I'd be in, but I think I'd have to wait until summer to be sure to have the time.

Josef IV wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 21, 2023 12:56 pm

IRidePigs wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 21, 2023 4:23 am

Josef IV wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 20, 2023 5:34 pm

If there will be a next round, I would be happy to play :) You guys also mentioned Discord, so if you ever consider a live press game there, drop me a PM. Tried that only twice so far, but would be great pleasure to share such a game with this board.

Josef IV

I've never done live press, how does that get organized online?

Sorry, this was bad terminology from my side. Live press games can be done on this site, like a normal press game, but with 15 or even 5 min phase length (was also called speed press I believe). Never tried that yet, but could also be fun :)

What I intended to say was a live game with voice chat over discord, can be done through one of the groups there (vWDC I think), I could find the link when back home. As for the moves adjudication, the game is usually played on backstabbr. Tried that only two times so far, was a different experience, but fun as well.

I'd be real nervous about not getting my usual hours of rumination on simple moves, but I'd give it a shot.

IRidePigs wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 21, 2023 4:23 am

Josef IV wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 20, 2023 5:34 pm

If there will be a next round, I would be happy to play :) You guys also mentioned Discord, so if you ever consider a live press game there, drop me a PM. Tried that only twice so far, but would be great pleasure to share such a game with this board.

Josef IV

I've never done live press, how does that get organized online?

Sorry, this was bad terminology from my side. Live press games can be done on this site, like a normal press game, but with 15 or even 5 min phase length (was also called speed press I believe). Never tried that yet, but could also be fun :)

What I intended to say was a live game with voice chat over discord, can be done through one of the groups there (vWDC I think), I could find the link when back home. As for the moves adjudication, the game is usually played on backstabbr. Tried that only two times so far, was a different experience, but fun as well.

Josef IV wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 20, 2023 5:34 pm

If there will be a next round, I would be happy to play :) You guys also mentioned Discord, so if you ever consider a live press game there, drop me a PM. Tried that only twice so far, but would be great pleasure to share such a game with this board.

Josef IV

I've never done live press, how does that get organized online?

Didn't realize how close I came to disaster there with you, Josef. Definitely had some tense moments there.

Russian impressions of G1, second part.

Spring 1904: after the turkish build in CON, I send long press to England, partly due to upswing in emotion, partly to secure my northern border. I also immediately start a discussion with Italy about turning against Turkey, which I am for the first time absolutely genuine about. Italy offers support into SER, to which I agree. We also discuss the possibility of Italy moving to ALB to blow up the SER army. I have these orders set in for a long time, but then, soon before the deadline, Italy steps back and says that he will instead use his units against France. Whether that was mistrust of Italy, or good press from Yonni, I dont know. But as a result, I changed my orders to the anti-italian version that I have agreed upon with Turkey. This cements my alliance with Turkey, as I will no longer have the position to do anything about it. I also work with Germany against France in the center and do an agreed supported bounce in NOR with England. Futile efforts to get England to stab France continue, with great effort from my side.

Fall 1904: in the south, I play along the agreed lines with Turkey, giving him RUM in return for support in TRI. I also use BOH to support hold Germany in MUN. I saw the risk to VIE, but preferred to hold the center line. In the north, frustrated by the evident strength of EF, I stab Yigg for NOR. Its partly to keep myself as strong as possible, so that E and T are not tempted to squeeze me out (also as i saw the risk to VIE). I decide to do the weak stab, sending an army to NOR that cant further hurt Yigg, hoping I will be able to leverage things out should something bad happen in the south. This turn, Yonni had a good chance to stab me, had he helped Italy to TRI.

Winter 1904: I talk at length to Yigg and in the end decide for the defensive build in MOS, deliberately putting NOR at risk to keep door to England open. I still saw England as a possible partner, although my hopes were shifting more to a 4-way draw now, and I got thus more focused on further defense.

1905: I talk a LOT to Yigg throughout the entire phase, hoping to let him have NOR back, but at the same time disengage. Things turn out the worst possible way, as Yigg convoys to NOR, and all chances of a turn agaist France are gone. I make efforts nonetheless, but know that a turn is very unlikely. I also send MOS west in the fall, further commiting to the Jugg. Luckily for me, Yonni does not move into SEV. I intentionally keep BUD back so that he cant have a too good stab and make sure to clearly point out BUD is doing support holds and not moving. I also reestablish line to Italy, to coordinate against France. And we do the "Austria to MUN" move, which secures the center for the eastern powers, at least mid term. Its hard to say whether EF would be able to outmanouver us throug BAL/LIV somehow to cut supports.

