Hallo zusammen!

So now a third year has passed. All powers are still hanging in there. Indeed, all powers have four or more units. Now who will in this game of musical chairs be first eliminated? Who will survive right until the end? And who do you think will solo (or failing that, end the game with the most SCs)? I'd be eager to receive your preditions and compare those to the final results! I'll let you know whose hunches were right on the money once the game has ended and confer the Johannes Kepler Award (in honour of the famous 17th century scientist and astrologer) to the most clairvoyant!

And of course there shall be a prize, namely a guaranteed spot in my next game and a preferential treatment regarding power preferences! Players and observers are both eligible to win the award, btw.

As for the adjucation, some of those may surprise you. 'And while checking those out, don't miss the colourful press further below.

The next deadline's on 12 August. Thereafter we'll be heading into Charles-on-holiday territory. Since I didn't find a replacement GM, the plan is to just soldier on. I can't guarantee adjucations will immediately follow deadlines and a volunteer would have to supply the map and updated .dpy file. Not ideal, but in my view better than a long delay. So, anyone wants to be Chief Map-making Officer?

Liebe Grüsse,

Charles

----------
PLAYERS:
AUSTRIA: Jorge Saralegui <jmsaralegui(at)gmail.com>
DENMARK-NORWAY: Michael Thompson <psychosis(at)sky.com>
ENGLAND: Chris McInerney <c.p.mcinerney(at)gmail.com>
FRANCE: Nathan Albright <nathanbalbright(at)yahoo.com>
POLAND-LITHUANIA: Roger Leroux <yrl1967(at)gmail.com>
RUSSIA: Mikael Johansson <m_don_j(at)hotmail.com>
SPAIN: Matt Kremer <matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu>
SWEDEN: Wayne Bailey <WBailey(at)nyiso.com>
TURKEY: Dirk Knemeyer <dirk(at)knemeyer.com>


PROCLAMATIONS:
o IMPERIAL TROOPS RETIRE TO MILAN
o DANISH FLEET SHELTERS IN BAY OF LÜBECK
o ONCE-PROUD FRENCH NAVY LOSES ALL FUNDING
o BAVARIAN ELECTOR RAISES NEW REGIMENTS ON BEHALF OF THE EMPEROR
o RUMP-PARLIAMENT PASSES MASSIVE REARMAMENT BILL
o DUKE OF COURLAND NO LONGER PROTECTED BY POLISH CONTINGENTS
o TSAR ENLISTS THOUSANDS OF SERFS, COSSACKS AND TARTARS IN HIS ARMY

PRESS:

From Turkey:

SULTAN ISSUES WARNING AGAINST AUSTRIAN SUPREMACY

CONSTANTINOPLE (Turkey) Winter 1651 - The Sultan issued a caution this
week to most of the Great Eurpoean Powers.

"Emperor Jorge of Austria is using a 'carebear' approach to set this
map up for a triumphant solo victory," stated the Sultan. "He is
making every ruler believe they are his friend while systematically
manipulating the DP and SC situation to his particular advantage. Each
of you think Austria is a great and helpful ally, but you are just
another pawn in his ultimate plan of enjoying a solo and unshared
victory."

The Sultan presented extensive documentation to the press on this
matter, illustrating how Austria:

* Manipulated matters to save England and set up France and Denmark

* Orchestrated Turkish jihad against Spain in such a way that made
Austria appear non-complicit

* Created a quagmire in the north by alternately helping all of
Denmark, Sweden and Poland, while working them against one another
without their realizing he was at the center of it

Austria has taken a dominant position in the Holy Roman Empire,
allowing him to build in ANY of a variety of centers and thus gain a
forward position on any antagonist he chooses to attacks. Since the
1648 variant requires a scant 18 SC's for victory, it will be
unusually quick for him to get the last few supply centers once he
gets up into the double-digits. It would be easy for any of or
multiple players to be fooled into passivity by his seeming generosity
and collaboration, thus missing this critical fact.

"Most chilling of all," continued the Sultan, "is that he is trying to
convince other powers that we, Turkey, are the threat to solo because
we are in a traditionally strong 'corner' position. We want to
publicly state to every player that such a claim is, simply, nonsense.
First, in this unique variant, the Holy Roman Emperor has an
exceptionally good position to win; a well-played middle IS the best
spot in this game. Second, our actions will consistently illustrate
that we do not yearn for a solo victory. We will not get up in SC's to
a point where a solo is even possible, much less probable. On the
other hand, Austria's SC count will continue to grow more quickly than
my or any other leader's, and I can only hope my august comrades are
able to identify and respond to this before it is too late. Emperor
Jorge seems to be your friend; he is only insofar as it helps him to
achieve a selfish solo victory."

The Sultan publicly reiterated Turkey's desire to be part of a fair
and balanced shared victory with other right-minded powers.






RETREATS:

Austria:
A Tuscany - Lombardy

Denmark-Norway:
F Copenhagen - Bay of Luebeck

France:
disband F Flanders


ADJUSTMENTS:

Austria:
Build A Bavaria

England:
Build A Bristol
Build F London

France:
Build A Marseilles

Poland-Lithuania:
Remove A Courland

Russia:
Build A Crimea
Build A Moscow

SUPPLY CENTER OWNERSHIP:

Austria(9): Bavaria, Lorraine, Prague, Saxony, Swabia, Switzerland, Trieste, Venice, Vienna.
Denmark-Norway(4): Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg, Stettin, United Provinces.
England(4): Bristol, Flanders, London, Scotland.
France(4): Marseilles, Paris, Savoy, Tuscany.
Poland-Lithuania(5): Brandenburg, Courland, Cracow, Prussia, Transylvania.
Russia(: Crimea, Moscow, Novgorod, Turkestan, Ukraine, Vilna, Voronezh, Warsaw.
Spain(6): Algiers, Brest, Madrid, Morocco, Portugal, Sevilla.
Sweden(6): Abo, Christiania, Copenhagen, Holstein, Riga, Stockholm.
Turkey(: Belgrade, Candia, Constantinople, Damascus, Naples, Persia, Tunis, Wallachia.
Minor Powers(4): Ireland, Moldavia, Papal States, Rhineland-Westphalia.

DEADLINE SCHEDULE: (all orders are due NLT 6PM CET (GMT+1)...not local time)
o Spring 1652 Moves: 12 August

MAP: