2020 has not been a kind year. How’s that for an understatement? I have personally dwelt quite a lot on the gloom and misery. It’s hard to talk about “2020” without acknowledging the COVID-19 pandemic, its effects, and other tragedies that have occurred this year. Before I change my tone to celebrate something positive in my life, I want to be clear to you, dear reader, that I am not insensitive to the general world situation.
If you’re ready to celebrate something positive in 2020 (or at least, be distracted for a little while!), continue on!
Today I’d like to talk about a candle of joy that has kept my spirit illuminated during a dark time: this blog! If you’re ready to read about some positive developments in 2020, you’ve found the right article! In this post, I’m going to tell you about BrotherBored’s many successes this year.
I’ll also review all the content published in 2020. There’s been a huge increase in how much content we’re producing here (and I do mean we!); this is your chance to make sure you didn’t miss anything.
Patreon and Ko-Fi
This blog underwent a major transformation in 2020: fans sent money to Your Bored Brother! Starting in May of 2020, Your Bored Brother got his first Patron on Patreon. A fan of this blog actually sent money to help cover the cost of the website! This experience permanently changed my emotional relationship to the work I put into this website. I published a post simply to express my joy…
Afterwards, I wrote a short call-to-action piece explaining what I might do with more sponsorship:
And some fans heard my call to action!
My patronage grew a little bit from that first dollar, and from June through December my Patreon page started taking in over $100 USD per month! According to the income chart I can access in Patreon, this blog’s Patrons sent over $1000 of patronage in 2020!
Patreon is a website where fans of artists can sponsor their work. I ask for monthly contributions, and I even give some perks to the Patrons who pledge more money! In 2020, I plan to publish some Patron-exclusive content as a reward for my more serious fans.
Consider becoming a Patron yourself! Even a symbolic $1/month pledge would give me an emotional boost to continue creating the content that you love. This blog gets more than a thousand visitors every month, but only a handful sponsor it. By the way, Patrons automatically get added to my Discord server with a special role!
My creative work also received additional sponsorship through a platform called Ko-Fi. To be perfectly frank, I think Ko-Fi and Patreon are kind of the same thing… At the very least, they are competitor “sponsor-an-artist” platforms. However, Ko-Fi works differently in that a fan sends a one-time donation (like a tip) instead of pledging a monthly amount. I’ve been using both platforms to accommodate the two types of sponsorship.
My fans left a considerable amount of tips in my tip jar in 2020—over $350! (or 118 coffees, as Ko-Fi puts it). When leaving a tip, a fan gets to write a little message. Perhaps one of the most pleasant surprises for me in 2020 was a fan who left a $50 tip on Ko-Fi after watching a video I created to answer his write-in question.
If any of my content has particularly entertained or helped you, consider sending me a tip. Even a “cup of coffee” tip would warm my heart. I benefits me immensely to know that somebody cared enough about my work to send a couple dollars.
I don’t actually buy coffee with the money!
All the money I received from Patreon and Ko-Fi has been reinvested into the blog. In 2020 I began creating content in a wider variety of media (such as YouTube videos and a Podcast—more on that shortly!), and I paid for the equipment, software, and data hosting I needed with the money from my sponsors. I also invested in some projects I plan to unveil in 2021 (more on that soon!).
Among my equipment upgrades was my acquisition of a green screen and an Adobe photoshop subscription. With help from my friend Lindsey, I created my own visual media to illustrate my articles and give a “look” to my content across different platforms.
Speaking of looks…
Meet BroBot, BotherBored’s Mascot!
In 2020, I created a mascot character for the website: BroBot! My family helped me create a costume and humorous photos to illustrate the articles! Here is a gallery of some of my favorite examples from 2020:
In addition to the photographs of me dressed up in my BroBot costume, I also got help making little 8-bit video game sprite images of the character as well. I’ve used those images as icons, social media avatars, and in some of the cover images for blog posts!
A few fans have told me that they are indifferent to or perhaps baffled by this mascot concept. Hahaha….that’s all right. Some people who like costumes and mascots (as Your Bored Brother does!) have affirmed my effort. I appreciate the feedback either way!
