The Actual Board Game

[asudevil]

I am told by someone who says they do know who won the auction that the person who has the game wants to remain anonymous.

Fair enough. Is the name someone that is recognizable that is "worthy" of the game?

[David E. Cohen]

I have absolutely no idea. But I am glad for Calhamer's family that it sold for so much. I actually thought it might go for more, since it is the holy grail of Dip collectibles.

[JimHacker]

I can't believe the present edition doesn't have even plastic pieces, but cardboard counters. Lame.

[NoPunIn10Did]

I can't believe the present edition doesn't have even plastic pieces, but cardboard counters. Lame.

It stinks, but I imagine they're trying to target a particular price point. Cardboard tokens are WAY cheaper than plastic.

What they should have done was make the cardboard tokens fit into little transparent stands so that they're more easily viewable on the board. As there can never be more than 34 units on the board at a time, they wouldn't have needed a full complement of stands for each player.

[JimHacker]

I can't believe the present edition doesn't have even plastic pieces, but cardboard counters. Lame.

It stinks, but I imagine they're trying to target a particular price point. Cardboard tokens are WAY cheaper than plastic.

What they should have done was make the cardboard tokens fit into little transparent stands so that they're more easily viewable on the board. As there can never be more than 34 units on the board at a time, they wouldn't have needed a full complement of stands for each player.

That would have been more logical. And easier to see probably. I've seen the cardboard one and there are the counters for the fleets and armies, but also other counters for ownership of the supply centers. Confusing. I'll stick to my vintage set for now.

[Mr.E]

My original set (late 70s, early 80s, I forget) is the UK (European?) version mentioned earlier from Avallon Hill with the plastic pieces and "gaudy" map - coloured rather than the geographic boards used the other side of the Atlantic. The first copy I bought had two sets of Russian pieces and no German pieces so I painted one set of Russian black using paint left-over from a set I had for painting an Airfix plane model (I never really got into Airfix models - too fiddly for my impatient self). Over time, the paint began to wear off so I bought another game of the same edition in the mid-80s, when I was financially independent. If I'd only simply bought a full set of German pieces... Oh well.

The second game I bought had information on playing by mail, with a flyer from Danny Collman, a UK hobbyist who was setting up a Dip zine for newbies (we weren't called "newbies" then, of course - waaaaaaaaaaay before that term became used widely) which adopted the name "Springboard". Many a long session spent typing out letter on a word processor (not what we'd label a computer these days)...

I believe Danny may now have moved on to play Dip in the great hereafter, which has made me experience a strangely melancholic feeling (and, if I'm wrong, will be highly embarrassing). Still, Celestial Diplomacy is a much more satisfying variant, I believe.

Now, anyone got a satnav that can get me out of Nostalgia Avenue?

[Custer]

Yeah, its called Vodka, it'll take you anywhere you want to go....

LoL

Custer