DATC: Abbreviation for DIPLOMACY ADJUDICATOR TEST CASES.
Dateline: From the Postal Hobby, the heading under which Press is published. Not required in Online games, where Press is published in-game.
DBN: See DIPLOMACY BROADCAST NETWORK.
DBNI: See DIPLOMACY BROADCAST NETWORK INVITATIONAL.
DBS: Abbreviation for DRAW-BASED SCORING, an alternative name for DRAW-SIZE SCORING.
Dead Donkey: A player who, when a game has reached a deadlock, refuses to accept a draw proposal and thereby prevents the game from reaching a sensible end. Often means the application of a Deadlocked Game Procedure to force a game ending.
Dead Duck: A player who, for whatever reason, feels they should throw the game away in an act of vengeance. Partially named after Richard Sharp’s name for a player who, in a game, follows an unshakeable course regardless of what is happening in the game (an ARMOURED DUCK), a Dead Duck will pretend that they are KINGMAKING, throwing the game to another player to win. However, this is when the game is in too early a stage for a successful act of Kingmaking, meaning that the player is simply throwing their game away in vengeance, with nothing to show for it.
Deadline: The date and time you have to have your orders in. Online, this will be set automatically by the game. In any other form of Dip, it is set by the GM. Miss it and you should see your power’s units all given HOLD orders. However, some GMs and some sites allow a grace period or a holdover whereby players who missed the deadline are given another chance. Online you often find that you only have so many chances before being kicked from the game for missing a deadline.
Deadlock: A situation in a game in which no players are making any headway against any others for whatever reason. It may involve a STALEMATE but it may be that the players just don’t want to abandon their alliances, and therefore no progress can be made.
Deadlocked game: A game in which a deadlock has been reached and has existed for several game years. This may, or may not, involve a STALEMATE.
Deadlocked Game Procedure: The process by which a GM or game site ends a deadlocked game, usually forcing a DIAS draw.
Defence: The collective strength of a unit occupying a space that has been attacked and any units ordered to support that unit.
Defensive force: See DEFENSIVE STRENGTH.
Defensive strength: Sum of all units involved in the defence of a space.
Delight: Describes the feeling of a stab being successful.
Demilitarise: To move units from a space or spaces on the board to create a buffer zone between two players.
Demilitarised Zone (1): A space on the board which has been left empty as part of an agreement between players to create a buffer zone.
Demilitarised Zone (2): Alternative name for the Black Sea.
Demo Game: A game played to demonstrate how to play Diplomacy… which doesn’t work if you invite the wrong players.
Desert Rat opening: If Turkey opens with A Smy-Syr, they’re using this opening. Why would they? Because it discourages the LEPANTO opening by Austria/Italy.
Desperation: Following on from FEAR, trying to break down the door to the bathroom.
Deutschnaut alliance: An alliance featuring Germany, Russia and Turkey. Formed by combining Deutsch (=Germany) and ‘naut’ from Juggernaut, the Russo-Turkish alliance.
DEW: See DISTANT EARLY WARNING.
DGP: See DEADLOCKED GAME PROCEDURE.
DIAS: See DRAWS INCLUDE ALL SURVIVORS.
Digital Age: The current Dip era. Identified in Diplomaticon Quarterly #1 as starting when Diplomacy moved onto online sites, and therefore with the creation of phpDiplomacy (now known as webDiplomacy), so December 2004.
DINS: See DRAWS INVOLVE NOMINATED SURVIVORS.
Dip: Abbreviation often used for Diplomacy.
Dip Bitch: A player in a game of Diplomacy that is under the control of another player.
DipCon: North America’s premier Diplomacy Convention.
