Correction, Austria would take Rum under the Turkey supports Ukr to Rum scenario IF Serbia supported Gal to Rum (though in this actual game the case is moot since Serbia supported Alb-Gre anyway). At any rate, I agree with Partysane that the attack on Serbia is better than supporting Ukr-Rum.

Good stuff, thanks.

b-u-m-p-i-n-g as the build phase has processed.

Build thoughts:
Austria - definitely trusting Italy, solid front set up to push East.
England - Fleet in London as expected. Will it move to the Channel or North Sea following behind a move from Nth?
France - army in Paris probably wise as the last thing you want to do at this point is provoke England. Of course that could backfire as London can now take the Channel uncontested if he wants to.
Germany - army in Munich no surprise, second army takes sea control out of play for foreseeable future, but also probably keeps England and Russia fighting each other.
Italy - Fleet in Rome over Naples seems an odd choice to me. Both can move to Tyrrhenian but Naples also puts Ionian in play. Given that Tunis can move to Ionian less of a concern, but in general as Italy I would build fleet in Naples over Rome if both are empty. Maybe the intent here is to reassure Austria as Rome clearly only has one place to go.
Russia - Moscow was only open center and had to be an army. Will that army move south to try to slow the Austrian assault or move north to try to keep pace with England in Scandinavia?
Turkey - fleet in Smyrna combined with Italy not building in Naples leaves Turkey in good shape to defend. Expansion may prove difficult with Austria's massed forces, but cooperation with Russia could make it possible.

1901 Builds:

Apologies in advance for the ambiguity - there are some builds that, by nature, bring up more questions than they do answers.

England - This is a smart build. You aren't terribly threatened by anyone at this point, so you might as well leave your options open. The fleet in London, combined with the need for only one support on Norway, leave you with the option to advance your North Sea fleet into Skagerrak and hope for German support or open up a new front against either Germany or France. You could get even more creative than that too if you choose.

France - I'm torn. Part of me thinks this is a mistake and that you should be aggressive against Italy and that you need a fleet. Another part of me says that you're going to shoot for a build this year and put it in Brest and hope and pray that England will stay north even though you're open, and instead of provoking him as Yaleunc said, you're trying to keep him north, which is not an unreasonable option. Given that Germany's build pits England and Russia against each other, it was probably wise.

Germany - You're banking on Russia remaining preoccupied, which isn't a bad decision. Two armies allows you to get really aggressive against France and no build in Berlin shows Russia that you want no part of a fight with him. The wild card here will be how England reacts to your lack of support. More to come after this phase.

Russia - Ditto on Yaleunc. You might have to forfeit a center to whomever you choose not to use that army against, but you might be able to wiggle around that.

Turkey - A good build, and the only viable option. It leaves the door open for a full-on attack against Austria and tells Russia that you aren't interested in Sevastopol as well.

Italy - This is an aggressive build. A fleet in Naples would have done the same job in my opinion, but this does send a clear message to Turkey that you're staying out of his affairs and to Austria that the Adriatic isn't in play. Austria is clearly willing to trust you as well, so it looks like the move on France is all but assured. Usually, though, I'd call for a Naples fleet, not Rome.

Austria - As it stands, it looks like you made the right move to trust Italy. At this point, his Tyrolia unit could be considering an assault on Germany, or he could be looking to help you against Russia. He could also be looking to keep you on a bit of a leash. Whichever it is, he's unlikely to hold anything he takes, so you've got that comfort. Now you have to stave off both Russia and Turkey, but you're in a good position to do that.

A few build comments. Defer to bo_sox for ones I did not mention.

England, Russia, and Turkey all built correctly in my book. No need to comment, their TAs undoubtedly already went over the merits of each build.

France - I like your build. With Germany massing armies on your border, you need to ensure the safety of your home centers. On top of that, you have a guaranteed build next year in Spain with which to build a second fleet. Although you may not be able to actually secure Burgundy for long, given the Italian army in Piedmont, you might be able to delay long enough for help to arrive. Given your situation, that's as much as you can hope for.

Germany - A fourth army was an interesting choice. Where do you intend to use it? You've got a logjam on the French side, so an extra army to fight him is overkill. Allowing Russia into Sweden implied that you two may work together, so I'm surprised to not see a second fleet, which is the typical German build in 1901. If you intend to work with Russia against England, I don't know how much progress you'll be able to make. On the other hand, much like France, you have a build in hand in 1902, so you have the luxury of taking your time to develop a strategy. I'm interested to see how that decision to build two armies plays out.

