uwsdiplomacy

Endgame

2010-08-19T04:40:00.001-07:00

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Builds are in.
Some countries are out.
Endgame.

Fall 1907 Adjustments

2010-08-10T20:23:00.001-07:00

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Retreat to Apu
Germany +2
Turkey +3

Fall 1907 - Almost endgame

2010-08-03T21:24:00.000-07:00

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Need a retreat from France.

Fall 1907 - Rdy for Orders

2010-07-13T19:16:00.001-07:00

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All retreating units destroyed. Retreat Phase skipped.
Rdy For Fall 1907 Orders.
Due ??????

Press:

All quiet on the Diplomatic Front? Seems all channels have gone dead. Perhaps that is inevitable at a certain point in the game but I feel in this instance it may be the war has gone on so long (five months!!), fatigue has set in. Might I suggest tightening up the amount of time between moves to put the spark back into our war rooms?

GERMANY

i apologize to everyone in the game for my absence. ordinarily i would never hold up the game this way. circumstances in my life have been unique the past few weeks as i just recently had a baby and have been traveling around the country introducing him to his family. i am back home now for a spell and hope to be able to pay more attention to the game and to communications from my fellow players. i am embarassed and chagrined at having been the reason for the lull in the game. please accept my humble apology.

perhaps people would like to speed up the game now that there are fewer remaining players. say two moves per week? more?

again, i apologize,

dave

Spring 1907 - Rdy for Orders

2010-06-24T19:33:00.001-07:00

Fall 1906 Builds

2010-06-16T19:55:00.000-07:00

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A Mos->Sev
Rdy For Builds
24 hrs

Fall 1906 Retreats - Country Down

2010-06-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

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Need some retreats. 24 hrs

Fall 1906 - Rdy for Orders

2010-06-07T03:57:00.001-07:00

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Rdy For Fall 1906 Orders
Due 6/14/2010 @ 11:59:59 PM EST

Spring 1906 Retreats

2010-06-02T19:12:00.001-07:00

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Need retreats from Turkey & Russia

Spring 1906 - Rdy for Orders

2010-05-23T14:12:00.001-07:00

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Map Corrected - Adjustments Done
Spring 1906 Movement Orders Due May 31st @ 11:59:59 PM EST

Fall 1905 - Retreats/Builds

2010-05-18T21:36:00.000-07:00

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English will be disbanded. Start considering your builds.

Fall 1905 - Rdy for Orders

2010-05-06T18:54:00.000-07:00

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Rdy for Fall 1905 Orders

Spring 1905 Retreats

2010-05-06T18:45:00.001-07:00

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France: Retreat needed

Rdy for Spring 1905 Orders

2010-04-28T18:24:00.000-07:00

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Rdy for Spring 1905 Movement Orders
Due May 5th @ 11:59:59 PM EST

Fall 1904 Adjustments

2010-04-27T18:48:00.001-07:00

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Adjustments: 24 hrs
France +1
Turkey +2

Fall 1904 Retreats

2010-04-26T13:10:00.001-07:00

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Retreat needed from England.

Press:
Russia,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHlopjHepEw&feature=related

Germany

Fall 1904 - Rdy for Orders

2010-04-18T07:01:00.000-07:00

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All retreating units destroyed. Skipping retreat phase.
Rdy for Fall 1904 Movement Orders
Due 4/25/2010 @ 11:59:59 PM EST

Press:

No beefin, no drama, just business.

Spring 1904 - The Sun Also Rises

2010-04-09T07:33:00.000-07:00

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Spring 1904 Moves Due 4/16/2010 @ 11:59:59 PM EST.

Fall 1903 Adjustments - Oh the humanity!

2010-04-07T09:24:00.000-07:00

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Austria is gone.

Here are the adjustments:

Austria: No supply centers are, 1 unit. 1 unit must be removed.

England: 2 supply centers, 4 units. 2 units must be removed.

France: 6 supply centers, 5 units. 1 unit may be built.

Germany: 8 supply centers, 7 units. 1 unit may be built.

Italy: 3 supply centers, 5 units. 2 units must be removed.

Russia: 6 supply centers, 5 units. 1 unit may be built.

Turkey: 9 supply centers, 5 units. 3 units may be built. Home supply center occupation blocks 1 build.

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Rdy for Fall 1903 Orders

2010-03-30T14:27:00.001-07:00

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Rdy for Fall 1903 Orders
Due 4/6/2010 @ 11:59:59 EST

Spring 1903 - Retreats Needed

2010-03-29T14:52:00.000-07:00

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One retreat needed from England. 24 hrs.

Rdy for Spring 1903 Orders

2010-03-19T07:52:00.001-07:00

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Press:

To England:

You want it to be one way, but it's the other way.

Sincerely,
Germany

Fall 1902 Adjustments

2010-03-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

Fall 1902 Retreat Phase

2010-03-17T07:07:00.000-07:00

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Retreats needed from Austria and Italy.
24 hrs limit

Fall 1902-Ready For Orders

2010-03-08T21:48:00.000-08:00

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Rdy for Fall 1902 Orders

Due 3/16/2010 @ 11:59:59 PM

Good luck!

Spring 1902 - Retreats Needed

2010-03-08T21:24:00.001-08:00

Retreats needed (you know who you are)

Due Weds 3/10/2010 @ 11:59:59 PM

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Press (in random order)

England,
Now that I have you over the proverbial barrel, I again remind you that the progressive French republic is always willing to negotiate, even with asshole monarchies like yourself. I hate liverpool this time of year anyway.
Yours fraternally,
France
PS Germany you know where to reach me. Get at me dog.

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Ibrahim: let's see where the chips land this turn
russia is pretty weak
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Spring 1902 - Awaiting Orders

2010-03-02T09:34:00.001-08:00

Ready for Spring 1902 Movement Orders.
Due 3/8/2010 @ 11:59:59 PM EST

Fall 1901 (Adjustment) - Awating Builds

2010-02-28T06:57:00.001-08:00

No retreating units; retreat phase skipped.
Fall 1901 Adjustments Builds Due 3/1/10 11:59:59 PM EST
Take note this is a build phase, so everyone has 2 days to get their adjustments in.
Here is the SC count, players are responsible for double checking their sc's count.
Austria +1
England +2
France +1
Germany +2
Italy +1
Turkey +2
Russia +1

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Press (In Random Order)

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Hey Russia, silence does you no good.
Sincerely,Germany

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France: Maybe next year. Love England.

***************************************************************

from Whitney XXXX@gmail.com>

to Ed XXXXX @gmail.com>
date Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 11:36 AM

subject Re: diplomacymailed-bygmail.com signed-bygmail.com

hey ed,I hope we can help each other out. I need you to move to the Aegean, so you and I can push into Turkey's home centers next turn.

(GM Note: Full Names were in the e-mail, names and e-mails altered for public posting )

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Russia: Let's be friends.

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Press - 2/24/10

2010-02-24T23:54:00.000-08:00

England: No matter how bad it gets, I'm always open to negotiations. I'm like Obama in this piece. Love France

Fall 1901(Movement) - Awaiting Orders

2010-02-21T06:43:00.000-08:00

No retreating units; retreat phase skipped.
Fall 1901 Orders Due 2/27/10 11:59:59 PM EST

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No press

Press 2/17/2010

2010-02-18T05:49:00.000-08:00

War Erupts!!!!!!!! (again!)

2010-02-13T10:03:00.000-08:00

WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Moves Due: Saturday, Feb 20th 11:59:59 pm.

Good luck and may most the back-handed, two-faced, self-serving player win!

Things won are done, joy's soul lies in the doing.

2009-02-15T12:49:00.001-08:00

I had only received orders from Austria for 1913, which are represented above. I took toe liberty of advancing one season, since it is inevitable that Austria will gain enough SC to achieve victory conditions this year.

So congratulations to Austria for a bold and decisive Single. I hope that you all enjoyed playing this variation of diplomacy. I certainly enjoyed hosting it.

If any other nations have prepared EOGSs, please send them to me, and I will add them to the board.

The only question is this: When shall we play again?

End of Game Statement, Austria

2009-02-07T15:21:00.000-08:00

This is a copy of Austria's EOGS, reproduced in it's entirety.

