Count me in! I read through the last game's diary and it looked like a lot of fun. I'm good with any preferences, although for gunboats I prefer quicker phases. Any bet is fine with me.

Anyone interested please update the list or ask questions.
1 – Decima Legio
2 – B-RICH94
3 –
4 –
5 –
6 –
7 –

Count me in! I read through the last game's diary and it looked like a lot of fun. I'm good with any preferences, although for gunboats I prefer quicker phases. Any bet is fine with me.

Anyone interested please update the list or ask questions.
1 – Decima Legio
2 – B-RICH94
3 –
4 –
5 –
6 –
7 – Glenn Rivera....erm...I mean Sandgoose

I also suggest the following format

DS01
DF01
RF01
BS02


This will indicate the year and season these thoughts cross the players mind...that's for Decima to decide but I can agree to play again in that format.

Wow, I was looking forward to it! Any bet <50 is fine.
1 – Decima Legio
2 – B-RICH94
3 – Guaroz
4 –
5 –
6 –
7 – Glenn Rivera....erm...I mean Sandgoose

Sandgoose,
about the abbreviation “DF01”
“D” is nice to know.
“F01” is a redundant information.

If you look back in your own Notes page of the first edition game you can see that the system automatically inserts the correct season&year on top:
"Spring, 1904: "

I'd say let us type only a single letter indicating whether it is about Diplomacy, Retreats or Builds phase, the system will take care about the rest.

Fair enough! So does this mean I get to join? :D

...and yes, thinking back to the first edition, I'm inclined to make the phase length a bit shorter: from 36 hours to 30 hours

Of course Sandgoose, you get to join.

This time I'd really love to touch you
XD

I'm definitely not (yet) qualified, but would still like to ask a question - what is the significance of taking notes for Retreats phase?

Decima (or Legio?) I am not qualified by your standards... but have played Dip for decades. I have only recently played FOG, but enjoyed it. I am interested if you are seeking a last player, after the 'high points' folk have had a chance to sign up.

1 – Decima Legio
2 – B-RICH94
3 – Guaroz
4 – CaptainMeme
5 – dargorygel (?)
6 –
7 – Sandgoose

I will.

@Lukas. Re:"what is the significance of taking notes for Retreats phase?"
You may want to type your thoughts after you've seen the outcome of a diplomacy phase. Retreats is the phase in which you notice what just happened on the board, you make guesses about other players' unit-placement (there's the fog!) and about their intentions, and you start planning what to do next.
So starting a Note with D/R/B will let whoever will read it after the game is over to tell *at first sight* which map the writer was watching while typing that Note.
In first edition, sometimes you couldn't tell wheter a Note the system marked eg. as "Autumn 1904" was written after Spring04 retreats (D), after Autumn04 diplomacy (R) or after Autumn04 retreats (B).

Btw: "I'm definitely not (yet) qualified." What you mean?... If I'm not wrong, you're 90+ 100+ and you're in the VDHF at #84...

Ah I understand now.

Oh right, I was looking at another hall of fame previously (http://www.vdiplomacy.com/halloffame.php) so I have mistaken. In that case I think I would like to join :)

^join Lukas over me.

So it's like this now?

1 – Decima Legio
2 – B-RICH94
3 – Guaroz
4 – CaptainMeme
5 – kaner
6 – Lukas Podolski
7 – Sandgoose

How about dargorygel though?

1 – Decima Legio
2 – B-RICH94
3 – Guaroz
4 – CaptainMeme
5 – dargorygel (?)
6 – Lukas Podolski
7 – Sandgoose

kaner (if dargorygel pulls out)

I never pull out.... *rolls eyes*

heh heh heh

I put a question mark by dargorygel because I'm not sure they quite meet the requirements - I think that's DL's call to make, though.

Dargorygel, it’s good to have your interest, but unfortunately you do not meet the requirements yet.
If you have 10+ years of experience you’ll be certainly able to jump in the V-points Hall of Fame in a matter of a couple of months of play.
At that time there will probably be the third edition and I’ll be glad to have you in.


I’ll create the game in the next hours. The game is about to get started this weekend.

Ok... have a good game everyone

password sent to:

1 – Decima Legio
2 – B-RICH94
3 – Guaroz
4 – CaptainMeme
5 – kaner
6 – Lukas Podolski
7 – Sandgoose

For the sake of clarity.
During the whole game, a single NMR will send the player immediately in CD.
In this (apparently not so) unlikely event, the game does not progress for 1 entire phase so that the integrity is preserved and the old player has extra-time to come back without damage.
Please do not abuse this feature.
I’ll take care to post here anyway in order to find a replacement, just in case.

Just to clarify - we are to start typing now, or after Spring 1901 moves?

from what I saw last time both

As you wish Lukas.

The game started, from now on silence please.

GG all - here's the gameID for anyone who wants to look over it: gameID=16995

Congrats B-RICH :)

This is what I saw. I stopped making notes on the animation about 1/2 way through the game:
http://i.imgur.com/fni1Lpz.gif

@kaner, that's so cool! Is there any way to slow it down to actually read all the notes you made?

click and hold Richy,

Kaner, how do you make those animations, I totally want to do that :D

I can re-animate the clip at a slower pace. Otherwise you can download the gif file, and open it with an image manipulator program like Gimp.

I'll slow the pace down slightly. hang on, doing this now.

@sandgoose - I use Gimp. I know there are WWAAAAAYY better animation software packages out there, but it works.

Should be easier to read.
http://i.imgur.com/Gje52L2.gif

you can still save it to your desktop and open gif's with your browser.

The Notes publication will be handled in 11 posts, 1 per year. Each post will be divided in Spring notes (Diplomacy + Retreats) and Fall notes (Diplomacy + Retreats + Builds).
Some typos may be around due to HTML language conversion. Apologies in advance.

******************************************************
>>> Spring ’01 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=0

Austria : S1901 - Pregame. I can see an Italian army in Venice. I figure I'm going to play a long shot on this map and act like Italy is a friend. If it works out that's great. If not I'm screwed anyway if Italy wants to attack. So here we go - I'm going to animate this as I go as well, for a visual record...
Austria : S1901 - pregame... ooo but I'm so tempted to open in a non-standard fashion. Screw imported pasta.

Turkey : Given a FoW plus Gunboat setting, I would like to risk my 20 and try pulling off a Juggernaut. Not to risk myself completely of course - thus the move into Black Sea, which a bounce will be ideal.
Turkey : Hopefully Russia will recognize my goodwill when he sees that Armenia is empty.

France : D: France again... literally 18 hours ago I finished a FoW game as France. But I won, so I might as well try the same opening. It seems like a pretty standard opening to me: fleet to MAO, Marseilles support Paris to Bur. This way I'll have the option in the autumn to either try for Belgium myself, or support Germany or England there. Ideally I can work with Germany or England against the other, but I'll have to wait to see the first moves to decide who to try to work with.

Italy : D - Italy... Not my favourite country by a long way in gunboat. I tend to like the Lepanto, but whether that would work as well (what with it being Fog of War and so Austria could not easily see my units) I'm not sure. I think I'll go with it anyway - the other option is the Bohemian Crusher and I don't like the idea of taking down Austria when I can't see whether a Juggernaught is forming.

England : D - Wow, England! It's been a while I haven't played it. Ok, first thing I need is an ally. How about..say... France? I'll try to be nice with him. Instead, first ting I *don't* need is enemies: I'm not going to bother Germany yet. Ok, I'll go for a mild northern opening, hoping France will find something better to do than opening to EC.

Russia : D. Россия !! Nice draw. No matter what I do, I'll have a clearer vision about the board this time. This won't be for free, though. Having to take care about multiple fronts will be the greatest challenge on my part.

******************************************************
>>> Fall ’01 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=1

Italy : D - Interesting move from Austria, Vie-Tyl, there. I think it was an attempt to block a possible move to Tyl from me, which is sensible. I'm glad I went with the Lepanto opening now. I'll move to Ven from Tus (although, since he left Tri open, I don't think he'll go for it, but better safe than sorry) and convoy over to Tunis.
Italy : D - One other interesting thing about that move is it's bound to have Germany concerned. I wonder how he'll react...