Italy - F Rome is a very aggressive build and pretty much announces to the whole board that you intend to ignore Turkey and focus on France. Given the board situation with Russia being held up by a weaker opening in 1901, I think you can afford to go after France and let Austria handle this one, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a second Austrian fleet pop up if he ends up taking Rumania this year. I'm a fan of going after France as Italy, especially in his current weakened form, but the drawback is that it takes a long time to pay any dividends. Unless you luck out in getting Marseilles, don't count on getting any builds this year, so its a gamble with the potential payoff not coming for another two years. However, you'll be giving France headaches in 1903.

Austria - Between A Vie and A Tri, I personally would have chosen A Tri, but A Vie is entirely understandable given the apparently weak Russia. However, consider the alternative. With no Italy helping you in the south, you are going to want to bolster your defenses on Serbia and Greece, just in case Turkey slips into one or the other. Also, you've got Galicia well in hand, so I feel that the extra army in the north won't provide as much of a benefit as one in the south would have. If you do intend to go after Rumania, I can see how having backup on Galicia would be your primary intent with that build, so I'm eager to see how your plan develops this year.

I've also had a request from one player for a pause from the 13th to the 17th. Depending on how the phases fall, I will grant him the pause so that he does not miss any turns but we don't unnecessarily hold up the game, it being gunboat and all. I didn't make any announcement at the beginning of the game, but normally SOW students are allowed one pause per game. If you ever need one, try to let me know ahead of time.

It would be best to try to get builds in prior to a pause, but if that's not possible, that's okay.

Thoughts on Spring 02 moves:
Austria - benefitted once again from questionable moves by Russia. Solid front pushing eastward, should make quick work of Russia, which means Turkey is also in some trouble now. Only concern is that Italian army lurking in Tyrolia. Not much you can do about that right now other than hope it continues to stay out of Vienna/Trieste.
England - Germany blocking you from moving to North Sea this turn really hurts. That plus Russia moving a 3rd unit north means you probably won't get a build this year. Even worse Germany can bounce you again unless you support the fleet move and that puts Norway in jeopardy.
France - taking Spain from Marseilles means that you can not hold Bur this turn. It does allow you to position the fleet in MAO as insurance against England moving on Brest and to prevent Italy from moving to MAO from WMed this turn, but Italy will soon be in position to threaten Marseilles.
Germany - it looks like you showed 2WL how you plan to use the 4th army pretty effectively. Far and away the strongest position on the board right now. Getting the build in Belgium and almost certainly taking Burgundy in the fall which will put you in great shape heading to year 3.
Italy - very solid position. Likely no build this year unless you stab Austria, but you should be in great shape to take Marseilles next year and probably Spain as well. You'll have a tough decision on whether it is more valuable to grab an Austrian center or keep his attention focused East while you and Germany mop up France.
Russia - another unfortunate turn. Turkey gave you two supports into Rumania which would have bounced Austria if you had attacked but instead you supported him. He really can't afford to try to take Rumania from Bulgaria with Austria occupying Serbia and Greece so that attack has to come from you in Sev. Moving the Moscow army north should let you hold off England up north for a while and there is even a chance you could take Norway this turn if England uses Ska to support Lon-Nth. But Austria is on your doorstep in the south and Turkey is probably getting frustrated. Also because you let Austria into Rumania he now has to defend Bulgaria with both Con and Bla, which means you are on your own against Austria. Pretty much your only hope at this point is that Italy stabs Austria and Austria reacts to that by moving hard West.
Turkey - Repeat after me Will, it's not your fault, it's not your fault, it's not your fault. Your moves have all been solid, but sometimes that's not enough. The good news is with Italy out of the picture you can stay at 4 units and hold off Austria for a good while. The bad news is you will have a tough time growing past that given the current board.

My rank of the positions by tiers:
solo Favorite - Germany
Should at least draw with a shot at soloing if things break in their favor - Italy, Austria
Probably not solo threat but also not yet in trouble - Turkey, England
If things don't change, not long for this game - Russia, France

I see very interesting/unusual possible moves for Italy and England this turn that might not occur to a beginning player. Not sure if I should post those or not though as I don't want to unduly influence this turn. 2WL and BoSox, let me know what you think. Or I can PM the moves to you two and you can decide whether they are worth mentioning as outside the box options (I guess the other option is to post about them after this turn is in the books).

