Hi guys,



I'm afraid the game caught me at a bad time and I wasn't able to do
its negotiations justice. Not my proudest moment as a dipper and I
apologise for having made Germany far less of a factor than it ought
to have been.



Early on discussions over DMZs with Robert's Poland proved fairly
contentious. Similarly my fleet build proved unpopular in Downing
Street. So getting a fleet into BAL in an effort to take Sweden
proved a diplomatic liability in my relations to my neighbours, who
feared I was pursuing a course beyond the mere seizure of Sweden's
iron ore resources. Such troubles contributed to me lacking
third-party support in warding off later Italian aggression. I was
unable to persuade David to cease his anti-German drive and that
forced me to concentrate my diminishing forces in a losing battle
against the Italian hordes. A more engaged player might have found
some game-changer and also prevented the following British
onslaught. Caught in an Anglo-Italian meatgrinder, I was going down
fast. In a late last-ditch effort I asked Poland to support my moves
in the Fall of 1942 that would have kept me even at two SCs. I put
myself in this reliance on Robert's goodwill fully into his hands
and hoped he'd follow through on his promise to support said German
moves. Perhaps hoping that Poland would reverse its course was a
vain hope and a sucker play. But at that stage, owing to the
preceding indifferent play of mine, I was out of options.



So it just so happens that my worst showing in a Diplomacy game came
in the very first game playing my own variant. I wish I'd be able to
wind back the clock and have a real go at it. I'd like to thank Dirk
for doing such a good job running the game and the other players for
their commitment to the game. Wish I'd have been able to match it.



As for the variant, this was the only v1.3 playtest. Already the
later 1936 game I started (DC344) used the current v1.5 map, which
has Algiers and Suez serve as HSCs to their respective masters. To
diminish Franco-Italian tensions in the Alps, Tuscany was inserted
as an additional buffer province (shielding Rome), much as the
adjacent sea areas were adjusted to put more space between
Marseilles and Rome. My view is that these changes present a
significant boost to French fortunes. I'm confident that v1.5 France
is fully equipped to meet the challenges of a continental struggle.



Looking back at this game, I'm rather surprised that this game also
had Beirut fall early to Turkey and France fail to keep A Tripoli at
a distance. When are we going to see the first Franco-Italian bounce
over Tunis? I believe that to be the standard Spring '36 play, but
no French player has yet made that move. One reason why France has
underperformed to date. Similarly, I'm quite surprised Turks have
rapidly taken over Beirut. In my view, Turkey would do well to
enlist French support in the Near-East and not contribute to
weakening a power that is key in reigning in Italy, a major rival
Turkey has to fear. I'm anxious to see future games having both
France and Turkey fully explore the great potential of a
Franco-Turkish alliance.



Having Suez as a British HSC (as of v1.5) also transforms the
Near-Eastern picture. It amps up Britain's interest and involvement
in the region. I wanted to both reign in Turkey a bit with this
measure (which I considered a tad too strong), while also making
major British investment in the region more of a frequent
occurrence. For Turkey, sowing up her Near-East backyard becomes a
lot more challenging.



As DC344 has also recently concluded, I'm now recruiting for another
1936 v1.5 contest and might possibly organise a 1936 tournament,
provided enough GMing volunteers come forward and are willing to
help. I feel that with v1.5 the variant's in a good place and ready
for such a step.



In any case, I'm eager to hear any feedback regarding the variant,
especially in your take how you believe the v1.5 changes alter the
dynamics present in v1.3. As a point of reference, I've attached the
more recent map.



Cheers,



Charles