda.com (192.150.206.1) in pub/diplomacy/list_of_judges.


3.9. Judge FAQ for beginners

Here is a quick Judge overview for beginners. One should get the help file and support files to understand the Judge completely.

All messages to the Judge are sent with Email. The Judge looks at the body of the mail message for commands that you supply.


3.9.1. Registering

The first thing you must do is register on a Judge. You must register on EACH Judge you wish to play.

To register, fill out the following form and mail it to a Judge. The most widely used Judge at this time is the EFF Judge (judge@morrolan.eff.org).

-------  Cut here  -------
REGISTER
Name:      Aretha Holly
Phone:     (505) 555-5555
Site:      University of Hodunk
Address:   1515 St. Claws Lane, Kris Mass
Country:   USA
Email:     user@host.domain.edu, user@host.bitnet, host2!host1!user
Level:     Novice, Intermediate or Expert
Birthdate: Dec 25, 1907
Sex:       Female
Package:   Yes
END
-------  Cut here  -------
Registering on the Judge will enter you in the database necessary for you to play in any of the games.

3.9.2. Support Files

Next get support files from the Judge. Send the following commands to the Judge to get the support files you need:
    get info
    get syntax
    get deadline
    get rules
    get press
You will get a bunch of files from the Judge mailed to you. READ THEM! At least print them out and have them nearby. It is a lot to read, but the basic knowledge is needed to use the Judge to it's full extent.

The files mentioned above are considered essential for playing Diplomacy through the judges. You can also send

    get package
to a Judge. You will be sent the above files along with three other files: ep.house.rules, index (a comprehensive summary of Judge commands), and flist (a list of the all the Judge information files).

Most of the Judge information files including all the ones mentioned above are also available via WWW at:

http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/usr/ss8c/dip/FILENAME.html

where FILENAME is the name of the file you want. The complete list of files can be found in the flist file.

The information in the following sections is helpful with the understanding of these files.


3.9.3. Listing Game Information

The next Judge command to master is the "list" command. The list command displays information on games currently running on the Judge. To get and entire listing of all the games on the Judge use the list command with no arguments:
    list
The complete list of the games on the Judge will be sent to you by mail. Information like the gamename, moderator's name, turn length, and variant type are sent with this list.

To get specific information on a game, use the list command with the game name as the argument:

    list gamename
where "gamename" is the name of the game. All games on the Judge have a eight or less character name to identify it. The list gamename command will display all of the parameters in the game. Many of these parameters are explained in the "deadline" and "press" file.

3.9.4. Observing A Game

If you want to just watch what goes on in a certain game to get the jist of things, this is a good idea. Pick a game, let's say it's called guerre. Then you send the Judge the following:
    observe guerre [your password]
Obviously for a different game, you substitute a different name and the password is of your choice. (Do not type the brackets.) You will then receive all messages that were publicly broadcasted in that game, as well as the processed moves.
*** PLEASE READ *** Signing on to a game is a COMMITMENT. Countries changing players disrupts games for everyone involved. If you cannot play a full game (usually a couple of months), don't signon to the game!

3.9.5. Signing On To A Game

To actually play in any game, you must signon to the game. A signon command must start out EVERY message for a particular game. The signon command has the following syntax:
    signon Pgamename password
           ^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^
           |   |         ----------- Your Password for the game
           |   --------------------- The gamename for the game
           ------------------------- Power specification (one letter)
Power specification is which country you are playing (E=England, F=France,...)

For new games, you signon with the following command

    signon ?thegame password {nameofvariant}
    set preference FEGRAIT
The question mark is intentional, if the game is not of standard variant, the variant type must be specified in the {nameofvariant} field. (e.g. Youngstown, Crowded, Gunboat, ..)

"set preference" tells the Judge which country you would prefer to play in order from most desired to the least.

If you are new to the Judge, it is recommended that you signon to a Moderated standard game. A Moderated game has a master (a real person who is running the game.) The master is always there to answer your questions.

After that, it's quite simple. The Judge will tell you turn results, what units need to be moved, and when the deadlines are for orders.


3.9.6. Deadlines

Of course all move orders have deadlines. Deadlines are given with the previous order results. Deadlines can also be found with the "list" command. Most standard games have 96 hours between moves. Some games have faster deadlines, and are called "warp" games. These games can have 48 or 24 hour deadlines.

What happens if you miss the deadline? Most games have a grace period after the deadline for those people who are late. All good players get their orders in BEFORE the deadline! For those of us who miss the deadline and the grace period will be abandoned and give up your country.

Deadlines and dedication points are further described in the "deadline" file.


3.9.7. Orders

The syntax for orders are found in the "syntax" file. You have read the syntax file, right? To get the syntax file send the Judge the following command:
    get syntax
For how to move units. It's much the same as the way you usually do it in the Face to Face game. (If you don't have the real game rules, you're expected to buy the game.) So it should be pretty simple. The Judge is pretty helpful when you screw up with the syntax and province abbreviations.

Unless you're merely listing games, to put in orders (movement and/or press commands), you need to signon first. Similar to when you first signed on:

    signon Pgamename password
Replacing the power's initial, game name and password. Note that once you are playing a power in the game, you don't need to specify the variant anymore.

After the Judge parses your commands, a confirmation is sent back. Read the confirmation that the Judge sends back to you! If there were problems with your orders, the Judge will tell you and if you don't fix them, then you will still be considered late. Not checking the confirmation from the Judge is probably the biggest problem with players (beginners and experts).

For example, the following might be the opening orders of France in the game guerre:

signon Fguerre <password here>
Par - Pic
Bre - MAO
Mar - Spa
Note the signon command starting the letter, and the three movement commands that follow.

3.9.8. Press

All communications with other powers are done through the Judge. The "press" file describes how press is conducted with other players. You've read the "press" file too, right?

If you send the Judge:

    get press
You will get a file explaining all the press commands and how to use them. Let me guess -- it's just too friggin' long and nothing makes sense so what's the use? Here's a simple summary of common (??) info tidbits:

Most games are white press, no fake broadcast. This means, you can send press to anyone and they will be informed of which power it's coming from. Specifically, the message they receive will go something like this...