Bump for Spring 1902 moves

@yaleunc. I do hope you post your ideas after the next round. I am quite curious!

1902 Spring:

England - Germany bounced you out of the North Sea to further his own position, not to stunt yours. He did both in the process, though, and you're going to have to recover. However, you don't necessarily need to support yourself into the North Sea right away, nor do you need to see Germany as an enemy right away. You haven't lost anything yet, you just have to try to outguess Russia and Germany here.

France - I have only one question - why? I understand that you want to try to defend the MAO against Italy, but the reason the I/F war often results in a stalemate is because it takes either nation a full year to even get into position to attack the others' supply centers, which gives you plenty of time to prepare and defend. Your priority should have been to defend against Germany, and since you didn't, you're vulnerable to both him *and* Italy now. You should have taken Spain with a fleet and taken your chances. A bunch of questionable moves have put you in this position.

Germany - Bad moves by France are paying big for you, and leaving Russia in peace is paying big for you too. You're the favorite right now, to say the least. You have no need to waste a unit on defense as your eastern neighbor is using everything he has already, so you can focus on pushing into France and forwarding your line as England struggles to maintain his spot in Scandinavia. Bide your time, continue to make the right moves, and see where it takes you.

Russia - This is your make or break phase. It's 3 v 3 on England, and if you can outguess him or figure out what he's most likely to do, you're in a lead position, especially since Germany is subtly assisting you so far, even if not directly. On the other hand, Austria has an opportunity to cripple your efforts in the north, and you're in a position where you can do nothing about it - that's that potential forfeit that I talked about in my builds comments. Bouncing Rumania instead of trying to support a unit that can't really go there would have been better. Oh well. Sometimes I think it would be much more useful for a default Russian army in Sevastopol instead of a fleet, you know?

Turkey - You're absolutely fine. Russia isn't going to attack you, Italy is more than committed west, and your only enemy is Austria. You have two supports you can put on Bulgaria, so you're going to keep that for right now. Stay patient, wait for a break, and take advantage of it. You have at least a year, maybe two, before Austria can do any more damage.

Italy - I still love your position, though you were probably hoping that you'd be able to break into France first. No matter. You and Germany are both poised to gain big with England focusing away, and you could end up real allies. Your priority right now is to put a unit in Iberia and hopefully Austria keeps growing in the east so that he stays out there. I know Austrian centers look tempting but I wouldn't recommend breaking up a good thing quite yet.

Austria - Great job. The central powers (G/I/A) have all made great moves so far and as a result the rest of the map is only able to sit and watch. That's why it's my favorite alliance. With good play out of the three of you, nobody can hold you back. As for you, you have the option of going after Russia now or continuing a fight against Turkey with your build.

I'll post the unusual moves after this turn processes. One of them isn't that great and is pretty risky anyway, but the other is actually what I would do probably as that country.

Two questions :
1. What was up with Norways move? Looks like he supported Sweden to Finland.

2. So now that Russia signaled his willingness to support Turkey into Rumania. And Turkey signals his willingness to support to Rumania. How does this normally get resolved?
I understand that in this specific game it doesnt since Austria is there now but I mean in general. In my recent stint of games this happens alot and more often that not we both reverse direction and bounce eachother.

1.) He probably thought there was a chance Russia would self-bounce and use that third army against Austria. That would have supported him out of Sweden. If not that, then I don't know. A better move might have simply been to try to keep him out of either Finland or St. Petersburg.

2.) Often times a mix up on supports can be messy but the only one who should be moving to Rumania is Russia, if for no other reason than to cut Austria's potential support to Ukraine. He can't risk Turkey not moving there so he's got to do it. Turkey, though, only has room to offer one support now and it's easily cut, so it's unlikely that they can get it right now.