1901-02: Made a B-line for the Iberian Peninsula to secure the SCs. Planned to follow Turkey through Munich to get home.

1902-03: France opted to go North, Turkey continued south and I had a straight shot to Vienna. It was an easy nab for my first Home SC with England's help.

1903-04: England bottlenecks in the congested northern Italian battleground. I nab my second home SC when Germany opts to take Warsaw. I also continue to hold in the Mao to block Italy's return via sea to the Mediterranean.

1904-05: My first home SC build in Vienna puts me in great shape to retake Trieste. England gets squeezed out in the process with a Russian/Turkey supported move into Venice. The fall move is just me getting out of my own way on home SCs to get more builds from my SCs in Iberia.

1905-06: Turkey is split and cannot support himself. England disbands in Piedmont allowing me to support myself into Venice, and Serbia is left wide open for me to extend the empire. To this point, the only help I've received has been from England in taking my first home SC and his implosion has been his own doing.

1906-07: I am forced from the Mao by Italy and relinquish the Iberian Peninsula once Germany takes Spain. I bargained with England, who had seemingly no hope of ever getting home, that if he goes north through Russia that I'll find a way to move him from Norway to his homeland through my alliances with Italy (of which I had none). He bought it, stayed out of my way, and I took Romania. I was somewhat betrayed by Russia when he took Trieste, but he had to move through me somehow and I had bigger fish to fry, that is, I had positioned myself in Tyr, Boh, and Sil with plans to take Munich from France and further block Italy from returning home. Unfortunately, due to the holidays and a misunderstanding about when moves were due, my plans to retake Munich, protected Trieste, and take Bulgaria or Greece were thwarted…a 4 SC swing against me.

1907-08: Still busy with the holidays, I sat out the next round. Turkey creeped to Bulgaria and Russia mistakenly moved to Albania instead of Budapest, a fateful move. For the fall move, I was back and although losing Marseille and being unable to retake Trieste from Russia, I supported myself to Bulgaria, stormed Munich like I had planned to over a year prior, and kept my hold on Venice. I gained no builds but my forces were all armies and concentrated in the center of the board, so I felt I had a chance.

1908-09: Russia supported me into Greece to take it from Turkey in exchange for his safe passage from Albania (he was stuck here) to his home SCs. I reneged on my promise and supported myself into Trieste the next move to retake my 3^rd home SC (for the second time) and continued to hold Munich. Italy had gotten home by now, France was growing much stronger as he picked off the Enlgish SCs, and England was still on his wild goose chase to the north that I'd sent him on years prior.

1909-10: Russia's armies in Warsaw and Sev were worrisome, especially since I'd stabbed him by retaking Trieste only the year before. Somehow, I convinced him that we'd agreed on this set of moves and that it was in our interest for me to have the build that year. Following that, he supported me into Constantinople (as it was the only way we could secure the aggression) in a surprising show of solidarity. I returned the favor by granting his safe passage to Serbia. The key move this year was sacking Munich in the spring to take Berlin, only to retake Munich in the fall to keep the territory Austrian. Further, it was clear that France was done with his ties to Italy and so Italy made nice with Turkey in supporting him to Greece. This fall, however, Russia reversed his course with me – failing to allow me to support him into Greece (the bowels of Europe) and supporting himself into Romania instead of allowing me to support him into Ank to cripple Turkey once and for all. Turkey was strengthened, Russia was cutting ties with me, and Italy was aligning with Turkey. I was worried.

1910-1911: Turkey built, Russia failed to get his build in (very costly), and Italy was looking for anyone to help him gain revenge against France. I parlayed this into Italy supporting me into Greece. Russia feared my wrath and supported a hold in Con. This was an opportune time for a stab on me (i.e. taking Budapest, allying with Turkey to retake Con, Italy supporting Turkey's hold in Greece, and Russia moving in on my home SCs by War->Gal). Fortunately, these countries weren't in communication about this or simple underestimated my growing strength, so I weathered another near miss.

1911-1912: England (after seeking to ally with France for a convoy to his home SC…he should have known better!) came home to poppa by supporting me into Kiel. Russia ceded his moves to me this turn and I forged into Ank and held Greece. This was a 3 build year for me and Russia was able to build a fleet in Stp. From this point forward, Italy surrendered the moves of his lone fleet to me (which I used to remove France from Tunisia, and Russia stayed uninvolved. I advance Russia to a stronger northern position but did not make a full stab. I did, however, enjoy my final coordinate movement to remove England from Denmark and prove his lengthy journey worthless.

1912: France surrendered his units after finding it impossible to pass through my ground forces in Munich and equally difficult to nab truly contested SCs in Scandanavia and the Mediterranean. I don't blame him. I had 17 SCs (one from a single) and it is clear that I could gain that and others in any number of ways in the year or two to come.

I offer Germany and Russia the opportunity to surrender their units as well. You both of 24 hours to comply. I will consider silence as an outright surrender.

Like as the waves make towards the pebbl'd shore, so do our minutes, hasten to their end.

2009-02-06T17:52:00.000-08:00

There are really a few moves represented here. France has relinquished control of his units, so his S 1912 retreat was disbanded. The Fall moves are represented in the lower pain, with the results in the middle pane. Again. the S1912 retreat is disbanded, and we have moved into the Winter 1912 adjustment phase, in the top pane.

So right now we are at the end of the game. There are 3 options: I am happy to accept adjustments from the remaining 4 players (Russia, Italy, germany, and Austria) and continue the game untill a nation meets victory conditions or ther eis a stalemate. Russia can offer terms of surrender to the remaining nations. The remaining players can surrender unconditionally, and let russia win.

Let me know your intentions. And of course, please continue to work on your EOGS.

PRESS

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England ... How do you like me now?

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1912 spring complete. ready for retreats

2009-02-03T22:15:00.001-08:00

PRESS

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RUSSIA = spinelessly playing for 2nd.

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1912. ready for spring

2009-02-02T19:27:00.001-08:00

1911 ready for adjustments

2009-02-02T18:52:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the delay. there are 4 players left on the board. France and Austria have builds, and Italy and Russia have disbands due.

He that dies pays all debts

2009-01-30T18:41:00.000-08:00

It's safe to say that we are coming closer to the end. One leader has fallen, and three more cling to life for the moment. I'm not sure how much longer Austria will allow russia to serve him, but it's clear that there will soon be two powers left in the game.

While we're far from done, I want to congratulate everyone on their diplomatic efforts thus far. The game continues to be exciting, and its clear that folks are still working together. I hope you are all working on your end of game statements. While the finish might be a few years off, it's never too early to start. It's a great way to share your machiavellian plots with the rest of the players, and it's really the only way i get to see what goes on behind the curtain during the games.

PRESS

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"I give my life freely for the glory of Archduke BergDog!"

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retreats in. ready for 1911 fall.

2009-01-28T20:01:00.001-08:00

spring 1911 complete, ready for retreats.

2009-01-27T18:20:00.000-08:00

Winter 1910 complete, ready for 1911

2009-01-25T16:21:00.001-08:00

Fall 1910 complete, ready for retreats.

2009-01-23T23:48:00.001-08:00

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes...

2009-01-20T18:52:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like we are finally into the endgame of this most interesting test of wills. France and Austria have always scrabbled to the top of the heap in this game, and it now looks like they are the only real powers left on the board.

Italy has been dealt a stunning blow, and now teeters on the precipice of annhilation. The other 4 powers manage to survive, although it's questionable if they still have the capacity to enact any true changes on the face of the world.

Surely the 2 superpowers are about to have a bitter fight for global domination, and I look forward to what promises to be an exciting fall and winter.

As always, press is welcomed.

And remember, it's never to early to start preparing your poignant kiss and tell End of Game Statements.

PRESS

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"3 S.C. stab France? Is this change we can really believe in?"

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Builds in ready for Spring 1910

2009-01-18T18:46:00.000-08:00

the most unkindest cut of all

2009-01-16T17:57:00.000-08:00

This is a 2 fer. The Fall 1909 moves are up, as well as the retreat from Mun.

