Ditto.

Bump.

The builds.
Talk about those, profs.

Builds as expected, here is a quick recap:
Austria - with Italy committed West the second fleet in Trieste is vital to mounting an attack on Turkey. Also in terms of long run solo strategy, anytime Austria can build a fleet in Trieste without putting existing units at risk (i.e. When Austria does not need an army in Trieste to help defend/hold Serbia, Budapest, Vienna) it is a good idea as those fleets will be needed down the road and with only Trieste available for fleet builds that can be difficult in the later stages. Well poised to finish off Russia and start wearing down Turkey.
England - No builds, but the Russian disband in Sweden is your gain. This could be the year things finally start to go your way.
France - No builds for you or Italy and at least Germany built a Fleet instead of another army to send your way. Situation is bleak, but England should get a build this year and if you catch some breaks/guess well this year you could stay in the mix and start to turn things around. Not impossible for you to stay at 4 units this year (probably by gaining Spain and limiting your losses to one of Paris/Marseilles). Also not impossible for you to be down to 2 units at the end of this year with poor moves and trying to do too much.
Germany - second fleet should allow for continued steady expansion, gives you options to either try to gain control of North Sea or try to grab Sweden this year. You probably have enough armies against France to secure a build this year there as well. Well poised on the French front and it should be interesting to see what the fleets do.
Italy - no builds, but with the right moves and/or if France decides to try to thwart Germany rather than you this should be a growth year for you.
Russia - I guess Sweden is the most logical disband. The good news is you still have two units and an ally in the South. The bad news is you are outnumbered on both fronts. Maybe Germany will end up helping you hold both Sweden and St. Pete up north, but if he goes after Sweden himself you could easily end up losing both of those this year depending on how England plays it. Staying at 4 units this year will be almost impossible, but if you can somehow hang in at 3 and Germany and England start to lock horns and you and Turkey catch some breaks against Austria then maybe you can mount a comeback down the road. Dropping down to 2 centers this year puts you on death's door.
Turkey - no builds, the Austrian fleet build is not what you would have hoped for. At least Russia kept two Southern units and you are in good position to defend this year. But it is only a matter of time before that second fleet makes its way south, so you need to do something to change the dynamic in the Balkans or face a gradual elimination at the hands of Austria in the coming years.

Could you seperate your paragraphs a bit? That's painful to read.

Sorry, here you go.
Builds as expected, here is a quick recap:

Austria - with Italy committed West the second fleet in Trieste is vital to mounting an attack on Turkey. Also in terms of long run solo strategy, anytime Austria can build a fleet in Trieste without putting existing units at risk (i.e. When Austria does not need an army in Trieste to help defend/hold Serbia, Budapest, Vienna) it is a good idea as those fleets will be needed down the road and with only Trieste available for fleet builds that can be difficult in the later stages. Well poised to finish off Russia and start wearing down Turkey.

England - No builds, but the Russian disband in Sweden is your gain. This could be the year things finally start to go your way.

France - No builds for you or Italy and at least Germany built a Fleet instead of another army to send your way. Situation is bleak, but England should get a build this year and if you catch some breaks/guess well this year you could stay in the mix and start to turn things around. Not impossible for you to stay at 4 units this year (probably by gaining Spain and limiting your losses to one of Paris/Marseilles). Also not impossible for you to be down to 2 units at the end of this year with poor moves and trying to do too much.

Germany - second fleet should allow for continued steady expansion, gives you options to either try to gain control of North Sea or try to grab Sweden this year. You probably have enough armies against France to secure a build this year there as well. Well poised on the French front and it should be interesting to see what the fleets do.

Italy - no builds, but with the right moves and/or if France decides to try to thwart Germany rather than you this should be a growth year for you.

Russia - I guess Sweden is the most logical disband. The good news is you still have two units and an ally in the South. The bad news is you are outnumbered on both fronts. Maybe Germany will end up helping you hold both Sweden and St. Pete up north, but if he goes after Sweden himself you could easily end up losing both of those this year depending on how England plays it. Staying at 4 units this year will be almost impossible, but if you can somehow hang in at 3 and Germany and England start to lock horns and you and Turkey catch some breaks against Austria then maybe you can mount a comeback down the road. Dropping down to 2 centers this year puts you on death's door.

