Please post here if you are interested in joining the School of War as a student or teacher.

Other postings here will be the commentary on the games. When you comment on a game please paste the game link, and [SoW #] at the top of your comment - SoW # (ie 1, 2, 4 etc) will identify the game and the link will allow people to quickly look at it.

And this means we're done with bumping the other threads?

There are currently four School of War games.
SoW I:
http://phpdiplomacy.net/board.php?gameID=10755
SoW II:
http://www.phpdiplomacy.net/board.php?gameID=10963
SoW III:
http://www.phpdiplomacy.net/board.php?gameID=11113
SoW IV:
http://phpdiplomacy.net/board.php?gameID=11284

We will not be starting any new games until at least one of these is finished. If you would like to play in a future game, not only should you indicate your interest, but also please join in the commentary and ask questions about expert comments.

@gjdip - yes. i have them saved and will work on getting them onto the blog.

[SOW2 - Official Commentary. gameID=10963]

I will give a more complete commentary later, but this was one of the most... fluid turns yet. The French and the Austrians both surprised me - I would assume that France sparing England indicates a desire to work with England *and* Germany against Russia - while moving to the south lets him either prop up or slaughter Italy.

Austria chose not to stab Russia - which is good for Russia, but not necessarily so good for Austria. I would assume he's going to plink SIL to allow Russia to take Warsaw, but the question is, what does Austria get out of this?

i'm interested in joining the school of war as a student.

i have much to learn.

[SoW 3 - Official Commentary - game 11113]

Apparently we are migrating over here. This was my last comment:

I'm not supposed to tell you specific moves. But if the German was friendly, you could take Sweden and Holland (and this is the killer) slip into Mid-Atlantic. That would really bring the hammer down on France.

Alternatively you could choose between either taking Kiel or Sweden with a hostile Germany. In that case it would probably be better to arrange a bounce with France's fleet, perhaps in the Mid Atlantic.

[SoW3 - Official Commentary - GameID=11113]

France:
Let the expansion begin =)
Home centers and neutrals are all under control including Belgium AND Holland. England is working well with you. You've gained control of Pie and you've got two fleets in the water in the med.

The only thing I might question as an outsider to the game is whether or not it was a good idea to move to the channel. It's a move that other powers can use to create paranoia in England to try to turn him. However, perhaps your communication with England is strong enough that he's not worried. From your perspective it certainly is the best place for the fleet because it can protect Belgium this turn and next turn has the flexibility of moving back to MAO in one turn OR moving in on England whenever you want to =)

England:
Just because a move is best for your ally doesn't mean you HAVE to let him do it. Why not tell France that if he wants to protect Belgium with his fleet he has to move to Pic and not the Channel?

You're going to have to pick a direction at some point. You can't stay friends with France AND Russia forever. The nice thing is that you can move either way with the fleet in the NAO. Honestly you could probably make war on both countries and still be ok. St pete and Swe are both tempting targets and a fleet in the MAO would really create problems for France. If you keep working closely with France you risk solidifying relationships in the east. If you attack France then I doubt Turkey would have any qualms about stabbing Austria.

You've got options - and that's a good thing - but now's them time to take advantage of them and make a move somewhere!

Italy/Austria:
I'm going to deal with these two countries in one post this turn. This game illustrates well what I think is the problem with A/I attacking each other early in the game. In this case Austria gained control and is dominating the middle of the board. Now that the battle for neutrals is over in the east and west and Germany has been picked to be attacked notice the fleet movements in the lower portion of the board. Two Turkish fleets are in the water pressing in and two French fleets are in the water pressing in. Even though Austria is currently strong, where is he going to go? Everyone around him has solidified their position and is now pushing toward the stalemate line trying to be the first one there.

A/I need each other in the beginning of the game and they need to gain a corner position somewhere. This didn't happen in this game and as a result A/I probably won't last too long now that the corner powers are ready to move into the middle of the board.

I should add that if either Alliance makes it seem like they are unbreakable then that is a really good way to end the game in a 4 or even 5 way draw. Any more than 3 people in a draw is a bad result in my opinion, and often makes for a boring game.

The above comment being for SoW 3. The only one that matters.

all SoW I commentary is now on the blog as well. working on II-IV next.

A big thanks to djbent for sorting out the blog.

Can I have a list of all the people commentating so that I can add them to the authors, please?

i'm working on that ghost. i'll get it to you soon.

SoW II (what little we had of it at least) is now up there as well.

can someone find out if there is a way to retrieve the SoW2 content that was lost? Centurian and I really put a lot of effort into that...

The threads aren't deleted, so it is possible. I have contacted Kestas on MSN to get it back.

thanks ghosty =)

jacob and centurian are commentators on SoW III - and i am currently transferring that thread to the blog in its entirety. so don't fret jacob =)

ok ghost, this is who i have for official commentators on the games, pieced together:

I - rratcliff, TGM, cgwhite, babak (?)
II - stratagos
III - jacob, centurian
IV - chrispminis, peteU, thewizard (?)

Does anyone know the precise thread name for the SoW 2 Commentary

oof, no. =(

I don't have TheWizard and PeteUs' email addresses, but the other I have added.

Could those two email me so that I can add them as authors?

what is required for one to be an 'official' commentator? i'm happy to start commenting on SoW 2.

Ghost-rating of 175-200+ has been the standard roughly, I think. Experience is useful too. You can add comments and ask questions regardless.

yes orathaic, please continue to comment on SoW II, that would be great. we have generally reserved the "professor" positions for those with a higher ranking, but the more commentary and questions the better.

Ghostmaker - I've sent you an email. This is getting dangerously close to being official and organised..

ok all commentary from SoW I-III is now on the blog.

i think i'll have to do IV later tonight or tomorrow.

Do we have to post on this blog? Having things all on one site, so I can type up commentary while waiting for replies, is just alot easier for me.

Jacob, we are in SoW3, and that thread is actually still on the forum.

centurian - you don't have to, but it would be great if you would. if not, i will transfer them over.