| dc340 DCI 2010 - S01 Results - And We're Off! - dknemeyer (Sep 11, 2010, 7:19 am) |
I wish I had with all the heat it is generating, but if I wrote it and wanted it to be anonymous I would not have put myself as the longest shot on the board! I might be dumb but I'm not stupid...
On Sep 10, 2010, at 11:29 PM, Michael Sims wrote:
Look, at 25 to 1, there's no question these odds were written by either Dirk, John, or Martha Stuart herself tryin to manipulate the market. My guess is Dirk's money is on Dirk.  From: Joe Hackett [mailto:jhack16(at)gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, September 10, 2010 4:34 PM
To: Garry Bledsoe
Cc: Adam WB2K9 235; <camorse22(at)yahoo.com>; Dirk Knemeyer; <kodiplomacy(at)gmail.com>; <m_don_j(at)hotmail.com>; Michael Sims; <untitled36(at)hotmail.com>; <michael.alan.walters(at)gmail.com>
Subject: Re: dc340 DCI 2010 - S01 Results - And We're Off! No experience of variants, friendless, alone in the Desert, heading for the Persian Gulf, a million miles from the target rich central European plains, surrounded by two legends of the game?Main asset one lone fleet in becalmed waters, and I'm six to one?? Even I wouldnt back myself.Who's the pundit? Frank, you out there? -joe h
On 10 Sep 2010, at 04:18, Garry Bledsoe <kielmarch(at)hotmail.com> wrote:A start without bumps.We have press and lots of it!Some bounces seem imminent.Armenia is surrounded by 3 players. All,Good start. We have no retreats and are ready to roll into Fall. Let's set that deadline for next Thursday the 16th at 6pm CST. A quick note or two: 1. I was asked to share a map without the names because it is hard to see. That is attached.2. I was asked for a list of all provinces. Unfortunately I could not find a list. However, I was able to get a list of the SC's. The neutral SC's at the begininng are as follows: Anatolia, Armenia, Austria, Bavaria, Bohemia, Brittany, Bulgaria, Cyrenaica, Denmark, Georgia, Hesse, Languedoc, Morroco, Muscovy, Novgorod, Piedmont, Portugal, Rumania, Saxony, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkestan, Venezia, Wessex. I would suggest using the .dpy file if you have any other questions or concerns (or just ask!). Press is below the order results. And oh - FTR - my money is on a 4-1 KOK and a 25-1 "good but not great" player. Lord of the MarchGarry Burgundy:
A Brussels - Ruhr
A Dijon - Gascony
F Hague - Helgoland Bight Sicily:
F Naples - Tyrrhenian Sea
F Palermo - Malta Sea
A Rome - Tuscany Eire:
A Alcluyd - Yorkshire
F Dublin - Irish Sea
F Edinburgh - North Sea Hungary:
A Budapest - Austria
A Szeged - Budapest
F Zara - Adriatic Sea Israel:
F Cairo - Libyan Sea
A Damascus - Syria
A Jerusalem - Arabia Poland:
F Gdansk - Baltic Sea
A Riga - Novgorod
A Warsaw - Silesia Spain:
F Santander - Bay of Biscay
A Toledo - Santander
F Valencia - Western Mediterranean Ukraine:
A Kiev Hold
A Odessa - Rumania
F Yalta - East Black Sea Byzantium:
A Athens - Bulgaria
F Constantinople - Anatolia
F Smyrna - Aegean Sea PRESS: Anon:My wife and I were reading "Charlotte's Web" to our child a couple of nights ago. It reminded me of you. All of you. But some of you more than others of you. It's the bit where Wilbur first encounters Charlotte, and... well, the ways of a spider seem strange to a pig. It was at this moment that I realized: Charlotte plays Diplomacy. Really --
"Well," [Wilbur] thought, "I've got a new friend, all right! But what a gamble friendship is! Charlotte is fierce, brutal, scheming, bloodthirsty-everything I don't like. How can I learn to like her...?
Anon:Continuing the DC Invitational tradition of opening the annual extravaganza up to the touts, here are the official Vegas odds for the 2010 edition, along with comments from Vegas legend Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal:
1-1 Mike Sims/Sicily. He's the legend, what more needs to be said?! We had him at 1-2 for a while but money started to go down on the rest of the field, pros looking for overlays. If you've gotta bet the house on somebody winning this thing Sims is your man.
2-1 Chris Morse/Spain. Not only did he just win the Winter Blitz - you know he's hungry to sweep both major annual events - he's one of the top rated players at DC. As if that isn't enough he is playing as Spain, the hands-down best power in Aberration. If Sims wasn't playing I would say the tourney was lined up perfectly for him to walk away with it. 2010 feels like his year.
4-1 Kevin OKelly/Byzantium. Ol' Bledsoe didn't do this pro justice when he snuck in as a late replacement. Guess who won the first-ever DCI in 2006? You guessed it: Kevin OKelly. We had him posted longer as a "dark horse" thanks to his modest DC rating, but the word about him is out on the streets. He is being bet down hard. I think this game is a 2-way race between the favorites but he's the obvious spoiler pick.
6-1 Adam Martin-Schwarze/Hungary. Last year's champ is getting betting respect - and he deserves it. Last year's field was arguably stronger top-to-bottom and he beat 'em all. I'm not liking him this year though and think he's being bet too heavily.
6-1 Joe Hackett/Israel. This guy's got a great record, no eliminations, high rating...he's got it all. In fact a lot of early smart money was being played on him. But as the handicappers started picking him apart they realized he is a "Standard-only" player: he's only played one Variant, last year's DCI. However he's got an excellent position in Israel and with results like his he needs to be in the mix of low odd options.
15-1 Mikael Johansson/Poland. Big dip down from the top five to the bottom four, in our opinion. Mikael's the clear "best of the rest". This guy's never seen a Diplomacy game he didn't want to play and must be the most experienced player in DC history. A classic "boom-or-bust" player with lots of results all across the spectrum. I wouldn't put it past him to shock the world.
20-1 Mike Walters/Burgundy. Being an unknown is hurting him here, perhaps unfairly so. Maybe he's got a deeper pedigree than we realize, but we've got to judge what is in front of us. Yes, he's got that solo. It is tantalizing to say the least. But in a field this good that's just not enough to bet up. Somebody might get a real value in betting him at this price though.
25-1 Dirk Knemeyer/Eire. He's not alone as the longest shot only because he's in the corner and less likely to be devoured in the early going than some of the more central powers. Still, he just doesn't have the pedigree to warrant laying real money on to actually win it.
25-1 John Reside/Ukraine. He's got a notable record of being "good" but not necessarily "great". No solos, but 6 draws to go with just 1 survival and 2 eliminations. He might hang around but we just haven't seen the breakout ability here that would suggest he can persevere over this field.
I'm going to go with the hot hand and the better payout and put my money on Chris Morse. It feels heretical to bet against Mike Sims but sometimes you've just gotta go with your gut.
Happy hunting all. And to anyone who, errr, "helps" Chris Morse win so I can collect on my wager I've got a suite reserved at the Horseshoe just for you.
<dc10S01 final.dpy><dc10S01 final.gif><dc10S01 orders.gif><DCI10 map of centers.gif>[Reply] |
| dc340 DCI 2010 - S01 Results - And We're Off! - FuzzyLogic (Sep 10, 2010, 10:29 pm) |
Look, at 25 to 1, there's no question these odds were written by
either Dirk, John, or Martha Stuart herself tryin to manipulate the market. My
guess is Dirk's money is on Dirk.
From: Joe Hackett [mailto:jhack16(at)gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, September 10, 2010 4:34 PM
To: Garry Bledsoe
Cc: Adam WB2K9 235; <camorse22(at)yahoo.com>; Dirk Knemeyer;
<kodiplomacy(at)gmail.com>; <m_don_j(at)hotmail.com>; Michael Sims;
<untitled36(at)hotmail.com>; <michael.alan.walters(at)gmail.com>
Subject: Re: dc340 DCI 2010 - S01 Results - And We're Off!
No experience of variants, friendless, alone in the
Desert,
heading for the Persian Gulf, a million miles from the
target rich
central European plains, surrounded by two legends of
the game?
Main asset one lone fleet in becalmed waters,
and I'm six to one?? Even I wouldnt back myself.
Who's the pundit?
Frank, you out there?
-joe h
On 10 Sep 2010, at 04:18, Garry Bledsoe <kielmarch(at)hotmail.com> wrote:
A start without bumps.
We have press and lots
of it!
Some bounces seem
imminent.
Armenia is surrounded by
3 players.
All,
Good start. We have no retreats
and are ready to roll into Fall. Let's set that deadline for next Thursday the
16th at 6pm CST. A quick note or two:
1. I was asked to share a map
without the names because it is hard to see. That is attached.
2. I was asked for a list of all
provinces. Unfortunately I could not find a list. However, I was able to get a
list of the SC's. The neutral SC's at the begininng are as follows: Anatolia,
Armenia, Austria, Bavaria, Bohemia, Brittany, Bulgaria, Cyrenaica, Denmark,
Georgia, Hesse, Languedoc, Morroco, Muscovy, Novgorod, Piedmont, Portugal,
Rumania, Saxony, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkestan, Venezia, Wessex.
I would suggest using the .dpy
file if you have any other questions or concerns (or just ask!).
Press is below the order
results. And oh - FTR - my money is on a 4-1 KOK and a 25-1 "good but not
great" player.
Lord of the March
Garry
Burgundy:
A Brussels - Ruhr
A Dijon - Gascony
F Hague - Helgoland Bight
Sicily:
F Naples - Tyrrhenian Sea
F Palermo - Malta Sea
A Rome - Tuscany
Eire:
A Alcluyd - Yorkshire
F Dublin - Irish Sea
F Edinburgh - North Sea
Hungary:
A Budapest - Austria
A Szeged - Budapest
F Zara - Adriatic Sea
Israel:
F Cairo - Libyan Sea
A Damascus - Syria
A Jerusalem - Arabia
Poland:
F Gdansk - Baltic Sea
A Riga - Novgorod
A Warsaw - Silesia
Spain:
F Santander - Bay of Biscay
A Toledo - Santander
F Valencia - Western Mediterranean
Ukraine:
A Kiev Hold
A Odessa - Rumania
F Yalta - East Black Sea
Byzantium:
A Athens - Bulgaria
F Constantinople - Anatolia
F Smyrna - Aegean Sea
PRESS:
Anon:
My wife and I were reading
"Charlotte's Web" to our child a couple of nights ago. It reminded me
of you. All of you. But some of you more than others of you. It's the bit where
Wilbur first encounters Charlotte, and... well, the ways of a spider seem
strange to a pig. It was at this moment that I realized: Charlotte plays
Diplomacy. Really --
"Well," [Wilbur] thought, "I've got a new friend, all right! But
what a gamble friendship is! Charlotte is fierce, brutal, scheming,
bloodthirsty-everything I don't like. How can I learn to like her...?
Anon:
Continuing the DC Invitational tradition of opening the annual extravaganza up to the touts, here are the official Vegas odds for the 2010 edition, along with comments from Vegas legend Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal:
1-1 Mike Sims/Sicily. He's the legend, what more needs to be said?! We had him at 1-2 for a while but money started to go down on the rest of the field, pros looking for overlays. If you've gotta bet the house on somebody winning this thing Sims is your man.
2-1 Chris Morse/Spain. Not only did he just win the Winter Blitz - you know he's hungry to sweep both major annual events - he's one of the top rated players at DC. As if that isn't enough he is playing as Spain, the hands-down best power in Aberration. If Sims wasn't playing I would say the tourney was lined up perfectly for him to walk away with it. 2010 feels like his year.
4-1 Kevin OKelly/Byzantium. Ol' Bledsoe didn't do this pro justice when he snuck in as a late replacement. Guess who won the first-ever DCI in 2006? You guessed it: Kevin OKelly. We had him posted longer as a "dark horse" thanks to his modest DC rating, but the word about him is out on the streets. He is being bet down hard. I think this game is a 2-way race between the favorites but he's the obvious spoiler pick.
6-1 Adam Martin-Schwarze/Hungary. Last year's champ is getting betting respect - and he deserves it. Last year's field was arguably stronger top-to-bottom and he beat 'em all. I'm not liking him this year though and think he's being bet too heavily.
6-1 Joe Hackett/Israel. This guy's got a great record, no eliminations, high rating...he's got it all. In fact a lot of early smart money was being played on him. But as the handicappers started picking him apart they realized he is a "Standard-only" player: he's only played one Variant, last year's DCI. However he's got an excellent position in Israel and with results like his he needs to be in the mix of low odd options.
15-1 Mikael Johansson/Poland. Big dip down from the top five to the bottom four, in our opinion. Mikael's the clear "best of the rest". This guy's never seen a Diplomacy game he didn't want to play and must be the most experienced player in DC history. A classic "boom-or-bust" player with lots of results all across the spectrum. I wouldn't put it past him to shock the world.
20-1 Mike Walters/Burgundy. Being an unknown is hurting him here, perhaps unfairly so. Maybe he's got a deeper pedigree than we realize, but we've got to judge what is in front of us. Yes, he's got that solo. It is tantalizing to say the least. But in a field this good that's just not enough to bet up. Somebody might get a real value in betting him at this price though.
25-1 Dirk Knemeyer/Eire. He's not alone as the longest shot only because he's in the corner and less likely to be devoured in the early going than some of the more central powers. Still, he just doesn't have the pedigree to warrant laying real money on to actually win it.
25-1 John Reside/Ukraine. He's got a notable record of being "good" but not necessarily "great". No solos, but 6 draws to go with just 1 survival and 2 eliminations. He might hang around but we just haven't seen the breakout ability here that would suggest he can persevere over this field.
I'm going to go with the hot hand and the better payout and put my money on Chris Morse. It feels heretical to bet against Mike Sims but sometimes you've just gotta go with your gut.
Happy hunting all. And to anyone who, errr, "helps" Chris Morse win so I can collect on my wager I've got a suite reserved at the Horseshoe just for you.
<dc10S01 final.dpy>
<dc10S01 final.gif>
<dc10S01 orders.gif>
<DCI10 map of centers.gif>[Reply] |
| dc340 DCI 2010 - S01 Results - And We're Off! (DC Invitational) dknemeyer Sep 11, 07:19 am |
I wish I had with all the heat it is generating, but if I wrote it and wanted it to be anonymous I would not have put myself as the longest shot on the board! I might be dumb but I'm not stupid...
On Sep 10, 2010, at 11:29 PM, Michael Sims wrote:
Look, at 25 to 1, there's no question these odds were written by either Dirk, John, or Martha Stuart herself tryin to manipulate the market. My guess is Dirk's money is on Dirk. From: Joe Hackett [mailto:jhack16(at)gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, September 10, 2010 4:34 PM
To: Garry Bledsoe
Cc: Adam WB2K9 235; <camorse22(at)yahoo.com>; Dirk Knemeyer; <kodiplomacy(at)gmail.com>; <m_don_j(at)hotmail.com>; Michael Sims; <untitled36(at)hotmail.com>; <michael.alan.walters(at)gmail.com>
Subject: Re: dc340 DCI 2010 - S01 Results - And We're Off! No experience of variants, friendless, alone in the Desert, heading for the Persian Gulf, a million miles from the target rich central European plains, surrounded by two legends of the game?Main asset one lone fleet in becalmed waters, and I'm six to one?? Even I wouldnt back myself.Who's the pundit? Frank, you out there? -joe h
On 10 Sep 2010, at 04:18, Garry Bledsoe <kielmarch(at)hotmail.com> wrote:A start without bumps.We have press and lots of it!Some bounces seem imminent.Armenia is surrounded by 3 players. All,Good start. We have no retreats and are ready to roll into Fall. Let's set that deadline for next Thursday the 16th at 6pm CST. A quick note or two: 1. I was asked to share a map without the names because it is hard to see. That is attached.2. I was asked for a list of all provinces. Unfortunately I could not find a list. However, I was able to get a list of the SC's. The neutral SC's at the begininng are as follows: Anatolia, Armenia, Austria, Bavaria, Bohemia, Brittany, Bulgaria, Cyrenaica, Denmark, Georgia, Hesse, Languedoc, Morroco, Muscovy, Novgorod, Piedmont, Portugal, Rumania, Saxony, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkestan, Venezia, Wessex. I would suggest using the .dpy file if you have any other questions or concerns (or just ask!). Press is below the order results. And oh - FTR - my money is on a 4-1 KOK and a 25-1 "good but not great" player. Lord of the MarchGarry Burgundy:
A Brussels - Ruhr
A Dijon - Gascony
F Hague - Helgoland Bight Sicily:
F Naples - Tyrrhenian Sea
F Palermo - Malta Sea
A Rome - Tuscany Eire:
A Alcluyd - Yorkshire
F Dublin - Irish Sea
F Edinburgh - North Sea Hungary:
A Budapest - Austria
A Szeged - Budapest
F Zara - Adriatic Sea Israel:
F Cairo - Libyan Sea
A Damascus - Syria
A Jerusalem - Arabia Poland:
F Gdansk - Baltic Sea
A Riga - Novgorod
A Warsaw - Silesia Spain:
F Santander - Bay of Biscay
A Toledo - Santander
F Valencia - Western Mediterranean Ukraine:
A Kiev Hold
A Odessa - Rumania
F Yalta - East Black Sea Byzantium:
A Athens - Bulgaria
F Constantinople - Anatolia
F Smyrna - Aegean Sea PRESS: Anon:My wife and I were reading "Charlotte's Web" to our child a couple of nights ago. It reminded me of you. All of you. But some of you more than others of you. It's the bit where Wilbur first encounters Charlotte, and... well, the ways of a spider seem strange to a pig. It was at this moment that I realized: Charlotte plays Diplomacy. Really --
"Well," [Wilbur] thought, "I've got a new friend, all right! But what a gamble friendship is! Charlotte is fierce, brutal, scheming, bloodthirsty-everything I don't like. How can I learn to like her...?
Anon:Continuing the DC Invitational tradition of opening the annual extravaganza up to the touts, here are the official Vegas odds for the 2010 edition, along with comments from Vegas legend Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal:
1-1 Mike Sims/Sicily. He's the legend, what more needs to be said?! We had him at 1-2 for a while but money started to go down on the rest of the field, pros looking for overlays. If you've gotta bet the house on somebody winning this thing Sims is your man.
2-1 Chris Morse/Spain. Not only did he just win the Winter Blitz - you know he's hungry to sweep both major annual events - he's one of the top rated players at DC. As if that isn't enough he is playing as Spain, the hands-down best power in Aberration. If Sims wasn't playing I would say the tourney was lined up perfectly for him to walk away with it. 2010 feels like his year.
4-1 Kevin OKelly/Byzantium. Ol' Bledsoe didn't do this pro justice when he snuck in as a late replacement. Guess who won the first-ever DCI in 2006? You guessed it: Kevin OKelly. We had him posted longer as a "dark horse" thanks to his modest DC rating, but the word about him is out on the streets. He is being bet down hard. I think this game is a 2-way race between the favorites but he's the obvious spoiler pick.
6-1 Adam Martin-Schwarze/Hungary. Last year's champ is getting betting respect - and he deserves it. Last year's field was arguably stronger top-to-bottom and he beat 'em all. I'm not liking him this year though and think he's being bet too heavily.
6-1 Joe Hackett/Israel. This guy's got a great record, no eliminations, high rating...he's got it all. In fact a lot of early smart money was being played on him. But as the handicappers started picking him apart they realized he is a "Standard-only" player: he's only played one Variant, last year's DCI. However he's got an excellent position in Israel and with results like his he needs to be in the mix of low odd options.
15-1 Mikael Johansson/Poland. Big dip down from the top five to the bottom four, in our opinion. Mikael's the clear "best of the rest". This guy's never seen a Diplomacy game he didn't want to play and must be the most experienced player in DC history. A classic "boom-or-bust" player with lots of results all across the spectrum. I wouldn't put it past him to shock the world.
20-1 Mike Walters/Burgundy. Being an unknown is hurting him here, perhaps unfairly so. Maybe he's got a deeper pedigree than we realize, but we've got to judge what is in front of us. Yes, he's got that solo. It is tantalizing to say the least. But in a field this good that's just not enough to bet up. Somebody might get a real value in betting him at this price though.
25-1 Dirk Knemeyer/Eire. He's not alone as the longest shot only because he's in the corner and less likely to be devoured in the early going than some of the more central powers. Still, he just doesn't have the pedigree to warrant laying real money on to actually win it.
25-1 John Reside/Ukraine. He's got a notable record of being "good" but not necessarily "great". No solos, but 6 draws to go with just 1 survival and 2 eliminations. He might hang around but we just haven't seen the breakout ability here that would suggest he can persevere over this field.
I'm going to go with the hot hand and the better payout and put my money on Chris Morse. It feels heretical to bet against Mike Sims but sometimes you've just gotta go with your gut.
Happy hunting all. And to anyone who, errr, "helps" Chris Morse win so I can collect on my wager I've got a suite reserved at the Horseshoe just for you.
<dc10S01 final.dpy><dc10S01 final.gif><dc10S01 orders.gif><DCI10 map of centers.gif> |
| dc340 DCI 2010 - S01 Results - And We're Off! (DC Invitational) untitled36 Sep 11, 12:37 pm |
Yep,
Someone safely in the lower half of the alleged odds, but not the absolute lowest would be my bet.
John
|
| DCI 274: Russian EoG: The Short Version of the Sco... - Nigs (Jun 04, 2010, 3:21 pm) |
Guys,
I thought I'd respond to Adam's long piece, and just give my views in brief.
firstly, great players and GM - i've rarely had more fun, and a more challenging game. I'm sure Mike would have enjoyed playing too.Secondly, the variant - good to see a map I knew well, and yet could be so different. It played out very differently for many years, though the later stages were just like standard. I much preferred it to last year's gunboat. Nice to try something different each time. Russia was a hard draw, but not so much as Lowlands...Thirdly, the game and players: Jorge got off to a highly impressive start, worthy of success at the end too - for me the outstanding bit of play. I enjoyed his play throughout, even when he had more of my home centres than I did.Dan - stabby, and very hard to beat: a stake through the heart and chopping the head off required simultaneously. My most difficult neighbour. If we can ever get it together, then like Pinky and the Brain, we get on with the main plan, taking over the world.Drew: i'd have loved to work more with, but our paths were star crossed from the outset.Adam - a pleasure to partner with, and I didn't mind being used as a shield.Joe: didn't speak much until late in the game, and then relatively little. Flame war a bit excessive to my taste, but emotions were running high at that stage.Mikael: always a pleasure to play with - i wish we could have done more together vs AB - his choosing Dan despite Dan's stabs was a pity from my pov.My most pleasure came from wheeling and dealing when down to a single dot, and my recovery back up to 4 - very satisfying. Good to be in at the end, even as the only one who hadn't had a shot at the big time in this game.England, Lowlands, spain, Germany : I had little contact (mostly with Germany), but from my pov they played well enough in a sea full of sharks...
I need to comment on why I stopped engaging so much (noted by Adam in his EGS) - basically I got ill, and lost energy. I have a recurrence of a long term serious chronic illness, in remission for several years. Not sure how this is going to play out the second time round this particular block, so I'm winding down my dip and other things to a straight edge as swiftly as I can. Thankfully I don't think this had too adverse an effect upon the game. Consequence of illness and treatment was a sharp and prolonged decline in my ability to play actively. Thankfully by the time this really got bad I was in a highly enjoyable three way alliance - great tactical chats. So for a while I went along for the ride (apologies to Jorge and Adam). Latterly I just needed the game to end - any way would have done. I would have preferred the NTR alliance to triumph, but Dip being what it is, I can't say I blame Adam for going for it. "When shall we three meet again" - sometime I hope, all being well.
