Hi Guys,
A massive thank you to John for GM'ing this very long game with such
good humour, even when we tried his patience with all those rejected
draw offers...
This was probably the most unbalanced game I've played to date...
Russia's early NMR's and Jerome's helping me into a Russian centre
threw my early plans of working with Chris into disarray... I then got
caught in feeling bad about Austria, tried to help him, and then as
Germany wilted and England and France appeared to be at daggers drawn,
went for the big one against Italy. I was left working with a
diminished Matt who unfortunately had to NMR at a key moment, and the
result was a foregone conclusion.
So, a strategy that possibly would have yielded a better result, (I/T
alliance) was thrown away by me in a rush of blood to the head, and
you guys came up with the perfect strategy to overrun the G/T
defences.
The game's tone changed for me with my stab of Italy, as Chris seemed
to take it personally with some pretty direct comments about me and my
play. The change from delightful witty and incisive player to
something else was not an enjoyable experience for me.
Ande it was you wasnt it Chris who kept voting down the draws?
Apart from one occasion I voted in favor every time, so as Andy and
Jerome swept the board and did not look like stabbing one another,
that only left one person who could be voting against...
I admit I was tempted at the very last to vote No and see what
happened, but by that time I think the real fun had gone out of the
game for everyone and it wouldnt have been fair to John who never once
told us to get our act together and end the game. Also, in terms of
fairness I think Andy and Jerome have been a shining example of
sportsmanship.
Well played to all, and see you hopefully sometime in another game!
Good luck,
Joe

On 3/31/11, andy davidson wrote:
Hello Everyone

Thank You all for a well played game. Special thanks to John for GMing and
doing such a good job of it.

Matt was right he was doing a very good job of playing England and myself
against each other and after I made some mistakes in the first few rounds I
was sure he or Turkey would get the solo.

The turning point for me was when Jerome defended Edinburgh when I had
Liverpool for the taking. This showed me that he would defend England with
great tenacity and forgive all other centres to do so. This would have
worked in Germany favour who was already powerful. Jerome agreed to the
logic of an alliance immediately after being attacked by me and the rest is
history.

At no point did I ever fear being stabbed by England. I realized very early
on that Jerome is a very trustworthy Allie and that we had a very good shot
at moving far in this game. I expressed to Jerome when we first thought this
game was coming to an end that it is rare to find two players that work
together as we did. Because of the trust we had we were able to use our two
armies as a single force with no fear of leaving centres undefended. John is
right when he stated that this gave us a great advantage.

I would have no issues with playing with any of the players of this game
again but fear that if Jerome and I ever end up on the same board again it
would be unfair to the other players.
Just kidding, I'll take him out. My hat is off to Jerome, a new player who
learnt a lot this game and I hope he continues to play.

Again thank you to all for a very enjoyable game and best of luck to all in
the second round.

The Baron
Andy

--- On Thu, 3/31/11, John R wrote:


From: John R
Subject: DC 359 Game Over
To: "Wb 2011 france 1" , "wb 1 2011 russia"
, "DC359 Italy" , "WB
2011 england 1" , "Joe Hackett" ,
"DC359 Austria" , blitz(at)diplomaticcorp.com,
"wb 1 2011 germany"
Received: Thursday, March 31, 2011, 6:28 AM




Hey all,

Well, the fat lady is singing, the cows have come home, and peace is
celebrated throughout Europe. Good game, all. You were all the best kinds of
players to have, cordial, punctual, and reliable (well, except for the
Russian abandon...). I appreciate you all.

It was difficult not to comment on the game more than I did. I certainly
tried to be careful in my press, and only point out things that were obvious
to all. I hope I succeeded in that goal. But now that the game's over, I can
share a couple thoughts. First, way back in the day I predicted (in my own
mind) that Germany and Turkey would be the two powerhouses at games end. I
still feel they were both very strong players, but they just got overwhelmed
by the sheer number of troops France and England can muster.

Speaking of France and England, they formed an incredibly strong
partnership. I think that's the power of alliances in Diplomacy. A tight
knit pair of powers can almost always defeat any number of loosely allied,
untrusting enemies. Still, I have to admit my suprise that England did not
at some point stab France. Specifically in Fall 09. At that point, England
could have easily claimed 4 french centers, with the rest of france
essentially undefended, and quite possibly led to an English win. By that
point of the game France and England were pretty solid, so I wondered if
England was even considering a stab at that juncture.

Anyway, that's my EoG. I'd love to hear all of yours!

Housekeeping-wise, a few things.
1) I will NOT reveal draw votes, because it is against DC house rules, which
I told you guys in the beginning that I was following for the blitz. I do
encourage you guys to reveal them though.
2) The score, to the best of my knowledge, should be:

Austria - 2 points
England - 16 Points
France - 15.9 Points
Germany - 2 points
Italy - 4.5 points
Russia - 2 points
Turkey - 4.9 points

Hope that helps! Thanks for playing!

John