Here is the German EOG:


This game appealed to me because of Mark’s parameters. Fully anon, no one knew who was in or out, and it proved to me once more why I like that format best. Some of these same players are in a different game together with wildly different diplomatic results. But I digress.

Spring 1901: The game started off with great communication from all quarters. Italy offered an NAP and CAP with an inviting message and England wrote a poetic post about German/English trade ties almost in character. France sent short messages and I offered a DMZ which he was initially hesitant about but accepted. To Russia I sent a pro-Austrian message and solidified the NAP with Italy. The topic of Belgium was hot amongst the western 3 but it was left mostly vague. Western triples, sealions, and Sweden were also topics of conversation but France was interested in a ‘delayed sealion’ at best. My conversations with England were most detailed and most effective and we seemed to get into a good groove, though he did try to push me to open East, I resisted it. In this first season, I had sent 36 messages. The Spring moves were as standard as could be with the sole exception of France moving to gas instead of pic. So nothing was too clear yet.

Fall 1902: Now we got down to the real negotiations. E, F, and myself started to seriously discuss a WT, with the English asking to convoy to bel then hopping to nwy later. Meanwhile France and I had built a good rapport and were deciding if we should go for the WT (MAO-WMS) or to go against England (MAO-IRI) – both options had appeal to us both and things were still dynamic. I started what I consider a pretty masterful deception. I told England that we should spread that I plan to bounce in Sweden in order to convince Russia into moving to Baltic thus allowing Germany take swe and letting England convoy to den (instead of bel) for his 2nd build. At the same time, I told Russia of my own duplicity and told him I would let him have Sweden but that he should tell England he’s going to Baltic in order to convince England of the northern plan (thus no bounce in bel for me). Near the deadline, England finally agreed to try this, Russia played his part, and France agreed to move to iri. Meanwhile Italy and Austria were busy on their side and our conversations were very collegial and friendly and reassuring of the CPA. I tried some conversations with turkey, but nothing really happened diplomatically for us. The one thing for me to figure out was what to do with the fleet in Den that would make sense. I decided to move it to North in what would be an obvious failure. Everything worked to plan and even the builds were good for me. Fleet brest, A stp, and 3 for Germany.

1902: I tried to pass the move off as a mistake and England was having none of it. But he was quite rational and logical and reasonable about the whole situation. I could tell he was an excellent (and thus dangerous) player so I knew I had to keep him in check. I solidified my CAP, kept communication open with Turkey, but also decided that France’s comparative lack of communication and dishonesty about moving to Irish meant he would not make a good long-term ally. At this point, I was considering Russia as a potential ally, but my CAP was also very strong. He had earlier offered me Sweden as he took Norway, but asks if he can keep it one extra year, I said yes. England imagined Russia to be his ally, but I was pretty clear France and Russia would go after England while I would support myself into Hel and prepare to take north. England moved to Ska, Russia took Norway with his fleet and broke England’s heart. In the fall, in close coordinate with both France and Russia we attacked England and I took North while France took Iri and Ech. However, not wanting Russia to get a build, I told England how to properly play it to keep 4 units (to take Sweden). I also told him he could not stop me in North but I’d move to Bur, so he might as well move into position to defend against France. England, realizing his own dire straits agreed and decided to pretend to trust me. In the end, he had no choice. But I did also move into Burgundy and I did keep Russia from getting a build. Meanwhile, the continued RT fight and AI cooperation was working except for a small breakdown that AI can talk about themselves.

1903: France was upset and pulled back. Meanwhile I planned some moves with Russia while using my newfound leverage with England and maneuvered my units in such a way to make it seem like I was going to take Sweden from him and old Russia I’d support him into Edi. But instead I planned to support England into Norway and to convoy to Prussia to help my ally Austria (who was making a move against Russia at this point). In the fall of 1903, I engineered moves as best I could to result in disbands for Russia+France and builds for Germany+England. The CPA was now out in the open with England seemingly the extra wheel. One note: I realized that the CPA is most beneficial to IA and in order for Germany to make gains I would have to figure out a way to deal with the West on my own. The Italian support from piedmont was actually quite crucial but in the end, I had to deal with my 3 neighbors without my ‘real’ allies.

