Recently I’ve been making my inevitable relapse, I mean return, to the Diplomacy game and its community. This time the addiction was reactivated by playing a Face to Face game with a friend who has recently discovered the game. That friend, Victor, and his roommate Jim — in addition to being a blast to play with (I was France in a 6-player game that ended a bit too early to see what would ultimately happen) — mentioned that they were playing online. And it was through a site that I’d never heard of. Now, I’ve been around in the online Diplomacy scene. I discovered the judges in the mid-90s, when one could suggest they were at a peak. I also played real-time games on AOL (and via the judges) and used some Diplomacy computer game that came out in the late 90s to play real-time games that way. In the 21st century, I’ve tried some of the websites that were out there — and never really felt “grabbed” by any of them. What I found at PDO was a site with an awesome interface — something that was fully clickable, on which I could update orders AND diplome with my smartphone. The only downside to the site seems to be that the player traffic is pretty low! It’s a shame, because this is the best non-judge-related web-based Diplomacy interface I’ve ever played on. (I still maintain you’re ultimately better off with something like USAK , but that’s only because Chris Babcock bribed me to include that statement in this article.) I spoke (virtually) with Jon Grover, one of the site’s three developers. When asked why his team felt the need to create a new way to play Diplomacy on the web, Jon said, “I think the thing that really drove us to make our own version was a feeling that none of the current big versions had very much in the way of what you might call "Web 2.0" sensibility.” And that sensibility is there in a big way. Today, waiting on my wife at a doctor’s appointment, I got a whole “round” of Diplomacy in! Granted, it was riddled with autocorrect fails and half baked thoughts, but it was still a cool experience! Jon and his team — consisting of himself, Toby and Lee — say that they are “headquartered at any bar with free wifi in Seattle, WA.” They built the site over three or four years by way of weekly “Hack Nights”. Jon says he likes the traffic they’ve been getting, but that they would like a lot more — and their server could handle it. As for how my game on the site is going, don’t ask. It’s a cruel thing to re-addict a man to Diplomacy and then let terrible, terrible things happen to him! But I absolutely love the interface and while I will continue to make judge games my main medium of play, I will absolutely keep a game going on this site at all times. I want to quote a few of my friends on what they like about this site. Old friend and Diplomacy buddy (we discovered the game together) Aaron Dixon: The interface is very modern and intuitive; I don't think I've ever clicked anywhere for a task and got an unexpected result. The map is simple, yet includes all the information you'd need, all in one place. It would be nice to be able to type orders instead of having to click, though. I also wish orders and press could be submitted via email — having to log into the site for this isn't always ideal, especially from a smartphone. I can't really comment on the players' experience/skill, as I'm only one season into the game. If I get stabbed, though, my analysis will be that they all suck. Victor Larsen, the guy that rooked me into this whole mess: [Another major web-based interface Diplomacy server he’s played on has] bad interface for checking current moves, reviewing past moves, and entering moves. Press interface was also frustrating, and press wasn't locked during phases in which it was supposed to be locked. [PDO’s] map feature is really clean, and the arrows make reviewing moves easy, the red outlining of failed moves makes reviewing past moves easy, and the build/disband interface makes it super obvious what options are available. I like that press is locked during phases that disallow press. Jim Munch, the guy that discovered the site with a very solid Googling effort: There are some problems with the interface but I guess what I like is that it functions. It has problems with not providing feedback on unintentional moves (I understand that it is "part of the game" to put in bad moves on purpose, but sometimes its not intentional, and I have already run into one instance where I have input something incorrectly. It didn't cost me anything but it is still frustrating). The press is nicely set up and is anonymous if you want to keep it that way when playing with friends. My only beef is that you cant scroll down the press window while keeping the map visible at the top of the page. I'm sure this is something that could be fixed in time. These guys are all very tech-oriented guys and would be very discerning about what venue on which they played the game. So you can definitely take them at their word. Come join us — we’re all waiting for you at PDO, playdiplomacyonline.com! Postscript: Despite the fact that this article was written at a low point, I actually ended my game in a 3-way draw as Austria… following a nasty Italian fake-Lepanto stab which claimed TRI, GRE and SER early. The story of how I managed to live to eliminate him is for my next article! ;-) Let the buyer beware: PDO's interface does not allow press during retreat or adjustment phases. Since writing this article, I have had complaints from at least one player (an established member of the Hobby, so I can't ignore him) about the enforcement of this rule, which was arguably designed for Face-to-Face expediency. Heath Gardner ([email protected]) If you wish to e-mail feedback on this article to the author, and clicking on the envelope above does not work for you, feel free to use the "Dear DP..." mail interface.