Will post mine as well later, busy day, as usual!

You did make me feel a little guilty actually... you shouldn't have brought up that time you bent over backwards to eliminate me I reckon!

Wow, a rare 2-way draw with a group of superb vets. Pretty astounded, honestly.

I'm bummed I didn't survive.

That is all. Lol.

OK- here goes my EoG. Hopefully one of many...
I'll give my reactions to the labelled turn: so 'Spring 01:' will be followed by my reaction to the first set of moves.

Pre-game:
I speak to England more than anyone else, which is very surprising. He seems nice, talkative (which i like a lot) and friendly; but its annoying that AH and Italy are saying almost nothing. Russia also sounds nice and enthusiastic, so I'll go with him. I don't normally agree to dmz BS, but like an adventure, so I'll trust Russia. After all, AH isn't saying anything, why would Russia side with him?!

Spring 01:
Damn! My worst start in as long as I can remember. Russia must have had it in for me from the start (he later affirms this). What's more AH has lost all enthusiasm about the alliance. I try hard to convince Italy to leave me alone, but again he's unresponsive. Russia's still talkative, and promises to turn around and stab Austria in Fall... do I trust him again? Do I have any other choice?!

Autumn 01: Thank GOD I didn't trust Russia. I pledge myself to revenge, all the while talking nicely to him. AH doesn't accept my support to Rum... he's clearly with Russia.

The imbalance in the amount written between me and Austria/Italy is totally unacceptable. The tab's literally all yellow!! France and Germany are also very disappointing in writing very little...

The silver lining is that Italy seems to be buying my barrage of arguments and leaving me alone.

Spring 02:
As predicted, AH and Russia are all over me. Luckily there's nothing they can do to stop me disbanding Russia's fleet as planned this year. I realise that if Italy stays out of the conflict, and AH and Russia can't build in Sev/Trieste then this disband could be crucial.
Austria does something funny, keeping his late-in-the-day promise to move to Russian Rum, while simultaneously cutting my support for his move there. I don't take particularly kindly to his deception, but note that he doesn't like lying. It helps me trust him later on. All this time, my most productive messaging seems to be with England. We're talking about a 2 way, although it seems like a far-off dream at best, given my situation!!

Autumn 02:
Unfortunately my attempts to convince AH to stay out of the Aegean have failed, and he's cleared Trieste. Luckily (perhaps crucially?) Italy moves to Tyrolia, prompting an army build for AH, and giving me a very secure position. Russia and AH combined can't assail my fortress!! :) Immediately negotiations begin with both as to how we might end the deadlock.

Spring 03:
I take no risks, making moves that are impenetrable, despite Russia trying to convince me to do otherwise. Russia pulls through and stabs AH, but I manage to convince AH I'm still on his side.

Autumn 03:
I have some trouble convincing AH to move Bulg-Rum (move any other unit and Rum's support for Const-Bulg is cut), but eventually manage to arange things so that I take Bulg. I had to coordinate mine, Russia's and AH's moves perfectly for this to work, so I was very happy when it did. Talks with England begin to seem like they could become reality.

Spring 04:
My in-depth negotiations with AH work, and he cedes me Greece as promised. Suddenly, now he's on the back foot, he's a lot keener to talk to me... It seems he responds well to being stabbed... I'm still a little annoyed for his earlier manipulations and lack of messaging, but am prepared to work with him. I tell Russia that I'm still against AH. This is hard as I don't support hold Rum as promised (so that AH can support me to Sev in fall) but I say it was a mistake and Russia seems to buy it.

Autumn 04:
Perfect!! I pull the same stunt as in Autumn 03 and arrange all Eastern moves such that I can take Sev. Again I need Russia to move Sev to Rum, not any other unit, and I am lucky that he doesn't learn from AH's mistake the previous year. Suddenly I'm one of the biggest power, with lots of growth potential and anything seems possible.

05:
I continue to work with AH, almost stabbing him in fall, but deciding not to. Despite this I accidentally take Rum in fall, assuming my move there would bounce. AH naturally freaked, and I had to limit my builds - I assumed my slip had ruined any chances of a good stab...

Spring 06:
:-) My stab goes to plan, and AH leaves himself surprisingly open, given that I've just taken Rum. Russia's allegiance is unclear, but I don't really care - I can take him and AH on if need be.

Autumn 06:
I play moves to stop his units retreating to fight me, rather than to maximize my builds, as I already have delayed builds, and don't have many armies on the mainland yet to fight AH with. AH, as before, does little to punish me for stabbing him. I realize he's acting in self-interest, to encourage me to solo and secure a survive in Munich.