1904: this year saw Italy making some surprising moves while I again turned the tables on England and managed to outguess him to take Sweden and London and not bouncing him in Norway in the fall so that he would have to disband 2. But by now, turkey was completely gone and I had to worry a bit about Austria or Italy turning on me. Part of that plan called for some more duplicity. I had promised Austria support into war from ukr, but instead gave support to gal (oops). This resulted in A retreating to Moscow but also meant Austria did not have a wall of units on my eastern border and gave me some extra time to deal with the still formidable French and English units.

1905: once more England and I tried to kiss and make up. At his suggestion, he convoyed my army from London to Brest while Italy and I got back on the same page as well. In the fall, I ‘stabbed’ England again (I think 4th or 5th time =P) and got Austria into stp and myself into edi, bre, and par. There were all sorts of negotiations this year as England tried to convince me to let him get bre and a build and be a long-term ally. But with the CAP now going strong and my communications with both Italy and Austria being useful, I did not see a use in keeping a strong England who’d either want a spot in the draw later, or worst, get the last laugh by replacing me in an AIE 3-way draw. I just knew he was too dangerous to let grow.

1906-1908: These last 3 years were just about clean-up, and a crazy little tiff with Italy who became paranoid, bitchy, and rude to both Austria and me. Austria even offered to give me the solo at one point. Italy was initially refusing to allow a stalemate-line which ended up being the final stalemate line anyways. Perhaps I should have considered stabbing Italy by getting myself into Tyrolia or Gascony much earlier… but I just did not have the right opportunity unfortunately. To me it was obvious they could block me so a solo was not really a feasible target on my radar. Maybe some folks can enlighten me on how I could have given myself a better shot at the solo.

I enjoyed diploming with Cachimbo, yebellz and Frank in particular… I was genuinely disappointed that I could not keep England as a long-term ally but I pretty much knew from the first few years in the game that he was too good and too dangerous of a player for me to give him a shot at revenge. At one point, when I helped him get a build to go up to 5, I was actually nervous and had to rely on a good guess to convoy into London to cut him back down to size. Marx was ok to talk to for the most part, but he got quite annoying and irrational towards the end, but whatever his thinking, it worked for him and he managed to get the result. The one thing I’m happy about is that I had no clue who MM was the entire time, and I like keeping it that way, otherwise I would have distrusted him far earlier in the game (especially when he tried to support France into burgundy).

Frank, Manas, and Cachimbo, sorry for the lies – in the end, it was necessary for me to be able to survive the West. Hope to ally with you all next time.

EmperorMaximus – too bad we really did not have much to discuss. I’m sorry that in the end you committed suicide, I still feel that is a dishonorable way to end a game – but thankfully it did not unbalance the game too much.

Thank you Austria for a great game as well, glad it was you yebellz, and so good to play you again.

I really liked reading this.

I believe I've told you just about a hundred times already, but I'll say it again: you gave me far too much credit! I do appreciate the compliment, and I'm sorta kinda glad (not at all) that I was the last one out.

After that dreadful mistake in fall 01 (I knew better than to follow your lead, yet I still went ahead with it), I felt like I was always trying to catch up instead of giving the pace. From there on out, all I did was second guess myself, undoing moves that would have kept me alive ... I'll post something more substantial soon.

Oh! One more thing: don't you ever apologize to me again for an in-game lie, you d**k! You pulled it off and it served you well; don't try to sell me the idea you regret any of it! If anything, at least have the decency of following through and tell me that you are sorry I was so dumb to buy into your lies!!!

;-)

That was an excellent EOG, Babak. I greatly enjoyed reading it. And it was a good thing you figured out that the British player is a dangerous SoB. I did not until it was too late in an invitation game with him. :)

I admit I got unusually busy with RL while playing this game, and couldnt give it half the time it deserved. No wonder Babak and Cachimbo found me uncommunicative.

@Babak: I hadn't said I would move to the Irish in 1902. I was eager to join forces against England, who I considered dangerous. But I felt it would be more optimal to move to Ech, and said so as well. I was a bit worried about a stab from you, your Munich army was making me uncomfortable, which is why I moved MAO rather than Brest to the Channel.