Winter 1905 and 1906: Yigg proposes a draw, for which I am extremely grateful. I am still at the top of the SC count, but knowing its not going up much from here. I dont react quick to conceal my excitement, but then send that I would be fine both to draw (in public) and to continue (to Yonni publicly). The draw is first not agreed upon, so I start pondering whether to push west or send some reinforcement back east to secure from a stab, but then the game draws.


Conclusion: I think I played a good game overall, but see two big mistakes that I have made. The first was to focus so much on the long term alliance with Yigg. Once it became clear the EF is rock solid, I should have given more effort to my press with France. Not saying I would talk less to Yigg, that was both fun at times and productive, but more effort towards France would be good. Secondly (although it happed before), I should have been more direct to Turkey about the 1903 situation and that I dont want Austria in TRI. We would then avoid the TRI/CON issues and our game would be a bit faster, but mostly much less stressful. Had I not started this, there might have been more time and energy to play music toward the french ears.


Last but not least, I also think that this was a great game with great players. The end was relatively soon as game years go, but it felt right from inside the game based on press and relations. Also, the SoS scoring contributed to this. We would have played differently in a draw-size based game.

If there will be a next round, I would be happy to play :) You guys also mentioned Discord, so if you ever consider a live press game there, drop me a PM. Tried that only twice so far, but would be great pleasure to share such a game with this board.

Josef IV

ARCHIE JONES wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 19, 2023 8:41 pm

Hello everyone, I am new on webDiplomacy, great to join the community !
Quick question, if someone kind can take 1 min to answer :)
I do not figure out how to play vs 6 Cicero IA in a short game (5 min or 10 min / turn).

Anyone can help me ?

When I "start an AI/bot game", i dont see any settings about turn time + I get no response from my messages.

The full-press bots don't appear to be available right now, just the old gunboat ones. Also, the gunboat bots ready orders pretty quickly - usually once you ready the turn will proceed. There was never any option to change the phase length for any of the bot games.

Hello everyone, I am new on webDiplomacy, great to join the community !
Quick question, if someone kind can take 1 min to answer :)
I do not figure out how to play vs 6 Cicero IA in a short game (5 min or 10 min / turn).

Anyone can help me ?

When I "start an AI/bot game", i dont see any settings about turn time + I get no response from my messages.

Hi everyone, sorry to be late with my contribution. As there were several AARs already, and those did capture the spirit of the game quite well, I will be much more brief than the other guys and do this more in "color commentary" style from the russian perspective of things.

1901: I am open to all options, the only thing I want to avoid is a long AI vs RT, and I outright tell that to all of A, I and T. I get good wibes from everyone apart from Austria, so I decide for a Juggernaut and make plans for that with Yonni, so yes, all of the stuff around RUM etc was arranged. I also genuinely talk to Italy about working together, I want to have the IT as a backup strategy should Yonni stab me. I also agree with Germany conditions by which he lets me into SWE.

1902: I bet all-in on my 1901 alliances and work Yonni to carve up Austria, while heping Yigg attack Germany right after he let me into SWE. In the fall, I am surprised to see myself in VIE, and get a second build. After long discussions with Yonni in T (pushing hard for me to build a fleet) and Yigg (pushing hard not to build one), I come up with an agreement of a fleet in StP(sc). I get Yiggs approval for that build, and I would not have done that should he not approve. At this point I also start pushing hard for Yigg to plan a stab of France - that is now my strategy, to divide the board with E and T. This is also my long term failure - I never get Yigg in E to stab France, and I dont make enough effort to push on a french stab of england. I was to much on the english boat so to say, i.e., I did not want to stab Yigg so was thinking too much how to get Yigg stab France instead of the other way around.

