gameID=70933

Pre-Game
I found myself as Turkey in the game entitled “7 Proud Stabbers”. With a moniker like that I had to wonder what backstabbing it portended. With knife in hand, I waded into the pre-game press. As Turkey (or any country, for that matter) I do not have a set opening, but I do have preferences. My first goal is to obtain two builds, but after that I would like to limit Russia and hopefully set myself up to attack him. Austria is not much of a threat to Turkey in the early going, but that Russian fleet is a bit troublesome.

1901
As it turned out, Austria sent a quick message which basically said, “Hey let's go kill Russia!” I wrote back and said, “Perfect, let's do it!” and an alliance was born. Russia, on the other hand wrote novels detailing methods of attack and even spoke of plans for years beyond 1901. Normally I like this type of press, but in this case the Russian seemed a bit too skilled. I felt that it would be best to limit him from the start. You can't just answer novels with one word so I set about sending an equally detailed response. After several messages back and forth I felt confident that Russia would honor a dmz (which I had no intention of honoring) in BLA and might even move Mos-StP. Austria, meanwhile, had committed to supporting me into Rum in the fall. Things worked out perfectly with Russia performing a northern opening and England ready to oppose him. Austria supported me into Rum and I got my two builds. I was very pleased to destroy Russia's fleet in 1901. My only regret was that I chickened out and didn't move Smy-Arm. If I had done that I would have broken Russia right from the start.

The first year was characterized by the two NMRs from Germany and Italy. There was some discussion about canceling the game, but Italy and Germany both showed up in the global press. Italy said he would play and Germany talked about how he had a power outage and would most likely go into civil disorder. Personally, I don't have much sympathy for this type of thing. Find someone to make your moves for you until you can play again. Maybe I'm heartless, but that's how I feel. Germany did miss one more turn later, but ultimately made moves for most of the game.

1902
This was a quiet year for me. I thought I had a lock on taking Sev, but I didn't quite think through everything. Russia cut my support in Rum and I failed to take a center. In retrospect I should have seen this move coming and taken Sev from Rum. I really feel that this was a rookie mistake. The best part of this year was seeing England and France gearing up for war. I feel that I played 1902 rather poorly. The only think I did reasonably well was solidify my relationship with Austria and get him out of position to defend his own centers.

1903
Stab time! Normally I don't like to stab a strong ally this early. Usually I try not to stab my ally at all if it can be avoided. In this case though I did not want to fall behind other countries in center count and, having been thwarted by Russia, felt that I desperately needed a build. Russia had defended well and so I decided to take the centers that were within my grasp. Austria must have sensed it somehow and blocked my attack on Budapest, but even that turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Russia (sneaky devil!) attempted to move to Rum instead of defending Sev!

The Spring moves allowed me to convince Russia that I was moving against Austria and that was how I protected Rum. I still thought he might attack Rum with two or even three units so I took another shot at Sev in the Fall. I was particularly pleased with the way I handled Austria. I apologized for the stab and told him that I still wanted to work with him. I told him that I had botched it badly and wanted to make up with him. He suggested I move out of Ser and take Gre instead! I decided to take both. Nothing like kicking an ally while he's down... Net result was two more builds.

The board was shaping up nicely with Austria way out of position, Italy doing nothing, and Germany ready to implode. My biggest concern was the French move from IRI-MAO. I questioned him about it and he explained that he moved back to MAO to appease England but that he would renew the attack the next year. I feel this was a fatal error on his part. His build of a fleet in Bre revealed his true intentions anyway so all he did was lose ground without disguising his intentions in the slightest.

1904
Another slow year for me. This year was about patching things up with Russia and positioning myself to grow further. Offering Bud to Russia allowed me to protect Rum and weaken Austria further. England's incursions into Russian territory further ensured that Russia would need me as a friend. The big danger here was France's growth and outstanding position. Germany was angry that Austria and I had not agreed to cancel the game after his early missed moves and he decided to give France his centers as payback. If he couldn't win, then he wanted to make sure the rest of us paid! I don't really fault him for this and it probably would have worked if France had not made a couple more errors later.

1905
What is France doing with all those fleets? I was worried that Spa and Mar would both move into the med and so I was rather pleased when France moved Spa-MAO. Russia and I had worked things out and I helped him into Tri and took Bud. This was agreed to and so did not cause any ill will between the two of us. France's fleet build in Bre was truly mind-boggling to me. Where could it possibly go? An army would have been much more useful and would have enabled him to take over the English mainland much more quickly. Gaining the Ionian was a nice step for me. Russia didn't like my fleet build in Con, but I wanted flexibility.