07:
I continue to push as north as I can. I do this firstly because England wants me to limit growth, so by not taking open Austrian SCs I naturally make more progress north. I also do it because I'm considering soloing, and want to be near Munich.

I really really like England as a player: smart, fun, very fair, honest. I'm not lying when I say I want to 2 way draw with him, and fully believe his equivalent promises, but a part of me knows I'll wanna grab the solo in this last game. I avoid playing moves that compromise that goal.

AH is unwilling to help me solo, despite my best efforts. Not all that surprising after I stabbed him twice I guess. Russia's a lot more enthused, and I try to reward him for his help.

Spring 08:
I make a big, big mistake in not moving to Warsaw. If I had done then, in fall I could have supported myself to Silesia and Russia could have supported Warsaw-Prussia (he was willing). This would have allowed me to take Munich and the solo in 09... DAMN IT!! :-)

Autumn 08:
ANOTHER mistake.... don't I learn?! I leave Gal open, instead of moving Ukraine there. This again restricts my ability to surround Munich the following Spring. Whether I could have soloed this time is doubtful, but if I had combined the move on Munich with units in Piedmont, GoL and WM I think England would have been unable to defend Marseilles and Munich.

I'm learning lessons about soloing I should have learnt long before my last game on the site!!

Spring 09:
I had to retreat now, whether for a 2 way, or for a solo. I wanted to solo, annoyed at myself for missing earlier opportunities.

Autumn 09:
My third mistake. I leave my game on 'no moves entered' (i.e. exclamation marks rather than a grey/green tick) to show England I was holding. He told me he would wait until fall to stab Germany, but I should have known he was lying. As uclabb later pointed out, I'd have been smart to enter moves at the last minute, thus tricking England in exposing himself. I think I could have taken the solo this way, occupying all the territories around Munich and Marseilles (with some help from Russia!). Again I'm annoyed at myself... I really didn't deserve the win.

Spring 10: I go for the solo. I didn't know exactly what moves England would play, or how the year would turn out. I thought perhaps I could grab Munich or Berlin in fall. Possibly Marseilles. I was sorry to stab England: we'd gotten on very well, and he'd been nothing but fair, loyal and honest to me all game. Some allies I enjoy stabbing (AH and Russia earlier in the game) but not England.

Unfortunately a close survey of the board made it to me that this would not be possible. I was also confident AH would betray me to get into the draw when England gave him the chance: this combined with my desire to finish what had become a somewhat frustrating game led to me retreat immediately and draw with England.

The result I was happy with. England played well and deserved the draw. I would have been nice to win my last game, especially after such a weak start, but I'm very glad to have played nonetheless.

Alright, so here it goes:

Pre-Game:
I talk with Turkey more than anyone else, but it still is far too early to make plans with him. My other good communication is with Germany. I like the sound of that. I'm being preoccupied about a possible sea-lion because all of Russia, France and Germany are saying they want to work with me. I'm sure I'll be screwed. Germany tells me he wants to go agressive against France right from the start even without Italy. I tell myself why shouldn't I! Here we go...

Spring 01:
Wheewww, I'm not getting screwed finally. Germany is up to work with me, but I'm still a bit preoccupied he sends his fleet to Holland. Talks are continuing and Russia claims he'll play south against Turkey. I'm not getting much press from France and Italy, although France looks like a solid partner to play with, but I like my communication better with Germany. We continue our invasion

Autumn 01:
That's right! 2 SCs to start with! Unfortunately, Germany doesn't get his 2nd build. France is pissed he couldn't communicate more with me and wants to ally against Germany. I found Germany was a great ally and he communicated well, so I'm not about to break that, but meanwhile, I continue talking a lot with Turkey for all sorts of reasons. We're making vile plans of conquering the world and are considering the 2 way draw, but it still doesn't make sense, and I have a strong start with England, so I only wish to solo at that point.

Spring 02:
I'm so afraid Russia attacks Norway that I tell Germany right away I'm supporting him to Sweden and that I think we can take both France and Russia down together. Communication keeps rolling with him and France looks like he's got something going on with Italy after this...

Autumn 1902:
Holy crap! I'm gonna get stalemated in MaO by France and Italy. Not looking good, but I still believe in Germany, My only hope at that time is to convince Italy about allying with me and make a fair split of french SCs. Italy doesn't communicate much and I find he's one of the funniest/weirdest Italy I've played again for a while. He wasn't looking to grow, but mostly make weird moves all game long.

