''For the classical archaeologist, see John Boardman (archaeologist)

John Boardman (born September 8, 1932) is one of the most famous figures in the game of Diplomacy, having established the original play-by-mail setup and also the system of numbering each game for statistical purposes. These numbers, known as Boardman Numbers, include the year and a letter indicating sequence. For instance, 2004A was the first game started in 2004.

Boardman started the first successful postal Diplomacy 'zine, Graustark, in 1964. Soon Graustark grew from just a gameturn-report newsletter to a hobby activity similar to science fiction fanzines.

1932 births | Living people | Science fiction fans