The main thing I’m hoping to accomplish by having BroBot as my mascot is to have imagery that is recognizable across platforms and content types. In 2020 Your Bored Brother joined all sorts of social media and created content on many different platforms. I am hoping that someone might recognize the image of BroBot and realize “Oh yeah, that’s BrotherBored, one of my favorite internet personalities!”
Speaking of Social Media…
Social Media
In 2020, made a serious effort to show up on social media platforms. I learned a lot about how sharing links to my content can help people find this blog who otherwise might have missed out!
There is a lot of extra commentary on these social media sites. Since you’re reading this post, I presume you are a fan of my work. If you use any of the platforms linked, consider following Your Bored Brother! I try to be as interactive with my fans as I can. I’ll follow you back, and respond to your comments!
Updates to the Website
It’s hard to represent updates to the website itself in either words or images. And unless you are a frequent visitor, the updates would be hard to notice. So you’ll just have to take my word for it, but I’ve been making (or using) a lot of under-the-hood updates.
For example, I added a plugin called “Visual Link” that allows users to create a hyperlink to another page that includes that page’s thumbnail and description. For another example, I familiarized myself with some of the newer WordPress features that allow images and text to be organized more dynamically (which I’ve learned is critical to getting a blog looking right in both desktop and mobile view).
I’ve considered using some of the sponsorship money to hire a professional web developer to make improvements to the site. In particular, the amount of content published on this blog is so vast I think the current interface may not be sufficient for users to find what they’re looking for. That’s something to look into in 2021!
New Articles by Your Bored Brother
I published a huge number of written articles in 2020—more than a dozen! And these articles are not short or shallow; my pieces are thousands of words and deeply explore each topic. As far as I can tell, I am the most prolific writer on the subject of Diplomacy by a wide margin.
And not only did I write a large number of articles, but each piece is easy to understand and yet dense with ideas. I have consistently heard from my fans that my writing style is clear and—to an extent—entertaining in itself. I am not reluctant to praise myself when I think I deserve it: I published a monumental amount of high-quality writing in 2020—mostly (but not entirely!) on the subject of Diplomacy.
I’d like to review some of my pieces published in 2020, in case you missed them! I’ll group the articles by theme (rather than order them by publication date).
Country-Specific Diplomacy Articles
I have developed a reputation as one of the best Gunboat Diplomacy players. Not only am I a strong player, but I am one of the only people to have written extensively about the variant. My two-part article A Winning Strategy for Russia (In Gunboat) is an After-Action Report about how I was able to solo win as Russia in a high-level Gunboat Diplomacy match—a feat so difficult I had previously doubted whether it was even possible. If you are interested in Gunboat Diplomacy at all, you don’t want to miss this series.
You’ve Never Used Turkey’s Best Opening—a piece I co-authored with a guest writer—received as much attention as two or three other articles combined (I can look at my Google Analytics and social media numbers!). I suspect at least two causes: (1) Diplomacy content consumers have a grossly disproportionate interest in opening move theory;[1]I’m interested in tackling the psychology of this some day. and (2) The title is such incredible clickbait. But truly, I think this is one of the best—if not the best—openings for Turkey, and in my 10-year Diplomacy career I have seen it almost not at all.
By the way…in the finals of the (virtual) World Diplomacy Classic, Turkey opened as described in our article—and won the tournament![2]If you want to learn more, the champion published a write-up in The Diplomacy Briefing yesterday!
And even as I throw some shade at Diplomacy players’ burning passion for opening move theory…I must admit that I added fuel to that fire myself, haha.[3]May as well give the people what they want!
My Gunboat Diplomacy Openings Guide for England is highly technical, and explains the implications of England’s possible opening moves from every angle. This is a must-read for beginner and intermediate Gunboat Diplomacy players. Please let me know if you like this kind of content, as I could create additional guides for the other 6 powers!