    Message from lokendr@ecf.toronto.edu as France to Germany in game guerre:
            [the message]
The message tells you who its from (power played, and e-mail address), which powers are receiving it and the game.

If the game has grey press, the e-mail address and the power originating the message are not shown. If the game is no partial, that means any message you send must be broadcast message (no private mail).

To send press, you give ONE of the following commands in an empty letter to the Judge, or at the end of orders. Everything after this command line will be sent as press... *** Do not put any orders after this press command (unless you really WANT someone else to see them.)

Commands:
    press       [the following message goes to all players]
    press to a  [the message goes to Austria only]
    press to eg [the message goes to England and Germany and both
                 players know it's being sent to _both_ of them]
    press grey to f
                [in games where it's allowed, adding grey after the
                 the word press, makes it anonymous]
    broadcast   [interchangable with the word "press"]
    press to m  [the messages goes to the Master of a moderated game]

3.9.9. Game Summaries

Once a game has ended, you can get a summary of the game by sending
    get summary gamename
to the appropriate judge. The information listed in the output from the summary command includes:
  1. Identities of all players who participated in the game and the powers they controlled. This is useful for finding out who your opponents were in a gunboat game since their identities are kept secret until the game is over.
  2. Game parameters.
  3. Victory results.
  4. A year-by-year history of ownerships for each supply center.
  5. A year-by-year history of supply center counts for each player.

3.9.10. NMR

If a game is listed as NMR, then that means when the deadline and grace have expired, the turn will be processed regardless of the status of any power's orders. Any power that had failed to submit orders due to being abandoned/CD or otherwise, will have their orders marked [no order processed] and the game continues. This can be quite unfair at times as players can hit gold mines if a neighbour goes CD. Thus, most games are noNMR. This also means that when a power goes abandoned/CD, the game comes to a full stop until a replacement is found. (Feel free to take over some abandoned power and help your fellow Dippies go on with their game. :)

3.9.11. Variants

The Judge assumes you know how to play the Standard version of Diplomacy. For variants 2 and onwards described below, you can obtain a short description of the variant by sending the Judge:
    get info.VARIANTNAME

The files are also available via WWW at http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/usr/ss8c/dip/info.VARIANTNAME.html

Variant names as listed below. (Note: use "v1898" as the VARIANTNAME to get information about the 1898 variant)

Maps may be required: the standard map, and some variant maps are available (postscript) by anonymous FTP to ftp.u.washington.edu in /public/misc and from other FTP Judge sites. Or you can get it directly from the Judge -- check the help file for details. (send the Judge the word help.)

  1. Standard
    The standard 7-player map of Europe.
  2. Gunboat
    Not a variant in itself -- can be matched with the standard game or any of the other following variants. It just means all the other players remain anonymous to you. (Here's the trick, when you list the game from your e-mail address, your name will appear on the listing but the others won't -- in case you forgot which power you were playing.)
  3. Youngstown
    Game with 10 powers played on an extended map which includes Asia. I is for Italy, N is for India.
  4. Loeb9
    Game played on an extended map with Spain and Norway. Hence, it is a 9-player variant.
  5. Chaos
    34 player variant played on the standard map. Everybody begins with once centre; different lettering scheme for power identification (i.e. not FEARTIG only).
  6. Britain
    Standard map, except all 6 regions of England are supply centres, but England starts with 6 armies.
  7. 1898
    Standard map, each player of seven starts with only one unit, and must claim its other home centres before building on them.
  8. Crowded
    Standard map with extra supply centre in Ruhr. 4 extra players occupy the normally empty supply centres.
  9. Pure
    7 players, 7 regions on the board all interconnected.
  10. Fleet_Rome
    Standard game except Italy starts with a fleet rather than army in, you guessed it, Rome.
  11. Machiavelli
    Has its own rules. Assassination, famine, the works. Based on the board game by Avalon Hill. get " rules.machiavelli" for more specific details.
  12. Aberration
    A nine-power variant. Each of the nine powers is a nation that might have become a great power in the modern period if history had gone a little bit differently than it did.
  13. Asia
    Seven player variant that uses a map of Asia. I is for Indonesia, N is for India.
  14. Chromatic
    Five colored powers vie for control of the rainbow colored mapboard.
  15. Milan
    Standard rules with a modified map of Italy. This variant strengthens Italy providing attacking rather than merely defensive power.
  16. Rootz
    There are two identical boards (that actually interlock to form a single board. Players start out controlling one power on each board, though not necessarily the same power on both boards.
  17. Wraparound
    Uses a modified standard map which is rolled up into a torus, or doughnut, so that the top and bottom of the map are connected, as are the left and right sides of the map.
  18. Shift
    Everyone begins the game with their units occupying the home centers of another power, with the units that power would normally have at the start of the game.

We are always looking to improve our Beginner's FAQ. If you are a beginner and have some suggestions, please let me know. Send mail to me at starkey@rmii.com.
Thanks Kendrick Lo for the great work on the beginner's FAQ!

3.10. Judge FAQ for non-beginners

Here are all of those questions that regular Judge players always seem to ask. Note that the index file contains all Judge commands. Any Judge expert should read through the index file for any missing information. The index file can be retrieved with the "get index" command.

3.10.1. What does the Judge consider to be the "same site"?

When you register with the Judge it picks a "siteid" based on the "Country:" you specified or the area code from your phone number if the country is either USA or Canada. The initial siteids are a two or three digit country code or a three digit area code times 100 ending up with xxx00. Later, the Judge administrator will add a small number to the site codes ending in 00 so that they are more representative of actual locales. The Judge tries to keep people from the same site from playing in the same "different-site" game.

The matching on the siteid works in such a way that xxx00 matches xxx01 and xxx02, but xxx01 doesn't match xxx02. If you register and specify a "Site:" that is spelled the same as someone else's site, you'll be given a siteid that is the same as theirs, but if you're registering from a site as yet unknown to the Judge or if you spell your site name differently than another player, the Judge picks xxx00 to avoid problems with two people getting into the same game and then having to be asked to have one of them resign.

