Why not use my Java Menu, or use the contents below

Editorial
Tetrazine
Letters
The Bletchley Debacle
Hispania Game Review
Manorcon XV
Guide to Payola Diplomacy
Trust Me! (And other tales)
SPY Dip - a summary
The Italian Alliances
Games section

• Abwehr Autumn 1905
• Bletchley Autumn 1904
• Cipher Spring 1904
• Enigma Spring 1903
• Flanders (1435)
• Gestapo! Autumn 1901
• Breaking Away Game 1
• By Almost Popular Demand round 8
• Sea of Despair L6 Turing's TWIXT game start
• The Car Quiz #1 17
• Waiting Lists, etc.. 18

Welcome to issue 11 of The Gentle Art of Making Enemies. This has been definitely a lively month. One that sees players taking the zine's title literally. Just after the letter column you should see the Bletchley Debacle that gives a brief surmise over some of the goings-on in the game - namely false GM letters that aim to cause NMR's. In a month where by I received a simple letter from Brenda Palm saying that The Ides of March will be held over, it highlights the devastating effect of such a ploy - after all would Brenda have appreciated 70+ phone calls asking if the letter was genuine?? Maybe someone should look at the role of forgery within Diplomacy?

This month has been a relatively quiet one, and the long May bank holiday enabled me to get practically all of the zine finished. Which is a good job as I had decided to go to SpeccyCon rather than FurryCon. So if you are reading this at SpeccyCon, be kind to me. Whilst on conventions (he says amiably stringing subjects together like pearls on a necklace), I have included a bit of a background on ManorCon, which is the biggest UK Diplomacy Convention - if you haven't been to a convention before, then go to this one. I have now resurrected the ManorCon Team, and we are already over half full. Geoff Kemp asked if I wanted to go on the Quartz team, but instead we're doing a joint team to be either called GQ {for obvious reasons} or GCHQ, which falls more into line with the espionage themes of GAME.

There are two other new lists opened on the back page. The first is a game of standard diplomacy run on fortnightly turns. This is standard postal Diplomacy, but I require people to have e-mail to enable me to send out an adjudication between issues. If you don't have e-mail access, but are still interested in joining the game with fortnightly turns, then give me a call. The second list is for a variant - Grey Gunboat. This is like the Silent Running variant, except that each turn each player can submit a statement on the status of the game such as "The French minister learns the hard way the importance of including coasts in dispatched orders". Since this is hardly any different from the Silent Running variant, and it is an optional extra, then I will combine the lists for this time (unless players already on the list say otherwise).

You should find enclosed with this issue a copy of my new flyer. The idea behind this is for you to send it to somebody you know, possibly from another game of Diplomacy, who is not a subscriber, but might be interested in becoming one. Most new subscribers to a zine come by way of a recommendation, either from another zine editor or from someone they know (through a game/zine/con). You may photocopy it, if you like, or I can provide more.

What do you know about Personal Telephone Numbers? Well as a brief recap, and for the benefit of our non-UK readers. When Offtel the Telecomms watchdog upgraded the area code system a while ago (to make all numbers 01xx), it was seen that a personal number or "one number for life" could be done. This has been done using the 07xx numbers. These are phone numbers that can be re-directed, so that they point to what-ever phone you are at. Something like this has been offered as a service before by BT (and probably other telecom companies too), but this time its done on a scale for all 07xx numbers - basically every person is able to have there own number. The reason for this infomercial is that I have one (well two!), which I have from a company called DigitalMail. Hey are giving away 5,000 telephone numbers (no cost, no connection fee, no rental) on a first come basis. There are two types, those that will only use land-lines (caller pays BT D-rate), and those that need to have a provision of including mobile numbers (charged at K-rate). They state the reason why they can give them away is that they make a small amount through their relations with other telecom companies, and they have additional chargeable services which many people find useful such as voicemail (electronic answerphone), web and email provision, email to fax, and other stuff. Still if you just want the personal number, then why pass up the freebie {see www.digitalmail.com or phone 07020-600-617}.

Nic

Life's Rich Pageant 13: Kim Head, 230A London Road, Croydon CR0 2TF. (£1 plus pp for 48 A5 pages)

This is another 'Lifestyle zine' {read leisurely}, that trots along at slightly under two months an issue. Kim had a seven issue start on me (LRP 8 came out in July 96), and the question now is will we meet on issue 15? Like many large zines it suffers from no contents page, so you either skim it from cover to cover first, or take a lucky dip and dive in at a random start point. LRP is a multi-games zine, with such games as "Buss Boss" and the "Great Lawnmower Race". It also has two largish subzines, that include games and letters of their own. The LRP letter column is usually a worthy read, and the subzine Skin of Evil is good if you want a Sci-Fi fix. The other subzine "The Asylum Zone" provides the Diplomacy fix for those unwilling to risk looking at a Dip free zine.

Crossing the Rubicon 10: Jamie McQuinn, 1619 Shroyer Rd, Dayton Ohio 45419-3215. ($2.50 for UK including pp for 26 'letter' pages)

This is the only US zine I see so far, something I will have to remedy. Now that Jamie has moved the zines title has obviously lost some of its context, and he has no plans of renaming it "Crossing the Shroyer". There are a couple of new subzines to CTR, and he has guest columnists as well. I initially did a review for issue 9, but #10 dropped through the door a mere three days after posting!! This is a diplomacy zine and has a few games of Colonial Diplomacy going, but there is an increasing section of non-dip stuff. If you fancy playing RoboRally or Modern Art postally, then one of the new subzines have waiting lists open for them.

The Freaky Fungus 4: Toby Harris, 47 Kingfisher Court, Bridge Road, East Molesey, Surrey KT8 9HN. (£1 including pp for 30 A4 pages)

This is quite a flash mag with each subscribers copy personally laser printed off - none of this photocopying malarkey. As a result the turnaround is slower, though under a week is still quite good. Toby seems to be a globetrotter using the merest mention of a Diplomacy Convention to go jet-setting off there, wherever it is in the world. Due to the personal devotion he puts into each copy Toby is only looking for those who want to actively participate, that is, either play in a game or profusely write. This issue carries a convention guide including brief descriptions of forthcoming conversions, and a report-back from the World Dip Con VII that took place in Sweden. Finally you can't mention TFF without mentioning it's Team Diplomacy Tournament. This is a game where you choose a team from real players. The scoring is based on how well these real players do at face to face Diplomacy events in the UK.

