New Phase

Autumn 1904

Italy:

You can not save yourself by simply moving pieces around the board. You need to try to strike a deal with France or Austria. For instance, threatening to throw all your centers to France if Austria doesn't give back VEN. Or, moving your fleet to EMED, offering Austria support against Turkey in exchange for VEN. Things look very bad, but take note of the different power struggles in the board. There are countries that don't want France or Austria to have your centers: enlist their help!

Austria:

A decent set of secure moves. If you wanted to be a bit more aggressive, I would have suggested moving TRIE to ADR. This would have given you the option of building another fleet, which could be very helpful. Yes, you would have lost VEN, but it was very likely that you would be able to retreat to ROM. You then could have taken back VEN and likely beat France to most of Italy, which would have been very good for you. If that was too risky for you, I think I would have at least move VIE to GAL, to start working on a Northern front. There is no reason to let England or Germany take MOS without a fight. It would have also allowed you to use both your builds. Remember, getting centers is great, but it doesn't do you all that much good if you can't build.

Turkey:

If Russia were still around, you could have done something about SEV. You don't want to be surrounded by Austria. Your moves this turn were good, though. Likely the best you could do. Just don't become complacent about sitting in your corner and letting Austria have all the fun.

Germany:

All things considered, things went OK for you. Unfortunately, you, too got screwed over by having no Russia around. You likely could have enlisted his help against England. Like Italy, you need to start playing hardball. Unlike, him, though, you actually have a very good chance of making it. You still have enough units to assert your will and you still control MUN, which is a very important center. Play England and France off of each other.

England:

You continue to make progress, which is good, but you are not keeping up with France. He has a realistic shot at 2 centers next year, and you have a shot at maybe one. You can't let him get too far ahead of you in centers, especially considering is better positioning. I would have moved into SKA this turn, so that you'd be sure to take DEN next year. I understand wanting to prevent France from taking KIE, but you need to mobilize that fleet in NWG; it isn't helping you there. It would have been worth risking KIE so that you could have had all your units in play.

France:

You are clearly the strongest player on the board, but you are leaving yourself very open to a stab from England. I suspect your move to GoL was to support PIE? I guess that's OK, but I would have preferred to see it move to TUN. You could then have fleets in TYS, NAP, and ION, which would have secured your lock of Italy.

Russia:

CD

Star

Fall 1904

At this point, with Russia out, I will rank the board as a whole instead of by sphere.

#1 France: Even with the many countries that earned a build this last season, you're the player with the most SC's and a solid position, and it's evident that you've secured the top spot on the board. I liked the move to take the ION instead of trying for an Italian center. This will give you at least two builds coming to you next year unless you're feeling generous, and possibly even three depending on the way you play your cards. At this point, you're really down to concise playing instead of adept negotiating. The fact that Germany has a disband coming will also give you a better edge in the coming year. This build, like most others, will be of importance, so pay attention to what could be going on and where you'll have the most need. I'm curious about the English play on Holland. I'm not sure if it was a cheap attempt at earning a build for himself or if it was something that was discussed.

#2 Austria: Two builds this year has you looking fantastic, although you'll only be able to place one of them on the map at this point with a deferment on the other until next year. You do have the unenviable position of being nuzzled between Turkey and France, so some planning will have to be in order to prevent you from being crushed. Based on your moves, there's only one thing I'd have done differently...well, two really--the first would have been to see that you had two builds coming and to open a spot somewhere to ensure that you got them both on the map now. Always keep in mind that deferring a build is never ideal and not usually a good thing (the only times I consider deferring a build is when I get an obscene number of centers and not deferring means I become a target, but even then, other countries would have to request a deferment from me and lace it with indications of enmity. The benefits of the build almost always outweigh the risks of deferment).
The thing I'd have really done differently depended on my press from other countries. Germany should have been pressing you with the idea of supporting him into Moscow, and I'd have accepted. It should be noted that I'd have only agreed to it if he asked. If he didn't bring it up, I wouldn't offer it. The reason I would have agreed to support him in is that you may need the long-term support in the event that France and Turkey turn on you, and having a German ally around that can lend supports is nice, and players are more opt to agree to help you if you've been helpful in the past. Additionally, the longer the fight in the west drags out, the better off you are because you really need a wall that you can hug to prevent facing a two-opponent battle. Plus, there's nothing really anti-French in supporting Germany into Moscow, it merely keeps a player in Moscow that doesn't have intentions on stealing Sevastopol. But again, if he didn't ask, I wouldn't offer it. Barring that, you looked great this year.

