From my prospective it was a complicated the game.
 
Although not in the center of the board the trolls position was is tightly packed with other players.  In year one there were 6 different players that all had the potential to take one my home centers.
 
I decided early on that the magicians and I wouldn't be able to peacefully co-exist.  So I quickly befriended them and backstabbed them.  I worked hard so that all his potentially allies would be more friendly with me than him.
 
My first strong alliance was with the undead and the rogues, although I guess I was being played by them as the only one of the 3 not in the super alliance.  Early on I made friends with all of my neighbors but those alliances had to fall apart as my neighbors started to fight.  I ended up siding with the centuars because they seemed to have more allies than my other neighbors.  Also with my focus in the south I was very exposed to his potential attacks.  I ended up having to attack the gnomes after the magicians..  I didn't really have anywhere else to go.  Robin and I had an interesting back and forth for quite a while.
 
I maintained my relationship with the undead and eventually worked them into the northern alliance.  The northern alliance was a great group of players and I felt like we worked really well together..  In the end we just couldn't make the kindof advances we were hoping on.  The map seemed to have too many near stalemate lines and progress was quite slow.  I was also isolated in my own world for the most part waiting for a calverly to arrive that never did.  I tried very hard to get the pirates and to a lesser extent the samari to abandon their alliances but with no luck.
 
I think as our successes became smaller and smaller our alliance sort of ran out of steam.  Dirk convinced us that he had analyized the board throughly and our position was flawed and that we would eventually fold.  So rather than dragging it out for another year we opted for peace.
 
An interesting and complex game, I wish I could have played the FOW version I always enjoy those, definitely sign me up for your next FOW variant Mike.  I'd have mixed feelings about playing the map again.  It was interesting but a lot of work dealing with so many players.
 
Good game, and congrats to the winners, especially the archers, you earned it.
 


--- On Mon, 8/23/10, John R <untitled36(at)hotmail.com> wrote:


From: John R <untitled36(at)hotmail.com>
Subject: RE: FLWC: Samurai EOG
To: "Wizards" <diplomacy(at)diffell.net>, "Archers" <mjn82(at)yahoo.com>
Cc: "Undead" <dirk(at)knemeyer.com>, "gm haven" <mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net>, "Rogues" <twelvewarrens(at)gmail.com>, bobbarkerfan1ped(at)yahoo.com, brian(at)diffell.net, "Dwarves" <corruptjackyl(at)gmail.com>, "Trolls" <derekthefeared2(at)yahoo.com>, githraine(at)yahoo.com, "Nomads" <hmtucaz(at)gmail.com>, "Pirates" <justin(at)darkenedpath.com>, joergwallner(at)yahoo.de, "Leprechauns" <kelly058(at)verizon.net>, "Fairies" <mrh(at)panix.com>, "Gnomes" <ponkwilliams(at)yahoo.com>, "Hobbits" <rodtheworm(at)hotmail.com>, "Ogres" <sturmkraehe(at)comcast.net>, fredrik(at)familjenblom.se, "Nomads" <jnatdelta(at)yahoo.com>, jmsaralegui(at)gmail.com, dc303(at)diplomaticcorp.com
Date:
Monday, August 23, 2010, 11:15 PM



This game was a blast from start to finish, and every single player I spoke with come across as intelligent, friendly, and just plain fun.
 
Much ado has already been made about the super alliance, and my play was dictated almost completely in regards to that alliance. I really enjoyed all my initial neighbors, and in fact I had at least three seperate alliances almost right out of the gates. The super alliance is the obvious one. The wizards, Elves and I had a pretty solid three-way, and the hobbits and I committed to a mutual alliance as well. This left the leprechauns as the odd ones out, so the whole gang pretty well dog-piled them.
 
At first I was skeptical of the so called super alliance, but as all the players seemed to be taking it to heart, I resolved to make it my primary alliance, and began cutting off my other alliances one by one. I betrayed the hobbits first. It's a shame, because I really liked working with the
hobbits, but it just had to happen from a strategic point of view. While I was taking on the hobbits with the wizards, my super alliance friends were turning on the elves. The fate of the elves seemed sealed, so the wizards and I joined in on the attack, followed quickly by me shoving a dagger in that wizardly back. 
 
To the hobbits - I really did enjoy working with you. Sorry about the stab, my friend.
 
To the elves - You were a great ally! If it hadn't been for the pesky super-alliance, I think an Ogre/elf/Samurai trio would have been a real force to contend with. You were a victim of the "big picture" in that the ogres and I were sort of bound to fight you. I can't say I'd do it any differently, but I hated doing it all the same.
 
To the wizards - Sorry for setting you up. Likewise, you were a victim of the meta-game. I had to work with the pirates against you in keeping with the super-alliance. but again, I
hated doing it.
 
To the Undead - I respect you a great deal and really enjoyed our talks. You were always kind of the "black sheep" of the super alliance, and that made it fun because the rest of us got at times a bit to care-bearish perhaps, and you helped add a dose of reality. I don't envy your position. You were between the rock and the hard place and you tried making the best of it. When it came time to stab you, the ogres, or the pirates,  you were my choice simply because I was able to justify stabbing you to the rest of the alliance. I'd happily team up with you again, but I know I'd always be looking behind me to see if a knife had sprouted there yet!
 
To the Ogres - Great alliance. We moved in lock-step from the beginning. In my conversations with the undead I told him I knew you were the biggest long-term threat to me, but I couldn't bring myself to stab you. My gut said to trust you, and it seems to have paid
off. Well played my friend.
 
To the archers - Well done. I echo what's been said about your obvious raw skill to have kept you alive till the end, let alone allowed you to thrive as you have. The ogres and I had it easy because of the lopsided superalliance. You had the uphill battle. You earned this win more than I did.
 
To the remainder of the super-alliance - Thanks for giving us the win. I really didn't expect it, but I appreciate it. Thanks guys. It's been fun.
 
To the northern alliance - You were getting me worried at the end. I'm not sure the game's end was at all clear had the draw not happened. You played well. I'd happily cross swords with you again.
 
And to our GM - Great job. Again, the work required for a game like this is staggering (at least it *wasn't* fog of war this time, huh?) but you kept the game going at a good clip. Well done!