If you are having problems signing on to a game because of the different site rule, talk to your Judge administrator about changing your siteid from xxx00.

3.10.2. How does the "map" command work?

The map command uses the Mapit program to create a postscript map of a current game phase. This command is being improved all the time, and might be at different rev levels at different Judges. To get the latest syntax of the command, send a "get index" command to the Judge in question.

If you can, please use your own Mapit program on your computer rather than the Judge's. This will help our Judges run faster and cut down on Internet bandwidth.

3.10.3. How do I get the postscript maps (from the map command) to print on A4 size paper?

On line 411 of the file, one should change the postscript code:

0.9 dup scale to 0.8 dup scale

3.10.4. All the orders are in, there are no set waits, where are the results?

Such things do happen. Normally there are three reasons
  1. The Judge has a backlog, and the Judge ALWAYS waits to finish a backlog, to process orders, in case there are new orders in the backlog.
  2. Someone, has left some garbage, at the end of their orders, however the Judge SHOULD use the partial rather than move, note, under these cases.
  3. You are in the 30 minute waiting period.

3.10.5. I lost the mail containing the last turn results. Where can I get the last turn results?

The last and all turn results for a game can be retrieved with a HISTORY command.
HISTORY <gamename>
will get the last few weeks of broadcast messages (including turn results). See the "index" file for more information on the HISTORY command.

3.10.6. Why am I getting two copies of everything?

When the Judge receives game orders, it compares the address on the incoming message to the address used to sign on to that power originally. If these addresses are different, the Judge sends copies of its response to both addresses.

This usually happens because you are submitting orders to the Judge from a different account than the one you originally signed onto the game with, but it may also be caused by changes to your local node or network identifications or structures.

Sending a message which signs onto the game and issues a "SET ADDRESS" command should solve the problem. Subsequent commands will be ignored, so this should be the only thing you include in the message.

3.10.7. I am moving and I'm changing my Email address. How do I move my Judge registration from one Email address to another?

Re-registering is not required, it's nice to have your correct address in the registary files, but its only for information. The judge must maintain two different lists of addresses, one from the registration form, which it does not use, and the one from where you sent you E-mail from

Simply, from your new address, send the message iamalso ckd@my.old.address.org (whatever that was)

Thats it . . .

Afterwards (not before!), you may wish to re-enter your Registration, and the judge will update your information, however this is only for user reference . . . (If you do it before, the judge will add a new registration, which is not what you want.)

3.10.8. How do I resign as an observer?

The same as getting out of a game as a player

signon ogamename password
resign
For observers the judge does not match the password, but matches the E-mail address that you are sending from. If this does not match the address you originally started observing the game from, then preface your message with the line:
Reply-To: myoldaddress@wherever.i.was.then.edu
(substituting in your old address for myoldaddr.......)

While this is not really part of the mail header, it is close enough for the judge's parsing to cope with.

3.10.9. How can I get the latest Judge game openings easily?

The list of Judge openings can be retrieved by sending an Email message to starkey@rmii.com with "Opening request" in the subject. The current Judge openings will be mailed to you shortly. Note that this uses the "list" command from the Judge, so NOLIST games will not show up in the list. The Judge Openings List is also available by WWW at ftp://rmii.com/pub2/starkey/openings.html.

3.11. FTP sites

Certain material is available by anonymous FTP from various Diplomacy archives around the world. These sites can also be reached with Gopher (section 3.13.) or WWW (section 3.14.). Please check the sites themselves for the latest file listings.

Colorado Springs, CO, USA

The latest versions of the FAQ and the EP Judge Gamelog is kept in the machine
	rmii.com  (198.59.29.10)
in the pub/diplomacy sub-directory.
  XXXXX XXX  X XX:XX EP.gamelog                 EP Judge Gamelog
  XXXXX XXX  X XX:XX rec.games.diplomacy.FAQ.1  This FAQ (1/2)
  XXXXX XXX  X XX:XX rec.games.diplomacy.FAQ.2  This FAQ (2/2)
   XXXX XXX  X XX:XX openings                   The latest Judge Openings
                                                (Updated hourly)

Waltham, MA, USA

Lots of interesting dippy reading can be found at
	nda.com  (192.150.206.1)
in the /pub/diplomacy sub-directory.
/pub/diplomacy:
    512 Oct 17 23:54 Documents/               Directory
    512 Oct 17 23:52 EPC2/                    Directory
    512 Oct 17 23:53 HallOfFame/              Directory
  89249 Aug 11 14:55 L4E-27.ps.Z
    512 Nov  1 15:35 Maps/                    Directory
    429 Oct 17 23:58 README
    512 Nov  5 23:33 Sources/                 Directory
    512 Oct 28 20:21 TAP/                     Directory
   8823 Sep 22 23:30 epcc.const               Constitution for EPCC
  82683 Oct  6 00:00 house.rules              EP House Rules
   1431 Oct 13 09:32 list_of_judges           List of judges

/pub/diplomacy/Documents:
 203949 Sep  2 15:11 AtoZ.tar.Z               Diplomacy A-Z 4.0
 131955 Aug 19 14:37 diplomacy.A-Z.Z          Diplomacy A-Z 3.0
  33326 Jun 21 13:04 fred.davis.tar.Z         Interview with Fred Davis
  28218 Jun 21 09:03 peery.tar.Z              Interview with Larry Peery
  50334 Jun 21 09:03 variants.tar.Z           Variants A-Z

/pub/diplomacy/EPC2:
  62464 Oct 12 01:41 epc2-305.ps.Z            EP Chapter 2 #305
  44608 Jul 31 18:17 epc2-306.ps.Z            EP Chapter 2 #306
  54403 Sep 22 17:26 epc2-307.ps.Z            EP Chapter 2 #307
  84169 Oct 12 01:41 epc2-308.ps.Z            EP Chapter 2 #308

