Eternal Sunshine #102

July 2015

By Douglas Kent 911 Irene Drive, Mesquite, TX  75149

Email: diplomacyworld@yahoo.com or dougray30@yahoo.com

On the web at http://www.whiningkentpigs.com/DW/.  Also be sure to visit the official Diplomacy World website which can be found at http://www.diplomacyworld.net. 

All Eternal Sunshine readers are encouraged to join the free Eternal Sunshine Yahoo group at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/eternal_sunshine_diplomacy/info

 to stay up-to-date on any subzine news or errata.  If you don’t like the sign-up process just send me an email and I will send you an invite which cuts through the red tape.

 

Check out my eBay store at http://stores.ebay.com/dougsrarebooksandmore

 

My book “It’s Their House; I’m Just a Guest” is available in softcover and Kindle from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501090968/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

Welcome to the latest issue of Eternal Sunshine, where I’m giving a revival a try.  New game openings, more content…and maybe soon there will be more personal writing by me.  I just need to sit down and WRITE something first!  The upcoming issue of Diplomacy World is taking up some of my spare time, but maybe after the July 4th weekend inspiration will strike.  I have also been trying to post more to my writing blog, which can be reached from my book site at http://www.itstheirhouse.com (just click on the Blog link or the Blog button in the menu). 

 

A few people have asked for a new Dead Pool.  Any interest in that?  Or in the return of any of the other old ES features? Drop me a line or write a letter.

 

Things at home are rather peaceful.  Toby and Sanka and Miss Piggy are doing well, and aside from occasional stomach issues Heather is healthy.  Plus she hasn’t killed me yet.  She got summoned for municipal jury duty last week, but they let her go.  I believe that one of the reasons she wasn’t picked was the fact that it was an assault case, and when asked if she had ever committed assault she had to answer “I’m not sure, but using your definition I think so.”  Yes, folks, I am a battered spouse.  And domestic violence is no joke.  Please support me by sending me Godiva chocolates and maple sugar candy.  And feel sorry for me.  As George Constanza said on Seinfeld, “Pity is very underrated.”

 

So don’t forget to read (or subscribe to) my Blog, add my Twitter accounts, Like my Facebook pages, and tell at least one person per week that they should buy my book.  I think I sold two print copies in May, yee haw!  I’ll run another Kindle sale when I am allowed to; probably in August.  My plan is to work on my Mara memoir, but I know what an emotional roller coaster that is going to be.  Maybe I should focus on some short stories or bizarre fiction first.  Sigh, I dunno.  There’s also a historical biography I would like to fictionalize a bit and do a play about – just a portion of someone’s life who shall remain nameless right now – but I have more thinking to do on that one.

 

Or I could stop writing.  Might make the world a better place!  See you next month!

 


 

Hypothetical of the Month

 

For Next Month (For the time being, I am often selecting questions from the game “A Question of Scruples” which was published in 1984 by High Games Enterprises).  Remember you can make your answers as detailed as you wish..but “this could never happen” is a cop out answer: #1 – A house a few blocks from you always has five or six random cars parked in the driveway, and you’re pretty sure they are running an unlicensed repair shop there.  You live too far away to ever be bothered by any noise, but you are also concerned about whether they might be dumping waste into the storm sewer.  Do you mind your own business, alter the city authorities, or do something else?  #2 – You’re in a Fantasy Baseball league which allows trades between teams without league approval.  Another team proposes a trade which is so lopsided in your favor you are certain they made a mistake.  Do you accept the trade and enjoy the windfall, or reject it and point out the error?

 



 

 

The Dining Dead -
The Eternal Sunshine Movie Reviews

 

Seen on DVD and Netflix [[Yes, still VERY horror or camp-horror heavy]] – Murder Spree (C, 80’s shot-on-video film, some laughs but dragged quite a bit.  For low budget it wasn’t bad), Gilgamesh (D, the writer and director also starred in this; plot has more holes than Swiss cheese and his acting is terrible), The House on Pine Street (B, a film I backed on Kickstarter that has gotten a very good film festival reception; watch for it, more of a psychological thriller), Sledge (B+, funny campy gore, tons of laughs), The Town that Dreaded Sundown [Original] (B, well done film, even though they took liberties with many of the facts of this true Texarkana murderer), The Evictors (C, bonus film that came free with Town that Dreaded Sundown, slow but not too bad), Zombie Cats from Outer Space (B, the acting by the lead teenager is rather weak but there are plenty of laughs and how can you go wrong with zombie cats?  Be sure to watch the behind the scenes stuff too), The Town that Dreaded Sundown [Remake/Sequel] (C+, now too bad but if you haven’t seen the first one you won’t understand some of the second), Crucible of Horror (C, slow and generally pointless late 60’s English horror but creepy in its own way), My Bloody Valentine (B-, the original 80’s slasher flick, a nice nostalgic look at what those films were doing), Would You Rather (B+, creepy and pretty well acted, a decent premise), Zombeavers (A-, hilarious campy movie, obviously Zombie Beavers, stay tuned for the song during the credits), After (B, not as much horror as mystery and suspense, the acting and writing are above average), The Mirror (B, a found-footage film which works better than I expected), Devil’s Backbone Texas (B, another found footage film, the endings of these movies are usually the worst part), The Houses October Built (B+, another found footage film but very creepy throughout, as they go looking for the best haunted house attractions for Halloween including “extreme” underground ones), The Hole (B, okay plot, good acting), The Basement (D, a total rip-off of the Hammer compilation films, except without the acting or writing or anything else), Rohl Farms Haunting (B+, if has been referred to as The Strangers meets Blair Witch and it as the same creepy feeling as both), Shock-O-Rama (B-, goofy Camp Productions stuff with Misty Mundae, who may be Heather’s new crush); Nightcrawler (B+, Jack Gyllenhaal is so great at playing slightly off-center characters, this being another fine example).  Friday the 13th [Original] (B, the first time my oldest brother watched this he fell off the couch at the end]; Friday the 13th Part 2 (C+, dumb but still fun, especially in a nostalgic way); Haunting of Helena (B-, a bit slow but never actually boring, and a somewhat original plot…although now that I think about it, some of the plot has parallels with another more famous film).

 

Couldn’t Finish – Out of the Dark, First Period, Heterosexual Jill, The Crossing Guard, Jinn, Dead Silence…and others I have blocked from my memory.

 


 

Meet Me In Montauk
The Eternal Sunshine Letter Column

 

If I am going to keep this zine going I need to revive the letter column.  So start writing letters or I will sick Jack on you!

 

Steve Cooley - Woot! [[In response to hearing ES will continue and is going to resume some prior activities.]]

 


 

Where in the World is Kendo Nagasaki? v1.0

by Howard Bishop

 

INTRODUCTION

 

The basic of the object is to discover the whereabouts and identity of a mystery personality, who is lost and alone somewhere in the world with "the dark forces" closing in. You must find him (or her) before "they" do. Each turn you must set up your high-powered transmitter in a new location and try to find get a reply from "the wrestler who out from the warm".