The Tangled Web We Weave 2: Stephen Agar, 79 Florence Road, Brighton BN1 6DL. (£1.25 including pp for 28 A4 pages)

This is a bi-montly chat zine that Stephen started when he decided to fold Spring Offensive. Initially aimed at being a UK version of Diplomacy World, it already has one standard game running (hidden under the disguise of being a demonstration game!!). When SpOff actually did fold, all its Dip games went to Carpe Diem. Now that CD has has to "go on hold" these games are going back to Stephen. I guess the question has to be asked - will we see SpOff 51 ? Or even "Son of SpOff: the subbers revenge". This issue continues with the "UK Zine Encyclopaedia", now on the second letter of the alphabet. The little scanned images of a cover from each zine is a nice touch - a useful addition though would be to scan in a whole zine and stick it over each entry, that way you could read the encyclopaedia entry and then scan over a typical zine. Oh, I hear this is planned in "The UK Zine Encyclopedia CDROM" version. T²W³ is another place to look if you are interested in variants; this time we have Scorched Earth, Stonehenge II, and Seismic Diplomacy.

Diplomacy

Chetan Radia, Middx.
Thanks for GAME 10. It seems as if you'll never run out of variants to print! Keep it up.
NC: Well I did say there were thousands - I don't think I was exaggerating either!
Oh, as for your idea of Chaos Hundred, it's probably better than the normal 3-player game. Probably worth a go, though personally, I don't like the variant too much. I prefer 2-player or 5+ player games I suppose.
NC: The standard Hundred seems fine over email, because it's a quick game, with intense Diploming. Intimate Dip has no diploming, and so I suppose slower postal games, benefit from longer games where the diploming can develop at various stages? I will probably start some lists for bigger variants, e.g. Modern Diplomacy (or even the Woolworth version) - care to play, or even to GM, so I can play!

The Zine

James Pinnion, Spilsby.
Are you going to do "The Car Quiz" in GAME - I'll have to start brushing up for the written test over the summer holiday (I'll be 17 in October - freedom!
NC: I'll start it soon (now I have this long bank holiday off, I've time to finish most of the zine). It's amazing "where" people live relates to their pursuit of getting a car / motorbike. Coming from an inner city area there was no "need" to rush to learn to drive, and many people who learn early are often driven by the idea of "ownership" of something, or getting a skill. People living out in the sticks are usually driven by the idea of "access". I've known quite a few people who learnt as soon as they were 17 because of where they live { the local bus timetable is written in terms of 'days' as opposed to 'hours' and 'minutes'}.
I didn't notice the 15 as in 'Last Issue 15 (plus 10p). Come on, make some effort to read my writing - the printer's coming soon, but until then it's "fifteen" and "Amos Keto"! (And "attacks" in SOD, but I think that was spelling rather than reading - use the spell checker!).
NC: No your "Keto" does still look like "Kets" - it's more like a true hand-written 's' (maybe I should scan it in!). I didn't think my spelling was that bad, especially as I only have a CSE in English. Any way what do you want a zine that is turned around in a weekend or one with no spelling mistakes and a 9 day turn around.

Nigel Quinn, Birmingham.
Thanks for Issue 9 as a sample which made an enjoyable read. For some reason I started from the back and worked forward so it wasn't until I reached your editorial page that I learnt that you are - horror of horrors - a Liberal Democrat! Apart from their tax hike plan there aren't too many of their policies I agree with and as for their grovelling approach to the EU (a.k.a as the Franco-German combine)... words fail me.
NC: There's an idea - print a zine back to front. So you are one of these people who misunderstand the idea of federalism in Europe. In most of Europe 'federalism' means 'devolution of power', giving power to local communities - the exact opposite to what has happened in this country in the 1980's & 90's. Also people in the UK have been given the idea, mainly from the former government, that federalism means centralisation of power.
Still no-one's perfect and if I can stomach John Marsden's regular party political's and stick with Ode I don't see a difficulty in this case. Therefore if you are agreeable I would very much like to subscribe and enclose a cheque for £6.
NC: My zine is far less political, or has been in the past. Issues 9 & 10 were obviously tainted by election fever. Mind you politics affects everyone, whether they admit it or not, so maybe there will be more in the future.

Colin Hobbs, Tottenham.
It appears from your reply to Toby Harris that I have missed your letter deadline.
NC: Well snippets like this are useful for plugging the small gaps.

Nerdz Zone (aka Computers)

Chetan Radia, Middx.

I bought a PC - a 200MMX with loads of memory and hard disk - should keep me going for a short while. I'm also getting a cable telephone later this week (already have cable TV). This'll be particularly useful as I can go for an Internet Service Provider who has cable telephone - costs from cable to cable are cheap, and between 8pm - 6am (or was it 6pm-8am?, weekend, and Bank Holidays its free! Given that I'm at work during the day, it means my phone bill will be 0.
NC: Didn't I say wait until November when the price of MMX will drop! Then again the longer you wait, the cheaper a specification becomes, but Intel are planning to bring out the next generation of processors for June, which means about November {MMX came out later than announced}. If you find an ISP on cable you'll probably be unable to get on due to the traffic!! Demon Internet opened a POP (Point of Presence - the point you dial in to) in Hull - local calls there are (were??) 5p no matter how long you were on. They found that all their lines got jammed as people left phones connected permanently, so they had to close. More recently an ISP offered an 0800 POP and got completely inundated with people joining.
Now I'm looking for a printer - so many to choose from. I'd ideally have a colour laser, but there's no way I can afford one! I might get a desk-jet or something similar.
NC: I've just got a new laser printer at work HP6L,does 6 pages a minute with dual paper trays - under £400. You'll have to decide how much printing and of what type you will be doing. Colour bubble jet printers are very good and only cost a few hundred. You get practically laser quality, though not the speed. If you have a grand, get a B&W laser and a colour Bubble Jet.
I've had a change in job - same company, different role. I was a developer for 2½ months, but I am now working in "Client Services". It's for three months; the idea being that if I understand clients and their needs, I'll be a better Developer for it. In theory! What they fail to realise is that I understand client requirements more than I understand development! Should be interesting.
NC: You'd better not tell Jimmy H you're a "developer" and now in "Client Services" - his camera will get steamed! Many companies are converting to use just in-house developers with the computer market changing. People are looking for new ways to 'gain the edge' - maybe this is just the latest?

