Fall 1904

Not much has changed from spring to fall. Other than Austria, I don't want any student to count themselves out. Alliances haven't shifted too much this game, and that's about right. When, as a player, you break alliances and reform them and double cross your friends too many times, eventually everybody on the board will hate you and take you for every last dot you have. I don't think anybody has gotten to that point, fortunately enough. The issue has been more the opposite. Russia should have picked an eastern ally and stuck with them, rather than remaining friends with everybody for so long that he never could make progress.

As another point, I want all the students to always have this question in the front of their minds: Where is my next dot (supply center) coming from? If you spend all your time making attacks just for the sake of attacking or over enthusiastically defending the dots you have, you won't make progress. Right now, Germany should be thinking "How could I get Holland"? Or "Munich", or whatever. You have to be working towards a goal, and that goal is always the next dot.

1. Italy. You picked up another dot. Italy stymied France in the Med. And his fearsome bloc of armies is fanning out across Austria. He's allied with Turkey, which seems to be a good idea. He's made so much progress without an ally, I'm almost afraid of his potential with an ally. 1 Build for Italy, possibly an army in Venice.

2. England. You're right up there with Italy. England finally took some good advice: he had one goal and stuck with it. Rather than halfheartedly attacking Germany and Russia, he left Holland on its own and went full force against Russia. The work paid off. 2 Builds: F London and A Edinburgh, perhaps?

3. France. There was almost no recovering from the horrible Spring you had. Fortunately, he gets a build due to his disband. Army Paris could be considered with a view to retaking Belgium.

4. Turkey. I've slid you up a spot. Turkey found an ally in Italy. Who know how long the alliance will last, but an ally is an ally. I think there's a lot of benefit for Italy to keep Turkey on his good side, so, someday, Turkey might attain his elusive fifth build. For now, none.

5. Russia. With the British attack going so strong, you had a chance to support Norway into Sweden to minimize the damage. Instead, I'm not sure what you did, but it didn't work. I can't imagine how you can dig yourself out of this one. 2 disbands: possibly his northern fleets.

6. Germany. You and your predecessor are scrappy scrappy players. It's amazing that you have 3 centers with seemingly no allies. No builds, but, amazingly, no disbands either.

7. Austria. 1 Disband for Austria, likely the Fleet, although I said that last year and was wrong.

F 1904

I'm just going to go with a straightforward ranking this turn. I have a few thoughts to add, but otherwise, nothing much has changed from last turn, except for a new top power on the board and an interesting decision to talk about regarding Italy.

1. ENGLAND - Congrats! Despite being the second center count, you've grabbed the top spot on my rankings this week. Not only have you delivered a crippling two disbands to your only real enemy at this point, but you've secured Scandinavia, which adds a nice multiplier to your already excellent 2 builds by freeing up all those units that are now sitting in formerly Russian centers. Russia's two disbands will be huge for you this turn, so cross your fingers, or try a bit of dealmaking in exchange for future considerations. The only negative to this turn was losing Belgium, but its no more than an annoyance. Be careful of getting drawn into a war of attrition with Germany. You really don't want to get that army disbanded and start from scratch.

2. ITALY - Slipping down a spot, but only because of the potential loss of Tunis (again) next year. France's moves in the Med leave you in an awkward position, but have no fear - the pressure is on France this year to hold his gains, not for you to respond. You still have the upper hand in that relationship. I also like your strategy with Turkey this year. With your attention turned to France atm, working with a non-threatening power to get rid of a pesky Austria is a solid move on your part.

3. FRANCE - Considering the circumstances, you probably couldn't have had better moves in the Med this year. You've tied up Italy's fleets for at least the next two or three turns retaking Tunis, which buys you some much needed time to secure your German acquisitions. Unfortunately, that disband couldn't come at a worse time, since it leaves Munich vulnerable. The rebuild will be crucial - another fleet to seal off the Med, or another army to throw against an increasingly annoying Germany?