For myself, I was enjoying the alliance too much to stab, and I was badly lacking concentration too, so if i had tried, i wouldn't have pulled it off. So my quote from Macbeth:"If t'were done, when 'tis done, t'were well t'were done quickly." Adam acted at a great time, with a self-sacrificing ally in Joe, and gained swiftly - deserving of a champion. I had wondered if it was coming, but took no action to deter it - I think usually I would have found a way. Jorge and I considered fighting on, but concluded ending it was better.
Thanks to Mike for organising and running efficiently a sever. thanks to everyone for playing.
cheers
Nigs
Get a free e-mail account with Hotmail. Sign-up now.[Reply] |
| DCI 274: Turkish EoG: MacBeth the Long Version - FuzzyLogic (May 27, 2010, 5:33 pm) |
This is the most delightful EOG statement I've ever had the pleasure of
reading, in all my years of dip! Thank you...
-mike
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Thursday, May 27, 2010 2:55 PM
Subject: DCI 274: Turkish EoG: MacBeth the Long Version
So, this is not the EoG I thought I'd be writing just a couple of game
years ago...
My EoGs tend to be long and full of analysis. Encyclopedic,
really, because I don't have an editor telling me, "Cut that. Nobody
wants to read it. Exercise a judicious abridgment" I'm sure this EoG
runs way too long, especially when I get into Joe and Jorge and me and
the spirit of the game.
So, pace yourself. Get up occasionally, stretch out, walk around.
Much like DCI 274 itself, my EoG is a bout of endurance, not a race of
speed.
THE GM
I have already stated that Mike was a model of timeliness and
consistency. It is worth applauding twice. I would gladly play in a
Sims-moderated game again.
Having said that... I don't expect Sims to GM next year's DCI. I
expect him to play in it as a formidable threat to win. As fun as it
must be to GM a game like this, I'm sure Mike would rather have been
playing in it. (Actually, I was hoping to volunteer myself to GM next
year before the opportunity opened up for me to win).
THE VARIANT
Last year's DCI was a two-round affair, so clearly the DCI can (and
maybe should) be run in a variety of formats. I find myself pondering
back upon Dan's proposal to play "It came from outer space". My gut
reaction says it's a curious, probably interesting variant, but is it
too un-dip-like for the DCI? After all, shouldn't the DCI reward
straight-up Dip? (Should it?) And then I realize I'm making arbitrary
distinctions as to what is appropriate or inappropriate for the DCI
format. I am okay with and even endorse map variants (like Crowded or
last year's Stonehenge), but I am wary of rules variants (like Payola,
Machiavelli, or "It came..." .
So, I'm being arbitrary, and clearly that's the job of the DC
Moderators in arranging the DCI  But I'm still curious what other
people think.
Having said all of that, I found Crowded to be a tantalizing
choice. As Mike noted early on, it sets the players straight to
negotiating, as one can make no progress except at the expense of
others. Except for a few countries (E, S, & T), everybody gets the joy
of feeling like they're playing an interior country. There was
immediate and dramatic conflict. Myself, I committed my first stab in
Spring 1901. I liked this dynamic
The other big plus of Crowded is that it's on a familiar map. So,
while it's a variant, it's at least a very familiar one.
The drawback of Crowded, of course, is that it's less balanced than
Standard dip. Some powers are more equal than others. True, we all had
the opportunity to set our country preferences, but it's hard to assess
a position before you've actually tried to play it.
It so happens that I actually did play Crowded before (DipWorld
Game 322 back in 2004). It was the 1898 variant, and I was Norway (and,
yes, I did trade ideas with Jorge early on about how to play Norway...
but Jorge was always an exceptional communicator, even amid this pool of
excellent communicators). The first few years pf DW 322 unfolded in
startlingly similar fashion to DCI 274. The Balkans were rapidly
vivisected. Lowlands opened directly into Kiel only to see Norway
spearhead a retaliatory charge, leading to a big-brother relationship
between Norway and Germany. Austria-Italy allied. France-Spain fell to
tatters. Eventually, though, that game took its own path. In that
game, AI remained allied and nearly swept the map. Norway didn't stab
Germany. Austria almost soloed.
At this point in my EoG, I *was* intending to make some assertions
about balance of power in Crowded. In particular, I was going to point
out how impossible the Balkans position is, especially as Turkey has
almost nowhere else to go except through the Balkans (and don't even get
me started on how each of them has two SCs adjacent to both Aegean and
Black Sea). Or how much better Italy looks with a divided Iberia and a
jammed eastern front. Or how England has its hands full with all those
sea powers. However, it turns out I am largely wrong in my conclusions
about the map. I have just surveyed other Crowded games at floc.net
with standard press settings. It turns out that, in fact, Balkans can
succeed (by attacking Turkey). Italy still struggles. And England does
pretty well on the whole.
I made a tally of good end-results by country (judged by my own
cursory glance at the end-map). Across 28 games (26 from floc.net plus
DW 322 plus DCI 274), this is what I came up with:
Germany - 9 (2 solos)
England, Turkey - 8 (1 Turk solo)
Norway - 7
Balkans, France, Russia - 5 (2 Russian solos)
Austria, Spain - 3
Italy, and Lowlands - 2
My favorite outcome was an ELN triple that swept the board. For the
record, my own pre-game preferences for DCI 274 were any of G, L, N, R,
and T. I'm glad I didn't get Lowlands
One trend grabs my attention: the southern and western powers (I,
F, L, and S) seem to fare far worse than the northern and eastern ones.
I'd be curious to know how other players felt about playing
Crowded.
But back to Dan's proposal to play "It came from outer space"... What
variants would *I* suggest for the DCI? I think I would try to pick
really balanced variants (but not Pure or Chromatic... blech!). 1900
has a very good reputation. Abstraction II is supposed to be good, too
(with different convoy rules, though). Anarchy should work very well
(since players pick their own home SCs). Renaissance might be
interesting, too. I guess I'd lean toward Anarchy (especially as the
number of players is flexible). On a different tack, I like the
scramble feel of Chaos, CivDip, 1898... so, I'd also suggest maybe a
game of 1897? (Though a one-center start for everybody might create too
much randomness in early survival?)
THE OTHER VARIANT
To my mind, the *real* variant being played in the DCI was the scoring
system: most centers = DCI Crown. This is not the usual DC system.
Usually, in DC, if you don't solo then you draw, and it matters little
whether you have 15 centers or 5 centers. But not so in the DCI. It
entirely changed the game and, I think, lent it a blood-thirsty cast. I
would not have stabbed Jorge had not the individual title been on the
line. Not even remotely. Joe might not have stabbed Jorge either, for
that matter.
As you may have guessed already, before I played at DC, I played at
the now-defunct DW. And DipWorld had a different scoring system than DC
uses. It was:
Player Score = # of Centers + Points for place
where 1st = 48; 2nd = 24; 3rd = 12; etc. [Note: Solo = 96, and everybody
else gets zero]. In DW, placement really mattered for the top-three
finishers. But survival in a draw was not much of a motivator for
fourth or fifth place runners up. In fact, the only end-game scenarios
were 'Solo' and DIAS (as there was no scoring distinction between
finishing in the drawing coalition versus outside it). I am not arguing
that one system is better than another. They just have different
incentives, and different incentives beget different styles of play.
THE PLAYERS
DCI 274 is probably the best game of Dip I've had the honor to play in
anywhere. The quality of the opposition was high, and that quality
showed in the high level of communication which unfurled... immediately
the game began. There was none of this sounding out personalities in
order to see who were the communicative ones, who had interesting ideas,
and who could be relied upon. It was obvious (and a wee bit
intimidating) that everybody was going to be communicative, clever, and
reliable (in a no-NMR way). If you pause to reflect on this for a
moment, it will strike you how uncommon it is for every player to be
attentive and insightful in a game. I remember it gave me a rush when I
first realized it. There would be no weak link / obvious target.
Conversely, I wasn't going to be able to advance myself by out-talking
my neighbors.
In fairness, Jorge was the communications exemplar, striking up a
conversation with me and maintaining it through all the roller-coaster
turns of the game. It was unusual to have running conversations with
all my immediate neighbors... plus Jorge. At points in the early- and
mid-game, I was sure that our conversation was not being used to my
advantage... but one expects that in Diplomacy.
The rest of this EoG is a rough chronological order of the game
organized by the player who dominated the Turkish game experience. Each
section focuses both on strategy and a personality (or two). Frank,
Garry, Matt, Max -- I'm sorry, but I hardly knew ya. I don't have
stories to share about you.
-- DREW
If I had it all to do over again, I would stab Drew again. Because he
wrote such funny press after the stab. "Sometimes I think about having
you executed just to see the expression on your face." (Season 2,
"Black Adder". Yup. I would.
But why stab Drew in the first place? On one hand, Nigel and I had
a good plan. We were going to re-enact a Juggernaut... just with more
players on the board than in Standard Dip. If anything, we hoped that
the existence of Balkans would make it harder to organize a resistance
(all the more testimony to Dan, Mikael, and Drew for actually doing it).
Nigel gained my early trust by keeping the plan simple; he effectively
conveyed his buy-in.
On the other hand, Drew's emails read a bit scattered and
occasionally incoherent. There were good ideas to be had, but I didn't
like sifting for them. Meanwhile, he had to coordinate a tricky ABT
alliance. Plus, although my preference was to head north in an ABT,
Drew's plans always tended to have me heading south toward Italy. Yes,
the ABT alliance had merits and could've worked, but too many teeth were
being pulled in the process.
And then I did something uncharacteristically Zen-like brilliant
for me: I let it be. Somehow, I knew the ABT wasn't going to work. It
couldn't. All I did was help the joints to creak a little more by
emphasizing a couple of difficulties with the alliance in my ABT press.
And that's when a beautiful thing happened. It all just fell apart.
Naturally, gracefully, of its own accord. The day of the first
deadline, Dan wrote me a "I am beginning to wish we weren't in this ABT
alliance" email. I replied with: "Funny you should mention it, because
I have a perfectly smashing ART stab entirely diagrammed through
W1901... It just happens to be laying on my desk".
Drew worked hard at making the ABT work in spite of the natural
antipathy between Balkans and Turkey. But, as I said, I'd stab him
again just to receive his comical emails. In fact, next time I play
Drew, I'm going to stab him all over again.
-- MIKAEL
Mikael was unavoidable unendurable destiny for me much of the game.
Alone of my neighbors, he didn't write much at the outset (this
changed). In the midgame, to Dan's glee, Mikael and I seemed locked in
an inextricable naval conflict, wherein I vs. T was the natural tension.
And later, when we finally found grounds for cooperation, we wound up
scuttling it over a miscommunication. Much has been written about Dan
and his sharpened dagger in this game... but the sad confession is that
his treachery would not have been possible but for Mikael's and my
willingness to allow Dan to play us off against each other.
I still look back at Winter 1901 and think I was screwed no matter
what I did (how often is Winter 1901 really all that crucial of a
season?!? But that's part of why this was a great game...). If I built
an army, then Nigel would've known I was coming after him... and with
the already-manifest ABI scrum, I knew that nobody was going to come aid
me in a battle with Nigel. So, I did the more 'neutral' thing and built
a fleet in Smyrna... which Mikael immediately and correctly recognized
as a warlike intent toward Italy. Even then, I had hopes that ABI would
be unable to unite in order to stop Nigel and I in our tracks (after
all, Mikael had just bludgeoned Dan, hadn't he?). But Mikael proved me
wrong on the board, just as I had dared him to do. And he didn't just
stop at ABI; he and Jorge combined to make it ABGIN.
If it hadn't been for Dan's mercurial nature, I would not have
survived Mikael's onslaught.
In total, I found Mikael to be a frustrating opponent -- which is
to say that he did his job vis-a-vis my Turkey. I would like to think
that he and I could make good allies if our countries weren't so
geographically at odds with each other.
-- DAN
Dan wins my vote for Personality of the Game Award, given to the player
who most indelibly leaves his imprint on the game. Surely, no single
player so influenced the flow of this game as did Dan. Jorge ran a good
second, though. All in all, I admire Dan's tenacity and immensely
enjoyed his role in the game. Thank you ever so much, Dan.
Jorge had warned me from Day 1 that Dan is cut-throat. A wee bit
of an understatement. Dan was perfidious. He stabbed. And betrayed.
And he tortured small, furry animals. I think I dubbed him the
Stab-O-Matic. And that appellation worked well for my interests, for in
truth, all of the talk about Dan's dagger-happy tendencies was only so
much propaganda. Oh, let me be clear: Dan was a villain. But that's
okay in Dip, so long as it works for you... which it did up to a point.
While there's been a lot of talk about Dan's stabs, I think we have
chosen to be silent on the bigger story... the story that shines some
redemption on Dan's actions. The storyline with Dan isn't that he
stabbed a lot. The storyline is that, in spite of stabbing so often,
Dan still persuaded some of the best players in DC to ally with him time
and time again. And this reveals incredible diplomatic skill. It also
shows an uncommon temperament that respects the fluidity of diplomatic
relations and does not treat any stab or alliance (by or against him) as
final. Most people hold a grudge after a stab, but Dan repeatedly was
right back on the phone dreaming up another cunning plan. As I noted
above: after a certain time, the fault is no longer Dan's for stabbing
us; it is ours for giving him so many opportunities to stab.
But, obviously, in the end, Dan's treachery backfired on him. But
was this because of the number of his stabs? Or the *quality* of his
stabs?. I think some of his stabs were not good stabs or were not
pressed relentlessly until the victim lay gasping near-lifeless in his
last SC. An example. Dan tried to eliminate Drew in Fall 1902 but made
two crucial errors. First, he didn't forewarn his other, more important
ally Mikael (and the stab attempt dealt collateral positional damage to
Mikael, so it risked scuttling the alliance). Second, he attempted the
stab via a tactically risky (nay, foolish) support from Budapest which
not only was likely to be cut, but actually got dislodged.
And then he patched it all up again with Drew and Mikael! I was
floored and flabbergasted. And awed.
But Dan's chief mistake (in my humblest of omniscient opinions) was
his first real stab of Mikael in Spring 1904(?). That was an alliance
that (from my throne in Turkey) seemed a force to be reckoned with. It
was the alliance that had a good chance to lay the golden egg.
Ultimately, as an aside, it was this stab that allowed me to survive in
the corner and to build the third fleet with which to establish my
Turkish Stonewall. It is with perfect 20-20 hindsight that I say Dan
should have stayed in the AI alliance until my corner position had been
shattered. Perfect hindsight... but I think it was my insight at the
time, too.
In the end, Dan left too many of his victims still standing. And
somewhere around 1906/1907, I think he was heard reciting more
Shakespeare: "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer
by this Duke of Austria; and all the clouds that lowered upon our house
in the deep bosom of the ocean buried. Now are our brows bound with
victorious wreaths." Little did he realize how much the world scorns
hump-backed villains.
-- NIGEL
I don't have a lot of stories to tell about Nigel. Fidelity is not
often the stuff of great Dip stories. But, with all due obsequiousness
to other players... Nigel is the guy from this game I would most likely
ally with again. As I mentioned earlier, his straight-forward,
uncomplicated style worked very well by me.
For the most part, thanks to the ABGIN, Nigel and I were allies
both in a bind, unable to directly aid each other. By 1906, I had
established the Turkish Stonewall: F EMed, F Aegean, F Constantinople.
It was every Turkish turtle's dream, utterly unassailable except via
Armenia. And I relied on Nigel to defend that to his death (which was
impending). I could exaggerate and say I was using him as a human
shield... it's certainly more colorful... but, there was really nothing
more I could have done for him. My thought was that I could hold this
position until the cavalry arrived from the West, which ought to come
before Nigel's last stand, God rest his soul.
An ordinary player would made a last stand in Sevastapol and died
like a loyal soldier. But Nigel surprised me and caused me sleepless
nights. He dealt and double-dealt with his AI oppressors, thus
extricating a rebirth from a mere one center. It was an extraordinary
feat. But it came at the cost of letting enemies into Armenia. My
nightmare of poison-fanged Austrian hump-backed villains was coming
true. Surely, my end had arrived.
But then, in 1907, the cavalry arrived. Dan was given a beat-down.
And the Austrian orcs in Armenia disbanded. And then began the Glory
Years. The acme of Russo-Turkish relations.
In spite of some friction around 1909, Nigel and I functioned as
one nation, each tending to the other's resurrection and focusing on our
mutual goal: a DIAS ASAP. When Joe stabbed Jorge, we expanded to become
an NRT trio. And all was well. Jorge has already told the story of how
he and I chose to spurn Austrian alliance (and Russian elimination) in
1910, so I won't dwell on it. But I was pleased with the maneuver.
Very pleased. It was reflective of something I later told Joe: I could
stab Nigel, but then'd I'd have to start looking over my shoulder for
angels with flaming swords; for I was sure such despicable treachery
against my most loyal ally -- an ally with whom I had developed an
unusual and special tight-knit bond -- would not go unpunished by
Heaven.
And yet all good things do pass. Alas, Nigel's interest in the
game eventually dissipated. He had formerly been an active participant
in our NRT round tables, but he lapsed into just chiming in on Friday
mornings about six or so hours before the deadline. Still, in the end,
he owned a share of the draw.
-- JORGE
I have already written of Jorge's superb communication. There is no
greater virtue in Diplomacy than frequent, well-written press, and Jorge
seemed determined to out-press everybody. It worked on me, and I was
content to see him do well for so much of the game.
As I mentioned, Jorge and I talked early about how to play Norway.
My previous experience said that Norway was a great defensive position
which rightly had to prioritize naval supremacy and try to reach
Gibraltar. Toward that end, I thought England and Lowlands had to be
his primary targets, followed by France and Spain. Germany had to be
kept fleet-light. And Russia should make for a strategic ally (this
last opinion also coincided with my Turkish alliance with Russia).
Jorge took my advice and then made up his own mind. Still, by Spring
1905, he had far exceeded the objectives I had discussed. He had fleets
in NAt and Iri plus a weaker German ally who could absorb Austrian
aggression for awhile. Which is why it didn't see his betrayal of Max
coming. I thought it a mistake at the time, but I really cannot
second-guess him when his bigger problem was an EF alliance that he
needed to split however he could.
So, to return to my semi-narrative here... Nigel and I rebounded
from Dan's yoke -- all thanks to the success of the FN(+IRT) alliance
against Dan. But there can be too much of a good thing. Joe and Jorge
made great gains with help from both Nigel and me. But they were also
both exerting carbon-to-diamond pressure directly on us. There was talk
at the time of what form the draw would take. I was insisting upon a
share of the draw (reckoning that, being in the far corner, they
couldn't easily eliminate me without risking a solo by one or the other;
plus, 35 centers cannot be evenly divided between two players). Joe and
Jorge were sticking with a 2-way.
In particular, I remember a specific exchange with Jorge. In 1909,
Nigel had convoyed an army to Ankara (whereas I had expected a fleet).
And while it didn't make sense for him to stab me, I was quite skittish
all the same. I wrote to Jorge and asked for an unenforceable promise:
if Nigel screws me over, please take Sevastopol from him. Since I
wasn't really expecting a stab from Nigel, and since the request
couldn't be enforced anyway, I didn't put much stock in it. But Jorge's
response was uncharacteristically cold and aloof: "The problem is that
you are on record as being against that draw I'm seeking. At this point
Nigs is my muscle on you to vote Yes." It chilled me. Maybe I should
be afraid of Nigel! Not because Nigel would stab me, but because Jorge
would force him into it! I cannot exactly say why this one brief email
had such an effect on me, but it did. It clearly reminded me the
bottom-line Diplomacy truth: in spite of a lovely
running correspondence, no neighbor is wholly my friend. We are
competitors each seeking individual glory.
I'm going to park Jorge by the curb for a minute and write more
about him later. But first...
-- JOE
Joe entered my life in 1908. He rode a white stallion and drove my
Italian and Austrian nemeses before him like chaff before the wind.
Orphan children strewed rose petals before his feet and gratefully sang
his name with hosannas.
The agreement by Joe and Jorge to unite against Austria provided
desperately needed short-term relief. I started to envision a 4-way
FNRT draw (or any draw that included me!). But, conquerors are
conquerors, and in spite of a Fall 1908 agreement for Joe to take Greece
(with my support) and then hand it over to me, Joe found reasons to
reconsider the agreement before the end of 1909. This was about the
time when Jorge rebuffed my request for a safeguard against Nigel, and I
wasn't so much loving either of my FN liberators.
However, in the meanwhile, Joe and I had started a running
conversation about the game-end scenarios. It had begun in the lead-up
to Spring 1908, as I was laying clear my Turkish goals, and I mentioned
to Joe: "Provided you mind your border with Jorge properly, I think you
are in the stronger position in FN. Much stronger." I don't think Joe
had seriously entertained the thought of himself as having the upper
hand until that point.
I don't know what impact the Spring 1908 adjudication had on Joe's
thoughts, but it seemed significant to me at the time. On that
adjudication -- before Joe and I had much of a chance to follow up on my
comment -- Joe opened himself up terribly vulnerably to Jorge while
Jorge simultaneously moved two armies adjacent to Munich. Belgium and
Munich were indefensible if Jorge hearkened to the Dagger's Call. With
his seizure of Warsaw from Dan, he'd have a 13-8 lead in SCs versus Joe.
I was 105% certain that Jorge would strike. I said as much to Joe. The
irony, of course, is that Jorge was a true ally. Yet, after this
incident, I wonder if Joe wasn't more struck by his brief peril than by
his ally's good graces.
It didn't hurt that Joe and I started to discuss that most
compelling of things: the scoring system and cost-benefit analysis. If
Jorge had gone for the stab, his best case scenario was a solo. The DCI
Crown via a solo -- that would be something to tell his grandchildren
about! If not, had Jorge's solo bid fallen short thanks to an unwieldy
AFIRT alliance (in which IT would have been of no help), then Jorge
still stood a very good chance of claiming the DCI Crown with 15 or 16
centers. If AFIRT managed to hurl him backward (which was certainly
possible, though 5-way alliances are not so easy to hold together), the
odds remained exceedingly good that Jorge would retain a part in a
game-ending 3-way draw. And that's the reality of the scoring system:
there is often not a huge risk associated with taking a big gamble, but
there are great rewards. Obviously, Jorge analyzed the board and
decided the solo bid was not a gamble he wished to attempt.
But later, Joe would face much the same gamble. The scoring system,
the cost-benefit analysis, and his irritation with Jorge all helped him
choose the road Jorge had not taken.
In Fall 1909, Joe seized Greece in spite of me. He stabbed Mikael
for both Rome and Venice. And Nigel convoyed an army to Ankara when I
was expecting his fleet. I thought, "This is it. Joe is finally going
for the solo -- he'll fortify his line against Jorge and out-race him to
18 centers by gobbling up Balkan and Turkish dots." Joe blandly told me
that I knew his reason for depriving me of Greece, but I brushed it off
as a thin veil for his underlying motive, and I told him so in a letter
that we both referenced several times later in the game:
"> You know the reason of course.
I do, but it's not the one you name. The real reason is: you are
embracing the path eschewed by Jorge. Guts, glory, and a solo bid. You
have deftly wielded the Dagger Known As Dan to thwart your foes and to
quickly sweep up a couple of builds. The Russian convoy is a nice
touch, too. Of course, Dan won't long remain reliable, but you don't
expect him to. You may just have enough to push onward to victory.
Excelsior!
Good luck to you on your bid. Personally, I was disappointed in
Jorge for not taking the gamble. What you are doing is more in the
Spirit of the Game."