@ Zultar: lol !

Manas - that referred to the move in the fall 1901 where you held with MAO instead of moving to Irish. I think the reason you gave in-game was that you did not get my message in time. But my perception of your lack of a move from MAO coupled with the relatively less communicative style induced me to work with England the following year and to show my intention to work with him by moving into Burgundy.

Cachimbo - I do genuinely feel bad every time I stab an ally. i wont take it back and I wont 'not stab'... but I do feel sorry and apologize. its mostly an apology for the hurt feeling left from a stab. but I take your point regarding apologies =) you did read most of my intentions very well, you called me out on many of my diplomatic and strategic maneuvers as well, but in the end, I think i gave you just enough to believe me. that may be my shortcoming actually. some of my tricks work better with good players... its kind of like poker, they say you can't bluff a donkey... in Dip too, some diplomatic tricks work better with advanced players. but I did put a lot of effort into the 1902 negotiations and the 1903 moves/diplomacy that netted you gains.

zultar - glad ti was useful. i fear I give away so much of my own style in these EOGs but they are fun to do, force me to "up-my-game" in the future, and hopefully help others who might learn things from my mistakes.

If players in the game would provide feedback on the concept of this invitational I would greatly appreciate it, I may just do it again, and if so, hope to improve it.

Thank you Babak for your comments on the invitational specifically, I'm glad you enjoyed it... Well, suppose you didn't comment on the format too much, you just said it appealed to you beforehand, so if you have any views of the format in hindsight, that would be great too, or any ideas on how to improve it or whatever. Thanks.

MM, I think it was an excellent idea and you organised it well. It should almost have been an official tournament with everyone but you competing against each other for best performance.

Thanks, Geo! Hmmm, maybe I should make it an annual tournament, I kind of like that idea, lol, it's a bit of an odd one, but what the hell, may be worth trying, official or not...

MM - I thought the format was great. not too many bells and whistles, just an all around fun game with a 'pure-anon' capacity. I also liked that you said those who joined can not comment on your thread, it kept it even more anon that way. you did a great job with this and I dont think anything needed to change.

I enjoyed the game a lot, good format and everyone was pretty communicative. I was definitely outplayed by Babak and so was Cachimbo. We kept talking about stopping Germany but we never got our shit together and so we both ended up getting swallowed up. I find playing press games so challenging.

am I the only person who's going to put up a serious EOG statement? =(

Frank, thank you for the compliment - I really enjoyed the game tremendously and I felt our press was superb.

I've got an EoG in me, but it's looking to be a busy weekend, so not sure when I'll type it up.

1901: In the spring, we're all cautious. Germany is pitting me against France, but only lightly, France is doing the same. Same old, same old... I got assurance from Russia that he's opening south, but it comes too easily, so I'm going to watch out for him for the next little while. I send a greeting message to Italy (I love good relations with Turkey and Italy as England; you almost always have to be patient when you're playing pink, and fostering good relations with nations far away is a good way to set things up for when the time comes to act more forcefully), but Italy pretty much tells me to fuck off. So I do. I know we'll have to talk later anyway and he might remember that I tried to be nice to him early on.
Then Babak stabs me and tries to sell me the idea it was a mistake. I knew better, and the builds confirmed my suspicions: Russia is EVIL! And so is Germany. But clearly it's the German calling the shots and Russia has had no reasons to complain so I doubt I can get him to change allies short term. Meanwhile, France is asking for all sorts of conditions to be met if he's to play a WT, which was briefly talked about. More and more I see that I'm in trouble: France is not very responsive, Russia is... evil, and Germany is calling the shots. What's more, I get no results from further messages sent to Austria and Italy.

I'm not liking this at all.

1902: I pretty much play the spring phase alone, knowing I have no friends, and I hope that something will fuck up so that I may hope to turn things around. Nothing does... I'm fucked.
But then I manage to get some good press with Germany. I will say this about Babak and I: I pity the fools sitting at the table where him and I find a way to ally rapidly. Our approaches, though different, meshed fantastically well. Too well indeed, so I knew that he'd control me and stab me the second he lost control. Sadly, however, I have no choice but to go along: friendless and frustrated, I give him the Nth to fend off France. But not for one second do I believe I can count on Germany: he's just buying time, controlling the north. I'll have to play it perfectly if I'm to have a shot.

