Okay - if I don't write this now when it's fresh, I probably never will...so grab your seat by the fireside, and let's recap this fine beauty of a game...
 
First of all - acknowledgements and gratitudes to the GM and players as a group - let me say what a fine impression DC has made on me in this, my first DC game.  I previously played the majority of my games in another community, but expect to spend more of my time here in the future.  Much of the credit for that goes to our GM, Matt, who ran this puppy like clockwork.  You have my gratitude.
 
That said, I came in to this game with zero previous exposure to any of the players.  I decided to adopt a pro-Austria approach, given signs of a loose R/T alliance forming.  Initially Brian (Austria) proved very open to my ideas, and had some good ones of his own as well - however, we began to have some communication difficulties, delayed replies, and some conflicts about how to coordinate our attacks/division of the spoils. 
 
One thing lead to another, R/T started to show some cracks early on, a vulnerability opened up, and I joined in the all-too-common Austria dogpile when it appeared that I could get more than my fair share of the spoils. 
 
Meanwhile - I watched in horror as Joe (Germany) seemingly consumed both England and France in one monstrous gulp.  My nightmare intensified as I saw our replacement French player switch over to all hold orders when the assistance he wanted never materialized.  I had expected him to at least self-support and make basic defensive moves.  Life is full of little disappointments. 
 
Enter Warren.  Warren's Russia proved to be the perfect ally - as is often the case between Russia and Italy in the mid-game.  He managed to check Joe's advance in the north, and was willing to carve up Turkey with me. 
 
Brief interlude for a word on Turkey (Vincent) - never made a wrong move the whole game.  Perhaps not quite aggressive enough, but still - I think that he just happened to be the target this time around.  By virture of position alone, Russia was the better choice for an alliance partner - and indeed I/T alliances are rare unless they begin very early and both players limit their fleet builds intentionally for the purpose of *making* an I/T alliance work.  That didn't happen here, and I must confess I never really had much intent of working with Vincent in this game, though I gladly would elsewhere.  As Turkey in DC 215, his position was just too much of a liability in my backyard to be neglected, and the SCs I could gain from attacking him were much needed.
 
So...enter my dilemma.  Russia and I have pretty much eliminated Turkey, he's on the ropes, but more vindictive against Russia than me.  Warren is going to get the bigger share of the Turkish spoils though.  Do I....?
 
A) Slice a piece off of Russia and risk gaining the reputation as a hyperactive stabber...
 
or B) stand by my ally, and hope that he doesn't run me over as soon as Turkey is gone...
 
I chose option A, as my border with Joe seemed fairly stable.  To his credit, Warren didn't abandon his defenses against Joe, who was still the board leader and poised to steal many more SCs away from Russia than I was.  Instead, Warren negotiated a settlement with me, and I agreed to limit my advance to 2 SCs.
   
Meanwhile again - Joe unleashes one verbal assault after another, convinced that my attack on his holdings was imminent.  Granted - I did violate a DMZ with no notice, and wanted him to remain a bit uneasy, in the hopes that he would hold back a unit or two from finishing France off to defend against an Italian attack that wasn't coming.  That didn't work, as France sent all-hold orders and went gently into that good night.   
 
So I became desperate for builds, and plundered Russia even more.  Fortunately, Warren kept trying to work with me, since my attacks at least were sporadic and limited, whereas Joe was driving consistently on a path to Moscow it seemed.  So eventually I did what Joe had feared, and Warren's loyalty to me paid off - I stabbed Germany.
 
Much to my surprise - Joe chose to yield ground against me and persist against Warren.  Perhaps he saw a route to 18, even if he lost some French and Iberian SCs to me.  Not sure.  So, I left a leverage threat to Con in place to try and gain some insurance of Russian loyalty (after two stabs, I thought he would be sure to nail me at the first opportunity) - and then I turned about and headed west for Spain and Marseilles. 
 
Here's where I blew the solo.  Having identified that I needed a line from Tyl-Boh-Gal-Rum-Bla-Arm to achieve an eastern stalemate line, I instead tried to continue on with Warren as an ally.  I thought a full Italian attack on Russia would have allowed Joe to beat me to 18, and I didn't want to trust that Warren would choose me if placed in the position of kingmaker. 
 
So I diverted forces west before forming the line mentioned above, and trusted that Warren would continue to resist Joe at least until it was too late to stop me.  I overestimated Warren's opposition to Joe (believed him when he said he was in it against Germany until the end).  They turned on me about two seasons before I would have been able to seal that line and pull sufficient forces west to break through at sea. 
 
Icing on the cake (and here's where Joe and Warren really deserve credit) - when they did reconcile, they dispensed with any half-step trust building moves, as I had eagerly hoped for.  Instead, Joe immediately threw all his fleets due west, they coordinated an attack on Galicia immediately, and Warren accepted the loss of Con to withdraw F Con - Bla and cut Rumanian support for Galicia.  Wow - that was something else.  And it worked. 
 
The GR Galicia attack failed, but was inevitable to succeed the next season with F Bla - Rum.  Eventually, I could have claimed Ankara and possibly Sevastopol, but not without losing Rumania and placing the whole of my Balkan holdings at risk.  Joe completely locked down the western front with a good bouncing stalemate - I could have gained MAO, but not pushed for Brest or and English SC without allowing him to penetrate and equally threaten Iberia.  So 16 was as far as I could reasonably expect to go - anything beyond that involved risking a major breakthrough, with no safe area to pass SCs off to either member of G/R without putting them on their own road to a solo.  (Warren at least would have had none of that anyway - he was too far behind, and just wanted a 3 way.)  All diplomatic and...less savory...EGP tactics designed to separate G/R failed to pay off, they only delayed the then inevitable outcome.
 
So in the end, Warren is the big winner here, for holding on at 8 SCs against two 12-13 SC rivals, and bringing them in to a 3 way draw.
 
Thanks to all for a great game, I consider myself honored to have played with you all.  Hope to see you again on a Dip board soon.
 
B. of Italia

On Mon, Apr 6, 2009 at 11:21 AM, B H <screwtape777(at)gmail.com ([email]screwtape777(at)gmail.com[/email])> wrote:

I'll definitely write an EOG - just need a minute.  3 day drill weekend with the Reserves has set me back like crazy - giant pile of work and emails.  Short version - congrats to Joe and Warren, very impressed with both of you - and thanks to Matt for an excellent job of GMing the game.
 
B. of Italia



On Sat, Apr 4, 2009 at 12:05 PM, Matt Kremer <matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu ([email]matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu[/email])> wrote:
[quote:8f94c6ca25]As the subject line says, all three remaining powers have agreed to share the victory in a draw!  I want to congratulate Ben, Joe, and Steve for the most entertaining game I've yet watched unfold as a GM.  And also a big thanks to all the other players for a game well-fought, especially Mark for giving France some life after stepping into a tough position.

I definitely would love to see some EOG statements, especially from the final three, and I'm sure everybody else would too, so those would be most welcome.  I look forward to them greatly.

The final stats and map will be on the game's DC page for all eternity.

Thanks again for a great one,

Matt

PS: There are two spots left in my chromatic game, so join up!

--
www.geocities.com/nairenvorbeck/files
Realpolitik files available here for the Sengoku, Balkans1860, South American Supremacy, and DarkAges Diplomacy Variants
[/quote:8f94c6ca25]


--
www.geocities.com/nairenvorbeck/files
Realpolitik files available here for the Sengoku, Balkans1860, South American Supremacy, and DarkAges Diplomacy Variants