1. Norway's move is an attempt to foil a bounce by Russia. For example if Russia had planned to move the Moscow army South he might also have tried a bounce in Finland from Swe and StP to keep Norway from moving there. By supporting Swe-Fin, England would have foiled that leaving Swe empty this turn and Nor safe from attack since a fleet in Fin can't attack Norway.
2. This is really on a case by case basis. In this case Russia clearly had to be the one to take Rumania as Turkey can't hold Rumania and Bulgaria if he did take it. Also Russia kind of needed the build more anyway with Austria controlling Galicia. In a hypothetical scenario where there is no logical attacker vs supporter then you have to go with gut feel. The fact that you both tried to support each other in the first place at least communicates that you are willing to work together which is half the battle.

I got a PM from Hamilton Brian (sorry if you meant it to be private but I thought it was a great example of the student/TA discussion process) saying the following regarding Mar-Spa:

" I thought the move would have been positive in the sense that it (however unlikely) guards against England and sets up some self-bounces or the retreat of Burgundy. That was the student's thought and I supported it."

"I get Bo's point that Italy getting toward France is a long crawl, but is it really that simple."

It looks like this move was mostly student-driven in response to two factors, one of which was written about by multiple professors already and the other that was apparently worthy of consideration by the French student:

- How long will it take Italy to attack me?
- Is England enough of a threat to consider protecting MAO?

To me, it appears as if the answer to #1 was strongly influenced by the answer to #2. In short, England should absolutely not be considered a threat and France should never have made a move under that mindset. The reason that England is not a threat is two-part. First, Russia is the obvious target of England's 1901 moves. The supported convoy coupled with the Russian northern opening means that England would be tremendously foolish to attack France while Russia threatens Norway. Second, France has much bigger threats that need to be addressed before a hypothetical threat from England can be considered. Germany and Italy are much more immediate threats to French security and should be his top priority. In no circumstances should France have taken a useful unit away from a top priority threat in order to prevent an unlikely hypothetical non-threat.

While I understand the natural uneasiness between France and England, the fact is that there was zero chance of England attacking France this turn and, frankly, this was an easy read that should have been made. Moving Mar-Spa, taking your only fleet out of the battle with TWO Italian fleets, and counting on a tricky self-bounce loses sight of your main objective for a non-existant security threat.

I am not nearly as against the Mar to Spa move as the other two professors. After all, it's not like the army staying in Marseilles would be an effective support of Burgundy as Italy would almost certainly hit Mar from Pie if the army stayed there anyway. And while I agree that England is an unlikely threat on Brest, moving the fleet in Portugal to MAO instead of Spa means Italy is far less likely to move into MAO from WMed this turn. If he could get there by Fall 02 France has no shot as he would have to defend Brest, Portugal, and Spa against MAO while also facing the German threat into Bur and the other Italian units moving on Mar.

What is the risk level for the corner countries of a strong central triple? If there is one, can they even stop one from the position it has? Or what would be the point of no return?

Like Lando, I'd like to hear a bit of reflection of the profs on the emerging alliances, and how this will affect mid-game strategies of all countries. In my view, this is the most important learning topic for people trying to up their game, myself included.

Also, could the profs share their views on the Italian move A Trl s Vie-Boh? An eye-catching move, no doubt.

(as an aside: a valuable tip for all students is to check the order log whenever you see a unit do nothing!)

Bumping for more commentary now the latest turn has processed.

Bump.

Regarding the emerging alliances, it is important to keep in mind that much like in full press diplomacy (really even moreso) alliances are fluid and fleeting. Just because the Central powers are all playing nice right now doesn't mean they will still be doing so in a few years when France and Russia have been carved up. Beyond that, the central triple presents big problems for France and Russia in this particular game right now, but there is no reason why England and Turkey necessarily need to be terrified of it. As I said things change and we could see England and Italy working together against Germany after France has been eliminated or nearly eliminated. Or it wouldn't be surprising to see Germany and Turkey working together against Austria in a few years. Without press allies can't discuss long range plans and if one country starts reaping most of the benefits their ally may decide they are a solo threat or at least no longer useful as an ally.

As for the Italian support of Vienna-Bohemia, that was a free way to signal to Austria that Italy wants to be an ally. Since the unit in Tyrolia wasn't doing anything else it is far more useful to convey this kind of info than just do a hold. Checking the order log is a key in gunboat. I believe I mentioned that earlier, but it is worth repeating, especially when you see units on the board that appear to be doing nothing (or units that were attacked and thus their supports aren't showing on the map). This particular support was almost certain to not matter or be needed - Austria wasn't going to move Vienna to Bohemia and if he did Germany certainly wasn't wasting a unit defending against that scenario, but the move still has value as a means to convey information.