England : D - France not moving in the Channel is a very good news! The only other thing I can see is G taking Den with his fleet, which makes me hope he'll bounce Russia off Swe. He won't, if he correctly reads my opening. Aside that, I see basically nothing. I wish I knew what's going on in Burgundy, in Armenia, even around Warsaw. But the bigger problem looks whether Mos moved to StP. So many things could go wrong now. I have to decide which year-1 strategy: - Safe. Yor&gt;Nwy supp by NorS. 1 SC gained 100%. - Aggressive. Nor&gt;Nwy and Yor&gt;Bel. From 0 to 2 SCs gained. - Mid. Yor&gt;Nwy and NorS&gt;BarS. It's 1 not 100%, but a better positioning.
England : D - I'm going for the 'safe' one. It'll let me have both a sure build and more time to get what's going on. More agressive strategies could give me some advantages, but also put me in some unrecoverable situations. They'd be too depending on luck. Yes, looking at past games, England must risk something at one point. I just think that now it's too soon.

Russia : D. The eastern board opening looks pretty promising: Vienna-Tyrol uncontested, no army in Armenia, no weird German aggressions. I'll preserve Austria from an aggression while I try to guess what's going on between A&I.

France : D: England didn't move to English Channel, which makes me optimistic that he wants to work together. I'd like to signal back that I want to as well, but the probability of me guessing his moves correctly seems very low - he could move North Sea to Belgium, or convoy his army which could either be in Edi or Yor. I think I'll just try moving there myself, and see if I get support from either England or Germany. My other two moves are obvious - MAO to Portugal and Marseilles to Spain.

Germany : D. France is in burgundy and Austria is in tyrolia, hopefully Austria is all out on Italy. If Russia allies with Austria it spells doomsday for me stuck between France and Russia if England doesn't ally with me. I need to bounce Russia from Sweden and hit Munich. France will likely hit Belgium

Austria : A1901 - Russia in Galicia is no surprise, now we'll see if he moves to Rumania for a hopefully 'sure' build, or chance it on an Austrian one. Italy opened in a friendly manner, which is fantastic - being in Tyrolia is unexpected, however now I know Germany opened to Ruhr and not France... potentially a friendly maneuver towards France...

Turkey : D: There's a bounce as expected, and I hope that Russia is not too against me since Armenia is indeed empty. I will support him into Rumania this turn.

Turkey : B: Russia moved an army into Rumania with Austrian support, and he also got a fleet in Black Sea ... I sense certain danger but I'm still undecided if I should continue on my gambit to go for a Juggernaut.

Austria : B1901 - Russia is very much anti-Austrian. I will have to build armies to defend against him and hope that Italy remains friendly.
Austria : also Why did Turkey support Bulgaria to hold???

Italy : B - Wow, Austria went for Munich. That was unexpected, although I guess he didn't have much else to do with that unit. One thing it tells me is that Russia didn't move to Galicia, which is interesting - most Russias do in gunboat, in my experience. I really don't think weakening Germany is going to help Austria at all, but there's nothing I can do about that so I'll just stick to Lepanto'ing. Austria has seen me convoy to Tunis so he (hopefully) gets that I'm an ally. I'll be building F Nap and heading into EMe this coming phase.

England : B - Well, good I didn't go for the 'Aggressive' option, it would only have gained me an enemy. To soon to tell if Mid" option was better. The bounce in Swe worries me a bit, it could mean a dozen things, depending on what Germany is doing with its other units. Build F-Lon: too soon to trust the French."

France : B: I'm pleasantly surprised to see that I got Belgium uncontested. If I'm reading the map correctly, England convoyed to Norway (probably from Edi), and Germany bounced with someone in Munich. Austria and Italy both seem less likely than Russia to make an early move on Germany like this, so I'm guessing Russia has an army in Silesia, but I can't rule out any of them. In my opinion it would be easier for me to attack England than Germany at this point, and if Germany is being pressured from a different direction already, I probably don't have to worry about a German attack. Building a fleet in Brest and army in Paris keep my options open. I seriously considered postponing my third build to see what develops this year, but I think building a fleet in Marseilles is my best option, since I can get it to MAO by the end of the year.

Russia : B. There's no conflict between A&I, apparently. Barents sea will be in pink next year, the spare unit is needed on the northern front. I don't get why Turkey has left the fleet in port. Ger is at least 5 SCs. Let's hope it's not the time for Barbarossa already.

******************************************************
>>> Spring ’02 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=2

England : D - A new A in StP is all I can see. Less aggressive than a F in StP's nc, anyway. I want to go for EC, I want to have a look on France. I could give a support to StP, btw, Germany shouldn't be able to see it. NorS in standby, ready to go East or West in Fall, depending on what I'm going to see.

Italy : D - No Austrian army in Trieste. That's a good sign, seeing as he looks to have had two builds that phase. I'll support hold his Tyl army, just to signal that (and because I've nothing else for Ven to do) but I think he gets that now.

Russia : D. 4 SCs after &lsquo;01 make Russia collapse early. 6 SCs in general guarantee some kind of development. 5 SCs are&hellip; halfway. I’m considering to support Ger into Sweden, but it may backfire in the mid-term. I’ll just rely on the mighty French expedition towards Liverpool. I see it happening in most of the FoW games. I’ll assume there’s a new fleet in Smy, basically because of the F01 Austrian fleet in Gre. I’d better deal with Turkey as a friend for now. I’ll probably regret my earlier decision with Galicia not attacking Austria.

France : D: Things are going pretty well - I haven't made any enemies yet, and I'm the only one with 6 SCs (I'm 'worth' the entire pot right now). My plan for this turn is to expand outward and see what happens. I'm still thinking England would make a good target, so I'm going to move my fleets in that direction. I'm expecting to bounce in English Channel, but if I get it uncontested, then great, that just means I can start convoying to the island quicker. Germany can take Belgium if he wants, but I'd be a little surprised if he did, knowing that he has pressure from the other side already. I'm going to leave Italy alone for now, hoping that he's busy enough with Austria/Turkey and won't be coming my way for awhile.

Turkey : D: Austria's aggression is rather obvious so I raised a fleet in Smyrna to block him. On the other hand, this is my last attempt to forge an alliance with Russia. If I fail again, my fate is probably sealed.

Austria : S1902 - I'm going to continue to assume that Italy is friendly. I might bring Tyrolia to Bohemia to assist against Russia. Hopefully Germany will forgive me... I don't know how much assistance to give Italy against Turkey though. Russia being belligerent isn't helping matters.


******************************************************
>>> Fall ’02 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=3

Italy : D - And away we go! Turkey had built F Smyrna, which means he must have decent relations with Russia, so most likely there's no Turkish army in Armenia. That means the convoy to Syria is impossible to stop, so I'll do that. I imagine the move to Aeg from Smy signifies Turkey is trying to take Greece, but hopefully he'll stop that now that he has to go back and defend. Austria's also moved up to Boh, which shows that he's trying to put pressure on Galicia. Hopefully Germany's not too annoyed at the attempt on Munich and leaves him to it - I don't want G so distracted that France gains the upper hand.

Turkey : D: Italian fleets in the Ionian and Eastern Med, but Austria is not doing anything offensive, nor is Russia - this is funny. Seems that both the Juggernaut and Lepanto failed to be pulled off, but the prospects are still not too good for me. But since Russia did not move against me at all, and he should see my support hold order on him, I will still go on to try prompting him to respond to my offer.

Austria : A1902 - Russia and Turkey are allied. Strange order from Munich - support of France? Going to try for Rumania and also move to Silesia. Germany must think I'm a nutter. Italy is going to try the Lepanto I hope.

England : D - How interesting. Russia is scared by Nwy and bounces into Fin. Germany wraps around Swe and looks asking France an alliance by supporting Bel. France supports something to Bur (G won't like it) and moves his fleets towards me. What has he built in Mar. The battle with France has just begun and the last thing I need are enemy alliances around. First I need to cover NAO to either bounce or put a unit near Lvp. Second, I don't want to provoke G by directly cut Den's support for BalS&gt;Swe. Den is a SC, I'd gain a sure enemy while probably R wouldn't even notice my help. Then, since NthS is avaliable: third, better than covering IriS I need to keep EC by supporting it from NthS. Fourth, EC could encourage G fighting F by supporting Hol&gt;Bel. Last, I could help Russia by supporting GoB&gt;Swe from Nwy. This is a move potentially very dangerous and I need to think it through.