General

Chetan Radia, Middx.
A message to Kath Collman. I DON'T LOOK LIKE MARK STRETCH!! I can't help it if he looks like me though. Even if he doesn't. Well not much.
NC: Is it true you plan to double up at ManorCon?

Wayne Read, Ongar.
Here's a quote from Tom Clancy's latest book 'Executive Orders'
President of USA: "What do you call it when the head of another country lies right in your face?"
Prince of Wales: "Diplomacy."
Thought you might like it.
NC: Found this letter on the side, so it's a little bit late!

Colin Hobbs, Tottenham.
A majority of 2 (as in Winchester) is the smallest at a General Election since the 1918 Reform Act. Having accepted the result the outgoing Minister, Gerry Malone, has now decided to challenge the result. They only had the one recount, some ballot papers were missing the official mark and 'te tellers were tired'. He should have thought of that at the time. The court will have to decide whether to up-hold the result or call for another recount (the ballot papers are stored in the Clock Tower at Westminster) or another election.
NC: They should up-hold it, to keep in-line with past decisions i.e. at the Euro Elections a Literal Democrat stood 'darn souf' and got a large vote (because people confused the candidate with the Liberal Democrats), that stopped the LibDems taking the seat. I'm running out of space, so you can have one more paragraph, the other 15 will have to be left out this time. Still, you should write in earlier.
It seems that A.J.Flint won Ilkeston by 2 votes in 1931 as well, so there you go. And H.E.Duke had a majority of 1 in Dec 1910. Between 1872 and 1949 the Returning Officer, if a registered elector in that constituency, had the casting vote in the event of a tie. Now if there is a tie, as seems to happen quite a bit in the local elections, they 'draw lots'. It is decided on the toss of a coin or the drawing of a straw.

The Bletchley Debacle

Being a person, willing to stuff practically anything in to fill the column inches, the following story was welcomed with open arms. The question is that either the diplomacy vigour of the '70s and '80s the old dodders rant on about is not dead, or is a pest that is spoiling the hobby for the people concerned.

This story revolves around Bletchley the game of Diplomacy (no it's not a variant like Enigma that just happens to be named after one of my standard Diplomacy games, it's the standard game I'm on about) that in the last adjudication caused two people to NMR, and another two to not update provisional orders to include builds. A short letter was sent to most (if not all) players pertaining to be from me telling them there was an extension to the deadline. This was only the start.

I'll briefly explain what happened, as far as I know (I have been sent a NFP letter from one player explaining why another player is the culprit, why I'm not sure - too extend the misinformation, or the effect of the ruse - or an honest opinion??), and then some thoughts on the role of forgery in postal Diplomacy. The two letters (I'll explain the second in a bit) have been included here for reference.

The turmoil started just after GAME 10 went out, when I received a phone call informing me of the letter {although I had a message from one player before hand, who never got back to me when I asked "why did he think I'd told him I was on holiday?" - and assumed it was a mix-up because it was that I worked at a University). This is the first time I have come across a situation like this personally, and since there was nothing in my House Rules to cover this, was unsure what to do. Finding out that the letter was a forgery obviously had an affect on the players. A second letter soon appeared informing people that the season would be re-run, since it was a different style I think it had again fooled some players. After this letter I had been asked to, and decided to, re-run the season, since it seemed to be the way of quickly stopping it.

Maybe you think a GM should not get involved at all? I was willing to carry on, and leave the first as a "clever ploy", but the ruse was obviously continuing. If it caused a player to NMR twice they would be out of the game. If they were getting continually duped, maybe they'd even drop out of the hobby. People in the past have dropped out totally due to bad experiences, such as nasty offending letters. Playing postal Diplomacy is a hobby, and is supposed to be an enjoyable one, but some times people take it too seriously. A bad stab (or should that be a good stab??) can momentarily throw you, but continued hassle obviously makes you ask if it's all worth while. The question depends on what you think the role of a GM is. One who purely adjudicates turns in a blinkered fashion, or one who tries to ensure the game is run in a fair manner.

I received objections about my decision to re-run the season (from at least two players), a minor point that one stated changed my mind - their main point didn't. The minor point was that the other players now knew what they were planning to move, this triggered something from my memory - and that was a season cannot be re-run once done because people already know the outcome. So rather than fuel the confusion further I'll hold the game over this time. It has been a intriguing time for me, having not previously being thrust into such a situation. Maybe I should have decided from the start that everything carries on, but I was mainly trying to get the overall feel of the players, as well as develop my own opinion on the topic.

I guess forgery is a part of the game, but it surely has defined limits? Deception of the GM, e.g. pretending to be another player, or playing two countries from different addresses, is definitely a forbidden act. I think that is a universal belief, but it has grey boundaries. Clearly forging orders from a player is not allowed, but what about forging of things from the GM? In the postal hobby an editor will usually let subscribers know of any changes by sending them a letter. This was showed recently when the diplomacy zine The Ides of March was held-over (the whole zine will be delayed for a full five weeks i.e. until the next natural deadline), because the editor is in hospital. Now people were told this by letter (mine was three days later than most other people and so I had already phoned up to check about the zine, by the time it arrived), which is I guess how most editors would do it. Surely if you received such a letter, you'd believe it was genuine without question, and not think it some elaborate ploy by a fellow player in one of your games - or are you naturally that paranoid?? Should it be natural that you accept all letters and zines from the editor/GM are genuine, or are they likely candidates for forgery?