Poetic, eh? Patriotic. Gets the blood coursing through the arteries.
I'd come a long way rhetorically from the utterly frustrated letter I
wrote to Mikael back in October:
"I see Naples
I see France
I see Mikael's
Underpants."
Yes, my emails had come a long way. Whereas Mikael never replied to my
poem, Joe really heard my Siren's Song.
But I don't want to claim credit for Joe's courage. If I have
dwelled upon his motives, it's because I tend to overanalyze things, not
because I feel I authored his decision. I did, it seems, help screw his
courage to the sticking place (which puts me into yet another
Shakespeare play...). But the ambition was Joe's. He made up his own
mind, and he wore his boldness rightly as his own. And eventually, by
the time Birnam Wood marched on high Dunsinane, he faced his fate with
all the ferocity of a real MacBeth. He ultimately failed, but I
confess... I was proud of him. He honored the Spirit of the Game.
[And, I'll note, he lost nothing score-wise for his venture... he still
finished with a share of the draw].
-- JOE & JORGE
I am not going to comment on The Feud beyond the following three points.
(1) I happily did not suffer friction from either Joe nor Jorge that
would at all suggest that either was capable of the nastiness that
erupted. (2) It was Joe who breached protocol by publicly flaming
Jorge. This happens occasionally in Diplomacy (I blushingly remember
the last time I did it some years ago as a powerless Italian...). Joe
eventually apologized, which is all I could ask, but it was quite a
flaming. (3) Genies do not return to their bottles; it was The Feud and
its lingering resentments (and Joe's willingness to cede centers to my
fleets) that made my Crown even remotely possible. We all know that,
had calmer heads prevailed, I would never have had even a glimmer of
hope.
But at the outset, there was no Feud. There was just a stab. And
a solo bid. And a really nasty piece of work that Jorge and I
perpetrated against Dan (by which I reckoned that all of my scores with
the Stab-O-Matic had now been repaid).
And then followed the second Golden Era. Not only did Jorge now
*need* Nigel and me, but we all needed each other if we were to prevent
a French solo. That we would form a 3-way alliance was predictable.
But the alliance that we did form was... extraordinary. I cannot say I
have ever enjoyed a more tightly knit alliance. It was a thing of
beauty and perhaps of grace. Not only were all moves an open book, but
all moves benefited from three brains instead of one. This may sound
cliche, but I think it was crucial. It was the union of our minds
rather than our collection of units that stopped Joe. For several
years, all three of us enthusiastically joined in the drawing and
refining of battle plans. And particularly in 1914, we just plain
out-thought the French, because we had three times the available time to
consider all the alternatives.
I must here sheepishly admit that this alliance would have been
impossible without the tone of Jorge's leadership. Yes, Jorge was in
some sense ultimately looking out for his own welfare (after all, his
goal was to recapture the elusive DCI Crown). But I do believe that we
reached beyond mere self-interest and achieved a team concept, wherein
ownership of centers was not jealously guarded, and one nation's
positioning was routinely subverted to the position of the team. And
again, it was usually Jorge who sacrificed.
It took me a very long time in this game to understand Jorge to the
extent that I now do. But I do believe that he is of a different
character than Joe... or myself. It's hard to quantify. I want to say
that he's an Alliance Player... but he did do treacherous things to
Frank, Nigel, and especially Max. Still, when I look at all the pieces:
extensive communication, team-oriented alliance, choosing an FN draw
over a solo bid, not wanting to push the NRT toward a solo... Jorge
played the game differently. At least in my experience of him. He
played for himself and his own success as we all do, but at the same
time, he didn't. And therein is an irony. Because his style brought
him success but arguably deprived him of the Crown, as he instead
over-trusted two players who are of a different character.
The NRT survived three setbacks, as Jorge noted in his EGS. The
first was intentional, the other two not. First, in Autumn 1912, I
disbanded my fleet in Naples. And, yes, I did this intentionally to
breathe life back into Joe. A distant corner of my mind was, believe it
or not, already thinking of how to 'get back into the game', in spite of
having only five centers. I kept quiet on that. But much more than my
re-emergence, as incredulous as this will sound to Jorge, I really was
worried about Jorge. At the time, Nigel and I were having discussions
of "So, once we stop Joe, how are we going to stop Jorge? Or will it be
out of the frying pan and into the fire?" The fact that I worried about
Jorge showed that I did not understand either him nor Joe yet. On one
hand, I seriously believed that Joe might disband northern units
(opposing Jorge) instead of southern units (opposing me). I did not
know the depth of their underlying
antipathy (which only surfaced publicly that very season). On the
other hand, I didn't realize that Jorge really would stop once he had
reached supply center parity with Joe. I thought it very realistic that
Jorge might continue to steam along in the north and continue for a solo
bid. Unless I gave Joe a cushion in the south. So, I disbanded my
fleet in Naples, and I made my allies very cross. And I extended the
game.
The other two setbacks were both accidents. Nigel's NMR was a
brutal, awfully timed debacle, and it resurrected chances for Joe's two
eastern units. The same season, I misordered a fleet (honestly, I
thought it was in Aegean...), leaving Ionian unfortunately empty (a much
smaller debacle). But again... such were the turns of fortune that both
helped extend the game long enough for me to get back into it.
-- ADAM (or "How I Came to Steal a Victory"
This was the best game of Diplomacy I've ever had the honor to play in.
All but the last two years. No, I'm not being self-disparaging. After
1914, the game had played out. Joe's solo bid was finis, barring a
Norwegian NMR. He lost his relish for the game. Nigel detached. Jorge
sought only to restore his advantage in SCs so that he could have the
Crown. People were ready for the game to end. And I walked to victory
partly on the eggshells of apathy. But first, Joe had one favor to
repay...
I wrote to Joe after F1914 saying that I had totally screwed up my
chances of winning. I had made the mistake of submitting the best
moves. Tactically, they were the very best. But strategically... I
should really have submitted orders that would extend the game and lead
to me having to convoy units into Trieste and Venice. Now, I would be
unable to catch up to Jorge.
It must have been a strange friendship for Joe. Here, I had urged,
coaxed, wheedled, and cajoled him until he reached out to seize victory.
Yet, all the time he was crusading, I clearly maintained that I was his
foe. I was a friend who was really an enemy. An enemy who cheered him
on as a friend. Oooh, such a frenemy was I...
Intermittently along the way, Joe had been offering me deals. Stab
Nigel. Let's form a two-way against Jorge. But what balance could
there really be when he outnumbered me by six centers? In 1915, Joe
started offering me a solo (even though he still outnumbered me by
four). I frankly didn't believe him, because again, I didn't understand
the psychology at play (and I didn't have the armies to procure the
Balkans). For Joe to help me to solo, he'd have to send armies into
Tyrolia and Vienna. Then, he'd both outnumber me and control the center
of the map. It seemed yet another effort to split the NRT and revive
his solo bid. I thought Joe was still playing to win. But it appears
he was just playing to avenge himself on Jorge.
Conversely, I worried that if I shattered the crystal luminance
that was NRT, Jorge would give Joe the solo rather than allow my
treachery to succeed. Jorge had been pretty disapproving when I
disbanded F Naples -- it had almost scuttled our alliance. And often,
traitors are more hated than enemies. An ill-aimed stab might, I
wrongly thought, make Jorge like me even less than Joe. So, I turned
Joe's offer down.
And it's here that Joe repaid my favor. He hounded me. Guts and
Glory! Solo! It was his turn to play Lady MacBeth whilst I played a
balking MacBeth. We generated a stack of email, all while Jorge and
Nigel were turning the lights out in the storefront. He begged and
pleaded. He delivered an ultimatum. He publicly announced his intent
to vote for a draw. He did everything I had done to/for him in
encouraging him to stab Jorge in the first place. It was a favor
dutifully repaid.
Still, many things had to happen in that last year-plus to make a
winner out of me. Probably the key thing was: Nigel and Jorge couldn't
suspect me. Which they should have. Not because I behaved
suspiciously, but simply because my SC count was catching up, and
Diplomacy players should know to exercise caution. There were really
only two things that could stop Jorge from winning: (1) Joe's obstinacy
and (2) a Turkish grab for power. Well, Joe finally and sincerely
announced his surrender in late 1915. So, the only threat left was me.
And I am pretty sure that the circa 1912 versions of Jorge and Nigel
would never have let me sneak into a victory. But by 1915... it was
time to pack up the suitcases.
In Fall 1915, I openly took Serbia while Nigel chose not to take
Bulgaria in exchange. That was the first last step. (It also showed
how oblivious Nigel was about my emerging Caesar-like ambition). It
gave me a second build and an army in the Balkans. In Winter 1915,
Jorge suggested I build two armies. I didn't have to be told twice!
(But had he and Nigel insisted upon a fleet... there probably would have
been no stab). In Spring 1916, Joe was muttering into my ear: "Come on
kid! You can do it! Give'em a jab with your left and a hook with your
right! You're the champ, kid! You're the champ! I'm behind you all
the way!" I essentially told Joe that I might stab, but he'd have to
hand over the keys to the French army. He did. That was essential for
my success. (And later, he didn't complain when my orders for him cost
him two disbands and the loss of Holland). Then Nigel announced his
intention to symbolically re-occupy St. Petersburg
and Sevastopol. I was probably going to stab anyway, but that was the
last domino. [Again, if Nigel or Jorge had stopped to analyze the
threat from Turkey, they might have insisted on the very
un-alliance-like move of F Bla-Con/Bul... probably without informing
which destination Nigel would choose... and since we all expected the
draw to pass that season, it shouldn't matter. But that could've maybe
been enough to stop me from stabbing, too].
PATIENCE
In the late-game and post-game, I have read some praise for Patience.
Yes, it is a virtue that worked admirably to my advantage all throughout
the game. It worked way back in Spring 1901 when I waited for Drew's
ABT alliance to fall apart. In mid-game, it enabled me to construct the
Turkish Stonewall. And in the end, it enabled me to revive from 3
stinkin' centers to claim an undeserved Crown. Yes, Patience is a
very... how do I say this?... overrated virtue. It works very well for
Turkey. It brought me a win in this game, so I'm certainly not going to
snarl and spit at it. But I'd rather play Austria. I'd rather author
my own success. For, as we all know, this game belonged to Dan, Jorge,
and Joe. If anyone 'deserved' to win, it was one of them. I was but
the beneficiary of their struggles.
PSYCHOLOGY / PHILOSOPHY / CLOSING THOUGHTS
"It's what Jeeves would call the psychology of the individual." - P.G.
Wodehouse
Why did I coach Joe forward to stab Jorge? Why did I stab Jorge? Why
*didn't* Jorge stab? I cannot wholly say.
I think my counsel to Joe went far beyond my own desire to survive
(which surely was aided by his stab). I had a deeper motive of which I
was not fully aware. Something psychological. Something which was
certainly linked to the opposing psychology that led Jorge to pass on a
solo bid. It's what I referred to in my email to Joe as The Spirit of
the Game (which sounds horrendously pompous, but it's the name I used,
so we're stuck with it).
Almost by definition, The Spirit of the Game is my a personal
interpretation. Each player approaches the game with his own sense of
The Spirit.
My sense of The Spirit is related to the famous Herm Edwards quote:
"You play to win the game". There are many other motivators (like a
great alliance or sportsmanship), but winning is the first goal. In a
game like the DCI or a tournament, where a title is on the line, I prize
winning even more highly.
Also, given the draw-based scoring system, where the rewards for
valor often outweigh the risk, fortune favors the bold. [I reiterate
here: in the end, Joe didn't lose much on his score by trying for the
solo; he still figured in the draw].
When I saw Joe acquiescing to a 2-way FN draw sans the DCI Crown, I
confess it didn't feel right. Jorge was playing a dangerous game to
keep SC parity so tight but to reserve the Crown for his own. The Crown
is lying there! Duncan sleeps in thy castle this night! Reach out and
seize it! Thou shall'st be more than man! My maternal instinct (my
Lady MacBeth maternal instinct) stirred:
"Wouldst thou have that
Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life,
And live a coward in thine own esteem,
Letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would'"?
Joe dared. And let me say: he got really close. Just because he fell
short does not mean he shouldn't have tried.
But what of Jorge? He did not stab Joe in a similar position. Did
he violate The Spirit of the Game? Ultimately, upon great reflection, I
would say that he did not. He chose a different, more subtle path
toward victory. It was a calculation that didn't pan out. Neither Joe
nor I cooperated far enough to allow him his hard-earned victory. But
like Joe, Jorge came really close to winning. His calculation fell
short, but it was worth the try.
And yet... during the game and even now, I did feel that Jorge
chose not to _seize_ victory. He tried to corral it and nurture it
rather than act brashly. As you can tell: I thought brash action was
called for. Nigel can confirm that, around 1912, facing the prospects
of a Jorge Crown vs. a Joe Crown, my preference was: (a) whichever one
gets us a draw; followed by (b) Joe, because he opted for Guts and
Glory.
In the recently ended DC 285 (Ancient Med), I settled for a 2-way
Egyptian-Persian draw with Mike Hoffman. I thought I had a slight
inside track for the solo (so did he). But we settled on a draw,
because the odds were close, and because we had a really good alliance
we didn't want to shatter. The alliance was more valuable than the win.
If the DCI were just another club game, I wouldn't have stabbed at
the end. I would barely have even considered it. I had a really good
alliance that I didn't enjoy shattering. A superb alliance. The type
where a stab isn't just a betrayal of my allies... it's almost a
betrayal of sportsmanship. Plus, I felt like a scum bag for stabbing at
a time when everybody else was just ready to be done with the game. If
Joe hadn't been Lady MacBeth-ing me, I doubt I would've gone through
with it.
Additionally, I kept coming back to: "You play to win the game."
That was my goal at the beginning of the game. It should still be my
goal fifteen game years into it. If other people are tiring of the
game, that shouldn't change my goal. If my allies are expecting me to
restore Jorge to the lead, that shouldn't change my goal.
I have never done that before. Exploited my opponents' waning
enthusiasm for a victory. It was more a case of outlasting than of
out-thinking. In the aftermath, it doesn't feel as radiant by half as
allying and conniving my way to power. But it's a type of virtue...
Patience.
Which is not the final word you'd expect from an EoG that has so many
words about...
Your DCI Winner,
MacBeth[Reply] |
| DCI 274: Turkish EoG: MacBeth the Long Version - AceRimmer (May 27, 2010, 2:55 pm) |
So, this is not the EoG I thought I'd be writing just a couple of game years ago...
My EoGs tend to be long and full of analysis. Encyclopedic, really, because I don't have an editor telling me, "Cut that. Nobody wants to read it. Exercise a judicious abridgment" I'm sure this EoG runs way too long, especially when I get into Joe and Jorge and me and the spirit of the game.
So, pace yourself. Get up occasionally, stretch out, walk around. Much like DCI 274 itself, my EoG is a bout of endurance, not a race of speed.
THE GM
I have already stated that Mike was a model of timeliness and consistency. It is worth applauding twice. I would gladly play in a Sims-moderated game again.
Having said that... I don't expect Sims to GM next year's DCI. I expect him to play in it as a formidable threat to win. As fun as it must be to GM a game like this, I'm sure Mike would rather have been playing in it. (Actually, I was hoping to volunteer myself to GM next year before the opportunity opened up for me to win).
THE VARIANT
Last year's DCI was a two-round affair, so clearly the DCI can (and maybe should) be run in a variety of formats. I find myself pondering back upon Dan's proposal to play "It came from outer space". My gut reaction says it's a curious, probably interesting variant, but is it too un-dip-like for the DCI? After all, shouldn't the DCI reward straight-up Dip? (Should it?) And then I realize I'm making arbitrary distinctions as to what is appropriate or inappropriate for the DCI format. I am okay with and even endorse map variants (like Crowded or last year's Stonehenge), but I am wary of rules variants (like Payola, Machiavelli, or "It came...".
So, I'm being arbitrary, and clearly that's the job of the DC Moderators in arranging the DCI But I'm still curious what other people think.
Having said all of that, I found Crowded to be a tantalizing choice. As Mike noted early on, it sets the players straight to negotiating, as one can make no progress except at the expense of others. Except for a few countries (E, S, & T), everybody gets the joy of feeling like they're playing an interior country. There was immediate and dramatic conflict. Myself, I committed my first stab in Spring 1901. I liked this dynamic
The other big plus of Crowded is that it's on a familiar map. So, while it's a variant, it's at least a very familiar one.
The drawback of Crowded, of course, is that it's less balanced than Standard dip. Some powers are more equal than others. True, we all had the opportunity to set our country preferences, but it's hard to assess a position before you've actually tried to play it.
It so happens that I actually did play Crowded before (DipWorld Game 322 back in 2004). It was the 1898 variant, and I was Norway (and, yes, I did trade ideas with Jorge early on about how to play Norway... but Jorge was always an exceptional communicator, even amid this pool of excellent communicators). The first few years pf DW 322 unfolded in startlingly similar fashion to DCI 274. The Balkans were rapidly vivisected. Lowlands opened directly into Kiel only to see Norway spearhead a retaliatory charge, leading to a big-brother relationship between Norway and Germany. Austria-Italy allied. France-Spain fell to tatters. Eventually, though, that game took its own path. In that game, AI remained allied and nearly swept the map. Norway didn't stab Germany. Austria almost soloed.
At this point in my EoG, I *was* intending to make some assertions about balance of power in Crowded. In particular, I was going to point out how impossible the Balkans position is, especially as Turkey has almost nowhere else to go except through the Balkans (and don't even get me started on how each of them has two SCs adjacent to both Aegean and Black Sea). Or how much better Italy looks with a divided Iberia and a jammed eastern front. Or how England has its hands full with all those sea powers. However, it turns out I am largely wrong in my conclusions about the map. I have just surveyed other Crowded games at floc.net with standard press settings. It turns out that, in fact, Balkans can succeed (by attacking Turkey). Italy still struggles. And England does pretty well on the whole.
I made a tally of good end-results by country (judged by my own cursory glance at the end-map). Across 28 games (26 from floc.net plus DW 322 plus DCI 274), this is what I came up with:
Germany - 9 (2 solos)
England, Turkey - 8 (1 Turk solo)
Norway - 7
Balkans, France, Russia - 5 (2 Russian solos)
Austria, Spain - 3
Italy, and Lowlands - 2
My favorite outcome was an ELN triple that swept the board. For the record, my own pre-game preferences for DCI 274 were any of G, L, N, R, and T. I'm glad I didn't get Lowlands
One trend grabs my attention: the southern and western powers (I, F, L, and S) seem to fare far worse than the northern and eastern ones.
I'd be curious to know how other players felt about playing Crowded.
But back to Dan's proposal to play "It came from outer space"... What variants would *I* suggest for the DCI? I think I would try to pick really balanced variants (but not Pure or Chromatic... blech!). 1900 has a very good reputation. Abstraction II is supposed to be good, too (with different convoy rules, though). Anarchy should work very well (since players pick their own home SCs). Renaissance might be interesting, too. I guess I'd lean toward Anarchy (especially as the number of players is flexible). On a different tack, I like the scramble feel of Chaos, CivDip, 1898... so, I'd also suggest maybe a game of 1897? (Though a one-center start for everybody might create too much randomness in early survival?)
THE OTHER VARIANT
To my mind, the *real* variant being played in the DCI was the scoring system: most centers = DCI Crown. This is not the usual DC system. Usually, in DC, if you don't solo then you draw, and it matters little whether you have 15 centers or 5 centers. But not so in the DCI. It entirely changed the game and, I think, lent it a blood-thirsty cast. I would not have stabbed Jorge had not the individual title been on the line. Not even remotely. Joe might not have stabbed Jorge either, for that matter.
As you may have guessed already, before I played at DC, I played at the now-defunct DW. And DipWorld had a different scoring system than DC uses. It was:
Player Score = # of Centers + Points for place
where 1st = 48; 2nd = 24; 3rd = 12; etc. [Note: Solo = 96, and everybody else gets zero]. In DW, placement really mattered for the top-three finishers. But survival in a draw was not much of a motivator for fourth or fifth place runners up. In fact, the only end-game scenarios were 'Solo' and DIAS (as there was no scoring distinction between finishing in the drawing coalition versus outside it). I am not arguing that one system is better than another. They just have different incentives, and different incentives beget different styles of play.
THE PLAYERS
DCI 274 is probably the best game of Dip I've had the honor to play in anywhere. The quality of the opposition was high, and that quality showed in the high level of communication which unfurled... immediately the game began. There was none of this sounding out personalities in order to see who were the communicative ones, who had interesting ideas, and who could be relied upon. It was obvious (and a wee bit intimidating) that everybody was going to be communicative, clever, and reliable (in a no-NMR way). If you pause to reflect on this for a moment, it will strike you how uncommon it is for every player to be attentive and insightful in a game. I remember it gave me a rush when I first realized it. There would be no weak link / obvious target. Conversely, I wasn't going to be able to advance myself by out-talking my neighbors.
In fairness, Jorge was the communications exemplar, striking up a conversation with me and maintaining it through all the roller-coaster turns of the game. It was unusual to have running conversations with all my immediate neighbors... plus Jorge. At points in the early- and mid-game, I was sure that our conversation was not being used to my advantage... but one expects that in Diplomacy.
The rest of this EoG is a rough chronological order of the game organized by the player who dominated the Turkish game experience. Each section focuses both on strategy and a personality (or two). Frank, Garry, Matt, Max -- I'm sorry, but I hardly knew ya. I don't have stories to share about you.
-- DREW
If I had it all to do over again, I would stab Drew again. Because he wrote such funny press after the stab. "Sometimes I think about having you executed just to see the expression on your face." (Season 2, "Black Adder". Yup. I would.
But why stab Drew in the first place? On one hand, Nigel and I had a good plan. We were going to re-enact a Juggernaut... just with more players on the board than in Standard Dip. If anything, we hoped that the existence of Balkans would make it harder to organize a resistance (all the more testimony to Dan, Mikael, and Drew for actually doing it). Nigel gained my early trust by keeping the plan simple; he effectively conveyed his buy-in.
On the other hand, Drew's emails read a bit scattered and occasionally incoherent. There were good ideas to be had, but I didn't like sifting for them. Meanwhile, he had to coordinate a tricky ABT alliance. Plus, although my preference was to head north in an ABT, Drew's plans always tended to have me heading south toward Italy. Yes, the ABT alliance had merits and could've worked, but too many teeth were being pulled in the process.
And then I did something uncharacteristically Zen-like brilliant for me: I let it be. Somehow, I knew the ABT wasn't going to work. It couldn't. All I did was help the joints to creak a little more by emphasizing a couple of difficulties with the alliance in my ABT press. And that's when a beautiful thing happened. It all just fell apart. Naturally, gracefully, of its own accord. The day of the first deadline, Dan wrote me a "I am beginning to wish we weren't in this ABT alliance" email. I replied with: "Funny you should mention it, because I have a perfectly smashing ART stab entirely diagrammed through W1901... It just happens to be laying on my desk".
Drew worked hard at making the ABT work in spite of the natural antipathy between Balkans and Turkey. But, as I said, I'd stab him again just to receive his comical emails. In fact, next time I play Drew, I'm going to stab him all over again.
-- MIKAEL
Mikael was unavoidable unendurable destiny for me much of the game. Alone of my neighbors, he didn't write much at the outset (this changed). In the midgame, to Dan's glee, Mikael and I seemed locked in an inextricable naval conflict, wherein I vs. T was the natural tension. And later, when we finally found grounds for cooperation, we wound up scuttling it over a miscommunication. Much has been written about Dan and his sharpened dagger in this game... but the sad confession is that his treachery would not have been possible but for Mikael's and my willingness to allow Dan to play us off against each other.