It would appear that Italy has brought a knife to a gunfight, and has paid dearly for his mistake. France has gotten into the italian's satellite SCs, as well as his homeland. It's a mighty blow, and the first major stab of the game.

Austria dropped a nuke on Munich and easily dislodged the unsupported unit. In the latest chapter of the austro-russian soap opera, Austria is left holding onto the shards of their relationship while the Bear plods on.

Turkey, Germany, and England, well they keep on keepin' on.

I'm saddened by the lack of press, so I have added a little video.

1909 ready for fall

2009-01-15T18:56:00.001-08:00

Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On.

2009-01-13T18:33:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late to celebrate the King's birthday, but I thought the title fit this season's moves pretty well.

Austria made some expectedly huge movements this turn in an attempt to beast his way into western Europe. Munich suceeded as the tip of the spear, but the rest of the Hapsburg train was derailed by Burgundy's extremely well-supported counter.

Russia and Austria continue their will-they-or-won't-they tension with their semi-coordinated Turk-bashing. Team White supported The 'Berg into Con with one hand, and stabbed into Serbia with the other.

It looks like you are all working on some interesting moves, and the evolving alliances never cease to amaze me. I hope you are having fun!

PRESS

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austria = slut.

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builds in ready for Spring 1909

2009-01-11T14:05:00.000-08:00

Winter 1908

2009-01-11T10:46:00.001-08:00

The retreat is in, and I'm ready for builds.

Fall 1908 completed. retreats needed

2009-01-10T10:07:00.000-08:00

I'll get the blog updated once the retreats are in.

Press

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Turkey. Told you to beware of Russia.

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Spring 1908 is in. Ready for Fall.

2009-01-06T17:19:00.001-08:00

PRESS

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tucanbl owmega memas territories!

Winter 1907 Builds

2009-01-05T16:46:00.001-08:00

Ready for 1908.

1907 retreats

2009-01-04T15:51:00.001-08:00

1907 Fall complete. Ready for adjustments

2009-01-02T18:11:00.000-08:00

Congrats to Italy for getting back on home turf.

A new diplomacy for a new year

2009-01-01T18:43:00.000-08:00

Happy new year everyone. Sorry for the delay, but I was waiting for players to get moves in. It appears that our game has turned into a 5 man event. It's not that shocking that the solitary unit in portugal is being left to fend for itself. However, new players may be confused to see that Team Red has not placed any moves. Those familiar with the world of UWS dip will understand that even in the face of victory, some players simply must quit.

Rob, I honor you for sticking to your values through thin and thick.

To the remaining players: think of this as a New Year's blessing, and a rather interesting bit o' diplomacy. After all, it's not every day that you get this kind of power swing in the midgame.

adjustments in. ready for spring orders

2008-12-30T12:44:00.000-08:00

Fall 1906 Complete. Ready for adjustments

2008-12-28T07:29:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays everyone!

1906 spring

2008-12-23T17:24:00.000-08:00

Well, there's not much to say. Austria continues to tear across europe.

PRESS

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AUSTRIA, YOU BACKSTABBED ME!

Builds in. Ready for Spring 1906

2008-12-21T09:56:00.001-08:00

Winter 1905 - ready for builds.

2008-12-21T08:56:00.000-08:00

The times they are a changin'

2008-12-19T18:02:00.000-08:00

Robert continues to prove the oddsmakers wrong, as he not only survives, but thrives, in the Shift Left arena. It seems that Russia has cast his lot in with Austria, as the eagle and the bear have joined up to deal a crushing blow to the noble Turks. Be careful Russia, even though Austria was kind enough to give you a reach-around, you are still the one on all fours.

The rest of the map is action-packed as well. Germany is nervously clinging to life in tunisia, after getting systematically dismembered by the rest of the board. England is staying in character by taunging the French till it's dying gasp. And it looks like France and Italy are gelling together in an attempt to stand up to Austria.

The game is getting spicy players. Keep up the diplomacy!

PRESS

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"That poor little fleet in the Mao was flashing its shit around town
like it was some sort of Sharon Stone. Let's face it Rob, you are no
Sharon Stone!"

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S1905 complete. Ready for Fall 1905

2008-12-16T17:17:00.000-08:00

It's great to see an international convoy succeed in this game, since that's one of the more trust-intensive moves in the game. Clearly Russia and France have a lot to gain by working together. The real question is: is that gonna be enough to stop Rob from crushing europe? England is surviving in style with an attack on the French rear.

Good luck to each world leader. This is shaping up to be an interesting Fall.

PRESS

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________________

Dear Austria,

I didn't write that last press. Someone is messing with us. Don't worry, she's just jealous of what we have. Of course we have no problems ... other than Russia, Turkey, and Italy. I'd wish you'd smack those chicks around a bit too.

Yours always,

The REAL, REAL Germany (please believe me)

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Ok, time to get serious and play this like a real game. The beginning phase is over and Austria is about to clean up real fast. He doesn't need any real alliances to do so. The only way we stop him is if we all work together to deny him space.

Italy, that means you need to do a better job of using your fleets to push Austria out of the West.

_________________

Builds!

2008-12-13T19:21:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

Thanks to Dave H for getting the post up. I have power and heat again, which is good, since its about 19 degrees out right now.

We've got builds and disbands up, ready for the next set of orders for 1905.

Fall 1904: Lights Out!

2008-12-13T17:54:00.000-08:00

Our Game Master's lights may literally be out, but that title could aptly apply to England as well as he is down to his final unit. Turkey almost had his lights turned out as well but must have done some frantic last minute negotiating to bargain himself a new life. Not only does he survive, he joins Germany as the second players to arrive home. Austria, meanwhile, has recaptured all of his home SCs and still holds the iberian unchecked. He gets the first builds of the game this winter, and should be able to run the table.

Adjustments are due on Sunday instead of tonight. From there the usual deadlines will apply.

Your press follows:

Austria,

I didn't send that press in the spring of 1904.

I don't know who did or to what end but as far as I'm concerned we got no problems.

REAL GERMANY

Ready for Fall 1904 - S 1904 retreats are in.

2008-12-10T19:38:00.001-08:00

S 1904. ready for retreats Weds, Fall 1904 Friday.

2008-12-09T17:11:00.000-08:00

England - please get your retreat in by weds at 8 pm.

PRESS

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Austria:
You don't bring me flowers anymore.
Love always,
Germany

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THE END IS NEAR FOR TURKEY. JOIN US OR PERISH.

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1903 adjustments. ready for Spring 1904

2008-12-06T20:55:00.000-08:00

PRESS

-----------------------

From the desk of Her Royal Majesty.

Russia: Fuck you.
Germany: Fuck you.
Austria: You're cool.
France: Fuck you.
Italy: I'm out.

Correction. AKA "Rob Gets His Pound of Flesh"

2008-12-06T11:33:00.001-08:00

After much debate, I'm posting a change to last night's moves. Austria had posted orders for the turn, but I mistakenly thought they were for the previous turn.

As a reminder to everyone, please clearly mark your orders with the nation year and season in the subject, for example "Turkey Fall 1923 Orders and Press"

You can submit orders whenever you like, and you can correct them as many times as you want, thats not a problem. But many people are submitting partial orders, or are not submitting at all, and that leads to confusion.

Rob will be very very happy, I'm sure, to provide you all with ample evidence that he really submitted these moves, and that there is no trickery or collusion going on here.

I have posted the corrected maps - the top map is the current state of the board, awaiting biolds/disbands, and is reflective of the jdip in the new email.

In a nutshell, Austria moved off its home sc, and capped one of Englands SCs. The retreat phase is still the same, and I have received a valid retreat order. We are now in a "winter" season, with builds/disbands due. I need builds from Austria, and Disbands form England. I will post as soon as i get them.

Austria: SC that were gained - 2. Units that may be Built - 2

England: SC that were lost - 1. Units that must be Removed - 1

If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?

2008-12-05T17:09:00.000-08:00

Well players, you have certainly made for an interesting board this season. France continues to march across the board with an unchecked expansionist agenda. However, some may argue that this is nothing more than a peripatetic stroll back to the land of baguettes and hot model first ladies. **

Germany and Russia look to be allied against Her Royal Navy in Greece. Unable to get a break, England is also at the center of this season's hotspot: Venice. Turkey, England, and Russia have all managed to get their swords crossed in an exciting, but ultimately uneventful plot to plant their flags in the Queen of the Adriatic.