Turkey - no builds, the Austrian fleet build is not what you would have hoped for. At least Russia kept two Southern units and you are in good position to defend this year. But it is only a matter of time before that second fleet makes its way south, so you need to do something to change the dynamic in the Balkans or face a gradual elimination at the hands of Austria in the coming years.

Thanks, that looks so much better.

1902 Builds:


England - No builds, but I expect you'll have one this year. Russia disbanded Sweden, and you have no reason to be nice. However, you should also consider that Germany is going for the North Sea, and as things stand right now, he could very possibly get it if you don't defend properly. Obviously, you are looking to get into St. Petersburg, but it might also be wise to give Russia a bit of a break and take the fight to Germany before he figures out a way to take it to you. That's for you and your TA to decide.

France - Also no builds, and frankly, no targets either. Your only goal right now is to live, and that's going to get increasingly difficult as time goes on. You need to prioritize one line of defense and then get back to the other afterwards and do the thing Diplomacy players hate most - hope for the best.

Germany - Good build choice. There are two directions you could go and I think everyone knows which is the most likely option, but when you consider that England will likely end up with a build this year and getting the North Sea is going to be extremely unlikely once he has another fleet, I encourage you to look at everything and consider where you want to go next. The advantage of your position is that you can make a quick turnaround in either direction and a move for Scandinavia and St. Petersburg to line up with Austria in Warsaw and Moscow could be effective at this point. I'm curious to see which one captures your fancy.

Russia - You made the correct disband, and now your best move is to move your armies back as quickly as possible. No time for games in Scandinavia, just retreat and hope that you can work around losing another center or two.

Turkey - It's time to get creative. Bulgaria might be a necessary sacrifice to get your fleet out of the Black Sea and into the open water in my opinion. You and your TA should discuss whether you're going to sit still and hope you can outmaneuver Austria or whether you want to sacrifice a center (or potentially get lucky and hang onto it, given that Russia is consistently cutting Rumania) to get the upper hand in the oceans.

Italy - I maintain that you ought to be pushing onward into the GoL. Unless you have some master plan that I'm not seeing (maybe you're considering a quick move on Turkey?), you either want to get yourself into Iberia or get into the MAO, and leaving that fleet behind will help you accomplish neither. That needs to move forward so that France can't get another build out of Spain and have the opportunity to put a second fleet out there.

Austria - Everything's gone your way so far, and it's not time to get passive. You need to keep on pushing into Russia, and you need to get to Turkey quickly so that you can take those centers for yourself. Once you're there, you are going to be nearly unstoppable.

Where are the other professors? Let's hear from them.

BoSox and I did both post. 2WL said up front that he would post when he could as an alternate prof.

Oh. Are there only the three of you?

1902 Builds:

I believe in nothing.

Yeah, just us three.

Early Monday morning now in Europe... Un-pause?

Bump. It'd be cool if we could tag members in posts like tweeter. @2WL #unpausepls haha

Unpauzed.

Bumping to first page. 2 hours till next phase

Bump for process

Bump for professorial analysis.

Comments (with spacing between sections!)

Austria - the usual solid moves on the Russian front. You and England should make quick work of Russia. Gre to Ion jumps out to me as an odd move though. Likely to provoke an attack from Italy in Tyr even if moving on Nap/Tun was not your intent. Also put you in a bad spot relative to Turkey. If you were going to vacate Gre this turn the move should have been to the Aeg. It will be difficult but not impossible for you to hold all of Gre, Ser, and Rum at the end of the fall though you should probably take Mos this year.

England - things are looking up for you. Solid moves combined with the Russian retreat have you poised to almost certainly get a build and possibly as many as 3. Getting control of North Sea was key as Germany has to think twice about attacking you there now since you can retreat from there to any of Den, Hol, and Bel that are left vacant and not attacked this turn. Ska is also a great place to be as it gives you options with respect to Swe and Den. Lots of options for how you play the fall moves and almost all of them good.

France - I feel like I could scroll up and read where I warned you about the folly of trying to hold both Par and Mar this turn. Now Germany can guarantee Par and Italy can guarantee Mar. England is mounting a charge against Germany but you haven't positioned yourself well to benefit from that or from Italy's mistake at the end of last turn. Your best bet for the fall may be to think about which 3 units you would like to have starting year 4 and where you would like them to be.

Germany - decent moves though Hol to Ruh leaves you a bit overexposed to England. You can guarantee Par but will have to guess right against England to avoid losing a center to him since he can attack any of bel, Hol, and Den.