An Adventurous Diplomacy Strategy for Italy discusses an approach to Diplomacy that is perhaps uniquely viable to Italy. Inexperienced Diplomacy players tend to think of Italy as a weak power they’d rather not be assigned, but experienced players (like Your Bored Brother) tend to think of Italy as a strong, desirable power. There are many reasons for this, and understanding the “Adventure Strategy” (as I call it; though there may be other names) goes a long way in bridging the gap from novice to expert. I received a lot of positive feedback on this piece from players of every experience level.
General Diplomacy Advice
I started my “Solo Win Tip” series some years ago. I added this third entry to the series in 2020, and I look forward to continuing it in 2021!
If you want to go from merely being competent at Diplomacy to being a formidable diplomat, you simply must master the concept I articulate in Solo Win Tip #3: Get Strong Without Getting Scary. I have spent hours and hours across many years tutoring Diplomacy players, and once this concept “clicks” with them, I see significant improvement!
From time-to-time I get fan questions that are a bit more “meta” than improving one’s skill at Diplomacy; these are questions about how to approach playing Diplomacy itself. I think these are interesting questions…which is why I dignify them with thoughtful responses!
Diplomacy can be a soul-consuming game. This is partly because Diplomacy is intense, difficult, and personal. Diplomacy is as psychologically deep as a game can be. Diplomacy matches take up a lot of time (one face-to-face game can easily last the entire day, and online matches last months). My article on Diplomacy Fatigue is an interesting read about Diplomacy the hobby (it is not so much about Diplomacy the game).
Press Diplomacy Tips
I initially earned my reputation as a strong Diplomacy player through my success at Gunboat Diplomacy. Indeed, most of this blog’s Diplomacy content in the early years regarded Gunboat Diplomacy.[4]It’s not that I didn’t play Press Diplomacy; it’s just that I played and wrote about Gunboat much more often. But in retrospect, I can see that 2019 was a turning point for my Diplomacy career and my reputation as a commentator. In 2020, more than half my content was about Press Diplomacy!
Strange to say, this retrospective post about the early rounds in the ODC 2019 was published in January of 2020! My participation in the 2019 Online Diplomacy Championship—or perhaps more importantly, my extensive writing referencing my experiences in this tournament that lasted well into 2020—changed the expectations of this blog’s fanbase. In 2020, I received many thoughtful requests for Press Diplomacy content.
I wrote these three articles as responses to different fan prompts.[5]One article was from a fan who sent a question to the blog, and the other two were submissions to the monthly Patron topic raffle (a Patreon reward!). I don’t think I would have written anything like these pieces if I were not prompted by fan requests; I had previously assumed that fans preferred that I spend my effort writing about Gunboat Diplomacy.[6]There is precious little published on the subject of Gunboat Diplomacy. I no longer hold that assumption.
I received extremely positive feedback about these three articles. Many players reached out to me and told me that my advice has helped them win matches. A few fans even told me the advice has helped them in their everyday interpersonal relationships (such as the workplace)!
I personally consider my writing on the psychology of Diplomacy to be the highest quality content on this blog.[7]The tactical stuff about specific countries is definitely the most popular—I can see on my analytics that my basic content about specific countries is read the most often—but I think my pieces on the more esoteric aspects of Diplomacy are both more entertaining and more deeply educational. If you have not read these articles, I highly recommend you give each of them a read. For intermediate players, I think I’ve written a goldmine of advice. And even veteran players have told me that one or two of the tips had not occurred to them before.
At the end of 2019, I started a series of articles called “The Top 5 Reasons You Get Backstabbed.” I continued that series in 2020 with Reasons #3 (Servility) and #4 (Loose Lips).[8]I included the first two articles in the post carousel for the sake of completeness. Technically I published Reasons #1 and #2 in 2019. If you are trying to improve at Press Diplomacy, you really should read these two articles (and their predecessors from 2019).
By the way, I never got around to publishing Reason #5 in 2020! I have had a working draft going for almost year, but I am not yet satisfied with it enough to publish. Maybe that’s a BrotherBored article worth looking forward to in 2021!
Other Writing
In 2020, Your Bored Brother only published one essay that was not related to Diplomacy.