Now onto the Fall 02 commentary.
Austria - you continued to outmaneuver Russia and will be in great shape in terms of units and position. I think at the end of year 2 I like your position even better than Germany's now. With 2 builds and 2 open centers we all know one will be an army in Vienna, but will Trieste be a fleet to use against Turkey or yet another army to throw against Russia? You should be looking ahead several years and anticipating whether you will eventually need to turn on Italy or Germany in an attempt to get to 18 or if you will need to ally with one of them to stop the other from soloing.
England - good news is no losses, bad news is no gains. That said, treading water this year may work out okay as Russia will be disbanding a unit which means either he abandons the south entirely or drops down to 2 against your 3 for next year. If he does the former you may need to remain patient. He'll eventually have to disband a northern unit. See my next post for a move that might have been worth considering for this turn.
France - these moves were ill-conceived. Attacking Belgium from Burgundy with a guaranteed support (guaranteed in the sense that no unit on the board was in position to cut it) available to Germany in Holland makes zero sense and was a waste of two units. This was even worse than just doing Picardy supports Burgundy to hold as that at least would work in the unlikely event that Italy attacked Munich. What you should have done this turn is have MAO move to WMed or support Mar or support London to the Channel (unlikely to occur but a show of desire to have England come help you). Your army in Spain has to stay put, so it should either hold or support Bur-Mar. burgundy should definitely move to Mar, with support from Spain if you decide you want that army in mar or without support if you don't mind it ending up in Gascony. It certainly wasn't going to be in Burgundy still after this turn regardless of what move you did. Picardy maybe could have attacked Belgium in case Germany went for the bad move of Bel-Bur with Holland moving to Belgium (which he shouldn't do since that would risk him running into what you did in Spain this turn). Not sure if you are ignoring your TA or if he is giving you bad advice, but you are definitely in trouble and will probably be racing Russia for first eliminated in this one. Getting the build this turn might have allowed you to hunker down and hold off your enemies a lot longer, maybe long enough for England to grow and help, especially since Italy's fleet in Tyrrhenian did not move to Gulf of Lyons for some reason.
Germany - another solid turn, things continue to break your way. Italy's mis-order or mistake with respect to fleet in Tyrrhenian leaves you in the driver's seat to pick off French centers and probably get into Gascony before Italy can get control of Iberia. Only thing to keep in mind is that German armies are great, but you can't conquer England with them, so make sure you have a long run strategy in mind with respect to who your next target is and what your next 2-3 years of builds and moves will likely look like.
Italy - Piedmont and WMed - great moves, this was exactly what I was going to recommend as a less obvious alternative to just attacking Mar from Pie. Of course I thought it would be for use against France deciding to bounce Mar from Spa and Bur, but as it turns out you didn't even need to support him into Mar from Spa, just refrain from attacking. So great job on those moves. Tyrrhenian Sea holds - not so much. A costly mistake which will put you behind Germany in the race to take centers from France. You would be looking at a guaranteed build and probably two next year if Tyrrhenian were in Gulf of Lyons. As it is you will still probably get 1 build, but 2 is far less likely, as is control of MAO by end of year 3. Curious if this was a mis order or a conscious decision to hold (can't imagine why, fear of Austria moving to Ionian?)
Russia - you did a serviceable job up North, those are probably the optimal moves up there given the board. Down south less so. With no realistic chance to take Rumania (Budapest clearly available to support it and Serbia either attacking Bul to cut that potential support or support Rum to hold), this was the turn to defend Warsaw from Ukraine. Now you will have a tough decision to make on the disband. Removing a unit in the South costs you at least one and probably two centers next year. Removing one in the north probably costs you one center in the north and one in the south next year. Turkey, England, and Italy probably all would vote for you to destroy a Northern unit whereas Austria and Germany probably prefer Southern disband. France probably just hopes you get eliminated before he does.
Turkey - pretty standard moves by you. I think your support of Russia should have been for Sev-Rum rather than Ukr-Rum as he can't afford to vacate Ukraine at this point, but as mentioned above largely irrelevant anyway as Ukraine should have been defending Warsaw and even with your support Russia wasn't going to take Rum from either spot.
Position ranks after year 2 by tier
Solo threats - Austria, Germany
Poised to expand, but a notch below top tier - Italy (if the Fleet in Tyrrhenian were in GoL instead I would have Italy in top tier with the other two)
In no immediate danger, but also not likely to expand much anytime soon - England, Turkey
Leg swept - France (ahead of Russia only because of Italy's error)
Get him a body bag - Russia