England, please have your retreat/disband in by 8 pm eastern on Saturday.

** Ed note: We at UWS Diplomacy strive to be fair and balanced in our reportage.

PRESS

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Who do I trust? Who do I trust? Who put this thing together?

Me. That's who.

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hey france, your email account is suddenly bouncing back. i have
another offer. what gives?

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Have fun storming the castle.

2008-12-02T17:18:00.001-08:00

By hook or by crook, France has managed to score 2 SCs this season, with little threat to the territories she already controls. Austria gets kudos for being the first to get back onto home territory, but she parlayed that victory into some hold orders and negative press. England managed a gain of an SC while germany is down 1 for the season. Germany was the biggest looser, and is down 2 territories for the turn.

PRESS

--------------------------------

Congratulations to Austria on being the first army home! The only question is, aren't you scared being all alone? Are you sure you trust England?

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A pulmonary contusion is usually caused directly by Austria but can also result from explosion injuries or a shock wave associated with England. With the use of explosives during World Wars I and II, pulmonary contusion resulting from blasts gained recognition. In the 1960s its occurrence in civilians began to receive wider recognition, in which cases it is usually caused by traffic accidents. The use of seat belts and airbags reduces the risk to vehicle occupants.

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Austria by my count you have lied to everyone in the game so far. That includes England, even though he doesnt know it yet.

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England WTF are you doing?

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Fall 1902 completed.

2008-11-28T17:21:00.000-08:00

No retreats or disbands. Ready for Spring 1903

PRESS

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Russia: Beware. Your true intent is clear.

---------------------

Spring 1902: The Race is On.

2008-11-25T17:19:00.000-08:00

It looks like this year is all about gettin' the hell outta Dodge. Every nation seems to be making moves towards home, and there didn't seem to be a lot of evidence of cooperation among nations. Thanks everyone for submitting press. As always, please get as much press in as you can.

PRESS

------------------------

I bet Rob quits once he loses his first SC.

---------------------------------------

Watch your back, Billie. It pays to stab early in this variant.

----------------------------------------

france remains leery of england's intention.

---------------------------------------

Disbands - Ready for Spring 1902

2008-11-22T09:22:00.000-08:00

Disbands are in. Ready for S1902 orders.

PRESS
------------------------

PRESS:Sorry guys, I am stupid and thought moves were only due once a week and I was too busy organizing a birthday party to notice otherwise on Friday. Not complaining, merely assuring you all I am not blowing it off!

Fall 1901: BFFs?

2008-11-21T14:49:00.000-08:00

This was an interesting season. It looks like you have all been hard at work trying to forge some alliances, while making a bee-line back to your respective motherlands.

Unfortunately, it looks like the alliances have come apart at the seams. The two leaders who have successfully seduced support from their comrades also foolishly failed to finalize their orders.

So England and Russia are both left with their trousers down, offering help to nations who are apparently not able to help themselves. Germany and Turkey were defaulted to hold orders. Each nation controls 2 SCs and needs to disband 1 unit apiece.

Germany and Turkey, please get your disbands in by 8 pm eastern on Saturday.

PRESS

----------------------------------

I'll be keeping these English supply centers, thank you very much!

-----------------------------------

Viscious rumors are being spread that claim italy is a devious and viscious country. These rumors are utterly false. Italy longs for all peoples to rejoice in one voice. Please do not let these slanders prejudice your hearts. Italy loves you!

------------------------------------

France looks like he likes staying russia. Beware the russian winter comrade!
-general secretary dave

------------------------------------

Rob: Austria is the other direction.

------------------------------------

For the record, I did NOT post that thing about "death to england" last turn. I happen to think England is a right gentleman. As to whoever did post it, bravo. Nice try. I'm not sure it worked. Italy is STILL pulling the strings. -Russia

Spring 1901 : Dude, Where's My Country?

2008-11-18T17:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the first season of the new game.

I hope that everyone had a productive weekend, that alliances were formed, and that lines were drawn in the sand. The opening thrust of this campaign shows a lot of promise for both long term strategy and some interesting conflict.

I'm in an interesting spot as the gamemaster. I have all the final info in front of me, but I don't get to see any of the machinations taking place behind the scenes during the week. I'll try to post some color commentary with each move. For the opener, I'll toss my initial thoughts into the ring. Of course press is the best way for me to get a look inside your mind, so please be generous with it.

Germany looks like it has hedged between a Balkan or Russian thrust, while England looks to be taking the extremely long trans-Turkey route back to her majesty's isle. I know that England has a slim chance of a solo victory in this game, but I hope their opener is a sign of a deeper allied strategy, and not simply a suicide march into the panserbrigade.

France looks to be making a beeline back to the land of escargot and topless first ladies, with the exception of the move to BLA. I'm not sure if there's a strategy to keeping BLA in this game, or if it's just so damned hard not to move there in your opener.

Russia is stuck out in the med, and looks to be trying to combine the overwater and overland routes to victory. He's ready to break out the Orzo when he hits the Grecian shores.

Austria looks to be allied with England in his attempt to take the longest possible route back to the land of the black eagle.

Turkey and Italy both got their orders in at the eleventh hour. I was a benevolent GM this time around, but in the future, please try to make it in by the 8 pm eastern deadline. Remember, you can always post orders early if you want. It's better than being forced to hold.

Here's a little more housekeeping:

1: Please post your press exactly as you would like it posted, or make it clear what should and should not be posted.

2: Please put something in your subject line to help be sort your emails "Turkey Fall 1902 orders" or "Germany fall 1902 press" for example.

3: Again, please meet the 8 pm deadline, it makes it much easier for me to post by 10.

Thanks!

-Dave

PRESS

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Greeting diplomats!
I look forward to this game for two reasons. First, this variant seems interesting and challenging. In addition, what a great collection of good players! Even the inexperienced among us are still formidable gamers and strategists.
I would like to state at the outset that my intention is to not stab first in any alliance I join. I'd like to be known in this game as a reliable and trustworthy partner-a reputation I feel will take me much farther than one of a fearsome antagonist.
I also wish to state that I prefer to do as much negotiation by email as possible. I feel it is a good policy to keep a written record ofwhat we discuss in case a disagreement should arise. Don't be surprised if during an I.M. or phone conversation I reply with "email it to me."
Lastly I feel past games have suffered from either a lack of press or an overabundance of pointless press. I promise not to use the press as a place to be funny or shit talk. I prefer to use it to communicate publicly to the whole world, and thus use it strategically. I implore others to do the same. And if you have found the perfect youtube clip to hilariously mock the player you just stabbed remember this- most people never scroll past the map photos after moves are posted anymore., let alone actually watch the videos. Let's bring some relevance back to the press section.

I obviously would make an exception for self-produced shit-talking videos.

So let's begin. To war!

David Hill
Tsar-in-Exile

-------------------------------------------

Hello there players. Allow me to introduce myself to you all. My name is Brandon, but my friends call me pepito. I am new to your game but not to diplomacy. I am a total noob to this variant, however. It seems from talking to you all that you are as well.

I urge you all to consider breaking your alliances with italy. You all have nothing to gain and he stands to gain the impenetrable fortress of england and his home scs to boot.
England, you should know that they all intend to cut you up and its the italian player pulling the strings. I offer you my full support. I wish you would answer my emails because I'm the only friend you have.

------------------------------------------

Revenge is a dish best served cold, boys.

-----------------------------------------

Russia pledges its full support to austria! Death to the english!

-----------------------------------------

Austria-

Please respond to my emails.

-Turkey

-----------------------------------------

Welcome to Shift-Left Diplomacy: Let the Game Begin

2008-11-13T20:03:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, and welcome to the game.

