EOG from England:
OK, as I stated in my previous e-mail, I was thrilled to find myself in England. I looked at the player assignments, and found a known player in David, right next to me in Denmark, and another known player in Nathan in Russia. David and I had not really had opportunities to work together or against each other in the two previous games we played, so I was considering him from a tactics standpoint, not as somebody whom I had a good or bad relationship. I considered Nathan a tough competitor, who I was going to have to watch in Russia.
Initial talks:
General "Hi and welcome" notes to Poland, Russia, Turkey, and Sweden. Got fairly short notes from all except Sweden, and only Robert wrote back with anything substantial (I'm going to Tunis). I wrote David specifically with a "let's not make the North Sea a mistake" letter, which was well received. I wrote Spain, France, and Austria, trying to figure out the best way get over to the mainland.
Two things happened right off the bat. 1) Mike (France) was slow to respond, and his e-mails back were short with little tactics. Jorge (Austria), on the other hand, immediately started getting into tactics and longer range plans. Isaac and I traded brief e-mails, talking about Portugal, etc. I was confident that Jorge and I could work together...the question was to go after France or Spain. I prefered going after Spain, thinking that Jorge and I would have France surrounded then, but Jorge pushed for working with Spain agaisnt France. Since it was a 50/50 in my mind, agreeing with Jorge didn't seem like I was giving anything up. From that point, it was about trying to get France out of position so we could knock him down in the fall. This came apart well, and we were in good shape after the spring season.
At the same time, David told me that he and Sweden were going to work together. I loved this, because that meant 1) Nathan would have his hands full in the north, and 2) if Russia and Sweden were not attacking Denmark, I might be free to play for awhile without having to look east. I had NO CLUE that this freedom would last years in lieu of seasons.
I'm going to skip ahead a couple of seasons. Jorge was rolling, as Austria often does. France looked about ready to collapse, and I was wondering what to do as England. I loved my position to the east and really didn't want to disturb David and his two frustrated centers. Robert was making slow gains, and was very excited about going after Jorge. At this time, I talked (or he was already there anyway) Isaac into letting Robert have Tunis. The build would be used against Jorge, and, I surmised, we had to start doing something about Jorge's growth before it got uncontrollable.
So I made a diplomatic and press-laden switch. Everthing from my mouth, to all players, for about four years, concerned the need to ensure that Jorge didn't grow anymore. That if he got a breakthrough, we were done for. Part of it was true. I considered Jorge to be a great tactician in a strong position, and I knew that if his allies (Isaac and I at the outset) stuck with him, we might have a monster on our hands. But I knew at the same time that my position was very good, and if I could get people pointed the other way, I might get some easy stabs.
Enter the frustration phase. Robert and I could not figure out why we (Spain, Turkey, England) could not win a single diplomacy point battle. Eventually, it was discovered that Isaac was supporting Jorge with points. I can't WAIT to here Isaac's eog, as if he was doing it for several seasons, I think it was fantastically played to make it look like he was against Jorge, when he was actually supporting him discreetly.
Skipping ahead again. Robert and I, frustrated that we weren't making the headway we expected, decided to try a different route....that being attacking Isaac and trying to get around Jorge. It turned out that we attacked at just the right time, as Isaac was showing his true hand. Robert had a great season, and now had units spread across the Med.
Skipping ahead again....I found myself in an interesting situation. Jorge was fairly bottled up. Robert wanted me to attack David, and David wanted me to attack Robert. And neither were really in that good of a position to attack me, or defend against me. My problem was the middle of the board, where I was not strong enough to hold off David and Jorge, and Mike.....Mike was the enigma who would sometimes support, sometimes attack. I just didn't feel like I could make a move in the central portion of the board without getting bit.
But I eventually moved against David. Even when I was doing this, I was writing David, telling him it was a ruse. And to be honest, I didn't know that I liked what I was doing. So....I did the most natural thing around, I switched and attacked Robert in Paris!
This needs to be expanded on in it's own paragraph. Mike, after being stabbed by me twice, wrote me and said he'd prefer to work with me, letting me have Paris, as I was preferable to his other choices. I didn't know if I could trust Mike, but I eventually came to the conclusion that Mike's armies, if he was faithful, could help me form the wall I needed in Burgundy/Marseilles/HeW that would allow me to move forward. I didn't have the confidence that Robert's army wouldn't tie down several of my units in covering centers. So, I trusted Mike, and it paid off when he ordered as he said he would.
So now Robert was furious, but couldn't do much about it. The shock for me was his disband of his fleet, after I told him that my play would be to retreat to Mor and sue for peace with Austria. I think this disband was the last straw for Jorge, who wrote me saying that if nobody else wanted to fight me, he could no longer see why he should. So Jorge made a couple of promises in return for some minor supports, and then delivered in the spring and fall.
I think if Jorge and David had gotten together in the end, I certainly would have been pushed back. I have often said I'd rather be lucky than good, and I think that fortune smiled on me early and often in this game.
To my friends in Russia/Prussia/Sweden/Poland and Saxony....we never really had much chance to write or work together, and I look forward to that chance in a future game.
To my saber rattling ally in Turkey: Robert, you held the ground in the Med all on your own for quite awhile. You tying up Jorge gave me a ton of time to get things established in the north. I am sorry for the center grab at the end, but Mor was given to me to get to 15, and Alg was a requirement for the support. I enjoyed our numerous tactical discussions during the game.
To my Spanish ally/foe: Isaac, I look forward to your eog about as much as anybody's, as my answers to my remaining principal questions are in your head.
To my neighbor in France: Mike, you were so busy at the outset that you diplomatically got behind...and decisions were made on this. I commend you for being alive at the end of the game, and getting people to sway just enough to let you wiggle on. Sometimes the best efforts are made not in getting to victory, but having troops alive at the cessation of hostilities.
To my longest ally of the game: David, you were at two centers for an eternity. We did prove that England and Denmark/Norway could get along. I will not know until your eog whether you were being honest about the draw, or if you were just trying to beat me there. But I had three players in the game tell me that I had to go for the solo, and since they were aiding me, I couldn't let them down by being passive in accepting a draw. But it was a good alliance, and I think we threw off people just enough to occasionally get that added piece of helpful info.
To the toughest SOB on the board: Jorge, you're very good at this game. Your tactics were sharp, and your arguments sharper. I very much look forward to our next game together.
To the wonderful GM: Nick, thanks for donating your time to allow the rest of us to play. I tried to write some press, and occasionally give you some of the background into my orders, but often the press was written too early (and ended up begin wrong when I changed orders), or late and overly simple. Funny, but my press is usually better when I'm down to one unit, as I spend all week on my press instead of my orders (another reason why the Peanut Gallery says I should be ganged up on immediately). But thank you for all you did. You kept the game moving smoothly, and did a wonderful job of keeping us all in line.
To the Peanut Gallery: Yeah, a win for Mother England! Can I play Austria next? : )
Take care all. We'll see you down the road.
Frank