 

1.0 KENDO NAGASAKI

 

1.1 It is very very unlikely (although not impossible) that the mystery person will be the masked wrestling genius Kendo Nagasaki, since this would be too easy to guess. In fact it probably be won't be a wrestler at all. Don't rule out a masked genius competing in other pantomime sports. The person is probably still alive, but I make no apologies if the person I choose has secretly popped his clogs while out of the public eye.

1.2 The hiding place for Kendo (or his proxy) is a large town or a city. It's quite likely that you've heard of it, even if you've never travelled further than 50 miles from the place you were born. It's probably fair to say that it won't be Hebden Bridge or Stowmarket, even if Kendo was born in one of those fine towns.

 

2.0 WHAT HAPPENS IN EACH TURN

 

2.1 Each turn you move your secret transmitter to somewhere in the world. Actually it's not that secret because you tell me and then I tell all the other players where you are too.

2.2 I then have to work out which of the players is the closest to "the chap or wench who is not Kendo Nagasaki". This bit becomes significant in a minute, honest!

2.3 Also on each turn you have to guess the name of the person. This isn't secret either because everyone gets to hear everyone else's guesses too.

2.4 Now comes the clever bit. Actually not that clever, and pretty contrived too, but you'll just have to live with it OK? The player whose transmitter is closest to "the person who isn't Kendo" will be informed of the fact and the mystery man will respond to the name suggested by that player.

2.5 Everyone gets to hear the response, but only the closest player will know that the answer refers to his suggested name. This may help you to work out who was closest, or it may just cause you to be even more confused than you are now.

 

3.0 WHO WINS AND HOW?

 

3.1 You win by being in the same location and guessing the name correctly, i.e. bringing Kendo home.

3.2 On turn 10 if nobody has won, we draw the whole sorry thing to a close and the sinister conspirators win.

 

Example turn (for this game, the mystery personality is Billy Graham in St Petersburg)

 

Players:

Bob goes to Montevideo and suggests John Parrott

Hilda goes to Frankfurt and suggests Bill Gates

Gilbert goes to Sacramento and suggests Rowan Atkinson

Liam goes to Accrington and suggests Tina Turner

 

GM:

Consults globe.

Works out that Hilda is closest. Hilda is informed of the fact.

All players receive the locations and suggestions from the other players.

They are all given the following answer "You have my name about half right", but only Hilda knows that it refers to her suggestion.

 

So come on people!  Send in your Round 1 guesses.  I won’t use those annoying “the number of miles your guess is away from me is about 9 times the differences in our ages” clues…I’ll use my normal awesome ones.  And don’t forget to play in Richard’s subzine too!  Two games at once is easy!

 

Deadline for Round 1 is July 28th at 7am My Time


HOW GREENE WAS MY DOT?
DOES ANYBODY READ REAL BOOKS ANY MORE? Or WHO IS ROBERT GREENE AND WHY ARE HIS BOOKS SELLING WAY OVER A MILLION COPIES IN 24 LANGUAGES?
By Larry Peery with an assist from Giuseppe Salerno

“There is nothing more intoxicating than victory, and nothing more dangerous.”
Robert Greene

I don’t even remember why I posted the following question on Facebook. “Anybody read any of the books by Robert Greene? If so, what did you think?” But eight hours later I heard back from Giuseppe Salerno. (And considering the time difference between California and Italy, Giuseppe may have written his reply an hour before I wrote my question.)

“I love what he writes. I read more than once some of his books.”

That was followed up almost immediately by this:

“In particular 'The 33 Strategies of War' is a compendium of what historical Strategist wrote about war (like Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, Von Clausewitz, Napoleone and so on) with a good number of historical references and modern examples of application of each strategy, My advice, also for personal knowledge, is to read it at least once in a lifetime.”

Are you looking for some intellectual brain food to stimulate your Diplomacy game?

Are you tired of using the same old, trite sayings in your articles or negotiations?

Do you smell the agony of the feet more than the sweet breath of victory?

“Playing with appearances and mastering the arts of Diplomacy are among the aesthetic pleasures of life. They are also key components in the acquisition of power.”
Robert Greene

Then let me introduce you to Robert Greene, an American motivational author and speaker born in 1959. He’s known for his books on strategy, power and seduction. He has written five international best sellers: The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law (with rapper 50 Cent) and Mastery.

Robert Greene isn’t a well-known name among Dippers but he should be. He’s one of the more controversial motivational writers since Emmanuel Velikowsky in the 1950s. And whether you agree with his ideas, theories and conclusions or not; I think you’ll profit from reading any of his five books published to date, especially the first and third.

Like most motivational writers and speakers Greene finds a bunch of quotations by various figures ranging from ancient history to the latest tabloids, then links them with various word and sound bites, and intersperses them with a few seemingly profound thoughts of his own. The results: 1) Some praise; 2) Some criticism; 3) Appearances in or on almost every media outlet in the western world; and 4); Well over a million books sold and tens of thousands of eager wannabes who want to hear him.

Greene’s first book, The 48 Hours of Power, is a practical guide for anyone who wants power, observes power, or wants to arm themselves against power, in other words any and every Dipper. The laws are a distillation of 3,000 years in the history of power, drawing on the lives of strategists and historical figures like Nicolo Machiavelli,, Sun Tzu, Haile Selassie I, Carl von Clausewitz, Queen Elizabeth I, Henry Kissinger, P.T. Barnum, Edi Birsan and Tobias Harris. Obvious Greene spent a lot of time with The Oxford Book of Quotations, BrainyQuotes and Diplomacy World. Each of Greene’s laws has its own chapter, complete with a “transgression of the law,” “observation of the law,” and a “reversal.”

The book has sold more than 700,000 copies including, apparently, every rapper wannabe in the country.
The Art of Seduction,  Greene’s second book, was published in 2001 and is a handbook on the most subtle and effective form of power, seduction. The book profiles the nine types of seducers (e.g. The Rake, The Siren, and The Charmer) and details aspects of attraction, authenticity, storytelling and negotiation. Greene uses examples from historical figures such as Cleopatra, Giacomo Casanova, Duke Ellington, John F. Kennedy, Melinda Holley and Yann Clouet to support the psychology behind seduction. It has sold more than 500,000 copies.

“Understand: A person of power instills a kind of fear by deliberately unsettling those around him to keep the initiative on his side.”
Robert Greene

The 33 Strategies of War is the third book by Greene and was published in 2007. The book is divided into five parts: Self-Directed Warfare, Organizational (Team) Warfare, Defensive Warfare, Offensive Warfare and Unconventional (Dirty) Warfare. The book is a guide to the campaign of everyday life and distills military wisdom from historical figures like Napoleon Bonaparte, Sun Tzu (The world of Diplomacy wonders if Fang Zhang will be our Sun Tzu?), Alfred Hitchcock (Doesn’t he remind you of Edi?), Alexander the Great, Margaret Thatcher, Davide Cleopadre and Matt Shields. It has sold more than 200,00 copies. This should be required reading for every Diplomacy hobby newbie and Old Fart!

