FRENCH GAME END STATEMENT.

I have to say that I am glad this one is over. Of all the games I've played over the years, this one was the one I have enjoyed the least. It's hard to put my finger on why, but I think it was just that the quality of some of the negotiations was rather poor and most of the manouevres very predictable and straightforward. A game with few surprises...

From the start of the game I felt I established a strong bond with Mike and a strong French-English alliance looked on the cards. I stuck my colours to the mast straight away and broke my agreements with Germany as early as Spring 1901, in the hope of killing him quickly. Although the comms with England were easy and the planning was detailed, things did not go to plan. At one point paranoia took over and I failed to move assertively, giving Germany some breathing space. England kept the faith though and we got ourselves into a position where we could cause some damage. At that point England made his fatal error and allowed me into the Channel. From there a stab was obligatory and I was fortunate that I could persuade Matt to trust me. From there the great RFG alliance sprang to life.

Relations with Russia were good throughout. Darryl was a very wary player and this suited my ambitions to dominate the game. With England giving me London in exchange for assistance should I want to go for the solo win, I felt pretty safe in my part of the world, so could send my fleets south. Italy had made serious mistakes early on in the game, so was easy meat for me and I began to sense the possibility of a French win. With a further stab on Mike, picking up the Italian centres and then a few scraps from the German table it would just about have been possible. I couldn't do it alone though so near the end of the game I made overtures to Darryl about attacking Germany, but he was not interested. At that point I settled for the draw.

For anyone who was wondering, my spring 1905 moves would have put me in a position to take Lpl and secure the elimination of England, along with the capture of Tunis and support for Germany into Tyrolia. I was not tempted by offers of effective proxy control of Austrian units. This would be against the rules of DC and although I will pull almost any other stunt to win a game, picking up a cheap and tawdry win in that manner would have given me no satisfaction.

I would love to know what was going on in the Turkish corner. Stuart- you never gave a straight answer to any question I posed to you and I had no idea where your loyalties lay.

Congratulations to everyone for surviving the game and especially to Darryl and Matt for their share in the draw. They both played a good game and kept a lid on my options.

Finally, big big thanks to Tim for running the game so well. Most GMs make a mistake at some time, but Tim's performance was flawless. I know it is a very difficult task and I'm very appreciative of his efforts.

Best wishes to all and vive la France.

Simon