Re: Dip1050 "Lunch of Champions" EOG report

My apologies for failing to submit an EOG.  To tell you the truth -- it's
been so long since I was in this game that I've probably forgotten most of
what I wanted to say, but here goes:

I drew Russia, and the only players I knew on the board were Steve (Austria)
and Mark (France).  I started talking with everybody, and Deepak (Turkey)
and I settled on a Juggernaut, but also a set of opening moves that looked
"anti-Turkey" enough that we could cover the Juggernaut.  That's when the
blackmail started -- Austria tells me that Germany will bounce me in Swe
unless I agree to not move to Gal with War bounce or not.  This is the first
time I had seen this extortion and I hate it the more I think about it -- 
especially when Germany went ahead and bounce me in Swe anyway (and I'm even
more pissed after reading Steve's EOG about it).  I then decided on an out
of the ordinary A/R alliance, as Steve seemed to be the most reasonable
player on the board (Deepak, I apologize profusely for this).  And my cover
moves in the spring were well suited toward stabbing Turkey.  That decision
signed Turkey's death warrant (and my own).  In the north I couldn't figure
out who to trust -- Germany seemed to want to screw everybody, England was
the most reasonable, but for some reason that time has prevented me from
remembering, I snuck into Nwy (stealing it from England) and stuck with
Germany.  So those are probably my two biggest mistakes -- siding with
Austria in the south, and siding with Germany in the north.  The game went
on, Austria and I finished off Turkey, I indicated to Steve that I was
worried about him stabbing me, he indicated he wouldn't, and of course he
did.  At that point I went into defensive mode as best I could.  Somewhere
along the way I sent a message to the rest of the powers that Austria had to
be prevented from a solo, they put aside their differences for awhile,
France's army made its way from Pic to StP (which was probably the coolest
thing in this game -- especially when it eventually made its way all the way
to Sev), and Austria slowly ground me under his boot heel.  It was
inevitable, but it was fun preventing my demise for as long as possible, and
it was also fun seeing the lengths that Steve had to go through to finish me
off.  Seems to me Steve started referring to me as his hemmorhoid (sp?) in
his messages to me, because I was being such a pain in his backside.  My
singular goal at that point was doing what I could to prevent Steve from
soloing, and whether I accomplished that, or if it was due more to other
factors, I'm glad that Austria didn't solo.  I kind of watched moves for
awhile, but it went for so long after I was eliminated that I didn't really
follow all the intricacies.  I did enjoy looking at maps and seeing that
Austria often had no place to build ;-)

So here are the kudos:

Deepak -- Mea Culpa.  Siding with Steve against you was mistake number
one...and in Diplomacy you usually don't get too many mistakes that big.

Steve -- Saying "you were wrong" in your EOG was priceless.  Although I
noticed you put it in quotes, and then rationalized it a bit.  All I asked
was for the words "I was wrong" and you delivered :-)  I believe my previous
dealings with you were as a GM (not a player).  I now make sure everybody
knows my philosophy toward you -- you are the most dangerous player I know
(especially playing Austria).  That's not to say I wouldn't be your ally
again, but I'd definitely watch more closely for the dagger (although I
probably still wouldn't see it ;-)

Rick -- I think you listened to Steve too much ;-)  Anyway, if I had it to
do over, I would have done it differently.  But it started us down the path
to World Masters so that definitely makes it worthwhile.

Chris -- You get the other Mea Culpa.  Siding with Rick against you was
mistake number two.

Freeman -- I was pretty much gone by the time you showed up ;-)

Mark -- My French defender.  Thank you for your support in being a pain to
Steve.  I'm glad you got to share in the draw -- especially after the way
the game started :-)

Gregory -- Thank you for GMing.  This game was a blast!  It's been awhile
since you and I crossed swords so maybe we'll be able to have tea together
:-)