I still look back at Winter 1901 and think I was screwed no matter what I did (how often is Winter 1901 really all that crucial of a season?!? But that's part of why this was a great game...). If I built an army, then Nigel would've known I was coming after him... and with the already-manifest ABI scrum, I knew that nobody was going to come aid me in a battle with Nigel. So, I did the more 'neutral' thing and built a fleet in Smyrna... which Mikael immediately and correctly recognized as a warlike intent toward Italy. Even then, I had hopes that ABI would be unable to unite in order to stop Nigel and I in our tracks (after all, Mikael had just bludgeoned Dan, hadn't he?). But Mikael proved me wrong on the board, just as I had dared him to do. And he didn't just stop at ABI; he and Jorge combined to make it ABGIN.
If it hadn't been for Dan's mercurial nature, I would not have survived Mikael's onslaught.
In total, I found Mikael to be a frustrating opponent -- which is to say that he did his job vis-a-vis my Turkey. I would like to think that he and I could make good allies if our countries weren't so geographically at odds with each other.
-- DAN
Dan wins my vote for Personality of the Game Award, given to the player who most indelibly leaves his imprint on the game. Surely, no single player so influenced the flow of this game as did Dan. Jorge ran a good second, though. All in all, I admire Dan's tenacity and immensely enjoyed his role in the game. Thank you ever so much, Dan.
Jorge had warned me from Day 1 that Dan is cut-throat. A wee bit of an understatement. Dan was perfidious. He stabbed. And betrayed. And he tortured small, furry animals. I think I dubbed him the Stab-O-Matic. And that appellation worked well for my interests, for in truth, all of the talk about Dan's dagger-happy tendencies was only so much propaganda. Oh, let me be clear: Dan was a villain. But that's okay in Dip, so long as it works for you... which it did up to a point.
While there's been a lot of talk about Dan's stabs, I think we have chosen to be silent on the bigger story... the story that shines some redemption on Dan's actions. The storyline with Dan isn't that he stabbed a lot. The storyline is that, in spite of stabbing so often, Dan still persuaded some of the best players in DC to ally with him time and time again. And this reveals incredible diplomatic skill. It also shows an uncommon temperament that respects the fluidity of diplomatic relations and does not treat any stab or alliance (by or against him) as final. Most people hold a grudge after a stab, but Dan repeatedly was right back on the phone dreaming up another cunning plan. As I noted above: after a certain time, the fault is no longer Dan's for stabbing us; it is ours for giving him so many opportunities to stab.
But, obviously, in the end, Dan's treachery backfired on him. But was this because of the number of his stabs? Or the *quality* of his stabs?. I think some of his stabs were not good stabs or were not pressed relentlessly until the victim lay gasping near-lifeless in his last SC. An example. Dan tried to eliminate Drew in Fall 1902 but made two crucial errors. First, he didn't forewarn his other, more important ally Mikael (and the stab attempt dealt collateral positional damage to Mikael, so it risked scuttling the alliance). Second, he attempted the stab via a tactically risky (nay, foolish) support from Budapest which not only was likely to be cut, but actually got dislodged.
And then he patched it all up again with Drew and Mikael! I was floored and flabbergasted. And awed.
But Dan's chief mistake (in my humblest of omniscient opinions) was his first real stab of Mikael in Spring 1904(?). That was an alliance that (from my throne in Turkey) seemed a force to be reckoned with. It was the alliance that had a good chance to lay the golden egg. Ultimately, as an aside, it was this stab that allowed me to survive in the corner and to build the third fleet with which to establish my Turkish Stonewall. It is with perfect 20-20 hindsight that I say Dan should have stayed in the AI alliance until my corner position had been shattered. Perfect hindsight... but I think it was my insight at the time, too.
In the end, Dan left too many of his victims still standing. And somewhere around 1906/1907, I think he was heard reciting more Shakespeare: "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this Duke of Austria; and all the clouds that lowered upon our house in the deep bosom of the ocean buried. Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths." Little did he realize how much the world scorns hump-backed villains.
-- NIGEL
I don't have a lot of stories to tell about Nigel. Fidelity is not often the stuff of great Dip stories. But, with all due obsequiousness to other players... Nigel is the guy from this game I would most likely ally with again. As I mentioned earlier, his straight-forward, uncomplicated style worked very well by me.
For the most part, thanks to the ABGIN, Nigel and I were allies both in a bind, unable to directly aid each other. By 1906, I had established the Turkish Stonewall: F EMed, F Aegean, F Constantinople. It was every Turkish turtle's dream, utterly unassailable except via Armenia. And I relied on Nigel to defend that to his death (which was impending). I could exaggerate and say I was using him as a human shield... it's certainly more colorful... but, there was really nothing more I could have done for him. My thought was that I could hold this position until the cavalry arrived from the West, which ought to come before Nigel's last stand, God rest his soul.
An ordinary player would made a last stand in Sevastapol and died like a loyal soldier. But Nigel surprised me and caused me sleepless nights. He dealt and double-dealt with his AI oppressors, thus extricating a rebirth from a mere one center. It was an extraordinary feat. But it came at the cost of letting enemies into Armenia. My nightmare of poison-fanged Austrian hump-backed villains was coming true. Surely, my end had arrived.
But then, in 1907, the cavalry arrived. Dan was given a beat-down. And the Austrian orcs in Armenia disbanded. And then began the Glory Years. The acme of Russo-Turkish relations.
In spite of some friction around 1909, Nigel and I functioned as one nation, each tending to the other's resurrection and focusing on our mutual goal: a DIAS ASAP. When Joe stabbed Jorge, we expanded to become an NRT trio. And all was well. Jorge has already told the story of how he and I chose to spurn Austrian alliance (and Russian elimination) in 1910, so I won't dwell on it. But I was pleased with the maneuver. Very pleased. It was reflective of something I later told Joe: I could stab Nigel, but then'd I'd have to start looking over my shoulder for angels with flaming swords; for I was sure such despicable treachery against my most loyal ally -- an ally with whom I had developed an unusual and special tight-knit bond -- would not go unpunished by Heaven.
And yet all good things do pass. Alas, Nigel's interest in the game eventually dissipated. He had formerly been an active participant in our NRT round tables, but he lapsed into just chiming in on Friday mornings about six or so hours before the deadline. Still, in the end, he owned a share of the draw.
-- JORGE
I have already written of Jorge's superb communication. There is no greater virtue in Diplomacy than frequent, well-written press, and Jorge seemed determined to out-press everybody. It worked on me, and I was content to see him do well for so much of the game.
As I mentioned, Jorge and I talked early about how to play Norway. My previous experience said that Norway was a great defensive position which rightly had to prioritize naval supremacy and try to reach Gibraltar. Toward that end, I thought England and Lowlands had to be his primary targets, followed by France and Spain. Germany had to be kept fleet-light. And Russia should make for a strategic ally (this last opinion also coincided with my Turkish alliance with Russia). Jorge took my advice and then made up his own mind. Still, by Spring 1905, he had far exceeded the objectives I had discussed. He had fleets in NAt and Iri plus a weaker German ally who could absorb Austrian aggression for awhile. Which is why it didn't see his betrayal of Max coming. I thought it a mistake at the time, but I really cannot second-guess him when his bigger problem was an EF alliance that he needed to split however he could.
So, to return to my semi-narrative here... Nigel and I rebounded from Dan's yoke -- all thanks to the success of the FN(+IRT) alliance against Dan. But there can be too much of a good thing. Joe and Jorge made great gains with help from both Nigel and me. But they were also both exerting carbon-to-diamond pressure directly on us. There was talk at the time of what form the draw would take. I was insisting upon a share of the draw (reckoning that, being in the far corner, they couldn't easily eliminate me without risking a solo by one or the other; plus, 35 centers cannot be evenly divided between two players). Joe and Jorge were sticking with a 2-way.
In particular, I remember a specific exchange with Jorge. In 1909, Nigel had convoyed an army to Ankara (whereas I had expected a fleet). And while it didn't make sense for him to stab me, I was quite skittish all the same. I wrote to Jorge and asked for an unenforceable promise: if Nigel screws me over, please take Sevastopol from him. Since I wasn't really expecting a stab from Nigel, and since the request couldn't be enforced anyway, I didn't put much stock in it. But Jorge's response was uncharacteristically cold and aloof: "The problem is that you are on record as being against that draw I'm seeking. At this point Nigs is my muscle on you to vote Yes." It chilled me. Maybe I should be afraid of Nigel! Not because Nigel would stab me, but because Jorge would force him into it! I cannot exactly say why this one brief email had such an effect on me, but it did. It clearly reminded me the bottom-line Diplomacy truth: in spite of a lovely
running correspondence, no neighbor is wholly my friend. We are competitors each seeking individual glory.
I'm going to park Jorge by the curb for a minute and write more about him later. But first...
-- JOE
Joe entered my life in 1908. He rode a white stallion and drove my Italian and Austrian nemeses before him like chaff before the wind. Orphan children strewed rose petals before his feet and gratefully sang his name with hosannas.
The agreement by Joe and Jorge to unite against Austria provided desperately needed short-term relief. I started to envision a 4-way FNRT draw (or any draw that included me!). But, conquerors are conquerors, and in spite of a Fall 1908 agreement for Joe to take Greece (with my support) and then hand it over to me, Joe found reasons to reconsider the agreement before the end of 1909. This was about the time when Jorge rebuffed my request for a safeguard against Nigel, and I wasn't so much loving either of my FN liberators.
However, in the meanwhile, Joe and I had started a running conversation about the game-end scenarios. It had begun in the lead-up to Spring 1908, as I was laying clear my Turkish goals, and I mentioned to Joe: "Provided you mind your border with Jorge properly, I think you are in the stronger position in FN. Much stronger." I don't think Joe had seriously entertained the thought of himself as having the upper hand until that point.
I don't know what impact the Spring 1908 adjudication had on Joe's thoughts, but it seemed significant to me at the time. On that adjudication -- before Joe and I had much of a chance to follow up on my comment -- Joe opened himself up terribly vulnerably to Jorge while Jorge simultaneously moved two armies adjacent to Munich. Belgium and Munich were indefensible if Jorge hearkened to the Dagger's Call. With his seizure of Warsaw from Dan, he'd have a 13-8 lead in SCs versus Joe. I was 105% certain that Jorge would strike. I said as much to Joe. The irony, of course, is that Jorge was a true ally. Yet, after this incident, I wonder if Joe wasn't more struck by his brief peril than by his ally's good graces.
It didn't hurt that Joe and I started to discuss that most compelling of things: the scoring system and cost-benefit analysis. If Jorge had gone for the stab, his best case scenario was a solo. The DCI Crown via a solo -- that would be something to tell his grandchildren about! If not, had Jorge's solo bid fallen short thanks to an unwieldy AFIRT alliance (in which IT would have been of no help), then Jorge still stood a very good chance of claiming the DCI Crown with 15 or 16 centers. If AFIRT managed to hurl him backward (which was certainly possible, though 5-way alliances are not so easy to hold together), the odds remained exceedingly good that Jorge would retain a part in a game-ending 3-way draw. And that's the reality of the scoring system: there is often not a huge risk associated with taking a big gamble, but there are great rewards. Obviously, Jorge analyzed the board and decided the solo bid was not a gamble he wished to attempt.
But later, Joe would face much the same gamble. The scoring system, the cost-benefit analysis, and his irritation with Jorge all helped him choose the road Jorge had not taken.
In Fall 1909, Joe seized Greece in spite of me. He stabbed Mikael for both Rome and Venice. And Nigel convoyed an army to Ankara when I was expecting his fleet. I thought, "This is it. Joe is finally going for the solo -- he'll fortify his line against Jorge and out-race him to 18 centers by gobbling up Balkan and Turkish dots." Joe blandly told me that I knew his reason for depriving me of Greece, but I brushed it off as a thin veil for his underlying motive, and I told him so in a letter that we both referenced several times later in the game:
"> You know the reason of course.
I do, but it's not the one you name. The real reason is: you are embracing the path eschewed by Jorge. Guts, glory, and a solo bid. You have deftly wielded the Dagger Known As Dan to thwart your foes and to quickly sweep up a couple of builds. The Russian convoy is a nice touch, too. Of course, Dan won't long remain reliable, but you don't expect him to. You may just have enough to push onward to victory. Excelsior!
Good luck to you on your bid. Personally, I was disappointed in Jorge for not taking the gamble. What you are doing is more in the Spirit of the Game."
Poetic, eh? Patriotic. Gets the blood coursing through the arteries. I'd come a long way rhetorically from the utterly frustrated letter I wrote to Mikael back in October:
"I see Naples
I see France
I see Mikael's
Underpants."
Yes, my emails had come a long way. Whereas Mikael never replied to my poem, Joe really heard my Siren's Song.
But I don't want to claim credit for Joe's courage. If I have dwelled upon his motives, it's because I tend to overanalyze things, not because I feel I authored his decision. I did, it seems, help screw his courage to the sticking place (which puts me into yet another Shakespeare play...). But the ambition was Joe's. He made up his own mind, and he wore his boldness rightly as his own. And eventually, by the time Birnam Wood marched on high Dunsinane, he faced his fate with all the ferocity of a real MacBeth. He ultimately failed, but I confess... I was proud of him. He honored the Spirit of the Game. [And, I'll note, he lost nothing score-wise for his venture... he still finished with a share of the draw].
-- JOE & JORGE
I am not going to comment on The Feud beyond the following three points. (1) I happily did not suffer friction from either Joe nor Jorge that would at all suggest that either was capable of the nastiness that erupted. (2) It was Joe who breached protocol by publicly flaming Jorge. This happens occasionally in Diplomacy (I blushingly remember the last time I did it some years ago as a powerless Italian...). Joe eventually apologized, which is all I could ask, but it was quite a flaming. (3) Genies do not return to their bottles; it was The Feud and its lingering resentments (and Joe's willingness to cede centers to my fleets) that made my Crown even remotely possible. We all know that, had calmer heads prevailed, I would never have had even a glimmer of hope.
But at the outset, there was no Feud. There was just a stab. And a solo bid. And a really nasty piece of work that Jorge and I perpetrated against Dan (by which I reckoned that all of my scores with the Stab-O-Matic had now been repaid).
And then followed the second Golden Era. Not only did Jorge now *need* Nigel and me, but we all needed each other if we were to prevent a French solo. That we would form a 3-way alliance was predictable. But the alliance that we did form was... extraordinary. I cannot say I have ever enjoyed a more tightly knit alliance. It was a thing of beauty and perhaps of grace. Not only were all moves an open book, but all moves benefited from three brains instead of one. This may sound cliche, but I think it was crucial. It was the union of our minds rather than our collection of units that stopped Joe. For several years, all three of us enthusiastically joined in the drawing and refining of battle plans. And particularly in 1914, we just plain out-thought the French, because we had three times the available time to consider all the alternatives.
I must here sheepishly admit that this alliance would have been impossible without the tone of Jorge's leadership. Yes, Jorge was in some sense ultimately looking out for his own welfare (after all, his goal was to recapture the elusive DCI Crown). But I do believe that we reached beyond mere self-interest and achieved a team concept, wherein ownership of centers was not jealously guarded, and one nation's positioning was routinely subverted to the position of the team. And again, it was usually Jorge who sacrificed.
It took me a very long time in this game to understand Jorge to the extent that I now do. But I do believe that he is of a different character than Joe... or myself. It's hard to quantify. I want to say that he's an Alliance Player... but he did do treacherous things to Frank, Nigel, and especially Max. Still, when I look at all the pieces: extensive communication, team-oriented alliance, choosing an FN draw over a solo bid, not wanting to push the NRT toward a solo... Jorge played the game differently. At least in my experience of him. He played for himself and his own success as we all do, but at the same time, he didn't. And therein is an irony. Because his style brought him success but arguably deprived him of the Crown, as he instead over-trusted two players who are of a different character.
The NRT survived three setbacks, as Jorge noted in his EGS. The first was intentional, the other two not. First, in Autumn 1912, I disbanded my fleet in Naples. And, yes, I did this intentionally to breathe life back into Joe. A distant corner of my mind was, believe it or not, already thinking of how to 'get back into the game', in spite of having only five centers. I kept quiet on that. But much more than my re-emergence, as incredulous as this will sound to Jorge, I really was worried about Jorge. At the time, Nigel and I were having discussions of "So, once we stop Joe, how are we going to stop Jorge? Or will it be out of the frying pan and into the fire?" The fact that I worried about Jorge showed that I did not understand either him nor Joe yet. On one hand, I seriously believed that Joe might disband northern units (opposing Jorge) instead of southern units (opposing me). I did not know the depth of their underlying
antipathy (which only surfaced publicly that very season). On the other hand, I didn't realize that Jorge really would stop once he had reached supply center parity with Joe. I thought it very realistic that Jorge might continue to steam along in the north and continue for a solo bid. Unless I gave Joe a cushion in the south. So, I disbanded my fleet in Naples, and I made my allies very cross. And I extended the game.
The other two setbacks were both accidents. Nigel's NMR was a brutal, awfully timed debacle, and it resurrected chances for Joe's two eastern units. The same season, I misordered a fleet (honestly, I thought it was in Aegean...), leaving Ionian unfortunately empty (a much smaller debacle). But again... such were the turns of fortune that both helped extend the game long enough for me to get back into it.
-- ADAM (or "How I Came to Steal a Victory"
This was the best game of Diplomacy I've ever had the honor to play in. All but the last two years. No, I'm not being self-disparaging. After 1914, the game had played out. Joe's solo bid was finis, barring a Norwegian NMR. He lost his relish for the game. Nigel detached. Jorge sought only to restore his advantage in SCs so that he could have the Crown. People were ready for the game to end. And I walked to victory partly on the eggshells of apathy. But first, Joe had one favor to repay...
I wrote to Joe after F1914 saying that I had totally screwed up my chances of winning. I had made the mistake of submitting the best moves. Tactically, they were the very best. But strategically... I should really have submitted orders that would extend the game and lead to me having to convoy units into Trieste and Venice. Now, I would be unable to catch up to Jorge.
It must have been a strange friendship for Joe. Here, I had urged, coaxed, wheedled, and cajoled him until he reached out to seize victory. Yet, all the time he was crusading, I clearly maintained that I was his foe. I was a friend who was really an enemy. An enemy who cheered him on as a friend. Oooh, such a frenemy was I...
Intermittently along the way, Joe had been offering me deals. Stab Nigel. Let's form a two-way against Jorge. But what balance could there really be when he outnumbered me by six centers? In 1915, Joe started offering me a solo (even though he still outnumbered me by four). I frankly didn't believe him, because again, I didn't understand the psychology at play (and I didn't have the armies to procure the Balkans). For Joe to help me to solo, he'd have to send armies into Tyrolia and Vienna. Then, he'd both outnumber me and control the center of the map. It seemed yet another effort to split the NRT and revive his solo bid. I thought Joe was still playing to win. But it appears he was just playing to avenge himself on Jorge.
Conversely, I worried that if I shattered the crystal luminance that was NRT, Jorge would give Joe the solo rather than allow my treachery to succeed. Jorge had been pretty disapproving when I disbanded F Naples -- it had almost scuttled our alliance. And often, traitors are more hated than enemies. An ill-aimed stab might, I wrongly thought, make Jorge like me even less than Joe. So, I turned Joe's offer down.
And it's here that Joe repaid my favor. He hounded me. Guts and Glory! Solo! It was his turn to play Lady MacBeth whilst I played a balking MacBeth. We generated a stack of email, all while Jorge and Nigel were turning the lights out in the storefront. He begged and pleaded. He delivered an ultimatum. He publicly announced his intent to vote for a draw. He did everything I had done to/for him in encouraging him to stab Jorge in the first place. It was a favor dutifully repaid.
Still, many things had to happen in that last year-plus to make a winner out of me. Probably the key thing was: Nigel and Jorge couldn't suspect me. Which they should have. Not because I behaved suspiciously, but simply because my SC count was catching up, and Diplomacy players should know to exercise caution. There were really only two things that could stop Jorge from winning: (1) Joe's obstinacy and (2) a Turkish grab for power. Well, Joe finally and sincerely announced his surrender in late 1915. So, the only threat left was me. And I am pretty sure that the circa 1912 versions of Jorge and Nigel would never have let me sneak into a victory. But by 1915... it was time to pack up the suitcases.
In Fall 1915, I openly took Serbia while Nigel chose not to take Bulgaria in exchange. That was the first last step. (It also showed how oblivious Nigel was about my emerging Caesar-like ambition). It gave me a second build and an army in the Balkans. In Winter 1915, Jorge suggested I build two armies. I didn't have to be told twice! (But had he and Nigel insisted upon a fleet... there probably would have been no stab). In Spring 1916, Joe was muttering into my ear: "Come on kid! You can do it! Give'em a jab with your left and a hook with your right! You're the champ, kid! You're the champ! I'm behind you all the way!" I essentially told Joe that I might stab, but he'd have to hand over the keys to the French army. He did. That was essential for my success. (And later, he didn't complain when my orders for him cost him two disbands and the loss of Holland). Then Nigel announced his intention to symbolically re-occupy St. Petersburg
and Sevastopol. I was probably going to stab anyway, but that was the last domino. [Again, if Nigel or Jorge had stopped to analyze the threat from Turkey, they might have insisted on the very un-alliance-like move of F Bla-Con/Bul... probably without informing which destination Nigel would choose... and since we all expected the draw to pass that season, it shouldn't matter. But that could've maybe been enough to stop me from stabbing, too].
PATIENCE
In the late-game and post-game, I have read some praise for Patience. Yes, it is a virtue that worked admirably to my advantage all throughout the game. It worked way back in Spring 1901 when I waited for Drew's ABT alliance to fall apart. In mid-game, it enabled me to construct the Turkish Stonewall. And in the end, it enabled me to revive from 3 stinkin' centers to claim an undeserved Crown. Yes, Patience is a very... how do I say this?... overrated virtue. It works very well for Turkey. It brought me a win in this game, so I'm certainly not going to snarl and spit at it. But I'd rather play Austria. I'd rather author my own success. For, as we all know, this game belonged to Dan, Jorge, and Joe. If anyone 'deserved' to win, it was one of them. I was but the beneficiary of their struggles.
PSYCHOLOGY / PHILOSOPHY / CLOSING THOUGHTS
"It's what Jeeves would call the psychology of the individual." - P.G. Wodehouse
Why did I coach Joe forward to stab Jorge? Why did I stab Jorge? Why *didn't* Jorge stab? I cannot wholly say.
I think my counsel to Joe went far beyond my own desire to survive (which surely was aided by his stab). I had a deeper motive of which I was not fully aware. Something psychological. Something which was certainly linked to the opposing psychology that led Jorge to pass on a solo bid. It's what I referred to in my email to Joe as The Spirit of the Game (which sounds horrendously pompous, but it's the name I used, so we're stuck with it).
Almost by definition, The Spirit of the Game is my a personal interpretation. Each player approaches the game with his own sense of The Spirit.
My sense of The Spirit is related to the famous Herm Edwards quote: "You play to win the game". There are many other motivators (like a great alliance or sportsmanship), but winning is the first goal. In a game like the DCI or a tournament, where a title is on the line, I prize winning even more highly.
Also, given the draw-based scoring system, where the rewards for valor often outweigh the risk, fortune favors the bold. [I reiterate here: in the end, Joe didn't lose much on his score by trying for the solo; he still figured in the draw].
