# Concurrent Doper Diplomacy **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 20, 2004, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876 "2004-11-20T22:48:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/61 "2004-12-17T20:53:05Z")
Went to the game shop Wednesday night, with the full intention of buying a copy of Diplomacy and getting all good and caught up. I’m thinking it’s going to essentially be a paper and pencil game, since everyone plays it online and such. I tell the clerk what I’m looking for, and he takes me over to the Avalon Hill section, and pulls out a huge box. I glance at the pricetag, and see: $46. $46?!? Are you kidding me? I’m used to playing Kill Dr. Lucky ($6), Chrononauts ($9) and Deadwood ($4). $46?!? I could get the new Knights of the Old Republic for that! But there’s a reason I’m not playing Knights right now - it’s the holidays, and I’m short on cash. So dejected, I walk back to my car and drive home. The next morning I e-mail Shibb, who has just sent me a wonderful recap of rules, suggestions and advice. Explaining the situation, he suggests giving eBay a look-see. I’m a bit skeptical of the shipping time involved with eBay, knowing for sure something couldn’t get to me in time for the first round of moves. In a final plea, I sent out an e-mail at work to see if anyone had a copy sitting in their basement waiting to be used. I then checked out the maps at the Dip Pouch, and lo and behold, full color printable maps and rules! So I run them off, give them a read, and head to Target to get supplies to make my own game. A 12"x12" piece of corkboard, a full-color map, colored thumbtacks and a Sharpie to identify fleets later, I’m all set! 'Course, first thing this morning, one of my bosses appears in hand with a nearly mint, fully intact, 1976 Avalon Diplomacy game, all for me! ---
**Author:** ![CapnPitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CapnPitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CapnPitt)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/62 "2004-12-17T21:09:03Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > 'Course, first thing this morning, one of my bosses appears in hand with a nearly mint, fully intact, 1976 Avalon Diplomacy game, all for me! I too, am appaled at Hasbro’s price tag. I got my old fashioned copy off of ebay about 2 years ago and it was quite inexpensive and an easy transaction. See, good things do happen to good people… he says while playing nice nice now but setting up for a stab later. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/63 "2004-12-17T21:11:48Z")
I didn’t understand that you didn’t know that the map (in dozens of versions) and the rules are available online. There are versions of the map that include interactive unit markers, so you can move the units around. And usually the GM will post a map with unit locations on their website (if they have a website) after every move. No real need to own a copy of the game itself, any more than you need a chessboard to play chess online. In my mind, Diplomacy was made for the age of the Internet, internet games make more sense than face to face games. RTFirefly, I think we can all agree to refrain from negotiations until you are back, and have a new round of country assignments then (although if people submit the same preferences we should get the same results). ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/64 "2004-12-17T21:16:52Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > RTFirefly, I think we can all agree to refrain from negotiations until you are back, and have a new round of country assignments then (although if people submit the same preferences we should get the same results). Not necessarily. I hear that **Weirddave** had his baby puke on a chart to see who got assigned which colors. 🙂 **Munch** , good to hear you found a set, but I think what I was really saying pretty much echoed **Lemur**. You may be the most overprepared newbie ever to play Diplomacy. Too bad you’re playing Turkey! I kid, I kid! ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/65 "2004-12-17T21:17:15Z")
> [@CapnPitt](#): > > I too, am appaled at Hasbro’s price tag. I got my old fashioned copy off of ebay about 2 years ago and it was quite inexpensive and an easy transaction. > See, good things do happen to good people… he says while playing nice nice now but setting up for a stab later. Yeah, the price tag for a new game is ridiculous…all you get is a map board, a slim rules booklet, some paper maps, and a few unit tokens. Bizarre. When will Diplomacy be in the public domain? It was first published in the 50s I believe. ---