Italy - The good news - you can guarantee Mar. The bad news - Austria moved to Ion and can now take Nap uncontested if he wants. Of course Vie and Tri are exposed to Tyr as well, so you'll need to decide whether the move to Ion was a mis order or a stab.

Russia - if Austria and England both decide to attack you then there is a good chance you lose StP and Mos this turn. Your best hope in Swe is that England and Germany bounce or both leave it alone this turn. At least you'll still probably have Sev at the end of this year. Doubt we can say the same next year. Maybe England will go hard after Swe and leave StP alone and Austria will focus on Turkey this turn and things won't go as bad for you as I expect.

Turkey - Gre will be hard to hold unless Austria attacks Nap, but taking it forces Austria to use multiple units to take it back this turn and also potentially puts Ser or Rum at risk. If Smy were in the Aeg you would be in better shape for the coming move but I understand the thinking in not moving there (expecting that Gre-Aeg was the likely Austrian move). Maybe Russia will throw you a bone on his way out of the game and support you into Rum this turn from Sev. If so that could change the whole dynamic between you and Austria in the coming turns, especially since Italy and Austria may come to blows this turn over the move to Ion.

I'll rank the countries again after the fall moves.

1903 Spring:


England - Well, you've got Sweden. That's a start to securing Scandinavia. You also have a little bit of assurance that Germany isn't going to take the North Sea this phase unless he intends on defending both Holland and Belgium, and taking it would be a mistake in my opinion. As things stand, you have an opportunity to take Sweden now, St. Petersburg next year, and potentially Denmark as well if things go your way. Not bad. Yaleunc points out the potential for three builds as well, though that would take an awful lot of luck that, given Germany's play, is probably not going to come your way.

France - It should be no surprise to anyone that those early mistakes came back to bite you. As France, three neighbors attacking you is mostly indefensible. Two, though, is not the end of the world, but by making these mistakes you've ensured your own demise despite this. Paris and Marseilles are both set to fall this year, and it's time for you to think about who you hate less - Germany or Italy - and see if you can't leave your mark on this game by throwing it one way or another. I'm not as optimistic as my counterpart is about your chances next year; I think you're just about done, even if it takes some time.

Germany - I like every one of your moves except the move to Ruhr. That said, I understand it, and I'm not overly critical of it. However, as I mentioned in my piece toward England, you probably don't have the defense to take the North Sea this phase unless you're willing to forfeit your build in Paris, which by all means is your choice but not one I envy. Personally, I'd ensure that I had the strength to get to the Atlantic coast before I took on England, and another fleet build would not hurt you one bit. You continue to play well, though, and the presence of Austria in Warsaw and Moscow has to be a relief to you, knowing you won't have to worry about Russia for even a moment this game.

Russia - It's unfortunate that you had to disband that army, but that's the way it goes. Like France, you have an opportunity to try to help someone in any way you can, and Turkey's been stuck in his corner all game as a result of a couple of miscommunications. If it were me, I'd try to communicate willingness to support him as a sign of good faith. Otherwise, your best hope is that England allows you to keep Moscow and maybe you can use the potential ensuing stalemate surrounding that center as a way to survive and see if you can't catch a break.

Turkey - You got creative to try and open something up and I do appreciate that, but Austria saw right through it. Not much you can do. Maybe you can make the most out of your relatively useless army in Greece, get it disbanded, and replace it with a fleet build and go from there. That's probably your best chance right now. That was a smart move, but Austria's was smarter. Nothing you can do.

Italy - There you go, nice moves. I don't foresee Austria attacking you here, so I wouldn't be too worried about that. If he does, you're in a good spot to get back at him. Regardless, you have Marseilles, and Germany is in a great spot to get to the Atlantic coast, which only opens things up for you. You are in a great spot as long as you're confident in Austria to remain faithful to the CPA.

Austria - Excellent job. This is the best move set anyone's made this game and I absolutely love it. You saw right through Turkey's ploy, first of all (you could either call this lucky or good - only you and your TA know the answer to that), and you disbanded Russia's third army, which is incredibly valuable to you. You can afford to use Galicia to support Rumania, and you can either choose between Sevastopol or you can take a risk and go for Moscow. You're also in the Ionian, so you have the option of taking Naples, and though I wouldn't do it in your position, there is merit to making such a move. You have a lot of options, and that's the sign of a good move set. You and your TA have much to go over and much to be happy about.

