France EOG

well - this game did end early to my disappointment as I was relatively certain that I had the upper hand to reach a solo or a 2-way draw (w Germany)... alas not meant to be. Below is my take on how this game unfolded.

In 1901, as I diplomed with all players, I did not find too many problematic leaders. All the players were very cordial and seemed competent. The only shortcoming was from Austria, who did not communicate as much as the others. But one player changed everything... Within the first 2 days, I got 'the offer'.

Germany (alfred) pointed me towards a G/F opening alliance called 'the SeaLion' and sent me a few links to articles on the subject. I read them and pretty quickly decided it was worth a try since I had never attempted this move before. So before any real diplomacy took place, within the span of 3-4 days, Alfred and I hit it off and decided win or lose, come hell or high-water we were going to stick to the 'sealion' plan and make a lasting F/G alliance happen. We struck it off well immediately and we liked each other. our emails became gushy affairs, effusive in praise, and direct with intent. we agreed that this game was meant for us to test this strategy, and we would go for a 2-way draw or solo but only with the consent of the other. It is not often you find an ally like that so early in a game - but we did - and the result is obvious.

with Italy, I had a great set of communications as well - it seemed we both liked subterfuge, so we decided we will make a whole show of us getting into a fight, only for him to turn on austria in 1902. so we bounced in pie in S01, then he supported himself to pie from tus in F01 and had everyone (including G) thinking that we were at war... but he built an army in Ven and in S02 moved to Tyl from Pie and took Triest. From here forward we kept our DMZs until he NMRed in 04 or 05 and we were a good source of intel for the other.

England was very cordial and nice - my move to the English channel surprised him, but in the diplomacy of F01, I convinced him I would not attack him, and he gave me that trust. this was by far my worst 'lie' in the game bc this is where I supported German F Den to Nth to initiate the SeaLion. England tried mightily by diplomacy and fought tooth and nail to his bitter demise - he earned my respect early and often during this game. Had I not committed to trying out the SeaLion with Germany, I would have turned. he was the victim of an arranged attack, and with Italy and Russia on our side, he had nowhere to turn at all.

In 01, Russia clearly had taken the lead with 3 builds... this of course gave him the early leader syndrome, and though he helped both italy and turkey gain austrian centers in S02, they both stabbed him in the Fall which precipitated his fall. in 02 and 03, England kept putting up an impressive fight and even unexpectedly destroyed one of my fleets. but without any help, it was only a matter of time before Germany and I outgunned him.

During this early game - I feel I played almost perfectly for my intended strategy and I got lucky on a few fronts. 1) Alfred and I kept a low profile to our alliance and did not advertise or make clear that we had long-term plans. this allowed me to keep Italy, Russia, and Turkey all thinking I would turn on Germany 2) Italy's attitude was perfect for France and the SeaLion, he stayed out of my hair and actually helped I think, in that it left other players thinking France would be pressured by Italy - by the time he turned on Austria and then Russia, no one was in a position to help out England or even think about it. 3) Austria's retreat to Aeg then Smy kept Turkey from becoming too powerful too fast 4) the continuous fighting in the east, gave F and G plenty of time to finish off E and turn our attention towards the South and North respectively.

But all was not perfect - for one, Austria's inexplicable NMR during the retreat phase and England's tenacious tactical moves made it tough to switch gears and move south as quickly as I would have liked.

none-the-less, by 1904, england was finished, germany moved against russia in the north, and I moved fleets quickly into the med. Italy NMRd on a build phase, giving me undue advantage - but in the end, i had 4 fleets to his 1 and by the time he was replaced, Turkey joined me in attacking Italy thinking that I would be willing to turn on Germany.

By 1906, I was well positioned to hold the Ionian, take all of Italy and was ready to take the Adreatic and open the gates to the Balkans... I have no doubt that if Alfred was still around, he and I would have swept into the Balkans and stayed true to our alliance for a 2-way or, depending on the situation, maybe even a solo.

so the game ended early - but it was a lot of fun playing with you all - specially in my first game on DC. I am glad we stuck to the SeaLion and that I got a chance to test it out... my final judgement is that it can be an effective attack, but it needs a compliant Italy and Russia to truly work. Even then, England is a tough nut to crack. it is truly MOST effective if Russia moves Mos-StP and bounces England in Nwy. if THAT is ordered, it would decimate England bc without a build in W01, England can not dislodge the German fleet in Nth and will end up losing home SCs very quickly. But most important of all, G and F must have full trust which will be hard to come by.

Thanks to all the great players - and thank you Matt for GMing the game. The NMRs were too many in this game... i would recommend requiring PreLims, not allowing NMRs (one grace is good), and asking the replacement to submit orders w/o diplomacy for that turn... besides that, Matt, you ran a great game. Thank you.


Babak (France)



On Fri, Aug 8, 2008 at 9:21 PM, Matt Kremer <matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu ([email]matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu[/email])> wrote:

Having received assents from all parties (except Alf of course) and approval from the admins of this rather unorthodox end-game proposal, DC177 hereby ends in a three-way draw between France, Germany, and Turkey, with survivals recorded for Italy and Russia. Thanks to all for a good game (despite its bumps) and to those of you still here for sticking through to the end. The previously published Winter 1906 adjudication will be recorded as the final adjudication. End-of-game statements (EOGs) are welcomed and encouraged from all players. Hope to see you all in future games, and thanks again.

Matt

--
---------------------------------
"YOU have the power!"
~ Howard Dean M.D.
---------------------------------