I can post an excerpt from a hilarious message you sent to me during this game to entertain the community. I literally almost ROFL'ed when I read this text.

(To: You, from Russia) - Spring, 1908
(...)
What remains is for you to decide who you'd prefer to care for your people. I can promise that a Europe ruled out of Moscow, by his benign excellency the Czar, will be a much more peaceful and prosperous place than a Europe divided between E/F/R. What's more, so long as the Czar rules a united continent, Italy will be given self-sovereignty, and will have leave to govern its own affairs. Let in those dratted Frenchman, though, and before you know it they'll be everywhere! Flooding the market with their cheap, pretentious French wine and driving your people into poverty! Don't let that happen.

Czar 2012!

I'm doing pretty well. It's been a long week. And I have three more weeks to go before I can play Diablo3. :)

Thanks redhouse. But for the record, even though every post you make in this thread is stroking my already-ginormous ego, I'm still going to try and annihilate you in the next game we play!

Well you didn't do that in this game I'm sure it'll be just as hard in the next! :-)

Hey PE I can see you! ^ You can't hide forever!

It's true - my war effort was in fact funded by wealthy vineyard owners.

lol

Scribble scribble

It looks like either
a) we've been abandoned by Nerevatus and Eden or
b) we're about to be hit with the longer sequel to War & Peace

XD

Seriously though, I've come to love EoGs, particularly my own and a game hasn't really ended for me if not all players have written an EoG. That being said, I have more than ten games going on ATM.

I strongly encourage DILK and LakersFan to write one as well. You know how in life you always confront yourself with the question "what were you thinking?" It's so much fun to follow through on that question as rigorously as this.

Scribble!

Are you beginning to lose hope?

I'm beginning to lose interest. PE was really on fire when he started but then sort of fizzled out. ;-)

I think he forgot :(

Nerevatus?

Apologies again for the delay and for continuing to stretch this out.

I'm back to working on mine now, will be busy again this afternoon, but will then finally have enough free time to finish it up tonight. Based on our time zones, you should definitely see it tomorrow morning.

Lol don't worry Nerevatus. I'm looking forward to what you have to write, because you write very well. Good luck scribbling'.

Every day I'm scribbling

tutututututu

Alright 8:35 AM here :p

hah, and i'm finally done.

England EoG

This game has already been discussed in great detail by the other players. A large portion of the game was focused on the successes and failures of trying to organize and coordinate a coalition against first the Juggernaut and then ultimately the Russian solo. I think Redhouse’s EoG did an excellent job describing these efforts and the other EoGs have also added valuable context. Because of that I will focus my own EoG on my point of view of the earlier parts of the game and will only add context/details for the later parts where I think there is added value.

Introduction/Overview:

This was the fourth Diplomacy game I’ve played to completion (my one Draw was just a 1902 Draw) and also my first game that was organized through the forums. I had some early success in those other games, but I was looking for the challenge of playing a forum-organized game against strong players. Luckily, Redhouse reached out to me after I commented in one of his Forum posts and asked if I wanted to join a high-level game he was trying to put together. I was already in another Full Press game and knew that the next few days (when the game would be starting) would be very busy for me, but I didn’t want to miss this opportunity and eagerly accepted.

1901: The Opening
The game started on Friday around lunchtime in my time zone. It was a particularly busy day for me and I also had friends coming over that evening. The game opened with some intensive opening diplomacy and I was forced to type my opening messages and responses on my phone when I had spots of free time.

I did my best to be responsive during my short breaks, but had that creeping feeling that I was not able to keep pace with the flurry of opening diplomacy and sensed I was getting isolated. In any game, especially an anonymous game, those opening messages are so critical to establishing initial relationships. It takes time to build an accurate read on a player, so in the beginning when you are working with very little information you need to go with your gut. When choosing my initial allies, I usually pick whoever seems most responsive, reliable, and thoughtful. I remember being acutely aware that I wasn’t able to be responsive enough to convey this image of myself to others.

