Hi folks, and welcome to the WinterBlitz 2010!

I am sad to say that you guys and girls have definitely drawn the short stick...you got stuck with ME to kick off your game. However, on the plus side, your regular (and quite sterling) GM John (note his email address above - untitled36(at)hotmail.com ([email]untitled36(at)hotmail.com[/email])) will return shortly. He just asked that I fill a temporary time gap to get the game going!

Your Winter Blitz Round 1 game has been designated as dc298. Please make sure that John is on your "safe" list with your email box so that emails from him do not get caught in the spam filter!

As you may note, WB Rules preclude country assignments and those have been selected and are listed below. Please feel free to introduce yourselves to everyone and to start your diplomacy.

Since this is a tournament game, there is a common set of rules and season deadlines that all GMs are observing. This can be found at www.diplomaticcorp.com/winterblitz -- be sure to click the "Rules" option near the top of the main screen once you go to this page. In terms of timing, John will have to give a deadline for submitting orders; Tentatively we will set the spring 01 deadline for Monday Jan 11, 3pm Central US time / 2100 GMT!

An [u:75eb099c15]important[/u:75eb099c15] note: when submitting orders, make sure to include a cc: to orders(at)diplomaticcorp.com ([email]orders(at)diplomaticcorp.com[/email]) (orders(at)diplomaticcorp.com ([email]orders(at)diplomaticcorp.com[/email])) -- this is for your protection in case your e-mail doesn't get through to me, or if Cory is not available and needs a moderator to run a turn. Also for the first couple turns - I - will be your wonderful and benevolent GM, so please send to both John and I until he's back.

Just a reminder of the schedule as laid out in the kickoff email:

* Spring deadlines are Mondays.

* Spring retreats are Tuesdays.

* Fall deadlines are Thursdays.

* Fall retreats AND Winter builds/disbands are Fridays. Builds CAN be conditional upon a retreat but they MUST be clear.

Don't forget to check out the game's page on the DC web site at www.diplomaticcorp.com/?game_id=dc298 - John will update it after each adjudication. He will also e-mail each adjudication to everyone, as well as a .dpy game file for use in the Realpolitik adjudication software.

Press is allowed and encouraged. For those that are new, press is simply generic messages that are made public as a part of the turn's results. Typically press is just generic silliness that may or may not pertain to the game. There is actually some good press in the DC274 game so you can read the different turns on that game to see some examples.



And now your lineups!

Austria: Matt Ruhlen, mruhlen(at)hotmail.com ([email]mruhlen(at)hotmail.com[/email])
England: Rob Bristol, rbristol(at)cogeco.ca ([email]rbristol(at)cogeco.ca[/email])
France: Clark L, clarklandry(at)gmail.com ([email]clarklandry(at)gmail.com[/email])
Germany: Dale Grantham, dmg(at)earthlink.net ([email]dmg(at)earthlink.net[/email])
Italy: Alan Farrington, alley_cat_1990(at)hotmail.com ([email]alley_cat_1990(at)hotmail.com[/email])
Russia: Nick Powell, nick.s.powell(at)gmail.com ([email]nick.s.powell(at)gmail.com[/email])
Turkey: Gregory Bim-Merle, gbimmerle(at)gmail.com ([email]gbimmerle(at)gmail.com[/email])



Happy stabbing and good luck to all,

Garry
Order of the Raven
WB2K10 Moderator
WB2K09 Champion!
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