Wasted Time

In a flash, I was 16 or 17, at my friend’s house round the back of King’s Cross, and trying to work out what in the world to do next. A link from Gwern had sent me to The Board Game of the Alpha Nerds, in which David Hill took his chances at a Diplomacy tournament. Those days, we didn’t know we were nerds, let alone alpha nerds. But we did play Diplomacy whenever someone could persuade their parents to let us have the run of the house for as long as it took. I don’t remember much about those games, and certainly none of the results. I know that I lied and was lied to, betrayed and trusted. It was a thrill to be awake and scheming long after midnight and the ride home though the lightening streets an extra treat. I don’t think our craze lasted long. The primary instigator went on to a career as a defence correspondent of one of the more right-wing English newspapers, the rest I long since lost touch with. Despite dabbling in Diplomacy, I never really got into other board games, mostly,…