When I saw Joe acquiescing to a 2-way FN draw sans the DCI Crown, I confess it didn't feel right. Jorge was playing a dangerous game to keep SC parity so tight but to reserve the Crown for his own. The Crown is lying there! Duncan sleeps in thy castle this night! Reach out and seize it! Thou shall'st be more than man! My maternal instinct (my Lady MacBeth maternal instinct) stirred:
"Wouldst thou have that
Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life,
And live a coward in thine own esteem,
Letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would'"?
Joe dared. And let me say: he got really close. Just because he fell short does not mean he shouldn't have tried.
But what of Jorge? He did not stab Joe in a similar position. Did he violate The Spirit of the Game? Ultimately, upon great reflection, I would say that he did not. He chose a different, more subtle path toward victory. It was a calculation that didn't pan out. Neither Joe nor I cooperated far enough to allow him his hard-earned victory. But like Joe, Jorge came really close to winning. His calculation fell short, but it was worth the try.
And yet... during the game and even now, I did feel that Jorge chose not to _seize_ victory. He tried to corral it and nurture it rather than act brashly. As you can tell: I thought brash action was called for. Nigel can confirm that, around 1912, facing the prospects of a Jorge Crown vs. a Joe Crown, my preference was: (a) whichever one gets us a draw; followed by (b) Joe, because he opted for Guts and Glory.
In the recently ended DC 285 (Ancient Med), I settled for a 2-way Egyptian-Persian draw with Mike Hoffman. I thought I had a slight inside track for the solo (so did he). But we settled on a draw, because the odds were close, and because we had a really good alliance we didn't want to shatter. The alliance was more valuable than the win.
If the DCI were just another club game, I wouldn't have stabbed at the end. I would barely have even considered it. I had a really good alliance that I didn't enjoy shattering. A superb alliance. The type where a stab isn't just a betrayal of my allies... it's almost a betrayal of sportsmanship. Plus, I felt like a scum bag for stabbing at a time when everybody else was just ready to be done with the game. If Joe hadn't been Lady MacBeth-ing me, I doubt I would've gone through with it.
Additionally, I kept coming back to: "You play to win the game." That was my goal at the beginning of the game. It should still be my goal fifteen game years into it. If other people are tiring of the game, that shouldn't change my goal. If my allies are expecting me to restore Jorge to the lead, that shouldn't change my goal.
I have never done that before. Exploited my opponents' waning enthusiasm for a victory. It was more a case of outlasting than of out-thinking. In the aftermath, it doesn't feel as radiant by half as allying and conniving my way to power. But it's a type of virtue... Patience.
Which is not the final word you'd expect from an EoG that has so many words about...
Your DCI Winner,
MacBeth[Reply] |
| DCI 274: Turkish EoG: MacBeth the Long Version (DC Invitational) FuzzyLogic May 27, 05:33 pm |
This is the most delightful EOG statement I've ever had the pleasure of
reading, in all my years of dip! Thank you...
-mike
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Thursday, May 27, 2010 2:55 PM
Subject: DCI 274: Turkish EoG: MacBeth the Long Version
So, this is not the EoG I thought I'd be writing just a couple of game
years ago...
My EoGs tend to be long and full of analysis. Encyclopedic,
really, because I don't have an editor telling me, "Cut that. Nobody
wants to read it. Exercise a judicious abridgment" I'm sure this EoG
runs way too long, especially when I get into Joe and Jorge and me and
the spirit of the game.
So, pace yourself. Get up occasionally, stretch out, walk around.
Much like DCI 274 itself, my EoG is a bout of endurance, not a race of
speed.
THE GM
I have already stated that Mike was a model of timeliness and
consistency. It is worth applauding twice. I would gladly play in a
Sims-moderated game again.
Having said that... I don't expect Sims to GM next year's DCI. I
expect him to play in it as a formidable threat to win. As fun as it
must be to GM a game like this, I'm sure Mike would rather have been
playing in it. (Actually, I was hoping to volunteer myself to GM next
year before the opportunity opened up for me to win).
THE VARIANT
Last year's DCI was a two-round affair, so clearly the DCI can (and
maybe should) be run in a variety of formats. I find myself pondering
back upon Dan's proposal to play "It came from outer space". My gut
reaction says it's a curious, probably interesting variant, but is it
too un-dip-like for the DCI? After all, shouldn't the DCI reward
straight-up Dip? (Should it?) And then I realize I'm making arbitrary
distinctions as to what is appropriate or inappropriate for the DCI
format. I am okay with and even endorse map variants (like Crowded or
last year's Stonehenge), but I am wary of rules variants (like Payola,
Machiavelli, or "It came...".
So, I'm being arbitrary, and clearly that's the job of the DC
Moderators in arranging the DCI But I'm still curious what other
people think.
Having said all of that, I found Crowded to be a tantalizing
choice. As Mike noted early on, it sets the players straight to
negotiating, as one can make no progress except at the expense of
others. Except for a few countries (E, S, & T), everybody gets the joy
of feeling like they're playing an interior country. There was
immediate and dramatic conflict. Myself, I committed my first stab in
Spring 1901. I liked this dynamic
The other big plus of Crowded is that it's on a familiar map. So,
while it's a variant, it's at least a very familiar one.
The drawback of Crowded, of course, is that it's less balanced than
Standard dip. Some powers are more equal than others. True, we all had
the opportunity to set our country preferences, but it's hard to assess
a position before you've actually tried to play it.
It so happens that I actually did play Crowded before (DipWorld
Game 322 back in 2004). It was the 1898 variant, and I was Norway (and,
yes, I did trade ideas with Jorge early on about how to play Norway...
but Jorge was always an exceptional communicator, even amid this pool of
excellent communicators). The first few years pf DW 322 unfolded in
startlingly similar fashion to DCI 274. The Balkans were rapidly
vivisected. Lowlands opened directly into Kiel only to see Norway
spearhead a retaliatory charge, leading to a big-brother relationship
between Norway and Germany. Austria-Italy allied. France-Spain fell to
tatters. Eventually, though, that game took its own path. In that
game, AI remained allied and nearly swept the map. Norway didn't stab
Germany. Austria almost soloed.
At this point in my EoG, I *was* intending to make some assertions
about balance of power in Crowded. In particular, I was going to point
out how impossible the Balkans position is, especially as Turkey has
almost nowhere else to go except through the Balkans (and don't even get
me started on how each of them has two SCs adjacent to both Aegean and
Black Sea). Or how much better Italy looks with a divided Iberia and a
jammed eastern front. Or how England has its hands full with all those
sea powers. However, it turns out I am largely wrong in my conclusions
about the map. I have just surveyed other Crowded games at floc.net
with standard press settings. It turns out that, in fact, Balkans can
succeed (by attacking Turkey). Italy still struggles. And England does
pretty well on the whole.
I made a tally of good end-results by country (judged by my own
cursory glance at the end-map). Across 28 games (26 from floc.net plus
DW 322 plus DCI 274), this is what I came up with:
Germany - 9 (2 solos)
England, Turkey - 8 (1 Turk solo)
Norway - 7
Balkans, France, Russia - 5 (2 Russian solos)
Austria, Spain - 3
Italy, and Lowlands - 2
My favorite outcome was an ELN triple that swept the board. For the
record, my own pre-game preferences for DCI 274 were any of G, L, N, R,
and T. I'm glad I didn't get Lowlands
One trend grabs my attention: the southern and western powers (I,
F, L, and S) seem to fare far worse than the northern and eastern ones.
I'd be curious to know how other players felt about playing
Crowded.
But back to Dan's proposal to play "It came from outer space"... What
variants would *I* suggest for the DCI? I think I would try to pick
really balanced variants (but not Pure or Chromatic... blech!). 1900
has a very good reputation. Abstraction II is supposed to be good, too
(with different convoy rules, though). Anarchy should work very well
(since players pick their own home SCs). Renaissance might be
interesting, too. I guess I'd lean toward Anarchy (especially as the
number of players is flexible). On a different tack, I like the
scramble feel of Chaos, CivDip, 1898... so, I'd also suggest maybe a
game of 1897? (Though a one-center start for everybody might create too
much randomness in early survival?)
THE OTHER VARIANT
To my mind, the *real* variant being played in the DCI was the scoring
system: most centers = DCI Crown. This is not the usual DC system.
Usually, in DC, if you don't solo then you draw, and it matters little
whether you have 15 centers or 5 centers. But not so in the DCI. It
entirely changed the game and, I think, lent it a blood-thirsty cast. I
would not have stabbed Jorge had not the individual title been on the
line. Not even remotely. Joe might not have stabbed Jorge either, for
that matter.
As you may have guessed already, before I played at DC, I played at
the now-defunct DW. And DipWorld had a different scoring system than DC
uses. It was:
Player Score = # of Centers + Points for place
where 1st = 48; 2nd = 24; 3rd = 12; etc. [Note: Solo = 96, and everybody
else gets zero]. In DW, placement really mattered for the top-three
finishers. But survival in a draw was not much of a motivator for
fourth or fifth place runners up. In fact, the only end-game scenarios
were 'Solo' and DIAS (as there was no scoring distinction between
finishing in the drawing coalition versus outside it). I am not arguing
that one system is better than another. They just have different
incentives, and different incentives beget different styles of play.
THE PLAYERS
DCI 274 is probably the best game of Dip I've had the honor to play in
anywhere. The quality of the opposition was high, and that quality
showed in the high level of communication which unfurled... immediately
the game began. There was none of this sounding out personalities in
order to see who were the communicative ones, who had interesting ideas,
and who could be relied upon. It was obvious (and a wee bit
intimidating) that everybody was going to be communicative, clever, and
reliable (in a no-NMR way). If you pause to reflect on this for a
moment, it will strike you how uncommon it is for every player to be
attentive and insightful in a game. I remember it gave me a rush when I
first realized it. There would be no weak link / obvious target.
Conversely, I wasn't going to be able to advance myself by out-talking
my neighbors.
In fairness, Jorge was the communications exemplar, striking up a
conversation with me and maintaining it through all the roller-coaster
turns of the game. It was unusual to have running conversations with
all my immediate neighbors... plus Jorge. At points in the early- and
mid-game, I was sure that our conversation was not being used to my
advantage... but one expects that in Diplomacy.
The rest of this EoG is a rough chronological order of the game
organized by the player who dominated the Turkish game experience. Each
section focuses both on strategy and a personality (or two). Frank,
Garry, Matt, Max -- I'm sorry, but I hardly knew ya. I don't have
stories to share about you.
-- DREW
If I had it all to do over again, I would stab Drew again. Because he
wrote such funny press after the stab. "Sometimes I think about having
you executed just to see the expression on your face." (Season 2,
"Black Adder". Yup. I would.
But why stab Drew in the first place? On one hand, Nigel and I had
a good plan. We were going to re-enact a Juggernaut... just with more
players on the board than in Standard Dip. If anything, we hoped that
the existence of Balkans would make it harder to organize a resistance
(all the more testimony to Dan, Mikael, and Drew for actually doing it).
Nigel gained my early trust by keeping the plan simple; he effectively
conveyed his buy-in.
On the other hand, Drew's emails read a bit scattered and
occasionally incoherent. There were good ideas to be had, but I didn't
like sifting for them. Meanwhile, he had to coordinate a tricky ABT
alliance. Plus, although my preference was to head north in an ABT,
Drew's plans always tended to have me heading south toward Italy. Yes,
the ABT alliance had merits and could've worked, but too many teeth were
being pulled in the process.
And then I did something uncharacteristically Zen-like brilliant
for me: I let it be. Somehow, I knew the ABT wasn't going to work. It
couldn't. All I did was help the joints to creak a little more by
emphasizing a couple of difficulties with the alliance in my ABT press.
And that's when a beautiful thing happened. It all just fell apart.
Naturally, gracefully, of its own accord. The day of the first
deadline, Dan wrote me a "I am beginning to wish we weren't in this ABT
alliance" email. I replied with: "Funny you should mention it, because
I have a perfectly smashing ART stab entirely diagrammed through
W1901... It just happens to be laying on my desk".
Drew worked hard at making the ABT work in spite of the natural
antipathy between Balkans and Turkey. But, as I said, I'd stab him
again just to receive his comical emails. In fact, next time I play
Drew, I'm going to stab him all over again.
-- MIKAEL
Mikael was unavoidable unendurable destiny for me much of the game.
Alone of my neighbors, he didn't write much at the outset (this
changed). In the midgame, to Dan's glee, Mikael and I seemed locked in
an inextricable naval conflict, wherein I vs. T was the natural tension.
And later, when we finally found grounds for cooperation, we wound up
scuttling it over a miscommunication. Much has been written about Dan
and his sharpened dagger in this game... but the sad confession is that
his treachery would not have been possible but for Mikael's and my
willingness to allow Dan to play us off against each other.
I still look back at Winter 1901 and think I was screwed no matter
what I did (how often is Winter 1901 really all that crucial of a
season?!? But that's part of why this was a great game...). If I built
an army, then Nigel would've known I was coming after him... and with
the already-manifest ABI scrum, I knew that nobody was going to come aid
me in a battle with Nigel. So, I did the more 'neutral' thing and built
a fleet in Smyrna... which Mikael immediately and correctly recognized
as a warlike intent toward Italy. Even then, I had hopes that ABI would
be unable to unite in order to stop Nigel and I in our tracks (after
all, Mikael had just bludgeoned Dan, hadn't he?). But Mikael proved me
wrong on the board, just as I had dared him to do. And he didn't just
stop at ABI; he and Jorge combined to make it ABGIN.
If it hadn't been for Dan's mercurial nature, I would not have
survived Mikael's onslaught.
In total, I found Mikael to be a frustrating opponent -- which is
to say that he did his job vis-a-vis my Turkey. I would like to think
that he and I could make good allies if our countries weren't so
geographically at odds with each other.
-- DAN
Dan wins my vote for Personality of the Game Award, given to the player
who most indelibly leaves his imprint on the game. Surely, no single
player so influenced the flow of this game as did Dan. Jorge ran a good
second, though. All in all, I admire Dan's tenacity and immensely
enjoyed his role in the game. Thank you ever so much, Dan.
Jorge had warned me from Day 1 that Dan is cut-throat. A wee bit
of an understatement. Dan was perfidious. He stabbed. And betrayed.
And he tortured small, furry animals. I think I dubbed him the
Stab-O-Matic. And that appellation worked well for my interests, for in
truth, all of the talk about Dan's dagger-happy tendencies was only so
much propaganda. Oh, let me be clear: Dan was a villain. But that's
okay in Dip, so long as it works for you... which it did up to a point.
While there's been a lot of talk about Dan's stabs, I think we have
chosen to be silent on the bigger story... the story that shines some
redemption on Dan's actions. The storyline with Dan isn't that he
stabbed a lot. The storyline is that, in spite of stabbing so often,
Dan still persuaded some of the best players in DC to ally with him time
and time again. And this reveals incredible diplomatic skill. It also
shows an uncommon temperament that respects the fluidity of diplomatic
relations and does not treat any stab or alliance (by or against him) as
final. Most people hold a grudge after a stab, but Dan repeatedly was
right back on the phone dreaming up another cunning plan. As I noted
above: after a certain time, the fault is no longer Dan's for stabbing
us; it is ours for giving him so many opportunities to stab.
But, obviously, in the end, Dan's treachery backfired on him. But
was this because of the number of his stabs? Or the *quality* of his
stabs?. I think some of his stabs were not good stabs or were not
pressed relentlessly until the victim lay gasping near-lifeless in his
last SC. An example. Dan tried to eliminate Drew in Fall 1902 but made
two crucial errors. First, he didn't forewarn his other, more important
ally Mikael (and the stab attempt dealt collateral positional damage to
Mikael, so it risked scuttling the alliance). Second, he attempted the
stab via a tactically risky (nay, foolish) support from Budapest which
not only was likely to be cut, but actually got dislodged.
And then he patched it all up again with Drew and Mikael! I was
floored and flabbergasted. And awed.
But Dan's chief mistake (in my humblest of omniscient opinions) was
his first real stab of Mikael in Spring 1904(?). That was an alliance
that (from my throne in Turkey) seemed a force to be reckoned with. It
was the alliance that had a good chance to lay the golden egg.
Ultimately, as an aside, it was this stab that allowed me to survive in
the corner and to build the third fleet with which to establish my
Turkish Stonewall. It is with perfect 20-20 hindsight that I say Dan
should have stayed in the AI alliance until my corner position had been
shattered. Perfect hindsight... but I think it was my insight at the
time, too.
In the end, Dan left too many of his victims still standing. And
somewhere around 1906/1907, I think he was heard reciting more
Shakespeare: "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer
by this Duke of Austria; and all the clouds that lowered upon our house
in the deep bosom of the ocean buried. Now are our brows bound with
victorious wreaths." Little did he realize how much the world scorns
hump-backed villains.
-- NIGEL
I don't have a lot of stories to tell about Nigel. Fidelity is not
often the stuff of great Dip stories. But, with all due obsequiousness
to other players... Nigel is the guy from this game I would most likely
ally with again. As I mentioned earlier, his straight-forward,
uncomplicated style worked very well by me.
For the most part, thanks to the ABGIN, Nigel and I were allies
both in a bind, unable to directly aid each other. By 1906, I had
established the Turkish Stonewall: F EMed, F Aegean, F Constantinople.
It was every Turkish turtle's dream, utterly unassailable except via
Armenia. And I relied on Nigel to defend that to his death (which was
impending). I could exaggerate and say I was using him as a human
shield... it's certainly more colorful... but, there was really nothing
more I could have done for him. My thought was that I could hold this
position until the cavalry arrived from the West, which ought to come
before Nigel's last stand, God rest his soul.
An ordinary player would made a last stand in Sevastapol and died
like a loyal soldier. But Nigel surprised me and caused me sleepless
nights. He dealt and double-dealt with his AI oppressors, thus
extricating a rebirth from a mere one center. It was an extraordinary
feat. But it came at the cost of letting enemies into Armenia. My
nightmare of poison-fanged Austrian hump-backed villains was coming
true. Surely, my end had arrived.
But then, in 1907, the cavalry arrived. Dan was given a beat-down.
And the Austrian orcs in Armenia disbanded. And then began the Glory
Years. The acme of Russo-Turkish relations.
In spite of some friction around 1909, Nigel and I functioned as
one nation, each tending to the other's resurrection and focusing on our
mutual goal: a DIAS ASAP. When Joe stabbed Jorge, we expanded to become
an NRT trio. And all was well. Jorge has already told the story of how
he and I chose to spurn Austrian alliance (and Russian elimination) in
1910, so I won't dwell on it. But I was pleased with the maneuver.
Very pleased. It was reflective of something I later told Joe: I could
stab Nigel, but then'd I'd have to start looking over my shoulder for
angels with flaming swords; for I was sure such despicable treachery
against my most loyal ally -- an ally with whom I had developed an
unusual and special tight-knit bond -- would not go unpunished by
Heaven.
And yet all good things do pass. Alas, Nigel's interest in the
game eventually dissipated. He had formerly been an active participant
in our NRT round tables, but he lapsed into just chiming in on Friday
mornings about six or so hours before the deadline. Still, in the end,
he owned a share of the draw.
-- JORGE
I have already written of Jorge's superb communication. There is no
greater virtue in Diplomacy than frequent, well-written press, and Jorge
seemed determined to out-press everybody. It worked on me, and I was
content to see him do well for so much of the game.
As I mentioned, Jorge and I talked early about how to play Norway.
My previous experience said that Norway was a great defensive position
which rightly had to prioritize naval supremacy and try to reach
Gibraltar. Toward that end, I thought England and Lowlands had to be
his primary targets, followed by France and Spain. Germany had to be
kept fleet-light. And Russia should make for a strategic ally (this
last opinion also coincided with my Turkish alliance with Russia).
Jorge took my advice and then made up his own mind. Still, by Spring
1905, he had far exceeded the objectives I had discussed. He had fleets
in NAt and Iri plus a weaker German ally who could absorb Austrian
aggression for awhile. Which is why it didn't see his betrayal of Max
coming. I thought it a mistake at the time, but I really cannot
second-guess him when his bigger problem was an EF alliance that he
needed to split however he could.
So, to return to my semi-narrative here... Nigel and I rebounded
from Dan's yoke -- all thanks to the success of the FN(+IRT) alliance
against Dan. But there can be too much of a good thing. Joe and Jorge
made great gains with help from both Nigel and me. But they were also
both exerting carbon-to-diamond pressure directly on us. There was talk
at the time of what form the draw would take. I was insisting upon a
share of the draw (reckoning that, being in the far corner, they
couldn't easily eliminate me without risking a solo by one or the other;
plus, 35 centers cannot be evenly divided between two players). Joe and
Jorge were sticking with a 2-way.
In particular, I remember a specific exchange with Jorge. In 1909,
Nigel had convoyed an army to Ankara (whereas I had expected a fleet).
And while it didn't make sense for him to stab me, I was quite skittish
all the same. I wrote to Jorge and asked for an unenforceable promise:
if Nigel screws me over, please take Sevastopol from him. Since I
wasn't really expecting a stab from Nigel, and since the request
couldn't be enforced anyway, I didn't put much stock in it. But Jorge's
response was uncharacteristically cold and aloof: "The problem is that
you are on record as being against that draw I'm seeking. At this point
Nigs is my muscle on you to vote Yes." It chilled me. Maybe I should
be afraid of Nigel! Not because Nigel would stab me, but because Jorge
would force him into it! I cannot exactly say why this one brief email
had such an effect on me, but it did. It clearly reminded me the
bottom-line Diplomacy truth: in spite of a lovely
running correspondence, no neighbor is wholly my friend. We are
competitors each seeking individual glory.
I'm going to park Jorge by the curb for a minute and write more
about him later. But first...
-- JOE
Joe entered my life in 1908. He rode a white stallion and drove my
Italian and Austrian nemeses before him like chaff before the wind.
Orphan children strewed rose petals before his feet and gratefully sang
his name with hosannas.
The agreement by Joe and Jorge to unite against Austria provided
desperately needed short-term relief. I started to envision a 4-way
FNRT draw (or any draw that included me!). But, conquerors are
conquerors, and in spite of a Fall 1908 agreement for Joe to take Greece
(with my support) and then hand it over to me, Joe found reasons to
reconsider the agreement before the end of 1909. This was about the
time when Jorge rebuffed my request for a safeguard against Nigel, and I
wasn't so much loving either of my FN liberators.
However, in the meanwhile, Joe and I had started a running
conversation about the game-end scenarios. It had begun in the lead-up
to Spring 1908, as I was laying clear my Turkish goals, and I mentioned
to Joe: "Provided you mind your border with Jorge properly, I think you
are in the stronger position in FN. Much stronger." I don't think Joe
had seriously entertained the thought of himself as having the upper
hand until that point.
I don't know what impact the Spring 1908 adjudication had on Joe's
thoughts, but it seemed significant to me at the time. On that
adjudication -- before Joe and I had much of a chance to follow up on my
comment -- Joe opened himself up terribly vulnerably to Jorge while
Jorge simultaneously moved two armies adjacent to Munich. Belgium and
Munich were indefensible if Jorge hearkened to the Dagger's Call. With
his seizure of Warsaw from Dan, he'd have a 13-8 lead in SCs versus Joe.
I was 105% certain that Jorge would strike. I said as much to Joe. The
irony, of course, is that Jorge was a true ally. Yet, after this
incident, I wonder if Joe wasn't more struck by his brief peril than by
his ally's good graces.