If you’re just here for the Diplomacy content, then you’ll probably give this essay a pass. But you would be missing out. I have gotten several messages from readers stating, unequivocally, that this essay about The Perverse Fantasy of Heroic Killing (and the rest of the essay series) is the best content on the blog.
Diplomacy Dojo (Podcast)
Early in 2020, I started a weekly meetup using the app Discord that I titled “The Diplomacy Dojo.” Over half a year later, the Diplomacy Dojo is still going! If you’re interested in joining, click here to check out our event calendar (which includes the Discord server invite).[9]Patreon Patrons automatically get added to the BrotherBored Discord server. The Diplomacy Dojo is all about improving our skills at Diplomacy!
After a few months of these weekly meetups, my own brother (the person who persuaded me to create this blog) suggested that we record the sessions and publish them as a podcast. And that we did! If you’d like to subscribe, you can now find BrotherBored’s Diplomacy Dojo on almost every podcatcher app and site! You can also stream the episodes here on this site:
After the recordings are edited down by 50% or more, the actual published podcast episodes are incredibly rich with high-quality advice and information.[10]Thank you to my spouse and editor, Jump_Soap. Churning out these podcast episodes would probably be impossible without your effort. We’ve published six episodes in 2020, with more in the pipeline. If you want to improve your skills at Diplomacy, you will not be disappointed by the Diplomacy Dojo.
I am proud that I branched out into audio content in 2020. Making live recordings and publishing a podcast is very different from typed blog posts. I had to get out of my comfort zone! Most importantly of all, I learned a lot about the technical aspects of producing and publishing audio content; now that I am comfortable with this medium, I can see myself starting more and different podcasts in the future.
Thank you so much to everyone who has participated in the Diplomacy Dojo in 2020![11]I would gladly thank you individually by name, but I didn’t get anybody’s permission, so I’ll just thank you as a group. You know who you are! Initially, I had no idea whether anybody would show up at all. As it turns out, many different people from all over the world appeared in the Dojo this year, some bending over backwards to make the time zone difference work out. Recently, I started scheduling some special one-off sessions of the Dojo to accommodate different schedules.
By the way, I personally listen to these podcast episodes after they are published. I thought I would hate the sound of my own voice, but I am actually just so interested in the discussions that I genuinely enjoy listening.[12]There is more than a month of lag time between when we record the Dojo sessions and when the sessions are published, so I’ve usually forgotten what we talked about.
YouTube Channel
I have wanted to publish video content for a long time, but in 2020 I finally made the time to create some! There is now an official BrotherBored YouTube channel, and the channel is slowly (but surely) accruing video content! If you visit the channel, please subscribe![13]A YouTube channel needs a certain amount of views and subscriptions before the creator can get paid for their work. I am really hoping to monetize my content some day if I can. Please help me out!
Having had minimal experience in video production, I had a lot to learn. However, I am a strong believer in learning-by-doing. So I decided that the best way for me to learn to make high-quality video content would be to start releasing some videos and ask for feedback from fans!
I think my strategy worked! Although some of my early videos are amateurish, they’re not worthless. And after a few tries, I think I managed to create at least one high-quality video. If you watch only one of my videos from 2020, watch this one:
I also created a video version of my always-popular Gunboat Solo Wins Introduction!
By the way, you can listen to the Diplomacy Dojo on YouTube if you like!
Media Wars
If you don’t know about Media Wars, click here to go to the landing page and learn all about it!
The Media Wars match—or more specifically, all 7 players publishing content based on that match—was a tremendous undertaking. I think the pandemic was a factor in the players having the free time and inclination to create this massive body of work. Lots of people the world over found themselves with hours of free time, day after day, week after week. I wonder if the Diplomacy community will ever produce anything like this in the future?
In any event, I am so proud of myself for completing this project. This will mark the third time I have recorded a contemporaneous journal while I played a Diplomacy match.[14]The first time was this gunboat journal, and the second time was this press journal. I can attest from these experiences that such an undertaking is not for the faint of heart. Just playing a high-level match of online Diplomacy is exhausting. The process of explaining one’s thinking in real time is perhaps twice as much effort over again!