Rob -- Dip 1050 Russia

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gregory Alexopoulos" <[email protected]>
To: "Dip1050_Observer_B" <[email protected]>; "Dip1050_Russia"
<[email protected]>; "Dip1050_Russia_2" <[email protected]>;
"Dip1050_Turkey" <[email protected]>; "Dip1050_Turkey_2"
<[email protected]>; "Dip1050_Austria" <[email protected]>;
"Dip1050_England" <[email protected]>; "Dip1050_France"
<[email protected]>; "Dip1050_Germany" <[email protected]>;
"Dip1050_Italy" <[email protected]>
Cc: "Dip1050_Observer_A" <[email protected]>; "Dip1050_Observer_D"
<[email protected]>; "Dip1050_Observer_E" <[email protected]>;
"Dip1050_Observer_F" <[email protected]>; "Dip1050_Observer_G"
<[email protected]>; "Cat23-1000" <[email protected]>;
<[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2004 9:58 AM
Subject: Dip1050 "Lunch of Champions" EOG report


>
> Summary of game Dip1050 "Lunch of Champions"
>
> Dip1050 was a standard game. All participating players
> had at least one cat23 solo victory in the past.
>
> Game started: September 20th, 2002
> Game ended: December 23rd, 2003
>
> Game result: 3-way AEF draw in 1921.
>
> THE PLAYERS
> AUSTRIA
> Steve Ray [email protected]
> ENGLAND
> Chris Mitchell [email protected]
> FRANCE
> Mark Beed [email protected]
> GERMANY
> Rick Mallon [email protected]
> ITALY
> Spring 1901 - Fall 1904 Stan Rodrigues
> [email protected]
> Spring 1905 - finish Freeman M. Butland [email protected]
>
> RUSSIA
> Rob Wesley [email protected]
> TURKEY
> Deepak Mohoni [email protected]
> THE GM
> Spring 1901 - Winter 1905, Spring 1914 - finish
> Gregory Alexopoulos [email protected]
> Spring 1906 - Winter 1913 Peter J Richardson
> [email protected]
>
> THE OBSERVERS
> Jim Green [email protected]
> Andrew Rae [email protected]
> Mike Morris [email protected]
> Suzanne Castagne [email protected]
> Christian Kline [email protected]
> Shannon Crack [email protected]
>
>
> History of Supply Center Counts
>
>         00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
> AUSTRIA  3  5  6  7  9 10 11 10 11 10 11
> ENGLAND  3  4  4  4  4  5  5  5  5  6  6
> FRANCE   3  4  4  4  4  5  6  7  7  7  7
> GERMANY  3  6  7  7  7  6  7  7  6  4  4
> ITALY    3  4  4  5  5  4  4  4  5  7  6
> RUSSIA   4  5  7  5  5  4  1  1  -
> TURKEY   3  3  2  2  -
>
>         11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
> AUSTRIA 11 12 12 12 12 14 14 14 13 15 17
> ENGLAND  6  5  7  8 10 10 10 10 11 11 11
> FRANCE   7  8  7  7  6  6  6  6  6  6  6
> GERMANY  4  4  3  2  1  -
> ITALY    6  5  5  5  5  4  4  4  4  2  -
>
>
> GM comments
>
> This was a loooooong game. And the length of it was
> largely my fault (more on this to follow). Amazing
> times too, just the fact that two children were born
> in the families of those associated with the game
> means a lot.
>
> This was the third game in the wonderful Champions
> series, and truth be told: I didn't do as well as I
> did in the previous two. Real life intervened a lot, I
> had to step down at some point, handing the game over
> to Peter - once more, my gratitude for your help Peter
> is beyond words. Afterwards, I managed to get the game
> back but still had a lot of delays to face, most of
> them due to me. I owe you all a huge apology. Despite
> this, you're all extremely kind with me in your EOGs,
> so I guess my good past counts for something! :^)
>
> Still, you made the game another unique experience,
> fighting on for years and years. I've heard of games
> longer than this one, but they're more and more rare.
> A spectacular game; watching the resourcefulness and
> innovation of these players in their struggle for
> supremacy was great. The same goes for your
> dedication; we've had only one replacement but it was
> a resignation and the resigning player found his
> successor before leaving.
>
> Traditionally, after this combined EOG message we set
> a date for the next game of the series. Pending title
> is "Tea Time of Champions" or "Elevenses"; you native
> English-speakers help me out here! :^). Regarding
> this, I may have a small surprise for you at the end
> of this e-mail - for the time being, enough with the
> GM! Let's hear what the real stars of the show have to
> say!
>
> ***
>
> AUSTRIA - Steve Ray
>
> I normally do extremely long EOGs, and this game
> deserves one.
> Unfortunately, I don't have the time. Let's see if
> this compressed
> version can do it justice.
>
> In this, the third in the "Champions" series, I drew