Germany : D: Just as I thought, France would move to burgundy and england would support himself to the channel. at least, I think he is supporting himself to the channel. I am counting on a swedish build this year. Austria is really just floating around and being a thorn in my side. I hope Turkey is doing something with Italy down there.
Germany : The above was Autumn, 1902... (the system did not label correctly)

France : D: Germany is clearly indicating that he wants to work with me, so it looks like we're thinking along the same lines. Still no sign of Italy yet, so I'm going to leave him alone and focus on England. I'm going to try to move my fleets up and get a unit into Liverpool. England should only have 4 SCs right now, and I believe his other two units are a fleet in Norwegian and an army in Norway. He could theoretically bounce me in both NAO and Irish Sea, but I'm going to try for Irish Sea, fill in MAO, and then be in a position to either take Liverpool or force English Channel next year.

Russia : D. Ok, southern fleet for Turkey. At least a NAP between A&I. The army in Bohemia *might* create friction between A&G. Nice unexpected support hold from Norway&hellip;let’s see if England is so nice to support me in Sweden.

England : D - Ok. It is risky but doing nothing is risky as well because I'd annoy both G & R. I just hope R correctly interpretes my support in the previous turn.

******************************************************
>>> Spring ’03 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=4

England : D - Haha, there's a list of bad news. A F was built in Mar, covering IriS was better, G & F aren't fighting each other and G won't even start now because... R correctly interptreted my intentions and G can see I bounced him off Swe. I'm f***ed up now! :)
England : D - So. The A that took Spa where is now? Mar? Par? If it's still in Gas I should expect a convoy this turn.

Austria : S1903 - So we went straight from Autumn 1902 to Spring 1903 without a build phase or a retreat phase. Which means that no-one built anything, and either there is some serious loving going on in the Gray-Zone, or some bouncy-bouncy action that I can't see because I'm not old enough. I'm hoping that Germany won't overreact with my army in Silesia, but I'm sure I'll hear all about it in the end-game write up. It's great to see Italy in Syria - this might give me the opportunity to take Bulgaria (given that Constantinople might have to support Smyrna to hold...) As for France... who knows. - I just hope he stays out of Italy's attack on Turkey.

England : D - Uh, wait. I can put a concede on the board. I know it's too soon for Italy to move West and my vote won't affect G's decisions that much. But at least they'd have a clue about what's happening. If they'll ever notice it: the Diary-I experience is not encouraging about this...

Italy : D - Everything's going to plan. Turkey didn't manage to take Greece, but neither did Austria manage to take Bulgaria so hopefully I'll get to take the Turkish SCs before he does. On the other hand, I'm certain there'll be no SCs for me this Spring, so I'll need to wait until the Autumn. Turkey almost certainly has A Con, as he only owns Bul (as far as I am aware - the fact he built a fleet in Smy leads me to believe he hasn't attacked Russia in Rum, and the Austrian attack on Greece would not have been entered if there wasn't Austrian support from Serbia). That means he'll be able to support Smy and I need another unit next two it. Two options there - move to Arm and convoy another army to Syria, or support a move into Aeg from Ionian. I think I'll go with the latter, as I'm a little worried about enemy armies arriving in Italy and I don't want to leave it defenceless. On another note, I imagine I have to write something about the English concede vote, as everyone will be doing so, so I shall - I think it signifies absolutely nothing of any use. After the Austrian attack on Munich in F01, Germany would not have built fleets as he would have been wanting to defend against a potential southern invasion, therefore he would be of no threat to England. Provided England opened in the standard manner he would have been guaranteed Norway, and there has not been a retreat phase yet so I don't think he's been thrown out of anywhere. It's either a signal to Russia, France or Germany not to attack him because he's already being attacked by someone who's growing from elsewhere (possible, but in that case it means nothing to me), a misclick, or an attempt to have an impact on the notes everyone's taking. I'd be interested to find out which after the game, but there's no point thinking too hard about it now.

Russia : D. NAP between F&I. F vs E. Triplice alliance. G@5 or6, A@5, I@4. Not a good board in general for Russia. England must be in trouble, prior than I expected. The idea of having a German army in Liv fucking scares me. A Lepanto must be underway...but this time a stationary Fleet in Ankara shall be a dead weight for a Juggernaut. I'll try not to lose Warsaw this year.

France : D: The most surprising this about the last turn was that there were no retreats or builds for anybody. Things must be pretty stagnant in the east right now, which is perfectly fine with me, since it means no one is growing too quickly, and no one else even has more than 5 SCs right now. So anyway, time to start out-maneuvering England. My hope is to get a unit in Liverpool by the end of the year, and I think the best way to do that is to support MAO to NAO, which will allow me to have two units bordering Liverpool and only one English fleet defending. The only move I'm worried about is a support into MAO, but I'm hoping that he will be too busy defending to go on the offensive against me. I'm still trusting Germany to keep our peaceful border, and if he does, I'm confident that I can break England within a few years.

England : D2 - NMR from Turkey? After just 6 days? Oh my. What requisites do you have to set to have a quality game.
England : R - No convoy, but I don't dislike my positioning. Now I have to guess. And yes, 10$ to whoever tells me now what Italy is doing. :)

Turkey : R: so the Lepanto is indeed there ... if Russia doesn't do anything to help me in the near future, I will go down, and then him as well ...


******************************************************
>>> Fall ’03 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=5

Austria : A1903 - (retreats = Turkey from Bulgaria) Bulgaria will support Italy into Con, because I think that he'll use Aegean to cut support to Smyrna. No idea what Germany is doing - playing defensively I think. Still worried about me I think. England and France must be clashing if Germany feels free enough to cover Berlin and Munich. Russia made a boo boo in moving to Warsaw I think. Now I need to decide whether to attack Warsaw and Rumania or attack just Rumania... decisions decisions.

Italy : D - This went pretty much exactly as I was expecting, and I was right in thinking that there was a Turkish army in Con. It's not so good that Austria's managed to get into Bul (as he may decide to turn his attention towards me now) but that was unavoidable, so I'll have to make the most of it. I'll push EMe into Smyrna this phase, followed by moving Syria up to Armenia and hopefully grabbing Con next year and Ank the year after.

Turkey : D: Given the current situation, I can't even defend myself well. The only thing that I can do now is to sabotage Austria's attack in the Balkans.

England : D - The options are: - defending Lvp, supporting hold it from Wal. If NAO moves to Cly or NorS then Edi is lost. - defending Edi, moving Lvp&gt;Cly. If he supports himself into Lvp I'll lose it. Well, Lvp looks easier to retake, since all my units are on the Western side of my isle. Also, in case, I could disband Norway, that is at the mercy of Russia anyway. Time to withdraw the concede vote, btw.

Russia : D. Sometimes, a misorder from your German opponent... is just what you need! I could end this year with 4,5 or 6 SCs. Once again, I need to hope in help from Italy to hit the vulnerable western flank of Austria. I don't think that this will happen before Italy takes Smyrna, though.

France : I'm guessing England will support Liverpool, so I won't be able to get it yet. If he does that, he'll leave English Channel unsupported, so I'll try for that this turn, as well as covering Picardy so he can't retreat there if I get the channel. I'm leaving myself wide open for a Mediterranean attack, but I just have to hope I can break England before Italy has as much success against Austria/Turkey.

England : R - Not bad but - uh oh - invasion looks imminent. Next FoW I'm England I'll open to EC. I swear. :)

Turkey : R: One center left as a result of an Austro-Italian attack, and a Russia who could not realize what's going on down here. I'm not blaming anyone of course, it's FoW after all.

Italy : R - Wow, perfect :) I got Smyrna and Constantinople this year, thanks to Austria supporting Aeg-Con. That brings Turkey down to 1 SC and so he will be out either this year or the next, depending upon whether Russia decides to help him. That brings me to the harder question of where to go next. With Austria still helping me, it would be a shame to lose him as an ally, so I would much rather go for France. With any luck (despite the English concede vote) the western conflict hasn't been resolved yet so France will be unprepared. I'll build F Nap and Rom this phase, and try to approach the French border without arousing suspicion. Hopefully Austria doesn't mind me going to Pie via Ven with Apu.

Russia : R. The original plan was to seize Bul from Rum, then I decided for the second wasted peace signal. I definitely played the early game like a pussy. This, together with an unexpectedly good Triplice Alliance, may be the cause of my defeat.

Austria : A1903 (retreat) Turkey & Russia are both forced to retreat, but the game states that an additional country needs to retreat... I suspect it might be Germany or England...

Turkey : B: Keeping a fleet in Aegean Sea with a tiny hope of sneaking into another centre ...