#3 England: Not too shabby. You earned a build, your opponent went down one and you've got a solid ally helping you in the fight. I'm sure you've been in contact with your TA about build options and I'm going to be a stickler in what I want to see. I think you have a very great opportunity that you need to capitalize on before windows close. You should get a build next year and you should also keep up your press. There's still plenty to talk about.

#4 Germany: This last year really dropped you. While most countries gained units, you lost one. It's fortunate for you that you lost only one, but the disband will be a difficult one to make. I like the way you defended what you have. That was a plus. I'm also not sure what's going on behind the scenes. I will say what I had intended you use as forms of diplomacy and you can run through the list and see what you did and didn't do. I'd have been talking to:
--France: I'd have informed him that he has a golden opportunity to move to a solo position by working with you. I'd have offered him the Island and taking the North if he would simply square off against England instead of you. It's not likely he would go for it, but your press to France needs to be such that you're offering him a LOT and giving you "neutrality" at current. You could have told him that you can hold him off for years gaining nothing because if he is to get anywhere, he really needs control of the NTH at this stage. You needed to continue to wear down the EF because the alliance at this point isn't going to be in your favor. Inserting paranoia into the mix can help.
--England: You have a lot to offer him. France is a large country. He has two units more than England, and you could have been pressing him that working together is the best way to go to prevent France from turning on him later when it's convenient. He has less to gain from the deal as well. You could have easily offered him Moscow in return for support into Holland or vice-versa. Your press with him doesn't need to be as desperate as with France. He had fewer centers than you at that stage and therefore, you don't need to offer him as much. Press with those equal to or weaker than you merely need to be the offer of mutual support, however these agreements need to appeal to their FUTURE. Keep in mind that England has a solid present prospect, so you need to offer something that nets him as much or more. This is often best done by offering something tangible now that is at least as good as what France has to offer, and also offering something for the future. Players need to see that they stand to gain more by working with you than against you.
--Austria: You should have also been pressing Austria into giving you Moscow because Austria shouldn't want extra western countries in the east. Each western country that has eastern centers becomes a solo threat. In addition, the only thing keeping England out of Austrian territory is you. I would have been sending the idea that Austria doesn't want a EF that stay strong after you're gone and that he needs you as a form of potential defense later on. Here, you have to offer him something that he needs, because he isn't interested in Moscow, and there's no immediate benefit to giving you support there.
Keep in mind that none of your claims have to be true, nor do that have to be realistic. Play to people's greed, fear, needs, or wants. You have to make your comments to others sound both believable and appealing. There's no sense making up a far-fetched story that England will dominate the map if he doesn't help you, because at 5 centers (at the time), there's no basis for such a claim. It's also ludicrous to state that by helping you, you can help him eliminate Turkey. Start with the immediate and ask yourself "what can I offer him now that I would want if I were in his shoes?" Think "what problems could arise for him in you losing?" and "what benefits does he have for keeping me around?"

#6 Italy: There's not much I really have for you. At this point, you should be offering yourself to anyone who will take you. You've got 2 units, and you have to hope that someone wants to make use of them. My best advice is to simply find a player and offer them anything they want if they keep you around. Be inventive and find those ways that you can give to someone. What you don't really have is the luxury to request anything in return. Simply telling someone that they can have anything you can offer is enough. All you can really request is that you survive. Most of the time, it doesn't really pan out to much, but sometimes it does. I tend to be the player that likes to keep the one SC guy around working for me and I'm usually willing to offer them something if they help me, even if I'm not attacking them. For example, Turkey or Germany may have something to say in keeping you around, so don't be afraid to talk to anyone about it. You may get lucky and find someone that agrees.

