Thanks to B for a smooth game, and to all for the high level of play.

Ireland's lot is a bit harder than many others on the board, given the need to break out and step on others' toes pretty much from the beginning. With Nigs openly hostile from the first turn my fate was a very slow and laborious go of it to keep him at bay and let the Bretons and Anglo-Saxons settle their own affairs.

Both times that I've played the variant I have tried to convince Ireland and Scotland to ally, and it never seems to happen. A little trust could lead to a very powerful set of opening moves and a strong alliance that could last all the way to the end in my opinion. Oh well.

Thanks to Matt for being a stable and reliable ally in the early years - we needed peace from each other more than anything else. Selling you down the river was unfortunate, but necessary once it was clear the Danes were looking at a sweep.

Nick saw the big picture early on and played accordingly, for which I am also grateful.

I was shocked at how quickly the Norse/Swede/Dane situation developed. Masterfully played, Gregory. I'm glad we were able to hold our alliance long enough for force a draw.

No key strategic insights here, other than that I still think Ireland needs a way to get going faster. I'll keep advocating (probably alone) for a single sea space between Ireland and Britain proper, rather than the Gas/Cab split. This I think gives Ireland the clout to negotiate better as well as project enough power to make it a legitimate player on land sooner.

It was tempting to stab my allies, but not enough to throw the game to the Danes.

I might be interested in the Balkans game, but I'd really like another Sengoku. Also, one of these days I need to learn how to GM, so maybe that's an agenda item as well.

Nathan



----- Original Message ----
From: Benjamin Hester <screwtape777(at)gmail.com>
To: brn2dip(at)yahoo.com; captain_sicarius(at)hotmail.com; congressofvienna1814(at)yahoo.com; dc262(at)diplomaticcorp.com; gbimmerle(at)gmail.com; githraine(at)yahoo.com; kelly058(at)verizon.net; mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net; mike(at)sims-family.net; ndeily(at)yahoo.com; nephilli99(at)hotmail.com
Sent: Fri, December 18, 2009 2:01:11 PM
Subject: DC 262: Angstskrik - GAME OVER - Fall 833 - 4-way draw

Honored Kings of the Dark Ages:

All is at peace, the angry hordes are angry no more.  Despite a truly
valiant effort, Gregory's Danes were stopped short of the solo by 2
SCs.  All players have agreed to the DIAS, and so DC 262 draws to a
close.  I will be updating the DiplomaticCorp website immediately with
the final results, and Mike is CC'ed on this email, so I believe that
triggers everything that needs to happen on their end?  (Not sure,
this is the first game on DC I have GM'ed.  Do I need to do anything
else to post my GM credits?)  At any rate, the maps and SC chart and
other such fun tools are all updated on the DC262 game page, so please
enjoy them.

For those that enjoyed Dark Ages and might like to try their hand at
another one of my variants, there will be a new game starting early in
January of Balkans1860.  I have created a DipWiki entry for this
variant, and will be publishing the Realpolitik files soon.  Please
read at your leisure, and if interested in playing, let me know.

My thanks to all of the players, this was a very smooth and enjoyable
game to GM.  I eagerly look forward to seeing your EOGs, those are
always fun to read.

See you all again soon!

B.

DC 262 Player List:

Nick Higgins - Cyning of the Angles and Saxons (Anglo-Saxons)
congressofvienna1814 AT yahoo DOT com

Matthew Kelly - Brenin of the Brythons (Britons)
kelly058 AT verizon DOT net

Gregory Bim-Merle - Kong of the Dani (Danes)
gbimmerle AT gmail DOT com

Nathan Deily - Ard Rí na hÉireann (Gaels)
ndeily AT yahoo DOT com

Scott Troemel - Kong of the Norge (Norse)
brn2dip AT yahoo DOT com

Nigel Phillips - Rí Alban (Scots)
nephilli99 AT hotmail DOT com

Mark Duffield - Konung of the Suetidi (Swedes)
captain_sicarius AT hotmail DOT com

and me, your humble GM, B.  (Benjamin Hester)
screwtape777 AT gmail DOT com

--
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