Hi David, the DVW yahoo group is dying as the Diplomacy community has generally shifted away from yahoo groups. I think this site in any case makes for a better home for such discussions.

Regarding your variant, I think the 10th century lends itself well to a Dippie scenario. I myself have considered doing a Diplomacy-Point variant set roughly at the same time, albeit confined to Europe and its periphery.

Must say the powers are awfully far apart and hence the game's going to be quite long. And stabs seen coming earlier than in other variants?

You apparently have made a deliberate effort to avoid Balkan-type battlegrounds that have many adjoining SCs. How come?

In terms of game philosophy we also differ in that I am wary of a 50%+X victory condition for bigger variants. After all, I'm just not a fan of long endgames.

As a fan of more compact variants, I'd have gone with 3 SC powers rather than them having 4.

BTW, how come Hungary isn't a major power? They were very strong at this juncture in time. We Germans sure had our hands full keeping them halfway at bay until the battle of Lechfeld.

Enjoy your upcoming playtest. I've heard good things from some of those who've had first-hand experience with Known World. But why don't you keep it here on DC, so you get some nice stats over time? Or are you trying to tap into another community to spread the word?

Cheers,

Charles