It didn't hurt that Joe and I started to discuss that most
compelling of things: the scoring system and cost-benefit analysis. If
Jorge had gone for the stab, his best case scenario was a solo. The DCI
Crown via a solo -- that would be something to tell his grandchildren
about! If not, had Jorge's solo bid fallen short thanks to an unwieldy
AFIRT alliance (in which IT would have been of no help), then Jorge
still stood a very good chance of claiming the DCI Crown with 15 or 16
centers. If AFIRT managed to hurl him backward (which was certainly
possible, though 5-way alliances are not so easy to hold together), the
odds remained exceedingly good that Jorge would retain a part in a
game-ending 3-way draw. And that's the reality of the scoring system:
there is often not a huge risk associated with taking a big gamble, but
there are great rewards. Obviously, Jorge analyzed the board and
decided the solo bid was not a gamble he wished to attempt.
But later, Joe would face much the same gamble. The scoring system,
the cost-benefit analysis, and his irritation with Jorge all helped him
choose the road Jorge had not taken.
In Fall 1909, Joe seized Greece in spite of me. He stabbed Mikael
for both Rome and Venice. And Nigel convoyed an army to Ankara when I
was expecting his fleet. I thought, "This is it. Joe is finally going
for the solo -- he'll fortify his line against Jorge and out-race him to
18 centers by gobbling up Balkan and Turkish dots." Joe blandly told me
that I knew his reason for depriving me of Greece, but I brushed it off
as a thin veil for his underlying motive, and I told him so in a letter
that we both referenced several times later in the game:
"> You know the reason of course.
I do, but it's not the one you name. The real reason is: you are
embracing the path eschewed by Jorge. Guts, glory, and a solo bid. You
have deftly wielded the Dagger Known As Dan to thwart your foes and to
quickly sweep up a couple of builds. The Russian convoy is a nice
touch, too. Of course, Dan won't long remain reliable, but you don't
expect him to. You may just have enough to push onward to victory.
Excelsior!
Good luck to you on your bid. Personally, I was disappointed in
Jorge for not taking the gamble. What you are doing is more in the
Spirit of the Game."
Poetic, eh? Patriotic. Gets the blood coursing through the arteries.
I'd come a long way rhetorically from the utterly frustrated letter I
wrote to Mikael back in October:
"I see Naples
I see France
I see Mikael's
Underpants."
Yes, my emails had come a long way. Whereas Mikael never replied to my
poem, Joe really heard my Siren's Song.
But I don't want to claim credit for Joe's courage. If I have
dwelled upon his motives, it's because I tend to overanalyze things, not
because I feel I authored his decision. I did, it seems, help screw his
courage to the sticking place (which puts me into yet another
Shakespeare play...). But the ambition was Joe's. He made up his own
mind, and he wore his boldness rightly as his own. And eventually, by
the time Birnam Wood marched on high Dunsinane, he faced his fate with
all the ferocity of a real MacBeth. He ultimately failed, but I
confess... I was proud of him. He honored the Spirit of the Game.
[And, I'll note, he lost nothing score-wise for his venture... he still
finished with a share of the draw].
-- JOE & JORGE
I am not going to comment on The Feud beyond the following three points.
(1) I happily did not suffer friction from either Joe nor Jorge that
would at all suggest that either was capable of the nastiness that
erupted. (2) It was Joe who breached protocol by publicly flaming
Jorge. This happens occasionally in Diplomacy (I blushingly remember
the last time I did it some years ago as a powerless Italian...). Joe
eventually apologized, which is all I could ask, but it was quite a
flaming. (3) Genies do not return to their bottles; it was The Feud and
its lingering resentments (and Joe's willingness to cede centers to my
fleets) that made my Crown even remotely possible. We all know that,
had calmer heads prevailed, I would never have had even a glimmer of
hope.
But at the outset, there was no Feud. There was just a stab. And
a solo bid. And a really nasty piece of work that Jorge and I
perpetrated against Dan (by which I reckoned that all of my scores with
the Stab-O-Matic had now been repaid).
And then followed the second Golden Era. Not only did Jorge now
*need* Nigel and me, but we all needed each other if we were to prevent
a French solo. That we would form a 3-way alliance was predictable.
But the alliance that we did form was... extraordinary. I cannot say I
have ever enjoyed a more tightly knit alliance. It was a thing of
beauty and perhaps of grace. Not only were all moves an open book, but
all moves benefited from three brains instead of one. This may sound
cliche, but I think it was crucial. It was the union of our minds
rather than our collection of units that stopped Joe. For several
years, all three of us enthusiastically joined in the drawing and
refining of battle plans. And particularly in 1914, we just plain
out-thought the French, because we had three times the available time to
consider all the alternatives.
I must here sheepishly admit that this alliance would have been
impossible without the tone of Jorge's leadership. Yes, Jorge was in
some sense ultimately looking out for his own welfare (after all, his
goal was to recapture the elusive DCI Crown). But I do believe that we
reached beyond mere self-interest and achieved a team concept, wherein
ownership of centers was not jealously guarded, and one nation's
positioning was routinely subverted to the position of the team. And
again, it was usually Jorge who sacrificed.
It took me a very long time in this game to understand Jorge to the
extent that I now do. But I do believe that he is of a different
character than Joe... or myself. It's hard to quantify. I want to say
that he's an Alliance Player... but he did do treacherous things to
Frank, Nigel, and especially Max. Still, when I look at all the pieces:
extensive communication, team-oriented alliance, choosing an FN draw
over a solo bid, not wanting to push the NRT toward a solo... Jorge
played the game differently. At least in my experience of him. He
played for himself and his own success as we all do, but at the same
time, he didn't. And therein is an irony. Because his style brought
him success but arguably deprived him of the Crown, as he instead
over-trusted two players who are of a different character.
The NRT survived three setbacks, as Jorge noted in his EGS. The
first was intentional, the other two not. First, in Autumn 1912, I
disbanded my fleet in Naples. And, yes, I did this intentionally to
breathe life back into Joe. A distant corner of my mind was, believe it
or not, already thinking of how to 'get back into the game', in spite of
having only five centers. I kept quiet on that. But much more than my
re-emergence, as incredulous as this will sound to Jorge, I really was
worried about Jorge. At the time, Nigel and I were having discussions
of "So, once we stop Joe, how are we going to stop Jorge? Or will it be
out of the frying pan and into the fire?" The fact that I worried about
Jorge showed that I did not understand either him nor Joe yet. On one
hand, I seriously believed that Joe might disband northern units
(opposing Jorge) instead of southern units (opposing me). I did not
know the depth of their underlying
antipathy (which only surfaced publicly that very season). On the
other hand, I didn't realize that Jorge really would stop once he had
reached supply center parity with Joe. I thought it very realistic that
Jorge might continue to steam along in the north and continue for a solo
bid. Unless I gave Joe a cushion in the south. So, I disbanded my
fleet in Naples, and I made my allies very cross. And I extended the
game.
The other two setbacks were both accidents. Nigel's NMR was a
brutal, awfully timed debacle, and it resurrected chances for Joe's two
eastern units. The same season, I misordered a fleet (honestly, I
thought it was in Aegean...), leaving Ionian unfortunately empty (a much
smaller debacle). But again... such were the turns of fortune that both
helped extend the game long enough for me to get back into it.
-- ADAM (or "How I Came to Steal a Victory"
This was the best game of Diplomacy I've ever had the honor to play in.
All but the last two years. No, I'm not being self-disparaging. After
1914, the game had played out. Joe's solo bid was finis, barring a
Norwegian NMR. He lost his relish for the game. Nigel detached. Jorge
sought only to restore his advantage in SCs so that he could have the
Crown. People were ready for the game to end. And I walked to victory
partly on the eggshells of apathy. But first, Joe had one favor to
repay...
I wrote to Joe after F1914 saying that I had totally screwed up my
chances of winning. I had made the mistake of submitting the best
moves. Tactically, they were the very best. But strategically... I
should really have submitted orders that would extend the game and lead
to me having to convoy units into Trieste and Venice. Now, I would be
unable to catch up to Jorge.
It must have been a strange friendship for Joe. Here, I had urged,
coaxed, wheedled, and cajoled him until he reached out to seize victory.
Yet, all the time he was crusading, I clearly maintained that I was his
foe. I was a friend who was really an enemy. An enemy who cheered him
on as a friend. Oooh, such a frenemy was I...
Intermittently along the way, Joe had been offering me deals. Stab
Nigel. Let's form a two-way against Jorge. But what balance could
there really be when he outnumbered me by six centers? In 1915, Joe
started offering me a solo (even though he still outnumbered me by
four). I frankly didn't believe him, because again, I didn't understand
the psychology at play (and I didn't have the armies to procure the
Balkans). For Joe to help me to solo, he'd have to send armies into
Tyrolia and Vienna. Then, he'd both outnumber me and control the center
of the map. It seemed yet another effort to split the NRT and revive
his solo bid. I thought Joe was still playing to win. But it appears
he was just playing to avenge himself on Jorge.
Conversely, I worried that if I shattered the crystal luminance
that was NRT, Jorge would give Joe the solo rather than allow my
treachery to succeed. Jorge had been pretty disapproving when I
disbanded F Naples -- it had almost scuttled our alliance. And often,
traitors are more hated than enemies. An ill-aimed stab might, I
wrongly thought, make Jorge like me even less than Joe. So, I turned
Joe's offer down.
And it's here that Joe repaid my favor. He hounded me. Guts and
Glory! Solo! It was his turn to play Lady MacBeth whilst I played a
balking MacBeth. We generated a stack of email, all while Jorge and
Nigel were turning the lights out in the storefront. He begged and
pleaded. He delivered an ultimatum. He publicly announced his intent
to vote for a draw. He did everything I had done to/for him in
encouraging him to stab Jorge in the first place. It was a favor
dutifully repaid.
Still, many things had to happen in that last year-plus to make a
winner out of me. Probably the key thing was: Nigel and Jorge couldn't
suspect me. Which they should have. Not because I behaved
suspiciously, but simply because my SC count was catching up, and
Diplomacy players should know to exercise caution. There were really
only two things that could stop Jorge from winning: (1) Joe's obstinacy
and (2) a Turkish grab for power. Well, Joe finally and sincerely
announced his surrender in late 1915. So, the only threat left was me.
And I am pretty sure that the circa 1912 versions of Jorge and Nigel
would never have let me sneak into a victory. But by 1915... it was
time to pack up the suitcases.
In Fall 1915, I openly took Serbia while Nigel chose not to take
Bulgaria in exchange. That was the first last step. (It also showed
how oblivious Nigel was about my emerging Caesar-like ambition). It
gave me a second build and an army in the Balkans. In Winter 1915,
Jorge suggested I build two armies. I didn't have to be told twice!
(But had he and Nigel insisted upon a fleet... there probably would have
been no stab). In Spring 1916, Joe was muttering into my ear: "Come on
kid! You can do it! Give'em a jab with your left and a hook with your
right! You're the champ, kid! You're the champ! I'm behind you all
the way!" I essentially told Joe that I might stab, but he'd have to
hand over the keys to the French army. He did. That was essential for
my success. (And later, he didn't complain when my orders for him cost
him two disbands and the loss of Holland). Then Nigel announced his
intention to symbolically re-occupy St. Petersburg
and Sevastopol. I was probably going to stab anyway, but that was the
last domino. [Again, if Nigel or Jorge had stopped to analyze the
threat from Turkey, they might have insisted on the very
un-alliance-like move of F Bla-Con/Bul... probably without informing
which destination Nigel would choose... and since we all expected the
draw to pass that season, it shouldn't matter. But that could've maybe
been enough to stop me from stabbing, too].
PATIENCE
In the late-game and post-game, I have read some praise for Patience.
Yes, it is a virtue that worked admirably to my advantage all throughout
the game. It worked way back in Spring 1901 when I waited for Drew's
ABT alliance to fall apart. In mid-game, it enabled me to construct the
Turkish Stonewall. And in the end, it enabled me to revive from 3
stinkin' centers to claim an undeserved Crown. Yes, Patience is a
very... how do I say this?... overrated virtue. It works very well for
Turkey. It brought me a win in this game, so I'm certainly not going to
snarl and spit at it. But I'd rather play Austria. I'd rather author
my own success. For, as we all know, this game belonged to Dan, Jorge,
and Joe. If anyone 'deserved' to win, it was one of them. I was but
the beneficiary of their struggles.
PSYCHOLOGY / PHILOSOPHY / CLOSING THOUGHTS
"It's what Jeeves would call the psychology of the individual." - P.G.
Wodehouse
Why did I coach Joe forward to stab Jorge? Why did I stab Jorge? Why
*didn't* Jorge stab? I cannot wholly say.
I think my counsel to Joe went far beyond my own desire to survive
(which surely was aided by his stab). I had a deeper motive of which I
was not fully aware. Something psychological. Something which was
certainly linked to the opposing psychology that led Jorge to pass on a
solo bid. It's what I referred to in my email to Joe as The Spirit of
the Game (which sounds horrendously pompous, but it's the name I used,
so we're stuck with it).
Almost by definition, The Spirit of the Game is my a personal
interpretation. Each player approaches the game with his own sense of
The Spirit.
My sense of The Spirit is related to the famous Herm Edwards quote:
"You play to win the game". There are many other motivators (like a
great alliance or sportsmanship), but winning is the first goal. In a
game like the DCI or a tournament, where a title is on the line, I prize
winning even more highly.
Also, given the draw-based scoring system, where the rewards for
valor often outweigh the risk, fortune favors the bold. [I reiterate
here: in the end, Joe didn't lose much on his score by trying for the
solo; he still figured in the draw].
When I saw Joe acquiescing to a 2-way FN draw sans the DCI Crown, I
confess it didn't feel right. Jorge was playing a dangerous game to
keep SC parity so tight but to reserve the Crown for his own. The Crown
is lying there! Duncan sleeps in thy castle this night! Reach out and
seize it! Thou shall'st be more than man! My maternal instinct (my
Lady MacBeth maternal instinct) stirred:
"Wouldst thou have that
Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life,
And live a coward in thine own esteem,
Letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would'"?
Joe dared. And let me say: he got really close. Just because he fell
short does not mean he shouldn't have tried.
But what of Jorge? He did not stab Joe in a similar position. Did
he violate The Spirit of the Game? Ultimately, upon great reflection, I
would say that he did not. He chose a different, more subtle path
toward victory. It was a calculation that didn't pan out. Neither Joe
nor I cooperated far enough to allow him his hard-earned victory. But
like Joe, Jorge came really close to winning. His calculation fell
short, but it was worth the try.
And yet... during the game and even now, I did feel that Jorge
chose not to _seize_ victory. He tried to corral it and nurture it
rather than act brashly. As you can tell: I thought brash action was
called for. Nigel can confirm that, around 1912, facing the prospects
of a Jorge Crown vs. a Joe Crown, my preference was: (a) whichever one
gets us a draw; followed by (b) Joe, because he opted for Guts and
Glory.
In the recently ended DC 285 (Ancient Med), I settled for a 2-way
Egyptian-Persian draw with Mike Hoffman. I thought I had a slight
inside track for the solo (so did he). But we settled on a draw,
because the odds were close, and because we had a really good alliance
we didn't want to shatter. The alliance was more valuable than the win.
If the DCI were just another club game, I wouldn't have stabbed at
the end. I would barely have even considered it. I had a really good
alliance that I didn't enjoy shattering. A superb alliance. The type
where a stab isn't just a betrayal of my allies... it's almost a
betrayal of sportsmanship. Plus, I felt like a scum bag for stabbing at
a time when everybody else was just ready to be done with the game. If
Joe hadn't been Lady MacBeth-ing me, I doubt I would've gone through
with it.
Additionally, I kept coming back to: "You play to win the game."
That was my goal at the beginning of the game. It should still be my
goal fifteen game years into it. If other people are tiring of the
game, that shouldn't change my goal. If my allies are expecting me to
restore Jorge to the lead, that shouldn't change my goal.
I have never done that before. Exploited my opponents' waning
enthusiasm for a victory. It was more a case of outlasting than of
out-thinking. In the aftermath, it doesn't feel as radiant by half as
allying and conniving my way to power. But it's a type of virtue...
Patience.
Which is not the final word you'd expect from an EoG that has so many
words about...
Your DCI Winner,
MacBeth |
| 2009 DCI Norwegian EGS - txurce (May 21, 2010, 7:21 pm) |
I can't top Shakespeare, whether it be in Adam's wonderful analogy or Dan's quoting him, so I may as well bite the bullet and write the first EGS. I was happy enough with Norway's starting prospects. My opening thoughts were that Lowlands and Balkans were obviously vulnerable, and that Russia was also dealt a particularly bad hand. I knew all of my neighbors except Joe, and intended to keep a wary eye on Dan, who very effectively stabbed his way to the prior DCI championship.
The first year I agreed to let Lowlands stab Germany while we moved against England, then turned around in the fall and stabbed Lowlands with France and my German ally. That pretty much eliminated Lowlands and marginalized England. I offered to work with England, but he stabbed me expecting support that never came. (Russia moved toward me, but had bigger fish to fry elsewhere.) That left England on the ropes until he finally succumbed years later. At this point I was growing steadily and had no enemies, since I was allied with Germany and France, and both needed (and received) my support.
Elsewhere on the board Austria drove the agenda, actually exceeding my expectations as to his treachery. I give Dan a lot of credit for becoming my main rival, despite my correctly warning most of his victims that they were about to be victimized. He's a pleasure to play with, especially at a distance.
Because I was playing in as many as seven games during this one, I decided against applying the degree of focus necessary to try for a solo. Instead I took the easier route (given my position)to a draw. From my perspective this was my game's key decision, because I (correctly) figured that I would always be part of any draw. This led me to quit trying to drive the game, which in turn led to my eventually losing control of it.
All of this was a slow process, and I wasn't even aware of it at the start. France and Germany kept trying to talk me into stabbing the other. Finally Germany convinced France to stab me, then told me about it, and I hit France just as he changed his mind. We patched things up only to have France stab me for real. England tipped me off and I again headed off Joe. This coincided with Germany getting into enough trouble that partnering with him quit making sense. France and I stabbed Germany, and agreed to ally for a two-way draw in which I would cede Joe a center or two, but win the DCI.
Because there was nothing that Austria could do in the face of our onslaught, I played on auto-pilot. Joe kept changing the terms of our deal in the name of increased security, and it should have been obvious that he was considering stabbing me, since I had already passed up my optimal chance to beat him. I chose to ignore the possibility other than expressing my annoyance, which in turn annoyed Joe. As a result, when Joe did stab me, I deserved to be in the dire straits in which I suddenly found myself.
I plunged back into diplomacy, pointing out to Nigs, Dan and Adam that the only way to stop the French solo bid was for us all to ally and play for a DIAS. That was the simple part. Dan, who had been made irrelevant during the F/N advance, suddenly had a key role. It didn't take long for him to insist that Russia be eliminated as the price for his cooperation. Nigs had done an admirable job of persevering with one center, but I was on the verge of agreeing - we couldn't stop Joe without a united front.
Then Adam told me he had a brilliant alternative solution. Even before I read his next sentence, I knew what it was. Adam, Nigs and I would stab Dan even as we all moved against Joe. It was a spectacular success - a check for France and a mortal blow to Austria - and one of my most satisfying turns ever.
Diplomacy now gave way to tactics. Our handicap was that France outnumbered us on the front lines - too many of the Russian and Turkish units were out of position. But we then steadily drove France back until I had enough centers to achieve our goal of a DIAS with me on top. This phase of the game was probably my favorite.
Adam then said that he feared Joe might throw me the game - something that made no sense under the circumstances - and proceeded to move some of his units away from the front lines. Nigs and I agreed that we had achieved our goal and didn't see the point in playing on. We were going to hold all our units and let Joe win the DCI. Adam then talked us out of it and we resumed our alliance.
Despite a couple of setbacks due to Nigs NMRing and Adam once not ordering a key unit, we pushed France back all over again. This was a complicated process because Joe was throwing everything he had at me, and not worrying about Turkish inroads into his position. This looks suspiciously collaborative in hindsight, but Adam played a key role in this stage, offering a great deal of strong tactical analysis not just on his front, but mine as well. As a result, I managed to pull even with Joe, while Adam made steady gains. Sooner than expected we found ourselves at a point where I would win the DCI. This time Joe was allegedly willing to vote Yes.
And at this point Adam took the bait that Joe had been dangling and stabbed me. This had been an ever-increasing possibility as Joe surrendered more and more centers to Adam, and there was never anything that Nigs or I could have done about it. It was within Joe's power to hand the DCI championship to Adam whenever he wanted. From my perspective, Adam taking it didn't deprive me of anything that I deserved. I had allowed my game to be dependent on an alliance where I was at the mercy of my partners.
Nevertheless, I felt very good about having thrived throughout despite three stabs, and wound up accomplishing the goal that (for better or worse) I set for myself: having a meaningful role in a draw. Along the way I enjoyed my alliances with Max (who was inventively active throughout), Joe, and especially Nigs and Adam. Those moments made the entire, ultimately deflating process meaningful for me. Which I guess means that in the end I opt for Sartre over Shakespeare.
Jorge
PS: I've already thanked Mike privately for doing a great job GMing, but it can't hurt to do it again. Thanks, Mike.[Reply] |
| DCI 9: Las Vegas Odds to Win - martinhaven (May 21, 2010, 10:18 am) |
Haha…..Michael, note that I also lumped
France and Norway together at 12:1, stating that both countries offer a great
location if they can get rolling (check) and that Jorge and Joe will need to be
very active on the diplomatic front early (check).
Course, some of my predictions went
horribly wrong too, so I guess a career as an odds-maker is not in my future.
Cheers!
Frank
From: Michael Sims [mailto:mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net]
Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 8:49
PM
To: Frank
Martin; ddz999cat(at)yahoo.com;
Garry Bledsoe; nephilli99(at)hotmail.com; m_don_j(at)hotmail.com; Jorge Saralegui;
jhack16(at)gmail.com; matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu; smegdwarf(at)yahoo.com; drew3739o(at)yahoo.com; maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk; dci
Subject: RE: DCI 9: Las Vegas Odds to Win
Turkey: 9:1
“it could be a long game at three centers.”
Creepy.
-mike
From: Frank Martin [mailto:fmartin(at)psomas.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2009
2:55 PM
Subject: DCI 9: Las Vegas Odds to Win
AP Las Vegas:
Just posted are the odds to win the famous DCI 9 Diplomacy
Invitational, a gathering of world-renowned gamers on one of the games biggest
stages. The competition will be held over the next several months and will be
watched by at least dozens of rabid (and probably slightly bored) net
followers.
Austria: 3:1 -
Until dethroned, Dan is the champ. To be the champ, you've got to beat the
champ. Dan's odds would probably even be better if he had not drawn the
typically difficult starting position of Austria. Even with that though,
Dan's abilities (see Tiger Woods) are so dominating that odds makers still see
him as the prohibitive favorite.
Russia: 7:2 -
Nobody in the game has been hotter than Nefarious Nigel (see Brazil futbol), and he's drawn Russia as a
base. Game experts are all wishing they could be flies on the wall when Dan and
Nigel eventually start butting heads.
England: 9:2 - Far
away from the favorites, 2009 WB Champion Garry is probably giggling about his
projected path to victory (see Dr. Evil). "Get middle countries to fight,
check. Get France and Spain on
different sides of the fence, check. Hope everybody ignores my slow and steady
growth, mate."
Balkans and Germany:
6:1 - Hey! They're moderator picks (see Ryder Cup Golf). They're here for a reason.
Give Drew or Max a little breathing room, and you'll wish you were in England or Spain, where you can scream from a
distance for those closer to fall on their swords for your behalf.
Spain and Turkey: 9:1 - Matt and Adam
have top notch resumes, and they are both starting in the potentially
awesome starting corner positions of Spain
and Turkey.