Russia : B. I opt for flexibility: build in Moscow.

******************************************************
>>> Spring ’04 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=6

Germany : D: Glad france moved away, england must be hot on his heels. I am somewhat confused where russia stands. I think I'll move to the gulf to get a closer look.

Italy : D - Ah, Turkey disbanded Ank instead of Aeg. Slightly annoying as it means Russia will try for Ankara and my Nap unit may be bounced in Ion, but it also means Austria might think twice about betraying me immediately. Hopefully the army in Trieste doesn't mean me any harm - at least it gives me an excuse to move Apu-Ven so I can head on to Piedmont without Austria getting too annoyed.

Russia : D. The disband in Ankara was unexpected. It’s time for (almost desperate) messages in the bottle: 1 - SOS signal via Concede vote. 2 - Support Italy to Bulgaria. At least one of them is supposed to go in the right direction&hellip; or I am screwed.

Germany : D: With the russian concede, I think I will turn on austria and attack silesia at this point.

Austria : Spring 1904 - I had to build in Trieste, I hope Italy doesn't see this as a threat. Russia voting for a concede can only mean that he's in a bit of trouble in the north as well... perhaps. Turkey has decided to try for a suicide run, I will have to protect Greece, but I think Turkey will try for Tunis or Naples.

Turkey : D: Hoping to get into Ionian Sea, although not likely ...

England : D - Ohh Russia's voting concede... France is not concerned about his back apparently, so Italy could be embroiled in some Balkan war in which Turkey's taking some advantage. Yes, it could be different in a hundred way, but if you ask me now I'd bet 10$ on F & T being the biggest powers in the end.

France : I no longer have any share of the pot, which means that someone is up to at least 7 SCs (Russia?). My guess is that England will support Wales to Liverpool, since that is the only way to guarantee that he keeps Liverpool this turn. Rather than bounce him, I'm going to try to land an army in Wales, which would give me a chance for either London or Liverpool in the autumn.


******************************************************
>>> Fall ’04 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=7

France : Alright, that went perfectly. Now I have my choice, either London or Liverpool. I think I prefer the positioning gained by taking Liverpool. For one, England won't have a choice what to disband, and also Liverpool borders Edinburgh, so it will be easier to get Edinburgh by the end of next year (Liverpool supports NAO to Clyde, and then a 2-on-1 to take Edinburgh). I'm curious as to what's going on in Scandinavia. I think Russia might have taken Norway, and thus England would be down to just the 3 centers and 3 fleets that I see. Germany and Russia definitely seem to be at war, and anything that keeps Germany occupied is more than fine with me. My peace with Germany has been working out well so far, but I'm thinking it's not going to last forever. If I can take the rest of England's centers within a few years, I believe I will be in a good position to stab Germany and benefit more than Russia will from Germany's demise. Of course, if Italy (or Austria or Turkey) decides to wander over on my southern border, that will become a priority and peace with Germany can be maintained.
France : *Both the previous two messages should be for the diplomacy phase* ^^

Austria : Autumn 1904 - As expected Italy covered Venice, I am surprised that there was an army in Moscow... also I am fairly sure that Warsaw was bounce in Prussia by Livonia. Either way I should be able to take Munich this season, I will have to support Rumania though, so here's hoping Turkey moves to Greece so I can bounce him there.

England : D - I must admit this France is good. He's outguessing me much more often than I'm used to be.

Italy : D - So, I have Ank for certain now, which is great :) Austria's also decided to head north towards Germany, before Russia's been dealt with, which is interesting... I'm wondering whether to wait to strike at France until I can get more units there - probably not. I don't think that he'll be able to respond heavily to two units just yet, so I'll send Ven-Pie and TyS-GoL and see how it turns out.
Italy : D - Also, another reason why I need to attack France now is that everyone will see that Turkey has been eliminated next phase, so he'll get on the defensive from a southern attack. I need to strike before that happens.

Turkey : D: Russian fleet in Black Sea unmoved, probably he was attempting a support for me to enter Constantinople. Since I can't get into Ionian Sea anyway, I may try my luck and take the support, if any, this turn.

England : D - Okay, I'm going to lose either Lvp or Lon and there's nothing I can do. I could lose both if I tried to hit Wal.

Russia : D. Apparent cracks within the Triplice (Silesia&Greece) are a blessing for Mother Russia. The move to Greece might have been an exiled Turkish fleet, though. This fall I still have a lot to lose and a few to gain. I’d love to move to SKA for exploring purposes, but it’s not worth the risk. What a pity that England has taken Norway with an army, that is a burden for both of us.

England : R - Uh yup. France correctly zotted Lvp. No way I could hope to disband Norway. I start seeing what mistakes I made previously. The first coming to my mind was in Fall 1902, when I thought for 5 seconds long I could convoy my A in Nwy to my mainland and then decided that supporting Russia to Swe was much more important. I was wrong.
England : B - Who knows if Germany is realizing that he'll be the next. His move to NthS makes me think so... And who knows if he realized that, unless Russia opens to Silesia, denying Swe to R in 1901 is never a good idea in a Gunboat :)

Austria : Autumn 1904 builds/retreats - So a pretty bad'ish season for me. I'll build in Budapest of course, but I was hoping to pick up Munich from Germany, looking at it now it looks like the Kaiser also has an army sitting around in Kiel, and a friendly frog next door.. I'm definitely going to have to re-focus my attention on Russia now, given that he's been sending me mixed signals.

Russia : B. Italian army in Smyrna, what the heck. There has been a successful convoy sometime in 1903. Not sure that A&I are actually in conflict. A&G probably are, and because of this Austria is now seeking for friendship from mine&hellip;unfortunately now that I can see the hearth of Austria-Hungary. However, I didn’t expect to find myself in Galicia. As a consequence of this, StP is completely open I have not the &ldquo;take Norway&rdquo; option anymore for 1905.

France : B: Well, it's a good thing I supported Munich, since it looks like he was attacked with two supports. It's also unfortunate to see Italy moving towards me... he must be doing well. I still have no share of the pot, so someone is up to at least 8 centers, and judging by the last turn, I'd say Italy is the most likely. The good news is that I finally got a piece of England, so I'll be able to build in Marseilles to help defend. I can move a fleet to MAO to help defend Spain. Overall I'm not THAT worried about Italy's attack, but I was hoping to have finished off England before having to deal with anything in the south.

******************************************************
>>> Spring ’05 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=8

France : If Italy started moving towards me, I'm assuming he has more to attack with than just these two units that I can see. He probably controls much of Austria at this point, and either has a fleet in Tyrrhenian or a new fleet build in Rome/Naples to move to Tyrrhenian this year. If I can get through this year without losing Marseilles or Spain, I should have another build coming for England and that should allow me to set up a good defense against Italy. I can't let Italy get Spain, so I will move Marseilles there. I'll also move my armies to Burgundy and Gascony, so if he supports himself to Marseilles I may be able to retake it in the autumn. Unfortunately I can't support Munich, so Germany is kind of on his own for the time being. As for England, I think he only London and Edinburgh left, so I can guarantee Edinburgh by the end of the year using just Liverpool and NAO, allowing Irish Sea to move down to MAO and help defend against Italy. Things are finally starting to get more interesting!

England : D - Hmm not much I can do now. Just delay French invasion if I'm lucky guessing out something....

Turkey : Russia bouncing Ankara for me - I will continue attacking Constantinople since this is the only thing that I can do. Although I was surprised that Italy did not support himself into Ionian Sea.

Austria : Spring 1905 - grr. I was hoping Turkey was a goner... Now I feel like I'm under siege... I'm going to hit Galicia this season, let's see how we go.

Italy : D - Oops, missed the Build phase thought-writing. Essentially it was just that I'm annoyed that Turkey decided to cut Con and that he's still alive. Ah well - hopefully he'll go this year, as I think Russia only bounced me then because he saw that I hadn't taken the SC in the Spring and thought I was giving it to him. I'll have to bounce Aeg in Ion again though, which is a nuisance. Maybe I'll send EMe and TyS there so I don't lose the position of either of them. Meanwhile, against France, the fact he had a build is not great, but hopefully he's got no armies close enough to support the Fleet so I should be able to take Mars anyhow this year. If not, I'll always have the extra fleet from TyS in the Autumn.