1903: tactically things work out well. However, Yonni in Turkey is pushing hard to keep Austria at two. I start to hear allarm bells, as that means crippling Italy, with whom I still have good relations, and instead keeping more austrian units around me, and Austria is the one I am attacking from the start and DougJoe also seemed to be on reasonable terms with Turkey despite the RT attack, so I feared Yonni is setting up to stab me once Italy is down and he has the Austrian armies at my border. So in the end I decide to support hold Italy in TRI. I do not tell Yonni, as I fear that could trigger aggression by itself, and bet on talking my way out of it. Yonni is pissed off and, despite we talk things at length after which he says its fine and agrees to a SMY build, there is a fleet in CON instead, which in turn pissed me of greatly.

More soon to come in a next post :)

Yigg wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 16, 2023 2:55 pm

Yonni wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 16, 2023 11:48 am

The bottom line is that maybe Russia just deserves the credit for fixing things on both his northern and southern front simultaneously.

I could not agree more, Yonni! Russia was very good, and honestly it was a solid testament to his game. I've always struggled playing as Russia, and he taught me a lot on how to play a better game of it. :) Thanks, Josef!

Thanks Yonni and Yigg for the compliments, not sure if I deserve them... but in the end the game played out fine for me :)

DougJoe wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 18, 2023 3:37 am

Not sure if I should post here or in a new thread, but is anyone interested in doing another one of these GR challenge things, say, after the new year?

I'd love to!

Not sure if I should post here or in a new thread, but is anyone interested in doing another one of these GR challenge things, say, after the new year?

Not seeing what an alliance with IRidePigs would be like is a legit regret I had in this game. 

Many such cases. I had great fun with this game, so hopefully I'll get the opportunity to ally myself with you all in the future!

Yonni wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 16, 2023 11:48 am

The bottom line is that maybe Russia just deserves the credit for fixing things on both his northern and southern front simultaneously.

I could not agree more, Yonni! Russia was very good, and honestly it was a solid testament to his game. I've always struggled playing as Russia, and he taught me a lot on how to play a better game of it. :) Thanks, Josef!

Yigg, when I sent you that flippant message about attacking Russia, I was actually hoping it would work out and we'd do it. I could tell you were on decent terms with Russia an didn't trust me to break the jugg. So, when Russia stabbed (he maybe rightfully disagrees with the use of this term) me, I took it as an opportunity to explore my options there.

If I had seen the cavalry coming to help, I was going to keep pushing north. But then you lost (or, to my eyes, donated) Norway and I was happy as hell that I had kept things cordial with Russia and gave myself a diplomatic out. If he didn't retake Norway, Sev was going to be an easy get next year and the obvious move to make especially cause you guys were occupying Italy's time well.

Serbia supporting Trieste was a hard decision that turn and perhaps I hedged too hard.

The bottom line is that maybe Russia just deserves the credit for fixing things on both his northern and southern front simultaneously.

Yigg wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 16, 2023 5:11 am

England/Yigg’s Perspective on game: https://webdiplomacy.net/board.php?gameID=733365

I was banking on him holding up the Jugg at least a few more years. This means Russia now has to build in either St.P or Sev, which would pressure either of Russia’s allies. I lobby hard to not see a build in St.P, but eventually concede to a St.P SC fleet build. I don’t like it, but it’s not unmanageable.

Sorry I didn't hold up my end of things, I think I figured at the time that's what you were hoping for... when that fleet showed up in StP, even on the south coast, where it has nowhere to go but Scandy, I thought for sure you were going to go for Sweden in S03 (but France probably wouldn't have liked losing Kie.)

Yigg wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 16, 2023 5:11 am

This is the turn where I feel like I got outplayed, and it bugs the shit out of me. Thankfully I wasn't 100% asleep at the wheel. I help broker France supporting Austria into Vienna, which REALLY saved the day against the Russia stab, as he would have gone up 2 builds instead of 1. The tradeoff of this plan means that we know we can’t guarantee France back into Munich. So I tell France to take Belgium from me so that he can stay even. The great part about this is that I will look stabbed, and legitimately this time. I order support moves to Munich for France (which I know he won’t take). So when you look at the orders, it totally looks like a French stab, which 100% comes in handy next turn.

...a plan for which the Austrian was grateful. I knew I was being used to slow Russia down, but I was okay with that. I had done some legwork and had a pretty good feel that G/R were going to commit 100% to Munich so I was feeling pretty good that it would work. I didn't tell *anyone* about the fake stab - someone mentioned "France stabbing England" and I didn't say a word.

Yigg wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 16, 2023 5:11 am

France and I try a max defense of Munich, but HOLY SHIT! RG end up supporting Austria into Munich, thus taking it! I confess that I didn’t see that one coming.

