Austrian Replacement EGS:

I hate myself for saying this but...WOOT - mission accomplished!

That outburst of course needs to be chased with the following
disclaimer, before I irrevocably become branded as a loathsome
drawmonger: This position was far beyond hopeless to achieve any
other outcome when I found it. I took the spot because I knew Rachael
and Andy were moving, and thought I would try to help out in whatever
meager way I could to make that an easier process, since I know
firsthand how much of a nightmare the military can make such things.
And then Rachael left. Such is life - on to the game...

So I found myself holding the reins of an Austrian rump state pushed
hard up against the Black and Aegean, with a French freight train
headed straight up my rapidly retreating...well, nevermind. But look
- what do my grateful eyes behold - *other* rump states! The Turk and
Russian were also one short breath away from the grave, yet still
eager to lash out at those who had dealt us misfortune. So we formed
a merry brotherhood. And invited the monstrous Brit to join in,
because without Alex, we would have been sad, pathetic, and quickly
dead.

Fortunately, we all found that we had much in common - love for Elvis,
Neapolitan ice cream, and of course - stopping near-inevitable French
solos. It seemed well enough at first. Then, just when I was
reaching around to pat myself on the back for helping to engineer such
a wonderful coalition - this strange, undecipherable text began
appearing in my email box. Ah yes, I see it clearly now - those were
the good ideas of my allies, the same that I stupidly disregarded last
season and nearly cost us this draw. I daresay that the Frenchman
might have made his solo yet had this game persisted, and I would have
had owed my allies 1,000 lines of "I will not be a paste-eater on the
short bus" scribbled across the nearest chalkboard. But such was not
to be - whether out of boredom, distaste for the lengthy war of
attrition with England ahead, or perhaps the need to work and earn
money rather than play Diplomacy - Jeff chose to accept the draw.

So I tip my hat first to Jeff - for building this massive French
behemoth that caused me to repeatedly soil my diapers. Then to Alex,
whose strategic vision led him to join our cause - however sad and
pathetic and soon to be dead we may have appeared. Finally to Andy
and Michael - my fellow rump state regents. We did it! Woo-hoo! Now
on to the next game...

Your humble Archduke of nowhere that was originally Austria -
B.

On 9/21/09, Michael Sims <mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net> wrote:

After 10 hard fought years, dc220, "Back from the Dead" is called a
5-way DIAS between AEFRT. I never had the pleasure of meeting Italy or
Germany, but the 5 who remained showed a great desire to not only
revitalize the game, but play it out to a conclusion.



It's interesting that the 3 small powers managed to carve out a corner
for survival, and barring deliberate EF cooperation they were all pretty
sure to see this one to a final placing.



Even more interesting is that earlier powers bailed on those small
powers that ended up sharing in the draw! This game is absolute
evidence that it always pays to play out a game - with some good
planning and creative diplomacy a game should never be shot.



Congrats to all! Be sure to post an EGS.



Fall orders are not revealed since we have 5 yes-votes to a DIAS.

See you next game!

Enjoy,

-mike

--
Diplomacy in Texas!
www.texasdiplomacy.com

http://nairenvorbeck.angelfire.com/
Realpolitik files available here for the Sengoku, Balkans1860, South
American Supremacy, and DarkAges Diplomacy Variants