1903: Germany has pushed Russia out of Scandinavia. I have little time to pull something out of my ass. Meanwhile, France backs off, but I stupidly felt obliged towards Germany so I help him into Pic instead of profiting from France's NMR. Eurg...

1904: France and I can't get our shit together. Until the last 10 minutes of the autumn phase, I have Germany's every move countered and I'm staying in St-P. And then... I second guess myself and fuck it up. Babak sent a last minute message that had the effect of a mind bomb. My brains went mush.. I hated myself for days.

From now on, I'm Germany's bitch for good: Russia is messed up, Turkey is out, France is on its way... If Germany can solo, I can survive. I know that now. But still, I'm going to second guess myself and try to force Germany's hand here and there. The truth is: I'm out and I know it. But if I'm going to play to the end, I'm going to make it fun some way or the other.

From there on I'll really just be trying to survive.

Which I won't succeed at doing. Blarg...

Great game babak. Our press was fantastic. I've learned much from your tricks.

Yebellz: your silence pissed me off. RL seemed difficult for you during this game (it was for me too, sadly) so I suppose it's not your normal MO. But yeah... your silence pissed me off.

Frank: the early stabs and Babak clearly calling the shots around Scandinavia made it really hard for us to play together. I do believe that I've learnt an important lesson though: I should have paid you more than what Babak could and made sure that you were on my side much earlier than when we were reduced to almost nothing. I'd rather lose a centre and gain an ally than protect what I have to see it melt away the next year.

MM: Douche bag...! ;-) As much as my first message to you was received with disdain, your response pissed me off! And then it felt as though there was never going to be a way to bridge the gap. Like I said: I love a strong relation with the other naval power, whether I'm Italy or England. And that also means good press with Turkey.

EM: We never had the time to talk much, did we... They ganged up on you fast and hard.

Manas: Insufficient press and a fantastically manipulative Germany made it impossible for us to muster any sort of momentum against the brown man. When we finally got around to it, the Central alliance was to strong and Italy could not be depended on to help us. Too little too late...

All around, even leaving aside that STUPID convoy to Den which I knew would not go through, I think I played one of my weakest games. I'm just really happy I got the chance to face Babak and MM again in Deadzone. As for the other ones, let's hope that we get the chance to meet again very soon, hopefully early in January (I should set up a few Invitationals then).

I would like to know what MM's response was if that's okay with Cachimbo and Babak.

My mail! My choice!
Me:

"To my Italian friend:
A wonderful new century to you. Shall we agree that our troops will not move beyond the Gibraltar without the other one's prior knowledge? I hope we may come to develop a stronger agreement in the future, but it seems to me like this is an understanding that will serve our two nations well in the meantime."

MM:

"I think that you are a long-term planner, that's the least of my concerns at the moment, do we really need to figure that out so soon? I will agree in spirit, however, and we can discuss specifics once they are more of a reality. Enjoy the northwest and don't be afraid to ask a favor of me, especially if you are prepared for an honest answer."

I suppose I could have phrased things a bit differently, but I think I would have gotten the same response regardless. The bit that got to me was "that's the least of my concerns at the moment". Don't get me wrong: it didn't make me mad or anything. But just like my message had ill effects on MM, his predisposed me poorly towards Italy.

I also want to point out that the "agreement" I was offering MM was spurred mostly by... a Sherlock Holmes story I had just read!

We have many Sherlock Holmes aficionados

(damn... hit "post" by mistake)

We have many Sherlock Holmes aficionados here I think... Maybe I should make this a contest? What Holmes story surrounds a treatise between Italy and England's naval powers?

Italy's (MM's) response didn't seem so out of place. It does, perhaps, seem a bit curt, but straight-forward and pragmatic, no?

That is the perfect example of why it takes exactly one message to know who MadMarx is in any game. Such a distinct style.