Within that context, I receive the normal friendly opening messages that would be expected from my neighbors in France, Germany, and Russia. France and Germany open with the normal “Let’s ally and work together against our enemies” and Russia opens with a more involved message expressing interest in having peace in Scandinavia but also warning me that France/Germany are interested in going after me. This adds to my suspicions about France and Germany and the feeling that I’m late to the party, so I do what I can to try to raise France and Germany’s interest in a Western Triple, which they say they agree to. I tell Russia I agree with him about the need to keep Scandinavia quiet and thank him for the information. That said, Russia’s opening message puts me on guard and I mark him as a dangerous player. If the Western Triple works, I can attack him openly and hopefully cripple what would otherwise become a dangerous threat. If the Western Triple blows up in my face, I will have to work with him but also will have to tread very carefully and search for every opportunity to undermine him.

The Spring orders go through and I know I am in big trouble. France immediately broke the English Channel DMZ, Russia moves Moscow to StP, and Germany appears poised to go for the Sealion. Very likely a 3v1…Yikes. It’s clear that my poor responsiveness has put me in a bad spot, but fortunately it’s now the weekend and I can put some time into talking my way out of this mess.

I send a measured response to France to lay the groundwork for turning him to my side and also send a message to Germany to try to keep him from following through with a Sealion and joining the attack. Russia sends me a message (as jmeyersd stated in his EoG) “apologizing” for the move to StP and hoping it will not prove to be “an insoluble obstacle to our cooperation”. He notes my delayed response as the reason for his immediate stab. Given his long and involved messages and careful thinking, I’m very skeptical. Because of the threat of a Sealion though, I subsume my frustration and make it my objective to play the fool. I know I need to convince Russia that my survival is in his interests and decide the best way to do that is for me to (at least initially) project the image of a player that is reasonable, thoughtful, and communicative, but also short-sighted (focused on his immediate survival and not much else) and a bit out of his league in this game. I can’t let Russia think he can walk all over me, but I also don’t want him to immediately think I’m a danger to him. Essentially, I want him to believe that he can manipulate me (and that I am therefore of more value to him alive), but also want him to know I recognize when my core interests are being threatened. This required walking a fine balance in the early game, but I think it proved to be successful and a key part of why I was able to survive the early-game.

The Fall orders go through and Germany follows through with the Sealion as expected. I know I’m now on the ropes, but feel confident that I’ve laid the groundwork to break the Sealion and stay alive.

1902: Breaking the Sealion and Stayin’ Alive

Going into 1902 my immediate objective is to turn France and Germany against each other and to get Russia and Italy to support me militarily if possible, or at least indirectly if not.

I immediately reach back out to France and say everything I can to convince him that if he presses the attack against me, I will do my best to repel him, but that my focus on him would just cause Germany to be able to snatch up my SCs. As a result, France would have little gain, but would then be faced with a strong Germany, emboldened by naval power, sitting to France’s North, and looking for new targets. I urge him instead to stab Germany and work with me. Recognizing my very vulnerable position, I emphasize that I would be the “junior partner” and would be willing to follow his lead. I also reach out to Germany and say essentially the same thing to him, just in the reverse (Germany pressing his attack on me will only strengthen his other neighbors at his future expense).

I continue my communication with Russia and try to accelerate his timeline for attacking Germany. He understandably remains vague on this, but promises to help me diplomatically to turn France and Germany against each other. I did not know at the time whether this offer was sincere (jmeyersd’s EoG shows he was and later regretted contributing to my survival), but believed I had at least convinced him that it would be better if I stayed alive for a bit.

At this time I also receive a very welcome message from Italy, who appears genuinely interested in helping me to get back on my feet. He recognizes the threat he would soon face after my quick elimination and offers to help me militarily. After exchanging a number of messages, we develop a strong working relationship that eventually becomes the foundation for the trust needed in our close coordination later in the game.

The resolution of the Spring 1902 orders simultaneously makes me relieved and causes me to wince. Considering what happened in this first year, it is an embarrassment of riches. France and Germany both abandon their attack on me to attack each other and Italy also moves to Piedmont to pressure France. My diplomatic efforts were successful, but almost too much so. France and Germany could interpret the stab by the other as confirmation that they had made the right choice in joining me, but could also just as easily interpret (correctly) that I had tried to convince the other to attack them. My good fortune could easily blow up in my face. Fortunately, I have time for some further diplomacy and was able to smooth this over without incident.