A note to the central powers (Germany, Italy, and Austria; otherwise known as a CPA) - You have everything, and by everything I mean literally everything, going your way right now. France shot himself in the foot and Germany's play against England has been borderline brilliant. Russia and Turkey were too slow to combat Austria, and Italy's aggressive moves west completely paid off. This is the point in the game where a number of players consider stabbing, and in particular, Austria and Italy have a chance to attack each other here. I write this in support of your current setup: breaking the faith you've got in each other and breaking off the triple alliance would be a mistake. At this point, the other four remaining powers on this map will more than likely fall one by one if you continue to work this well together, and if I were any of the three of you, I'd be thrilled with the prospect of a three-way endgame where each of you could outplay the others and go for a solo. Stabbing now would only slow your steady progress.

My thoughts on Bo's comments as we definitely differ on out take on a few of these.

England - why settle for just taking Sweden this turn? Austria almost certainly has to attack Mos (even if only to cut potential support to Sev if he decides to go for Sev instead of Mos), so StP should be there for the taking and that leaves Ska and Nth available to double up on Den or go after Swe and one of Hol/Bel. To guarantee Swe occupies both Nor and Ska and renders the unit in Bar useless this turn. Also if England takes StP this turn he can likely hold it next year with just one unit which frees up the others to turn towards Germany. Postponing StP this turn means next year it takes two units to take and maybe to hold as Russia is probably in both StP and mos still at the end of this year if England leaves StP alone.

Austria - why is Ionian preferable to Aegean in your mind if Austria is anticipating the Turkish feint (Smy holds) this turn? Seems like this move has a high likelihood of provoking Italy (whether intended or not) and puts Austria in a less favorable position vs turkey than just moving to Aegean. In the Aegean he threatens Gre, Bul, vacant Con, and Smy. To me Austria is the one that should be grinding (keep hitting Aegean on Spring turns and if Turkey lets you in good luck to him) and England the one that should be more aggressive than settling for just one safe build in Sweden. With a 2 build turn this fall England has a chance to leap into the G,A,I tier in this game in my opinion, especially if Italy and Austria stop playing nice.

A few thoughts on this last turn:

England - Your best friend is Austria right now, who has gone and done you the favor of diverting Russia's attention away from his northern ambitions. Unfortunately, you're still a bit out of position to defend against a German attack, and considering the upcoming German build (barring unforeseen circumstances), you're going to need to defend. In a different world, maybe you would have supported Norway to Sweden last year, which would let you both threaten Denmark as well as guarantee that you take the North Sea, since the worst that would have happened last turn was a bounce. The support would have been the smarter move. You've got a big choice to make this turn: make sure you hold the North Sea or go for one (or two!) builds.

France - The retreat to Gascony unfortunately hasn't done all that much, mostly because you came back and took Spain and Marseilles with those two armies in what can only be described as a lose-lose situation for both centers. Although staying in MAO kept Italy out, now you're looking at losing two home centers.

Germany - You made the correct move to threaten the North Sea, which is England's lifeblood, and you got lucky bouncing in Sweden. However, for all your strength right now, you've put yourself in a bit of an awkward situation with leaving Holland and Belgium unoccupied. You can't cover both without forgoing a chance at taking the North Sea, and you can't prevent England from getting a build, and England might try for one of those open centers AND try for Sweden. Tricky situation. I can understand why your fleet went to Helgoland, but every move has consequences.

Italy - Your attempt to sneak into MAO failed, but it actually worked out better for you. Mar is virtually guaranteed, and having that fleet in WMed means you can also easily take Spain next year before moving into the MAO. The Austrian fleet in the Ionian probably isn't cause for concern, and with no Turkish threat, its smooth sailing for you for the next few turns. Set yourself up well, though, because after France you are going to have to deal with either: a very strong Austria, a very strong Germany, a very strong England, or a combination of the three.

Austria - Your move to the Ionian was a brave gambit, but it looks like both you and Turkey tried to outsmart each other and probably canceled each other out. Rumania is your soft spot this turn, and you can't afford to let Turkey get a foothold in the Balkans beyond Bulgaria, so your objective should be to balance the security of your own centers with retaking Greece and possibly getting a build in the process.