#5 Turkey: The last of the players to have received a build, you make the list at spot number 5. At this stage, you'll come down to direction. You're in a very perilous place right now and you need to get out of the lockdown you're on. Landing Greece was the first step toward that but this doesn't mean that you're out of the clear. At this point, you have no guarantees about where you will be in 2 to 3 years. Austria and France are allied right now which isn't great news. You have to send out press that nets you something in the way of an assurance that you won't be a target in the coming years. I would have said Russia, but he split (sorry about this--I've noticed it happens in most School of Wars. It's a very noobish trait to quit when things aren't looking like a winning situation). At this point, you don't have a lot of options, so you will have to give what options you do have some very appealing things. Your position, more than most, will rely on your persuasiveness. You may also question why you received a build, have the same number of units as Germany, and he lost a center but you're below him. The reason for this is that you have less going for you. The last build was a build that didn't make enemies out of anyone. You really just took a build from a dead player--a build based on convenience. Now that those are gone, you have a really difficult road ahead of you and it could mean that you don't see a build for a while. Germany, on the other hand, has things to offer to others that could change his path.

Bump

bump for builds.

Bump

English/French builds signify a strong alliance still.

I wish Turkey had built another arm. He could have moved his fleet to BS and done a lot of damage to Austria. He isn't going to beat France to Italy at this point, so the additional fleet seems like a waste.

Bump, new phase

On my phone for now so I'll just briefly ask 2 retorical questions:

1) Why didn't Turkey tap ION. Yeah, Italy is probably lost, but ION is a key space to hold. Especially since AEG just sat there, not even defending GRE. Guys, please stop holding units. Always give them something to do.

2). Why did Austria think England was a better choice than Germany for Mos? Germany is essentially acting like a shield for Austria against the EF alliance. Austria, why did you just screw him over?

Spring 1905

It's clear by this season that some players are on their last leg and this game will quickly reduce to half the original number. There's a lot of game left, and moving into the next 3 years will be determined by present positioning and vision.

#1 France: Where you're concerned, I have to go back to your build phase. I would have posed this at that time, but I'm in the process of a move back to my wife's hometown of Bowling Green Kentucky and didn't have a lot of time available to post that commentary. The bottom line is that your build was wrong. I'd have gone whole-heartedly with an army, and not a fleet. You already had 3 fleets in the south, making you the dominant naval force. The extra fleet wasn't necessary. I'd have much rather preferred the flexibility of an army because convoying armies at this stage is a powerful concept. Additionally, most of your future gains are going to be inland. Keep in mind that only 4 centers are not accessible to you by land: the three on the English Island and Tunis. Being allied with England means you don't have eyes for Lvp, Edi and Lon. Tunis is already yours. Thus, the need for an army far outweighs the need for a fleet. Had you built a fleet, I'd have convoyed the army (recall my comment that convoying is POWERFUL at this point) to Nap and supported with the ION. This would have enabled you to have an army in a key location on the boot. Now, you did sew up Rom for yourself and you also went with a fleet, so my convoy army is a moot point. Just remember, with the exception of England, most countries need about 30% fleets, 70% armies, give-or-take an extra fleet. No one needs a 50-50 ratio. If you maintain a 50-50 ratio, you're really giving up on a solo. Now, as to your moves, the only one I find near useless is F Mar-Spa sc. I can tell it's an effort to prevent losses in the event England stabs. It may help you to know that most experienced players don't stab for 1 center. If an experienced player stabs and they only get one center from the deal, it's because either (a) the stab went wrong and the victim moved to defend parts of it or (b) the one center loss lead to a disband by the victim AND gave the aggressor a great advantage for further gains that would cripple the victim over the course of a few years. Also, it's not worth stabbing an ally in the same year your ally receives more centers than you take. Here, you stood to gain at least 2 centers, 3 if things go well. If England stabbed, he would get 1 center from you giving you at least one build thereby fortifying your homeland--not what you want when you stab a guy. This was meant to exemplify my point that the F Mar-Spa move was a bit useless. Not entirely, but mostly. The rest of your moves look fine.