As far as Bletchley goes, it only worked because the players concerned often leave it until the last moment before sending in orders. Don't think that just because you send in orders quite early, that you won't be caught out - after all there numerous techniques to separate a feline from its fur - or there is more than one way to skin a cat. Here is one such ploy {not to be used!!}. You could send out a fake letter (supposedly from the GM) just after the zine went out telling people you've (the GM) just split up with your wife and had to move out, and to send orders to a new address. You don't have a phone yet, and orders are not to be sent to your old address as your wife will just shred them up. Wouldn't you comply with such a request, especially as of it being such a personal nature. You may well feel obliged to write a consoling letter, especially as Diplomacy, and more-over editing a Diplomacy zine, has known to put stresses on a marriage / relationship enough to cause players to drop out or stop editing - "you spend more time on that bloody thing, than you do with your own children" kind of thing. Isn't this game devious enough without having to dissect each zine and GM's letter to see if its genuine.

The Replies

Wayne Read, (Turkey).
Here are the two letters that have caused so much hassle, I'm glad you decided to re-adjudicate, it keeps the game on an even keel. I was going to write a letter about the whole thing but there doesn't seem much point anymore.
NC: Well as you'll gather I'm no longer doing it. There is the point that you can't re-adjudicate once people have seen the moves. If you were to have a short term mishap e.g. minor accident just before the deadline that stopped you submitting orders. You could not then re-adjudicate afterwards, no matter the reason. The only way would be to holdover the game, which many ungrateful sods would complain about, or phone NMRers, which again some ungrateful sods would moan at.

Mark Ward, (Italy).
To be quite frank I don't know what the hell is going on with Bletchley. I am disgusted at the actions of the person responsible for misleading his fellow players. I have considered stopping all involvement by me in Bletchley but this would serve only to help the person responsible and harm the general "spirit" of the game. I consider this deliberate misinterpretation to be cheating, not "a clever move" as one of my fellow players thought it was.
NC: It is a grey area, and is a very rare activity. An inherent property of Diplomacy is to encourage devious play, and behaviours that would be frowned upon in real life.
If you are re-running Autumn 1904 then my orders stand the same as they were the first time. This has ruined the game for me and what is annoying is having France (Mark Sherratt) write and accuse me of being responsible. What evidence is there to suggest this? I am very angry, I am even considering quitting the hobby over the childish antics of Sherrat etc.,
NC: Some people have said it has injected life into a game that was quietening down. I hope you do not quit, since it is only one small part of the hobby. A good player would surely use these going-ons to their advantage. If I was in such a game I would use it as a lever to rally people together and change the game's direction.

Mark Sherratt, (France).
This is going to be a letter with a number of questions, but I bet you get a load from fellow Bletchley players this turn. I would like firstly to congratulate the "fake GM" whoever sent out the change of deadline letter was a genesis. I can say from the stand point of not being caught out because of my provisional orders. I was wondering why you disbanded Germany's A(Sil) rather than A(Rhur) since they were both non-centres, and both 1 move away from two home centres and if you get rid of A(Rhur) I would be in a better position (France)
NC: From my standpoint the first letter was a bit flimsy, but it caught out all those that do not send orders in until the last moment. If there is a moral, it is to send in provisional sets. Waiting until the last moment is asking for trouble. On the German disband, its "random" when they are equidistant, so there was a 50:50 chance of it being Ruhr. It's the same with country allocations in game starts. In Humint three people put France first, one person who didn't get it had only put "F", so obviously thought they would get it. Just putting one country means the other six are 'equal second'. In a game I played face-to-face, two of us had placed Russia first, I got it and the other got their sixth choice {as the other countries were higher up on other peoples lists}.

Jimmy Cowie, (England).
From your letter, I'm assuming that it's yours, it would seem that there is to be a re-run of the previous (A04) season. To contrast this view, Mark Sherratt (France) seems to think that last season stands. I am of the opinion that it should stand also but I will obey any decision that you take. I have diplomed both situations and have orders to cover both options so whatever decision you make will be all right with me. It must be fun being GM.
NC: Since there is a lot of confusion over what is happening I am holding the game over. Since what has happened has resulted in an adjudication for A04, we will have to stick by it. My main concern was to stop any proliferation of this. Whilst initially wanting to carry on I decided on re-run might kill the scam dead, now I am hoping this article will.

The Outcome

Now that Bletchley has been held over. The question is what to do generally on forged letters. If I say its fine, we'll probably see a swathe of them, though maybe no-one will fall for them after this. The obvious problem is will people believe any genuine GM letters in such a situation? The obvious way ahead in that case would be to say people should not use them. Now obviously it would be hard to find out who the culprit of any future incident (unless six people NMR'd! - but then what if the culprit NMR'd to frame someone else?), and then wouldn't the GM going on a witch-hunt probably spoil a game. Since trying to enforce anything like this would be hard, and I would assume people are divided on whether this type of tactic is a good thing or not, then by publicising it this way, most of you should not fall for such a ploy in future.

I find the various ploys diplomacy players get up to interesting, though this causes me a problem as GM, since as a result I may not be quick in resolving the matter. Still you should remember it is a game, and one where it is within the boundaries of the game to do things that are not acceptable normal behaviour.

A tale of the behaviour found in diplomacy, was a group of friends who played at regular times, continuing from where they left off. One player found out that one of his friends in the game was having an affair. He then used this information to get game long support and go on to win the game. What happened to the 'friends' after the game I do not know - was this an actual occurrence or one of those diplomacy folk tales? It is possible to take this game too seriously, and step over the acceptability threshold. Surely after a few turns you could assess your opponents, decide which are the weak and harass them until they either give-in or drop-out, but this is not what I call part of the game.

This incident has highlighted one hole in my House Rules, and that's the area of GM deception. So I've stuck a new House Rule in (see the back page). This is if someone sends me something "pretending to be someone else". If someone sends in a false set of orders then, if I already have a set of orders in from the true player I should be able to confirm with the player by phone before adjudicating, but if I do not have a second set then I will not accept new orders. This should be easy to tell as they will be uncharacteristic i.e. one set (the real ones) will undoubtedly be attacking, whilst the false ones, retreating. If the forgery is so good I cannot tell the difference, then I will probably let them hold. However there is a penalty for anyone purposely deceiving me if caught - a sort of carrot and stick!