The possible not as obvious moves for last turn -
Italy did what I was going to mention, Pie support spa to mar and Wmed attacks Spa. This denies France a build if he does Spa-Mar and actually nets Italy a build if MAO does not move to Spa along with the Spa-Mar move.
For England, a move worth considering at least after Germany bounced North Sea on the Spring turn is to NOT attack Nth from Lon and instead do something like Lon-Yor and Ska-Den. If Germany again tries to bounce Nth (as he in fact did), then Germany is denied a build and England gains one if he guesses correctly against Russia. The latter is basically a 50-50 proposition since the Russian moves are likely either StP-Nor with support from Swe and Fin or Fin-Nor with support from Swe and StP. If England thinks the Russian attack is coming from StP then he should do Barents-StP and Ska-Den (or even better Ska convoys Nor -Den). This basically exchanges Norway for StP and picks up Den for a net gain. If England thinks the attack is coming from Finland then the move is Nor-StP with support from Barents. that also nets a swap of Nor and StP and the gain of Denmark. If England guesses wrong then he loses a center to Russia and gains Denmark for a net of zero (as long as Germany does Den-Nth). The downsides to this move are that Germany gains control of Nth if it "works" and England has to guess right against Russia to gain a unit this turn. Even bigger downside is if Germany decides not to bounce Nth this turn, in which case England doesn't take Denmark and has to guess to stay even and loses a unit with a bad guess.
I won't spell it out in as much detail, but Turkey had a similar scenario with respect to Gre/Bul/Smy. Smyrna could decide not to bounce Gre in Aegean and instead move Bul to Gre for a build. But if Austria is going after Bul instead of bouncing Aegean hen this backfires.
The general idea I want to convey is that sometimes the best move (or at least a move worth considering) is to use an opponents attacks against them.

1902 Autumn:

England - Your persistence may end up paying off. Then again, it may end up putting you in trouble with Germany. I think you've done a fantastic job so far, and I think the only thing that will pay off for you is to look at the positives of the coming year, so that's what I'll do too. Russia is going to have to disband a unit, and my immediate guess is that he'll choose Sweden, his only northern fleet. He needs his armies in the south. That means that you're going to get an opening somewhere and hopefully you can take advantage and defend against Germany.

France - It's not getting better, but it didn't get as bad as it could have been. You should have moved Burgundy to Marseilles instead of making a useless go at Belgium, but alas, you didn't. I know Germany is all over you, but in another year, England will probably begin to fight him a little more. Italy for whatever reason failed to move to the Gulf of Lyon, for whatever reason I'm not sure. Austria has two builds and maybe, just maybe, he considers turning on Italy. At this point, you have to put your chips in the "you never know" pile and just go all in. You are going to have to protect the position you have, and I hope you know what the correct retreat option is here so that you still have a slimmer of hope.

Germany - Well done, again. What's more is now you have a definitive sign from Italy that says "I want to work with you." You have a build, too, even though you don't necessarily need one, but it will allow you to choose a direction - Scandinavia or England. In my opinion, you should plan long term with it. You're in France, and depending on his retreat, you have a plethora of options there this spring as well. I'm curious to see if you can keep on making the right moves, but so far you've done yourself innumerable favors and you're in a good spot.

Russia - It is what it is. You're now going to have to abandon the north, but that was almost assured anyway. You had surely hoped it would wait a year, but I think this lends credence to what I was saying earlier - you were going to have to forfeit something to whoever you chose to move your third army away from, and now Warsaw is in Austrian possession and Ukraine may be soon. You're in survival mode now, but remember that the only center you hold that matters is Moscow, so hold onto it at all costs and maybe you can sneak into the endgame later on. That means that, in my opinion, there's only one disband here that will make any sense at all.

Turkey - Four obvious moves. Austria gets his fleet build, but there is still a year before that fleet arrives. Your neighbors have done you no favors, so now it's up to you and your TA to come up with something creative that will help keep you alive despite the incoming Austrian assault. Your TA is one of the best gunboaters around (far better than I am), so if there's anyone that can help you through this and figure out the move I'm thinking of, it's him.

