Hello again, Monkey #1 here. I would like to extend a warm welcome to all those who are coming back to the Pouch. We have worked hard these last three months to get not one, but two issues out before Christmas! This issue brings us back on track to having at least two issues a year and having never NMR'd a movement issue.

Second Monkey: Let this be a warning to those of you who are thinking of doing something to help Manus; that man will draft you. You'll do one little thing, like offer to edit the articles for the 'Zine, and you'll find yourself stuck with a full time job. It's too late for Scott and me, but you can still save yourself! ;-)

I would like to take a bit of time this issue to thank all the people who have made this happen. The main people I need to thank are Manus Hand, Millis Miller for all their help in getting myself and Randy up to speed in this endeavor. They are just some of the true workhorses in this hobby.

Second Monkey: I too must extend my warmest thanks to Manus and Millis (or, as I call them, M&M). Without them, I don't know where I'd be. But most likely I'd end up a bum on a street corner, begging for money to buy "coffee." So I really owe them a big debt of gratitude. Thanks guys! ;-)

The other key people I would like to thank are all the authors (hint hint) that supply us with articles. Without them, you would not have a 'Zine. To them I give my gratitude, not only as an editor, but as a reader for the past nine years. Without the support of the authors and all the articles that we receive, we would not be one of the longest running 'Zines on the net. When taking this over, I started looking back at all the people who have written over the years, and was amazed by the quantity and quality of work that is contained within these pages. To that end, starting with this issue, I am going to include links to articles from past issues that I think deserve some new attention. For a lot of these articles, time only makes them better.

Second Monkey: I agree; the authors are what make this 'Zine what it is (whatever that is). Without them, not only would we not have a huge compendium of Diplomacy paraphernalia, but Scott and I wouldn't be as famous as we now are. Thanks, and enjoy this issue of the 'Zine!

Last issue I said that that next game that I run will be the teachme format (based upon the article from S2004M Teach Me). I did not do this. The reason is the time it takes to get teachers who have the time to do this. So I am putting a call out for people who would be interested in being a teacher in an upcoming teach me format game. If you are interested, please let me know and [email protected].

Buz Eddy's Dedication

Because of the limited time to get this issue out and the fact that dedications are things not to be taken lightly, we are delaying the dedication until we can do Buz justice.

Past Reflections

I want to bring froward a selection of articles from past issues that I feel should be looked at once again. I feel that they are hidden treasures that are waiting to be re-discovered. Below is an article from the very first issue of the Pouch! It is a newbie's guide to surviving Diplomacy. it's still very real relevent today and I encourge all new players to give it a read.

The Diplomacy Survival Guide

The next article is one that a reader brought to my attention. Diplomacy is a game with simple rules but the exucution of those rules sometimes leads to confustion. This article is about one of those issues. Because computers are not that smart (they need to be told what to do), they do not handle paradoxs well at all. So this article came about (I think) to find out what we want as a standard so we can then let those dumb computers know what to do in programming them (like the DPjudge). Take a look at the pouch deposits and see what one reader thought of problem.

Eliminating the Paradox in Diplomacy