Yeah, Germany's request came in almost instantly when the turn started and Russia followed up soon after. I really had no beef with you or France, but was just trying to survive. I think I even suggested to France that Kie S Mun-Ber might not be a bad idea - but it was too late in the turn for either of you to really react. I really did struggle with telling you and France about what was going on. On one hand, I wanted to because in the long run Russia would suffer and I emotionally favored EF over RT. On the other hand, I didn't want to because Germany would suffer first (be eliminated!) and I didn't have any beef at all with him. And, as I told France, I'd expect to follow Germany into oblivion the next year. It was all black comedy at this point.

Yigg wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 16, 2023 5:11 am

But it really did make me glad to see Austria still alive (who I had really good conversations with the whole game; I felt like we had a bond)

Yeah, it's too bad we didn't get the opportunity to work together directly! I know you're just on the other side of the lake but if you're ever in the mitten, give me a shout (and that goes for everyone else, too - this is the kind of game that deserved a post-game beverage or two.)

Yigg wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 16, 2023 5:11 am

Had the game gone on, I probably would have come to kill Russia in the north, but not without considerable regret. I didn’t see a way to crack the center, though. Not without getting Austria on my side to shake up the calculus, but by that point he would have probably sided with a AGR coalition to brick it up.

Probably. France had offered to support me from Mun to Ber and I doubt I would have done that (the plan for the next turn was two supports on Mun, and I assume Russia would move other units closer as well to cover or try to snipe it). But if you had come over the top on Russia and spun things as a "let's get Russia, maybe we can get you into Warsaw or something", I honestly might have been swayed.

Great write up!

England/Yigg’s Perspective on game: https://webdiplomacy.net/board.php?gameID=733365

S01: The very first thing I do is feel out Russia for a top-down ER alliance. I’ve always wanted to play in one as England, so I figured this was the right time. Russia seems receptive. But also France and I hit it off immediately. His frequency was right there with mine and we kinda fell into sync. Truly tragic is that Germany is late to getting to press, and while his proposal for an EG was bold (and I love bold openings), I was kinda already really jamming with France. So I pretty much decided at this point that I was going with some combination of EF, ER, or EFR. Not seeing what an alliance with IRidePigs would be like is a legit regret I had in this game. The trouble was how to put off Germany and not give up in S01 that I’m riding EF. So I start telling everyone on the board that Russia really isn’t talking to me (which was true for a time, depending on how loosely “time” is defined). And by the time I get to Germany, I tell him that I wouldn’t be comfortable opening immediately against France because Russia is too quiet and I can’t afford a northern opening out of Russia. I add that “people” have told me Russia plans to open north, so I’m nervous. I chat a lot with Italy, Austria, and Turkey, feeling out if Italy would possibly open against France. My moves are vanilla. France opens to Burgundy as agreed. Russia does NOT open north. Italy moves Ven to Tus, which I found different but weird. S01 opens great for me.

F01: Russia asks me not to take Norway with the army, which is an easy give. Things with Russia are great! The ER in my mind is still on the table. Germany asks who told me that Russia planned to open north, and I say I won’t out my (totally non-existent) sources but instead feel embarrassed that I believed it in the first place. I can’t tell if he buys it, but press moves on unabated. To Germany’s credit, he honestly tells me that he’s going to cover Munich in case of French treachery. Other people say this as well. I immediately suggest to France that he move up to the Ruhr for hilarious reasons, and he agrees. I’m head over heels for France now. It also means that I can land in Belgium with an army unopposed. Not a bad feat for England in 01! I hear that Germany won’t bounce Russia in Sweden, and that’s a bummer. Even though I still want a good ER, I don’t want the R half to grow too quickly. Turkey takes Rum unopposed and then builds nothing but fleets. I smell Jugg, but don’t want to believe it. France moves his fleet to Spain SC, and that plays right into a potential France vs Italy, and I love that! I recommend France build a fleet in Brest to better disguise the EF. Germany builds a fleet in Kiel. Booo.