#2 England: Wow--I'm surprised that it was YOU getting the Austrian assistance. That goes a long way to indicate the way the board could shape up over the next few years. So, you've got two builds coming, nicely done, and Germany is seriously looking like roadkill about now. I really liked your play around Germany. I love the build--the best one of the board, and the fact you successfully convoyed it to the mainland really put you as a strong contender in this game. I also really liked the fact that you were able to get into Moscow. Years ago, I put together what I call a "solo radar" for each country. This is essentially a map that shows the centers a country controls when it solos, and the frequency it controls these centers. Where England is concerned, soloing is pretty straight forward. To solo, England almost always takes all 17 centers in the west and also takes either Moscow, Warsaw or Tunis. Where variations occur, England may take one or two less western centers and take two or three from the list of Warsaw, Moscow, Vienna, Tunis, Rome, Venice and Naples. The fact you were able to snag Moscow puts you in a power position alongside France, because up until this year, France was the only solo possibility having taken Tunis. The difference is that when France solos, he less frequently takes Norway, Sweden and St. Petersburg and more frequently takes most or all of Italy and in some cases parts of Austria. Anyhow, you're looking really great going into the Fall season and I'm eager to see the finality of this year where you stand.

#3 Austria: You've got a pretty good position, but it's getting to the point that I worry about your future with the way France and Turkey are shaping up. I'd have gone more with a German ally and I agree with Abge a lot on this standpoint because there is a EF on the board and one has to wonder if it won't end up as a EFT. By supporting England into Moscow, you're really adding one other player to the list of possible solo threats (hopefully you read my commentary to Germany last season because most of what I said were very valid points under the right perspective) and there's less of a chance England will help you against Turkey if it comes down to it. You really need to select your press to the Turk well because you can't afford for there to be a FT alliance. You really need for it to be a AT or to have someone in your corner. Also, with the fact that you didn't support Germany, there's a real possibility that German retreats could make their way toward your home centers. One thing you should consider is that if you're going to screw a guy, you ought to be prepared to make sure he get's hammered to the point that he won't come back at you. I've seen enough angry players in my day to know that people sometimes view the rest of the map in strange ways and you may think Germany's biggest enemy is France and England and get the impression that he will focus solely on them, but he very well could hate you far worse than they because in his time of need, you supported the other guy. I've found that when people start losing (myself included), they initially get angry at the guys who are attacking them and do what they can to hamper their game in favor of someone else, but when someone else comes along and screws with their game, they may get even angrier at the new guy. 2 day phases allow for a lot of time to cool off when you're being attacked and you view the attack as normal, but you loathe the guy that could have helped and chose to instead kick you when you're down. Hopefully you don't see losses this year.

#4 Turkey: Your year is beginning to look a lot brighter. I tend to disagree with Abge about tapping the ION if you have a French ally. I totally agree with him that the ION is a very key zone. I also thought issuing an order for the AEG to support F Smy-EAS and then changing your Smy fleet order and forgetting to change the AEG order is a bit of a blunder, but not a game-changing one. I actually preferred the new Smy move better. With the ION open, I'd seriously start some dialog with France over it. On a side note, I do see much more promise in your year this year than I did last year and I suspect you'll begin to move up the rankings. Your build was fine, although it lacked vision since you could have built the same fleet in Con, tried for Ser and moved Con to Bul in hopes of also taking Rum, but complaining over it is really crying over spilt milk. Good luck in the fall.

#5 Germany: This year will not be a great one for you. I have to say, I seriously disagree with your moves. There's little to no benefit in moving exactly the same way in consecutive seasons, especially when being attacked because the opposition isn't likely to do the same thing twice. If something fails the first time, people test something else. Therefore, your defense has to constantly change. In addition, you have to slow down on the holds and support holds because they won't get you anywhere. You've got Warsaw, which will keep you in the game longer than if you only had home centers left, but you need to continue to find centers away from home to keep you in the game. Your home centers will continue to dwindle and each center you control outside German territory is one more unit you'll keep in the game. Also, the more units you have abroad are more countries you could talk to into becoming an ally. A 5 center Turk is very likely to find a 2 center German helpful if he has units bordering an enemy's centers. There have been countless times I've decided to keep a small guy on the map that was interested in advancing my position, and these guys are the ones that find themselves as necessary units in a draw situation to hold the line because eliminating them becomes a hazard. Keep up the diplomacy and continue to think about survival. All's fair in this war, and when you're a sinking ship, you have little time for players to be neutral toward you.