We have a great mix of players for this game. There are veterans and first timers, and several people new to the UWS Diplomacy family. I hope you all have a chance to get to know each other over the next couple months. My only advice to the players is to get in contact with everyone. The game is called diplomacy for a reason. The moves and updates are a tiny fraction of the game, and the real fun and challenge of diplomacy happens behind the scenes. I hope you all spend a lot of time crafting elaborate alliances, currying the favor of your friends, and instilling fear in the hearts of the enemies. I wish you all the best of luck in your megalomaniacal quest for world domination.

here's a recap of my last couple emails:

1 - moves are due Tuesday and Friday by 8 pm eastern. Please submit your moves in JDip format to my email account. Updates will go up at 10 pm eastern
2 - please get in builds/disbands by 8 pm eastern on Saturday. This gives people more time to work on diplomacy with the updated boards in front of them.. I will post builds disbands once they are all in.
3 - submit press whenever you like. i will post it as is.
4 - This is a game of diplomacy. I should not have to tell you how important it is to introduce yourselves and start forging alliances.
5 - I will assume that the above email addresses are the official ones for the purposes of the game, unless you tell me otherwise.
6 - Anything, and everything, is fair game in diplomacy.

Here are the opening positions:

Rob - Austria (starting on France)
Peter - Italy (starting on Britain)
Dave - Russia (starting on Italy)
Matt - Turkey (starting on Germany)
Pepito - France (starting on Russia)
Dangerford - England (starting on Austria)
Tim - Germany (starting on Turkey)

Home SC Map:

The colors here correspond to your nation's home supply centers, which is where you can build new units. You will need to control these if you want to build.

Here's the starting map.

End of Game Statements

2008-05-21T07:11:00.000-07:00

Well it's now officially over. I have some regrets. The first is that I feel I did a poor job as GM. When work got busy, I neglected updating the game, which wasn't fair and would have frustrated me as much as it frustrated many of you. I apologize. I'd like to say that I was going through a particularly tough patch at work during this game, which is true, but I know that everyone playing has tough jobs as well and that it is no excuse. The second is that I did a bad job at keeping the new recruits very motivated or interested. I felt proud of myself for trying to recruit new players so we could expand our pool of players but in the end I think I failed them both because they both seemed to lose interest at one point and just abandon the game. Of course this happened to Jay as well, he has no excuse.

One thing I feel worked out well at first was the "blind" nature of the game. It seemed like fun trying to figure out who was who, although some of you gave yourselves away much too early and/or made no attempt to try to mislead people. Others played it up perfectly.

I hope this isn't our last game of dip. I would still love to play a face to face game in Vegas. Perhaps we can do it over the course of a couple of days.

Here are the identities of the players for anyone still wondering...
France - Peter Russo
Germany - Robert GreenYOUCANTGOOGLEMEberg
Austria - Jay Pil
Turkey - Dave Tortorella
Italy - Eric Yu
Russia - Adam Webb
England - Wayne Loeb

Here are the few EOG statements I got. No surprise that the new players and Jay opted not to write one. Too bad. I wish Dave's was longer, too. I deserved a short and sarcastic one from Rob since I called him out in my email, oh well. Thanks to those of you who wrote them. And sorry again for not doing a better job.

Until Vegas,

Dave
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Being France, I had a distinct advantage as a major power to make
alliances and actually have some major influence on the game. Not
knowing which player controlled which power added a new level of
complexity to the game. I knew that Wayne, Rob, Dave T., and Jay were
probably playing which left two players as wild cards. This worried
me a little, but, as the final outcome of the game shows, I should
have worried more about how little the new players knew about the game
and how little they actually cared to play it.

As France, my natural allies would either be England or Germany. Both
allies seemed open to making alliances though I was getting weird
emails from England about what shows I liked, including a show called
"Aqua Teen Hunger Force". I feigned ignorance but probably gave too
much away as I claimed too much ignorance. Wayne, the master of
low-limit hold 'em, probably smelled a rat when he was linked to the
wikipedia page to ATHF together with a polite response in the reply
e-mail. A Dave T. or Rob or Jay would have just said they don't watch
"dumb cartoons." I honestly did not worry about the rest of the
board, focusing on England and Germany as I thought a game of blind
opponents would actually force the game to be more traditional in
scope with powers aligning quickly and alliances holding steady for
the greater part of the game. That turned out to be a big mistake.

Given the demanding and whining e-mails I was getting from Germany, I
had a hunch that Rob was Germany. Allying with Rob is, in my
experience, simply horrific. He is never happy with standard
strategies, always demanding more sc's than his position would permit,
and always trying to move his allies into positions of obvious
personal disadvantage. In a sentence, Rob is impossible to work with.
Rather than cloak his style and play differently, he basically went
balls out with his ( in his mind ) tried and trued method of annoying
all the other plays to death. A couple confirmation e-mails from the
other continental powers confirmed that Rob was Germany and a general
plan to eliminate him was established.

While continuing to hammer on Rob, I had a distinct worry about who
England was. If it was somebody generally trustworthy, I thought the
alliance would go all the way. As luck would have it, Rob came to NYC
for a visit ( staying with me for free but, in Rob-esque fashion, he
wanted everyone to know that my dwellings were not up to the high
Greenberg standards for free accommodations ). During a meal with a
whole group of NYC'ers including Jay, Rob, Jay, and I agreed to yell
out our countries. Rob said Germany, but both Jay and I said
"England" with much gusto. Of course, I thought Jay meant it, but he
never did anything to confirm or disconfirm it. Later on, while I
went clothes shopping with Rob ( a chore I thought reserved for
girlfriends ), I called Jay and confessed I was France and he
confirmed AGAIN he was England. In retrospect, either he just liked
messing with me or he had an alliance with Wayne for whatever reason (
I guess I will have to read his EOG statement ). What were you
thinking Jay?

After a few years of a good teamwork with England, Germany was pretty
much eliminated. With Rob gone, I thought I had a surefire allied
victory with England. Italy was pretty much crippled. Austria,
Russia, and Turkey looked to be in the middle of fierce infighting.
In effect, the current progress of the game had conformed to my
expectations and gave me little cause for concern. In typical
Diplomacy fashion, my lack of concern should have been the very cause
of real concern on my part. However, like in most military quagmires,
you never hear the one with your name on it. Little did I know, Wayne
(England) had secretly gained control of Russia.

So, in the Spring of 1905, I learned the cold taste of steel from a
dagger in my back from England. As in typical Wayne fashion, ( he
always wants to sweet talk after he stabs you ),right after the moves
were posted, I get the first phone call from Wayne since the last
diplomacy game ( Josh wishes he could count himself this lucky )
occurring after this move. I was still confused as I was expecting
Wayne to offer his services as an ally against Jay, who I still
thought was England. Rather, he had come to perform his usual "I did
what I thought I had to, maybe we can still work together, etc, etc."
spiel, the usual Wayne post-stab sob story speech which I knew was
just for appearances. After about 1 minute of this, I zoned out (
which I think puts me on the high end for Wayne conversations where I
suspect most other people zone out between 15-30 seconds ). Another
mistake on my part as I probably could have lifted information from
the conversation if I had participated more. Maybe this was a
deliberate move on Wayne's part, a very clever stratagem indeed.
Indeed, I totally missed the ace up his sleeve that made all such
conversations now obsolete.

With the Russian ace up Wayne's sleeve being a total mystery to me, I
really had no idea how bad of a situation I was in. In retrospect, I
have no idea why Wayne even bothered talking to me. The game was his
from that point on. The game was over, I just didn't know it yet.
But, you can only act on the knowledge you have......

Losing to Wayne is enough to get anybody fired up, so I immediately
tried to strategize a counter-attack with the rest of the board.
Getting rather lack-luster responses from Turkey, Austria, and Russia,
I pushed and pushed to try to form cohesion so as to wrest the game
from England's control. With Russia on my e-mail list for the
counter-attack plans, I was feeding Wayne any and all information I
was able to muster. I am sure Wayne found this very amusing and each
time he got an e-mail from me on the Russia dip gmail account, I am
sure he took off his glasses, folded them neatly into his lap,
squinted his eyes, and threw his head forward, mashing his face into
computer screen, the temperature of the screen being approximately
human body temperature.

Game over..........

