Autumn 1904:
England - Good phase, good year. You have the MAO and no one else has a realistic shot at it any time soon, so you are in a good long-term position. Germany's fleets are bottled up and have no immediate path to the North Sea - again, a good long-term position. As such, my advice to you is to think long term. Set some targets with your TA, discuss stalemates (learn them now if you don't already know them), discuss centers that open up the board for you, and discuss whether opening a front against Italy in Iberia is worth the trouble and if it's even possible while also keeping Germany on his heels. Lots of homework for you.
France - Retreat to Portugal, hang out, go to the beach, creep on some chicks, do whatever you do. Just do it in Portugal.
Germany - Not complaining. It would have been nice to open up Kiel for a build, but that's not a big deal. At this point, I think you have to consider whether this little spat with England is worth continuing, especially given that he's got a pretty solid hold on everything north of Denmark. If I were you, I'd consider building a defensive army and line your northern coast in hopes that he'll realize you're a non-threat and look to the Med. If not, well, you're well-defended, and that's really all you can hope for because your two or three fleets, depending on your build, are not going to beat his. You've also got at least one, maybe two armies that are freed up to do something new now that France is out.
Russia - I'd much rather spend the remainder of my life in Portugal than St. Petersburg, but hey, apparently there's some pretty cool stolen Nazi-era artwork up there.
Turkey - I dearly wish you had two builds instead of one. I love your position, especially your position in the Ionian, but you and your TA have to discuss whether your target is Italy or the Balkans. I can go for either one, but man, two builds would be nice. All that said, you're in a solid spot - you have the Ionian for a phase and as a result you almost certainly have the Adriatic permanently, you have a solid defensive line in the Balkans (if only Rumania were an army), and it won't be long before Italy considers whether it's worth stabbing Austria again, which gives you more openings too.
Italy - You lost the Ionian, but that's not permanent. Obviously, though, you have to take it back in the spring, and I can't emphasize this enough - double check your orders! This is one you can't screw up. Don't enter them on your phone, don't enter them on Safari, and make absolute sure. Screenshot them and send them to me if they get messed up (not really, jmo would kill me). This spring is a huge phase for you. Aside from the Ionian, you have two things to consider - a) is England a threat? If yes, how many units can you allocate to defending Iberia? And b) how much use is Austria in his current state? Is it worth potentially giving Turkey another center or two to get a few of your own? You and your TA probably won't have a solid answer for each of these right now but they'll both answer themselves in the next year or two.
Austria - Things are looking up, but they're still pretty dire. Your homeland is expendable. For the moment, Italy is better off supporting you, but if he can hold his own on his other fronts, that won't last. It's Moscow and Warsaw that are important to you, because those are meaningful centers, and considering how badly this game has turned for you lately, you've done a fabulous job securing yourself there. As of right now, those are yours, and that's something to be positive about. That said, unless you make some gains in the Balkans, retake Trieste, and become a power again, it may not last.
I'm not going to rank players individually right now. Instead, I'm going to organize this into tiers because the map is way too shaky right now to put one player over another in my opinion.
Tier A - solo aspirations (notice I didn't say "solo threat" - we aren't there yet):
Turkey - no doubt. You've got a lot of potential gains if some things go in your favor and unlike the rest of the players on the map, you have no need to defend. That's why Turkey is so powerful, and so far you've done a good job taking advantage of that.
Germany - you're not going to beat England right now, but if you can beat Turkey to Warsaw and Moscow, or even just one of the two, you can silently ponder your solo potential.
England - I think you've put yourself in the position to at least give it a little thought. That said, Turkey and Germany are still way ahead of you, so don't get too full of yourself.
Tier B - fighting for a draw:
Italy - you're alone in this category, and I'm playing a bit of a semantics game, but I think it makes some sense. You're not fighting to be in a draw; you're already there. You're relatively stable as long as things stay relatively constant. Your goal is try to keep things that way, which means you are trying to manipulate the rest of the map into a draw, however that may be. A solo is a long shot right now, but nothing's certain.
Tier C - fighting to be in a draw:
Austria - you're alive, and if you make the right moves and get a little lucky, you could sneak into a draw. Unlike Italy, though, you have very little power over the rest of the map, so you just have to hope things go your way.
Tier D - on vacation:
France - take me climbing in Portugal sometime. I hear the 5.14s are just waiting to be conquered…
Russia - the only St. Petersburg I want to visit is in Florida. Sorry.
Challenge takeover position
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