This EGS will be short and sweet -- much like my presence in this game.

I began 1901 by contacting most everyone and opening discussions.
Russia was immediately responsive and we egan to coordinate our
strategies. France finally responded a day or two before the
deadlines. I had already submitted my moves, but fully divulged my
moves and intentions to Rolf. My idea was to from an EFR alliance and
form a force to push south through the entire board.
Well, that didn't go as planned. Whether or not a previous (current)
game I was also playing against Rolf had anything to do with the
situation, as soon as I moved to ECH, France wanted nothing more to do
with me. This came as a bit of a shock because we had discussed my
opening to ECH and further move to Bel. Nonetheless, I believed
France was onboard with an alliance, and got hit hard in 1901 and even
harder in 1902.

I regrouped with Italy, but France's 3 builds scared everyone away.
Russia and I continued talking and strategizing, but I lost control of
my home bases fairly quickly and was done for by 1906. By then, it
was also fairly clear that the main powerhouse was Turkey and it was
not surprising to see him come out on top.

Nicely played everyone! I look forward to seeing you all on the boards soon.

Mike Hoffman
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"Shared Pain is lessened, Shared Joy is increased" --- Spider Robinson
"Whenever some act of wondrous power must be performed, Michael is
sent" --- Pope Saint Gregory the Great