S02: I decided to work the EF long ago anyways, but the German fleet build gives me enough of a casus belli in my mind to pull the trigger this turn. I tell Germany that I’m going to fight him. For one, I respected his total honesty to this point and felt I owed it to him to stab him in the front. For two, telling him I’m going to attack him will help flush out his allies in press. For three, it backs up my legitimacy for when I say Imma do the thing, and is credit for if/when I have to lie later. I then coordinate with France to support him into Holland (which fails), and separately ask Russia to help me into Denmark (which succeeds). I know Germany can only protect one of those, and it lands my way. Score! France and Italy start moving at each other, which I see as only great for me long term. Austria guesses wrong and suffers a brutal wound this turn, and that sucks. I move to the Channel on the off chance France wasn’t on the up and up, feeling that if I didn’t move there and he did, I’d be proper fucked. That and I was already moving Edi to the North, so I had no other option but to act defensive. Trust but verify.

F02: I coordinate with France to get him into Kiel, which works. A move I don’t know if anyone saw coming. We bounce in Brest to keep things safe for us both, which works for me because EC wasn’t needed for any plans anyway. It drops Germany to 3 units by the end of 02 and the plan to take the center seems to be going well. Italy sneaks into Mars, though, and denies France a build. I know Italy can’t hold it, but it also means France doesn’t get too big to start threatening me. Perfect! The turn would be all aces for England, but Austria guessed wrong again and now Russia gains 2 builds (something Russia says even he didn’t expect). This time the blow is mortal. I was banking on him holding up the Jugg at least a few more years. This means Russia now has to build in either St.P or Sev, which would pressure either of Russia’s allies. I lobby hard to not see a build in St.P, but eventually concede to a St.P SC fleet build. I don’t like it, but it’s not unmanageable. Turkey also lobbied Russia for this result as a “compromise.” It’s at this point Russia, Germany, and Italy all start asking me to stab France. Turkey never asks me to, but just asks if I plan to (a subtle difference from outright asking). I legitimately feel that whenever the rest of the board asks you to do a thing, then I probably shouldn’t do that thing. It’s at this point I mentally decide that I’m Ride-or-Die with France, that either I solo or I keep him as a lifelong ally. I’ve said these exact words to France many times earlier, but now I'm genuinely all-in. Because I don't see the Jugg breaking up anytime soon, I feel like I need to maintain the alliance with France at all costs in order to balance out that Jugg.

S03: I move into the MAO behind France to cover in case Italy decides to move there, which would be super bad for us both. It also gives Italy the illusion that I might stab France, which is useful. Germany offers me Holland in exchange for getting him back Kiel. I think I start ghosting Germany around this time. I, uh, didn’t want to start telling him lies (my respect for you is strong, IRidePigs!), so I figure saying nothing at all is better? I don’t recommend this plan, by the way. But it’s also here that my time is rapidly diminishing from quality press, so having one less person to talk to kinda helps. I figure he’ll assume I go for Holland or use my army build to go somewhere other than backfill Belgium as I move up to Ruhr. Securing the center of the board was my main goal from day 1. As long as Russia continues to be friendly (which he still is), I can support France in Kiel. France and I go back and forth over lots of plans, but ultimately settle on 100% ensuring he kicks Italy out of Mars. Turkey keeps a fleet in Ank on ice, a shrewd move. I hint at Russia about this shrewdness, but try not to overplay my hand. He doesn’t bite, regardless. Austria’s collapse is imminent, and I remain bummed.

F03: Knowing that France can’t hold Kiel, we figure correctly that Germany would probably trade Kiel for Munich, but Russia moves up to Silesia. This is where ghosting Germany starts to really backfire on me, as he’s got Russia’s ear now. The center is messier than I’d like, but still manageable I think. France and I put my MAO fleet into the Western Med, which we both think is just hilarious. But practically is needed to put France at parity-to-better level with Italy and/or Turkey in the Med. Russia legitimately pisses off Turkey (or at least I think so), and Turkey suggests we tag team him. I agree, but I’m not in position yet. I mentally calculate if Turkey pulls the trigger first, I’ll follow the next turn for sure. My mistake is that I don’t explicitly tell Turkey that I need him to attack first in order for me to follow. Spoiler alert; Turkey never attacks Russia and tells me that my own attack never materialized, so he waved off the plan. So either I legit disappointed Turkey into not attacking Russia (which I would have wanted), or Turkey was baiting me into a trap of attacking Russia first. I’m pretty sure it’s the former, but would not rule out the latter. Also, Russia builds an army in Norway. It bothers me a lot and I start to wonder if our romance has faltered. He insists it’s for parity (which is true), but I don’t want that. But Turkey builds a fleet in Con. Okay, let’s go! I think he’s really gonna stab Russia (again, he doesn’t).