4. TURKEY - Again, considering the circumstances, grabbing a new center and a temporary ally worked out great for you. Bulgaria is looking like a promising center for you, and with Russia's two disbands, you stand to gain with Austria finally out of the way. I'm glad you're starting to realize what makes Turkey so powerful and using your corner to your advantage. Slow playing Turkey is one of my favorite strategies in Diplomacy.

5. RUSSIA - Terrible turn for you, I'm sorry to say. England will likely continue to steamroll into St.Pete soon, and Italy is threatening in the south along with your longtime nemesis, Turkey. You're too spread out to really consolidate your forces on one front. Berlin is a possibility for you, but it may come at the expense of losing another center or two.

6. GERMANY - If nothing else, you're playing a great spoiler. Grabbing Belgium is a minor annoyance for England, and the option is also there to sneak into France, depending on the build. Unfortunately, since it appears as though you're on your own here, I don't know how much progress you can really make.

7. AUSTRIA - Down to one center and in the unenviable position of being the first (possibly) eliminated. At least you're hopefully learning.

I'm glad 2WL gave England the top spot. He's cruising.

@thehamster- You would build another fleet if you were England?

@2WL- You said it was a horrible turn for Russia. What could he have done better?

Thats a tough question. I looked at the board for about 10 minutes, and I honestly like all of Englands possible builds. My instinct is to build 2 armies, but I'm awfully tempted...

The best Russian move, at least in my mind last turn, would have been to support Nor - Swe, move St.P to Fin, and leave St.P open for a retreat. Forget about Germany and move War - Gal, which should have been done years ago.

The end result would have been:

F StP(nc)
A Fin
F Swe
F BAL

England would have:

F NTH
F NWG
F Nor
F Den

With Germany threatening Holland, this would have forced England to choose between supporting his unit in Norway and his army in Holland and cut off any possible convoys of built armies, at least in the spring. It also would mean that Russia would only have had one disband, so he can keep up the pressure on Norway.

Winter Adjustment 1904

There were a lot of build options this phase. In 1901, the expected builds are well established. In the midgame, there's lots of options, all of which could work if backed up by a good enough strategy.

In the real world, hamster got engaged Friday at 12:01am. He's a happy boy.

Clocks go back on the east coast tonight also. So keep that in mind if you want to get some free extra sleep.

Italy could have built an army to bolster his very attractive looking army bloc. Instead, he's decided to outnumber France by expanding on his naval prowess. Fortunately for him, France built an army, so it worked out nicely.

France's army build seems smart to me. He badly needs to trounce Germany if he plans to move on to bigger and better things. The army will help. Unfortunately, the italian stab has backfired badly, and now France is facing his own threat.

England could have been opportunistic and built a couple of fleets to attack France with. But instead, he's sticking with his ally and taking a conservative approach to long term growth. I like the decision to build 2 armies an awful lot.

The destruction of Russia's northern fleets is probably worse news for Germany than for Russia himself. Without any fleets to tie up England, I dont expect Germany to last much longer.

We may see the defeat of both Germany and Austria this year. Remember, a textbook diplomacy game starts with 7 players. Those 7 whittle down to 5. The 5 get reduced to 3. And either the 3 will draw or 1 will win. As we get deeper into the midgame, we'll see if the game stays true to the textbook or gets messy.

Congrats hamster!

Italy's build is intriguing. He's got a touchy situation in Tunis, but going on the offensive in the Med while France is bogged down in Germany may end up breaking that fleet logjam. An army in Venice would have been a strong option - popping it into Pied would have really put some pressure on France and given Germany a good opportunity to retake Munich.

'Grats hamster!

@thehamster - Congrats!

@2WL- Cool thought with Finland... I didn't have that on my radar at all. I was wondering what you would have thought about being opportunistic and simply taking Berlin last turn? It turns out that would have left him with zero disbands, which of course is sort of a hindsight is 20/20 kind of thing, but I still think I would have done it if I were in that situation. The other more interesting possible move is Rumania supports Constantinople to Bulgaria. What do you think about that one?

Berlin was an option as well, but if he did take Berlin, he couldn't have taken Sweden, and Sweden is in a better defensible position than Berlin. I also don't really see Russia working with Turkey at this point, so Bulgaria is out of the question.