To aide you in detecting any forged letters here's "Nic's Guide to Common Sense"

• Avoid getting orders in at the last minute. A game cannot be re-adjudicated because you broke your leg three days before the deadline, and were unable to send off letters, or contact me.
• Compare "unusual" letters with those you have already got (or the zine if you don't have any letters), to compare their style. This is the way people write. In e-mail Diplomacy, you could easily forge typed words, but peoples styles are harder to forge.
• If you are uncertain about something, then phone.

As per usual normal Dip rules apply unless otherwise stated.

The first point is a player only sees their own orders adjudication and their own part of the supply chart. This can lead to some great bluffs when talking tp people like Turkey trying to convince England, France and Germany he's dead so they'll attack Austria and Russia.
Along with their normal units all countries have Spies equal to the number of their Home Centres they control, it was at this point the rules got unnecessarily complex. Spies report the location and Nationality of any units in the province the spy's in and all provinces adjacent to the spy. They also report the presence and Nationality of any spies in the same province as them and the presence but not nationality of spies in provinces adjacent.
Spies move as armies, yes you can convoy them, except they can't be stood out of a province in any way, this means they can "stack" in the same province with armies and fleets of any nationality.
They can also embark on any fleet without "permission to board", you cannot switch fleets at sea. To change fleet you must disembark to a land province then embark on a new fleet on the next Spy movement phase. A spy may remain with a fleet for as long as it wants.
It's at this point you start to wonder how you can get rid of these pests fromyour fleets and armies, to do this you have two options.
A fleet or army may search for spies of a specific nationality in the province they occupy, if there is any there the spy(s) are captured. Units capture all spies of a specific nationality in the province and are informed that they have done so, this being the only exception of fleets and armies being blind. If spies are captured the owner is not informed, communication is just cut but this can lead to some interesting press.
The other option is assassination by one of your spies. The idea is the same as other units searching for spies except that it is possible for mutual assassinations to happen. The owner of the spy is informed when the spy is killed.
The biggest difference in the game is anything to do with spies is done every season, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. This includes fleets convoying spies and armies and fleets searching for spies as well as the spy movement, reports and assassination. It is the summer and winter seasons I;ll be running between issues and should only concern spies movement, reports, etc. Spring and Autumn will be issued on flyer with GAME and will have normal adjudication of units as well as spy stuff.
This is a summary of the rules for Spy Dip and the full rules are in GAME 7 if you want to slog through them but most of the relevant stuff is covered here. I would advise looking through them if you want a game, to prevent any misunderstandings.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY (Simon Langley-Evans)
A(War) - Mos (FAILED, DISLODGED TO Ukr); A(Gal) - Boh; A(Ukr) - Sev; A(Bul) - Con (FAILED); A(Rum) s A(Ukr) - Sev; A(Bud) - Gal; A(Ser) - Tri; F(Alb) - Gre; A(Pie) - Tyr; F(Nap) - TYS; F(ION) - Tun (FAILED)

ENGLAND (Richard Scholefield)
F(NTH) s F(Lon) - ENG (CUT); F(Lon) - ENG; A(Wal) - Lpl (FAILED)

FRANCE (Susie Horton)
A(Par) Stands; A(Gas) - Mar; F(ENG) - Bel; F(WMS) c A(Spa) - Tun; A(Spa) - Tun (FAILED)

GERMANY (Steve Watts)
F(IRI) - Lpl (FAILED); A(Bur) - Mun; A(Bel) - Hol; A(Sil) - War; A(Pru) s A(Sil) - War; A(Den) Stands

ITALY (Simon J Canham - NMR!)
F(EMS) Stands

RUSSIA (Pete Duxon)
A(Fin) - StP; F(SKA) - Swe; F(Nwy) - NTH (FAILED); A(Lvn) s GERMAN A(Sil) - War

TURKEY (Jim Rowe)
A(Mos) s A(Sev) (CUT); A(Sev) s A(Mos) (CUT, DISLODGED TO Arm); F(Con) s A(Smy) (CUT); A(Smy) s F(Con)

Autumn 1905 Adjustments:
A: +Sev, Bul, Rum, Tri, Gre, Nap, Ven, Ser, Rom, Vie, Bud, -War = 11; No change.
E: Lon, Lpl, Edi = 3; No change.
F: Par, Mar, +Bel, Spa, Bre, Por = 6; Gains 1. Builds F(Bre).
G: Mun, Hol, +War, Den, Ber, Kie, -Bel = 6; No change.
I: Tun = 1; No change.
R: StP, Swe, Nwy, -Mos = 3; Loses 1. Removes A(Lvn).
T: +Mos, Con, Smy, Ank -Sev = 4; No change.
Press:

London-All: If I lose a supply centres next fall I will give them to the Russian. So the rest of you can back off and stop Austria winning - Clowns! Arsenic fudge cake is ready but there may be tea for two.

CMOT-Lon: How to win friends and influence people eh?

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY (Roy Burnett)
A(Alb) - Gre (FAILED); A(Rum) - Bul; A(Ser) s A(Rum) - Bul; A(Bud) - Tri; A(Gal) - Ukr; A(War) - Mos

ENGLAND (Jimmy Cowie)
F(HEL) - Den; F(NTH) s F(HEL) - Den; F(BAR) - Nwy; F(SKA) s F(HEL) - Den; A(StP) s AUSTRIAN A(War) - Mos

FRANCE (Mark Sherratt)
A(Bur) - Mun (FAILED); A(Bel) - Ruh (FAILED); A(Tun) - Nap (FAILED); F(TYS) c A(Tun) - Nap; A(Hol) s ENGLISH F(HEL) - Kie (MISORDER); F(GoL) - Tus

GERMANY (Geoff Kemp - NMR!)
A(Mun) Stands ; A(Ruh) Stands ; A(Kie) Stands ; A(Sil) Stands ; F(Den) Stands (DISLODGED - DISBANDED BY GM)