S04: I arrange with France so that I can take Kiel and, if Germany decides to retake Munich, that France can retreat up to Bohemia for greater advantage to then re-retake Munich in the Fall. The other side of the coin flip is that I don’t don’t take Kiel but Germany doesn’t take Munich. I can live with that, especially because my number continue to go up. I arrange to bounce with Russia in Norway, which is temporarily acceptable. I start ignoring nervousness about Russia. France and I get nowhere in the Med, but that’s fine. Turkey says he’s going to take Rum from Russia, but I tell him that Russia can stop it. Turkey responds cryptically that he’ll get it through diplomacy. This confuses me and I fail to see it for what it is, but I still somehow believe that Turkey is legit planning to fight Russia.

F04: I gamble and lose with Russia. He tells me we WON’T bounce in Norway, and I trust him. Based on that, I decided to land my third army in the center. Russia lied and took Norway. I feel crazy stupid and spout delicate rage. Turkey takes Rum like he said, but it’s simply to blow up Russia’s southern fleet. All arranged. I feel like an idiot for thinking the Jugg was broken up. This is the turn where I feel like I got outplayed, and it bugs the shit out of me. Thankfully I wasn't 100% asleep at the wheel. I help broker France supporting Austria into Vienna, which REALLY saved the day against the Russia stab, as he would have gone up 2 builds instead of 1. The tradeoff of this plan means that we know we can’t guarantee France back into Munich. So I tell France to take Belgium from me so that he can stay even. The great part about this is that I will look stabbed, and legitimately this time. I order support moves to Munich for France (which I know he won’t take). So when you look at the orders, it totally looks like a French stab, which 100% comes in handy next turn. France and I agree for him to attack me in the WMed as well to force me to retreat. Our original plan was for me to support him into NaF. But after thinking about it, I suggest that he attack me in WMed instead. This way, whatever Italy leaves open of Tyrr, Tunis, or NaF, I can forward retreat into. It also plays into the false French Stab plan. Ultimately, my fleet down there is a luxury to help France, so disbanding it makes sense. Back to my outrage with Russia, I still fume. I don’t scream at him, but let him know I’m still sore. I can’t say for certain how he feels, but I get the distinct impression that he feels bad about the stab, especially in light of the French moves. He agrees not to build in St.P as an olive branch. France and I agree on the narrative of the false stab. France will frame it as “asking forgiveness instead of permission,” because he needed to stay even with the effort of keeping Austria alive (a truth always helps a lie) and that I’m pissed about it, but will confirm that story when asked.The disband of the fleet actually normalizes relations between me and Italy, who took it personally that I both never attacked France with that fleet and in fact tapped Italy in Tyrr earlier. Now that I’m out of his way and France is one fleet weaker (with my absence), things start to improve. Sadly, I also started ghosting Italy a turn or so ago, a casualty of my limited time basically pressing the shit out of France and Russia. I feel bad about that, too.

S05: I continue to simmer at Russia, who legitimately wants to rebuild our relationship, but insists I attack France. I respond that I won’t move an inch against France until he repays the dot he stole, be it Norway or supporting me into a German one. I also agree not to attack him, but will act defensively to prevent further losses. He asks why I’m so incensed at him instead of France, who by appearances did the same thing. I really struggle to figure out a justification for this one, because since it was all arranged, how do I make it sound legit? Well, I say something along the lines that I told France the same thing and he’s already agreed to make it right, and that I won’t fight him before Russia makes us right. That and I won’t open my ass to an aggressive Russia. It feels flimsy, but I think I put enough emotion into it that it’s believable enough. This is where the currency of being honest the rest of the game comes in. Because I 100% order the move to retake Norway. The convoy to the mainland helps mask this somewhat, as it’s not super intuitive that I’d use that very army to go up to Norway. But I figure that if I don’t retake it now, a shot at it later becomes way more dicey. I help get France back into Munich ...again. Turkey and Russia bounce in Sev, but I don’t bother to ask if it’s mutual because I know it already is. France plays for position in the Med, and he’s making slow progress.Austria gets kicked out of Vienna, but we knew that was coming.