At this point I have to choose to side with France or Germany. I decide to ally with France for a number of reasons, primarily based on my read that France will be the easier player to work and communicate with. I also feel confident that I can trust Italy to work with me to keep France in check, unlike Russia vis-à-vis Germany. I let Italy know of my intentions to ally with France and after some further communication arrive at an arrangement where Italy keeps the peace with France, but occasionally uses pressure in the DMZs as a tool to keep France in check without escalating into a full war. Tactical necessity leaves a French fleet in the English Channel far longer than I’d like, but I believe that my relationship with Italy, in addition to a sincere rapport with France, was critical in preventing France from succumbing to temptation and stabbing me. I’m still clinging to 3 SCs and looking for my first build, but finally I have strategic options and things are looking good…

1903: Attempt #1 to contain Russia
This is a significant year for the balance of the whole board. Russia has just simultaneously stabbed Turkey for one his home SCs, while also moving against Austria. This was a very brazen move, regardless of Russia’s strong position at this early point. At first I am pleased, since I think this will backfire and weaken Russia. I had already believed that Russia was a dangerous player and was concerned that the Sealion and the subsequent focus on breaking it had the regrettable, yet unavoidable, side effect of providing Russia with mid-term security in the North. I figured that Russia had overreached and that Austria and Turkey would soon make common cause and work together to repel the enemy that just made a fool of both of them. With Russia facing pressure in the South, I’d then be able to make some gains in Scandinavia to keep pace with France and position myself well for the mid-game.

I reach out to the other players and try to raise alarm bells about Russia’s move. Although Austria never appeared interesting in communicating with me, Turkey and I had already exchanged a few friendly messages and appeared to have some common interests. Turkey and I both faced 3v1s at the beginning of the game. I was successful in breaking the Sealion against me and had managed to turn things around on my end. From all of the press I understand Turkey is very frustrated about the stabs against him, but I try to encourage him to use Russia’s double stab as an opportunity to try to convince Austria to join him against Russia. I also let him know that I am ready to join him against Russia as well. Unfortunately, I completely underestimate how hopeless Turkey feels about his situation and more importantly how bitter he is towards Italy and Austria. Regardless of the stab that just occurred, Turkey chooses to lock himself into a dangerously unbalanced Juggernaut with Russia.

---
As a side note…Turkey’s decision to remain on Russia’s side throughout most of the game has been debated at length, particularly by Redhouse (Italy) and President Eden (Turkey). Throughout the game I pushed Turkey to attack Russia and understand that there were a number of turns when Turkey had no choice but to stick with Russia. That said, I absolutely believe that Turkey’s continuous emotionally charged and bitter messages blinded him to some strategic options that were truly available him and at other times removed those strategic options by simply alienating every player other than Russia with his emotionally charged style. I too was faced with a frustrating early 3v1 and could easily have yielded to emotion and barked at my neighbors about how ridiculous they were being. Instead, I tried to understand the interests, and also personalities, of each of my adversaries and sent tailored messages to each of them to try to convince them that it was in their own best interest to work with me. Perhaps I was just lucky and dodged a bullet, but it worked. I know for certain that sending emotionally charged and bitter messages wouldn’t have. All of that said, I wish I had done a much better job in this game working on my relationship with Turkey. I had no idea Turkey was President Eden and it took me longer than it should have to recognize his playing style in this game and understand his viewpoint. I think jmeyersd did an excellent job as Russia manipulating this emotional relationship to his advantage (yes, my joke submission about Putin/Medvedev was directly about this). President Eden: You are a far more experienced player than me and I respect that you have a very different opinion on all of this. We can debate back and forth about the strategic and tactical realities during various parts of the game, but I fundamentally believe that your emotional diplomacy throughout the game did not serve your interests.
---