For the postmortem:

If I had to say where my fatal flaw lied, I guess it would have to be
the most common flaw in Diplomacy, trusting your allies or supposed
allies too much. I trusted Jay to be England, and I trusted England,
whoever England really was, to remain my ally. England is a minor
party and a single victory by England is notoriously rare. Little did
I suspect that "the Lurch" was England, and he already started playing
Diplomacy likes he plays every other game via the "lurching"
mechanism. However, the machinations of "Lurching", mostly empty talk
and idle threats, were not directed toward myself but rather toward
Russia. Thus, I did not consider the entire range of possibilities
and got "Lurched" from behind, one could say.

So, I say congratulations to Wayne for his much-deserved single
victory in game where the only rule is there are no rules. Perhaps a
more magnanimous man might have rewarded his allies with an allied
victory even if a single victory was possible ( Dave H., as the GM,
hopefully does not have his own EOG after reading mine), but we all
know how "the Lurch" operates. Now, if you excuse me, I have to get
back to this rather unflattering Photoshop picture of a certain
acquaintance complete with cell phone and credit cards numbers.
Sometimes, even when you win, you lose!

Seeing how this Wayne's moment, something just for him:

"For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars
enjoyed the honor of a triumph,
a tumultuous parade.

In the procession came trumpeters and musicians and strange animals
from the conquered territories together with carts laden with
treasure and captured armaments.

The conqueror rode in a triumphal chariot the dazed prisoners
walking in chains before him.

Sometimes, his children, robed in white, stood with him in the chariot,
or rode the trace horses.

A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and
whispering in his ear
a warning that all glory is fleeting."

************************************************************************************
A FATAL FLAW

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Monsieur President
Date: Fri, Apr 11, 2008 at 7:00 AM
Subject: a fatal flaw
To: The Czar , Dual Monarch , The Sultan

Well, that could have gone better.

Russia did exactly the opposite of what i wanted and Turkey has gone
rogue........
Austria is in good position to rebuild armies if turkey can get out of
his business.

Don't you guys get it? Why fight each other when you can have my sc's
and take out England at the same time?

England is about to single in this game, but he has committed a fatal
flaw. He has split his ground units on the continent and has allowed
mun to be able to be re-taken.

It is a very simple plan. Take england sc's on the mainland, england
will disband some fleets, then we can contest him in the water (
russia in the north, turkey in the south ) while austria and russia
invade him on the mainland.

this WILL work ONLY if we ALL work TOGETHER. I leave the choice to you all.

So, here are the moves ( I am at work, so they need to be checked with
jDip , but here is the draft, I will send out a final list later )

Russia:
A Sil->Mun
A Mos->War

Turkey:
A Bud->Gal
A Rum->Ukr
A Gre->Rom
F Aeg Hold
F Con Hold
F Eas Hold

Austria:
F Adr Hold
A Vie S A Bud->Gal
A Tri Hold
A Ser Hold

France:
A Boh S A Sil->Mun
A Tyr S A Sil->Mun
F Ion C A Gre->Rom
F Tys C A Gre->Rom
A Tus->Pie
A Par->Gas
F Lyo S F Wes->Spa/sc
F Wes->Spa/sc
F Tun->Naf

Notes:
Turkey gets to keep sev ( for now ) but he has to get out of bud. He
gets Rom instead.

Austria gets Tri back and will get a build in Bud ( extremely necessary )

Russia gets mun and will get back war with Turkey's help.

I will give my sc's to Austria and turkey ( and russia ) as the game progresses.
My goal is to give them to you guys instead of england.

Goals this turn: prevent england builds. If we all follow through, he
loses mun and is denied from spa. He will build two armies for sure.
Thus, we have one year to come back and start taking other sc's from
him.

This is our last chance. If England gets 3 armies next turn, the game is over.

************************************************************************************

I started of thinking that an alliance with France, Germany or both would be in my best interest to guarantee a few early builds and perhaps gang up on the other of these three. After discussion with France, we agreed to pursue a Western Triple (France England Germany) Alliance. I was also in communication with Russia planning a future alliance.

Germany(Rob) was being extremely difficult and demanding. Within the first year he was asking me to forgo a build to prove my loyalty and look like I wasn't threatening. This not only outed him as Rob but also made up my mind that he needed to be stabbed and that our alliance wasn't going anywhere. Peter/France on the other hand was very reasonable and was able to look at the big picture. Through my experience with Rob in previous games, I have learned that he is difficult, shortsighted, demanding and overall impossible to work with. He would rather see an ally screwed out of build than work towards building a long-term alliance.

At this point I solidified my alliance with both France and Russia. With Germany caught between the three of us, he couldn't stand a chance. Over the course of the next few years I took a systematic and low risk path to wiping him out with the assistance of France and Russia. France did not participate in the England/Russia alliance. Overall, I was finding Russia to be reasonable and friendly, but his inexperience was showing right away. He would issue the correct orders that I gave him which were relevant to me directly but some of his moves in the South were questionable.

By Fall 1902 I had become tied with Austria as the most powerful country on the board, but for some reason this was beneath the Gamemasters Radar. By Fall 1903 Mar 10th I started to persue an Alliance with Turkey. I tried to play peacemaker between Turkey and Russia so that they would focus on Austria and got Russia to lend his support to Turkey. My short term goal was to weaken Austria and longer term I wanted to have Turkeys help to weaken Russia if I decided to attack. I told Russia not to trust Turkey and and asked him to support his hold on Sev. He did not and Turkey stabbed him on the first move of the alliance. Russia was no longer viable and I attacked him as well while getting Turkey to agree not to move further into Russia.

In Spring 1903(March 10th) I successfully identified all of the players that I knew(I don't know Russia or Italy) and told Dave H. in a documented chat:

me: I agreed to have a fleet to bouce germany if he tried anything
anyway,
I've figured out who everyone is except russia and italy
10:52 AM Dave: yeah?
what do you got
me: It's clear to me that russia is new
France -Pope
Germany -Rob
Austria -Jay
Turkey RBDT

After the Rush'n Attack I offered Russia asylum in Canada which he accepted and I took over his forces. I shared this info only with Turkey so that he would understand my Russian moves as we worked together.

My plan at this point had been to continue my alliance with Peter/France to the end and show everyone how a good alliance can take over the world. Because no other counties were working together at all we felt that we could just sweep West and end the game with a dual. Now with Russia in my pocket I was faced with a choice of two options.

1) give the Russian SC's to myself and continue my alliance with Peter.
2) Stab Peter and go for the Single

The first option wasn't that appealing as I didn't have a strong presence in the Russian areas. I risked losing those SC's to Turkey or Austria

The Latter option had a few things going for it.
1) I was open to get stabbed by France
2) Single!
3) I could use Russia for deception, i.e. Peter's "Fatal Flaw" plan
4) I was sure that Peter would try to unify all other countries against me but I noticed that complete lack of teamwork other than me and Peter's. This was a board of leaders who just could not get along.

So Peter got stabbed. After the initial stab, I called Peter and game him a line about how Jay/ Austria had convinced me that France was going to stab me on this turn. I revealed my identity and begged his forgiveness which he granted since I hadn't actually taken any SC's from him.

Peter was facing a difficult choice. He was so out of position against me that if I continued my attack, he could not prevail. If however my apology was honest he still had a shot at a dual victory. He took his best choice and hoped I would follow through. Instead I attacked and he moved even further out of position. That spelled the end of the French Empire. I knew that Peter would try to organize a team alliance of everyone else to punish me so I was already working with Turkey to thwart it. I leveled with Turkey and told him That I was trying for a single but France may be able to organize a stalemate; and in this event I would be happy to share a dual victory with him. Ironically, Turkeys greed for the chance of a shared victory ensures that I would single. At this point Peter was sending Russia his exact plans which of course I used against him. In the Fall of 1906 Peter thought that I had left an opening in Mun and crafted his "Fatal Flaw" email which of course I received (as Russia) and read. He didn't yet know that it was a trick and I would us Russia for defence.

At this point Turkey had weakened Austria to to point of non-viability and my victory was almost assured. I played it conservatively and strived for position rather that a quick victory.

I attribute my victory to several points
1) Peters teamwork early in the game
2) Talking to all relevant players. At one point I had:
I) An alliance with France against Germany
II) An Alliance with Russia against Germany
III) An Alliance with Turkey to stab Russia in the future
IV) An Alliance with both Russia and Turkey to attack Austria in the short term
3) Peter's forgiveness
4) Knowledge of the other players identities and their personalities
5) Russia's Capitulation (Without this Peter and I would probably have shared victory)
6) Patience, especially by keeping Russia's armies around
7) Other players complete lack ability to work together.

