C

Caged Bear alliance: An alliance featuring Germany, Austria and Turkey. Named because it is targeted against Russia.

Calhamer, A B: Inventor (or creator) of the board game Diplomacy. Alternatively known as The Great and Good ABC. It’s his fault.

Calhamerism: Playing Diplomacy the way Calhamer designed the game to be played. The right way! See WIN ONLY.

Calhamer Point system: A scoring system in which a solo victory is worth 1 point, and a draw is worth 1/n points, where n stands for the number of players involved in the draw at the end of the game. This is the basis of many DRAW-SIZE SCORING SYSTEMS.

Calhamer Tournament Scoring system: A complex scoring system used to score ARENA EVENTS. A win is worth 30 points, a loss is worth 0. In a draw, if the leader has more than 8 SCs, all other scores are reduced by the amount the leader has over eight. No one may score more than 3 times their number of SCs. A sole leader gets 2 extra points. Rarely used now(?)

Capitulation: The act of staying in a game you don’t want to be playing any more, but giving useless orders to your units.

Cardinal Rules of Postal Diplomacy: Guidance for playing Postal Diplomacy, which were (1) Communicate lots, and (2) Get your orders in on time. Easily translatable to Extended Deadline play. Often not.

Carebear: Diplomacy player who tries to build an alliance that will last for the whole game. Someone who doesn’t know the difference between winning and drawing.

Carebearism: The philosophy of, or way of playing as, a Carebear; playing the game to achieve a draw.

Central Powers: Alternative name for the INNER POWERS.

Central Triple Alliance: An alliance featuring Germany, Austria and Italy.

Chalker Rule: A fake rule that said a BELEAGUERED GARRISON could not be set up by attacking a space occupied by your own unit. Never part of the official rules.

Championship game: In an ARENA EVENT, a game featuring the highest scoring players in the Tournament or League to decide who will win the event. In a tournament, it is usually used when only this game features in the final round of games.

Championship Round: The name for the last round of an ARENA EVENT in which the top scorers face each other to decide who will be the champion. Think play-offs or post-season.

Changing of the Guard: A fake rule that allowed the switching of places by two units without the use of a convoy.

Cherry-picking: The act of deliberately choosing to join a game with less-skilled or new players to enhance one’s result from the game.

Choice Set-up: Alternative for the WINTER 1900 VARIANT.

Churchill Opening: An English base opening move set that sees F Edi-NWG, F Lon-ENG and A Lpl-Yor.

Civil Disorder (1): If a player does not submit orders in a phase, the units of the power do not move and are taken to have been issued Hold orders instead.

Civil Disorder (2): Alternative for an ABANDONED POWER.

Close Ally: A player in the game that you are blackmailing.

Coastal Space: A division of the board in Diplomacy that is a land space that neighbours a sea space; can be occupied by an Army or a Fleet.

Con: Abbreviation of CONVENTION.

Confident player: A player who has drawn Austria and smiles. Alternatively, a player who controls Italy and asks what 4+1 equals.

Convention (1): A meeting of board game enthusiasts or players. A good-natured affair in which people may play some fun games.

Convention (2): In Diplomacy, a meeting of players, often involving a Tournament. A good-natured affair in which people may play some fun games that involve shouting, swearing, tantrumming, banging of tables, slamming of doors, hitting of walls, bribes, blackmail, and the odd beverage.

Convoy (1): See CONVOY (ORDER).

Convoy (2): The act of completing a CONVOY (ORDER).

Convoy Chain: A set of orders that has a series of fleets, all occupying neighbouring sea spaces, allowing an army to move from one coastal space to another coastal space across several sea spaces.

Convoy (order): An instruction given to a fleet: the fleet stays in the space it occupies and attempts to allow an army moving from a neighbouring land space to another neighbouring land space. See CONVOY CHAIN.

Crimean alliance: An alliance of England, France and Turkey. Named after the three powers’ alliance in the Crimean War (1853-6).