Turkey - If nothing else, you've given Austria something to think carefully about, which is all you can ask for with a tricky move like Greece. If all else fails, you'll be in the Aegean and you can think about building another fleet to help hold off Austria until someone can help.

Russia - Treading water. Losing three centers is a distinct, albeit unlikely, scenario this year, but its really only a matter of time.

Yaleunc, the thing with the Austrian move to the Ionian that is impressive to me is the timing. All this time, they'd been bouncing each other in the Aegean, and this time, Turkey takes a *huge* gamble by deciding that he'd rather have Greece, move his second army forward, and put Austria in the Aegean. It's a chance that, given his position, he needed to take. Impressively enough, Austria saw something creative coming, and the move to the Ionian, knowing full well that Italy will probably be moving out of the Tyrrhenian, opens up so many more doors - Aegean, Eastern Med, Naples, Tunis, or a support back into Greece so that his second fleet can get down there and contest Turkey. If it didn't work, it would have been stupid. If it does, it's brilliant, and it did.

The only issue is that Turkey isn't going to lose a center this year, only a unit, so by kicking the Greece army out (or leaving it, whichever ends up happening), it's still going to be two fleets opposing two fleets as opposed to just one. Still a stalemate. Yes, it poses problems for Austria if it doesn't work, but that doesn't matter because it did.

Also, when considering how Italy feels about this, I don't think he has any room to complain considering that Austria has let him sit tight in Tyrolia for so long.

Agree to disagree Bo. To me this move increases the likelihood of Tyr - Tri or Tyr-Vie significantly with little to show for it. Austria had moved into pole position or at least right there with Germany which to me means this is an odd time to rick the boat. Especially with things going so well against Russia. To me it was a time to keep banging Aegean and use the builds from taking out Russia to move more units into position vs Turkey. Once Austria grabs control of Sev he can move an army down to Armenia (or at least force Turkey to defend that). Also why not just wait a turn and move the second fleet to Ionian while the first continues to attack Aeg or goes after Bul? Alb-Ion is a lot less threatening/more understandable to Italy than Gre-Ion in my book. If this move results in Tyr - Tri this turn I think we'll look back on it as the move that may cost Austria the solo. I also think you and 2wl are way too pessimistic about England right now. England's position improved dramatically between the build phase and spring moves. Germany is more at risk from England than England is from Germany the way I see the board right now. I really don't like the Hol-Ruh move, leaving Hol and Bel both empty with England in Nth forces Germany to guess right on defense this turn or forego taking Par. England has a plethora of options for the coming turn and should get at least one build and I think has a decent shot at 2 (and 3 is not impossible). If I could take over any position right now I'd be tempted to pick England. France tied up with Germany and Italy, Russia abandoning Scandinavia, Germany's units almost all tied up in France.

I think what you two fail to consider about Austria's strategy is that he's taking on Turkey and Russia by himself, which is normally a fairly arduous task for any Austria because of the sheer amount of time it takes to break into Turkey. I personally like the move to ION because it allows him to maneuver his second fleet into a useful position, and although Turkey countered quite nicely and will likely have a second southern fleet to match, this still puts Austria in a position to completely box in Turkey so that he's able to move in for the kill after Russia gets mopped up.

I can understand picking England as a dark horse right now, but I'd be tempted to play Italy from here forward. Austria is going to be tied up with Turkey for a few more years, and Italy is looking at three builds in the next two years, plus an inevitable fight between Germany and England. Italy can safely pick who he wants to attack and when, which is a luxury that few Italy players can afford to take this early in the game. France will put up no resistance so you are looking at a seven center Italy in a few turns in a very strong position.

But does moving to Ion really accelerate Austria's breaking into Turkey? Status quo had Austria taking Mos, Sev, and probably Bul in the next two years (and if not Bul then control of Armenia) and possibly Con as well if Austria guessed well vs Turkey. We'll see if that still happens with this move. Waiting a turn (if you think Aeg will bounce or even better moving into Aeg) and moving the second fleet to Ion (on a fall turn when it is far less threatening and action provoking to Italy) seems more likely to pay off then this. Also consider that now Smy takes Aeg this turn (or Austria doesn't retake Gre since he needs all three units to take Gre back) either of which are great for Turkey. So we go to the build phase and Turkey will be in control of the Aeg, maybe netting a build from Austria, and definitely building a second fleet. How is this good for Austria vs Turkey?

Than not then, thx autocorrect.

Bump, process in 30 mins