#6 Italy: Well, it looks like this is going to be your final year. You played to the end and I commend you for that. Now, although I say this, you're not out yet, and I'd talk to Austria in particular because he, more than anyone else, is going to be the guy to keep you in this game. Talk to your TA about discussion points and look for things that Austria might find appealing. Build on those and log on to send and receive press as much as possible this season. Treat it like S01--log on often and reply to everything.

bump

Commentary coming later tonight

bump

Re-bump

Fall 1905

There are a lot of events that took place that I had predicted, some of which I saw coming prior to the Spring moves. At this stage, the players remaining are putting together a pretty good series of moves and there's far less to complain about as the game heads into what could be the final few years. As it stands, the board looks like it could shape up to a three way draw or less, but there's still plenty of game left to play. The average game lasts until about 1910 and if this game were average, there would be at least 5 years remaining. For this game, it may end sooner depending on each player's vision, diplomacy, tactics, etc.

#1 France: You are the clear and sole contender for this spot. The fact that you had 3 builds this season is no small feat and is something that should be celebrated in Paris. In fact, you had almost the perfect season, and it could have only been better had you built that army and done more damage as I mentioned in my commentary in the Spring. At this stage, you should be putting together what you want to see for the rest of the game and work to obtaining that. Your press with others should be an extension of these goals. There are some events on the board that will slow your growth next year, but if you gained nothing it would be a shock.

#2 England: Also a very clear second spot to which no one could argue. Nice job on securing two builds for yourself. You do have some serious problems going into next year, though. If we look at the map, you have an army in Den and a fleet in StP. Neither of these are ideal. First, it should be noted that Denmark is a "kill zone". There are only a few such locations. These zones are as follows:
Bulgaria and Rumania for fleets, Denmark for armies, and Portugal for both fleets and armies. They are kill zones because they are centers with a very limited number of retreat options and units are often dislodged from these spots with no place to run, and are forcibly disbanded. Let's look at each of them in turn and discuss Denmark last:
Bulgaria and Rumania: these are almost always a kill zone for Russian and Turkish fleets early on. Sometimes Russian fleets are voluntarily popped to replace it with an army during the progression of a Juggernaut that has no need for a Russian fleet. To pop fleets here, a fleet is stationed in the BLA with units in the other two adjacent spots (Sev/Bul or Con/Rum) and since all of these locations are centers (except the BLA which is a very powerful sea zone in this area), it's probably the most common location for a wayward fleet to be dislodged leaving no retreat option. It's wise to really know ahead of time what you're doing to avoid losing a fleet to an opponent, especially during the Spring, thus reducing the number of units available to you in the fall.
Portugal: This tends to be the least frequent location to kill a unit because anyone that is taking Por does so by moving in and then back out to put that unit in an effective location. It's lethal to both armies and fleets because in order to take Por, the enemy has to have a unit in both Spa and the MAO which are the only locations to attack from and retreat to. Therefore, if the unit is going to be attacked, and the attack is successful, there's naturally going to be a disband of the unit. It also tends to be one of the hardest locations to take because it is the only kill zone that rests in a place critical to holding the stalemate line. It usually happens that units retreating from Spain end up here, although sometimes a fleet will make the choice to retreat here from the MAO, although its usually because France or some other nation is losing and clinging to hope and trying to keep as many centers as possible. The benefit of this zone is that it's hard to take, as well. If players are able to make an attack on both Spa and the MAO, the attacks cut the only support that can be issued to taking Por and the zone becomes deadlocked. Based on this, it's really important that units retreat to Por and Spain only in the event that it's absolutely necessary because you don't want to end up in Por to be popped if you can help it.
Denmark is the last kill zone and is infrequently seen. It kills only armies because fleets have a far greater number of retreat options available to them since 3 of the 5 adjacent zones are seas. Armies are much more easily killed here. The reason it's rare to see an army killed here is because armies that end up there are usually in and out trying to push their way into Swe or Kie (the only retreat options). Also, this zone is most often taken with fleets--Germany far more frequently opens to Denmark with the fleet in S01, and when Germany does open to Holland and takes Den with the army, there's always the option to retreat to Kie in the event of bad news. Even though it's rare, it's very easy to kill an army here, which is why I mention it. If the enemy controls the three sea zones, it's easy to take Den. Also, when Den is controlled by a nation, it's very common for the enemy to control either Swe or Kie (which is the case here). The end result is that an army needs to be in and out, and not using this as long-term parking.
Based on the setup, you have an army in Swe, which means you can't cut any support at the BAL. Also, there are a number of things available to Germany that could cause you quite a bit of trouble based on your current setup. Therefore, I don't like the spread of your units, it's not conducive to a victory setup. I also don't like the fleet you have in StP sc. Russia is gone. You have no need to put it there. It's not like it's going to be able to support a hold on Mos. You really need an army there, but your abundance of fleets means you won't have one there until F06 at the earliest. This puts a lot of unnecessary pressure on Mos. Plus, you have a fleet locked down in StP sc for a long time to come. To be honest, the only players that really need a fleet in that entire bay area (BAL, GoB and StP) are Russia and Germany, and they use this place to stage an attack on each other. When England or another country has a fleet in there, it's usually on lockdown or it's convoying armies. Yours in StP is doing neither, so it's wasted energy. Get it out and get it productive. Finally, I get the feeling I know what you're going to build, but I'm hoping for something different. Take time to really talk to your TA to discuss build options. Finally, what's with the move F MAO-Hol? If it was a stab, it was cheap and useless because of the number of builds coming to France this year If it was an agreement that you had with France that if he got into Kie, he'd give you Hol, then why wouldn't you use Den to support Ruh-Kie? If it wasn't either of these, then it's not a great move. Maybe you can throw this answer in with your EoG's.