F05: Oh man, I legit believe I hurt Russia’s feelings with my dishonesty about revenge stabbing his stab. He asks if the France taking Belgium stab was real or if I was just playing with him. I feel *this tall* (I’m holding up my index finger and thumb in a gesture that indicates a very small height). I give him a wall of text explaining where my mind was in the re-stab. But I don’t answer his question about Belgium. I honestly didn’t have the heart to say it was a sham. (Side Note: Yeah Josef IV, it totally was, and I really do feel bad for engineering it and that it gave bad feels...even though it totally worked) So he tells me he’s going to defend Sweden in a way that I can’t take anything from him. I respond by telling him that I won’t attack him further without a 24 hour notice. Unfortunately for me, I 100% planned on attacking him, but my timer came and went. So I tell him how I’m going to attack him based on his defense so that nothing changes in the north. That works. France and I try a max defense of Munich, but HOLY SHIT! RG end up supporting Austria into Munich, thus taking it! I confess that I didn’t see that one coming. But it really did make me glad to see Austria still alive (who I had really good conversations with the whole game; I felt like we had a bond) even at the expense of making the center, my main goal this whole time, even more complicated. Good thing I told France that he could keep Belgium, otherwise my erstwhile ally would have gone down again. Italy continues to make a good showing of keeping his home 4 dots out of both French and Turkish hands. The Jugg still looks as solid as ever.

S06: It’s here that I start to truly realize that I don’t have enough time to carry this game on much longer. I’m spread so thin in RL that I’m landing butter-side up. I issue a treatise in public to call for a 7WD. Go read it for the full detail, but the cliff notes are that a) I’m out of time to participate in a quality way, b) these are all solid chaps, c) Germany and Austria both surviving triple teams into 06 should be rewarded, d) there was no real path for anyone to reach a solo (Turkey, and probably myself to a lesser extent, had the best shot), but would likely quickly thwarted, so why bother if it’s gonna Draw anyway, and e) with SoS scoring, there’s no need to actually eliminate anyone. Turkey suggests a Cancel, and while he makes a valid point, having made it this far to cancel the game would erase it from the ledger, and it’s been too quality a game to be lost to the ether. I legitimately feel bad, as I know Turkey wanted to see this played out way farther than it did (Side Note: Yonni, I mean that. I feel like I disappointed you, and that’s worse than a loss to me. Sorry, brother).

Had the game gone on, I probably would have come to kill Russia in the north, but not without considerable regret. I didn’t see a way to crack the center, though. Not without getting Austria on my side to shake up the calculus, but by that point he would have probably sided with a AGR coalition to brick it up.

So there you go. That was my very open approach to the whole game from my brain and seat at the table. Non-filtered post game approach to it all.

Theodoric wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 15, 2023 10:36 pm

My feeling is that this came was played very carefully and intelligently by everyone

Eh, nothing I did really worked out, so I'm not sure either of these apply to me in this game! But better players than I have gotten blasted as Austria, too, so it's not the end of the world.

Comorant's post confirms what I suspected - that I was too wishy-washy in the early stages - especially with him - and didn't realize it until it was too late. I know that part of the 1902 mess (especially in the spring) was due to wanting something to happen rather than just simply playing D... and I went back through our press from 1901 and I see what he's talking about with warm and fuzzy - I can see how it would be taken as kind of sterile, although that wasn't my intent.

DougJoe wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 15, 2023 9:47 pm

BrianBaru wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 15, 2023 9:21 pm

This is so disappointing. I played in the GR2 game. We successfully played a key Lepanto. I thought it would be an interesting game. But one player dropped out, so a six way draw. The GR1 game ends in a seven way draw.

It seems most players here seldom go for the win. They miss half the game.

I'd suggest you read England's proposition for the 7wd in the global chat (if you haven't).

Well, I'd say you should only read it if you really set some time aside to. He's a bit too verbose sometimes, and clearly comes from the James Joyce school of brevity.

Brian: Speaking for myself, I've tried to solo any time I thought I had a chance to do so. I've finished seven classic press games and solo'd in two of them.

My feeling is that this came was played very carefully and intelligently by everyone, and none of us ever had a clear opportunity to attempt a solo. Of course, it's possible that one or more of us could have gotten a bigger payoff by being more aggressive, and certainly a player who placed zero value on a draw would have played differently.