> Austria. This
> after playing Turkey and Italy in the first two. As I
> complained to
> Gregory, "When will I get to play a *real* country?"
>
> Looking around, I saw "Champions" alums Deepak
> (Turkey) and Mark Beed
> (France). I had also played previously with Rob Wesley
> (Russia). Italy,
> Germany and England were question marks.
>
> Well, clearly, Deepak had to go. Russia and Italy were
> both receptive
> to the idea, so off we went. We also cut the usual
> German/Austrian/Russian deal to let Russia have Sweden
> if he stayed out
> of Galicia.
>
> Spring went well; Russia moved against Turkey (moving
> into the Black
> Sea), I grabbed my neutrals and, because of the Gal
> DMZ, covered
> Trieste with A Vienna. In fall Russia followed through
> with the attack
> and grabbed Ankara. Italy moved to Trieste; I can't
> remember if that
> was agreed to or not. In any event my army in Trieste
> held and the
> attack bounced.
>
> In the north, Germany asked if I wanted to let Russia
> have Sweden.
> Russia had held up his end of the bargain, but it
> never hurts to hedge
> your bets. So I told Germany that if he bounced
> Russia, I wouldn't get
> upset. So he did. Always good when you can limit
> another player's
> growth without any backlash against you!
>
> Germany had also invaded France, managing to grab
> Marseilles en route
> to three builds. He looked like an early victor over
> there.
>
> In spring I took Bulgaria while using armies to keep
> away any Italian
> probes. Italy headed west, while Russia pulled out of
> Ankara and moved
> into Galicia: Eek! Germany took Sweden but England
> sided with France
> and sailed into Denmark, while France worked to
> encircle the German
> army in Marseilles. Suddenly, Germany was on the
> defensive.
>
> After some quick talking, Russia agreed to take
> Rumania from Galicia,
> while I supported myself into Galicia just to be sure.
> I also gave him
> Constantinople, while Turkey took back Ankara.
> Italy's western
> offensive, meanwhile, sort of ground to a halt,
> reduced to supporting
> the German army in Marseilles. Russia also patched
> things up with
> Germany, who gave him Norway in return.
>
> For the next couple of years, Russia and I reduced
> Turkey while things
> remained all awhirl in the west. But come 1904, I
> faced a choice.
>
> Turkey was nearly dead. Once he was gone, what would
> Russia do? He was
> in Turkey and all along my backside. I could only turn
> west by leaving
> myself exposed to him. Did I want to take that risk?
>
> No. So in Spring I walked into Galicia and Rumania,
> and in fall I added
> Smyrna, finishing off Turkey, giving me 9 SCs and
> putting Russia in
> serious trouble. Italy, seeing how things were working
> out, immediately
> began trying to move eastward, either listening to
> desperate Russian
> diplomacy or seeing that he would probably be the next
> target.
>
> Then Stan resigned as head of Italy, and was replaced
> by Freeman --
> whom I had played in another recent game. Freeman
> pressed the attack on
> me while Russia pulled back to try to defend himself.
> In the west, the
> abrupt departure of the Italians helped France and
> England gain the
> upper hand over Germany.
>
> I now had the two-front war I was trying to avoid, but
> at least Russia
> was on the ropes. Germany was trying to help him
> against me, which I
> thought foolish -- Russia was on the decline, I was
> offering Germany
> Warsaw, and he needed the builds because he was being
> eaten alive in
> the West. But so be it. I managed to keep the Italians
> from getting
> anywhere for a very long time - accompanied by
> strenous diplomacy about
> how they would *never* get anywhere, which Freeman
> just didn't believe
> - while I took Sevastapol.  Italy lost Marseilles and
> Russia continued
> to shrink.
>
> In 1906, Russia sent out a plaintive -- and persuasive
> -- "stop
> Austria" plea. France, Germany and England stopped
> fighting and headed
> east, beginning with an impressive convoy of French A
> Pic to St. Pete
> and Germany marching into Warsaw. Italy continued
> banging his head
> against my western defenses. I held my breath and
> grabbed Moscow.
>
> Fall 1906 was a key turn. Germany revealed that his
> loyalties hadn't
> changed, by walking out of Warsaw and taking Norway
> from England. I
> used A Mos to cover Sev, and ended up losing Moscow to
> France, while
> England moved into St. Pete.
>
