Diplomacy arrived tournament-style to the Northern Great Plains for the first time as Sioux Falls, South Dakota, got its first-ever Diplomacy Tournament known as “Siouxpercon Stabathon,” which took place at the city’s annual fandom & pop culture convention, Siouxpercon. Nolan D., a local to Sioux Falls who frequently travels the country to play and teach the game, organized his first tournament as a GM in his own city. The tournament was structured in triathlon style with three rounds, one of each: classic Diplomacy, Era of Empire, and the Golden Blade.

Results of the tournament were held on a knife's edge during the final board with Arthur M. controlling Turkey and Max K. as the Netherlands in a game of Era of Empire. Both players were competing for the top board and needed to secure a solo victory to earn the tournament's champion plaque. However, unknown to Arthur at the time, one order for one piece would have dire consequences for his chance at the champion plaque, as he ordered his fleet in the South Indian Ocean to move to French-occupied Sumatra instead of the Dutch-controlled island of Java, which would have secured a solo victory, preventing a tie for 1st place. This would have brought his point tally to be one better than Max for the overall tournament. The Era of Empire board was tied in the end between Turkey and the Netherlands for 10 centers each. Fortunately for Arthur, his early expansion as Turkey was enough to break the tie and earn him a gold board top plaque for Era of Empire. In the end, Max would take home the Siouxpercon Diplomacy champion plaque because of this one move.

On the classic board, first-time player Dane S. took a solo victory as Turkey with 12 centers, earning him the gold 1st place plaque and a great experience as a first-time player. Dane’s game consisted of a one-on-one war with Austria, which was controlled by Arthur M. throughout the whole game. Dane’s Turkey would remain largely unbothered as it slowly consumed the Balkans and the entirety of Austria to secure him the solo win.

The Golden Blade was the first round to be played with Cooper K., Dane S., and Max K., all taking a shared 3rd place; Arthur M., earning 2nd, and Jaime K., securing first place with strong help from one of his neighbors. In total, the gold plaques were distributed evenly throughout the weekend, with 4 separate players taking one home from Sioux Falls’ first-ever Diplomacy tournament.