The 50th Law is the fourth book by Greene – written collaboratively with rapper 50 Cent --- and was published in 2009. The book mixes talk of strategy and fearlessness by supplementing  anecdotes  from 50 Cents with lessons from various historical figures. Each of the 10 chapters in the book explains a factor of fearlessness and begins by telling how 50 learned this “Fearless Philosophy” in Southside Queens.

Greene’s fifth book, Mastery, was released in 2012. Mastery examines the lives of both historical and contemporary figures such as Charles Darwin, Paul Graham, the Wright Brothers, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Mozart, Graham Woodring and Cyrille What’s-his-name? Mystery distills the traits and universal ingredients that made them masters. The book is divided into 6 sections, each focusing on essential lessons and strategies on the path to Mastery.

If you don’t have the time or money to read and buy the books look at the “Look Inside” pages on Amazon.com for the various titles and see what excerpts you can find. Or, better yet, look at Greene’s website at http://powerseductionandwar.com/  Note that the last post on the website was in September, 2014, which tells you nobody is keeping the site current or Greene’s burned out.

Not everybody likes Greene. He and his writings have been called: ‘ manipulative, amoral, a back-stabber, controversial, wicked, competitive, blood-thirsty and a realist”. Sounds like the perfect role-model for a Dipper to me. Don’t you agree?

Remember what Confucius said:
“The one who has a lot of knowledge can’t beat the one who likes to study.  However the one who likes to study can’t beat the one who loves to study.”

Robert Greene couldn’t have written or said it better.

 


 



 

“How We Got the Bible” by Neil R. Lightfoot (3rd ed.)

Reviewed by Paul Milewski

    

From the book jacket:  “A complete English translation did not appear until the fourteenth century.  In the sixteenth century, William Tyndale led the struggle to create an English translation based on the original Greek, rather than the Latin Vulgate.  His work inspired many other translations, culminating in the early seventeenth century with the well-known King James Version.

 

“Since that time, many new translations have been made, including those of such recent archaeological discoveries as the Sinaitic Manuscript and the Dead Sea scrolls.  Answering fascinating questions such as ‘How have errors gotten in the New Testament?’ and ‘How have biblical manuscripts been lost and rediscovered?,’ this expanded edition of How We Got the Bible is inspiring and enlightening.”


 

[Page 89]  In Romans 5:1 is it “let us have peace with God” or “we have peace with God”?  The difference is simply whether the o in Greek is long or short (echōmen or echomen).  In 1 Thessalonians 2:7, is it “we were babes among you” or “we were gentle among you”?  The difference is one letter (nepioi or epioi).  In 1 John 1:4, is it “that your joy may be full” or “that our joy may be full”?  The difference between “your” (hymōn) and “our” (hēmōn) is one letter and the two words sound alike.  In Revelation 1:5, is it “washed us from our sins” or “freed us from our sins”?  The difference is one letter and the words sound the same (lousanti or lusanti).


 

[Pages 90-1]  In John 7:39 the text literally reads, “for not yet was the Spirit.”  Because this could be taken to mean that the Spirit was not in existence at that time, some manuscripts and versions add the word “given” for the phrase to read, “the Spirit was not yet given.”  To further clarify, a large number of manuscripts supply “holy,” that is, “Holy Spirit.”  In a similar way, the word “church” (ekklesia) is added in Acts 2:47 in the later manuscripts to clarify a rather obscure Greek expression (epi to auto).  In these cases the scribes, with all good intentions, mistakenly thought that their additions were necessary in order to bring about a better understanding of the text.

 

A scribe especially might try to remove any difficulty in the texts of the Gospels.  If he found a statement of Jesus in one Gospel similar to a statement in another, he might modify one to make it in perfect agreement with the other.  This may explain a variant found in two verses of Matthew and Luke.  The King James Version of Matthew 11:19 reads, “But wisdom is justified of her children,” an exact parallel of Luke 7:25.  However, the more recent translations of Matthew have “works” instead of “children” in agreement with our earliest manuscript authorities.  We surmise that at some early date “works” was changed to “children” by a copyist to bring the phrase in harmony with Luke’s Gospel.  Thus we are practically certain that originally the two records of Jesus’ sayings were not the same.  This, to be sure, is what one frequently finds in the Gospels, for in quoting Jesus, the Gospel writers often do not give his words verbatim.


 

[Pages 99-100]  Another passage of interest is found in Acts 8:37.  The King James translation of this verse reads, “And Philip said, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.  And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”  These words are represented as part of a conversation between Philip the Evangelist and the eunuch at the time of the eunuch’s baptism.  Those are familiar words, stressing the importance of faith in Jesus Christ.  Yet the words are not found in the American Standard Version or the Revised Standard Version.  These and other recent translations, on the basis of the evidence, are compelled to omit this verse from the Book of Acts.  It is true that a sixth-century uncial, some good minuscule manuscripts, and the Old Latin Version support the verse, but practically all the other manuscripts and versions stand opposed to it.  Because no Greek manuscript earlier than the sixth century knows this reading, beyond doubt it could not have formed a part of the original account of Acts.


 

[Pages 178-9]  It was Tyndale who established its tone, that the Bible should not be in the language of scholars but in the spoken language of the people.  Tyndale used the word “congregation” instead of “church,” “love” instead of “charity,” “repentance” instead of “penance,” and so forth.  He coined such words as “Passover,” “scapegoat,” “mercy seat,” and “long-suffering.”

 

Many expressions of Tyndale are also unforgettable, cherished by countless readers of the English Bible: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2); “the pinnacle of the temple” (Matt. 4:5); “the salt of the earth” (Matt. 5:13); “daily bread” (Matt 6:28); “meek and lowly in heart” (Matt. 11:29); “shepherds abiding in the field” (Luke 2:8); “only begotten son” (John 1:14, 18); “in my Father’s house are many mansions” (John 14:2); “in whom we live and move and have our being” (acts 17:28); “God forbid” (Rom. 3:4); “sounding brass” and “tinkling cymbal” (1 Cor. 13:1); “in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52); “singing and making melody” (Eph. 5:19); “office of a bishop” (1 Tim. 3:1); “the pleasure of sin for a season” (Heb. 11:25); “an advocate with the Father” (1 John 2:1); and “Behold, I stand at the door and knock” (Rev. 3:20).

 

The above is a short list of quotations from the 1534 edition of Tyndale’s New Testament, except the spelling has been modernized.  It is noteworthy that these expressions could have been translated differently from the Greek text, yet because Tyndale had such an ear for the English language, these phrases live on.


 

[Page 187]  The King James Version contains many archaic words whose meanings are ether obscure or misleading.  Some obsolete expressions are still intelligible, although they are extremely cumbersome and distracting to the modern reader: “howbeit.” “holden,” “peradventure,” “because that,” “for that,” “thee,” “thou,” “thy,” “thine,” and many others.  At other times, however the King James uses words that in the seventeenth century meant something different than they do today.  The word “allege” was used for “prove,” “communicate” for “share,” “suffer” for “allow,” “allow” for “approve,” “let” for “hinder,” “prevent” for “precede,” “conversation” for “conduct,” and so forth.  Such words are grossly misleading today.