> This was key on several levels. Had I moved A Mos to
> Warsaw or Ukraine,
> as I originally planned, Russia would have been
> eliminated. Instead he
> stuck around for several more years, tying up a huge
> chunk of my army
> with his d**ned Black Sea fleet, and probably costing
> me a solo shot.
>
> On the plus side, I began an intensive series of
> discussions with
> England about a two-way. France was totally at his
> mercy, and Italy was
> finally poised to make some serious gains. Germany was
> growing again,
> so that would have to be dealt with, but I hoped to
> find a chink in the
> E/F alliance and use it to get moving again.
>
> I finally eliminated Russia in 1908 -- just in time to
> lose Trieste to
> Italy. He soon added Greece and Vienna, while I
> eliminated the French
> expeditionary force in Moscow.
>
> And thus came the endgame situation. I had finally
> cleaned up the
> eastern side of the board. France and England were
> finishing off
> Germany, and Italy was occupying two of my three home
> centers. My talks
> with England were still going full-bore. Basically, I
> offered to help
> him take Munich/Berlin once I had the Italian
> situation under control.
> He'd stab France, and we'd split the board between us.
>
> The fight against Italy took a long, long time -
> something like 8 or 9
> game years - but gradually I gained the upper hand.
> England built
> fleets and began moving against France. But I was
> still leery about
> timing -- I had almost no fleets, and I feared England
> would overrun
> France before I managed to eliminate Italy, and he
> would solo with the
> help of Italian spite.
>
> The key turn came in Fall 1917. I was in Berlin,
> France was in Munich
> and England was in Kiel/Ruhr. England had asked me for
> support into
> Munich, which I declined, still worried about timing.
> But I also
> worried that England would try to take Munich anyway,
> despite my
> obvious desire that he not do so yet. So I supported
> the French army in
> Munich to hold.
>
> England did try, and it failed. But England saw my
> support as a
> betrayal, evidence that I wasn't serious about
> splitting the board. He
> immediately dropped his attack on France and moved
> everything against
> me.
>
> The rest of the game involved me trying to persuade
> England to
> reconsider and, failing that, make it a three-way draw
> instead of a
> four-way. England and France finally agreed to the
> latter, allowing me
> to eliminate Italy and end the game. I confess I was
> constantly on the
> lookout for a way to grab an 18th center, but one
> never presented
> itself.
>
> Rob: "I was wrong." There; happy? :)  Actually, I
> don't know that you
> cost me a solo, but you sure cost me what was probably
> my best shot at
> it. Nice work!
>
> Freeman: It's hard to diplome with a guy who basically
> ignores what you
> say for 15 years. :)  A good, hard fight, which you
> only lost because
> your allies decided you were expendable.
>
> Mark: You and I always seem to end up staring at each
> other across a
> ceasefire line in these games. Good game, as always. I
> do wish Chris
> had followed through on the two-way plan, but you
> persuaded him
> otherwise. I hope you enjoyed pushing French armies
> all the way to
> Sevastapol!
>
> Chris: You had some serious chutzpah early in the game
> when you asked
> me to support you into Moscow! But you proved yourself
> more reasonable
> as the game went on. I was always serious about the
> two-way. Yes, I
> would have attempted a solo if the opportunity
> presented itself, but my
> worries about giving you Munich were just that:
> worries that you would
> solo. Maybe we can make it work next time.
>
> Deepak: It's usually Austria or Turkey, so it had to
> be you. You fought
> hard and well to the end.
>
> Rick: A fatal case of early-leader syndrome. If you
> had worked with me
> against Russia, or not stabbed England for Norway, I
> think you would
> have done better. But your whole game was spectacular
> to watch, from
> the 1901 seizure of Marseilles (Rommel, eat your heart
> out!) to the
> mid-game knife fight. Glad we were on the same
> Worldmasters team.
>
> Gregory: Congrats on another fine game, the new house,
> the new family,
> and all those things that are more important than
> these silly games.
> I'm available for "Elevenses of Champions" whenever
> you want to run it.
>
> Peter: Many thanks for stepping in and keeping things
> going when
> Gregory had to take a break. We don't often get two