In any case, Russia had a lot of options last turn, so I'm disappointed how his turn ended up.

I don't think you are wrong, I'm just curious- Why do you think Russia and Turkey couldn't work together? What would Turkey have built if he had gotten the build? Should Russia and Turkey be competing for Italy's affection or are they better off trying to take him on?

I don't want to say too much about that question because I don't want to unfairly influence the course of the game. I have expressed disappointment in the Russia/Turkey relationship in my writeups, so I don't want to say much more that I can otherwise save for my EOG.

Italy has played his situation with Turkey and France very well so far. Russia hasn't played well with Turkey. I don't think either of them want Turkey getting too big at this point because he could potentially take a bite out of either one.

Thanks guys. (Bump)

To jump in on the Russia conversation, the fact of the matter is that Russia isn't making progress in the north or in the south. That being the case, it's true that, from a gunboat/tactics perspective, he could have played his last turn better. But, as 2WL mentioned, his lack of momentum is more a symptom of lousy diplomacy (relationships) than lousy tactics.

Bump 'cause banned people should just give up and stay off our forums...

Bump, thanks Raz. I agree

Bump. Orders are in.

S 1905

We have our first elimination! Austria, thank you for participating and I hope the game and discussions were at least beneficial in some way. Don't forget to write an end of game summary so we can glean some insight into your decisions and you can ask questions of other players, TAs, and profs.

With that, the game is slowly starting to turn into a four player affair. England, France, Italy, and Turkey have emerged as the dominant powers. At this point, though, expansion is starting to inch toward that critical limit that exists before a stab becomes necessary. Personally, I can't wait to see who ends up with hurt feelings in a few turns :)

GERMANY - You bungled this turn up pretty badly, if I'm being honest. You managed to get Italian support to Munich. Great! Why, then, did you not cut the only support for Munich? Bel - Bur is the best compliment to Ber - Mun, but you didn't, which resulted in a disband and likely elimination next year. This was your shot, and you threw up a brick.

RUSSIA - So you (finally) took Berlin. Too bad you lost Rumania in the process and will lose St. Pete next turn. Not sure if that was a good tradeoff. In fairness, you're headed for elimination anyway, so you may as well take a few centers down with you.

FRANCE - I've got you in fourth place this turn, mostly because you botched Tunis pretty badly. You should be able to take it next turn (hopefully), but I don't know why you would bother with a support from WMed if that's the only way Italy can stop the move. Taking Belgium next turn would be a big gain, so two builds is a distinct possibility. At this point, though, you should be keenly aware of the fact that England is a very powerful neighbor who is quickly running out of room to expand. After St. Pete, where do you think he will look for more centers? Can you afford to leave Brest and the Channel unguarded? Can you afford to keep throwing everything at Italy? Things to consider.

TURKEY - You've grabbed third place in my ranks this turn. Bulgaria was a conclusion and puts you firmly in control of your corner of the board. Sevastopol appears to be your next target. But what comes after that? You have a large and well defended Italy as your ally, so a good arrangement between the two of you can keep tensions low, at least for the time being. Italy/Turkey is an unconventional arrangement, so hopefully you two can work out an agreement for centers that satisfies both of you.

ITALY - You are approaching the same limit as England - where to next? Fighting over Tunis can only last so long until you or France secures the center, and two French builds can't be a good possibility for you. I'm surprised you didn't move Tyrolia to Piedmont, but that plan with Germany should have honestly turned out better. Always pays to double check your plans for any possible faults.

ENGLAND - Still sitting as the clear leader this turn. You managed to put both new armies into play - nicely done. St. Pete is guaranteed and Kiel is likely to follow, possibly Belgium as well. Add Berlin to that count and it puts you at 11 centers. Time for you to start considering how you can potentially grab a solo and who can help you accomplish that goal. With no major roadblocks in the immediate future, you've got some diplomacy to do as well as some thinking. I'm looking forward to the next few turns from you.

