Spring 1904
I'm awfully sleep deprived and delirious, so my commentary will probably end up making less sense than Tim McCarver's World Series commentary. (Is there a Tim McCarver non-fan club?)
1. Italy. Gosh, I've been so reluctant to praise Italy. He had such a weird strategy, but the blunders of his neighbors have made the Italian look like a genius. His armies are continuing the Austrian conquest. He's got the perfect balance of boats and tanks. Everything's harmonious. It's hard to see anybody knocking Italy off the top spot at this point.
2. England. I've tended to rank you highly, mostly because of your potential to grow. In Fall 1902, I ranked you dead last. As it turns out, that turn was just a hiccup. Now, his attacks, though a little bit clumsy looking, are starting to work, as the uncoordinated German and Russian aren't offering a ton of opposition.
3. France. I'm rather sure you've made every possible mistake this turn. France really had a nice position, and he ruined it. Now, France has 6 pieces, and none of them touch each other. (Tyrolia touches Piedmont, but Piedmont, being a ship, doesn't touch Tyrolia, so that hardly counts.) It's critically important for ships to be in lockstep. Now, France's attack on Italy has just fallen apart entirely. To be fair, France had a few things to do this turn. He had to keep his attacks on Germany moving, ensure Germany didn't slip into Burgundy, keep an eye on England's fleet build, secure Tunis, and dominate the Med waters. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough units to do all of those things. But when you have more tasks than manpower, you have to pick a few things and do them well rather than try to do a little bit of everything and fail. If I were France, I would have asked Russia to move to Galicia and ordered Tyolia to support hold Munich, Piedmont to Gulf of Lyon, Western Med supports N Africa to Tunis, and Munich supports Burgundy to Ruhr with support from Belgium. True, I would have left myself open to the potential English threat, but it is better to do a few things well than to do nothing.
4. Russia. You need a good ally. It's such a shame to see Russia with so many pieces accomplishing so little. I suspect part of the issue is his poor choice of allies. Germany and Austria had their place, but Russia should have moved on to a different girlfriend awhile ago.
5. Turkey. You, Germany, and Austria are essentially tied for last. Amazingly, Russia is so nonplussed with Turkey that he's helping the dying Austria attack him. Oddly enough, there's actually a remote chance that he'll get a build this turn.
6. Germany. I was thinking that you could summon some creativity and shake up the alliances. Instead, it appears that nothing has changed, and the new Germany will suffer the fate set up for it by the old Germany: an agonizing death.
7. Austria. It's kind of a shame. One really awful season's moves (Autumn 1902) sealed Austria's demise. There was just no recovery. It's possible that this will be Austria's last turn.
Assholes of the world unite!
, World Map, non-anon, must not be a thin-skinned fucktard.
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