France EOG :
1901: England offered a Ech DMZ to which I gladly agreed. Italy and I also agreed to early game peace. Germany had proposed a Burgundy DMZ, which Im generally wary of, but he convinced me to go with it anyway. Germany also suggested a Sea Lion, but I am generally reluctant to commit to an attack in the first year, so I asked to defer it to later. We also had a discussion on a WT, but England's desire to convoy an army to Belgium while I moved to Westmed made me wonder if I was being set up. England also said that there were rumors of me planning to move to Ech, so I wondered if that was Germany trying to sow distrust between us. Either way, I stuck with a neutral opening, and tried to get Germany to make an anti-English move before I did (blocking Denmark), after which I felt it was safe to attack England.

1902: I should probably have asked Germany to defer his third build, because building 3 units meant he could make an army in Munich while pretending to be friendly to me. It looked like England would be gone soon, and then Germany would turn on either of me and Russia.
I and Germany seemed to reach an agreement about division of centers, with him getting Scandinavia and keeping Belgium, and I getting England. I wanted him to attack Russia while I attacked England, since I was supposed to get those centers anyway. Because of the Munich army not moving towards Russia, I still was reluctant to let my guard down against Germany, so i tried to attack England in a way that looked neutral, like moving to Ech instead of Irish. My hope was that, if Munich did enter Burgundy, I would be in a good defensive position, and since I could pretend to England that Ech was meant to take Belgium, he might side with me instead of Germany (who had already betrayed him once). Both those assumptions turned out to be false. The defensive position would've held off Germany if not for Italy supporting him into Mars. And England sided with Germany, it might've been that I lost his trust due to lack of communication in previous seasons.

1903: I told England I was going to back off due to the German stab, and so he could safely focus on fighting Germany off. I also told Russia that the move into Burgundy was preplanned with Germany, hoping he would think Germany was just making him let his guard down. Germany justified his move into Burgundy saying that he had heard rumors of me and England allying against him, he also asked for a pretended fight so that he could set up an attack on Russia. I somehow believed him, and gave a possible set of moves which would be hard to abuse. Meanwhile, I still moved Irish back to MAO. When Fall came, I saw that Germany had stabbed for real, and EGI were all attacking me. Meanwhile, the only potential friend against EG, Russia, was stabbed by Austria in the same turn, and was in trouble himself. Moreover, I had to stay later than expected for work, and I NMRed for the Autumn phase, though Id have lost Mars even if I had not.

1904: Germany had grown very powerful, and none of his neighbours was in good shape. England had just gotten a build, but Germany had Nth, so England wasn't doing great either. I tried to convince England to unite against Germany, saying it was clear that Germany wasn't a reliable ally to anyone, and would stab England the moment it was convenient. England seemed to agree that Germany was going to stab him sooner or later, but wanted to wait for an opportune moment to betray Germany. Russia was in too much trouble from Austria to fight Germany, we tried communicating with Austria, but he had been uncommunicative with me the whole game, and didn't respond favorably. Finally, I told Italy I would let him get and keep Mars, if he would help me fend off Germany. He agreed to it, (but Id heard Germany had promised to give him mars anyway, so Italy could do this without offending Germany) .I had asked Italy to move a built unit against Germany also taking Mars. He was going to support me into Burgundy with the Mars unit. But he built a fleet in Naples and moved it to Tyr, so I wasn't sure whether he was helping me or was just going to try to take Iberia. I assumed the latter, Im not sure my assumption was correct, and bounced Westmed. Meanwhile, I knew Germany would try to take Paris although he'd said otherwise, so I support held it. Taking Burgundy with Italian support might've been a better idea, I dont know what that would've led to. Germany stabbed England in fall again, and I thought I could finally convince England to unite against Germany.

1905 onwards: Again, England helped Germany, in hopes of surviving while Germany solo'ed. I dont know why I didnt support hold Brest with Paris, I hadnt expected the English attack. Italy stabbed as well. I had considered the survive while Germany solo's possibility as well, but didn't think I could make it work since I was blocked by Italy in the South. At this point, I was sure England and I would be eliminated, whether it was a German solo or a 3-way draw. So I let Italy take my centers without much resistance, and annoyed Germany a little at his behest. Italy thought he had a chance to solo, and maybe I could survive, but it was a 3-way draw at the end.