/pub/diplomacy/HallOfFame:
  94013 Jul 16 11:44 halloffame.10.Z          Hall of Fame #10
 112549 Sep  1 15:44 halloffame.11.Z          Hall of Fame #11
 143379 Dec 10 18:28 halloffame.12.Z          Hall of Fame #12

/pub/diplomacy/Maps:
    512 Nov  1 10:35 ColorMaps/               Directory - Editable color maps 
    592 Nov  1 10:54 README
  71169 Oct 25 22:34 aberration.ps.Z          Abberration III map (Postscript)
  22515 Oct 27 16:07 armies.ps.Z              Map showing all possibly army 
                                              movements (Postscript)
   5098 Oct 28 10:33 crowded.bw.xfig.Z        B/W crowded map for xfig
   5122 Oct 28 10:33 crowded.color.xfig.Z     Color crowded map for xfig
  23689 Oct 27 16:07 fleets.ps.Z              Map showing all possible fleet 
                                              movements (Postscript)
   5334 Oct 28 10:33 loeb9.bw.xfig.Z          B/W Loeb9 map for xfig
   5384 Oct 28 10:33 loeb9.color.xfig.Z       Color Loeb9 map for xfig
  85479 Oct 20 03:50 rootz.ps.Z               RootZ map (Postscript)
 171111 Oct 20 03:50 rootz2.ps.Z              RootZ map (Postscript)
   4988 Oct 28 13:37 standard.bw.xfig.Z       B/W standard Dip. map for xfig
   5020 Oct 28 13:37 standard.color.xfig.Z    Color standard Dip. map for xfig
  11746 Oct 28 10:33 youngstown.bw.xfig.Z     B/W Youngstown map for xfig
  11850 Oct 28 10:33 youngstown.color.xfig.Z  Color Youngstown map for xfig

/pub/diplomacy/Maps/ColorMaps:
   1710 Nov  1 09:46 colormaps.readme         Please read this file on
                                              cpt.hqx files
  46626 Nov  1 09:49 loebe9.2.GIF             larger Loeb9 map
 106163 Nov  1 09:52 loebe9.2.cpt.hqx.Z
  75329 Nov  1 09:50 loebe9.GIF               Loeb9 map
 141477 Nov  1 09:54 loebe9.cpt.hqx.Z
  42926 Nov  1 09:50 standard.2.GIF           larger standard map - 670x670
  74498 Nov  1 09:51 standard.GIF             standard map about 640x460
 142490 Nov  1 09:55 standard.cpt.hqx.Z
 102781 Nov  1 09:57 standard2.cpt.hqx.Z

/pub/diplomacy/Sources:
    341 Oct 18 19:29 README
  10001 Oct 13 17:46 deadliner                Perl script to help check on 
                                              deadlines for players
1164429 Aug 17 10:06 dipsrc.tar.Z             The latest sources for the Judge
    516 Oct  6 00:02 dipsrc.v4.0-v4.1         Patch #1
   1178 Oct  6 00:02 dipsrc.v4.1-v4.2         Patch #2
   1367 Nov 30 15:00 dipsrc.v4.2-v4.3         Patch #3
  28493 Dec  9 02:54 dipstrma.zip             Dip. Strategy Map for MS Windows
 410271 Dec 17 19:19 mapit-1.8.tar.Z          Baseline Unix sources for MapIt
 272630 Oct 18 19:25 mapit-NeXT.tar.Z         Mapit for the NeXT including GUI.
 230107 Nov 30 23:51 mapit-dos.exe            Mapit for MS/DOS.
 265682 Oct 18 12:31 mapit.mac.hqx            MapIt for the Mac
 208639 Oct 18 09:57 mapwin.zip               MapIt for Windows on MS/DOS.

/pub/diplomacy/TAP:
  97447 Jul 14 14:28 ap131.ps.Z               Abyssinian Prince #131
  90869 Jul 30 15:02 ap132.ps.Z               Abyssinian Prince #132
  98973 Aug 19 11:53 ap133.ps.Z               Abyssinian Prince #133
  84423 Sep  9 12:54 ap134.ps.Z               Abyssinian Prince #134
  80801 Oct  6 11:12 ap135.ps.Z               Abyssinian Prince #135
  93021 Oct 28 16:15 ap136.ps.Z               Abyssinian Prince #136
 123919 Nov 18 21:34 ap137.ps.Z               Abyssinian Prince #137
 112317 Dec 14 00:25 ap138.ps.Z               Abyssinian Prince #138

Univerisity of Waterloo, Canada

Here is an index for the FTP site at
	sunburn.uwaterloo.ca  (129.97.50.26)
/pub/nick/diplomacy:
 39554 Mar  7 16:12 aberrat.pict           Aberration map in MacIntosh 
                                           PICT format
 48630 Mar  7 16:11 aberrat.wmf            Aberration map in Windows WMF format
  2567 Mar 12 19:21 bnc.log                Log file of Boardman Numbers
 45588 Mar  7 18:05 hall.abridged.13.Z     Abridged Hall of Fame 13
 18453 Mar  7 18:25 hall.stats.13.Z        Top 100 and List of Games forHoF 13
188412 Mar 13 12:02 halldata.zip           Data files for HoF 13
172771 Mar  7 18:11 halloffame.13.Z        Hall of Fame 13
  1482 Mar  7 18:09 judge.codes            List of Judge Codes
  7859 Mar  7 13:25 judge.statistics.Z     Judge Statistics (monthly post 
                                           to r.g.d)
 15534 Mar 12 19:29 mnc.log                Log file for Miller Numbers

Berlin, Germany

There is an ftp site in Berlin. The machine is
        FTP.FU-berlin.DE   (130.133.4.50)
/pub/misc/diplomacy:
    512 Feb 21  1993 classic/                 Directory
    512 Feb 21  1993 dipl-l/                  Directory
    512 Feb 21  1993 general/                 Directory
    512 Sep  1 19:50 hall-of-fame/            Directory
    512 Feb 21  1993 loeb9/                   Directory
    512 Feb 21  1993 machiavelli/             Directory
    512 Feb 21  1993 other-variants/          Directory
    512 Feb 21  1993 source/                  Directory
    512 Feb 21  1993 youngstown/              Directory