ITALY (Mark Ward)
A(Ven) - Rom; A(Rom) - Nap; F(ION) s A(Rom) - Nap

RUSSIA (Ian Lewis)
A(Fin) - Swe; F(Sev) - Rum; A(Mos) - War (FAILED, DISLODGED - DISBANDED NRO);

TURKEY (Wayne Read - NMR!)
A(Gre) Stands ; F(AEG) Stands ; F(Apu) Stands ; A(Con) Stands ; A(Bul) Stands (DISLODGED - DISBANDED NRP)

Autumn 1904 Adjustments:
A: Bul, +Ser, Tri, +Mos, War, Bud, Vie, -Gre, -Rum = 7; Builds A(Vie).
E: +Den, Nwy, +StP, Edi, Lon, Lpl -Hol = 6; Gains 1. (No build ordered)
F: Bel, +Tun, +Hol, Par, Por, Spa, Bre, Mar = 8; Builds A(Mar), A(Par).
G: Mun, Kie, Ber, -Swe, -Den = 3; Loses 2. Removes A(Sil)
I: Rom, +Nap, Ven, -Tun = 3; No change.
R: +Swe, +Rum, Sev -StP, -Mos = 3; No change. (No build ordered).
T: +Gre, Con, Ank, Smy -Nap, -Ser = 4; Loses 1.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY (Anarchy)
A(Bud) Stands ; A(Ser) Stands ; A(Vie) Stands

ENGLAND (Weatherwax)
A(Bel) s FRENCH A(Pic) - Bur (MISORDER, DISLODGED - DISBANDED NRP); F(NWG) - NAO; F(NTH) - SKA; F(Nwy) Stands; A(Lon) Stands

FRANCE (Vick Sinex + The Nasal Sprays)
F(Tun) - ION (FAILED); A(Pic) s ENGLISH A(Bel); F(Spa) sc - MAO; A(Bre) s A(Pic); A(Mar) - Bur; A(Por) - Spa

GERMANY (Hans Neasundboompsadaisy)
A(Den) s RUSSIAN F(Swe) (MISORDER); F(Hol) - Bel; F(ENG) s F(Hol) - Bel; A(Ruh) s F(Hol) - Bel; A(Tyr) - Pie

ITALY (Vesper Panic)
A(Tri) s GERMAN A(Tyr) - Vie (MISORDER); A(Ven) s A(Tri); A(Rom) s GERMAN F(LPL) (MISORDER); F(IRI) - Lpl

RUSSIA (Dmitri Shostakovich)
F(Swe) - Nwy (FAILED); F(Rum) - Sev (FAILED); A(Mos) s F(Rum) - Sev; A(Ukr) s F(Rum) - Sev; A(Gal) - Sil

TURKEY (Rat M.)
A(Sev) - Rum (FAILED); A(Bul) s A(Sev) - Rum; A(Con) s A(Bul); A(Ank) - Arm; F(BLA) s A(Sev) - Rum; F(Gre) - ION (FAILED)

A Comment on NMR's. The House Rules state that someone who NMR's twice in a row will be placed in anarchy. A player who NMR's, moves, NMR's, moves, NMR's, moves, NMR's, moves, NMR's, moves - still plays, though probably has a bad position.

This time though the Austrian player has NMR'd twice in a row!

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY (Paul Barker)
A(Ser) - Gre (FAILED); A(Bul) - Con (FAILED); F(AEG) s A(Bul) - Con; A(Pie) - Ven; A(Tri) s A(Pie) - Ven

ENGLAND (Chetan Radia)
F(Lon) - ENG; F(StP) nc tries the local vodka; A(Fin) - Swe; F(NTH) - Den (FAILED, DISLODGED - DISBANDED NRO); A(Nwy) s A(Fin) - Swe

FRANCE (Mark Wilson - NMR!)
A(Pic) Stands ; A(Mar) Stands ; F(Por) Stands

GERMANY (Steve Ade)
A(Ber) - Sil; F(Hol) s F(Den) - NTH; A(Bel) - Bur; F(Den) - NTH; A(Mun) - Tyr (FAILED); A(Kie) - Den

ITALY (James Trotter)
A(Ven) - Tyr (FAILED, DISLODGED TO Rom); A(Gre) - Alb; F(ION) - Gre (FAILED); F(Nap) - ION (FAILED); F(Apu) - ADS

RUSSIA (Paul Hughes)
F(Swe) - BAL; A(Lvn) - Pru; F(Rum) - BLA; F(Arm) s F(Rum) - BLA; A(Sev) s F(Arm)

TURKEY (Mick Dunnett)
F(Con) s ITALIAN A(Gre) - Bul (MISORDER); F(BLA) - Ank; A(Smy) s F(Con)

Press:
Lon-I,T: Start Working together!
Lon-CMOT: I'm not particularly good at ftf you know
CMOT-Lon: I guess its those Stretchy looks
Lon-Mun: Hope we can work together
Lon-Par: What, don't you like getting builds?!
Kaiser Einstein-Captain Frenchie:- Get with the universe man: E.X.P.A.N.D!!!
St Petes Free Press:- Wosgoingon? Cold War already?!
CMOT-SPFP: Coo its too hot t'up north, maybe I'll visit ;-)

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY (Hathor)
F(Alb) - Tri (FAILED); A(Ser) Stands; A(Gal) - Rum (FAILED)

ENGLAND (Bony Stare)
A(Yor) - Hol (FAILED); F(NTH) c A(Yor) - Hol; F(NWG) - Nwy

FRANCE (Raoul)
F(MAO) - Spa sc; A(Bur) - Mar; A(Spa) - Por

GERMANY (noname 4)
A(Kie) - Hol; A(Ruh) s A(Kie) - Hol; F(Den) Stands

ITALY (The Sassanid)
A(Pie) s FRENCH A(Spa) - Mar (MISORDER); A(Ven) - Tri (FAILED); F(ION) - Tun

RUSSIA (Magratski)
F(Sev) - BLA (FAILED); A(War) - Gal (FAILED); F(GoB) - Swe; A(Sil) - Ber

TURKEY (Sheikh Eet Bay-Bee)
A(Bul) - Rum (FAILED); A(Con) - Bul (FAILED); F(Ank) - BLA (FAILED)

Autumn 1901 Adjustments:
A: +Ser, Bud, Tri, Vie = 4; Gains 1.
E: +Nwy, Edi, Lon, Lpl = 4; Gains 1.
F: +Spa, Mar, +Por, Bre, Par = 5; Gains 2.
G: +Hol, +Den, Kie, Mun -Ber = 4; Gains 1.
I: Ven, +Tun, Nap, Rom = 4; Gains 1.
R: Sev, War, +Swe, +Ber, Mos, StP = 6; Gains 2.
T: +Bul, Con, Ank, Smy = 4; Gains 1.