If either get an alliance from the outset with a neighbor and get rolling, look
out (see the University of Florida and Oklahoma
football teams). If they get stonewalled by their neighbors, it could be a long
game at three centers.
Lowlands: 10:1 - So
Frank plays one game in the past two years and wins. Is this an aberration, or
is this guy so good that he can dust off his diplomacy hat and produce an epic
win over an elite field (see Bobby Fischer). Time will tell, but from his past
exploits, it certainly won't be boring.
France and Norway: 12:1 - France
is typically a great starting position in standard diplomacy, but when you
throw a player to your south, the position becomes much more difficult (see Belgium in
conflicts of the 1900s). And Norway,
sandwiched between Russia
and England, can be a
nightmare if the player doesn't get off to a good start (see Belgium in
conflicts of the 1900s). Both countries offer a great location if they can get
rolling, but both face potentially daunting opposition at the outset. Jorge and
Joe will need to be very active on the diplomatic front early.
Italy: 15:1 -
Mikael is an incredible player, but this is Italy
we're talking about (see Italy
in 99.9% of diplomacy games). Under the best of conditions, Italy sometimes has a hard time grabbing more
than Tunis,
and in this variant, there's already a Spanish fleet there. Mikael will need to
work his miracles (see anything done by Michelangelo) to see Italy grow into
a monster.
Hope you all enjoyed this. Please let it be known that this
is all off the cuff, and all slights/exaggerations were not (wholly)
intentional. haha
I better get back to work now. : )
[Reply] |
| DCI 9: Las Vegas Odds to Win - FuzzyLogic (May 20, 2010, 10:48 pm) |
Turkey: 9:1
“it
could be a long game at three centers.”
Creepy.
-mike
From: Frank Martin
[mailto:fmartin(at)psomas.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2009 2:55 PM
Subject: DCI 9: Las Vegas Odds to Win
AP
Las Vegas:
Just
posted are the odds to win the famous DCI 9 Diplomacy Invitational, a gathering
of world-renowned gamers on one of the games biggest stages. The competition
will be held over the next several months and will be watched by at least
dozens of rabid (and probably slightly bored) net followers.
Austria:
3:1 - Until dethroned, Dan is the champ. To be the champ, you've got to beat
the champ. Dan's odds would probably even be better if he had not drawn the
typically difficult starting position of Austria. Even with that though, Dan's
abilities (see Tiger Woods) are so dominating that odds makers still see him as
the prohibitive favorite.
Russia:
7:2 - Nobody in the game has been hotter than Nefarious Nigel (see Brazil
futbol), and he's drawn Russia as a base. Game experts are all wishing they
could be flies on the wall when Dan and Nigel eventually start butting heads.
England:
9:2 - Far away from the favorites, 2009 WB Champion Garry is probably giggling
about his projected path to victory (see Dr. Evil). "Get middle countries
to fight, check. Get France and Spain on different sides of the fence, check.
Hope everybody ignores my slow and steady growth, mate."
Balkans
and Germany: 6:1 - Hey! They're moderator picks (see Ryder Cup Golf). They're
here for a reason. Give Drew or Max a little breathing room, and you'll wish
you were in England or Spain, where you can scream from a distance for those
closer to fall on their swords for your behalf.
Spain
and Turkey: 9:1 - Matt and Adam have top notch resumes, and they are
both starting in the potentially awesome starting corner positions of
Spain and Turkey. If either get an alliance from the outset with a neighbor and
get rolling, look out (see the University of Florida and Oklahoma football
teams). If they get stonewalled by their neighbors, it could be a long game at
three centers.
Lowlands:
10:1 - So Frank plays one game in the past two years and wins. Is this an
aberration, or is this guy so good that he can dust off his diplomacy hat and
produce an epic win over an elite field (see Bobby Fischer). Time will tell,
but from his past exploits, it certainly won't be boring.
France
and Norway: 12:1 - France is typically a great starting position in standard
diplomacy, but when you throw a player to your south, the position becomes much
more difficult (see Belgium in conflicts of the 1900s). And Norway, sandwiched
between Russia and England, can be a nightmare if the player doesn't get off to
a good start (see Belgium in conflicts of the 1900s). Both countries offer a
great location if they can get rolling, but both face potentially daunting
opposition at the outset. Jorge and Joe will need to be very active on the
diplomatic front early.
Italy:
15:1 - Mikael is an incredible player, but this is Italy we're talking about
(see Italy in 99.9% of diplomacy games). Under the best of conditions, Italy
sometimes has a hard time grabbing more than Tunis, and in this variant,
there's already a Spanish fleet there. Mikael will need to work his miracles
(see anything done by Michelangelo) to see Italy grow into a monster.
Hope
you all enjoyed this. Please let it be known that this is all off the cuff, and
all slights/exaggerations were not (wholly) intentional. haha
I
better get back to work now. : )
[Reply] |
| I, Claudius - ddz999cat23 (May 20, 2010, 9:43 pm) |
"What if this cursed hand
Were thicker than itself with brother's blood, ???
Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens
To wash it white as snow?"
Clearly a diplomacy player.
From: Adam Martin-Schwarze <smegdwarf(at)yahoo.com>
To: ddz999cat23(at)yahoo.com; drew3739o(at)yahoo.com; Garry Bledsoe <kielmarch(at)hotmail.com>; jhack16(at)gmail.com; Maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk; m_don_j(at)hotmail.com; frankmartin(at)surewest.net; jmsaralegui(at)gmail.com; nephilli99(at)hotmail.com; matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu; Michael Sims <mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net>
Cc: dci <dci(at)diplomaticcorp.com>
Sent: Thu, May 20, 2010 9:30:18 PM
Subject: Re: Adam: 2009 DCI Champion!
Thank you for the many congratulations I have received. I cannot help feeling bashful and toeing the dirt sheepishly, because as I quoted to Joe about two weeks ago: "Deserves got nothin' to do with it." (Unforgiven, 1992). I know we can debate just what "deserve" means, but I cannot escape the feeling that I have received this crown (a very comfy, stylish piece of headgear it is, too) because better (more deserving) players let it fall to my head. Having said that... Now that the crown is mine, I intend fully to embrace it as my own. I will fulfill all ceremonial functions. And I will not do anything that would tarnish or dishonour the crown (things such as: NMR'ing, abandoning, having nude pictures surface on the web...).
I will follow up with a proper EoG statement. Hopefully tomorrow. This was such a very excellent game that I hope to read several EoGs. [It was probably the best game of Dip
I've had the honor to play in].
Mike Sims was superb as a GM. No higher things can be said of a GM than that adjudications were always on time and that his decisions were predictably fair in a consistent manner. Mike's humorous notes (especially the cautionary bedtime story about the player who did not submit orders on time...) added enjoyment.
This month, I was able to watch the Royal Shakespeare production of "Hamlet", starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart, and it set my mind to wandering... I was half-able to cast the play from DCI 274. Jorge in the title role. Joe as fiery Laertes. Dan as both Claudius and as the deposed senior Hamlet. Then, after the three principles have killed one another, Fortinbras (Turkey) walks in and claims the throne. Polonius - Drew? Ophelia - Max? Gertrude - Nigel? Oh, well...
Again, I'll submit a proper EoG
soon!
Royally,
Adam
[Reply] |
| Adam: 2009 DCI Champion! - AceRimmer (May 20, 2010, 9:30 pm) |
Thank you for the many congratulations I have received. I cannot help feeling bashful and toeing the dirt sheepishly, because as I quoted to Joe about two weeks ago: "Deserves got nothin' to do with it." (Unforgiven, 1992). I know we can debate just what "deserve" means, but I cannot escape the feeling that I have received this crown (a very comfy, stylish piece of headgear it is, too) because better (more deserving) players let it fall to my head. Having said that... Now that the crown is mine, I intend fully to embrace it as my own. I will fulfill all ceremonial functions. And I will not do anything that would tarnish or dishonour the crown (things such as: NMR'ing, abandoning, having nude pictures surface on the web...).
I will follow up with a proper EoG statement. Hopefully tomorrow. This was such a very excellent game that I hope to read several EoGs. [It was probably the best game of Dip I've had the honor to play in].
Mike Sims was superb as a GM. No higher things can be said of a GM than that adjudications were always on time and that his decisions were predictably fair in a consistent manner. Mike's humorous notes (especially the cautionary bedtime story about the player who did not submit orders on time...) added enjoyment.
This month, I was able to watch the Royal Shakespeare production of "Hamlet", starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart, and it set my mind to wandering... I was half-able to cast the play from DCI 274. Jorge in the title role. Joe as fiery Laertes. Dan as both Claudius and as the deposed senior Hamlet. Then, after the three principles have killed one another, Fortinbras (Turkey) walks in and claims the throne. Polonius - Drew? Ophelia - Max? Gertrude - Nigel? Oh, well...
Again, I'll submit a proper EoG soon!
Royally,
Adam
.[Reply] |
| dc311 w08 builds! - FuzzyLogic (May 20, 2010, 8:49 pm) |
Just sending this out since I’ve got a spare moment this
eve and all orders are in!
Austria retreats ION to ADR
Raconteur Ray: Build A Vienna
Debonair Dirk: Build F Berlin
Pitiful Paul: Remove A Armenia
NEXT: Spring 09, due Monday 2pm Central, to Christine.
Enjoy,
-mike
[Reply] |
| dc311 f08 results! - PARussell (May 20, 2010, 4:05 pm) |
Thanks all.
Especially Great Mistress Christine and Guest Master Mike!
What can I say? I was led astray by Dapper Dan and Debonair Dirk and Raconteur Ray.
Hamish, I wish I could have done more for you. You're on your own now!
Paul the Pitiful[Reply] |
| dc311 f08 results! - FuzzyLogic (May 20, 2010, 2:33 pm) |
Again the messenger of death, I present you: Russia.
Thanks Paul for sticking it out, but the valiant attempt to reclaim Sevastopol by the last Armenian task force is rebuffed.
And there's another big clash over Bulgaria, this time the Turks overpower the Austrians and send the forces there packing. England plays musical centers, trading Mar and Swe for Den and Ven to hold the status quo...
Adjustments, due Friday! 2pm Central:
Austria: Retreat F ION, Build 1
Germany: Build 1
Russia: Removes A Arm, Eliminated
Austria:
A Budapest - Trieste
A Bulgaria - Serbia (*Disbanded*)
A Galicia - Budapest
A Greece Supports A Bulgaria - Serbia
F Ionian Sea - Aegean Sea (*Dislodged*)
F Naples Supports A Rome
A Piedmont - Marseilles
A Rome Supports F Naples
A Rumania - Bulgaria (*Fails*)
England:
F Denmark Supports A Norway - Sweden (*Cut*)
F English Channel - Brest
F Gulf of Lyon - Marseilles (*Fails*)
F North Sea Supports F Denmark
A Norway - Sweden (*Fails*)
F Skagerrak Supports F Denmark
F Spain(sc) Supports F Gulf of Lyon - Marseilles
A Tuscany - Venice
F Tyrrhenian Sea Supports F Tunis - Ionian Sea
Germany:
F Baltic Sea Supports F Gulf of Bothnia - Sweden
A Belgium - Holland
A Burgundy Supports A Piedmont - Marseilles
A Finland - Norway (*Fails*)
A Gascony Supports A Piedmont - Marseilles
F Gulf of Bothnia - Sweden
F Helgoland Bight Supports A Kiel - Denmark
A Kiel - Denmark (*Fails*)
A Sevastopol Supports A Ukraine - Rumania (*Cut*)
A Ukraine - Rumania (*Fails*)
Russia:
A Armenia - Sevastopol (*Fails*)
Turkey:
F Black Sea Supports A Serbia - Bulgaria
A Constantinople Supports A Serbia - Bulgaria
A Serbia - Bulgaria
F Smyrna - Aegean Sea (*Bounce*)
F Tunis - Ionian Sea
[Reply] |
| dc311 f08 results! (DC Invitational) PARussell May 20, 04:05 pm |
Thanks all.
Especially Great Mistress Christine and Guest Master Mike!
What can I say? I was led astray by Dapper Dan and Debonair Dirk and Raconteur Ray.
Hamish, I wish I could have done more for you. You're on your own now!
Paul the Pitiful |
| Adam: 2009 DCI Champion! - m_don_j (May 20, 2010, 10:09 am) |
Congrats to Adam, from nowhere it would seem!
My game was bleak from start to finish really. I think that Dan made the whole region unstable over a period of time, to the point where my only desire was to see him wiped from the dace of the earth before I was. I got half of that, so I'm kind of satisfied. Adam really showed that patience pays off, and sticking to the game where others may have faltered. An important lesson for everyone to review once in a while.
/ Mikael
Date: Thu, 20 May 2010 05:36:14 -0700
From: ddz999cat23(at)yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Adam: 2009 DCI Champion!
To: mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net; drew3739o(at)yahoo.com; kielmarch(at)hotmail.com; jhack16(at)gmail.com; Maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk; m_don_j(at)hotmail.com; frankmartin(at)surewest.net; jmsaralegui(at)gmail.com; nephilli99(at)hotmail.com; matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu; smegdwarf(at)yahoo.com
CC: dci(at)diplomaticcorp.com
.ExternalClass DIV
{;}
Yes, Congrats Adam. Well done.
Patience is a virtue it would seem, but 1906... what a year. And I would argue that starting near me really paid off for Adam.
I think I shared my EOG statement a while back (though many of you have probably printed it and reread it 2-3 times a week) so I'll only lobby again for my inclusion in the 2010 DCI which should be starting up in a couple weeks, no?. Best game of the DC year. And thanks again Mike for GMing.
Good Game All,
Dan
From: Michael Sims
<mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net>
To: ddz999cat23(at)yahoo.com; drew3739o(at)yahoo.com; Garry Bledsoe <kielmarch(at)hotmail.com>; jhack16(at)gmail.com; Maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk; m_don_j(at)hotmail.com; frankmartin(at)surewest.net; jmsaralegui(at)gmail.com; nephilli99(at)hotmail.com; matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu; smegdwarf(at)yahoo.com
Cc: dci <dci(at)diplomaticcorp.com>
Sent: Wed, May 19, 2010 4:25:13 PM
Subject: Adam: 2009 DCI Champion!
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Congrats Adam!
2009 DCI Champion!
By unanimous vote after 16 1/2 years of game-time, all powers agree to a DIAS. By virtue of having the most supply centers under his control on this day of peace, Adam is crowned the DCI Champ!
With this incredible victory comes guaranteed entry into next year's DCI (and swift elimination there from).
I know things got kinda heated in this one, but that's what Dip is all about... ppl do get involved in these games on a pretty deep level. This game is by all means a stellar example of why you should stick it out and be patient, for Turkey sat on 3 centers for the first 10 years of the game, always boxed into the corner. Then of course we see his incredible rise to fame over the next 6 years, while France and Norway fall in tandem. A lot of players got evicted early on, before most of the drama occurred, tho maybe there was plenty of drama that I just wan't privy to.
Game chart: http://www.diplomaticcorp.com/country_stats.php?type=game&game_id=dc274
Please share EGS's, all!
-mike
Alla mejlkonton på ett ställe. Se möjligheterna med Hotmail! Internet Explorer 8[Reply] |
| Adam: 2009 DCI Champion! - ddz999cat23 (May 20, 2010, 7:36 am) |
Yes, Congrats Adam. Well done.
Patience is a virtue it would seem, but 1906... what a year. And I would argue that starting near me really paid off for Adam.
I think I shared my EOG statement a while back (though many of you have probably printed it and reread it 2-3 times a week) so I'll only lobby again for my inclusion in the 2010 DCI which should be starting up in a couple weeks, no?. Best game of the DC year. And thanks again Mike for GMing.
Good Game All,
Dan
From: Michael Sims
<mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net>
To: ddz999cat23(at)yahoo.com; drew3739o(at)yahoo.com; Garry Bledsoe <kielmarch(at)hotmail.com>; jhack16(at)gmail.com; Maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk; m_don_j(at)hotmail.com; frankmartin(at)surewest.net; jmsaralegui(at)gmail.com; nephilli99(at)hotmail.com; matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu; smegdwarf(at)yahoo.com
Cc: dci <dci(at)diplomaticcorp.com>
Sent: Wed, May 19, 2010 4:25:13 PM
Subject: Adam: 2009 DCI Champion!
Congrats Adam!
2009 DCI Champion!
By unanimous vote after 16 1/2 years of game-time, all powers agree to a DIAS. By virtue of having the most supply centers under his control on this day of peace, Adam is crowned the DCI Champ!
With this incredible victory comes guaranteed entry into next year's DCI (and swift elimination there from).
I know things got kinda heated in this one, but that's what Dip is all about... ppl do get involved in these games on a pretty deep level. This game is by all means a stellar example of why you should stick it out and be patient, for Turkey sat on 3 centers for the first 10 years of the game, always boxed into the corner. Then of course we see his incredible rise to fame over the next 6 years, while France and Norway fall in tandem. A lot of players got evicted early on, before most of the drama occurred, tho maybe there was plenty of drama that I just wan't privy to.
Game chart: http://www.diplomaticcorp.com/country_stats.php?type=game&game_id=dc274
Please share EGS's, all!
-mike
[Reply] |
| Adam: 2009 DCI Champion! - pieandmash (May 20, 2010, 7:08 am) |
Nice, well played all.
You all deserve the DIAS for sticking it out.
In particular Id like to congratulate Nigs on his tenacity and patience.
For my small part I really enjoyed it and hope to be in it again one day
take care all
Max
--- On Wed, 19/5/10, Joe Hackett <jhack16(at)gmail.com> wrote:
From: Joe Hackett <jhack16(at)gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Adam: 2009 DCI Champion!
To: "Michael Sims" <mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net>
Cc: "<ddz999cat23(at)yahoo.com>" <ddz999cat23(at)yahoo.com>, "<drew3739o(at)yahoo.com>" <drew3739o(at)yahoo.com>, "Garry Bledsoe" <kielmarch(at)hotmail.com>, "<Maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk>" <Maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk>, "<m_don_j(at)hotmail.com>" <m_don_j(at)hotmail.com>, "<frankmartin(at)surewest.net>" <frankmartin(at)surewest.net>, "<jmsaralegui(at)gmail.com>" <jmsaralegui(at)gmail.com>, "<nephilli99(at)hotmail.com>" <nephilli99(at)hotmail.com>, "<matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu>" <matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu>, "<smegdwarf(at)yahoo.com>" <smegdwarf(at)yahoo.com>, "dci" <dci(at)diplomaticcorp.com>
Date: Wednesday, 19 May, 2010, 22:51
Congrats Adam, you made it, DCI Champ!
To everyone else, (including you Jorge!) thanks for a great game.
I made mistakes on and off the board, and was responsible for a good bit of the heat Mike was talking about, but it was always meant to be in the spirit of the game.
To those I stabbed, Frank, Matt, Max, and Mikael, Jorge, Dan,nothing personal; to those I offended,Nigel, Adam, Mike, and in particular Jorge my apologies once more. Dan, I'm only glad I didn't start the game anywhere near you!
But, of all, my thanks and gratitude to Mike who stayed cool under much provocation from me and kept the show on the road. Truly great GM'ing!
Hope to get to an EOG in a while,
Joe
Sent from my iPhone
On 19 May 2010, at 22:25, "Michael Sims" <mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net> wrote:
Congrats Adam!
2009 DCI Champion!
By unanimous vote after 16 1/2 years of game-time, all powers agree to a DIAS. By virtue of having the most supply centers under his control on this day of peace, Adam is crowned the DCI Champ!
With this incredible victory comes guaranteed entry into next year's DCI (and swift elimination there from).
I know things got kinda heated in this one, but that's what Dip is all about... ppl do get involved in these games on a pretty deep level. This game is by all means a stellar example of why you should stick it out and be patient, for Turkey sat on 3 centers for the first 10 years of the game, always boxed into the corner. Then of course we see his incredible rise to fame over the next 6 years, while France and Norway fall in tandem. A lot of players got evicted early on, before most of the drama occurred, tho maybe there was plenty of drama that I just wan't privy to.
Game chart: http://www.diplomaticcorp.com/country_stats.php?type=game&game_id=dc274
Please share EGS's, all!
-mike
[Reply] |
| Adam: 2009 DCI Champion! - jhack16 (May 19, 2010, 4:51 pm) |
Congrats Adam, you made it, DCI Champ!
To everyone else, (including you Jorge!) thanks for a great game.
I made mistakes on and off the board, and was responsible for a good bit of the heat Mike was talking about, but it was always meant to be in the spirit of the game.
To those I stabbed, Frank, Matt, Max, and Mikael, Jorge, Dan,nothing personal; to those I offended,Nigel, Adam, Mike, and in particular Jorge my apologies once more. Dan, I'm only glad I didn't start the game anywhere near you!
But, of all, my thanks and gratitude to Mike who stayed cool under much provocation from me and kept the show on the road. Truly great GM'ing!
Hope to get to an EOG in a while,
Joe
Sent from my iPhone
On 19 May 2010, at 22:25, "Michael Sims" <mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net> wrote:
Congrats Adam!
2009 DCI Champion!
By unanimous vote after 16 1/2 years of game-time, all powers agree to a DIAS. By virtue of having the most supply centers under his control on this day of peace, Adam is crowned the DCI Champ!
With this incredible victory comes guaranteed entry into next year's DCI (and swift elimination there from).
I know things got kinda heated in this one, but that's what Dip is all about... ppl do get involved in these games on a pretty deep level. This game is by all means a stellar example of why you should stick it out and be patient, for Turkey sat on 3 centers for the first 10 years of the game, always boxed into the corner. Then of course we see his incredible rise to fame over the next 6 years, while France and Norway fall in tandem. A lot of players got evicted early on, before most of the drama occurred, tho maybe there was plenty of drama that I just wan't privy to.
Game chart: http://www.diplomaticcorp.com/country_stats.php?type=game&game_id=dc274
Please share EGS's, all!
-mike
[Reply] |
| Adam: 2009 DCI Champion! - FuzzyLogic (May 19, 2010, 4:25 pm) |
Congrats Adam!
2009 DCI Champion!
By unanimous vote after 16 1/2 years of game-time, all powers agree to a DIAS. By virtue of having the most supply centers under his control on this day of peace, Adam is crowned the DCI Champ!
With this incredible victory comes guaranteed entry into next year's DCI (and swift elimination there from).
I know things got kinda heated in this one, but that's what Dip is all about... ppl do get involved in these games on a pretty deep level. This game is by all means a stellar example of why you should stick it out and be patient, for Turkey sat on 3 centers for the first 10 years of the game, always boxed into the corner. Then of course we see his incredible rise to fame over the next 6 years, while France and Norway fall in tandem. A lot of players got evicted early on, before most of the drama occurred, tho maybe there was plenty of drama that I just wan't privy to.
Game chart: http://www.diplomaticcorp.com/country_stats.php?type=game&game_id=dc274
Please share EGS's, all!
-mike
[Reply] |
| Adam: 2009 DCI Champion! (DC Invitational) jhack16 May 19, 04:51 pm |
Congrats Adam, you made it, DCI Champ!
To everyone else, (including you Jorge!) thanks for a great game.
I made mistakes on and off the board, and was responsible for a good bit of the heat Mike was talking about, but it was always meant to be in the spirit of the game.
To those I stabbed, Frank, Matt, Max, and Mikael, Jorge, Dan,nothing personal; to those I offended,Nigel, Adam, Mike, and in particular Jorge my apologies once more. Dan, I'm only glad I didn't start the game anywhere near you!