/pub/misc/diplomacy/classic:
   2172 Apr 24  1991 map.ascii.Z
   2501 May 22  1991 map.info.Z
  34076 May 22  1991 map.ps.Z
   2291 Apr  7  1991 rules.classic.Z

/pub/misc/diplomacy/dipl-l:
   6789 Apr 24  1991 convoys.Z
   8557 Apr 24  1991 dipcon.Z
   2513 Apr 24  1991 email-dip.intr.Z
   1919 Apr 24  1991 example.game.Z
  12176 Apr 24  1991 france.Z
   5662 Apr 24  1991 germany.Z
   2741 Apr 24  1991 greek.Z
   2034 Apr 24  1991 mediterranean.Z
   3100 Apr 24  1991 musical.dip.Z
   2140 Apr 24  1991 stab-stab.Z
   4850 Apr 24  1991 stalemates.Z
    639 Apr 24  1991 top.ten.lies.Z
   2951 Apr 24  1991 winning.dip.Z
  22767 Apr 24  1991 zine_list.Z

/pub/misc/diplomacy/general:
   2176 Jun 13  1992 changes.Z
   4211 Jun 13  1992 deadline.Z
   1301 Jun 13  1992 form.Z
   5504 Jun 13  1992 index.Z
   4471 Jun 13  1992 info.Z
   4364 Jun 13  1992 master.Z
   3242 Jun 13  1992 press.Z
   2750 Jun 13  1992 syntax.Z

/pub/misc/diplomacy/hall-of-fame:
  10774 Aug  9  1992 hall-of-fame-01.Z        Hall of Fame #1
  19809 Jun 10  1992 hall-of-fame-02.Z        Hall of Fame #2
  25857 Aug  9  1992 hall-of-fame-03.Z        Hall of Fame #3
  29563 Sep  3  1992 hall-of-fame-04.Z        Hall of Fame #4
  34419 Dec 19  1992 hall-of-fame-05.Z        Hall of Fame #5
  46370 Jan 14  1993 hall-of-fame-06.Z        Hall of Fame #6
  55070 Feb 24  1993 hall-of-fame-07.Z        Hall of Fame #7
  62907 Mar 30  1993 hall-of-fame-08.Z        Hall of Fame #8
  76925 May 11  1993 hall-of-fame-09.Z        Hall of Fame #9
  94013 Jul  2 17:50 hall-of-fame-10.Z        Hall of Fame #10
 112549 Sep  1 19:34 hall-of-fame-11.Z        Hall of Fame #11

/pub/misc/diplomacy/loeb9:
   1510 Jun 13  1992 info.loeb9.Z
  35505 May 21  1991 loeb9.ps.Z

/pub/misc/diplomacy/machiavelli:
   1366 Jun 13  1992 info.machiavelli.Z
  11253 Jun 13  1992 machiavelli.ps.Z
  14174 Jun 13  1992 rules.machiavelli.Z

/pub/misc/diplomacy/other-variants:
    481 Jun 13  1992 info.1898.Z
    459 Jun 13  1992 info.britain.Z
    934 Jun 13  1992 info.chaos.Z
    550 Jun 13  1992 info.crowded.Z
    724 Jun 13  1992 info.gunboat.Z
    450 Jun 13  1992 info.pure.Z

/pub/misc/diplomacy/source:
 255255 Sep 16  1992 diplomacy-adjudicator.tar.Z  Judge Sources (old)

/pub/misc/diplomacy/youngstown:
   3145 Jun 13  1992 info.youngstown.Z
   5842 Jun 13  1992 map.young.Z
    596 Jun 13  1992 report.young.Z
  52113 Jun 13  1992 youngstown-DINA4-1PAGE.ps.Z
  52050 Jun 13  1992 youngstown-DINA4.ps.Z
  51922 Jun 13  1992 youngstown.ps.Z

3.12. FTP by Email

Many files are available at different sites on the Internet via a mechanism called FTP (for File Transfer Protocol). If your system is directly connected to the Internet, you can use the local ftp command directly. If you are not directly connected to the Internet, you can still access files via FTP by Email. If you are not sure if you are connected to the Internet for FTP, ask your local system administrators.

At the time of this writing, there are two addresses which provide FTP by Email access:

        ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com
        ftpmail@sunsite.unc.edu
FTP commands should be placed in the body of your message similiar to sending commands to the Judge.

To get a list of commands available, send the command "help" to one of the addresses above. Some commands that you might want to use are:

        connect <site name, such as teetot.acusd.edu>
        chdir   <directory files you want are in; only one per session>
        dir     <return a listing of the current directory's files>
        get     <name of file you want sent to you>
For example, to get a directory listing of the Diplomacy archive on nda.com, you would send the following commands:
        connect nda.com
        chdir /pub/diplomacy
        dir
To get a PostScript map of the standard variant, you would send the following commands:
        connect nda.com
        chdir /pub/diplomacy/Maps
        get standard.ps
You can get more than one file with multiple get commands.

After a while you should get a mail response similar to this:

    From: "ftpmail service on ftp-gw-1.pa.dec.com" <nobody@pa.dec.com>
    To: starkey@netcom.com
    Subject: your ftpmail request has been received

    We processed the following input from your mail message:

         <what commands you sent>

    We have entered the following request into our job queue
    as job number 749867482.01937:
The message will conclude with how many jobs are ahead of yours. Since this service is in such high demand, expect to wait 24 hours or more for your files.

3.13. Gopher Server

You can now access this FAQ list and all the FTP sites by Gopher at the UCI philosophy gopher: philosophy.cwis.uci.edu (128.200.15.2 7016) on the path World of Philosophy/Recreation/Games by Wire/Diplomacy.

Thanks Pete Woodruff for the Gopher site!