#3 Turkey: You're in a MUCH better position right now. Your takeover of Ser is simply great, even though it was a bit of a guarantee if you attacked him in the first place. You, more than anyone, will have stretched Austria very thin with this movement and placed yourself in a position of power. I think your build is an obvious choice, but I'll wait the 18 hours to see for myself. The one area I might have an issue is the move to BUL nc. I can see why you selected that route, but you really don't need it there. Rumania is almost a shoe-in, even without it. However, now that it's there, make the most of it and then ship it out.

#4: Austria: Ouch, you're really in a bad spot. Turkish units have spread your defenses along Tri, Bud and Rum. To add to this, there's a Turkish build coming in this Spring that means ill as well. Fortunately, France has not posed a threat, and you'll need that French ally to prevent you joining Italy. My guess is that you haven't had a whole lot of discussion with Germany. Your support hold on Tyr failed and France gained a third center (although this loss was Germany's, but it's hard to blame the guy--you did give support to England over him and it's hard to trust a guy that pulls stuff like that). Also, France has a build coming in at Mar, so one has to wonder what it will be used for. Your defense indicates that you didn't put much thought into what Turkey would do and instead chose to "play it safe" and protect what you could, rather than think of a way to prevent your loss of Ser. From Turkey's perspective, there was no way for you to hold Serbia, so he was guaranteed to go for the sure build instead of going for the unlikely Rumanian center. At that rate, I'd have opted to chance something. I'd have even talked to Germany and told him that if he supported you into Moscow, you'd support a hold on Munich. He would have bought that a bit more than you simply offering a support because he sees that you're committing to something for yourself in addition to offering something to him. It's harder for Germany to buy into an offer of free support when you chose not to help him in Moscow. Also, ordering Ven to hold? kinda sketchy. At this stage, you can ill-afford holds. One thing you might have considered if you couldn't get Germany at the negotiating table with an offer of Moscow would have been to move to Arm, Sev and Rumania, thus simply allowing Turkey free access to Serbia. This would have forced him to extend protection to two of his home centers reducing the effectiveness of any attack he might have against you. At this point, you need to consider offering anything you can to anyone. France will be looking for a solo opportunity as will England, so you've got a few options there. Germany will be looking for the shot to survive, so you can possibly put together something there. The game's not over and you've got 6 units, which is far from death.

#5 Germany: I like that you tried something different, although you had a game-changing blunder. Austria offered support and you selected to move Mun-Kie. Oops. My hope is that this came as a result of having one set of orders in and then changing it, but forgetting to change Mun. Ah well, you've still got some options. Be inventive. I see something on the board that could allow you to stay in this game for quite a while.

Italy, you played better in your second half, and I really commend you for playing it through. I hope you choose to continue to follow the game and participate in the EoG's. In some sense of the situation, it's better to be eliminated earlier than later because it gives you time to cool down and reflect. If you're like me, you can get really angry with other players during a game, and having that time to return to reality and reflect on things can help give you perspective. As I said, I'd love to hear your EoG's when this thing is all said and done. There's nothing like sitting around a table and discussing the high's and low's of a game and being able to ask your opponents those 'why' questions.