> excellent GMs in
> one game.
>
> Okay, so maybe this isn't all that short....
>
> Steve
>
>
> ENGLAND - Chris Mitchell
>
> It's been several years since I last played in a
> Cat-23 game.  Oddly enough, this one lasted well over
> a year!  This was easily the strangest game I've ever
> had a part in.  From the lone Russian navy wreaking
> havoc for Austria early on to the convoy of a French
> army by French, English and Russian navies from Brest
> to StP, it's been entertaining.
>
> Early in the game, I thought I had a deal with the
> Russians to shut the Germans out of Scandinavia.  My
> end of the deal was kept, and I took Denmark, however,
> the Russians slipped into Norway while I wasn't
> looking.  Thus began a long and very strange game for
> me.
>
> I tend not to switch alliances all that often, but as
> 1905 arrived, I was still stuck at 4 SCs, and
> something needed to be done.  With France and Germany
> still at odds, I did my best to play on that and gain
> a center here and there.  Eventually, I chose to side
> with Mark simply because he had some land power to
> support the naval power I planned to build.
> Furthermore, I knew I wouldn't have Rick's trust, due
> to my earlier stab in Denmark, and I saw him as the
> greater threat.
>
> With Italy holding its own in the Med, Mark and I were
> able to forge an uneasy alliance, and went to work on
> Germany, while I attempted to make gains in
> Scandinavia.  The gains were not fast, many steps
> forward accompanied by steps back.  At many points, I
> considered switching sides yet again, as I was making
> zero headway.
>
> For me, the turning point was in 1913.  Despite
> suffering a disband in the Baltic Sea at the hands of
> the Germans, I managed to take both Norway and StP,
> giving me three builds that winter.  The surge from 5
> to 7 units put me in a comfort zone, where I could
> defend the home island, while still having units
> making gains elsewhere.
>
> From that point on, it was a balancing act between
> showing enough defense and helping out just enough on
> the offensive end to slowly wear Germany down.  In
> Germany's last year or so, I was trying to figure out
> what to do in the aftermath.  By 1917, I thought I
> might be able to make a move and swiftly take Mark
> out.
>
> With initial support from Steve, I shifted forces to
> attack France.  Probing moves in MAO and Brest failed.
>
> The critical turn was Fall, 1917.  I had agreed with
> Steve to go to war against France.  I made moves
> against France, including an attack on Munich, which
> would have succeeded, if not for Austrian support of
> the French position.
>
> I read the support as a sign that Steve was more
> interested in getting Munich (and his second SC across
> the stalemate line) than in helping me.  At that
> point, I decided my goal a draw.  I didn't have enough
> armies to take and hold Munich, and I couldn't go to
> war with France without Austria making further gains
> across the stalemate line.
>
> So, I patched things up with Mark, and we dedicated
> ourselves to setting up an eventual stalemate line in
> Germany and around the Iberian peninsula.
>
> Thanks, Mark, for your patience and understanding
> throughout the game.  It's just too bad we couldn't
> get our collective act together earlier in the
> game-things might have ended much differently.
>
> Steve-a very well-played game!  I was waiting for
> cracks to open up for me to exploit, and, much to my
> disappointment, none ever showed.
>
> Rob-I know this was over a year ago in real time, but
> MAN, we had Rick set up for the kill early on!  If
> only we had pulled it off..
>
> Rick-We wound up on opposite sides of the fence.  I
> had to straddle the fence most of the way just to stay
> alive, and eventually decided you were the biggest
> threat to me.
>
> Freeman, Deepak-Hardly knew ye.  Probably my fault..
>
> And finally, Greg-thanks for adjudicating.  Not many
> games drag on this long, and you kept things moving
> (for the most part-- :-p) smoothly.
>
> Thanks for an entertaining and extremely challenging
> game!
>
> Chris
> England
>
>
> FRANCE Mark Beed
>
> Firstly thanks to Gregory for an excellently executed
> game, also to Peter for stepping in when asked.
>
> A long game, 18 months or so from start to finish, I
> recall 2 births during the game, can't remember that
> in any other game I've played in.
>
> A bad start for me with Rick's Germany in Marseilles
