1096 Sengoku GM EOG statement

This is the second game of Sengoku that I've run, and it appears to me that=
 the changes to the map have helped game play a little.  I think everyone's=
 glad I wasn't able to use my old blocky powerpoint map and had to update t=
he Realpolitik file for the changes.  I can't promise that the intermittent=
 coding errors have all gone, but I can't find any more at least!

My feelings on the variant are largely as they were before - there is too m=
uch strength being on the end or in the corner of any map, and I think the =
linear nature of Japan makes this problem worse for Sengoku.  I'd like to s=
ee some radical things done with the sea regions to make it easier to outfl=
ank the end powers, so no one can feel safe.  Having said that, I've never =
played the variant, so I'll naturally have missed much of the nuances of th=
e game.

One thing that is clear is that the 25-centre winning condition simply does=
n't work and dispirits everyone.  I like the GM-choice rule, though, so why=
 not keep that?  You'd probably need to institute some forced choice condit=
ion to stop two front-runners both refusing to go to GM choice even in stal=
emate.

I won't say too much about the game, except that I'm glad I didn't have to =
adjudicate!  My instinct when the prospect of a choice between Joseph and H=
enri came up was that Henri edged it, and some closer analysis backed this =
up.  But it seemed to me, as with some others, that game wasn't stalemated,=
 just a bit bogged down.  Things could have changed in a few game years.  I=
 can't say how much I was influenced by Joseph's absolutely lousy timekeepi=
ng.

Thanks Luis for the comments on variant gameplay and Benjamin of course for=
 the design!  Generally most players were decent on getting their orders in=
 and didn't scream too loudly when I missed a realpolitik hiccup here and t=
here!

Despite planning to start a new variant or two recently, my game positions =
have been suffering a little from lack of attention, so I'm going to see if=
 I can recover anything from my woeful performances there before getting go=
ing.  Watch this space!

Note the changed web address for the game-end page.  I'll submit game detai=
ls very soon to Dipknights if anyone's involved in that.

Regards,
Stephen

http://www.geocities.com/stephen_worthy/Finished/1096.html
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Hester, Benjamin T CPT USA USAREUR 7A=20
  To: Luis ; Stephen Worthy=20
  Cc: Robert O'Neill ; Mike Morris ; Joseph Schmidt ; Henri Bodart ; cat23-=
1000 ; Adam Levy ; [email protected]=20
  Sent: Friday, June 02, 2006 9:34 AM
  Subject: *** SPAM *** Chosokabe EOG


  Let me first and foremost apologize to our second Mori player - I hate to=
 show someone willing to take a replacement position my gratitude by immedi=
ately stabbing and eliminating them, but it was unfortunately indispensable=
 to my plans.  And I certainly negotiated to no end with the first Mori pla=
yer, as Shimazu/Chosokabe alliances often result in Chosokabe being the jun=
ior partner, as was the case here.=20=20

  On Shimazu - to his credit, he did not declare open war on me after the e=
arly stab in Bungo.  That was something of a "gentleman's disagreement" on =
whether or not his fleets belonged on the east coast of Kyushu at all.  He =
felt they did, I was in no way favorable to the idea.  However, I think we =
were somewhat forced into an alliance with each other as Mori #1 grew incre=
asingly non-responsive.  From then forward, I suppose our alliance was rath=
er unshakable, though I truly did consider some of Oda's overtures, rather =
than rejecting them outright.  Which brings us to...

  On Oda - If his diplomacy had included a little more carrot, and less sti=
ck, I might have worked quite well with him.  And in truth, I had every int=
ention in the beginning of honoring my pledge not to drive north against hi=
m.  Mori's comatose state and Shimazu's rapid advance made that impossible =
- I literally had nowhere else to make gains.  I thoroughly enjoyed what he=
 apparently did not - the slow tactical advance that accepted some risk (th=
e loss of the strategically invaluable Kanto Sea) in favor of solid gains (=
Yamato and Yamashiro, and later Omi)  Oda found this boring, whereas it's m=
y favorite part of Diplomacy - those 50/50 odds where you just have to gues=
s whether your opponent will support his unit, or cut the support of your a=
ttack.  I must confess that a stalemate of some sort was probably inevitabl=
e, though I don't think our northern drive had petered out just yet.  I pay=
 respects to Oda's naval tactics and the strength of his diplomacy with Asa=
kura and Uesugi.  I thought that Uesugi would certainly turn on Oda and wor=
k with me - he certainly would have gotten the lions share of the spoils. =
=20

  On Asakura - Oh, what might have been.  If only I could have persuaded hi=
m to move earlier on Mori, what a power he would be today.  He was right to=
 fear Ueusgi's strength as well - but does anyone besides me notice what a =
SLOW start Uesugi's position allows him?  Everyone seems to speak of how un=
touchable his position is in this game - so is Britain in Standard.  And ju=
st like Britain, Uesugi's position is very slow to start.  Uesugi and Hojo =
are the only two positions that really have to backtrack in the wrong direc=
tion to get their easy gains - a weakness Takeda, Asakura, and Oda can read=
ily exploit, if they work together.  And this was the weakness of the Oda/A=
sakura alliance in my opinion - that they split their attention north and s=
outh rather than shoring up defenses in one direction and fully committing =
to an attack in the other...which brings us to...

  On Takeda - I would not criticize Takeda's play at all in this game.  He =
did the best he could against an apparently hostile Uesugi, and rather sile=
nt Hojo, and Asakura and Oda that apparently both intended treachery agains=
t him.  There's always an early target in every game of Dip, and this time =
it was Takeda - that he survived as long as he did is a testament to his sk=
ill in negotiating, tactics, and strategy.

