Owls Diplomacy games

As info for those who expressed interest.

Out of curiousity about mastering a game on the dpjudge I started the first Owls game in late 2004. The theme came to me from a book I like to use as a resource professionally, Frank Rivers "The Way of the Owl - Succeeding with integrity in a conflicted world."

One game led to another and before long I noticed some regulars signing up to the games. After a handful of games I designed a simple rating system based on the system used at the time in the Australian FTF hobby (cricket). Built a very basic spreadsheet and have been tracking results on it for the past 6 years. Created 'bands' for different levels of ratings - from white to black belt - shamelessly ripping off martial arts colours!

I also started to offer the stronger / more reliable players a 'reward' in the form of an invitational game with like players. These earned bonus rating points. To be honest, my allocation of time to the Owls series has reduced significantly and these games are now few and far between. Over years I have also lost touch with players as their email address shift - new jobs often result in lost contact and gmail starting up was a killer!

After the first year I found I'd gathered a sizeable database of players and floated the idea of an annual tournament, with three rounds. Created about 10 games for the first round and they filled very quickly. The most interesting 'innovation' (adapted from the chess swiss pairing system) was the 2nd and 3rd round seeding system, where I simply matched the players down the standings list into groups of seven. So players migrated toward others with similar results (ability?) creating many competitive and enjoyable games. This tournament is into it's 6th running (2011). The only entry condition has been participation in a public Owls game - but I have usually accepted newcomers who ask to join in.

In the early stages I was keen enough to start producing a monthly Owls newsletter with some player profiles and articles and results. The energy to continue this faded a couple of years back, but Charles Roburn (Diplomatic Pouch editor) keeps me on his mailing list for articles, which I'm very unreliable at producing. 

Looking back, the Owls series has developed along the lines of what I would like to play in as a player. It is open to everyone, just join a public game when it's available on the dpjudge. There's the stickiness factor of ratings list where it gives a reason to play again and again, and perhaps the motivation to try to improve as a player (become more owlish:). The tournament is competitive where you can test your skill against other top players as you succeed. 

In those keen early days I also set up a Yahoo Group. It is very quiet, but there's old newsletters and the Owls rating list filed there. You are welcome to look. 
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/Owls_Diplomacy/

In terms of my thoughts on the masters role and how to do it successfully. First up be reliable, answer your players queries, welcome the player to a new game. Be helpful particularly with newcomers as they get the hang of the email commands and interface. Be mindful of the dpjudge house rules, manage disputes professionally, remember what it's like to be a player and how much the game can hurt and teach. Remember it's a game and your role is creating a vehicle for people to play Diplomacy.

I should add, I only gamemaster on the dpjudge. I've found the Diplomatic Pouch interface very clean and easy to use, particularly when running 10-20 games at a time. The latest improvement where all press is stored and can be sorted is great. 

Perhaps a minor next addition would be a simple web-based method for players to set an absence. "How to set an absence" is the most common question I field from players.

Regards,
Thorin

PS: The games here led me into a more active role in the Down Under hobby and as part of the ANZ Exec team we will be hosting the 2011 World Diplomacy Championship in Sydney 1-3 October. There's time to plan your Aussie/Kiwi holiday of a lifetime (and play some Dip:)...
Link: http://daanz.org.au/wdc2011/index.php



 



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