Thanks everyone for a good game. I think that the result has been inevitable for a while and I am glad that I have finally ground it out to a successful conclusion. With my third solo on DC and having maintained my record of never being eliminated, I find myself radiating copious quantities of smugness. The long lay off due to holidays made the end of the game a bit of an anti-climax, but I am still thrilled.
I got the dream start in being allocated Russia. it is my favourite Power and has delivered me two previous solos in DC games. I think Craig knew what was coming as soon as the allocation was announced. My initial plan for this game was to ally with Turkey and Italy to destroy Austria and then develop the juggernaut. Italy didn't say very much, but it was clear he would be after Austrian territory and Turkey seemed convincing and negotiated well. Spring 1901 was disastrous though. Turkey broke all of the agreed DMZs and I found myself under heavy siege to the south. Without German cooperation over Sweden I would have been in big trouble. The next few seasons were about consolidation and defense, whilst rebuilding trust and an alliance with Austria. I took Norway from England against my better judgement, purely to fuel some growth to get the edge over Turkey. As the stalemate grew to the south I convinced Turkey to switch sides and attack Austria with me- but I was lying and I hit him hard, sealing his demise.
My attack on Germany came next. This was premature, but necessary to preserve England for a little extra time and prevent a strong F-G alliance developing. I made a mistake really, but got away with it due to some poor build choices from Germany. 3 fleets was way over the top and kept my central corridor safe. As a result I was free to overrun Austria, with loose cooperation from Italy. Austria remained focused on vengeance for the early attack against him by Italy and remained prepared to work with me as a puppet to drive Italy out of the Balkans. It seemed a strange decision on Jeremiah's part, but one for which I am immensely grateful. From this point in the game I knew that I would eventually win. Italy had the chance to slow me down towards the end, but instead opted to try and eliminate Germany with me. This suited my plans for world domination very well.
Initial negotiations were good, but after the first few years the game changed and people stopped talking. Diplomacy fell by the wayside and communications became random one- liners (apart from Austria) and so I decided to treat the game as a game of gunboat. I attacked everyone and everything I could and played the most aggressive game that I ever have attempted. This was spurred on particularly by the disgraceful insulting behavior of one player. Diplomacy is a game of negotiation, dirty tricks, deceit and skulduggery. if you can't engage with that and accept being stabbed without resorting to abuse, then you should not be playing. In contrast Craig, Sean and Jeremiah all took it on the chin and were true gents.
With no organized resistance and the total refusal of France to take positive action, everything went well for me. The thing I feared most was that France (who was of similar size to me) would abandon the attack on England and instead form an EIF grouping to move through Germany and challenge me. However Isaac seemed determined to kill England and to stick by Germany no matter what. This handed me the win.
Jeremiah- you had it tough as Austria, particularly as Doug decided to get rid of you from the start. Thanks for being such a good friend and ally, even though I was hurting you more than anyone else. This win would have been impossible without our alliance. Good luck with your other games- success will come as a reward for your commitment to communicate and plan.
Craig- I was really sorry after I took Norway from you. I think we could have allied well and achieved an interesting game together. Maybe next time - if you can trust me (guess I had better not be Russia).
Isaac- sorry if I offended you by suggesting you we're a new player. I didn't mean to sound patronizing. However, your moves were a mystery to me for a long time and I think you missed a chance here for a better result than just survival. We should have talked more.
Steve- I promised you pay back and you got it. Hopefully we will not meet again.
Doug- that was fun! Thanks for providing some tremendous entertainment in the endgame.
Sean- I was really hoping that I would finally get to play a juggernaut in this game, but you thought differently. Your strong opening had me seriously rattled, but thankfully you couldn't win Austria over to your cause. You played well until you were overwhelmed.
Thanks Justin for being efficient and regular in your GM activities- a flawless performance. Being GM is always a challenge and you can never please everybody all of the time. Thanks for giving so much of your time to the game- hugely appreciated.
Simon