I think the effort was worth it. Although I published my initial Media Wars videos months after they were recorded, that was actually the first video content I recorded for this blog. The schedule of keeping up with the match required me to sit down, night after night, and…you know….recording something! There was no way for me to procrastinate, or get distracted by my lack of video production skill. I had to do the best I could and keep moving!
I also received an incredibly positive response from fans. Let me share with you some feedback I received from a fan that warmed my heart:
Anyhow, what prompted me to think to reply (finally) is the Media Wars game. I have consumed all the content that is out and it is fantastic! I think your vlog of it is really great and probably the best all-around presentation. Each media creator had strong points: humor from DBN, intensive tactical analysis from Diplostrat, the group interview that Amby had, the creativity from Legendary Tactics, and the fact that GoHornsGo wrote theirs (which I prefer versus a video). VI’s wasn’t anything special but I’m glad he did it to share his perspective. The viewpoint from all seven players is really great.
Robert, Nov 22, 2020
I think it’s particularly fascinating how both you and Russia were worried/concerned about each other when not attacking each other in the midgame, unaware that the other player felt the same way! It makes me think about how we can look at others and think they have everything together, but in reality they are just as much of a mess as we are and we simply don’t see everything they are worrying about behind the scenes.
Yours had plenty of both strategy and personality. What I think sets yours apart (aside from a great balance of brevity, analysis, and personality) was the crown jewel: your wrap-up video. I think I told you this before, but the ability to self-critique is something that is very hard for people to do and you clearly do your very best to be humble and look for ways to improve (kaizen, if you know automotive/manufacturing jargon). Captain Meme did this to an extent at various points as he recorded his and those who did the podcast with Amby did it somewhat there as well.
I would say that your authentic example of doing what you advise others to do (as you mentioned you wanted to do in the interview podcast) was the most extensive reflection of anyone who participated and was quite excellent!
Generally for every provider, another thing I thought was really great is the raw emotion/reaction we could watch from you, England, and Russia because you filmed them (mostly) in real time. I know I feel a lot of the same emotions you three went through and there is something about seeing others feel the same way you do that brings connection.
In my opinion, the best thing that was present throughout the various channels is how well the players moved past their frustrations about (what is ultimately) a game. It seemed that each person was upset by another at some point and each person was professional in what they posted and (in their review) sought to understand why the other players did what they did instead of railing against them over past grievances (I’m assuming GoHornsGo will do something like this if/when he wraps up his). They didn’t wipe out and hide the frustration but they also moved past it and didn’t dwell in it forever. If our society could do this (move past grievances to try to understand what the other person thinks) then we probably wouldn’t have the drastic division that we currently have. We would have differences but without the normalization of the demonization of anyone who disagrees with what we think.
So, I would say this is yet another example of how games would benefit people in real life if they apply those principles (as we have discussed before). I should mention, I look for these types of things in everything (books, games, movies, sports, etc.). It’s part of my spiritual lifestyle, so maybe I see it in places that it’s not really apparently there for others.
If you think watching all of the Media Wars content is too much for you to handle, consider at least watching my wrap-up video that Robert so highly praised:
Guest Content
This website has always been open to publishing guest writers. However, in 2020 there was an explosion of content submissions! I am incredibly proud (and grateful!) that so many fellow players decided that this blog was the place for them to publish their ideas.
Seren‘s piece about stalemate line formation in Gunboat Diplomacy not only contains extremely informative maps, but it also contains experiential wisdom about what strategic situations give rise to a need to form a given line and the tactics of how to go about forming that line. I cannot imagine myself surpassing Seren‘s writing on this subject. This piece is a must-read for every Gunboat Diplomacy player.
VillageIdiot‘s piece on Advanced Diplomacy Maneuvers is one of the best writings ever published on the subject of Diplomacy tactics. I don’t say that lightly. I have frequently forwarded this article to new and intermediate players. Do not skip it!