Builds/Disbands:
A: Builds A(Bud).
E: Builds F(Edi).
F: Builds F(Bre), A(Par).
G: Builds A(Kie).
I: Builds F(Nap).
R: Builds F(StP) nc, (No valid build ordered).
T: Builds F(Smy).

New Card = last card

Malcolm Cornelius (NMR)
Team: The Dream Team
A. Prescott 10, 4, 3, 7
B. Benn 8, 3 4
C. Skinner 5, 3 8
D. Livingstone 4, 3 3

Jimmy Cowie Team: Fat Cats
A. Fat Bob 5, 3 3
B. Black Bob 15, 6 13
C. Uncle Bob 8, 7 10
D. Too Bob 7, 3 7

James Pinnion Team: Clan d'estine
A. Paul D'over 13, 6 4
B. Lumberjack 7, 5 3
C. Amos Keto 3, 3 4
D. Hugo First 3, 1 8

Chetan Radia Team: "...and so is Michael Fish"
A. Michael Fish 15, 6, 6, 15
B. John Kettley 15, 8, 16
C. Ian McCaskill 12, 4, 13
D. Suzanne Charlton 10, 4, 17

Mark Sherratt Team: Apocalypse
A. Mr Death 15, 7, 2 7
B. Mr Pestilence 15, 6 6
C. Mr War 9, 3 5
D. Mr Famine 7, 4, 10

Paul Simpkins Team: Les Escargots
A. Michel Zut 15, 3 8
B. Jacques Atac 8, 8 3
C. Alex Terieur 7, 7 7
D. Alain Terieur 6, 5 10

The Turn 1 rule was queried. Apparently the board game uses "5 or more". I queried this with John Harrington (the games Author), he says if he put "3 or more" it's a mistake and should either be "4 or more" or "5 or more"
Since I have already started this game, then last turn stands. The next game will use "4 or more".
Points from the Rules (9.1) NMRs cause the highest card to be played, and (7.8) says the leader only gets the breaking away bonus for the turn they break, then they get 3's

The Answers given with number of occurences in brackets were:

National Chain store: BHS 6, Boots 3, B&Q, Budgens, Barratts, Bi-ite, Bondage Ltd, Belfast Linens, Burtons 1.

Telecoms Company: British Telecom 6, Bell 5, BSkyB 2, Britelec, Border TV 1, Brixton BC 0!

Shape Box 3, Bulbous, Balloon 2, Block, Bezigon, Brick, Blob, Barrel, Bend, Ball 1, BBCircle, Baboon 0.

Dip Province: Berlin 4, Belgium, Barents, Baltic, Bulgaria, Burgundy 2, Budapest, 1

A word : Brontosaurus, Bourgeoisie 2, rest 1.

Three Letter Abbreviation : BBC 4 BHS 3, BST, BOC, BSI, BOT, BMW, BMA, BCF, BCS 1, BSC 0.

Well Simon snatches the lead back in what looks to be a neck and neck race. The rest of the top five keep there positions but bunch closer to the front.
Simon (64); Michelle (63); Mark(60); Paul(59); John(55) - just a mere 5 points in the top 4!!!

Notes:

Mark Sherratt needs to prove the word Bremsstrahlung exists for his 61st point. The same goes for Jame's Brucellosis
Our three NMR's last time were caused by the Bletchley fiasco. So I have decided to treat them as if they scored the lowest score last time (which was 3).
Last time I spelt Primitive wrong, but since I gave an example, then it wasn't ambiguous. Extracting the Urine gets a zero mark, as I said before.
C.Radia's Brixton Broadcasting Corporation, may be off Lenny Henry but is not real!
TLA's BCF=British Cycling Federation, BCS= British Computer Society, BHS=British Home Stores, BMA=British Medical Association, BOC=British Oxygen Company, BOT=Board of Trade, BSC=Bronze Swimming Certificate
Again I don't think BSC is "official" & seriously looks like EtU.

Category 1: Professional Sport

Category 2: Vehicle Manufacturer

Category 3: A liquid that comes in a bottle.

Category 4: A Wild Animal

Category 5: A material used in Clothes Manufacturing

Category 6: A descriptive word for the cast of Bay Watch.

This next round I have taken three categories from the BPD game running in CTR#9 (1,2,4). The answers for category 6 will be interesting, and show what your opinion is of the show the Americans decided was not worth continuing.

This game is drawing to a close and ends in issue 13. I was thinking of running a By Popular Demand next time. Tell me what you think. Alternatively I could go for a different word game.