Russia : D. The 1905 displacement definitely gives me a headache!
Russia : R. Both Germany and Austria are full of armies just beyond my border. No way I can make progress against one of them without having the other breaking through my defences. Italy is claiming Ankara soon, and after that, Sev might be the target.


******************************************************
>>> Fall ’05 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=9

Austria : Autumn 1905 - going nowhere fast at the moment, I think it should try to position myself better against Russia. I'm hoping that it was an Italian fleet self bouncing in the Ionian... no way to tell.

England : D - Still not guessing much... still congrats to France...

Italy : D - Russia bounced me again, which isn't nice - that probably means he's going to try again next phase and Turkey will survive yet another year. I think I'll move Con in this phase, so that Turkey can't cut it - that way I don't have to cover Ion as he'll (hopefully) only survive if he moves to Con, and then he's definately trapped. In the West, France is evidently well-prepared for this assualt. He's moved into Bur, Gas and Spa while I've moved into Mars, and so he's most likely going to take Mars back again this phase. I'll support it to hold so that I have a chance of keeping it and move TyS-Spa so that I can even his amount of units.

Turkey : D: A self-bounce from Italy at Ionian Sea - don't know why he doesn't want to lose his position in Eastern Med, I am dying either way. Anyway my move worked so I am just going to repeat it.

France : D: I'm pretty confused about Germany's last few moves. Last year it looked like he was defending Munich against an attack from Bohemia. But then he moved Bohemia to Munich, so I don't know why he would attack himself last year... perhaps I am misunderstanding the map. My moves against Italy worked, and it's nice to see that he didn't move units into Piedmont or Western Mediterranean. I'll defend Spain against a possible attack, and take Marseilles back. I should also get Edinburgh, and maybe Germany will even throw a support my way to London.

Russia : D. To try to save Warsaw or not to try, that is the question. Unfortunately, the Triplice appears to stand.

Italy : R - Ugh. There was a French fleet in MAO, which means I couldn't have held Mars as Gas would always have been moving in. Until I can get more fleets over there, I'm stuck. Looks to me like Austria may be stuck too... Russia still tried to bounce me in Ank, but I got in and now Turkey is trapped in Con so should be easy to eliminate next year. This elimination of Turkey has tied my fleets up for far too long and may mean I cannot make any futher progress against France. Maybe I should try and make the best of it and go for Russia straight after.

England : R - A French in Edi supported by Lvp. Who knows what Germany is thinking now. I'll let my fleet do a tour in the Atlantic, disbanding Lon. Well maybe. In the meanwhile I'm retreating to NwgS.

Russia : B. I envisioned Germany in Silesia&hellip; so I could replace my western army in the Motherland&hellip; Turkey is evanescent; neither Italy nor Germany do attack Austria. With those terms I am almost done. I’m going to pay the bill for my naive opening from 1906 onwards.

France : B: I'm now worth the full pot again, so whoever was at 8 last year must be down one now. It's good to know that no one in the east is getting too strong. I think England is down to just London now, so I should see him disband one of his fleets. As for who gets London, I'd like it for myself of course, but I want to keep a good relationship with Germany, so I may end up supporting him there. Italy put me on the defensive last year, but now that I have enough units in place in the south, it's time to go on the offensive against him.

Austria : Autumn 1905 builds - At the moment it is 9 hours until the phase finishes & 1 player has finalised, meaning at least 2 players have build/disbands this season. I'm finally in a good position against Russia, next year I should be able to capitalise on this given that the Ruskie has 3 armies & 1 fleet (maybe 2?) - will he try to protect Warsaw - or Moscow, time will tell, but it would be a rude shock to see a Russian build in St. Pete! Italy has retreated to Piedmont, but has taken Ankara but lost Constantinople to the Turk (who is just hanging in there) I'll see what I can do about supporting Aegean into Constantinople next year. Germany is playing the defensive game at the moment.

England : B - Nice move to Lon by Germany, I'm realizing now. Had EC cut a possible support hold from NthS to Edi (which looked very likely), the German would be in Lon now. Yes, I want to have some fun with that northern fleet now. I'm going to keep it.

******************************************************
>>> Spring ’06 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=10

England : D - Awww, only me and France had to put orders in for the previous build phase? What's happening on the Continent?

Austria : Spring 1906 - no noticeable builds/disbands from what I can see on the board. Now I need to think about how best to dismantle Russia... Do I chance StPete, or grab Moscow... what will Russia do with his unitss in Sil,War,Sev & BLA?

Germany : D: well...This sucks, I thought England was well off on France, looks like france actually has the upper hand and Italy is on the move in french territory. I need to start doing something here really soon. I fear I may end up dead here pretty soon.

Russia : D. Ok, this should be the exact moment when I'm asked to choose whether fighting Austria until the last man or seeking for a shelter elsewhere.

Turkey : D: Three Italian units surrounding me - even with Russia's help I think it's really time to go.
France : D: Ok, I'll try supporting North Sea to London. I'd also like to move Edinburgh to North Sea, just to get a better sense of what's going on over there - hopefully Germany understands that I don't mean to attack him, and my support will ideally confirm that with him. As for Italy, the current position will let me hold him off, but I'd like to try to push him back if possible, so I'm going to try for North Africa. I risk losing Spain, but even if I do I may be able to take it back in the autumn, so it's a risk worth taking in my opinion.

Italy : D - I'm not going to get anywhere with France, that much is clear. I think I'll send him a couple of support holds and hope he doesn't try to attack me... The East is where I'll concentrate. I can evidently take out Turkey this phase, and then I'll be able to force my way into Bla and take Armenia, and so possibly work on taking out Russia. Maybe Austria will help me in this, maybe he won't... I guess I'll have to wait to see what happens.
Italy : R - Turkey's gone for sure now, which is nice, but it looks like France might be able to break though. They managed to get into NAf this phase, so I'm forced to block them in Tunis and they have WMe for certain. The build that's coming might help me, but the only way I can see to hold Tunis in the following phase is to have a unit in TyS at the start of the year, which means I need to retreat from GoL and hope he doesn't expect it and move Spa-GoL...

England : R - Wow, who's that guy in StP? Austrian? Russia looks more done than me. Now I can see France moving towards Med. Support for Bre&gt;MAO suggests an enemy Fleet in WeMed. Three French units around Lon. Germany should be wondering why was I so friendly with France in 1902?" or maybe "Why did I annoy Russia in 1901 and bounced him off Swe?" I'm still wondering why didn't I opened to EC, but I must have mistaken something else..."

Italy : R - Also, Austria's move of Tyl-Boh is interesting. Combined with Russia attempting to move Bla into Rum (and so possibly trying to move Rum into Galicia or Serbia) it suggests Austria might have turned to fight Russia, in which case Germany might start an NAP with him and go for France. It's a long shot, but it might happen, in which case my situation in the west will get a lot better...

Turkey : R: Result is as predicted - disbanding this final unit of mine and then I'm officially out of the game.


******************************************************
>>> Fall ’06 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=11

Russia : D. The Turkish fleet must be somewhere around ION. Possibly SER moved to GRE. Now, old British friend you've seen me moving to GoB and you also know why, would you be so kind to support me back in StP? It will be a challenge to end this year at 5SCs.
Russia : D. The Turkish fleet must be somewhere around ION. Possibly SER moved to GRE. Now, old British friend you've seen me moving to GoB and you also know why, would you be so kind to support me back in StP? It will be a challenge to end this year at 5SCs.
Russia : D. Errata corrige: The Turkish fleet is no more.

Austria : Autumn 1906 - Hi England, fancy seeing you in Norway, and sending support to Sweden... I hope he doesn't get it into his head to support Russia into St.Pete from GoB. I'll send England a SupportHold to say hi. Turkey will be dead at season's end. bye bye. Crazy how much support Munich is getting. I wish I knew what was going on vis-a-vis France & England.

Italy : D - Nothing's really changed from retreats so I don't have anything to add.

England : I'll be hitting MAO now and see what happens. Perhaps it'll be fun. Also, sorry Russia, but I don't want Germany to take Swe.

France : D: It's a little surprising to see that England still controls Norway. I knew he convoyed there year 1 but I figured either Russia or Germany would have taken it by now. My best move now is to move my fleets to Norwegian and North Sea to take Norway next year. That will give keep my fleets occupied which should make Germany happy, but it also keeps them in the north and doesn't leave me as vulnerable to a future attack from Germany. Italy threw a support towards me last turn, which I thought was kind of funny. He must have come over here expecting little resistance, and now that I've shown some he doesn't want to continue attacking me. But I think it's in my best interest to push him back while I have the chance. My thought is that he will protect Tunis, leaving Western Med vulnerable for an attack. I just hope England goes for Liverpool and not MAO...