 

Much of the grammar of the King James Version is not in current usage.  “Which” was characteristically employed for “who”; thus in Philippians 4:13 the King James reads, “I can to all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”  Likewise “his” was sued for “its”; so the King James reads, “salt has lost his savour” (Matt. 5:13).


 

[Pages 187-8]  In the seventeenth century Greek and Hebrew had only recently become subjects of serious study in many universities of Western Europe.  At times, therefore, the translators were confronted with puzzling problems.  Many of these problems were solved with skill, but others were not solved at all.  For example, Mark 6:20 of the King James says that Herod put John the Baptist in prison and “observed him,” but what is meant is that he “kept him safe.”  “Abstain from all appearance of evil” is the way the King James treats 1 Thessalonians 5:22.  A more correct rendering would be, “Abstain from every form of evil.”

 

The King James translation also inaccurately represented the text by creating distinctions in English hat are not found in the Greek.  Who would know that “Areopagus” and “Mars Hill” (Acts 17:19, 22) are different renderings of the same Greek word?  The King James in Matthew 25:46 reads, “These shall go away in everlasting punishment, but the righteous unto life eternal,” as though in the Greek text a distinction is made between “everlasting” and “eternal.”


 


ZERO SUM3    Subzine to Eternal Sunshine, Issue 4   June 28, 2015

 

Published by Richard Weiss. richardweiss@higherquality.com. 

 

GM Musings: A GAME START!   Aldrich Ames.  Intimate Dip.

 

Almost every Pope of the Catholic Church since I’ve been an adult, I’ve decided was the then most evil person on Earth.  What a joy to have Francis!  Put that in combination with joy with the Supreme Court this week and being sooooo very proud of My President, Barack Obama, for his eulogy and political accomplishments.  I can’t remember another wonderful trifecta, politically, since Kennedy, Pope John XXIII, and Earl Warren.

 

I was in NorCal for four days.  I was across the Bay from SF Sunday and did not attend Gay Pride day, and missed the Dykes on Bikes, which is one of my favorite moments of any parade.  Pride Day, Marriage Equality Weekend, NASCAR in the North Bay, and Farewell 50 Years of Grateful Dead in the South Bay.  Huge and wonderful events.  Me, I loved being with my children at my favorite restaurant, Skates, in Berkeley, on the edge of SF Bay, sitting with views of the Bay, Sausalito, Mt. Tam, Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge, the Golden Gate, the City By The Bay, and the Bay Bridge.  I may have asked this before, but a free game start to anyone who can tell me why the Golden Gate is named that. 

 

ZeroSumCubed is doubling faster than circuits per computer chips.  Truly, the coming of the second machine age.  Thinking of near memes, did anyone see the Delta video for safety instructions?  I recognized about two of the memes and characters. 

 

I am on the back-side of a six month contract with the VA in Salem OR.  Weather has been sunnier, drier, and warmer than typical.  I finally found a fun gaming group in Salem.  Monday evenings at a local brewery.  I play duplicate bridge two nights a week – finally am learning what Standard American bids mean.  Have won some master points, though mostly scoring well below 50% with a very much older gentleman.  He does play way slower and better than I do. 

 

I have interviewed for two permanent jobs in northern CA.  One in Santa Rosa and one in Roseville.  Since roses are my favorite flowers to grow, seems fitting that each has a component of the word.  Each is my preferred location for the area/region they are in.  With daughter saying sometime later this year or next she’s going off the birth control pill, I’m figuring it’s time to stop wandering and finally settle in a great place.  Each said they would offer me a job early this week.  If both do, I’m going with Roseville so I can live up or past Auburn and have views of the Sierras.  I am a Mountain Man.  Here’s to hope. 

 

I’ve been doing a lot of walking.  Recently I started thinking about names of streets, “If I named the streets,” as I used to do periodically when running.  I am offering the first (and maybe final) round of Sorta By Popular Demand.  Please everyone see the game start. All can play.  I’ll list the types of streets (Street, Avenue, Way, Circle, Place, etc.) and each person can come up with their own best/funny/interesting/clever names to go with each.  As for me, I finally have my favorite name for Circle.  “Déjà vu Circle.”  I continue to have a tie for “Way,” with those being Goa and Anchors A.  “Ton” is a close runner-up. 

 


GAME OFFERINGS:

 

  1. Intimate Dip Only Need Two More

A great two-person variant.  This game has been around for quite a while, even had a FTF tournament.  I’ve been playing in Geoff Kemp’s subzine Tween, in Variable Pig.  The rules are printed in Issue 1 and Issue 2.  I am waiting for his son to send me the app he runs it on.  If anyone else wants to send me an app that allows me to show the maps and the adjudication for Dip, I’ll give you a free game start. Otherwise, I’m adopting the Jim-Bob hand-drawn works of beauty maps.  (Puh-leez, isn’t someone going to send me a Dip map or the URL to one?)

I think Intimate Dip will become the new “WITKIN” and start being played in a lot of zines.  Get in on the roller coaster ride early and sign up here.

Takes two.  Will run multiple games. 

Signed up:

 

  1. WITWIKN:  This game will start when I have at least six signed up.  If anyone doesn’t know the rules, please let me know.  (Or go to any other zine being published on the planet and read those rules)

The Zero Sum Wrinkle of WITWIKN  (ZSWWITWIKN) is the location is not a metropolitan location but a “famous” landmark (Building, Geographic Feature, National Park, World Famous Beach, Mountain, Wonder of the World, etc.).  While guessing, one may guess a metropolitan area for convenience (my convenience also).  I use http://www.distancefromto.net/ as my mileage distance determination.

Can take any number.  Minimum of six before the game starts.

Since Doug Kent signed up and because of the name of his hit book, this game will be called, Where in the World is Doug Kent in Kendo Nagasaki’s House?  (WITWIDKIKN).  For NPR/PRI lovers, the name could be, “Where In The World Is Kendo Nagasaki? … Wait, wait, don’t tell me.”  (Did they really have Kim Kardashian on?) 

Signed up: Kevin Wilson, Doug Kent, Mark Firth

 

  1. The Cathy and Pete Gaughan Memorial Snowball Fighting Game.  I first played at their apartment on what I thought was the original tundra and the original algorithm to determine the odds of success in throwing.  How that relates to the founding of the game and playing by mail has slipped into a slight fog in my memory. 

 

For those who have played, this is a frivolous game of runny around the yard throwing various types of snowballs at whomever, sometimes running into the house to have hot chocolate with Mommy, and sometimes making all the snow and icicles on the roof fall down on an unsuspecting kiddo. 

 

Doug did send me the rules.  Map.  Hardcopy print out. 

 

Can take any number.  Need 6 to start.