But, of all, my thanks and gratitude to Mike who stayed cool under much provocation from me and kept the show on the road. Truly great GM'ing!
Hope to get to an EOG in a while,
Joe
Sent from my iPhone
On 19 May 2010, at 22:25, "Michael Sims" <mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net> wrote:
Congrats Adam!
2009 DCI Champion!
By unanimous vote after 16 1/2 years of game-time, all powers agree to a DIAS. By virtue of having the most supply centers under his control on this day of peace, Adam is crowned the DCI Champ!
With this incredible victory comes guaranteed entry into next year's DCI (and swift elimination there from).
I know things got kinda heated in this one, but that's what Dip is all about... ppl do get involved in these games on a pretty deep level. This game is by all means a stellar example of why you should stick it out and be patient, for Turkey sat on 3 centers for the first 10 years of the game, always boxed into the corner. Then of course we see his incredible rise to fame over the next 6 years, while France and Norway fall in tandem. A lot of players got evicted early on, before most of the drama occurred, tho maybe there was plenty of drama that I just wan't privy to.
Game chart: http://www.diplomaticcorp.com/country_stats.php?type=game&game_id=dc274
Please share EGS's, all!
-mike
|
| Adam: 2009 DCI Champion! (DC Invitational) pieandmash May 20, 07:08 am |
Nice, well played all.
You all deserve the DIAS for sticking it out.
In particular Id like to congratulate Nigs on his tenacity and patience.
For my small part I really enjoyed it and hope to be in it again one day
take care all
Max
--- On Wed, 19/5/10, Joe Hackett <jhack16(at)gmail.com> wrote:
From: Joe Hackett <jhack16(at)gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Adam: 2009 DCI Champion!
To: "Michael Sims" <mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net>
Cc: "<ddz999cat23(at)yahoo.com>" <ddz999cat23(at)yahoo.com>, "<drew3739o(at)yahoo.com>" <drew3739o(at)yahoo.com>, "Garry Bledsoe" <kielmarch(at)hotmail.com>, "<Maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk>" <Maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk>, "<m_don_j(at)hotmail.com>" <m_don_j(at)hotmail.com>, "<frankmartin(at)surewest.net>" <frankmartin(at)surewest.net>, "<jmsaralegui(at)gmail.com>" <jmsaralegui(at)gmail.com>, "<nephilli99(at)hotmail.com>" <nephilli99(at)hotmail.com>, "<matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu>" <matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu>, "<smegdwarf(at)yahoo.com>" <smegdwarf(at)yahoo.com>, "dci" <dci(at)diplomaticcorp.com>
Date: Wednesday, 19 May, 2010, 22:51
Congrats Adam, you made it, DCI Champ!
To everyone else, (including you Jorge!) thanks for a great game.
I made mistakes on and off the board, and was responsible for a good bit of the heat Mike was talking about, but it was always meant to be in the spirit of the game.
To those I stabbed, Frank, Matt, Max, and Mikael, Jorge, Dan,nothing personal; to those I offended,Nigel, Adam, Mike, and in particular Jorge my apologies once more. Dan, I'm only glad I didn't start the game anywhere near you!
But, of all, my thanks and gratitude to Mike who stayed cool under much provocation from me and kept the show on the road. Truly great GM'ing!
Hope to get to an EOG in a while,
Joe
Sent from my iPhone
On 19 May 2010, at 22:25, "Michael Sims" <mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net> wrote:
Congrats Adam!
2009 DCI Champion!
By unanimous vote after 16 1/2 years of game-time, all powers agree to a DIAS. By virtue of having the most supply centers under his control on this day of peace, Adam is crowned the DCI Champ!
With this incredible victory comes guaranteed entry into next year's DCI (and swift elimination there from).
I know things got kinda heated in this one, but that's what Dip is all about... ppl do get involved in these games on a pretty deep level. This game is by all means a stellar example of why you should stick it out and be patient, for Turkey sat on 3 centers for the first 10 years of the game, always boxed into the corner. Then of course we see his incredible rise to fame over the next 6 years, while France and Norway fall in tandem. A lot of players got evicted early on, before most of the drama occurred, tho maybe there was plenty of drama that I just wan't privy to.
Game chart: http://www.diplomaticcorp.com/country_stats.php?type=game&game_id=dc274
Please share EGS's, all!
-mike
|
| Adam: 2009 DCI Champion! (DC Invitational) ddz999cat23 May 20, 07:36 am |
Yes, Congrats Adam. Well done.
Patience is a virtue it would seem, but 1906... what a year. And I would argue that starting near me really paid off for Adam.
I think I shared my EOG statement a while back (though many of you have probably printed it and reread it 2-3 times a week) so I'll only lobby again for my inclusion in the 2010 DCI which should be starting up in a couple weeks, no?. Best game of the DC year. And thanks again Mike for GMing.
Good Game All,
Dan
From: Michael Sims
<mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net>
To: ddz999cat23(at)yahoo.com; drew3739o(at)yahoo.com; Garry Bledsoe <kielmarch(at)hotmail.com>; jhack16(at)gmail.com; Maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk; m_don_j(at)hotmail.com; frankmartin(at)surewest.net; jmsaralegui(at)gmail.com; nephilli99(at)hotmail.com; matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu; smegdwarf(at)yahoo.com
Cc: dci <dci(at)diplomaticcorp.com>
Sent: Wed, May 19, 2010 4:25:13 PM
Subject: Adam: 2009 DCI Champion!
Congrats Adam!
2009 DCI Champion!
By unanimous vote after 16 1/2 years of game-time, all powers agree to a DIAS. By virtue of having the most supply centers under his control on this day of peace, Adam is crowned the DCI Champ!
With this incredible victory comes guaranteed entry into next year's DCI (and swift elimination there from).
I know things got kinda heated in this one, but that's what Dip is all about... ppl do get involved in these games on a pretty deep level. This game is by all means a stellar example of why you should stick it out and be patient, for Turkey sat on 3 centers for the first 10 years of the game, always boxed into the corner. Then of course we see his incredible rise to fame over the next 6 years, while France and Norway fall in tandem. A lot of players got evicted early on, before most of the drama occurred, tho maybe there was plenty of drama that I just wan't privy to.
Game chart: http://www.diplomaticcorp.com/country_stats.php?type=game&game_id=dc274
Please share EGS's, all!
-mike
|
| Adam: 2009 DCI Champion! (DC Invitational) m_don_j May 20, 10:09 am |
Congrats to Adam, from nowhere it would seem!
My game was bleak from start to finish really. I think that Dan made the whole region unstable over a period of time, to the point where my only desire was to see him wiped from the dace of the earth before I was. I got half of that, so I'm kind of satisfied. Adam really showed that patience pays off, and sticking to the game where others may have faltered. An important lesson for everyone to review once in a while.
/ Mikael
Date: Thu, 20 May 2010 05:36:14 -0700
From: ddz999cat23(at)yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Adam: 2009 DCI Champion!
To: mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net; drew3739o(at)yahoo.com; kielmarch(at)hotmail.com; jhack16(at)gmail.com; Maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk; m_don_j(at)hotmail.com; frankmartin(at)surewest.net; jmsaralegui(at)gmail.com; nephilli99(at)hotmail.com; matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu; smegdwarf(at)yahoo.com
CC: dci(at)diplomaticcorp.com
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Yes, Congrats Adam. Well done.
Patience is a virtue it would seem, but 1906... what a year. And I would argue that starting near me really paid off for Adam.
I think I shared my EOG statement a while back (though many of you have probably printed it and reread it 2-3 times a week) so I'll only lobby again for my inclusion in the 2010 DCI which should be starting up in a couple weeks, no?. Best game of the DC year. And thanks again Mike for GMing.
Good Game All,
Dan
From: Michael Sims
<mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net>
To: ddz999cat23(at)yahoo.com; drew3739o(at)yahoo.com; Garry Bledsoe <kielmarch(at)hotmail.com>; jhack16(at)gmail.com; Maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk; m_don_j(at)hotmail.com; frankmartin(at)surewest.net; jmsaralegui(at)gmail.com; nephilli99(at)hotmail.com; matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu; smegdwarf(at)yahoo.com
Cc: dci <dci(at)diplomaticcorp.com>
Sent: Wed, May 19, 2010 4:25:13 PM
Subject: Adam: 2009 DCI Champion!
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Congrats Adam!
2009 DCI Champion!
By unanimous vote after 16 1/2 years of game-time, all powers agree to a DIAS. By virtue of having the most supply centers under his control on this day of peace, Adam is crowned the DCI Champ!
With this incredible victory comes guaranteed entry into next year's DCI (and swift elimination there from).
I know things got kinda heated in this one, but that's what Dip is all about... ppl do get involved in these games on a pretty deep level. This game is by all means a stellar example of why you should stick it out and be patient, for Turkey sat on 3 centers for the first 10 years of the game, always boxed into the corner. Then of course we see his incredible rise to fame over the next 6 years, while France and Norway fall in tandem. A lot of players got evicted early on, before most of the drama occurred, tho maybe there was plenty of drama that I just wan't privy to.
Game chart: http://www.diplomaticcorp.com/country_stats.php?type=game&game_id=dc274
Please share EGS's, all!
-mike
Alla mejlkonton på ett ställe. Se möjligheterna med Hotmail! Internet Explorer 8 |
| Adam: 2009 DCI Champion! (DC Invitational) AceRimmer May 20, 09:30 pm |
Thank you for the many congratulations I have received. I cannot help feeling bashful and toeing the dirt sheepishly, because as I quoted to Joe about two weeks ago: "Deserves got nothin' to do with it." (Unforgiven, 1992). I know we can debate just what "deserve" means, but I cannot escape the feeling that I have received this crown (a very comfy, stylish piece of headgear it is, too) because better (more deserving) players let it fall to my head. Having said that... Now that the crown is mine, I intend fully to embrace it as my own. I will fulfill all ceremonial functions. And I will not do anything that would tarnish or dishonour the crown (things such as: NMR'ing, abandoning, having nude pictures surface on the web...).
I will follow up with a proper EoG statement. Hopefully tomorrow. This was such a very excellent game that I hope to read several EoGs. [It was probably the best game of Dip I've had the honor to play in].
Mike Sims was superb as a GM. No higher things can be said of a GM than that adjudications were always on time and that his decisions were predictably fair in a consistent manner. Mike's humorous notes (especially the cautionary bedtime story about the player who did not submit orders on time...) added enjoyment.
This month, I was able to watch the Royal Shakespeare production of "Hamlet", starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart, and it set my mind to wandering... I was half-able to cast the play from DCI 274. Jorge in the title role. Joe as fiery Laertes. Dan as both Claudius and as the deposed senior Hamlet. Then, after the three principles have killed one another, Fortinbras (Turkey) walks in and claims the throne. Polonius - Drew? Ophelia - Max? Gertrude - Nigel? Oh, well...
Again, I'll submit a proper EoG soon!
Royally,
Adam
. |
| dc311 s08 retreats! - FuzzyLogic (May 18, 2010, 3:13 pm) |
Just when you thought you were done w me...
Russia: A Sevastopol - Armenia
Turkey: A Rumania - Serbia
Next: Fall 08, due Thursday! 2pm Central. I'll be covering this one.
-mike
[Reply] |
| dc311 w07 builds! - FuzzyLogic (May 14, 2010, 4:13 pm) |
France: disband F Tunis
Russia: A Ukraine - Sevastopol
Germany: Build F Berlin
That's it!
Oh, and a 3-way AEG draw is proposed, vote yay/nay with your spring orders. All 5 players would have to vote yes for it to succeed.
Next is Monday, back to your usual time, usual GM Christine. (Christine lemme know if you need next week covered!)
2pm Monday for Spring!
Enjoy,
-mike
[Reply] |
| DCI w16 builds! - Nigs (May 14, 2010, 11:07 am) |
And if it doesn't pass, its my turn to be the unelected champion next...
Surely its time to call it quits, or call in the UN?
Nigs
Subject: DCI w16 builds!
Date: Fri, 14 May 2010 10:30:53 -0500
From: mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net
To: ddz999cat23(at)yahoo.com; drew3739o(at)yahoo.com; kielmarch(at)hotmail.com; jhack16(at)gmail.com; Maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk; m_don_j(at)hotmail.com; frankmartin(at)surewest.net; jmsaralegui(at)gmail.com; nephilli99(at)hotmail.com; matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu; smegdwarf(at)yahoo.com
CC: dci(at)diplomaticcorp.com
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Norway: A Vie to Tyr, and remove F Pru
France: A Bel to Pic
Turkey: New Army in Smy, Fleet in Con
Next, we have another DIAS proposed, but this time if it passes, Adam would be the DCI 2009 Champ...
Spring 17 orders and DIAS vote due Wed! 5/19, 3pm Central.
Enjoy,
-mike
Get a free e-mail account with Hotmail. Sign-up now.[Reply] |
| DCI w16 builds! - FuzzyLogic (May 14, 2010, 10:30 am) |
Norway: A Vie to Tyr, and remove F Pru
France: A Bel to Pic
Turkey: New Army in Smy, Fleet in Con
Next, we have another DIAS proposed, but this time if it passes, Adam would be the DCI 2009 Champ...
Spring 17 orders and DIAS vote due Wed! 5/19, 3pm Central.
Enjoy,
-mike
[Reply] |
| DCI w16 builds! (DC Invitational) Nigs May 14, 11:07 am |
And if it doesn't pass, its my turn to be the unelected champion next...
Surely its time to call it quits, or call in the UN?
Nigs
Subject: DCI w16 builds!
Date: Fri, 14 May 2010 10:30:53 -0500
From: mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net
To: ddz999cat23(at)yahoo.com; drew3739o(at)yahoo.com; kielmarch(at)hotmail.com; jhack16(at)gmail.com; Maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk; m_don_j(at)hotmail.com; frankmartin(at)surewest.net; jmsaralegui(at)gmail.com; nephilli99(at)hotmail.com; matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu; smegdwarf(at)yahoo.com
CC: dci(at)diplomaticcorp.com
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Norway: A Vie to Tyr, and remove F Pru
France: A Bel to Pic
Turkey: New Army in Smy, Fleet in Con
Next, we have another DIAS proposed, but this time if it passes, Adam would be the DCI 2009 Champ...
Spring 17 orders and DIAS vote due Wed! 5/19, 3pm Central.
Enjoy,
-mike
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| dc311 f07 results! - FuzzyLogic (May 14, 2010, 9:14 am) |
Sorry guys, this one slipped me!
Bulgaria is the place to be this round as 8 units stand off over Bul, yet not a single unit moves in... In the west quite the opposite, England and Germany all over each other, and units shift all over the place - I think E draws the short straw tho, losing Holland to G.
France is eliminated! Nick, it's been a pleasure!
Russia could survive... but only w an aggressive retreat!
F Tun is dislodged, but goes OTB since it can't gain a center by retreating.
Russia to retreat Ukraine
Germany is +1
Turkey is +1 (+0 if R rets to Sev)
Can I get those adjustments today by 3pm so that we can get back on track?
Thanks!
-mike
Austria:
A Budapest Supports A Bulgaria - Rumania
A Bulgaria - Rumania (*Fails*)
A Galicia Supports A Bulgaria - Rumania
A Greece - Bulgaria (*Fails*)
F Ionian Sea - Aegean Sea (*Bounce*)
F Naples - Rome (*Bounce*)
A Serbia Supports A Greece - Bulgaria
A Venice - Rome (*Bounce*)
A Vienna - Tyrolia
England:
F English Channel - Belgium (*Bounce*)
F Gulf of Lyon Supports A Piedmont - Marseilles
F Mid-Atlantic Ocean - Spain(sc)
F North Sea - Denmark (*Bounce*)
A Norway - Finland
F Norwegian Sea - Norway
A Piedmont - Marseilles
F Sweden Supports F North Sea - Denmark (*Cut*)
F Western Mediterranean Supports F Tyrrhenian Sea - Tunis
France:
F Tunis Supports F Tyrrhenian Sea (*Dislodged*)
Germany:
A Burgundy - Belgium (*Bounce*)
A Gascony - Marseilles (*Fails*)
F Gulf of Bothnia - Sweden (*Fails*)
F Helgoland Bight - Denmark (*Bounce*)
A Livonia - St Petersburg
A Moscow Supports A Warsaw - Ukraine
A Munich - Kiel
A Ruhr - Holland
A Warsaw - Ukraine
Russia:
A Ukraine, no move received (*Dislodged*)
Turkey:
F Black Sea Supports A Rumania - Bulgaria
A Constantinople Supports A Rumania - Bulgaria
A Rumania - Bulgaria (*Fails*)
F Smyrna - Aegean Sea (*Bounce*)
F Tyrrhenian Sea - Tunis
[Reply] |
| DCI f16 results! - FuzzyLogic (May 12, 2010, 7:00 pm) |
Turkey’s the big winner here, going +4! So many
builds only half of them can even be played…
Two retreats and two sets of builds for this fall…
French A Bel to Pic, Bur, or OTB
Norwegian A Vie to Tyr or OTB
Turkey: +2
Norway: -1
(France could build 1 if retreat OTB)
Adjustments due Friday May 14, 3pm Central – or whenever I
have a full set.
Enjoy!
-mike
France:
A Belgium Hold (*Dislodged*)
A Bohemia - Vienna
F English Channel - London
F Irish Sea Supports F North Atlantic Ocean - Liverpool
A Munich Hold
F North Atlantic Ocean - Liverpool
A Ruhr Supports A Munich
F Wales Supports F North Atlantic Ocean - Liverpool
F Western Mediterranean - Mid-Atlantic Ocean
Russia:
F Sevastopol Supports A Ukraine - Rumania
A Silesia - Galicia
A St Petersburg - Moscow
A Ukraine - Rumania
Turkey:
F Adriatic Sea - Trieste (*Bounce*)
A Armenia - Ankara
A Budapest Supports A Bohemia - Vienna
A Bulgaria - Serbia
F Constantinople - Bulgaria(ec)
F Rome Hold
F Spain(sc) - Marseilles
F Tyrrhenian Sea - Western Mediterranean
F Venice - Trieste (*Bounce*)
Norway:
A Berlin Supports A Silesia - Munich (*Void*)
F Clyde - Liverpool (*Fails*)
F Helgoland Bight Supports F Kiel
F Holland Supports F North Sea - Belgium
F Kiel Supports F Holland
F North Sea - Belgium
F Norwegian Sea - North Atlantic Ocean
F Prussia - Berlin (*Fails*)
A Vienna - Budapest (*Dislodged*)
A Yorkshire Supports F Clyde - Liverpool
[Reply] |
| DCI s16 - Could it be?! - Nigs (May 09, 2010, 2:33 am) |
More likely 5 months.
Nigs
Date: Sun, 9 May 2010 06:14:20 +0000
From: maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk
Subject: RE: DCI s16 - Could it be?!
To: mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net; ddz999cat23(at)yahoo.com; drew3739o(at)yahoo.com; kielmarch(at)hotmail.com; jhack16(at)gmail.com; m_don_j(at)hotmail.com; frankmartin(at)surewest.net; jmsaralegui(at)gmail.com; matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu; smegdwarf(at)yahoo.com; nephilli99(at)hotmail.com
CC: dci(at)diplomaticcorp.com
so you wont be voting in 5 years?
--- On Fri, 7/5/10, Nigel PHILLIPS <nephilli99(at)hotmail.com> wrote:
From: Nigel PHILLIPS <nephilli99(at)hotmail.com>
Subject: RE: DCI s16 - Could it be?!
To: "Mike Sims - new email" <mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net>, "Dan Dzikowicz" <ddz999cat23(at)yahoo.com>, drew3739o(at)yahoo.com, "Garry DC" <kielmarch(at)hotmail.com>, "joe italy blitz 09" <jhack16(at)gmail.com>, "max victory d166 austria" <maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk>, "Mikael Johansson" <m_don_j(at)hotmail.com>, frankmartin(at)surewest.net, "Jorge England 214" <jmsaralegui(at)gmail.com>, "matt winter blitz - italy" <matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu>, "Adam DCI" <smegdwarf(at)yahoo.com>
Cc: dci(at)diplomaticcorp.com
Date: Friday, 7 May, 2010, 22:39
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I have just endured the British election without any winner and it looks much like this game. Its making me into a pacifist.
Nigs
Subject: DCI s16 - Could it be?!
Date: Fri, 7 May 2010 15:18:10 -0500
From: mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.net
To: ddz999cat23(at)yahoo.com; drew3739o(at)yahoo.com; kielmarch(at)hotmail.com; jhack16(at)gmail.com; Maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk; m_don_j(at)hotmail.com; frankmartin(at)surewest.net; jmsaralegui(at)gmail.com; nephilli99(at)hotmail.com; matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu; smegdwarf(at)yahoo.com
CC: dci(at)diplomaticcorp.com
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Whoops, Turkey ordered Smy-Arm, not Ank...
-mike
From: Michael Sims
Sent: Fri 5/7/2010 3:00 PM
To: 'ddz999cat23(at)yahoo.com'; 'drew3739o(at)yahoo.com'; Garry Bledsoe; 'jhack16(at)gmail.com'; 'Maxatrest(at)yahoo.co.uk'; 'm_don_j(at)hotmail.com'; 'frankmartin(at)surewest.net'; 'jmsaralegui(at)gmail.com'; 'nephilli99(at)hotmail.com'; 'matthew.kremer(at)yale.edu'; 'smegdwarf(at)yahoo.com'
Cc: dci
Subject: DCI s16 - Could it be?!
Yes folks after 15-1/2 hard fought years of Invitational goodness, we finally have...
...To carry on!
DIAS is voted down, again. And the mood among the Norwegian Ladies, well, is it just PMS? Or maybe the exceedingly high proportion of centers occupied by opposing units this summer... Russia and Turkey make a land-grab, flexing their little-power muscle into Saint Pete, Sev, Bud, Rom, and even Spain, and forcing the Norwegians in Bohemia OTB. The French fall back to Belgium, taking some lumps of their own - losing their army in Silesia, and every first born into Turkish slavery. This is certainly going down as an unbelievable rags-to-riches, game...
What next?
Well, one easy retreat:
French F Rome can go to Tus, Apu, or OTB by tomorrow 3pm Central!
France:
F English Channel Supports A Holland - Belgium
F Gulf of Lyon - Western Mediterranean
A Holland - Belgium
F London - Wales
F Mid-Atlantic Ocean - Irish Sea
A Munich Supports A Tyrolia - Bohemia
F North Atlantic Ocean - Liverpool (*Bounce*)
A Rome Hold (*Dislodged*)
A Ruhr Supports A Munich
A Silesia - Galicia (*Disbanded*)
A Tyrolia - Bohemia
Russia:
F Black Sea - Sevastopol
A Moscow - St Petersburg
A Ukraine - Galicia (*Bounce*)
A Warsaw - Silesia
Turkey:
F Aegean Sea - Constantinople
A Constantinople - Bulgaria
F Ionian Sea - Adriatic Sea
F Naples - Rome
A Serbia - Budapest
A Smyrna - Ankara
F Tyrrhenian Sea Supports F Naples - Rome
F Venice Hold
F Western Mediterranean - Spain(sc)
Norway:
A Berlin Supports A Warsaw - Silesia
A Bohemia - Munich (*Disbanded*)
F Clyde - Liverpool (*Bounce*)
F Denmark - Kiel
A Galicia - Vienna
F Helgoland Bight Supports F Kiel - Holland
F Kiel - Holland
A Liverpool - Yorkshire
F Livonia - Prussia
F North Sea - Belgium (*Fails*)
F Norwegian Sea - North Sea (*Fails*)
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