Russia : B. (my draw vote was actually a mis-click). R.I.P. Turkey, I’m playing this one badly, but you made a fatal mistake in allowing the Italian convoy. Both Germany and Italy (UK too) know that I am almost K.O. due to Austria. Notwithstanding a pretty good 1906 for A. ,with G. descending in Tyrol, and I. replacing T. the olden age for Austria *may* be over from next year on.

England : R - Turkey's out and Austria is in StP. Perhaps fleet in GoB is the last russian alive. Mar supports Spa, so France has enemies in GoL and (now) in Tun. Probably Italians, otherwise Austria is only 1 SC away from Victory. Germany kept Lon (unless he's crazy, I can't see Lon) and is likely going to build. France maybe is not. I'm keeping MAO. Surviving one more year looks impossible anyway.

Austria : Autumn 1906 builds - Russia will be in pain, also goodbye Turkey. England bounces in Sweden?? Germany must have tried to move there, I wonder if Russia will read this as a protective act or an act of attack from England. I hope England opens the large map and sees my support of him in Norway. Germany invades Tyrolia, but I know Italy has at least 1 build so I expect an army in Venice. As I don't have must choice over my builds at this point I'll be building an army in Vienna (obviously) and an army in Trieste.

Italy : B - Okay, so Austria owns Sev and Rum. That was slightly unexpected, and disappointing - means I can't make any gains there, as I'm certainly not powerful enough to attack Austria yet. Ah well, at least I got the Russian fleet to disband, so Austria should be able to focus on disabling Germany (and expelling him from Tyr...) France didn't move into GoL, which is also nice. I should be able to hold Tunis this phase, that means :)

******************************************************
>>> Spring ’07 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=12

England : D - Mmmm... Por doesn't look a good idea, taking Bre to be dislodged in Fall also. Let's try to bounce everything moving to EC.

Austria : Spring 1907 - a surprising disband from England. He must be under the pump from France. Also surprising is Italy not building in Venice, he must have an army floating around somewhere nearby, I doubt that he'd leave Venice open. Has Germany built I wonder. I'm thinking about offering Sevastapol to Italy.

Russia : D. E. is definitely in trouble. In the past I've seen a German fleet sailing in North Sea uncontested. Great Britain may be an issue between F&G nowadays. I guess I need to re-locate around StP, although getting rid of that enemy army will be impossible.

Italy : D - Austria built A Tri, which hopefully means he'll be able to get rid of that German army. I'll still be covering Ven to keep safe anyhow - I hope France doesn't go for Piedmont in the meantime. Something I forgot to mention earlier - The move from Sevastopol to Moscow is interesting, as I cannot see whose unit it is. It seems like it is probably Russian, as why would an Austrian unit in Sev move to Mos when he could just send Ukr in and keep Sev covered? If it is a Russian unit, it makes you think about why he was retreating - it seems to signal he needs to defend Moscow, meaning Austria may have Warsaw - in which case Russia must have A StP or A Liv in order to make trying to protect it worthwhile. It'll be interesting to see if this is right when the notes are published.

France : D: Tricky England, moving to MAO... I'm thinking he will most likely move to Brest, not wanting to risk bouncing in Spain or Portugal, but I want to cover all my bases to try to eliminate him this year. I'll need to have two units available to retake it in the autumn, which means temporarily calling off the attack on Italy, but he's retreating anyway, so I'm not too worried about losing ground against him. I'm hoping to take Norway with just one unit, so hopefully I won't bounce with Russia.

England : D2 - Germany NMRing??? Ufffff.....

Russia : D. Second spring :) After Turkey in the early game, Germany has gone in CD an has taken over after a few hours. In both the cases I didn't make it in time to advertise on the Forum.

England : R - Okay, I'm done. Well played France. :) I want to die seeing my island! :))


******************************************************
>>> Fall ’07 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=13

Austria : Autumn 1907 - Decided to retreat to Livonia, this way I can (should be able to) take Moscow, and an army in Finland would be pretty pointless at this point. I'm thinking after I take Mos&War I'll leave Russia alone in the north. France appearing out of the gray is a bit of a shock, I imagine he's also a little startled at seeing Austria in St.Pete!

England : D - Let's see this spectacular bounce into Liverpool! :)

Italy : D - France actually backed off! That's great news, but it leaves me with a bit of a dilemma as to what to do now. Do I follow France back into Iberia, or attack Austria? The former will almost certainly fail, as he has a lot of fleets there still. The latter is a big risk, but could bring a big reward... I'll go for Austria. Hopefully he hasn't got too many units near my border. At the moment I think Austria owns Tri, Bud, Ser, Rum, Bul, Gre, Sev and War, and is about to take Mos. His unit positions seem to be northerly focused so I should be able to grab at least two of those (Bul, Gre) this phase.

Russia : D. Austria is offering much trust in Italy around the Black Sea. At this point I can only hope that this trust is ill posed. France may win this 2nd edition too in the long run.

France : D: England retreated to Irish Sea, probably hoping to stay alive by taking Liverpool. But that makes things a lot easier for me - I'll just block Liverpool and that will be the end of England, and I won't need to waste any more units. Very surprised to see Austria in St. Petersburg. I'm guessing Russia is not very strong - he had Sweden and Moscow last year, and I think that might be it. With Turkey already defeated, that means Italy and Austria have quite a few centers split between them. Since Italy suddenly stopped attacking me a few turns ago, I'm guessing he got stabbed by Austria and left me alone to defend himself. I'm thinking more now that I can leave Marseilles, Spain (to Gulf of Lyon), and Western Med in place to secure my southern border, and then start attacking Germany, since I think I'm in a much better position to attack him than Italy.

Germany : D: everyone needs an ally, I sure hope france can hold on the fact I have no reason to stab, hopefully he can see I am pretty much eating dirt over here.

Russia : B. Arm &ndash; Sev&hellip; finally. If Italy knows how to stab&hellip; Trieste is under siege as well. However, this stuff has come really late for my part. I don’t feel like I can survive this one eventually.

Italy : B - Austria had a unit in Serbia. Darn. That means no builds for me this year, and he'll be throwing everything at me now. At least he only has one fleet, so he can't do much in the way of attacking me. France's move to GoL worries me, but he didn't attack Pie so I don't think he means to follow it up. I'd be taking one hell of a risk retreating from the Tyrhennian now though, so I won't.

Austria : Autumn 1907 builds - Ouch. Italy has decided to attack me, it didn't work this season (lucky paranoia on my part) but ouch. Now I have enemies all around me, I'm going to have to make peace with Russia I think.

England : B - Ouch, Austria didn't win, I'm defeated. Goodbye everybody! :)
France : B: I think I can make better progress against Germany than against Italy, so that's what I'm thinking right now. Plus, I think I need to leave the pressure off Italy so that he can defend against Austria, who I'm guessing is the SC leader now. I only have two armies on the mainland right now, so I need to build another one in Paris.

******************************************************
>>> Spring ’08 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=14

Russia : D. With UK gone, I am now by far the weakest power on board. 2SCs vs 4powers arguably at 7-8-9SCs each. The bitter twist of fate probably puts me, Russia, as the one who has the clearest knowledge of this balance of powers. It is fairly probable to see french or german fleets aiming for StP... nothing I can do. I'd rather die defending the Kremlin from Austria.

Germany : D: The only way I am going to grow is if I turn my back to france and hit austria with everything I've got, I'm sure this will stab me in the back but I am hoping to be a good part of a draw if needed. I won't leave too much of the german mainland.

France : D: I've made up my mind to attack Germany, however I think waiting until autumn to make the stab will yield the best results. If he doesn't suspect anything, I should be able to take London and either Denmark or Holland. I don't want Germany to get suspicious of my units in the north, so I'm going to make it look like I'm moving to defend against Italy. Italy might also think I'm moving to defend against Germany, so it's a win-win for me.

Italy : D - No builds from Austria, which is nice. I'll try for Greece again and support hold TyS with Tun in case France turns nasty. If I don't get into Greece I'll head into Adr in the autumn.
Italy : In fact, I'll head over to Adr now... I have a feeling I'll need to protect Ven shortly.