Italy - You made a very smart move against France that I know Yaleunc was really hoping to see. I'm not sure what happened with the Tyrrhenian, though. You've already got Tyrolia, so Austria knows you're keeping an eye out his way. Does Tyrrhenian have to hold back as defense? I think you should push it forward. Maybe it was a misorder. Regardless, great moves against France, and hopefully you're in Iberia in a year or two (preferably before Austria steals away Turkey), and I don't think you really put yourself in as big a whole as Yaleunc said, though with another mistake your Atlantic options could become very limited.

Austria - You took a 50/50 shot and it worked. Actually, it's not the one I would have taken myself. Personally, I would have moved Rumania to Ukraine while moving Budapest into Rumania with support, but that does risk Rumania and you weren't willing to do that. Regardless, it worked, so screw what I think. You now have builds, presumably one will be a fleet and the other an army, and then you have options to stick to the path you've taken or get creative and think about growing into a solo threat. Up to you.

I'm going to take this opportunity to point out Italy's support hold of Munich. Some players see this as nothing - after all, it was quite obvious that Italy and Germany were operating together. There are times when it's not so obvious, or when it's questionable, maybe after two countries are nearly stalemated and aren't going to get anything else by fighting each other, where a support hold means everything in the world and can change another nation's path in the game. We haven't seen one of those yet. This one, however, is kind of like confirming what you plan to do between two players in press. It's just a simple way to say "I've got your back" or something of the sort. Now Germany knows that he and Italy are not only fighting a common enemy, but that Italy is willing to fight the common enemy alongside him as opposed to fight a common enemy against him.

Interesting year. I'll have a little bit more of a "what you should do" approach after builds, because I think we're nearing the point of no return in a very critical aspect of the game.

F 1902

This was an excellent turn for the central powers alliance. Great moves by all three has left the other four powers playing catchup.

Since we're two years into the game, its time to rank the countries!

In reverse order:

7. France - This year didn't quite go as poorly as it possibly could, but its close. You really botched the Spain move, costing you a build. The only saving grade to come out of this turn is that Italy didn't move to GoL, buying you a bit more time. However, with all these second chances, you really need to take advantage. Bad reads so far has hurt you.

6. Russia - Oops! Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. You gambled on taking Rumania when you shouldn't have, and with the wrong unit to boot - Turkey supported Ukraine to Rum. Your chance of actually taking Rum this turn was slim, so the smart play would have been to tread water in the south and try and grab Norway to bolster your southern units. This disband will hurt.

5. England - Tough luck not getting a build this year. With a German build coming, you're in even more dire straits and the pressure is on to turn the tide against this strong central powers alliance. Examine the board closely and make sure you discuss your strategy with your TA and whether or not you think your current plan of attack is in your best interest.

4. Turkey - Much like England, your clock is ticking to get something positive this upcoming year before this Austrian giant swallows you whole. By all accounts, you've played this game well, its just unfortunate that you were let down by Russia and their poor reads. You two will have to pull a rabbit out of your hat to fight off Austria. Fortunately, you've got the luxury of time on your side - Turkey is a very tough nut to crack, and even if Austria builds another fleet this year, it will still take him quite a while to break into your home centers, which gives you time to hope and pray for outside interference.

3. Italy - Much like bo_sox, I don't see the benefit to holding in Tyrr. Austria has no reason to stab you right now, and you need a build, so there is no reason to keep that fleet held in reserve. However, your other moves were excellent and you read France's moves perfectly. With a strong ally in Germany, its really only a matter of time before you break into France. You've got a big year coming up if you play your cards right.

2. Germany - You've got a number of things going well for you - a build in hand, three weak neighbors, a strong Italy helping you in the south, and an England and Russia who are at each others' throats while you get sneakily big. I'm anticipating your fleet build this year, but your biggest concern at this point should be the eventual tide turning against the leaders.

1. Austria - That year really could not have gone better for you. Not only do you have two builds, but Russia has a disband and Turkey can't break out of his corner. Now that you're a significant threat, however, you've got to manage your strength while also maintaining your position as dominant power. With Italy focused on France, you've also got the challenge of knocking out Turkey while not threatening Italy at the same time.

Just a bump to keep this near front page.