Signed up: Jim Burgess; Doug Kent, Mark Firth

 

  1. Nuclear Yuppy Dip now changed to Nuke A Gay Baby Seal for Christ Dip (after my favorite outrageously offensive to everyone bumper sticker of all time)

JimBob did send me the rules to Nuclear Yuppie Evil Empire Diplomacy (NYEED), as well as the Black Hole variant combining Senior von Metzke’s variant.  However, the rules sent were not what I remember playing, so likely the game morphed into something different than I remember from the original variants or else, my brain was still in the sixties at the end of the last millenium.   Therefore, I am offering (NAGSFCD), a shorter variant.

 

Game requires seven players.  Send in requests for home countries.  Algorithm decides per GM whim.  Rules per regular Dip except as below.  Spring 01 orders are submitted for units and also orders for the nukes each country has.  Each country has 5 nukes, except Russia has 4.  Thus, 34 SCs and 34 nukes. 

Spring 01 is adjudicated as moves first and then nukes. 

 

Nukes are ordered to provinces.  If there is a unit in the province nuked after the moves, the unit is annihilated and the province becomes impassable for 224,666+ years.  If the province has an SC, the SC is annihilated. 

 

If a nuke is not ordered to another province, it is effectively decommissioned and does not remain available.  Send it or lose it.  There is no requirement to send nukes. 

 

For Fall 01, players submit orders for their units remaining.  Provinces that are impassable are impassable. 

 

Winter 01, is per regular Dip with the addition that each home SC remaining in control of the original country is given another Nuke.  

 

For Spring 02, players with units and/or home SCs submit orders for the units and any nukes gained in Winter 01.   Moves first, then the nukes.  Then Fall 02 and continues until all annihilated, one victor, or no more home SCs and units stuck without viable moves.  A single victor or survivors draw or all lose. 

 

I’d play on a map of the middle east to make this more realistic, but, heck, who wants to play a realistic and scary game.

 

Needs seven.

Signed up: Jim Burgess, Mark Firth, Jack McHugh, Doug Kent

 

  1. 2016 Republican and Democratic Presidential Candidate Bourse

Sign Up to Get Your Free 1,800 Shares of Bourse Stock With Face Value of 1,800 ZerosCubed.  First 27 Entrants Also Get Bonus Gift Packs!  Do It Now.

            Signed Up: Richard Weiss, Hugh Polley, Mark Firth

 

Democratic Party Presidential Candidates Bourse

1.     Joseph Biden, Jr

2.     Lincoln Chafee

3.     Hillary Clinton

4.     Martin O’Malley

5.     Bernie Sanders

6.     Elizabeth Warren

7.     Jim Webb

8.     Other

 

Republican Party Presidential Candidates Bourse

1.     Jeb Bush

2.     Chris Christie

3.     Ted Cruz

4.     Lindsey Graham

5.     Mike Huckabee

6.     Bobby Jindal

7.     Rand Paul

8.     Marco Rubio

9.      Scott Walker

10.   Other, including Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, and Donald Trump

 

 Each initial entrant gets 100 shares of stock in each candidate. Each share has a current face value of 100 “dollars.”  I’ll call the “money” “ZerosCubed dollars.”  You have to sell stock to get money to buy additional shares in someone you think will win.  Sales trigger price changes – up with purchase and down with sales.  Amount of change depends on the number of players in the bourse or a minimum amount to be determined.  Assume each share sold reduces the next month’s share value by 10 cents.  Assume each share bought increases the next month’s share value by 10 cents.  Players joining the game after start, get shares at then current values.

 

Each turn you can sell up to 100 shares of stock in each the Democrat and Republic bourses.  You can buy as many shares of stock as you can afford and are available.  You can get change. You can save your ZerosCubed for another round, as well. 

 

There will be a candidate in each party named, “Other/Not named.”  Each person will get shares in Other.  When a named candidate emerges from the Other pool, each shareholder will be able to transfer whatever amount of shares he or she has in Other to the named candidate, or not.  The newly named candidate’s share value is what Other was trading at before the candidate emerged.  

 

Players get initial shares in the candidates in each party.  Each party is separate regarding money and shares.  Winner of the Bourse is determined in 2016 after the conventions, most money combined between Republican and Democrat candidates.  Only the stock of the winner has any value.

Needs enthusiastic investors.  Profit guaranteed.  Money invested is tax deferred. 

Signed up:  Me, Mark Firth, and Hugh Polley.

Only Mark sent orders.

He sold 25 shares of Biden, Warren, Webb, and Other.  He bought 40 shares of Hillary and 30 shares of Chafee and Sanders.

On the Elephant side of the Bourse, Mark sold 25 shares of Graham, Huckabee, Jindal, and Paul.  He bought 24 shares of Cruz, Rubio, and Walker.  He bought 14 shares of Christie and Other. 

 

As per announcement last month, I sold 100 shares of Bernie Sanders and bought 50 Other and 50 Hillary.  On the Republican side, I sold 100 shares of Lindsey Graham and bought 25 on each Walker, Paul, Other, and Bush.

 

I’ve been in NorCal for 4+ days, arrived late on deadline day to send Doug the zine.  I’m not going to calculate the change in stocks and values and print a table at the present time.  I will do that for next month.

 

Please, others join in.  At this point, you will get 1,000 shares of stock in the candidates of each party, proportional to the relative value of each candidate. 

 

Because only Mark and I bought and sold, the number of shares in the market is very small, and the stock changed down 5 cents for each share sold and up 5 cents for each share bought.

 

For next month, I am selling 100 Lincoln Chafee, and using 2/3 of my money on Hillary and 1/3 on Other.  On the repub side, I’ll 100 shares of Jindal and split again, evenly, between Walker, Paul, Other, and Bush.

.

Deadline:  Sign up and second putz and calls: Sunday 26 July 2015, 9 AM Oregon time

For those with personal stories of interactions with presidential candidates or other high government officials, send in some comments.  Let’s get something going in the way of letters and press.

 

Sorta By Popular Demand

Unlimited entrants.  First round of possibly regular/erratic/only SBPD.  Send your favorite names (if you got to name the thoroughfares in a town) for each of the following types of thoroughfares. 

1.     Street

2.     Avenue

3.     Boulevard

4.     Place

5.     Square

6.     Circle

7.     Road

8.     Lane

9.     Canyon

10.   Way

 

 

Aldrich Ames  Intimate Diplomacy  Jack McHugh vs. Geoff Kemp

Pre-Pre Winter 00: Selecting Home Countries

Geoff:   No de Plume - Mac ee Jelly!

             Colour – Red

               Preference list   - E - F - T - R - A - I - G

 

Jack:  Germany, Russia, Austria, Italy, France, England, Turkey

Press:  GM to all: Perhaps not surprisingly, Geoff chose his home country of England to be his home country.  Jack chose Germany.  These two countries are about as close as they can be to each other.  This could be a short game, as the victory condition is when any one country’s own units occupy the home SC of the opponent.  Very intriguing.