Diplicity: Newest of the Dip sites. Diplicity was originally launched as a Diplomacy App, but this became unsupported in August 1994. The only really disappointing aspect of this site (in comparison to other Dip sites) is that the Spring 1901 deadline is not double-length. Whether the site itself is still being supported, I’m not sure, but still somewhere to play Dip. https://diplicity.com/
Diplomacy Adjudicator Test Cases: An extensive set of test cases to ensure that automated judges adjudicate according to the rules. Most websites use these, or something similar, to ensure their adjudications are correct. They need updating when new rules are introduced. The most up-to-date version was put together by Lucas B. Kruijswijk and can be found here: https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/274846/datc-diplomacy-adjudicator-test-cases (you need to be aware that the file is copyright protected!). This version is compliant with the 2023 Ruleset.1
Diplomacy Archive, The: A collection of selected articles from Dipzines, as well as the UK’s Dipzine archive: https://diplomacyzines.co.uk/
Diplomacy Association, The: Probably the first attempt to organise the Hobby in North America. Didn’t work well from the start.
Diplomacy Briefing, The: See BRIEFING, THE.
Diplomacy Broadcast Network: Online video format broadcasting games played as part of tournaments or leagues.
Diplomacy Broadcast Network Invitational: Diplomacy tournament held in January/February annually in the virtual Diplomacy format, in which the top 28 players in the world, as defined by the DBN’s scoring system (involving a range of ARENA EVENTS), play to win the title Diplomat of the Year.
Diplomacy Club: Usually a group of players who meet up (semi-)regularly to play Diplomacy. Often centred about a locality, eg the Windy City Weasels based in and around Chicago, USA.
Diplomacy Federation, The: Organisation within the UK Hobby created by people who were fed up with the NATIONAL GAMES CLUB. Because, let’s face it, it’s ridiculous for players of a game called “Diplomacy” to try to get on.
Diplomacy Games Podcast, The: Podcast covering a wide range of Dip-related material: https://diplomacygames.com/
Diplomacy Skill Index (DSI): Fiendishly silly ratings system for players, based on a DSS system which was weighted by the power you played.
Diplomacy Variants Commission (DVC): An organisation for Variants. After all, we can’t just have any old variant being put out there, can we?
Diplomacy Widowers Association (DWA): A ghost organisation that never existed because women can’t play Diplomacy, and so no man will find himself in this situation. Apparently.
Diplomacy Widows Association (DWA): A ghost organisation for women who have to put up with being taken on “holidays” to far-flung places by their husbands, only to find themselves thrust together with other women while their husbands cuddle each other around a table with a Diplomacy board on it. Not to be confused with the DIPLOMACY WIDOWERS ASSOCIATION.
Diplomacy World: Dipzine published quarterly, now over 50 years old. In publication: https://www.diplomacyworld.net/
Diplomat (class): On Playdiplomacy, a class of players who weren’t reliable enough to make the Ambassador class.
Diplomatic Phase: A part of the game in which players communicate with each other. Or don’t, if they’re bad players.
Diplomaticon, The: Diplomacy blog, featuring a range of posts relating to Diplomacy. In publication: https://diplomaticon.com/
Diplomaticon Quarterly: Online Dipzine, first published in September 2024. No longer in publication: https://diplomaticonquarterly.uk/
Diplomatic Pouch, The (TDP): Dipzine published electronically. No longer in publication(?)
Diplomat of the Year: Winner of the DBNI.
Diplomats, The: A group (or perhaps just two?) Dippyists commenting on games and arena events they participate in: https://www.thediplomats.net/
Diplome: The act of being a diplomat. Non-existent.
Diplominati: A Diplomacy Hobbyist who is famous throughout the Hobby. Usually, someone who has put a lot back into the Hobby.
Diplopup: A newbie, a novice.
Dipmeister: A top player.
Dipper: Someone who plays Diplomacy regularly.
Dippy: Abbreviation sometimes used for Diplomacy.
Dippyist: A Dip player with some experience and knowledge of the game.
Dipwit: A Diplomacy player who doesn’t have any other form of life.
Dipzine: A fan-based magazine about the game of Diplomacy and/or the Diplomacy Hobby.
Dislodge: To successfully attack another player’s unit and thereby force it to either Retreat from the space it occupied or be Disbanded.
Dislodged unit: A unit that has been successfully attacked.
Dislodgement: The act of your unit being dislodged.