> and building 3 to my 1, then Italy (Stan, our first
> Italy that is) weighing in with an attack in 1902.
>
> With Deepak's Turkey getting a traditional pounding as
> well it was backs to the wall from the off!
>
> England was my only hope and although Chris seemed a
> little reticent he came good, in the medium term.
>
> The hokey cokey over Marseilles and across the French
> countryside continued until 1904 when Turkey was
> finally eliminated and Italy looked to the rising
> Austrian power in his backyard.  Steve was by this
> time knocking lumps out of Rob's Russian forces and by
> the end of the year had taken Sevastapol, all of
> Turkey and was threatening War big time.
>
> In the west EF had managed to tame the German beast
> and in Spring 1906 the time came for the convoy of
> French army Picardy to St Petersburg, a fantastic
> moment for EFR!
>
> The Winter saw me in Moscow and England in St Pete,
> Russia taking his going out in a blaze of glory route
> to the sun.  He was also playing the thorn in Steve's
> side brilliantly with a fleet in Black sea and an army
> roaming around keeping an SC, Steve had to eventually
> use 5 armies to remove it.
>
> The next year saw me in Sevastapol much to the chagrin
> of Steve and the glee of Rob who only had a single SC,
> Warsaw, which was being protected by Franco-German
> forces from Austrian troops bent on the elimination of
> Russia.  That year Austria had to disband one of the 5
> armies surrounding the black sea and the war in the
> west erupted once more.
>
> At this point I requested the loan of Liverpool to
> ensure that enough troops could take on Germany on
> land, Chris was extremely reluctant but went along
> with it.
>
> 1908 Russia finally fell and Italy had made inroads
> into Austria by taking Trieste, this action and the
> congestion of his homeland area was to be the eventual
> reason that Austria never had the chance to take the
> game, I tip my hat to Freeman for that.
>
> EF were also finally making inroads into Germany and
> the shake out was truly beginning as I finally lost my
> eastern empire of 1 unit, the French perishing on
> their retreat from Moscow.
>
> Fall 1910 was the pivotal moment, I could have stabbed
> England for 6 of his 7 SCs, I wavered and didn't, I
> was to be paid back in spades almost immediately as
> Chris took it upon himself to stab me.
>
> I took what I could in the scramble as the stab was
> more positional than deadly and we came to an
> agreement.
>
> In 1916 with Germany gone it happened again and I was
> seriously in trouble, expecting elimination, Chris
> changed his mind for some reason and in 1918 we had
> firmed up a line of defence against Austria.
>
> The last few years were uneasy with Steve demanding a
> 3 way not a 4 way and if it hadn't been for Freeman
> deciding to drop his defence to allow it, I guess we'd
> still be here now.
>
> I'd forgotten how good it was, thanks to all for the
> game!
>
>
> Mark
>
>
> GERMANY Rick Mallon
>
> Congratulations to the final winners - especially to
> Steve for a masterful game.  My initial strategy as
> Germany was to ally with England against both France
> and Russia.  The strategy failed quickly as England
> stabbed early on.  Having offended both France and
> Russia already in an effort to entice England the game
> was pretty much over for me.  So I did what I could to
> work with Austria to make the game as miserable as
> possible for England.  I found the staunch EF alliance
> to be unbreakable even when it seemed clearly in each
> other's best interest to attack each other at
> different points before Austria got too strong.  An
> enjoyable game nonetheless - great fun to play other
> champions and it taught me good lessons about
> negotiation just in time to apply them for WM2002.
>
> Best of luck to all in your future games.
> Rick.
>
>
> ITALY Freeman M. Butland
>
> I got into this game in 1904 or 1905.  Italy was a
> five center power at that point, with the extra center
> being Marseilles.  At this point, Turkey was I think
> eliminated and Russia was dead after Austria turned on
> him.  Clearly, Austria was the country to watch; I
> think Austria had 10 centers at that point.
>
> So, my options were to turn on Austria or make a deal
> with Austria and go west.  Well, that didn't make
> sense to me, since Austria needed my centers to win.
> Steve would have liked nothing better than for me to
> go west and in a year or two take my centers.
