Dear all
First and foremost thanks to Craig for managing the game with such good cheer and grace.

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Thanks to all for such an interesting game, it could have gone on much longer and swung once again.

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In my mind two essential things defined my game experience and prevented the solo that for one crazy moment I thought I might get.

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Firstly the superb defence Turkey put up slowing me down and preventing me from freeing units to hold mun; I now know this to be Doug. Ironically while I
was stabbing him on my way to a solo in another game he was frustrating my chances in this one. Someone sent press saying turkey could be defeated if only I could see it. Who was that and what was the advice? Ultimately I could have convoyed nap-syria but
I chose Greece instead and used ems for another purpose. This was a mistake. We live and learn but tur was superb, especially in their final bluff about ceding centres.
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Secondly there was one piece of press sent by France, I think, calling a truce and drawing attention to the fact I was on track for a solo. Germany then turned
to face me, mun fell and with it any chance of a solo. (mun was to be my my 18th centre after turkey). It was this truce and Turkey???s defiance that stopped the solo. In my other game I got a solo for precisely the opposite reason. A truce was not
called and turkey did not manage an adequate defence.
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Maybe, had I stabbed out of mun to kie or ber the year before that turce ger would have had one less build and I could have defended mun, who knows but I
wrongly anticipated the prolonged stalemate between fra and ger.
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I think this game confirms a little pet theory that all diplomacy games should really end in draws. When solos do occur it is usually because the players
do not recognise the threat early enough and fail to disentangle themselves from fruitless stalemates ??in time to react to the leading player.
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I think a three way or four way would have been a fair result.
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Many thanks to all who played
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Alfred