The NADF

The Spring tournaments are almost upon us, but one more slow news week to get through.

Look Who’s Back!

After a hiatus of a year and a half, the Diplomatic Pouch is back with a new issue. Unfortunately, we may have to wait another 18 months for the next one, as the Pouch still needs a lead editor to replace Charles Roburn.  Meanwhile, this long overdue issue contains an article by Chris Burke about last year’s World Diplomacy Championship in Sydney, Australia; a pretty good reprint from Diplomacy World No. 57 about the strategic importance of Greece; and a piece by David Norman about using drop-dead timing to keep tournament games moving. Check it out at diplom.org/Zine/S2012M/.

CODCon Cometh

This time next week, we’ll finally have another Grand Prix event to report. The Weasels are expecting at least 21 players for the sixth annual CODCon Open, their minor tournament at the College of Dupage in the western suburb of Glen Ellyn. It looks like they’ll have an easy two boards per round, with a shot at three boards in one or both of the Saturday rounds.

Festivities will kick off Friday night with pre-con gaming in nearby Oak Brook hosted by me. We’re hoping to get Avalon Hill’s Civilization on the table. Stay tuned. Check out the list of confirmed players here: windycityweasels.org/news/430-look-whos-coming-to-codcon.

Next up on the Grand Prix Circuit

The Grand Prix hiatus ends on Saturday, with the first of two tournaments in three weeks.

April 21-22:CODCon Open VI, Glen Ellyn, Ill., www.windycityweasels.com/codcon6.

May 5-6:BADAss Whipping, San Francisco, diplomacyblog.wordpress.com/whipping-2012/.

May 25-27:DixieCon, Chapel Hill, N.C., dixiecon.com.

Make your plans to attend one or more of these great events. I’ll unfortunately have to miss Dixie, as I’ll be in Orlando for work over Memorial Day weekend. Boo.

Preregistration Now Open for World Dip Con 2012

With the second of three installments for the venue due on June 10, the Weasels would like to remind you that preregistration is now open for the 2012 World DipCon and DipCon at Weasel Moot VI. The event will be held Aug. 10-12 at the historic Congress Plaza Hotel in downtown Chicago. Preregistration will save you $10. For more information, please visit windycityweasels.org/wdc. Check us out on Facebook here. 

So far, 44 people have responded to the Facebook invite to say they’re coming. There’s a pretty good lodging tip on the Facebook page from Chris Glassburn, the latest person to commit.  (Chris, by the way, has traveled to every Weasel Moot from Ohio. He’s the only traveler to make every one.) If you haven’t already received the Facebook invitation, feel free to join the event, and please invite any of your friends who may be interested.

Hobby Roundup

Here’s what’s going on in the hobby hotbeds. If we’ve missed your hobby, let us know!

Bay Area

The BADAss Whipping is fast approaching. It will be May 5-6 at the Hotel Tomo in San Francisco. Check out the website at diplomacyblog.wordpress.com/whipping-2012/. The club’s Yahoo group is games.groups.yahoo.com/group/bayareadip. The BADAss website is bayareadiplomacy.org.

Central Iowa

For more information about the hobby in Central Iowa, email Russ Dennis at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Chicago

The Weasels are gearing up for their sixth annual CODCon Open Diplomacy tournament at the College of Dupage in west suburban Glen Ellyn, which is this weekend. Learn more about the Weasels at www.windycityweasels.org.

Columbus, Ohio

Organizer Thomas Haver will run two Diplomacy events in Columbus: Origins May 31 through June 2, and the Buckeye Game Fest tournament Sept. 21 to 23. Contact him at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

Dallas

Doug Kent is thinking about hosting a round or two of Diplomacy at TexiCon in Fort Worth, complete with awards if there’s sufficient interest. The Texas Yahoo group is here: games.groups.yahoo.com/group/texas-diplomacy.

D.C.

Nothing new to report. Check out the Potomac Tea & Knife Society’s website at ptks.org. You can subscribe to the group’s Diplist at ptks.org/community.php.

Detroit

Nothing new to report. If you’re in the Detroit area, check out their Yahoo group at games.groups.yahoo.com/group/detroitdiplomacy.

Houston

Nothing new to report.

New England

Nothing new to report. The list is here: groups.yahoo.com/group/MADip-L. The New England website is nedip.org.

New York City

Nothing new to report. Follow the New Yorkers on Twitter @DiplomacyNYC. New York has a Yahoo group here, games.groups.yahoo.com/group/NYC-Diplomacy. In addition, there’s a Meetup group here, www.meetup.com/diplomacy-6, and a Google group here, groups.google.com/group/new-york-diplomacy.

Pacific Northwest

Nothing new to report. The Pacific Northwest Diplomacy community has a Yahoo group here, games.groups.yahoo.com/group/Northwest_Diplomacy, but its Facebook page, the Greater Cascadia Diplomacy Consortium, is much more active. Check it out here.

Philadelphia

Nothing new to report. The group’s Meetup page is here: www.meetup.com/Philadelphia-Diplomacy-Club.

Toledo

Nothing new to report. Check out the group’s guild page at www.boardgamegeek.com/guild/1171.

See you next week, when we should have something new to report!

Jim O’Kelley

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it