Back to 1903…In coordination with Italy, we also try to get Germany and Austria to focus more on the rising Russian threat. Germany was on board and agrees to assist me with breaking Russia’s hold on Scandinavia. I assure France (who understands the rising Russian threat) that he remains my primary ally and that I’m only cooperating with Germany to try to put Russia back in the box. France shows amazing restraint and is willing to hold back while we try to pressure Russia. I give Germany indications that I’ll help him with France once Russia is dealt with to keep him at ease now and to maximize my options in the future. I continue my line of communication with Russia to try to prevent him from getting suspicious and urge him to join France and me against Germany. I then stab Russia by moving my fleets toward Scandinavia in the Spring. Because of insufficient communication, however, Germany does not follow through and his moves ensure that our plan to break Russia in Scandinavia fails in the Fall. Attempt #1 to stop Russia is stillborn.

1904: Regrouping after the failure of Attempt #1

In the aftermath of Attempt #1, Russia has become even more dangerous. Turkey is locked at his hip, Austria is just about eliminated and unresponsive, Germany agrees Russia needs to be opposed but is sporadic and not always clear in his communication and can no longer be trusted to coordinate movements as planned, I am still at three builds and too weak to move unilaterally, Italy is forced to combat the Turkish part of the Juggernaut in the south, and France is in the awkward position of not having adjacent enemies.

After discussing at length with Italy and France, we decide to turn against Germany in the hopes that we can swiftly cripple him and then use those SCs to turn strongly against Russia. This was a difficult call, since I knew Germany’s intentions to work with us were sincere, but I could not trust him to coordinate effectively. Russia is eager to have me on his side and offers to support me into Denmark if I back off my attack against him. We speak at length about being close allies and I put a lot of effort into advancing this pretense, but my sole intention is to use the build in Denmark to immediately stab him in Scandinavia again before he gets more dangerous. I understand Russia’s intentions are also less than sincere as he continues to urge France to stab me—something I am made very aware of throughout the game.

1905 and beyond: Attempts #2, #3, #4, etc. are also stillborn and Russia eventually claims the solo

After getting Denmark, I’m ready to move against Russia again. I explain to Germany why I felt forced to move against him and express interest in working with him again to counter Russia if he is willing. Italy does a very good job leading/organizing a renewed coalition of F/G/E/I and we begin to send a number of messages back and forth with coordinated moves. The Juggernaut still seems indivisible and is steaming west, but our forces are stronger and we outnumber them. All we have to do is successfully coordinate.

In Spring 1906, Germany NMRs, which is devastating. I am online right before the orders submit and once I see the NMR is imminent, I make some last minute adjustments to my orders to try to salvage the situation. The damage is done though and attempt #2 is also stillborn. We would have had a guaranteed capture of Norway, which would have unlocked Russia’s position in the North. The game could have turned out very different if Norway was captured here (or during attempt #1).

My last minute changes allow me to capture Norway and StP in 1906 and finally do some damage to Russia. Unfortunately, this is the turn (which I think everyone but Turkey knew was coming eventually) when Russia finally stabbed Turkey. Instead of needing to disband, Russia crucially gets a build. As a result, my attack was unfortunately not a balanced strike that could be built upon, as would have been the case if Norway had instead been taken as planned.

In 1907 France, Russia, and I discussed the idea of a 3-way draw. I was in a stronger position than before, but recognized my strengthened position was unstable, especially because of the timing of Russia’s stab against Turkey. I couldn’t press my attack on Russia, so I made an attempt to convince him I’d back off if he’d be willing to include me in a draw. My goal was to buy myself some time to secure my gains and position and then reevaluate. If Russia attacked me, which was the case, I’d be no worse off than if I hadn’t tried. If he held to the agreement for a couple turns, I’d be secure enough to be a credible unilateral counterweight, either to ready resume a full press against Russia if the solo threat grew or seek to position myself for a small draw (or even a solo of my own if I could make the pieces fall into place by balancing Italy against France and Turkey against Russia). Alas, Russia’s attack against Denmark in 1907 marked the true beginning of his solo sprint and moved us forward to the endgame. I wasn’t surprised by Russia’s attack, but at the time felt confident that an anti-solo coalition could stop him from completing a successful solo sprint without much trouble. Of course my inexperience with endgame tactics is a weak spot for me and perhaps I overreached.