 

Pre Winter 00: Bidding on the Neutral Countries

Austria (Neutral): SCs: Budapest, Trieste, Viena

England (Mac EE Jelly): SCs: Edinburgh, Liverpool, London

France (Neutral): SCs: Brest, Marseilles, Paris

Germany (Jack): SCs: Berlin, Kiel, Munich

Italy (Neutral): SCs: Naples, Rome, Venice

Russia (Neutral): SCs: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sevastopol, Warsaw

Turkey (Neutral): SCs: Ankara, Constantinople, Smyrna

Neutrals: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Greece, Holland, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Tunis

 

Bids                             England/Mac EE Jelly            Jack

Austria                                                                       

France                                                            

Italy                                                                            

Russia                                                            

Turkey                                                           

 

 

Guy Burgess  Intimate Diplomacy (AKA: Puddle Jumper)

Doug Kent vs. Mark Firth

Pre-Pre Winter 00: Selecting Home Countries

Doug:   FAGRTIE

Mark: E/I/R/T/F/A/G

 

Press: 

GM to all: Perhaps not surprisingly, Mark chose his home country of England to be his home country.  Doug chose France.  These two countries are about as close as they can be to each other.  This could be a short game, as the victory condition is when any one country’s own units occupy the home SC of the opponent.  Very intriguing.

 

Mark to Doug:   Well, I don’t think you’d get much closer to reverse prefs! Glad it’s not I v F though, as I’m playing that in Quartz.  Doug – in the spirit of fair play I’ll give you a clue for W’00: I’m not bidding 10 for Turkey.

 

Doug in reply: “So kind.”

 

Pre Winter 00: Bidding on the Neutral Countries

Austria (Neutral): SCs: Budapest, Trieste, Vienna

England (Mark): SCs: Edinburgh, Liverpool, London

France (Doug): SCs: Brest, Marseilles, Paris

Germany (Neutral): SCs: Berlin, Kiel, Munich

Italy (Neutral): SCs: Naples, Rome, Venice

Russia (Neutral): SCs: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sevastopol, Warsaw

Turkey (Neutral): SCs: Ankara, Constantinople, Smyrna

Neutrals: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Greece, Holland, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Tunis

 

Bids                             Doug               Mark                          

Austria                                                                       

Germany                                                                    

Italy                                                                            

Russia                                                            

Turkey                                                           

 



Brain Farts: The Only Subsubzine With It’s Own Fragrance

By Jack “Flapjack” McHugh – jwmchughjr@gmail.com

(or just email Doug and he’ll send it to me)

Issue #69

 

 

 

I have been busy with work lately, and that is a good thing cause it is better than having no job.  It is a pain in the ass to commute with too many bus changes but I make do. 

 

Here are a few capsule movie reviews for your enjoyment.

 

Mad Max: If you like trucks or chase scenes or stuff getting blown up or blown up and then run over than this is the movie for you...if you're looking for character development or some type plot beyond run for your life...not so much...4 out of 5 explosions.

 

Foxcatcher: If you like weird wrestlers and weirder momma's boy billionaires with delusions of grandeur, then this is your movie....US ends up winning the gold both the regular and the Special Olympics...3 out of 5 pins.

 

I wanted to go see the new Poltergeist but I couldn’t afford it and I’m scared of clowns.  Besides Doug sees all the horror movies so I don’t need to cover that ground for you.  I think he is watching to see if any of his relatives are being used as characters.  He likes to keep telling me he is a Film Producer now.  I think the only thing he produces is bodily waste.

 

I’ve been doing as much gaming as I can in my free time.  Here are a few of my new gaming buddies.  They’re form the neighborhood and nice enough as long as you don’t run out of beer.

 

This is Charlie.  I’m not clear if that’s male or female, but a decent person.  Has good taste in games but bad luck with dice.  Bad rolls are often followed by a three minute search for the dice thrown across the room in anger.  And Charlie won’t even help look, just sits there and growls.

 

I’ve been introducing Sylvester to some classic Avalon Hill and SPI games lately.  He likes to play whatever side has blue-colored pieces.  A bit unstable but usually brings a six pack of craft beer.  He smokes one of those electronic cigarettes and has a bag of like 20 flavors he is constantly messing with.  He owes me a copy of Waterloo now, courtesy of blueberry menthol getting spilled all over the Prussian pieces.


 

By the way, I better get some positive response to this subzine or I’ll disappear again.  I might run a game in here but I don’t know what yet.

 

 

 

Happy Father’s Day!

 



Modern Diplomacy Rules and Map

 

Modern Diplomacy is intended to be diplomacy with an updated map, circa 1994, taking place in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Any country with more than 30 million inhabitants was made a power. Those with more than 60 million inhabitants were given 4 home centers, while Russia (with 200 million plus) was given 5. Iran would have qualified as a 4 supply center power, but this would have made it necessary to extend the map into Asia, so it was not done.

 

Historically, we have to consider that the European Community and all international alliances and organizations such as NATO and the UN were broken down. Perhaps the United States suffered a major cataclysm, or simply decided to ignore the outside world - but in any case, it will not intervene in Europe.

 

Other than this, borders and neutral supply centers were distributed to even out the game. Monaco was made a neutral SC (it has lots of money) even though it's size does not warrant it, and Gibraltar was made a British home SC, bot to give Britain a port in the Mediterranean, and to give Spain more than one neighbour).

 

Also, there was originally, a new type of unit - planes - added to the game. Planes could go over water and land but could not capture a supply center. Therefore, if France managed to move a plane over London, England would still own it, but not be able to build there. The game was playtested both with and without planes, and it was felt that both were valid games. For reasons of simplicity in moving it to the judge, what is discussed below is the game without planes.

 

Game Powers:

 

3 center powers:

. Egypt (E)
. Poland (P)
. Spain (S)

 

4 center powers:

. Britain (B)
. France (F)
. Germany (G)
. Italy (I)
. Turkey (T)
. Ukraine (U)
 
5 center powers: 
 
. Russia (R)

 

Starting Positions (Spring 1994):


Britain (B) : f EDI, f GIB, f LIV, f LON

Egypt (E) : f ALE, a ASW, f CAI

France (F) : f BOR, a LYO, a MAR, a PAR

Germany (G) : f BER, a FRA, f HAM, a MUN

Italy (I) : a MIL, f NAP, a ROM, f VEN

Poland (P) : f GDA, a KRA, a WAR

Russia (R) : a GOR, a MOS, a MUR, f ROS, f STP

Spain (S) : f BAR, a MAD, a SEV

Turkey (T) : a ADA, f ANK, a IST, f IZM

Ukraine (U) : a KHA, a KIE, a ODE, f SEV

 

Image:Modern_start.gif


Winning Conditions:

38 home centers + 26 neutral = 64 total centers

33 needed to win

 

Notes On Geography:

 

Cairo, Hamburg and Istanbul behave as Kiel and Constantinople did in the original game: they have no coasts but fleets can pass through them to bodies of water of both sides.