3.14. WWW Servers

A Diplomacy related World Wide Web HTML page accessible by Mosaic, lynx, www (and similiar programs) is available at URL:

http://www.hmc.edu/~irilyth/diplomacy/index.html

Most of the judge information files are also available via WWW. They are located at:

http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/usr/ss8c/dip/XXXX.html

where XXXX is the judge file name (index, info, syntax, etc.)

A complete list of the available files is located at:

http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/usr/ss8c/flist.html


3.15. Mailing lists

DIPL-L

DIPL-L is a mailing list hosted at nda.com. This mailing list used to be at MIT. To add your name to the mailing list, send the command

     subscribe dipl-l
to the address
     majordomo@nda.com
DIPL-L is gatewayed to Usenet as the newsgroup rec.games.diplomacy. If you already receive rec.games.diplomacy, don't register on this mailing list.

DIP-ADVICE

The DIP-ADVICE mailing list is the child of the old EPCC mailing list. "Meta-Diplomacy" is discussed here. The only way to find out what this means is to join. Send the command

    subscribe dip-advice
to the address
    majordomo@nda.com
You can't be a real Internet Diplomacy nerd unless you are on this list.

JUDGE-MAINT

The JUDGE-MAINT mailing list is for development of the Judge's software. If you are interested in how the Judge works, feel free to join this mailing list. We also could use more C programmers! To join the mailing list, send the command:
    subscribe judge-maint
to the address
    majordomo@nda.com
The mapit program is discussed on this mailing list as well.

WA-DIPLOMACY

This is a small, quiet list for postings related to the Perth Diplomacy Club. Past and future meetings are discussed, as well as some other Diplomacy issues. If you are from Western Australia, this is a must! Intersted other parties are also welcome to join. To subscribe mail
     listserv@gu.uwa.edu.au
with any subject and the message
     subscribe wa-diplomacy Jo Bloggs
Then to mail all the subscribers of the list simply mail to
     wa-diplomacy@gu.uwa.edu.au

3.16 The Diplomacy Subject Index

Information about Play-By-E-Mail (PBEM) diplomacy is spread out over numerous sources, including a Frequently Asked Questions list (this document) and over a dozen judge information files (plus an additional three dozen judge information files that only contain information about diplomacy variants).

The Diplomacy Subject Index (maintained by Simon Szykman) is a comprehensive index, organized alphabetically by subject, covering all the major topics related to the PBEM diplomacy hobby. The index is intended to be used as a reference by anyone involved PBEM diplomacy, from novices to experts alike. This index will hopefully be able to point anyone with a question to the correct information source where the answer can be found.

The index is located at http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/usr/ss8c/dip_index.html.


3.16. Postscript maps - what are they?

What is the deal with these postscript maps? I want to use them but don't know how...

All of the Judge maps are in postscript, and all output from the Mapit program is also in postscript. The easiest way to print out a postscript file is with postscript printer. If you don't have a postscript printer there is a free postscript interpreter/viewer available for many platforms called ghostscript.

Ghostscript is written by L. Peter Deutsch, and is distributed under the terms of the GNU Library General Public License. Ghostscript will compile on most common platforms, and has drivers for many common peripherals, including X11R[345], MS-DOS-VGA, Deskjet 500, Epson dot matrix printers, and HP laserjets.

FTP sites for ghostscript: Many of these sites are mirrored all over the world. It shouldn't be too hard to find a ghostscript close to you. Any questions about ghostscript installation should be taken to comp.lang.postscript.

UNIX:  (The original sources)
	prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/gnu/ghostscript*
X11:  (UNIX and VMS)
	prep.ai.mit.edu:/pub/gnu/ghostview (get ghostscript too)
MS-DOS:
	simtel.coast.net:/postscrp/gs261286.zip
	simtel.coast.net:/postscrp/gs261386.zip
	simtel.coast.net:/postscrp/gsview10.zip
MS-Windows:
	simtel.coast.net:/postscrp/gs261win.zip (make sure to get fonts!)
Macintosh: 
	sumex-aim.stanford.edu:info-mac/util/ghostscript-252b2-runtime-*.hqx 
Atari ST:
	atari.archive.umich.edu 

4. Diplomacy and Gaming Zines


4.1. Email Zines

THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE

Jim Burgess (BURGESSJ@GAR.UNION.EDU)

Jim Burgess' postal szine (snail-mail zine) comes out once every three weeks, runs about half a dozen Diplomacy games with extensive postal fannish style press writing, has a letter column that features interaction between the postal and Internet worlds of Diplomacy, and indulges the editor's wide ranging tastes in music.

If you're interested in E-Mail distribution, the szine is available in TeX source code format, most of which is fairly readable right off the screen, or it can be extracted and printed if you have access to TeX. The latest issue of the szine also is available by anonymous FTP from nda.com [192.150.206.1] in the pub/diplomacy/TAP directory in postscript format. The group of Internet folks on the distribution list occasionally discuss issues of general interest related to the topics on this bulletin board and their interface with the postal hobby.

In an exciting new development, we now have a mail group for the szine. Just send the message SUBSCRIBE TAP to "majordomo@nda.com" and then you will receive the TeX version of the szine automatically. Moreover, you can send messages to "tap@nda.com" and a copy will go out to the entire list.

MISSION FROM GOD

Peter Sullivan (peter@manorcon.demon.co.uk)

MISSION FROM GOD is the U.K. edition of the Zine Register. It contains details and reviews of almost all UK snail-mail Diplomacy and other postal games zines, together with a representative selection of zines from other countries.

The latest issue of MISSION FROM GOD is now available in the ASCII and postscript formats by anonymous FTP from nda.com in the pub/diplomacy/Magnifique directory.


4.2. Postal Zines

If you publish a postal Zine, tell me about it and I'll give you free advertising!