The Queen,
Wayne

*************************************************************************************

"I knew that with those D-pockets on all sides I would die.
what happened: every pricked me, and I was killed ... "

I feel bad for Rob, but I understand. After all, if I were surrounded by D-pockets, and had been pricked by each and every one of those aforementioned D-Pockets, I would have given up on the game as well.

Damn you, D-Pockets! Damn you for pricking Rob.

Rob, I speak a little German, and I think this is what you meant to say:

Erzähler: In A.D. 2101, der Krieg begann.
Captain: Was passiert?
Mechanic: Somebody eingerichtet uns die Bombe.
Operator: Wir bekommen Signal.
Captain: What!
Operator: Hauptbildschirm einschalten.
Captain: It's You!
CATS: Wie geht es dir Herren!
CATS: Alle Ihre Basis sind gehören zu uns.
CATS: Sie sind auf dem Weg zur Zerstörung.
Captain: Was Sie sagen!
CATS: Sie haben keine Chance zu überleben machen Sie sich Zeit.
Katzen: Ha ha ha ha ....
Operator: Captain! *
Kapitän: Nehmen Sie jeden 'ZIG'!
Captain: Sie wissen, was Sie tun.
Captain: Move 'ZIG'.
Kapitän: Für große Gerechtigkeit.

*************************************************************************************

Ode zu einem Anderen Takt-Verlust als Deutschland

ich denke, dass ich Deutschland wie vor einem Jahr war.
ich wusste, dass Wayne England sehr bald war.
ich wusste, dass Jay Österreich war.
ich wusste, dass Peter Frankreich war.
und ich wusste, dass mit jenen D-Taschen auf allen Seiten ich sterben würde.
was geschah: jeder stach mich, und ich wurde getötet...
wie erwartet.

dadurch Heinrich von Glischerrstadt

*************************************************************************************

Turkey - Dave Tortorella

This was a very interesting game, for a whole lot of reasons. First off, it was a nice twist to make the game "blind." Blinding thegame forced us to communicate through narrower channels. That decreased the amount of talking to other nations, since you were trying to communicate through anonymous channels, and couldn't do anything via voice. I think that the game still had a good amount of communication and diplomacy. Of course, the neatest thing about blinding the game was that you didn't know the personality/skill level/quirks of your enemy. That was pretty neat, and I really liked trying to figure out who was what. ONe think that i notices is that i really tried to pick the person behind each nation. instead of playing a pure game of diplomacy, i still wanted to bring all those old dimploacy grudges to bear from prior games.

So on to the game itself. I was reprising the role as the Prince of Poultry, and i had a good idea of how i wanted the game to flow. I think of Turkey as the ultimate defensive/passive nation, and survivability was my big goal for the game. I lasted a long time in my first game, simply because Turkey's home SCs are just too damned far away from most adversaries.

I decided to befriend austria and russia,telling each nation that I would destroy the other. I know that my first 2-3 sets of orders arepretty well set in stone no matter what my alliances, so i just talked out both corners of my mouth, and figured I'd jump on whatever bandwagon looked more promising in 1902. Iquickly got the vibe that Russia wasbeing piloted by a N00B, so i thought i would be heading north to fuck the USSR and eventually england..... of course, things turned out a bit different.

I always try to contact all the players on the board,and was surprised to have a lively conversation with england starting soon after the start of the game. i like this since its very easy to be diplomatic when there is no conceivable way to fuck the other nation(at least in the beginning) I give wayne credit for sticking with our little agreement for a long time, since it was a real nice way to have a long-term strategy for the game.

once england and i were allied, my plans became pretty straightforward. Russia was a nonissue when it had a player, and it remained a nonissue when i found out that Wayne was Russia's Shadow Dictator. So i found myself nestled in a corner with a neutral power at my back, and just tried to tear into austria and italy.

I think i met my goal of maximizing survivability in this game. I attempted to make friends with everyone,and ended up befrineding the winning power,which is a pretty good way to stay alive and shoot for second place. Of course, my goal was a dual win, or (possibly) a sly sneak attack for my own solo win. That obviously wasn't in the cards.

It was a fun game, and i look forward to our next game, and hopefully a live action game in Vegas.

-Dave
*************************************************************************************

Spring 1908: It's all over but the cryin'

2008-05-14T08:01:00.000-07:00

Well folks, here it is, your last move. It is only a formality, really, because I see no way for the minor powers to stop England from getting the SC's he needs for a single victory. In fact, if everyone would like I could just call it right here instead of doing the retreats and next moves.

I hope people are writing their end of game statements.

Ready for Spring 1908

2008-05-13T13:02:00.001-07:00

Fall 1907: The End is Nigh

2008-05-08T16:32:00.000-07:00

Again the minor powers' inability to work together has led to the English grabbing more territory and growing ever-closer to a single victory.

France remove 3, England build 3, Turkey and Russia both build 1.

PRESS
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Spring 1907: The GM for this game sucks.

2008-04-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

Need a retreat from England.

Sorry I'm a bad GM.

1906 completed

2008-04-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

PRESS
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Wayne: England and Russia??

Fall 1906: je ne sais quois!

2008-04-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

Translation: What the fuck.

Austria thought he had a friend in Turkey. He didn't. France thought he had a friend in Russia. He, too, was wrong.

Depending on what units people disband, this game is either all over or still stalemate-able, or even could turn around on England! Not yet have we seen a disbandment/build phase that was more important.

First up Austria and France need to send in retreat orders, then we will talk about the disbandments and builds.

Your press:

Spring 1906: With friends like these....

2008-04-10T11:18:00.000-07:00

Despite the British onslaught the minor powers still can't seem to get along. In fact, Russia seems to have thrown in with England this turn. Perhaps he has a deal in the works that will allow him to survive. One thing is certain, the other powers weren't gunning for him.

Turkey has started stabbing westward in a push through the Austrian territory. And Austria has grabbed back some territory from France. Meanwhile France has stopped what could have been a fatal blow by bouncing England out of the Mid Atlantic Ocean.

Can the minor powers get their collective shit together in time to stop the British from a single victory? Stay tuned.

One retreat this turn, unfortunately it is the ever-tardy Austria. Get that retreat in, man!

Ready for Spring 1906

2008-04-03T15:19:00.000-07:00

Fall 1905: To stab is human, to forgive is divine

2008-03-27T22:16:00.000-07:00

What could the Frenchman be thinking at this point? Stabbed not once by his former friend, but now twice, he still moves ever southward and eastward, leaving his supply centers wide open for the taking. Whatever deal they have together, it could only be a lopsided one. Perhaps the Brit has photos of the Frenchman he'd rather he not post on the blog.

The Austrian got his clock cleaned this move, catching it from all sides. He better make a friend fast, or it looks like he could go from hero to zero in a hurry. My how far the mighty have fallen.

Adjustments:

Austria: Remove 2 units
England: Build 1 unit
France: Build 1 unit
Turkey: Build 1 unit

Press:
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Ok, I sent some false moves to austria. I will continue to push into italy

>
> As I said I was misled by others and believed that our alliance was over.
> I've examined the map and if you agree, I'd like to take the chance of
> fixing things. I don't think that you can hurt me this turn so there's not
> much downside to taking a chance on our alliance.
>
> Here's what I will do:
> swe -> ska (to continue convoys against Russia)
> eng -> lon
> wal -> yor
> ber -> sil
> kie -> ber
> bel -> den
> nth C bel-> den
>
> How does this sound? I haven't run jdip yet but wll tonight.
>
> What I will ask of you is to continue to push into austria and possition
> your fleets to attack austria rather than me. Fleets move the wrong way and
> the deal will be off the table. I don't think that either of us has much to
> lose by trying this.
>
> Regards,
> the Queen
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Spring 1905: The Crown makes her move

2008-03-24T22:25:00.000-07:00

The slogan of the British Navy is "Not by strength, by guile." This British navy is making her move for world conquest using a lot of guile, but it helps that she is also the strongest power on the board by far. And it helps that the French and Russian players have trusted her enough to leave so much territory wide open for the taking. With this move she positions herself well for a French invasion in the Fall and a weakening of her strongest adversary.

