Here is an email from one of the admins at Diplomaticcorp - without comment from me.

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Diplomaticcorp Newsletter #352 – December 2010

Welcome to what is surely NOT the 352nd installment of the Diplomaticcorp Newsletter. However 352 does have significance to us because that is precisely the number of games that have run in our friendly little community. What an achievement! And what makes that even more interesting is that 89 of those games have been active in 2010. The earliest such game was Steve’s CivDip game created on a new landscape with several unexpected twists… And the most recent, dc352, is a standard game being run by newbie GM “TrustMe” – as if that isn’t the best Dip name ever.

In the meantime many others have come and gone, including some long games (Haven, 575 days) short games (1936, 67 days), 53 standards, and 36 variants. Several new games were played for the first time, including Charles’ 1648 and 1936, Ben’s Balkans 1860, Nick’s World War II, Matt’s Arctic Dip, and Jerry’s Babylon 5 – just to name a few.

What is most astounding about the growth in games is the amount of change that has occurred during that same time and most specifically since last August! First and foremost…

Diplomaticcorp got a makeover!

Thanks to a lot of work by Mike Sims (one of your fearless Moderators) and Fredrik Blom (player, WB GM, tech-wizard and now Jr Moderator himself) DC has a wonderful new look and some kick-@#$ new features. Further thanks for the overhaul go to our design experts who all gave invaluable input – Garry Bledsoe, Dirk Knemeyer, Jorge Saralegui, Gerald Todd, Benjamin Hester, and Jason Koelewyn. I urge everyone who has not visited recently to go give the site a browse. The site is now custom-tailored to each member once you sign in with a quick links to your games, active forum topics, etc. You will also notice that the Forum section is easier to wade through so feel free to post… go on – don’t be scared! There are even subscription options to deliver Diplomacy content right to your inbox without having to visit the site… E.g. if you can’t visit the site at work or school, but still want to know when new games are announced – subscribe to the Open Games forum! Just like the old Yahoo days, opt for every mail, or a daily or weekly digest. Set your subscriptions in your Profile: www.diplomaticcorp.com/profile.php

I am also pleased to announce that our community officially welcomes Fredrik Blom to our service ranks. He joins our team of Garry, Jason, and myself to share the responsibilities related to the site. Believe me, it takes a lot of love of the game and effort to keep our community alive. Please rely on ANY of us for anything you need.

A side note – notice that I used the word community, not site - we at DC are a community. That is how so much gets accomplished. We have tireless GM’s who VOLUNTEER their time to run games so that others can play. Please allow me to give special thanks to the 2010 Winter Blitz GM’s who did an amazing job: Christine, Adam, John., Darryl, Alan, Michael (Vegas baby!), Fredrik, Cory, and Sam. Imagine committing to approximately 6 months of twice a week adjudications while trying to still play games, run other games AND balance life?! Enough cannot be said about their commitment to bringing you the WB 2010.

Winter Blitz!

Congratulations to Chris Morse for winning the Winter Blitz 2010!

Did you know that Chris won last year’s Blitz without a single solo victory? Yep, it was back-to-back 2-way draws that did it for him, propelling him ahead of Joe, Nigel, and Nick with their solo victories to take the Championship. A nail-biter to the end, dc311 ran 148 days (incredible for a Blitz game) and held the tournament winner at its disposal the whole time – until Ray, Dan and Dirk finally agreed to their marathon 3-way draw. Joe took the Best Round 1 on tiebreaks for his solo victory in dc297 and Nigs racked up his 4th lifetime Winter Blitz solo squarely taking the Best Round 2.

Speaking of the WB… Wow! It’s already December again, and the WB 2011 is open to join!

Last year the tournament was the most successful ever - for those who did not know, we had 63, yes 63 players for an amazing 9 boards and this year we’ve got nearly that many preregistered already. Our little tournament is routinely featured on Wikipedia as one of the premier online tournaments. So come on out and play! Get in two full rounds of action-packed Diplomacy – starting in January and complete by June.

The big news this year is that the Winter Blitz has a sponsor! Thoughthammer.com has graciously offered to match our prizes with an additional 50% contribution, making this year’s prize fund a whopping $300! For those who don’t know, Thoughthammer is only THE best place to buy board games on the web – offering a huge selection, great prices and free shipping when you spend $100. We’ve relied on them for the last 3 WBs. Take a look – and be sure to mention you heard about them thru Diplomaticcorp and the Winter Blitz!

Registration for the WB closes Jan 2, 2011. www.diplomaticcorp.com/winterblitz

DC Invitational!

While we’re on the subject of tournaments, the 5th annual DC Invitational (DCI) began in August. The DCI is a tournament that was created to be a playoff of sorts pitting the best against the best. See how 2010’s DCI roster was filled (as well as a history of the Invitational) on the DCI wiki page, www.dipwiki.com?title=DC_Invitational. This year featured invitation criteria such as the Best Survivor and most active in the Light Brigade (taking on replacement games) and featured several of our dc regulars. Dc340 is currently favoring the underdogs, with Dirk, John, and Michael leading the pack at 9 centers, while the stalwarts Kevin, Mikael, Adam, Joe, Chris, and myself search for creative ways to stay alive. Now 5 years in, not a single player out of 9 has been eliminated!

Congratulations to Adam Martin-Schwarze for winning last year’s DC Invitational!

Dc274 (www.diplomaticcorp.com?game=dc274) was an incredible game and I encourage all players to view the history of it, and to strive to someday play in the grand event. The End-Game Statements are posted and tell some amazing stories. Most notable is Adam’s – he was basically a 3-center power until 1910! His perseverance shows what Champions are made of and why a game is never over until it’s over, regardless of how dire things look. One other note: you know how Adam qualified for the tournament? He was the pick for “Most Promising New GM”.

Thank you to everyone who is active in our community and has a hand in making it better. Adam is proof that simply being a GM can make you a Champion. Feel free to GM a game if you want – we are always in search of new GMs, and doing so will take your play to the next level. The players won’t bite and neither will we. It is daunting at first but we have several new players who have stepped up and are taking on those GM roles everyday (including some who signed up to help with WB!). We are working on a Guide that can help newbies and are always willing to provide help when players or GM’s need it. To GM a game, drop one of us a note any time.

Even if you don’t want to GM, jump in! Play a game! Four awesome variants are currently open to join:

* Charles’ famed 1936 and 1648 games involving Dip-Points

* An 8-player game of Ben’s South American Supremacy

* My very own Haven world featuring 19 mythical civilizations.

Or if you can’t play, post in the Forum, send us an email, let us know how we can keep improving the community. We only get better through mutual discussion and ideation (yes, and even healthy debate). Thanks to all who have stepped up and done so!

Don’t worry…it’s just a game and we are all just humble volunteers trying to play the game we love!

All the best and cheers,

-mike

Order of the Rose

www.diplomaticcorp.com