Eden’s Diplomacy Dossier is a massive undertaking: Eden is writing a complete guide for each power in Diplomacy. These articles are huge, thorough, and not to be missed!
Eden’s analyses is not quite congruent to my own, but any reader will infer that we are thinkers from the same mold. Diplomacy experts have wide-ranging opinions, so when their opinions overlap, it pays listen to what they are saying. In the genre of “How do I play [insert country]?,” the early entries in this series are masterpieces. I can’t wait to see the rest of these published in 2021!
Martin’s Game is a full-on journal about a specific match of Gunboat Diplomacy! Although my own journal of a Gunboat Diplomacy match has been popular for years since its publication, once in a while I receive the feedback that my experiences in high-level gunboat matches do not translate so well to a typical pickup gunboat game. If you want to read through a thinking of a moderate gunboat player playing in a typical gunboat game (completed with missed moves!), well, you have the opportunity to do so! Martin‘s writing is easy to follow and the match was fairly exciting, so this is an easy read; don’t be intimidated by the journal length.
“A Tale of Two Nations” was an interesting experiment in After-Action Reporting in which I and one of my Diplomacy students (Erdmundr) played in the same match in a tournament. He kept thorough notes on the game, and I recorded a video on my own thoughts. We both experienced poor results, so that’s an interesting divergence from what I usually post about on this blog.
As with most pieces written about Diplomacy scoring, All Diplomacy Scoring Stinks generated attention and controversy.[15]Probably in no small part thanks to the click-baity title I chose for it! Everybody who has played Diplomacy at a high level has opinions about scoring, but BunnyGo brings an uncommon perspective. If you want to stimulate your thinking on the topic, give this a read.
How to Fix Russia’s Gunboat Metagame is an intriguing piece of strategic advice for Gunboat Diplomacy by BunnyGo. Although this article is not that long, and although the advice seems so specific, I myself have felt influenced by the thinking in this article ever since I edited it for publication.[16]For example, in the first several episodes of BrotherBored’s Diplomacy Dojo we kept bringing up the subject of the England/Russia alliance.
Guest Appearances
Diplomacy Broadcast Network
This year, Your Bored Brother appeared on the Diplomacy Broadcast Network (a relatively new YouTube channel that does livestreams, commentary, and news reports about Diplomacy).
One of my Diplomacy friends said that I look like “Edward Elric’s Dad.”
I think that character looks super cool, so I’ll take it as a compliment.
Diplomacy Games podcast
Your Bored Brother also appeared on three episodes of the Diplomacy Games podcast!
These episodes covered some very different topics:
- The first is an interview with me about the blog itself. If you’re interested to know more about Your Bored Brother (as a person), you might enjoy that episode.
- The second is a postgame discussion about the Media Wars match.
- The third is a discussion based on a fan-submitted topic: Diplomacy variants (other than Gunboat)!
Support Diplomacy Games on Patreon, like I do!
The Diplomacy Briefing
The Diplomacy Briefing is a newsletter regarding the Diplomacy hobby at large. With so many websites and so many tournaments in so many countries, it is really hard to keep track of it all! I, for one, depend entirely on the Briefing for this kind of information.
By the way, they feature Your Bored Brother’s content from time to time. In 2020, I authored a series of articles for the Briefing! Here are links to the issues (scroll down to get to my writings).
The Diplomacy Double Backstab
- Part 1: An Introduction to Stabbing
- Part 2: The Advantages of a Double Backstab
- Part 3: The Risks of a Double Backstab
- Part 4: How to Get Away with a Double Backstab
- Part 5: Protecting Yourself from a Double Backstab
Support The Diplomacy Briefing on Patreon, like I do!
What’s in store for 2021?
I have every intention to build on my achievements and publish even more content in 2021! You can look forward to more written articles, podcast episodes, and videos!
- New episodes of the Diplomacy Dojo podcast every 2-4 weeks!