Following the attack on Denmark, I wanted to make clear to the board that I sincerely believed we needed every player to work together to stop Russia. I sent a message in global emphasizing that I would support any player that contributed to stopping the Russian solo and would retaliate against any player that tried to eliminate them from the draw. I knew that Germany, Italy, and Turkey were all worried about France’s intentions and wanted to raise their confidence that inclusion in a draw was possible.

Russia cunningly set about trying to undermine this effort. He sent separate messages to both France and me stating that he understood we would try to oppose him, but hoped we weren’t serious about including small powers like Germany and Turkey in the draw if he wasn’t able to get the solo. Russia can occasionally be chatty in his messages, but I knew he says nothing without having a reason. It was clear to me that he was only trying to undermine the coalition, so I replied to him that I was absolutely sincere about including them in the draw. I think that France made a mistake by revealing his true feelings on this to Russia, as Russia promptly sent a screenshot to Turkey and convinced Turkey that France would try to cut him out of the draw. This of course caused serious damage to our coalition and likely also caused Germany to turn against his commitment to our coalition for one critical turn. If Russia had been stopped, would I have actually held my word and included Germany and Turkey in the draw or would I have cut them out of it like France said he would? If Russia was stalemated, I’m honestly not sure what I would have done. During the endgame though, I did everything I could to convince every player of my sincerity about drawing with everyone who opposed Russia. Of course, if Russia was not just stopped, but also reversed and there was an option for me to somehow solo (extremely remote I know), I would have gone for it.

As for the actual progression of the endgame, I don’t think there’s much that I have to add that hasn’t already been said in the other EoGs. Turkey remained unwilling to work with us (until the last few turns) despite Russia’s stabs. Germany was down to 1 SC, but worked valiantly with us to stop Russia despite the one turn when he stabbed the coalition. France worked seamlessly within the coalition to maximize pressure on Russia. Italy did an excellent job leading our coalition and provided well thought out movesets. I did my best to provide tactical advice where I saw options for improvement, but I recognized that when it came to endgame tactics, I was the newbie. In hindsight, I agree that France and I should have done more to talk through the options with Italy and eased more of the tactical burden.

In the end of course, Russia was successful in achieving the solo and I congratulate him on a job very well done.

Conclusion:

The game was exciting and was exactly the kind of challenge I was looking for. Jmyeresd played excellently as Russia and proved to be everything I expected a top-level player to be. Although I was only privy to his communications to me and in Global, I could feel the effects his cunning diplomacy was having throughout the board, especially during the early/mid-game when the alliance structures were still fluid.

The game had its share of frustrations, but I enjoyed every stage of it. I particularly enjoyed my deep cooperation with Italy, my game long (post Sealion) alliance with France, and an engaging back and forth with Russia throughout the game that always challenged me. I also have a new appreciation for how much effort goes into a full-press game with deep diplomacy, shifting alliances, and close coordination of coalitions. I learned from the very beginning the cost that comes when you lose the diplomatic initiative and how much effort is required to regain it. Played at its highest level, full press requires a stunning time commitment. Barring some unlikely miracle in which I internalize the virtue of brevity (bravo to any reader that made it through to the end here), I regret that I won’t be able to carve out enough free time to play another full press game for a while. Perhaps I’ll try my hand at gunboat and gain some sorely needed tactical skills in the meantime.

Thanks to all again for the game and congratulations to jmeyersd!

jeez. it's probably not a good thing that I'm awake to read this, huh?
thanks nerevatus for providing me with some good night time reading.
(haven't read it yet, going to now)

Ok, finished. That was one seriously awesome EoG. Thanks Nerevatus! I must say that your strategy in the opening couple years in your diplomacy with me worked perfectly -- i confess that i had you pegged exactly as you describe. But by 1903 or so I had you down as the most dangerous player on the board, and I stand by that. This game would have been so much different had you been online more at the start!
Out of curiosity, what made you distrust me so much right off the bat (diplomatically, not the move to stp)? i'll have to avoid that in future.