Spring 1903:
I need to convoy in France so no one thinks of attacking me (even my German friend). It definately looks like me and Germany are set to dominate this game, but Turkey keeps whispering me that if I want to continue working with him long term and for my own good, I should think about stabbing Germany somewhen. I'm really not a fan of stabbing my ally early on and the longer I can keep an ally, the longer I will do it. Although, Francve and Italy are sending me messages that they will stalemate me in the Med. I have to convoy, but lose the MaO...

Autumn 1903:
I'm getting *really* annoyed at Italy and France stalemating me in the MaO, but I still want to work with Germany. We've been nothing but good to each other from the start. Although, I knew that at some point, he'd have to stab me as well. Italy and France want me to reconsider, Turkey says he would see more long term benefits together if I don't keep my alliance with Germany so long.

Spring 1904:
I know I have no other choice, for my growth, but to stab Germany, else I take too much risks of having him stab me while I get stalemated in the south. I'm telling myself: Hey, why not, just try and go for it and hope Italy turns out to be your ally.

Autumn 1904: Uh ho! Italy gets even more annoying/funny! I stab Germany, he attacks me in Irish Sea, he stabs France at the same time, and Germany tells me he recommended Italy to attack me in Irish Sea. I'm getting more and more happy that I stabbed Germany because then, France disbands his fleet in MaO, Italy has no other choice but to work with me, Turkey is my long-term ally, wants to work with me, at the same time, Russia also wants to work with me because I'm starting to promise him Sweden from Germany.

Spring 1905:
I'm starting to freak out a bit while I see Turkey with that much expansion possible. Fortunately, Italy works with me and Austria attacks him at the same time. Great! I'm telling Germany I'll ally back with him as I think we need to restart our alliance so we can stop A/T from Growing, or just a Turkey that would have all the area to stab Austria freely. I ask Austria if he wants to ally with me against Germany, along with Russia. Both agree, and my long term alliance with Turkey still continues. We've both been sharing information for all game, so it really has been helpful throughout the game.

Autumn 1905:
Austria goes against Germany, but Turkley stabs him for Rum and only Rum. Turkey later tells me he regrets it because he thought he'd have a harder time stabbing him.

Spring 1906:
I'm being VERY surprised at Austria's move. He doesn't protect against Turkey, but instead, tells me: Turkey can't solo without Munich or Berlin, right? so I have nothing to fear. At the same time, I'm getting pissed because I see my solo chances %age quickly falling to 0%, or close to none, but I'm also amaazed at this guy's guts to let himself that open.

Autumn 1906:
One of the most important turn for me. I'm promising Sweden to Russia, promising Marseilles to Austria, and telling Germany I'll leave him alone and that he can take back Holland and Kiel. I know Turkey can stab Austria badly this turn and take a large jump in SCs, and I'm starting to be afraid he might just go for the solo instead of going for my highest goal possible at that point: a 2 way-draw. I'm starting to be quite confused at what to do. At the same time, I know Germany is a really good guy and that he would play with me no problem, I'm telling myself I need to secure my Stalemate in StP right now instead of helping Russia, and I need badly an ally to stop a possible Turkish attempt at a solo. "What the HELL should I do?!?" I'm telling myself. At the last second, instead of supporting Austria to Marseilles, I switch sides and decide to take Marseilles, take StP and get along back with my old ally in Germany. Other important note: Germany leaves me Burgundy at last!

Spring 1907:
I start fearing Turkey much, and I think he does an attempt at attacking me by bumping Austria's fleet in MaO so he can solo more easy. He tells me it wasn't arranged and that it was "stupid" because we had a DMZ in the Med. I'm getting nervous, but se still talk about the two way, and I believe he believes in it, but at the same time, I have a strange feeling the guy will just jump at the solo if he has a chance to. Germany is being really happy that I left him all his territories and that I helped him take back Munich.

Autumn 1907:
I decide to stab Germany because I'm telling myself there's no way he could tak Munich at that point. Turkey looks like he wants the 2 way as well, because he does exactly what I ask him to do, because I know too well that he'll be the first one to 17 SCs, due to his position. At that point, I'm really only to max out my finish, be it a 3 way or a 2 way.

Spring 1908:
I see Turkey is starting to be to close to Munich. These last phases were really stressful. I feel Germany is pissed at me and that the only one that would work with me to go for a possible 3 way is Austria. Together, we put a set of moves that will eliminate Germany and bring him in Munich and Berlin. At that time, I prefer having only one player to deal with in Munich and Berlin, so I decide to support him to Berlin so he can take those 2.