  On Uesugi, the master diplomat - Who can criticize the leader?  He played=
 his position marvelously, took advantage of every opportunity that I saw, =
both tactical and diplomatic, and left no avenue open for attack.  His atta=
cks found every weakness and exploited it for steady material gain.  His mo=
st recent attack on Echizen was a textbook example of watching for patterns=
 in orders and picking apart the support.=20=20

  On the GM - Stephen, you're the best.  Thanks for GMing this game, I know=
 it was a tremendous commitment of time (and patience!) with this many play=
ers.  It was an enjoyable experience throughout - your website made everyth=
ing smooth and easy, the reminder emails were a great help, and I certainly=
 hope to play Dip with you in the future, or perhaps again in a game you GM=
.

  To all - it was great fun - truthfully, I am honored to have played with =
and against such worthy opponents.  The remarks I have received on design h=
ave not been ignored, though I fear it may be a minute before my job allows=
 me the time to sufficiently revise the game design.

  Chosokabe-san

  Benjamin T. Hester=20
  CPT, QM=20
  XO, Alpha Company, 7-159th AVN REGT (AVIM)=20
  DSN 314-467-4225
  "Have 'em call me sir, I'll make this go away..."


---------------------------------------------------------------------------=
---
  From: Luis [mailto:[email protected]]
  Sent: Mon 5/29/2006 11:14 PM
  To: Stephen Worthy
  Cc: Robert O'Neill; Mike Morris; Joseph Schmidt; Henri Bodart; cat23-1000=
; Hester, Benjamin T CPT USA USAREUR 7A; Adam Levy; [email protected]
  Subject: Re: 1096 Draw agreed


  Just that I'm happy of having one obligation less :-)=20

  Now let's play another ;-)=20

  I'd love to hear comments from the creator and also from the other player=
s. I've already stated my opinion on the game design and so on, so let's wr=
ite a small EoG:

  Starting: "great": two recent Dip-acquitances at my sides: I had just sha=
red board with Joel and Mike in successive rounds of Maharajihad tournament=
. I had mad life impossible for Joel in the first game so I rather expected=
 revenge. Mike had been sort of an ally in the second game but I didn't kno=
w how could it be being so close side by side. They were natural choices bu=
t on the other hand what I saw as natural areas for eventual expansion.

  I was very wary of Uesugi by definition: I see Uesugi as the "Russia" of =
this variant and without the weaknesses of standard Russia. So, while I tre=
ated with him and even "sold secrets" to him, I treated to keep a U-T balan=
ce while trying to capture Hojo centers and secure southern coastal dominat=
ion, something that Takeda made particularly difficult always disturbing my=
 attempts at Izu.

  On the other hand, I saw far away countries of Shimazu, Chosokabe and Mor=
i as a distant problem. I was offered a peace by Choso and, though I tried =
to contact Mori and Shimazu, I got no valid reply. The second Mori, Adam, c=
ould have been a good option, as I knew him from another game and knew he w=
as fairly reliable. But for that time Mori was without options.=20

  So I based my strategy in:
  a) Peace with Chosokabe
  b) triple alliance with Asakura and Takeda
  c) sporadic contacts with the rest (though only Uesugi was of some use: w=
hy do people play Diplomacy if they don't like to bargain and negotiate? =
=3D-O )

  My plan was just to secure a bit of Hojo and then possibly rush onto eith=
er one of my allies or maybe Choso, though this latter option seemed unlike=
ly to work without Shimazu's help. I also managed to scuttle Mino, a provin=
ce that supposedly was to stay neutral forever and ever. This made me vulne=
rable to stabs from my allies but also made them vulnerable to my treachery=
.=20

  For that time I was so upset by Takeda's obstructionism, mad play and evi=
dent lies that I decided to hit him badly. Too much probably. I secured Sou=
th Shinano, what made me then virtually invulnerable... but I also made Ues=
ugi big.=20

  Meanwhile I had just realized that Chosokabe wanted my lands and there wa=
s no way to dissuade him nor to persuade silent Shimazu to change alliances=
. So I had to keep many troops in the Kai area just to fence Choso off my w=
aters. We were like that the rest of the game as you know...

  I had suggested Asakura to build a fleet in Settsu then but he prefered t=
o build an army elsewhere. I believe that was the choice that decided the g=
ame (c. 1572/73): that fleet would have made Choso fall back and Shimazu wo=
uld have either fallen with him or been forced to deal with me. Controlling=
 Osaka Bay would have allowed both Oda and Asakura the best position to fig=
ht for the no-man's-land of Ina and nearby provinces... and beyond.=20

  As Takeda remained as a border realm holding back the Uesugi-Hojo fragile=
 alliance with my late help, we could maybe have rushed westward and change=
 the destiny... it was all on that early decission of building a fleet in S=
ettsu when in time - I believe.=20

  After that, I just had not enough ships nor room to fight against Choso a=
nd, while the war wasn't decided in that static naval front, the impossibil=
ity of supporting any Asakuran advance by the south or stealing Chosokabe's=
 centers made us stay in a defenssive attitude.=20

  For me the game ended there. Or rather soon after, as Asakura's centers, =
starting with Settsu, fell to our foes.=20

  ...

  As it was clear that neither Asakura was falling down by moments and the =
alliance wasn't very enthusiatic about any possibilities, I decided to help=
 his end, as I would have thanked anyone helping mine (except from Choso, a=
s he had betrayed his word with me ;-) ). But that was just doing something=
: pawning around while waiting for the unavoidable.=20

  So far my story.

  Now yours.

  Luis.

  Stephen Worthy escribi=F3:=20
    Right that's it, just heard from Joe, so the DIAS draw is agreed.  I do=
n't know if the previous commentaries have been considered EOG statements, =
but if anyone has any more, do send them out.

    Stephen

    http://www.geocities.com/stephen_worthy/

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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