Steve Ade: -3 to Simon Langley-Evans who has suffered from gross political discrimination. Please note that this donation is totally unrelated to any questions that I may or may not ask in future. Any suggestion to the contary will be vigorously contested by 'me learned friend'.
Paul Barker: 1 point to Paul Hughes (Wild Sick was preferable), 2 points to James Hardy as watching this seems to pain him and 2 to Jimmy Cowie for services to peotry.
Martin Buroughs: -2 off me.
Jimmy Cowie:
As married couples go
The Hortons seem to know
that girl and boy
so quaint and coy
should never be the foe
To me, it seems unfair
to pander to this pair
so to he and she
give two and three
and let others dare.
CMOT: Start of the rot?
Michelle Duncan:
to Jimmy, a non-existant 'roar',
I'm adding nothing to his score.
Another james can have the lot,
how about Pinnion, yes why not.
Neil Duncan: A Full 5 points to Dave H (Havoc) for being so cheeky in his last issue. I wonder if a sub-zine has ever been thrown out of a main zine before?
CMOT: Another 5 is it not?
NC: I don't know, but zine ed's have swapped place with sub-zine ed's. If "Catholic Horton" expands further, you'll only be doing the front & back covers.
James Hardy: 5 to Dave Horton. Look, if I want a bottle of washing up liquid I'll but it for myself
CMOT: one more 5 can it be..
Colin Hobbs: 5 points to Neil Duncan for breaking his faithful vow that he would assuage his guilt by taking points off me last turn
Paul Hughes: Please subtract three points from Kath Collman's score for being simply adorable (and for seeing off a certain smog dog)
S.C. Langley-Evans: 5 points to Dave Horton ---> time he was leaving.
CMOT: Now I make that three!
Sean McGinness: For weaselling out of being put out of the game and for being sad enough to count up everyone else's points, well, Colin's anyway, and mostly to make sure you stay out this time a full five points to James Pinnion.
Nick Marshall: 5 points to Colin Bleach for taking any politician seriously.
NC: Not as bad as those who think Labour will be a change from the Tories!!
James Pinnion: 4 points to Sean for not looking before leaping, and renegating on alliances in every game I've played him! 1 point to Steve Watts, who's ready for an early bath now?? (It's me again, isn't it! damn!!)
Richard Scholefield: 2 points to Steve Watts - because 3 points to Paul Simpkins for removing points from his own score again.
Mark Sherratt: +3 to Geoff Kemp again to push him over the edge. +2 to Sean McGinness since he's doing so well.
Mark Ward: take 2 off Geoff Kemp and 1 off Jimmy Cowie
Steve Watts: Who to upset this time, that is the question. I'll take the wimps way out. 2 points off my score please.
NC: Good job otherwise you'd of been out!!
CMOT: and an NMR as the fatal shot.

NMRs (+7 penalty)

Colin Bleach, Simon Canham, Kath Collman, Malcolm Cornelius, David Harris, Dave Horton, Susie Horton, Geoff Kemp, Paul Simpkins

Part 2: The Scores (those underlined go out)

Steve Ade (4), Paul Barker (4), Colin Bleach (28), Martin Buroughs (12), Simon Canham (15), Kath Collman (20), Malcolm Cornelius (20), Jimmy Cowie (7), Michelle Duncan (13), Neil Duncan (11), James Hardy (19), David Harris (25), Colin Hobbs (10), Dave Horton (27), Susie Horton (22), Paul Hughes (3), Geoff Kemp (26), Simon Langley-Evans (13), Sean McGinness(7), Nick Marshall (4), James Pinnion (28), Richard Scholefield (4), Paul Simpkins (15), Mark Sherratt (2), Mark Ward (3), Steve Watts (19)

New Players
Nigel Quinn (8), Paul Cockayne (8)

Newcomers join with an increasing penalty: Turn 3 start with 2pts, T4 with 4pts, T5 with 6pts and so on.
To Play: you can either add 5 points (in total) to other people OR subtract 3 points (in total) from other people or wimp out and take two from yourself.

Well I have this small space to fill, so I will put in a car quiz. Anyone think they're any good.

1. Name three warning signs that have black silhouettes of animals.
2. What does a sign showing a white R on a green background signify.
3. Give the meaning of the following three cycle signs:
4. a) a black cycle within a red triangle
5. b) a white cycle on a blue background
6. c) a black cycle in a red triangle
7. What should you always bear in mind as you approach a junction road?
8. Which road users are most at risk at junctions?
9. As you turn left into a side road, where should you position your vehicle?
10. You come to a road junction with a solid white line across your approach. The main road is clear in both directions so you do not need to stop. TRUE or FALSE?
11. You are turning right at a junction and a car approaching from the other direction is also turning right. How should you normally pass? Is it
12. a) Nearside to nearside
13. b) Offside to offside
14. c) Whichever is more convenient
15. Name two things that are not allowed in the area of zigzag markings before a pedestrian crossing
16. What must you avoid doing while waiting for pedestrians to cross?
17. What kind of stick would a blind-deaf person use?
18. Is there a time when you would be committing an offence by opening your car door?
19. Learner drivers are not allowed to drive at more than 60mph. TRUE or FALSE?
20. You are driving at 50 mph on the open road on a fine day when another car overtakes you and pulls in about 55 metres (180 ft) ahead of you. Do you
21. a) maintain your speed
22. b) Increase your speed
23. c) Decrease your speed
24. What is the maximum speed limit for vans exceeding two tonnes maximum laden weight on single carriageways. Is it
25. a) 40 mph
26. b) 50 mph
27. c) 60 mph

Send your answers in for the 4th July 1997.

This game start was sent out mid-way between deadlines. I currently have provisional orders from all bar Nigel Quinn. Can you please send me a (provisional) set of orders for Spring 1901 and Autumn 1901 ASAP Nigel. Cheers. 

Any deception of the GM, (e.g. sending in false orders, playing two positions, etc.) is strictly forbidden. Breaking this rule risks being expunged from the game, and your power placed in Anarchy

Standard Diplomacy Nick Marshall* (6 wanted).
Standard Diplomacy (Fortnightly turns): (4 wanted)
Alistair Coleman, Paul Simpkins*, Dave Wreathall
Intimate Diplomacy & African Sunset: see The Intimate Art
Hundred Diplomacy: None (closed)
Breaking Away (Cycling game): Geoff Kemp, James Pinnion (4 wanted)
Spy Diplomacy Simon Langley Evans, Paul Hughes (5 wanted)
Grey Gunboat: Anonymous Dip with anonymous press Two (5 wanted)
Enigma Diplomacy (Codebreaker): Two (5 wanted) 
Octarine - Disc World Diplomacy Simon J Canham, (7 wanted)
ManorCon Team (GQ or GCHQ): Re-opened. (3 wanted)
Nic Chilton, Geoff Kemp, Ian Lewis, Wayne Read
* = have preference list 

Final Snippet : This zine has (if you want to count them) a staggering 17,384 words!