It's been so long, that I'm afraid our mailbox contains a lot of cobwebs!

However, we have received a few actual messages, too...

Mail Received Concerning
Diplomacy Openings Listed On The Pouch!

From List Magazine ([email protected]):

Dear DP Council,

Hello from a small corner of the internet known as List Magazine.

I'm pleased to share we've just published a list of "10 Debonair Openings from the Board Game Diplomacy," by Racan Souiedan.

http://listmagazine.org/opening-moves-from-diplomacy.html

Each of the entries links to your database at the Diplomatic Pouch, and you are credited with a link in the footnote. I'm sure these moves are all well known to you, but our list may raise a few eyebrows among those who have not heard of Diplomacy and attract a few new players to the game.

I thought you might like to see this, and perhaps would like to share with friends and followers.

Best,

@listmagazine

Mail Received Concerning
A Player Rating System for Diplomacy

From Jérémie LeFrançois ([email protected]):

Hi!

I am the webmaset of the www.stabbeurfou.org web site dedicated to playing Diplomacy (automated in French and in English). Have you heard about it?

I have implemented EXACTLY the "A Player Rating System for Diplomacy from the article in the DipPouch.

I have duplicated the article on the stabberfou site without changing a comma, here:

http://www.stabbeurfou.org/docs/articles/en/DP_S1998R_Diplomacys_New_Rating_System.html

I do not find exactly the same results as in your example, but I will soon make more detailed tests to find out why, and try to get closer This allow me to have a list of what I call " the most skilled players".

If you have a revised version or any comments I will take them.

Thanks a lot for the work, it helps the community, it helps the stabbeurfou players, it helped me.

Editor's Response: Merci beaucoup, Jérémie! Je suis très content. I'm glad you've implemented the rating system, and that you're happy with the results. And I do know about your site - it's certainly the premier French language site in our hobby. Thanks for writing!

Mail Received Concerning
A Black and White Diplomacy Map

From Jeff Kaufman ([email protected]):

I went to the page:

http://www.diplom.org/Online/maps.html

Expecting to be able to find a detailed black and white map that I could print out. I didn't find one, but I did find a scan of a conference map on an abandoned forum:

http://sccs.swarthmore.edu/~cbr/diplomacy-conference-map.jpg

Is this something you could add to your page?

Editor's Note: In response, Nicholas Fitzpatrick was kind enough to offer a link to this other example of a black and white map: http://www.sentex.ca/~nfitz/Maps/standard.pdf.

Mail Received Concerning
Thought on Game Balance in No-Press SailHo

From Manus Hand ([email protected]):

John:

I just wanted to say that your article on the balance of Sail Ho! was truly well-done! As someone who has played the variant, I have often thought that South has an advantage, but never stopped to analyze it deeper, especially because, well, I've played South more often than not.

I truly enjoyed your article, and would be very interested if you would follow it — either as another article or in a continuation of this correspondence — with any suggestions you might have concerning changes to the variant that might shift the balance.

Stab you soon,

Manus

Well, there you have it. Another Deposits column. Yep, it sure is.