Autumn 1905

Turkey:

I’m glad to see you making progress. This is why people need to plan carefully when picking a fight with Turkey. Notice how long he was able to hold out, eventually getting back into the game.

You are still not fully utilizing your units, though. Having AEG sh GRE was a complete waste because nothing could dislodge that army. It would have been much better to take ION, which you’ll need to prevent France from soloing. You at least could have used it to support CON-BUL, just in case RUM bounced there.

Austria:

You have the same problem as Turkey, only worse. A *lot* of your units sat around doing nothing. If you think you were able to buy your way into the draw by supporting England to MOS, you are sadly mistaken. Your only hope is to convince Turkey you are needed to proven a French (or possibly English) solo. It will be hard to do that when your armies on the French border sit around doing nothing.

You knew SER was lost, so you should have set yourself up to prevent yourself from losing RUM, too. You could have hit BUL with RUM, since he was certainly not going to hit RUM with support. If you were dead-set on working with France, then you should have moved your army in TYR back to secure your Southern line. Better yet, would have been to demand MUN for payment of MOS.


England:

You are doing well, but you are letting France get much larger than you. Additionally, your unit placement puts you in no position to win this game. In fact, you’re barely in a position to defend against a French solo attempt.

I’m not sure why FIN went to STP. I understand it’s hard to move with that Russian fleet in GoB, but that fleet is now completely worthless. It can’t defend MOS and there is no risk of anyone taking STP. I would have used NTH to sh DEN and used last turn to better position yourself by moving SWE-NWY (and eventually STP) and FIN-SWE.

It’s time to decide if you’re content with playing 2nd fiddle to France.

France:

Things are looking very good for you. You are the largest country on the board and no one seems to want to fight you. The next stage is going to be challenging, though, as you need to pick your next target without panicking the whole board (admittedly harder to do with this commentary).

I would have suggested taking ROM with TUS and moving TYS to ION, but I suspect you have an agreement with Turkey that you don’t want to break (yet).

Sorry, Germany!

With Austria throwing you to the sharks, I think you're doing the best you can. It's unfortunate you can't break up EF, but it's hard to say exactly what's going on without looking at the press. Personally, I would have held on to MUN at all costs, seeing as it's one of the most important territories in the game.

Austrian Addendum:

I didn't realize at first that you tried to support hold MUN. This was an excellent attempt to try to save Germany, but why on earth, then, did you not also support Germany MOS? Trying to help Germany is the right move, but you should have gone all-in.

Bump

Bump

Paused. Let me know when everyone's ready to go again (or you can vote yourself if that's simpler).

Thanks bo

bump

b ump for phase advance

I will comment on the builds this way:

England: I was really looking hard at your build possibilities for this year when I was putting together my fall commentary and really examining the map for what it was. I feel that your builds this year were not optimal. If you have kept in mind what I have been putting, it strongly suggests that you have an over-abundance of fleets. As it stands, you have 4 fleets and 3 armies. To be fully effective, this should be the other way around. What's your fleet in Edi going to do? It suggests the idea that you were planning on moving it to the NRG while the NRG fleet hits the BAR so you can convoy an army into Stp. The problem is that you don't need more fleets. You need more armies in German soil and in other places that can find a way to cross the stalemate line.
I have learned as I play this game that there is a very narrow window of opportunity for a player to effectively cross the line before things get difficult. If a player crosses in a timely manner, he can avoid notice and set himself up nicely for the possibility of a solo. Moving across to early can spread yourself too thin and make you a target for others nearby while making enemies that you don't need in the other sphere of power. If you move there too late, the window to cross might be closed. Some countries have a larger window of time available to them, but England is not one of them.

In addition, the presence of the French fleet in Bre is going to be cause for concern. Had you built two armies, you could have convoyed one and left the other on the Island as defense, because fleets don't defend you as well as you need.

Let's see how this year goes.

General question for the professors for the benefit of the learners :
Do the builds in this phase point to how each country hopes the end game will look?

Or are they just builds and one shouldnt look for deeper meaning.