- New articles published by Your Bored Brother each month![17]In fact, I have drafted over 50 (yes, fifty!) articles about Diplomacy. On top of those, I also have draft articles about other games, philosophy, and popular culture. These drafts are already uploaded to this site in varying states of completion. Every moment I find the time, I will sit down and … Continue reading
- New guest articles! Please reach out to me if you are interested in submitting something!
- Video content on Diplomacy, and perhaps other board games as well!
And not only will I publish more content, but I continue to improve my skills as a content creator and as a player of games. Something I love about intellectual skills like writing and gaming is that I can spend a lifetime honing my ability. If the content I have created in 2020 has impressed you, then get hyped for 2021!
Thank You Fans, Goodbye 2020
2020 was perhaps the most difficult year of my life, and I know millions of other people (and likely most of my readers) feel similarly. But it was not all bad, and I think focusing my attention on my life’s joys and my creative work has helped me immensely. In spite of the incredible personal stresses I have experienced, I can honestly say as I write this post that I am genuinely happy.
Thank you so much for reading this article and for visiting my blog. Whether you’re a fan who sends me kind words or a couple of dollars, or a fan who posts comments, or just someone who privately enjoys reading my work, you have contributed to my wellbeing.
Happy Holidays, and most of all Happy New Year!
The teaser ending…
You might find this hard to believe, but in addition to working full time, in addition to the massive amount of content I published this year, I am also working on board games of my own design!
In 2021, I may start sharing my game design ideas with you! I’ve used some of the money I earned from Patreon and Ko-Fi to pay for an artist (to create game art for one of my games) and a developer (to create a web version of another game!). We’ll see where this all goes, but one day I hope to hold a Kickstarter campaign to publish one these games I’m designing!
Footnotes
| ↑1 | I’m interested in tackling the psychology of this some day. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | If you want to learn more, the champion published a write-up in The Diplomacy Briefing yesterday! |
| ↑3 | May as well give the people what they want! |
| ↑4 | It’s not that I didn’t play Press Diplomacy; it’s just that I played and wrote about Gunboat much more often. |
| ↑5 | One article was from a fan who sent a question to the blog, and the other two were submissions to the monthly Patron topic raffle (a Patreon reward!). |
| ↑6 | There is precious little published on the subject of Gunboat Diplomacy. |
| ↑7 | The tactical stuff about specific countries is definitely the most popular—I can see on my analytics that my basic content about specific countries is read the most often—but I think my pieces on the more esoteric aspects of Diplomacy are both more entertaining and more deeply educational. |
| ↑8 | I included the first two articles in the post carousel for the sake of completeness. Technically I published Reasons #1 and #2 in 2019. |
| ↑9 | Patreon Patrons automatically get added to the BrotherBored Discord server. |
| ↑10 | Thank you to my spouse and editor, Jump_Soap. Churning out these podcast episodes would probably be impossible without your effort. |
| ↑11 | I would gladly thank you individually by name, but I didn’t get anybody’s permission, so I’ll just thank you as a group. You know who you are! |
| ↑12 | There is more than a month of lag time between when we record the Dojo sessions and when the sessions are published, so I’ve usually forgotten what we talked about. |
| ↑13 | A YouTube channel needs a certain amount of views and subscriptions before the creator can get paid for their work. I am really hoping to monetize my content some day if I can. Please help me out! |
| ↑14 | The first time was this gunboat journal, and the second time was this press journal. |
| ↑15 | Probably in no small part thanks to the click-baity title I chose for it! |
| ↑16 | For example, in the first several episodes of BrotherBored’s Diplomacy Dojo we kept bringing up the subject of the England/Russia alliance. |
| ↑17 | In fact, I have drafted over 50 (yes, fifty!) articles about Diplomacy. On top of those, I also have draft articles about other games, philosophy, and popular culture. These drafts are already uploaded to this site in varying states of completion. Every moment I find the time, I will sit down and finish up another one of these draft pieces. |
A small correction – the “C” in vWDC stands for Classic, not Championship. Us organisers didn’t feel it appropriate to unilaterally call the event a championship.
Keep up the good work and hope to see the blog continues to be successful in 2021.
Thank you my friend for your kind words! And I’ll correct that error momentarily.