Bump

bump

Spring 1905

Austria and Germany are tough countries. That being the case, I'm sure the players who drew those nations are, in fact, stronger players than they've appeared to be. Unfortunately, that's part of the game. In chess, the white pieces are better than the black pieces. In Diplomacy, it's better to draw France than Austria. That's not a flaw in the game, just as it's not a flaw in chess. It's just an aspect.

1. England. Russia is making almost no effort to defend his north, so your path to growth is getting easier and easier. The decision to build armies and convoy them onto the continent seems awfully wise. He's on his way to a build or two. Sticking with the loyal (if clumsy) ally in France is proving to be the path of least resistance for England. I can see England getting a solo as a reward for his slow, conservative, grind-it-out type of approach.

2. Italy. You built a fleet this year, but were you planning on using it? France managed to bungle up what should have been an easy capture of Tunis, just as Italy managed to ruin a nice opportunity for good counterplay. Why not use Tuscany to support Tyrr to Gulf of Lyon? That would force a retreat and push France onto his back foot, throwing him off, and giving Italy the opportunity to either hold on to Tunis or make a play for Spain or Marseilles. Instead, the fleets in the Med haven't moved. Without strong counterplay, Italy is going to run out of options. If the game doesn't manage to reach a draw in time, Italy is seriously at risk of losing his whole empire, depending on how the alliances pan out.

3. France. If you can figure out how to get Tunis (it can be done!) in the fall and grab Belgium, you'll be in very good shape. I'd like to encourage France to look again at the board. Perhaps there's someone he hasn't spoken with in a few seasons. As 2WL mentioned, it's becoming very necessary for France to reexamine the alliances and figure out how he can scrape his way back on top.

4. Turkey. Our Turkish player is spending a couple of weeks in army training (or something like that?), and is going to try keeping up with the game. That being the case, I'd say he's doing just fine. His alliance with Turkey is going swimmingly. He's finally going to get a build. He couldn't have played his turn better.

5. Russia. That perpetual bounce in the Black is really costing you now. Now, Russia couldn't afford to support hold Rumania. After Germany falls, I expect Russia to be the next one to go. His south and his north is collapsing, and there's not much to do to stop it. Obviously, if he didn't waste his time taking Berlin, he could have bought himself an extra year, but I'm not sure that would be enough.

6. Germany. You inherited a bad position, and now there's not much left. I like the idea behind forming an alliance with Italy, but, as 2WL pointed out, it just wasn't executed properly. No matter what, though, Germany wasn't going to last too long.

7. Austria. Thanks for sticking it out with us. Unfortunately, you've lost your last dot. I hope you keep following the game, and I know you're a better player than your position at Austria allowed you to be.

Turkey's alliance with *Italy. (Correction)

I'm pretty sure Turkey is also aligned with Turkey, so you weren't really that wrong.... :D

That's true. A Turkey divided upon itself cannot stand.

Any questions about spring?

I have a general question. The Professors appear to have written off Germany and Russia as lost causes (and understandably so).
Can someone comment on whether it is worth one of the three major powers propping up a lesser power to stymie his rivals? For instance, could/should France prop up Germany to stymie England?
What sort of pitfalls can come of that?
Is it worth a failing powers time to do go along with that or should he die gracefully?

I played a game a while back with Hampster (occupy serbia) in which I was the failed power and Hampster propped me up then tossed me aside like an old dishtowel :)

"Can someone comment on whether it is worth one of the three major powers propping up a lesser power to stymie his rivals?"

I believe that's the point of the entire game :)

But yes, this is an entirely valid and useful strategy, particularly if the effort required to eliminate a power may be greater than the benefit of having them work with you, provided that the power is amenable to an alliance that is totally one-sided.

In our case, Austria was used somewhat in this fashion a few turns ago, by Russia against Turkey. Italy tried this with Germany last turn with poor results due to a lack of coordination. The pitfalls are obvious - you could potentially allow a crippled nation to come back and either hurt your chances for a solo or solidify a place in a draw. If I'm a dying country, I always want to puppet myself to a larger power - anything to stay alive.

There is only one instance I can think of where a power came back from a single center to win a game (The Czech, a few years ago) but its certainly a possibility.

bumpity bump-bump.

Bump again.