Amtsblatt

Michael Blumoehr, Georgstr. 1, D-64347 Griesheim, Germany
Cost: 5 DM
Frequency: 4 weeks
Published in German

Beautiful Losers

Neil Ashworth 12 Queens Rd,
Asquith NSW 2077, Australia
Cost AU$2.50
Frequency: 6 weeks

die Antwort

Lars Freitag, Hauptmannsfeld 27, D-33739 Bielefeld, Germany
(ilfreita@TechFak.Uni-Bielefeld.DE)
Cost: 5 DM
Frequency: 4 weeks
Published in German

Diplomat

Thomas Franke, Haarenufer 12, D-26122 Oldenburg, Germany
Cost: 3.50 DM
Frequency: ?
Published in English, Mr. Franke is German BNC and OGH

Dipsomania

Jef Bryant, 121 Rue Jean Pauly, B-4430 Ans, Belgium
Cost: 55 BF (less than $2)
Frequency: ?
Published both in English and French

Lepanto 4-ever

Per O Westling, Mardtorpsgatan 15, S-58248 Linkoping, Sweden
c85perwe@und.ida.liu.se
Cost: SEK15 (less then US$2)
Frequence: About 6 weeks
Notes: Published in English, Internationally minded

Ludikus

Johannes Schwagereit, Luefthildisgaesschen 23
D-53340 Meckenheim, Germany
Cost: 3 DM
Frequency: 4 weeks ?
Published in German, only Diplomacy and variants

NMR Magazine

Frank Mair, 8 Pinotage Pl. Huapia, Auckland, New Zealand
fj.mair@ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz
Cost: Foreign US$2.00
Frequency: Monthly

Popular Cutlery

Adrian Appleyard, 254 Padstow Rd, Eight Mile Plains, Qld. 4113, Australia
Cost AU$3.00 (11 issues for AU$20.00)
International AU$4.00 (11 issues for AU$30.00) AU$ = US$0.70 and 0.40 pounds
Frequency: 6 weeks

Pontevedria

List of Postal Diplomacy Openings
W. Andrew York, PO Box 2307, Universal City, TX 78148, USA
(210) 658-6066 E-mail: WANDREW@aol.com
FTP: pontevedria.Z in /pub/diplomacy/Documents of nda.com and also as
pontevedria.gz in /pub/nick/diplomacy of sunburn.uwaterloo.ca
Cost: US$ 1.00 & 10 SASE for 10 issues; or US$ 5.00 for 10 issues.
Sample: 1 SASE
Frequence: Monthly

Queens Dagger

Michael Chau, P.O. Box 1229, Box Hill, Vic. 3128, Australia
Cost AU$2.00
Frequency: 1 month

Realpolitik

Alan Thomsom, GPO box 1968 Darwin NT 0801, Australia
Cost AU$1.00
Frequency: 5 weeks

Rhein-Neckar-Zine

Lukas Kautzsch, Seiterichstr. 5, D-76131 Karslruhe, Germany
Cost: 3 DM
Frequency: 3 weeks
Published in German

STABSanzeiger

Volker Schnell, Stresemannstr. 165, D-22769 Hamburg, Germany
Cost: 5 DM
Frequency: 5 weeks
Published in German

WIN

Ferdinand de Cassan, Raasdorferstr. 28-30, A-2285 Leopoldsdorf, Austria
Cost: 385 Austrian Shillings per year
Frequency: 6 weeks ?
Published in German

Zine Register

Pete Gaughan
1236 Detroit Ave #7
Concord, CA 94520-3651 USA
gaughan@netcom.com
Cost: US$2.50 - US$3.50 overseas
English language, open page, offset printed
Frequency: twice a year


5. Computer versions of Diplomacy

This section describes Diplomacy computer games and Diplomacy utilities for personal computers. If you have written your own Diplomacy program, please let me know so I can put your name below!

5.1. IBM version

Avalon Hill - Computer Diplomacy

Avalon Hill distributes an IBM version of Diplomacy.

A quick review:

I used to spend hours in my college dorm room either playing Dip against the computer or with a few friends. That was 1986 and at the time I had the latest version of the game. For the hardware I was running on it was just fine. I liked using it as an adjudicator because it avoided pointless arguments. The current version still does that job well, but in this age of high speed, high resolution graphics, Computer Diplomacy is an anachronism; a throwback to an earlier age. There have been very little if any aesthetic changes to the newer version. It still uses the CGA mode exclusively, and it doesn't have an exit function. You have to reboot the computer to exit or (as I have done) run it under Windows or a similiar multitasker that will allow you to terminate the program. This is not nearly as annoying as the user interface, which still only uses the keyboard and does not let you see the whole map at once. The one good thing I can say about Computer Diplomacy is that it works. It will even play a mediocre game of strategic Diplomacy (no negotions with the computer). In short, if your looking for an adjudicator for your FTF games or would like to be able keep track of your Judge games on the computer, it may be worth the US$35 plus shipping that Avalon Hill asks for it. I am not overly dissapointed. I just wish Avalon Hill would get off its butt and put a little effort into making the came more playable.

If you want to order the game just give AH a call at 1-800-999-3222.

Thank you to Donley R. P'Simer for the review!

Judge

To get it send US$30.00 to
"Trader Vic"
Box 5241
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2C 3H5

Judge is fantastic for GMing!

Mapit for MS/DOS

Mapit for MS/DOS is available by FTP from nda.com in /pub/diplomacy/Sources/mapit-dos.exe. Thank you Larry Richardson (larry9@netcom.com)!

Mapit for MS Windows

Mapit for MS Windows is available by FTP from nda.com in /pub/diplomacy/Sources/mapwin.zip. Thank you Barthel Steckemetz (bast@ph-cip.uni-koeln.de)!

Diplomacy Strategy Map for MS Windows

This program will take a list output from the Judge, and display it on your Windows screen. VBRUN100.DLL needed to run. The Diplomacy Strategy Map is available by FTP from nda.com in /pub/diplomacy/Sources/dipstrma.zip. Thank you Keith Ammann (Prospero@cup.portal.com)!

5.2. Macintosh version

Mapit

Mapit for the Mac is available for FTP from nda.com in /pub/diplomacy/Sources/mapit.mac.hqx. If you know the author's name, please contact me!