Two plays of note: Turkey played smartly to drive Austria back this turn by cutting support with his free army. And Russia capitalizes on Austrian greed and insures he will live through another Fall without losing any more units.

Retreat needed for this phase:

Austria A Bul

Again no press :(

Ready for Spring 1905

2008-03-24T08:00:00.001-07:00

Fall 1904: The Fall of the Grumpy Emporer

2008-03-23T12:10:00.000-07:00

I'm sure I'm not the only one glad to see the end of the German player. He was cranky from the first move, demanding not only of his fellow players but of his game master as well. Although he had quieted up considerably after his end became inevitable, it is still good to know that he can not rise from the dead.

This turn also sees the end of Italy, a very quiet player this time whose early mistakes put him in a bad position from the start. Again, no surprise there.

This leaves us with five powers, but the game is far from balanced. England has become a superpower with 11 sc's. He has conquered all of the nordic territories and has landed on Russia's soil as was expected. Russia has in turn weakened to a shell of his former self and will likely be looking for new allies to stay alive next fall.

Austria is back in the game after attacking his former friend in Turkey. And France seems to be playing it cool with everybody, including Austria, who he did not contest for Naples.

From here, I'm sure new alliances will form. Will we see an end to English/French alliances? Will The Russian and Austrian team up to break through the German center?

Your adjustments for this turn...

Austria: Build 1 unit (Only 1 home SC open)
England: Build 2 units
Russia: Remove 2 units

Spring 1904 Retreats, Ready for Fall

2008-03-20T13:55:00.000-07:00

Thank you to those of you who sent in your moves while we were wating three days for Russia to issue a retreat order.

I still need moves from everyone else who hasn't, and you know who you are. Let's get on the ball, folks.

Spring 1904: Crossing the Mediterranean

2008-03-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

Looks like I called it on England heading for Russia's northern shore. As much as he may have hoped the Queen was his ally, sometimes you can't deny what someone is planning to do. Russia has even more trouble to his south side where his other supposed ally has stabbed him yet again.

The Austrian has come back swinging this year, driving the Turk back East. He loses the Ionian to France, however. And as any Diplomacy player worth his salt will tell you, once France breaks that line it is game, set, match. Let's see how well the Frenchman does with his new territory East of the Med.

There are two retreats due before the next move: Austria F Ion and Russia A Rum.

Your press...

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A message to the Sultan-

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Ready for 1904

2008-03-16T10:34:00.001-07:00

Fall 1903: The Rise of the British Empire

2008-03-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

A new superpower has emerged. With this year's end, England will be the largest power on the board, while former powerhouse Austria shrinks in size. However a country's real power is never truly known, because we never know who they are allied with at any given time. Is England in this alone, or even stronger than he appears? His cooperation with France continues this season, which suggests a formidable alliance. Austria tries to help the ever-weakening German to no avail. Meanwhile the Russian-Turkish alliance seems to be confirmed.

There are adjustments for this turn:

England: Build 2 units
France: Build 1 unit
Germany: Remove 1 unit
Italy: Remove 1 unit
Russia: Build 1 unit
Turkey: Build 1 unit

Let's try to speed the game up so as not to irritate the mighty British Empire any more than we already have.

Your press for this turn:
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What a country! heh heh

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Ready for Fall 1903

2008-03-10T09:16:00.000-07:00

Spring 1903: My enemy's enemy is my friend

2008-03-09T22:09:00.000-07:00

This game is getting interesting. Austria has decided to let Germany back in the game by giving him Munich, the very SC that he took from Germany in the first year! This newfound charity comes at the expense of France who he let occupy it in 1902. Meanwhile France has invaded Italy and will probably wage war with Austria there since Austria has evacuated the country this Spring.

Also interesting is that Russia has benefited (unwittingly?) from Turkey's support in his own attack on the Dual Monarchy. Perhaps there is a new alliance between these former enemies? Perhaps the enemy of my enemy is my friend?

One thing is for sure, the major superpower from the first two years has made some interesting choices this year that are sure to change the dynamic of the game.

Oh and England, who still has a friend in the Frenchman, has started a push for Russia's northern shores.

There are retreats for this turn:
Italy F Tun
England F Den
The Austrian unit was destroyed because it had nowhere to retreat.

As for deadline craziness, I think I'm going to just propose that we advance the game whenever the moves come in, and I promise to hustle people along the best I can. Ideally we'd have Monday and Thursday as an update day but this has proven to be a difficult group to keep to a regular schedule, and I include myself in that. So please get your moves in as soon as possible.

Your press for this turn follows.
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"People react to Germany's moves in Blind Diplomacy"

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Ready for 1903

2008-03-06T13:58:00.000-08:00

Obviously we won't make a Thursday night deadline. I'd like to set a deadline of Monday night, and from there do Thursdays and Mondays as deadlines. I apologize for being so sporadic this time around. I lost my computer charger while on the road and had to buy a new one, and the computer I was using didn't have my diplomacy files on it.

If people can get moves in before Monday, I'll update the blog as soon as I have everyone's moves in. If people can get them in by tomorrow, I'll set Monday as the deadline for the fall turn.

Fall 1902 Retreats

2008-03-05T21:09:00.000-08:00

I had these retreats last night at 11pm but only got in front of a computer just now. Today was another travel day and I apologize. But I appreciate that some people sent their builds in anyway. However I still need orders from others.

Austria: Build 1 Unit
England: Build 2 Units
France: Build 1 Unit
Germany: Remove 1 Unit
Italy: Remove 1 Unit
Russia: Remove 1 Unit
Turkey: Build 1 Unit

Those of you who lost units this turn, don't give up! You can save yourself but only through diplomacy!

Press for this phase:

Fall 1902: The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men...

2008-03-04T17:09:00.000-08:00

OK Italy, I don't know what you're doing, but I have to say that I'm GLAD you're likely going to be gone this year since you held the game up so long. I'm only joking, Italy. To be fair, I held the game up an extra day because of my travelling this week, and I sincerely apologize. And Italy wasn't the only late one this time around. Turkey and Russia were late, too. So we all have a lot of atoning to do.

This Fall was interesting, Italy's boneheaded moves aside. I tried to predict Austria's moves before I saw them and figured he would self bounce but also thought he'd cover Greece. I guess he trusted Turkey more than he should.

Germany, despite his obnoxious ranting during this turn, outsmarted his rivals. This time it was Russia who came to the Queen's aide with support against Germany, but the Kaiser saw it coming and prevailed.

Austria hangs on to a lead but the northern powers are narrowing the gap.

It appears that there is still room for new alliances to form given what has already happened. I'm anxious to see how 1903 ends up. My prediction: Italy is the first to fall (duh) and Germany turns one or more of his attackers around.

There are retreats due, then the builds. Please send your retreats in ASAP ITALY AND RUSSIA.

We should reconnoiter the deadlines to Mondays and Thursdays but let's see if we can get these retreats and builds in fast enough.

Your press...
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Spring 1902: The Powers Coalesce

2008-02-27T16:41:00.000-08:00

When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle. -Edmund Burke

The alliances are beginning to form now. We see the Austrian and the Turk have joined forces against the Russian in the East, while the Russian seems to have formed his own coalition with the English/French alliance in the West. Italy and Germany remain lone wolves. Are they biding their time, watiting to see how the game plays out? Or has the table already been set and they are the main course? Given the moves that England and Austria made this season, it would appear the latter would be a safe bet.

Please remember, dear players, that your humble Game Master only gets to see what you submit for the blog. He is not privy to whatever conversations go on between you in private. The lack of press in this game has been disheartening, because it gives me no entertainment beyond following the moves. I know you are all thouroughly entertained by your negotiations, but since I don't get to partake, please entertain me with some good public press. I know you're worried about exposing yourself, but that's half the fun.

There are no retreating units this summer. So the Fall moves are due on Sunday at 8pm.

Remember, powers, what I always say.... Spring is for position, Fall is for conquest!