1906
If Russia didn't like my fleet build in Con, he really didn't like it when I moved Con-BLA. It took me quite a while to calm him down. I had to explain to him that my moves as a whole were not anti-Russian and that I moved there in order to protect myself from him moving Sev-Arm or Sev-Rum. I pointed out the looming possibility of a French solo and told him to stop worrying. I promised to move back out of BLA (and followed through). The convoy from Alb-Apu was a bit of a coup for me. I was very pleased with it although I think I could have made somewhat better use of the army once it was there. The nice thing about the army in Apu was that it made it much easier to predict what France and Italy would do.

It was around this time that France and I began communicating more regularly and making plans for the end game. He was interested in a 2-way draw and Russia was also talking along the same lines. The communication here really helped me later on in the last few turns. Russia actually misordered in the Fall ordering Vie S Tri-Bud instead of Vie S Bud-Tri! That had me pretty worried and it slowed things down enough that I thought it might cost me a shot at a solo.

1907
My move in the previous year back out of BLA finally convinced Russia that we were a team and so we were both able to bring our units out to the French front. France was weak in the middle - only two armies in Ber and Mun with nothing to support them! This is a classic example of overvaluing fleets. While the fleets ultimately did enable France to take down England, his position was less than ideal and he was weak across the middle and in the south. I took Tri and built the army in Con. An idea was beginning to form as to how to obtain the solo.

1908
Spring: France struggles to defeat England (fleets are not as maneuverable on land...) and England supports Russia into Kie. France moves to the MAO but must realize he is a bit too late to the party in the south. At this point I propose a 2-way draw to Russia which he happily accepts and a 3-way draw to France. France is nervous about things and decides a 3-way is a nice deal.

Fall: This was a huge move! I was able to convince France to support me into Ven and Nap. On paper (in France's mind), Italy and England were supposed to die quickly and then the game would end in a French/Russian/Turkish draw. In reality this move enraged Italy and allowed me to gain a precious fleet in an advanced position. I offered survival to Italy if he would use his fleet to help me solo. Italy could see the writing on the wall and felt that survival and revenge was better than going quietly into the night.

At the same time I moved full force against Russia, taking Vie and moving into Bud and Rum. He was woefully unprepared. I tried to get France to take Kie this turn and I coached him through some moves, but he didn't agree with my assessment and so Russia still had two builds with which to try and defend.

1909
The Russian NMR in the Spring was a surprise to everyone and an unexpected boon to me. I had expected to bounce in Ukr and was pleasantly surprised to find myself there. Things were set up nicely for me to be able to ultimately obtain Sev, War, and Mos. Rom and Tun looked like easy pickings as well, but that was only 17. For the 18th center I would have to take something from France and I wasn't sure where it could come from.

I told France that we would eliminate Italy in 1909. I moved to Rom in the Spring to enhance the perception of Italian doom. In the Fall I told him that I was planning to attack Tunis and that he should defend it as that would mean a stable border between the two of us. In secret, I was plotting with Italy to move out of Rom in the Fall and have Italy move into MAO. I was also planning to advance my fleets into GoL. It worked! France's response to my moves: “You bastard. LOL”

1910
I knew I could take Mos and War and hold them although it would take an extra year. I knew I could take Tun and that Italy would take Por. I just wasn't sure if I could take Spa or Mar and hold. I decided to ask Italy for support into Spa. I sorely wished I had an army in position to convoy over to Spa. I briefly even considered convoying Ven-Spa, but I felt it was too risky. France scared me for a minute by telling me that Italy was demanding to be included in a draw and that he was going to help him draw. I responded by saying I would simply retreat to a stalemate position until France eliminated Italy. I also spoke to Italy and told him that if he tried to get into position for a draw that I would retreat to a stalemate line until he was dead. This seemed to get the desired result as Italy supported me into Spa.

In the Fall a demoralized France failed to move and I gained Mar as well giving me 18 centers and the oh-so-elusive solo victory!

Concluding Thoughts:

There were several NMRs in this game which is a less than ideal situation. It throws off the balance of the game.

I made several errors with Russia that slowed my growth down considerably. I thought a solo was out of reach for much of the game.

I think the best thing I did in this game was utilize dying minor powers to my advantage. The way I handled Austria after the stab and Italy in the end-game was the key to victory.

I should not have won, in my opinion. Russia and France made some pretty big tactical errors. France built too many fleets and had them out of position. Russia just supported his units when trying to hold out against me in the north instead of attacking my line. France did not defend well at all in the south and gave up on the last turn. I guess my errors in the early going were balanced by errors from other powers in the late game and I'm sure not going to complain about the end result!

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions I'll be glad to answer them.

-Jacob