MacDip

MacDip is a Macintosh viewer/adjudicator for Diplomacy. You can read in Judge files or plain orders and it will display a map, which you can print or save in a game file. It will also adjudicate non-Judge orders. Right now orders can only be read in from a text file; I hope to get a better interface working soon. A beta version is available via anonymous ftp, from cs.unc.edu in directory /pub/vanverth. Notes from the author Jim Van Verth (vanverth@cs.unc.edu).

5.3. Amiga version

Avalon Hill

Avalon Hill distributes an Amiga version of Diplomacy. I don't know how good it is.

Diplomacy (Public Domain)

Diplomacy by Steve Douthat is public domain version on Fred Fish disk #582. Available by anonymous FTP at nic.funet.fi in /pub/amiga/fish/501-600/ff582/Diplomacy.lha. Roderick Lee comments: It's version 2.0. Still a little buggy, and it occasionally messes up an adjudication. Also, Italy is no longer green, but that can be fixed with a paint program.

5.4. Commodore-64 version

Avalon Hill

Avalon Hill distributes an Commodore-64 version of Diplomacy. I don't know how good it is.

5.5. NeXT version

Mapit

Mapit including GUI for the NeXT is available for FTP from nda.com in /pub/diplomacy/Sources/mapit-NeXT.tar.Z. Thank you Wolfgang Roeckelein for the port!

5.6. UNIX/X windows version

Diplomacy Adjudicator (Judge)

Of course the Diplomacy Adjudicator (Judge) runs on a UNIX system.

Mapit

The original Mapit program is written for a UNIX system. It is available for FTP from nda.com in /pub/diplomacy/Sources/mapit.tar.Z

6. Legal issues

This section describes some of the legal aspects with playing and distributing the Diplomacy game.

6.1. Is it legal to get the rules by Email?

The rules are copyrighted by The Avalon Hill Game Company. Distribution electronically of the rules is a violation of U.S. copyright laws.

6.2. Why is it legal to get the map in postscript?

Ken Lowe has received permission to distribute a postscript version of the map from Avalon Hill.

7. Programming Projects

This section is devoted to those projects people work so long on and get so little credit. If you have a project you are working on and you want some help or just a pat on the back, we'll put your name below!

7.1. Diplomacy Adjudicator (Judge)

David Kovar (kovar@nda.com) has volunteered to keep track of the latest sources/updates of the Judge. The latest sources can be retrieved by anonymous FTP at nda.com in /pub/misc/diplomacy/Sources/dipsrc.vX.X.tar.Z where X.X is the latest version number.

There is also a mailing list devoted just for programming the Judge. To subscribe to this list, send a message to majordomo@nda.com with

subscribe judge-maint
in the body of the message. Sending a message to judge-maint@nda.com will distribute the message to this mailing list. If you have any ideas for the Judge, please send a message to judge-maint@nda.com with your suggestions.

7.2. Mapit

The original author of Mapit is George Boyce. He wrote the program in 1992.

David Kovar (kovar@nda.com) has volunteered to keep track of the latest source/updates of the Mapit program.

Mapit understands nearly all of the Judge's output and uses it to create postscript maps of the game, including unit icons and country designations. It will handle the standard games plus loeb9, youngstown and many others.

The Mapit program is now operating on the Durban Judge and the Australian Judge. Use the "map gamename" command to receive the postscript map in the mail. Mapit was removed from EFF because of the load on the system.

There are many ports to other platforms of Mapit availble for FTP at nda.com. Look at the section of FTP sites (section 3.11) for a complete list. To help save some of the Judge's time, it is asked that you uses your own version of Mapit rather than the Judge's Map command.


7.3. Diplomacy Programming Project (DPP)

The Diplomacy Programming Project hopes to design programs that play diplomacy and actually negotiate with each other.

EXISTING DPP SOFTWARE

Diplomat Interface: (Loeb) LCS interface to be used by the programs (Diplomats) and determined a protocol of communication to be followed by them.

Strategy Finder: (Staykov, Faure, Westling, Schaeffer) C program which takes a position and diplomatic constraints, and finds the best moves for all players.

Observer: (Moustov, Moustier) LCS program to be incorporated into a full negotiator. Takes as input an old friendliness matrix and recent ORDers, and computes new set of alliances and new friendliness matrix

Negotiator: (Aubert, Westling, Richard) Currently, simply connects SF to DI. May have bugs. When/if fully developed, should play diplomacy and carry out full negotiations. Play is based mostly on strategy finder. Work is needed mostly on negotiation and long term strategy.

RELATED PROJECTS

Israeli Diplomat: A group of Israelis have written a diplomat based mostly on negotiation. Plays well, but has not been tested much since it is based on hardware that is no longer available, and is incompatible with the Diplomat Interface. Source code not publically available.

Avalon Hill's COMPUTER DIPLOMACY - plays badly, doesn't use any protocol, doesn't negotiate

Program Daniel wrote for Apple ][ while in High School - same

DIPLOMAT AID for Macintosh - same, also some bugs in the version Daniel has tested

(Please tell Daniel if you have additional information to add to this list)

POSSIBLE NEW DIRECTION: Programs that play multiplayer games based on an abstract description of their rules. (Based on ideas in the Stable Winning Coalitions paper.)

For more information concerning the Diplomacy Programming Project, contact Daniel Loeb (loeb@geocub.greco-prog.fr).


Major Contributors to this fine FAQ (in no particular order):
Sean Starkey       (starkey@rmii.com)
Gary Arkoff (arkoff@lclark.edu)
Karl Dotzek (karl@ims.uni-stuttgart.de)
Nick Fitzpatrick (nick@sunburn.uwaterloo.ca)
Eric Klien (Eric_S_Klien@cup.portal.com)
Kendrick Lo (lokendr@ecf.toronto.edu)
Daniel Loeb (loeb@geocub.greco-prog.fr)
Ken Lowe (jdr@u.washington.edu)
Mark Nelson (amt5man@sun.leeds.ac.uk)
Kenneth Sproat (kenspr@deakin.edu.au)
Simon Szykman (ss8c+@andrew.cmu.edu)

Thanks for everyone's answers!