Autumn 1908:
I feel 2 things from Turkey: He does moves to give me the impression he wants the 2 way, but I also feel, with his 2 armies near Munich, that he wants the win no matter what. I can't blame the guy for that!! We did get along pretty good all game long, but he sees I'm being anxious and stuff, and I tell him the game will end in a 3 way draw if he doesn't back off immediately because Austria threatens me to throw Turkey the game if I don't do exactly as he says. I'm telling Turkey that I'm doing exactly as Austria says until I see him far enough so I can make a move on him. I'm telling him any move, from now on that looks suspicious, will be a step back to the 2 way draw. He backs off while I do exactly as Austria asks me to do.

Spring 1909:
I'm telling Turkey any move from now on that looks suspicious will be a step back to the 2 way draw. He backs off while I do exactly as Austria asks me to do. Oh, I have to say Russia told me I'd be his hero and that he would give me litteraly sexual favors if I convoy him in Norway so that he can look from the top of the map at what's happening. He seriously made me lawled on that one. Awesome!

Autumn 1909:
I'm asking Turkey to stay still, or even better, to let his armies NMR while I attempt a move against Austria. I get no answer from there. I want until the very last minute, and then switch my moves to attack Austria while I hope he doesn't loggin at the last minute to put in orders.

Spring 1910:
Yiiiiihhaawww! That's right baby! A NMR it was, I'm ejecting Austria from Munich, and I know that from now on, Turkey can't attempt at a solo if I bounce him in GoL with my fleet in Marseilles. I'm telling him that. I congrat Austria on a well played game, because he showed a lot of gut and I think the game is nearly over.

Autumn 1910:
DUMMY! I'm being really pissed. Turkey still tries to position for the solo. He apologizes and everything and tells me that if it doesn't work, he will back off to let me eliminate Austria. I reply him that basically, the only way to solo would be to let Austria in Munich and hope Austria will give him the win. I'm telling him that I have more honor than just waiting for him to back off if he can't solo off my a**, and tell him that if I ever see Austria in Munich, it all ends in a 3 way draw, and I see no reason why Austria would refuse such a deal.

Spring 1910:
So these moves go well, he lets me in Berlin, and at that point, everything is stalemated.


Looking back at the game, I don't know how I could've gotten the solo. Austria was being MUCH more loose than Germany so I think my chances left as Germany was much harder to break at some point. I really believed in my chances to do so early on, but with Turkey's growth going so well! Maybe, Uclabb, you can tell me what made you chose to leave yourself open at that point? Was it to shake my thoughts at that point and try to force me into helping you be part of the stalemate, instead of fighting Turkey and letting me freely into Germany's SCs? I would be interested in hearing your thought process about that part of the game.

Baskinelli: Sadly, you had to quit this site in a hurry. I would've liked to hear what was your thought process through the game, because you were one special Italy, that's for sure!!!

Thucy: We haven't been cooperating this game... You looked really friendly through the game, but my alliance with Abgemacht made it impossible for the both of us to ally together! Bien joué, Mec! Et à une prochaine partie probablement!

Friendly Sword: Sorry that I had to stab you so early. Like I told you, I think we would've been a good fit to make a good partnership, but I was too afraid you might not respect our DMZ from the start since you gave me no answer about it. After that, it was just a no brainer for me to attack you until the end.

Abgemacht: You're one really great ally to have! (Take note everyone!) You'Ve been honest through all the game, and I would've probably continue my alliance with you if it wasn't for Italy, France (mainly) and Turkey pushing me towards you. I hope we can play together again soon!

Dave Bishop: Mister My-Long-Term-Ally-It's-My-Last-Game-So-I-Want-To-Solo! What a great game it was. I really enjoyed our long chats throughout the game! Lots of fun discussing with you about strategies, other powers and such. We FINALLY dit pull that 2 way draw. But don't worry, I knew I had to watch my back when you had everything going for you at one point, but I still believed you throughout those stressful moments that you weren't BSing me! ;0) You truly impressed me that move where you convinced Austria and Russia to ally with you and that made you expand a whole lot. It was truly impressive! Congrats on that and on a well played game, Mate!

So, in retrospective, I'm really happy with the result, because the solo was off my mind at some point. And, yes, I *finally* had the kind of 2 way-draw I always wanted!

Good game, everyone! And I hope I'll be reading your EoG or answers to my questions.

Bump

Haha, good reading slyster thank you. The 2 way draw was a good result

lol.

well, for the record, i do my best work as a pawn.