Yebellz, Frank: We sadly didn't have any real communication this game. I tried at times to get information from you, even giving you unsolicited information first, but I never got any non-trivial press from you.

EM: Too bad you faced the 3 on 1 early.

Babak: Amazing game. We had a pretty good alliance going, I would've moved to Irish sooner if not for the Munich army, too bad I messed it up, and didn't see your stab coming. I was hoping to get you to attack Russia while I took England, and stab you while you were fighting Russia. I thought you were Madmarx for most of the game, though I never said so due to the tournament rules, but I was still very wary of you. Your stab came sooner than expected, and combined with Italy's stab, and your influence over England, was unstoppable.

Madmarx: We started the game on good terms, and I thought Id strengthened your trust after I forewarned you about wanting to move my army to Mars and moving to Gascony instead when you asked me to. When you helped Germany take Mars, was it because you actually thought I and England were allied? And when you moved the fleet to Tyr, were you intending to help me against England, as you said, or were you actually going to try and take Spain? I should probably have seen the third final stab coming, but Im not sure I could've done much in that position.
Thanks a lot for organising this tournament. you've done a great job of it. The format is good, and it was a really good learning experience for me.

Cachimbo: Its sad we couldnt work things out this game. I was really hoping you would continue fighting Germany when he stabbed me, and also after he stabbed you the second time. We might've had a chance if we'd united then.
When we were discussing a WT, you expressed a desire to convoy to Belgium while I moved my fleet to the Westmed, which seemed very fishy to me, and made me trust you a little less.
Before Germany moved to Burgundy, I hadnt moved to the Irish Sea, or made any more that is clearly anti-English, so i was hoping for some anti-German support when he stabbed. I wasn't sadly in a position to offer you the SCs that Germany let you have, that combined with his good convincing skills prevented us from allying.

Overall, I was more paranoid than usual this game, making defensive/neutral moves that ended up offending potential allies. I should have been more prompt and thorough with my communication, my press was almost entirely restricted to immediate neighbours, and even that was only around a couple of messages per neighbour per season. It was really great playing with all of you though, Id love to do it again sometime!

uclabb, I almost didn't send you an invite for that very reason, since this was supposed to be as anonymous as possible. But, then I also got the sense that if I invited you, after our last game together (where you, as Italy, stole Trieste from me, as Austria, in1901, and then I killed you for doing that), that you would join, identify me quickly and then kill me, largely for spite. BUT, then I didn't know if I was not inviting you because of the nature of the Invitational or because I felt you would seek revenge, and I tend to err on the side of keeping an open mind, so I sent you an invite to give you a chance to prove my instincts wrong. So, if you did get into a game, which I'm not sure of (some games I sent out more invitations than spots available, so it was first come first served), I will be interested to see how my pre-invitation gut take on the situation plays out! :-)

These EoG's are really amazing/fun, thanks for putting so much time and thought into them, I hope we will all do the same, and in all my ABI games. I was planning to be a bit more vague with mine, but I better step it up, which will take a bit of time that I will get to hopefully sooner rather than later. BUT, I do have a sneak peak!!:

In spring 1905, I sort of accidently moved into Bulgaria, not knowing Austria would vacate it. So, with it looking like Austria would take War and Sev, and then have nothing to do as a member of our CPA, I got a bit nervous and even though I agreed to move out of Bulgaria, I purposely misordered by saying that my army would move from Bulgaria to Greece "via convoy", thinking it would not move, but WTF, it did move to Greece, no way!! So, here's the interesting part, I emailed the mods about the "bug", and that I should not have moved and it cost me a SC, and I'll be damned if the Austrian I was trying to screw over wasn't a mod himself, son of a bitch!! I obviously didn't know at the time, since I didn't even know a mod was in this game, much less playing Austria, really pretty crazy turn of events!!

@Cachimbo: "The Naval Treaty"
It was a good one…I just read it last week, as it happens. :)

Also, what's CPA? Central Players Alliance, or some such thing?

Damn, that's s good game! By 1903/1904, you could see the outcome of the game already. Well played!

Especially well played by yebellz. Sharing a draw with MM and Babak, that's about the best result you could hope for in such a game.

Absolutely fascinating reading these EOG's. Keep them up!