Distant Early Warning (DEW): A message from a player on the other side of the board concerning what’s happening on your side of the board. Don’t read with rose-tinted glasses.
DMZ: See DEMILITARISED ZONE.
Dolchstoss: One of the standard-bearer zines from the UK Postal Hobby, published by Richard Sharp (he of “The Game of Diplomacy” fame). No longer published. Originally ran games that were run as part of the NATIONAL GAMES CLUB (NGC).
Dolchstoss Rating System (DRS): Alternative name for the NGC RATING SYSTEM. Created by Richard Sharp, originally for the NGC games run in the zine. When Dolchstoss relaunched in 1984, Sharp renamed it the DRS. Similar to some other rating systems, very heavily affected by cross-game and out-of-game inputs.
Double Bluff: The somewhat over-the-top act of promising to do something in such a way as to make it seem that you’re not really going to do it, and then doing it. The idea is to have your “ally” believe you’re not going to do what you say you are, only to feel bad for thinking that way, so that they will lie on barbed wire for you in the game.
Draw (1): A way of ending the game before a win is achieved.
Draw (2): The act of allocating powers in a game.
Draw (3): The power you have been allocated to play.
Draw-Based Scoring (DBS): Alternative name for DRAW-SIZE SCORING.
Drawmonger: A player who regularly accepts draw proposals rather than pushes on to win the game. Often incorrectly equated with a Carebear, a Drawmonger is someone who will accept draws readily rather than someone who deliberately seeks to form an alliance to last the whole game.
Draw proposal: An act whereby one player will suggest that the game should end in a draw, leading to a draw vote.
Draws Include All Survivors: The official way a game ends in a draw. All surviving players vote to end the game, and each player shares equally in the draw, regardless of how many Supply Centres they hold.
Draws Involve Nominated Survivors: Alternative to Draws Include All Survivors, in which all surviving players vote on a draw proposal, which may not include all the survivors. Sketchy way to end the game.
Draw-Size Scoring (DSS): A system of scoring Diplomacy based on the number of people in the draw at the end of the game, often calculated using 1/n, where 1 represents the number of points available in the game and n represents the number of people involved in the draw.
Draw vote: When players vote on whether to accept a draw or not. For a draw vote to be successful, all surviving players must agree to the game ending in a draw.
Draw-whittling: The act of not accepting a draw until fewer players are remaining, so increasing your score at the end of the game.
Dr Goldilox Method: A way of communicating or negotiating with other players that doesn’t involve physical action, instead focusing on flattery, charisma, intimidation, etc.
Dropout: A player who drops out of a game (or is removed by the GM).
DRS: Abbreviation for DOLCHSTOSS RATING SYSTEM.
DSI: Abbreviation for DIPLOMACY SKILL INDEX.
DSS: Abbreviation of DRAW-SIZE SCORING.
Dumb mistake: Any simplistic mistake in the presented orders. There are three categories: [1] Mis-writing or mis-entering an order: this is when a player may write F Nth-Nwy (instead of F Nth-Nwg – which is why sea spaces should be in UPPER CASE, people! Online, it may be A Gas-Spa (instead of naming the coast – only a mistake if not deliberate). [2] Incoherent orders: when the order doesn’t match others, especially with support and convoying (eg A Lon-Bel, F ENG C Lon). [3] Failing to defend an easily defensible space by not ordering correctly, eg F Lon H, F ENG H; F Bre S MAO-ENG. See MISTAKE.
Dunkirk Box: England’s less restrictive version of Turkey’s BOX, which sees England have to find a way to get armies onto the Continent.
DVC: Abbreviation for DIPLOMACY VARIANTS COMMISSION.
DW: Abbreviation for Diplomacy World.
DWA (1): See DIPLOMACY WIDOWERS ASSOCIATION.
DWA (2): See DIPLOMACY WIDOWS ASSOCIATION.
Dynamic Stalemate Line: When a stalemate line has to be maintained by a unit moving rather than when units need to hold.
NOTES
- Suggested by Lucas Kruijswijk. ↩︎
THE DIPTIONARY 