 

There is another canal linking Rostov and Volga, thus permitting access to the Caspian Sea to ships. Rostov is situated along the Don River which empties into the Black Sea, while the Volga empties into the Caspian Sea. In the real world there is a canal at Volgograd linking the two rivers, somewhere in the southern Volga region on the map. This is the only way to get ships into and out of the Caspian Sea.

 

Iran is the only territory with multiple coasts in the game - the south coast touches the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf, while the north coast touches the Caspian Sea.

 

Where possible, the full name of a territory was put on the map. The following were only abbreviated by the first three letters:

 
 
 

adr sea : adriatic sea
 ana : anatolia
 apu : apulia
 auv : auvergne
 bar : barcelona
 bel : belgium
 bos : bosnia
 bri : brittany
 cly : clyde
 cze : czech republic
 edi : edinburgh
 fra : frankfurt
 gib : gibraltar
 ham : hamburg
 hel : heligoland bight
 hol : holland
 isr : israel
 liv : liverpool
 lon : london
 mac : macedonia
 mar : marseilles
 mil : milan
 mol : moldavia
 mon : monaco
 mun : munich
 nap : naples
 pic : picardy
 pie : piedmont
 por : portugal
 pru : prussia
 rom : rome
 sax : saxony
 ska : skagerrak
 tus : tuscany
 ven : venice
 wal : wales
 yor : yorkshire

 

Map Abbreviations:

Image:modern_ra.gif


Abbreviations for territories are the first 3 letters of the territory, except for:

 
 
 

barents sea: bare, bars  (conflict with barcelona)
 bornholm sea: born, bors  (conflict with bordeaux)
 eastern black sea: ebs
 eastern mediterranean: emed
 eastern sahara: esah
 gulf of bothnia
 gulf of lyon: gol
 libyan sea: lbn
 north atlantic ocean: nao
 north sea: nth
 norwegian sea: nwg
 seville: sve          (conflict with sevastopol)
 western black sea: wbs
 western mediterranean: wmed
 western sahara: wsah

 

Alternatives are also available for many spaces, especially water spaces. See the map file for these alternative abbreviations.

 


 

Game Openings

Diplomacy (Black Press): Signed up: None, need seven more.

Modern Diplomacy (Black Press): Rules in this issue.  Ten-player variant.  No planes will be used, just armies and fleets.  Signed up: Jack McHugh, Jim Burgess.  Needs eight more.

Where in the World is Kendo Nagasaki: Rules in this issue.  Send in your guesses.  Prize for the winner?  Probably!  (Don’t forget to play in Richard Weiss’ subzine too!)

Hypothetical Questions: Just send in answers.  Anybody can play at any time, just takes participation.

By Popular Demand: New game starts this issue.  Send in your answers!  A prize for the winner!

Multiple Openings in Richard Weiss’ subzine – check them out NOW!!

Coming Soon – Colonia VII?  Deviant Diplomacy?  Kremlin?  Make a suggestion or express interest!


Eternal Sunshine Game Section

 

Black Press Gunboat, “Fred Noonan”, 2013Arb32, End Game

 

Russia (David Latimer): I consider Russia still having an active unit my own personal success.  So there!

 

 


 

Woolworth II-D “Coney Island” 2013Bcb19, End Game

 

 

Hugh Polley - Turkey/Italy EOG Statement: At start of game I was actually gearing up for war with Russia, putting out provocative press and looking to outflank Romania and attack the Russian home land. The fly in the ointment was not knowing who controlled the secret powers. I needed a knowledge of who controlled the secret allies at my turk border to have any chance of success with Turkey. The only power willing to reveal his secret power in exchange for an alliance was Jim!  I first head of Jim Burgess as a young man playing my first postal games so it was an honor to be considered by him for an ally.  I accepted without hesitation, and Russia went from being my enemy to ally.  With his help we greatly expanded both the Russian and Turkish empires. A gentleman agreement was reached that we would engage in a sub race to 20 or so SC without one stabbing other for solo win. Geoff, a skilled player, blocked my expansion with his fleets and Jim reached 20 SC first so as agreed I conceded the solo to Russia.  I wish to thank all the players for a fun game, I am thinking about using the Woolworth map to run one of my variants should I get around to finishing my adjudicator one of these years.


 

Diplomacy, “Milk and Trash”, 2015A, Fall 1902

Austria (Jack McHugh – jwmchughjr “of” gmail.com): A Galicia – Rumania,

 F Greece - Bulgaria(sc) (*Fails*), A Serbia Supports A Galicia – Rumania, A Trieste - Budapest.

England (Mark Firth – mark.r.firth “of” capita.co.uk): F English Channel Supports F Irish Sea –

 Mid-Atlantic Ocean, F Irish Sea - Mid-Atlantic Ocean, F North Sea - Denmark (*Bounce*),

 A Norway - Sweden (*Bounce*).

France (Paul Milewski – paul.milewski “of” hotmail.com): F Brest – Gascony, A Gascony – Spain,

 F Mid-Atlantic Ocean - Brest (*Dislodged*, retreat to Western Mediterranean or North Africa or Portugal or

 North Atlantic Ocean or OTB), A Picardy - Brest (*Bounce*).

Germany (Jim Burgess – jfburgess “of” gmail.com): F Baltic Sea Supports F Denmark – Sweden,

 A Belgium Supports A Holland, F Denmark - Sweden (*Bounce*), F Helgoland Bight - Denmark (*Bounce*),

 A Holland Supports A Belgium.

Italy (John Biehl – jerbil “of” shaw.ca): A Albania Supports A Serbia,

 F Ionian Sea - Aegean Sea (*Bounce*), F Tyrrhenian Sea - Ionian Sea (*Fails*), A Venice - Tyrolia.

Russia (Kevin Wilson – ckevinw “of” comcast.net): F Gulf of Bothnia Supports A Norway – Sweden,

 A Rumania - Serbia (*Dislodged*, retreat to Ukraine or OTB), F Sevastopol - Rumania (*Fails*),

 A Ukraine – Warsaw, A Warsaw - Silesia.

Turkey (John David Galt – jdg “of” diogenes.sacramento.ca.us): A Ankara - Constantinople (*Fails*),

 A Bulgaria Supports A Rumania - Serbia (*Cut*), F Constantinople - Aegean Sea (*Bounce*), A Smyrna Hold.

 

Concession to Germany Fails

Deadline for A 02/W 02/S 03 is July 28th at 7am my time

 

Supply Center Chart

 

Austria:            Budapest, Greece, Rumania, Serbia, Trieste, Vienna=6, Build 2

England:          Edinburgh, Liverpool, London, Norway=4, Even

France:            Brest, Marseilles, Paris, Portugal, Spain=5, Build 1 or Build 2 (depending on retreat)

Germany:         Belgium, Berlin, Denmark, Holland, Kiel, Munich=6, Build 1

Italy:                Naples, Rome, Tunis, Venice=4, Even

Russia:             Moscow, Sevastopol, St Petersburg, Warsaw=4, Even or Remove 1 (depending on retreat)

Turkey:            Ankara, Bulgaria, Constantinople, Smyrna=4, Even

Unowned:        Sweden.