> Clearly, he was going to be able to get up to 13 no
> problem--to get a win he needed Italy, Tunis and
> Munich.
>
> So, I made a deal with Mark (France) and gave up
> Marseilles to France.  But, really, I couldn't do too
> much against Austria unless I had help.  One of the
> problems with getting that help is that the western
> triangle had not resolved itself at all.  I mean, I
> would have liked to get German help against Austria,
> but it was pretty hard to get that help when Germany
> still had to worry about England and France.
>
> Thus, I was stuck getting help from France, but there
> was no real way for me to grow with French help.  With
> the help of a French Fleet and a couple armies, I was
> able to take Trieste and Greece back, but that was as
> far I could go. France wasn't too interested in
> picking up centers that it had no connection to, and I
> wasn't too thrilled with the idea of having my Italian
> forces push too far east while French forces came in
> and took my centers.
>
> So, I resigned myself to more or less just holding a
> defensive line and waiting for everyone to come
> together and agree to a draw.  That was about the best
> I could hope for.  I thought Mark had a chance to
> perhaps go after England and take a shot at a solo
> while I was tying down Steve, but I guess he thought
> it was not worth the risk.
>
> Steve, as expected, played  a solid game and was of
> course looking for an opportunity to go for a win.
> But I never saw any real opportunity for him.  It's
> just a bear to kick Italy out of Italy without the
> element of surprise.  The west had eons of time to
> resolve itself before Austria could break out of that
> straitjacket.  Finally, after Germany was eliminated,
> it looked like England was going to attack France and
> maybe Steve could win.  But I think England calculated
> its chances and resigned itself to a draw.  It was
> close because if England went after France in any
> significant fashion, Austria would have won.
>
> Looking back at the game, I think the only way that I
> could have done something to get Italy going was to
> have France and Germany take out England, while at the
> same time have Germany help me against Austria.  Then
> Germany and I could work against both France and
> Austria.  That just seems like a very tall order to
> fill.  Sometimes, Italy justs gets caught in the
> mid-game without many options.  Having Austria grow so
> big with France still around and Italy still small
> made my options rather limited.  I think I tried to
> get and FG going, but I probably should have pushed
> harder.  It was my only  slim chance to grow in this
> game.
>
> I thought the game was played well, but it was king of
> a static game--not a lot going on.  I did enjoy
> working with Mark--obviously, if he had moved against
> me I would have died soon after getting into the game.
>  I talked to Steve quite a bit, he's a good diplomat,
> but there was no way we could work together.  The
> situation just demanded that we fight.
>
> Finally, thanks to Greg for his cheerful running of
> the game.  I like to be in his games.
>
> Best,
> Freeman
>
>
> RUSSIA Rob Wesley
>
> <Rob hasn't sent me an EOG so far. I hope he'll have
> the time to compile one at some point.>
>
>
> TURKEY Deepak Mohoni
>
> <Deepak hasn't sent me an EOG so far. I hope he'll
> have the time to compile one at some point.>
>
> ****
>
> And that's about it gentlemen. Well fought, well
> played. Worthy of your reputations.
>
> Now, let's talk "Tea Time", shall we? I think it's
> high time for me to play in one of the slugfests
> instead of just organizing them, so I hope to join the
> player ranks in the next game. I've already asked Mark
> Beed to GM in my shoes, and he's agreed. I'm sure
> he'll do a finer job than I've been doing recently.
> The idea is to start sometime in late March or early
> April (at least that's what I think. Mark, can you
> please confirm this?)
>
> You know the drill: apply to Mark with prefs. He will
> try to appoint countries so that noone gets to play a
> country he's already played. Observers and past
> players take priority, and if we can't find the
> magnificent seven, we'll just look for more Champions
> in the cat23 pool.
>
> See you in the battlefield!
> Gregory
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ____________________________________________________________
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