**Author:** ![BoringDad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ad7895/32.png) [@BoringDad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoringDad)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/66 "2004-12-18T03:21:19Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > When will Diplomacy be in the public domain? It was first published in the 50s I believe. Thanks to the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) in 1998, copyright extends for 70 years after the death of the author or 95 years for corporations. > **[Copyright Term Extension Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Bono_Copyright_Term_Extension_Act)** > > The Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) – also known as the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, Sonny Bono Act, or (derisively) the Mickey Mouse Protection Act – extended copyright terms in the United States in 1998. It is one of several acts extending the terms of copyrights. > Following the Copyright Act of 1976, copyright would last for the life of the author plus 50 years, or 75 years for a work of corporate authorship. The 1976 Act also increased the extension term for works copyrigh... So, it’ll be quite a while. ---
**Author:** ![BoringDad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ad7895/32.png) [@BoringDad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoringDad)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/67 "2004-12-18T03:23:11Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I then checked out the maps at the Dip Pouch, and lo and behold, full color printable maps and rules! So I run them off, give them a read, and head to Target to get supplies to make my own game. A 12"x12" piece of corkboard, a full-color map, colored thumbtacks and a Sharpie to identify fleets later, I’m all set! > > 'Course, first thing this morning, one of my bosses appears in hand with a nearly mint, fully intact, 1976 Avalon Diplomacy game, all for me! There have been several versions of Diplomacy. The 1976 rules are slightly different from the most recent version. But the differences are generally related to odd situations that really don’t happen that often. ( I thought that I had seen a discussion of the changes somewhere, but I can’t find it now. ) ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/68 "2004-12-18T05:49:50Z")
For anyone interested, I run my games on my website [here](http://fff.fathom.org/pages/Walcher/Diplomacy.html). If that’s not enough information to follow the games, I dunno what is. If everyone agrees to wait to negotiate, I’m fine with waiting until after Jan 1. It would have to be on everyone’s honor, of course, and RT would have to be fine with that. ---
**Author:** ![CapnPitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CapnPitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CapnPitt)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/69 "2004-12-18T14:49:51Z")
I’m willing to wait. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/70 "2004-12-21T23:48:15Z")
[plugs ears] I’m not listening, I’m not listening! [/plugs ears] ---
**Author:** ![ppg\_shg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f19dbf/32.png) [@ppg\_shg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ppg_shg)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/71 "2004-12-29T20:32:41Z")
Well I’ve returned, not that anyone seems to have cared of course, and I was wondering if this game was still in search of a player? If so, I would volunteer my services and promise to correspond with everyone at the very last minute. ---
**Author:** ![CapnPitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CapnPitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CapnPitt)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/72 "2004-12-30T04:20:51Z")
> [@ppg\_shg](#): > > Well I’ve returned, not that anyone seems to have cared of course, and I was wondering if this game was still in search of a player? > > If so, I would volunteer my services and promise to correspond with everyone at the very last minute. I’m not sure what our status is right now. But I figured I’d post to let you know that someone’s at least listening to your kind offer. ---
**Author:** ![flood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@flood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flood)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/73 "2004-12-30T05:17:28Z")
Would we be reassigning countries? If so, my preferences haven’t changed from the last time. _crosses fingers and hopes for England again_ ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/74 "2004-12-30T14:44:00Z")
> [@CapnPitt](#): > > I’m not sure what our status is right now. But I figured I’d post to let you know that someone’s at least listening to your kind offer. He’s taking the bait… ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/75 "2005-01-05T14:22:12Z")
Are we still on? ---
**Author:** ![CapnPitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CapnPitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CapnPitt)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/76 "2005-01-06T01:59:45Z")
I’m still in. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2005, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/77 "2005-01-06T02:07:38Z")
I was gonna bump this thread myself. Lemmie send out some emails. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/78 "2005-01-07T02:52:14Z")
Actually, let me try it here first. Our players were: RTFirefly Munch Lemur866 BoringDad Flood CapnPitt Hugh Jass Post here if you still want to play. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/79 "2005-01-07T17:16:26Z")
Post. ---
**Author:** ![flood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@flood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flood)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/concurrent-doper-diplomacy/275876/80 "2005-01-07T20:05:33Z")
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