bump

bump for star

Bump

So in this School of War i'm assuming there will be more games to come other than this first one he have started?

possibly, at some times thate are more than one kind going such as a study session (ta level players playing) normal (kind we're in) a gunboat, and possibly others.

All of that is based on supply and demand. Players come out of the wood work. TAs, because of the skill level and availability are harder to come by.

TA have been around for a while but with commentary, it's something recent. As this game wraps up, a TA game may form.

Bump for the star

Good luck to all involved, may everyone learn something to be a future value add to the site.

Star please.

Do TAs comment also?

they just give advice to a certain student that they are assigned to.

Can I ask questions like why would France move to Gascony spring '01? Or should I refrain from those types of questions?

You can certainly ask them, but I won't comment in a way that leads to giving information on what could happen directly. For example, if France issued the following orders in S01:
A Par-Gas, A Mar-Spa, F Bre-Pic
I might respond like this:

"There are several reasons a player might move to Gas in S01. Most of them aren't good. Had France moved to the MAO and not ENG, I would say it's often either (a) a means of allowing England and Germany to decide on Bel while he stays neutral or (b) a feint to assault England. That's not what we are seeing here. The only benefit I saw in the move is that it picks up Iberia while keeping a DMZ agreement of the MAO (albeit strange). I disagree with the move because it strands both armies in Iberia for a full year, ... etc.

This type of commentary doesn't lead the rest of the board to see things in future possible moves that France could do and doesn't direct the other players to move in a way they otherwise would not. It talks about what DID happen or what DID NOT happen, both of which are past events. I will try hard to never comment on things that overstep the role of professor to that of TA. It's the job of the TA to direct their students to see what COULD be, sense the motives of others on the map, parse press and read maps for the present and future.

Had France issued F Bre-MAO which is more common, I would not have made many of the statements above. I would have said something like:

"I liked the moves listed because of what it can present for France. It secures Iberia and offers him several options going forward. The Gascony move can be made if a DMZ was agreed by F and G to keep Bur as a DMZ or F and E to keep the ENG free of units while still keeping a unit within 1 move of all 3 home centers should either country have gone against the agreed DMZ while still allowing France to pick up two centers" (this last bit would have been added if there was no breach of the ENG or Bur.

Again, the goal of my commentary is to focus on what WAS and not what IS or WILL BE unless such comments are vague.

Wait, you don't think moving to Gas is a good idea? Sometimes I like to open Brest - MAO, Paris - Gas, Marseilles - Spain. In that case, I would think moving to Gascony is the best move possible.

Moving to Gas is a bad idea in that particular situation, is Tru's intended message (Mostly because of Fleet>Pic instead of Fleet>MAO).
I have tried the Gascony move before, and I do like it as well.

@Tru thanks for clarifying. I always steered clear of these threads because I thought I couldn't comment on them at all.

My fave is par->Gascony; bre->Gascony; mar->Gasc. A classic

I've actually seen that before from a new player... o.o

But let's keep this thread clear for the SoW players and professors.

Are there any specific things I should/should not be doing as a professor other than giving my thoughts on the board each turn?

Invincible Star, *cue the music*

Abge, I guess just what tru said before. Don't give advice about the future. Mostly analyze what's been done and the implications it may have. Talking about what may come (specific moves) would be unfair help.

So the SoW game has started, and I've been chatting with my mentor. Unfortunately I'm not the country that I thought I was going to be. Will an administrator change around the countries before we start in earnest, or am I stuck with the country I was randomly assigned?

I tend to comment about the moves everyone made each year as good, bad, great or ugly and why. If they were bad, I talk about the strategic implications of the moves I WOULD have done. I rank each power in their respective spheres and state why, and if I make any claims for the future, they're vague like
"As I look at X's present course (not specifying his present course) I see that some considerations need to be made to ensure future builds, even if it means a large structural change." Etc.

As long as professors aren't stating things like "Germany's best bet going into this next year is to break off his current fruitless alliance and siding with the Russian" because it's influencing the game in the way it isn't meant to be done.

Players should understand that their TA is their best asset. Not professor posts because we see only the moves. We may assume some of the press based on these moves, but your TA should have huge insights that we do not. As a TA, I would always allow my player the final choice on everything as I helped him see his options.
Players should be sharing press and their ideas with their TA.

My recommendations on how to TA: when I TAd for a player, say Italy, I would ask for his press and help guide him into reading through to determine who is telling the truth and lying and ask him what he plans and how he responds. If I didn't like his move choices, I would simply ask him things like "and might your enemy do here. What if he moved like this?"
I try to allow the student to develop the best way forward on their own instead of me telling them how to move. Early on, I'm more prone to do more of the driving but always getting them to look at the bigger picture and how to put themselves in their opponents' shoes to determine their own moves.

We will switch your countries around

So what exactly are players allowed to tell our TA? Can we tell them everything, including future plans and our own press, or is that for the EoG part?

Shirley - Discuss all of that with your TA.

As a past TA, the best advice I can give is to discuss your plans and intentions openly with them but be sure you are playing your game and not your TA.

YOU are the decider. TA is your advisor.

Send us an email and we'll swap the countries around.

@Tru, would you mind if I occasionally added in some professor commentary?

I've been in contact with my player, posting mainly for the star.

Just for fun, would the other TAs be interested in joining an anon game together? Perhaps with 3-day phases so that it doesn't interfere with the SoW game?

Sure, why not. I haven't been crushed by Murraysheroes in at least a week or two.

:) You've got me on the ropes in another game--perhaps you've got me figured out...