******************************************************
>>> Fall ’08 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=15

Italy : D - I was right, I did need that unit in Adr. Thank goodness I put it there in time. France seems to be friendly again so I'll back out of TyS into Ion. I just got into Bul, but it's now surrounded by three enemy units. I have a choice of trying for Greece or supporting hold Bul. I think he thinks I'll do the former, so will be supporting Greece to hold, which means that I should support hold Bul as he can only attack me with two units.

Russia : D. I know the hard position of Austria and Austria knows that I know that; that's why the support from Sev. Unfortunately I'm done with presents to him, at the risk of losing StP to Germany or France.

France : D: My intentional bounce of myself worked exactly how I planned, hopefully Germany bought it and doesn't suspect an attack coming. His move to Finland indicates that he still trusts me, and if everything goes right I'll take London, Denmark, and Sweden, and Germany will be crippled. The only thing that is slightly annoying is that Germany will be able to retreat from London to North Sea, and from there it will be difficult to prevent that fleet from creating some chaos for me.

Austria : bugger.

Russia : R. StP... quod erat demonstrandum

Germany : B: too much faith in the french, granted it was obvious he was coming my way, who could blame him with the austrians on my doorstep? he has no view past munich.

Russia : B. The sum of the informations gathered makes me assume that there're not the conditions for a draw in this incoming years. No way I can spend my position in that direction

******************************************************
>>> Spring ’09 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=16

Russia : D. However... it's worth it anyway to put down the draw vote

France : D: My builds were pretty self-explanatory... the goal now is to invade Germany as quickly as possible. I was assuming he had one disband, and I was really hoping it would be his fleet in Wales. Now he is without any fleets, and I don't have to waste units covering England. My guess is that he will try to protect Holland, so I'm going to target Ruhr instead. If he leaves Ruhr unsupported, I can take it with Burgundy and then get Holland in autumn. I also have my army in Yorkshire to convoy over, either to Norway or Holland. I think I have a definite possibility to win this. I need 6 more SCs - I'm looking at Holland, Kiel, Berlin, Munich, StP, and Tunis, although Warsaw and/or Vienna might be possibilities as well. I'd like to wait to take Tunis until I'm closer to 18, since I don't know if I have enough units down there to hold on to Tunis if Italy starts attacking again.

Italy : D - Oops, I just missed the phase. Hopefully nobody minds too much... Anyhow, I'm fairly worried about France, so I'm going to cover Tunis. It will probably stop some of my progress against Austria, but the risk of France attacking is too great for me not to do that. Against Austria, I really need a unit in the Black Sea, so I'm going to move Con-Bla and Aeg-Con. Hopefully it works...

Russia : D. Second spring again. Turkey, Germany and now Italy. The NMR policy feature is being quite abused. We may discuss about this after the game is over.

Austria : Spring 1909 - France has obviously moved to take St.Pete. The best I can hope for at the moment is that France will turn on Italy &/or Germany, I'm under attack from all sides at the moment, and don't really have a very good defense line. If Germany attacks I'll be battling a loosing battle.

******************************************************
>>> Fall ’09 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=17

Russia : D. I do not know how on earth can Austria spare 4 armies on the Russian front. I must have assumed something in the wrong way on the A-I border or the A-G border. Either way, this is definitely not my game, I deserve to die.

Russia : D. I do not know how on earth can Austria spare 4 armies on the Russian front. I must have assumed something in the wrong way on the A-I border or the A-G border. Either way, this is definitely not my game, I deserve to die.

Austria : Autumn 1909 - Germany coming from StPete!!!! But it does look like he's being attacked by France @ Burgandy and @ Ruhr. So I'm hoping he's not going to press an attack against me. Good sign from Russia re: supporting Sevastapol, let's hope he supports it again this season.

France : D: I got into Ruhr, so last turn should be considered a success. I expected Germany to move to Finland or Norway in an attempt to stop my advance, but his move to Livonia frees up my fleet in Sweden. I should be able to force St.P eventually, so I'm not concerned about trying to take it immediately, and I think securing the rest of Germany is more important. I'm assuming Austria's pretty strong at this point, so I'm going to support myself to Piedmont. This will also signify to Italy that I want to keep working him, and ideally he will keep a minimal defense around Tunis. It will also free up Marseilles for a fleet build, which should give me enough strength down there to take and hold Tunis.

Italy : D - The move to Piedmont was unexpected - I always forget about that link. However, although I will lose Ven for sure, I'll pick up Bul for certain also, so I'll break even. I'm getting more and more worried about France. My war with Austria is tying up at least 7 of his units, and my guess is that he has only 8 or 9 SCs. Germany isn't attacking Austria, which means he is probably defending against France, and it's only a matter of time before France grows large enough to be a solo threat. The fact he can keep two fleets in GoL and WMe while still fighting in the north shows that he may well be already. I need to be prepared to try to ally Austria again soon.

France : B: I was expecting to build another fleet this year, but I'm thinking armies in Paris and Marseilles is the best way to go right now. The priority is getting Kiel, Berlin, and Munich, and having enough armies to hold them. I'm assuming Germany will disband Livonia, but I can guarantee Kiel in the spring and either Munich or Berlin, if not both, in the autumn. With those SCs I can then build fleets in Marseilles and Brest to secure Tunis and StP.

Russia : B. This weird turn will allow me to stick around one or two years longer. Perhaps the German player wanted to control too many SCs with a single army. By now it is likely that the French player has launched a massive offensive in attempt to solo. I guess France is the leading Nation.

Italy : B - A german concede vote up, and Austria may be able to retake Bulgaria next phase... I think now's the time to turn on France. He must have pushed quite far in the north for this to be the case. I'll build a fleet in Rome and try to support hold Austria to tell him I'm going to turn around. This may be a little early, but better safe than sorry - I have seen quite a few FoW games won because someone didn't turn around in time.

Austria : Autumn 1909 builds - I'm going to have to disband. I'm thinking Budapest because I don't want Germany, France or Russia seeing weakness.

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>>> Spring ’10 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=18

Austria : Spring 1910 - An Italian fleet in Rome??? not sure what to make of that. Still Italy has made no overtures to establishing a peace, this could be that he is either unaware of France's expansion or he simply doesn't care and wants to press his attack against me.

France : D: There's a small chance of me getting 5 more SCs this year, depending on what Germany and Russia do. Rather than trying to go all out for the solo this year, I'll play it safer and take two more years. I'll move Holland to Kiel, and then it will be a 4 on 2 situation for Germany's last two SCs in the autumn. If he plays it right he might be able to hold on to one of them for another year. I'm not sure if Russia has a unit in Moscow to defend StP with, or if Russia will bounce me in Finland or Norway, so it might also take 2 more years to get StP, although I'm pretty certain I can force it eventually no matter what with a 4 on 3 situation. I still think Austria is stronger than Italy, so I'll support Venice for now. Hopefully Italy doesn't realize how strong I am and he won't expect me to sneak into Tunis.
France : D: Actually, I don't think it will be difficult to hold on to Tunis, so I will go ahead and try to take it this year.

Russia : D. So what now? It's the year 1910, a superpower may be around, the only way I can make it alive is through a draw including Moscow or StP. However, nobody else is voting draw nowadays...not encouraging on my part.

Italy : D - No change from builds so I don't really need to write anything more.

Italy : R - It looks like I turned around just in time - France has attacked me in TyS and brought another fleet into NAf. I will lose Tunis for certain next phase, but hopefully I can stop any further losses, provided Austria stops attacking me. The big question is whether Austria will continue to attack me or not. I managed to get a successful (one that showed on the map) support hold to his unit in Sevastopol, and I backed out of Bulgaria and put Constantinople into Smyrna rather than Aegean so as to seem as non-aggressive as possible. I also attempted to support his unit in Tuscany into Piedmont, but that didn't show so he doesn't know about that. Hopefully the parts he saw is enough to convince him to stop attacking me. I'm going to have to disband 2 (at least - more if Austria continues to attack) next phase, so they'll be the two units in Turkey if Austria doesn't attack me, or two on the front line with France if he does. Austria has far too few fleets to take Turkey, so I'll be safe there if he does attack and then he'll have the problem of facing France directly, which I'll try to help with but will hopefully show him that he needs to team up with me if we're going to get a draw out of this. With a sensible Austria that shouldn't be too much of a problem, though - he can see that England is defeated, Germany's concede vote is up, Russia is (probably) weak, and I've just stopped attacking him, so he should be able to work out that France is a big threat.