 

PRESS

King Giovanni, from the top of 'Monte Abysmalini' stared down into the abyss. "The die is cast, come what may."


Black Press Gunboat, “Noah’s Titanic”, 2015Arb32, F 01

Austria: F Albania Supports A Trieste, A Serbia – Budapest, A Trieste Hold.

England: F English Channel - Brest (*Bounce*), F North Sea Convoys A Yorkshire – Belgium,

 A Yorkshire - Belgium.

France: A Gascony - Brest (*Bounce*), F Mid-Atlantic Ocean - Brest (*Bounce*), A Spain - Portugal.

Germany: F Denmark - Sweden (*Bounce*), A Kiel – Holland, A Silesia - Munich (*Bounce*).

Italy: A Venice Supports F Greece – Aegean Sea (*Impossible*), F Ionian Sea – Tunis,

 A Tyrolia - Munich (*Bounce*).

Russia: A Galicia – Warsaw, F Gulf of Bothnia - Sweden (*Bounce*),

 F Sevastopol Supports A Ukraine – Rumania, A Ukraine - Rumania.

Turkey: F Ankara - Black Sea, A Bulgaria – Serbia, A Smyrna - Armenia.

 

Deadline for W 01/S 02 will be July 28th at 7am My Time

 

Supply Center Chart

 

Austria:            Budapest, Trieste, Vienna=3, Even

England:          Belgium, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London=4, Build 1

France:            Brest, Marseilles, Paris, Portugal=4, Build 1

Germany:         Berlin, Denmark, Holland, Kiel, Munich=5, Build 2

Italy:                Naples, Rome, Tunis, Venice=4, Build 1

Russia:             Moscow, Rumania, Sevastopol, St Petersburg, Warsaw=5, Build 1

Turkey:            Ankara, Constantinople, Serbia, Smyrna=4, Build 1

Unowned:        Bulgaria, Greece, Norway, Spain, Sweden.

 

PRESS

(Rus - Eng) Please land your A in Bel

 

(Rus - Fra) Thanks for your assistance

 

(Rus - Ita) Maybe you can help me

 

(Rus - Tur) I would prefer friendly relations

 

(Rus - Fra) Why go 'all in' south? Nothing there after Por.

 

(Rus - Ger) Usually we are friendly. Why the early unfriendliness?

 

(Rus - Eng) Maybe you might help me (that does not mean helping yourself to me, btw)

 

(Rus - Tur) Maybe you might help me

 

(Rus - All except Fra & Ger) Aren't the Fre & Ger moves highly suspicious? No concern from either of them about Bur?

 

(Rus to All except Ger) The Czar proposes a Crusade against Ger. We all know  the Kaiser is an insane expansionist.

 

Rus to Ger: So you want to wreak me who has many threats yet you ignore your own more important many threats? What kind of imbecile are you?  Play your 'Silesian rhapsody' to your grave, Beethoven.

 

Rus to Tur: We have no fuel (not enough coal even) for our southern fleet. It will remain in port until further notice.

 

Il Duce – Archduke: See?!

 

Il Duce – Tsar: I’d still like that game over the table but really Germany seems to be occupying you somewhat (so I thought I’d return the favor).

 

Il Duce – Kaiser: You’ll understand I’d made a verbal commitment to the Duke (a bit like you and the Pres) so I had to pay a brief call. Just passing thru.

 

Il Duce – Sultan: Your proposals are currently residing in our Persian linguistic dep’t at Pisa, awaiting translation.

 

Il Duce – Le President: My, you are very trusting neighbor. I only hope you are also trustworthy. No F(Mar), grazie.

 

Il Duce – King:  So many choices they’ve left you! Once you’ve assembled your new fleets, let’s see where we might cooperate.

 

Il Duce – Archduke: Ok, now we’re friends – let’s go play!

 

Germany to Russia: I extend the offer of peace to you, and you repay me by insulting my English cousin and trying to entice France and Italy to make war against me.  Such actions demand an apology.  Be quick about it, and honor shall be restored.

 

Rome - Berlin: Hey Bub, Warsaw ain't on our coast? Capiche?

 

Berlin -Rome: Yeah, I think I musta taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque.

 

Kaiser to Pope: You're a pretty funny man, with a funny hat. I like you. Not enough to propose or anything, but I like you.

 

Pope to Kaiser: Two things: 1) keep your grubby mitts off my hat; 2) you're really not very good are you? Silesia?

 

Pope to GM: Is this like the old show "What's My Line?" Can we guess the other players' identities? I already know who the Kaiser is. Only a handful of players are keen on that opening--and four of the five are now in purgatory.

 

GM – Pope: That qualified as an opening?

 

Pope to Il Duce: I hate that title! It's anachronistic and, with all respect, it's more than a little pretentious, yes?

 

Tsar to Pope: Easy there, Mr. Pop-N-Fresh. If anyone has a pretentious name, it is thee.

 

Pope to Tsar: "Thee?" When did Shakespeare and/or the King James translators take up residence in St. Petersburg? Oh, and what's up with making a former Tsar a "saint?"

 

Le President to Il Duce: I have one word for you: fogetchu. Look it up. I'm comin' after you with every eclair and macaron at my disposal.

 

Archduke to Il Duce: Il Duce this!


By Popular Demand

 

The goal is to pick something that fits the category and will be the "most popular" answer. You score points based on the number of entries that match yours. For example, if the category is "Cats" and the responses were 7 for Persian, 3 for Calico and 1 for Siamese, everyone who said Persian would get 7 points, Calico 3 and the lone Siamese would score 1 point. The cumulative total over 10 rounds will determine the overall winner. Anyone may enter at any point, starting with an equivalent point total of the lowest cumulative score from the previous round. If a person misses a round, they'll receive the minimum score from the round added to their cumulative total. In each round you may specify one of your answers as your Joker answer.  Your score for this answer will be doubled.  In other words, if you apply your Joker to category 3 on a given turn, and 4 other people give the same answer as you, you get 10 points instead of 5.  Players who fail to submit a Joker for any specific turn will have their Joker automatically applied to the first category. And, if you want to submit some commentary with your answers, feel free to.  The game will consist of 10 rounds, with the 10th round being worth double points.  A prize will be awarded to the winner.  Research is permitted, but cooperation or collusion between players is not!

 

Round 1 Categories – Don’t Forget to Choose a Joker Category (Double Points)

 

1.    A blues singer.

2.    The number of game years a Diplomacy game lasts.

3.    A movie featuring Clint Eastwood as an actor.

4.    A financially poor country.

5.    An architect (other than Frank Lloyd Wright).

 

Deadline for Round 1 is July 28th at 7am My Time


 

General Deadline for the Next Issue of Eternal Sunshine:  July 28th, 2015 at 7:00am my time.

Hope to See You Then!