Russia : R. Armenia support hold to Sevastopol could be the signal that Italy wants to cooperate in order to stop France from winning this. Perhaps this time not everything is lost.

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>>> Fall ’10 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=19

Russia : D. Hold and cross fingers is everything to do now as Russia.

Germany : D: Clearly not a great game for me, I assume I'll be out this round. Mistakes: Too trusting of france Austrian making motions towards my homeland prevented a good taking England's poor play by allowing french expansion just a bit too quick My mistake for not taking belgium and attacking him flat out.

France : D: It was very disheartening to see Italy defend both Tunis and Tyrrhenian Sea - I could have supported myself to Tunis, but I thought taking Tyrrhenian was a guarantee. Now it will be much more difficult to take Tunis. I'll try supporting myself there, and hopefully he didn't fill in Ionian with another fleet. I'll free up Marseilles for a fleet build to help down there. As for StP, I try for it, but unless Moscow is attacked I won't get it. I'll need another unit in order to get it, so I'm thinking Baltic Sea to Gulf of Bothnia next year, which should be enough.

Austria : Autumn 1910 - Italy has basically retreated from Bulgaria and has signaled to be that he wants peace, I'm happy to put by-gones behind us, but will maneuver to built a fleet in Trieste, I'm not going to be fleet-less if/when Italy attacks again. Time to take out Russia? Germany is under attack in Kiel, and I now have a spare army in Rumania going to waste. I think I will tap Piedmont this season.

Italy : D - See retreat notes.
Italy : R - That went perfectly. Austria has turned around, I managed to jump into WMe (although I lost Tunis, but that was inevitable), and Austria took the support into Piedmont. I'm also in a decent position to fend France off from the rest of the Med completely now, so I'm happy. I'll disband Armenia (the other disband will be in Tunis, as that can't retreat anywhere) and hopefully Austria won't launch an attack into Turkey.

France : R. Ok, I got Tunis, which was great, but it could be difficult to hold on to. Hopefully I only need one more year - if no one moves to Livonia next spring, I'll be good. It was also slightly disappoint to see Austria take Piedmont back... I'll disband that army rather than retreating to Marseilles in order to build a fleet in Marseilles.

Russia : B. I'm basically in Austrian hands. Considering that StP is expendable (F & A are reasonably aware of it) , it's not said that Austria will let me alive eventually.

France : B: I think I've got this. As well as having 3 units on StP next autumn, I'll move to Prussia and Silesia to put pressure on Warsaw. I'll build fleets in Brest and Marseilles to cover MAO and Spain, and I think I should be able to hang on to Tunis.

Austria : Autumn 1910 builds - I really hate not building a fleet this season, but I need to shore up a land defense against France and fast!

Italy : B - Second thoughts, I'm going to disband EMe. That way Austria won't get any ideas about attacking Turkey, and I don't think I'm going to need that unit anyway.

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>>> Spring ’11 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=20

Italy : D - I've just realised that disbanding that unit means that I can't safely drive my way toward Iberia, but I don't think I would have gained anything there anyway. I'm going to pull WMe back into TyS and form a stalemate line there - not the most interesting thing I could do, but certainly the most sensible given the circumstances. Provided Austria, Germany and Russia can between them hold one centre on the other side of the stalemate line, which is likely, there's no need to risk France being able to push further into the Med by attempting to retake Tunis or grab parts of Iberia.
Italy : D - Oh, Germany's gone... Not good. Ah well, hopefully Austria doesn't attack Russia - if he does there's a chance France could get StP and win...

Russia : D. Germany is over. Italy issued the draw vote, Austria did not. The Baltic will be french soon, as same as Prussia/Livonia. The line is drawn from Moscow to Tunis, 17SCs (I'm assuming Italy to be in control of his western border). This spring is the crucial season for my presence in the draw or my demise. The current status of Silesia will take part in Austria's decision about Moscow.

France : D: StP will be guaranteed this year - even if someone moves to Livonia, I'll move Berlin to Prussia so I can cut support from Livonia. The only concern now is holding Tunis. I'm going to take a pretty big chance by not supporting Tunis with North Africa, and instead hit Western Med. I'm counting on Italy using Western Med and and Ionian to support Rome to Tyrrhenian, so if my move works then we'll bounce in Tyrrhenian. If I can prevent him from getting Tyrrhenian for just one turn, the game will be over before he can take Tunis.

Austria : Spring 1911 retreats - oops I readied my orders before writing my observation of Spring 1911 before the retreat. ooops. Anyway, I decided that I should take control of at least Moscow to prevent any miscoordination between nations given that it is a gunboat, I knew that StPete was being attacked but thought that it was only being tapped by 1 unit, not 2. I have a good line of defense here, and France will = 17 at the end of this season. I will be holding all around, and it is up to Italy to provide a southern defense now. Hopefully we can end this in a 3 way draw.

Austria : apologies to Russia (sort of) I know I indicated support of you, but I just couldn't justify keeping you in the game while not truly knowing what was going on in the north.

Russia : R. Ouch, cool blooded bastards! Just joking, in their place, I should have done the same. According to what I saw, pretty good game from A&I.

******************************************************
>>> Fall ’11 <<<
http://www.vdiplomacy.com/map.php?gameID=16995&largemap=on&turn=21

Russia : D. I've been the only one retreating. The rest of the board must be stable. Probably in this second edition France has been stopped.

France : D: Throw some supports on StP, Tunis, Munich, and support myself into Marseilles, aaaaaannd good game France :D

Austria : Autumn 1911 - Defense baby.

Italy : D - My line is now set up - I can't advance at all, and I can hold everything I have forever. Now it's down to Austria/Russia in the North to do their work there. I need to give Austria some of the SCs in Turkey, as they'll be of a lot more use to him than me. I'm trying to think how to signal to him that he's okay to take them - I'll need to move out of Const into a place that he can see (so Bls or Aeg) and then attempt to support him into Con. Aegean seems less threatening to him so I'll do that.

Didn't realize it was a note for every phase....meh. :D

I think the biggest shock for me in this game was in Autumn, 1906, when I slipped into \ Sevastapol. I really wasn't expecting to gain this SC, and was wanting to support Italy into the province. I guess the shock that Capt.Meme must have felt seeing an Austrian army there already, prompted his attempted stab in Autumn, 1907. In many many ways Russia's movements on the board affected Italian and Austrian strategy... and of course that damn Austrian army that was in German territory must have had an effect on Sandgoose's game plan, ultimately leading to a French victory.

I've seen so many Austria's fall to an Italian offensive early on in this game, and was really happy that CM didn't go down this path, but ultimately he chose to attack me just as I was getting ready to finish Russia off, and make a good attempt at securing (I was sure France was gearing up to go for a solo by this stage) the north.

Good game everyone, it is wonderful to read everyone's thoughts as the game progressed. Congrats to France for the win.

Just finished reading, very enlightening notes everyone. My general sense of the board was pretty accurate, except I wasn't expecting to see that Italy and Austria were allied for much of the game. It was my assumption that they were fighting pretty much the whole game, although Turkey's early elimination should have been a huge indication. Each of you was hoping that the other could prevent me from getting that last center - StP would have been a guarantee eventually but I was fortunate that I managed to keep Tunis the last year. If not, it would have been a 3-way draw...

Overall I realized how lucky I was to get the win. There were two instances in particular where things went exactly my way without me doing anything. The first was Russia's bounce with Italy in Ankara in Autumn 1904. If Turkey had been defeated, Italy could have had an extra fleet to attack with. How things ended up I just barely had the defenses in place to stop an Italian invasion, so if Tyrrhenian had moved to WMed rather than bouncing in Ionian, things could have turned out very different. The second was in Spring 1908, when Germany decided to "turn his back to france and hit austria with everything he's got" right at the exact moment I was preparing to stab. If Germany hadn't left himself open to me I might not have been able to secure the north in time.

This was such a fun game, huge props to DL for setting it up. I can't wait for the next one!

Really enjoyed reading the notes and watching the board. Good win BRICH!

Kaner, you bet it did, I thought you had mopped up turkey and halfway through russia, I couldn't afford to attack france since he was my only ally. A lot of assumptions took place for sure, in the end, I tried to make myself part of a stalemate and it wasn't going to be possible. Next time I'll be sure to comment on every phase. I was under the impression we wanted less notes this time.