Just keep bumping it.. Kinda like your humping it, maybe even dumping it, but please don't thump it, or you will run out of things to say that rhyme with bump it.. >.>

And that was why the game should have been paused, not have another player sub in. I'm out, force pause and force me into CD please. I'm not going to get a loss because of something this stupid.

How do you know the new player isn't following the original Germany's orders?

I would explain to you the logic, but I am not a TA/Prof, so it wouldn't be reasonable to post it.

First off, a loss is better than a resign, which is what it would go down as.

Secondly, even if that were the case, and this Germany went a completely different way than the last, subs happen all the time; in tournaments and in real games, so you must get used to the fact that things may change.

And third, I am Germany's TA. The plans didn't change from one player to the next.

Go ahead and message me or preferably goldfinger about it. Even if you did basically get screwed it's still something to learn from. It's gonna happen to you more on this site, I guarantee it. Players get sitters all the time and most of the time you will have no idea they did. Even if you do decide to quit though make sure to message goldfinger. I am guessing that if he asks them the mods will force you out of the game so a replacement can come in.

Ok, I will message you jmo. But considering I won't be in the game, can't I just point it out here?

please don't

I am really reluctant to remove you from this game, as it is unorthodox. I ask that you stay in and play it out.

and please don't post it on here

Whatever fine. But can we at least pause so I can get a TA? I haven't talked with Triumvir since Build moves last year. So this year has just been shitty for me.

You can vote pause, and refer the others to this thread. While I was in the SoW, my TA, drano019, disappeared, so I simply found another one, uclabb, who would be willing to fill in. If your TA has not been in contact, I suggest you either follow the same route, or PM me to find someone else myself.

The thing is, is that it isn't that he isn't online, it is that he isn't responding to me.

Here's the spring commentary. Note that I noticed that the fall season's moves went through but this commentary is based entirely on just the spring. I'll have the fall coming as soon as I can get them.

S05: This season was similar to what I anticipated after reading the board from the following season. I will disagree with some things and congratulate some others but, as usual, there's quite a bit to say here.

#1 France: At this point, you should be considering yourself lucky. Your first place position is secure as long as there isn't a German stab. You've evacuated a lot of locations along very important spots and put yourself into a very defenseless position. Fortunately for you, the eastern powers have condensed into one large thing that forces the F/G to survive out of necessity. In a normal game, however, this type of defenselessness and vulnerability is the type of thing that precedes many stabs. If a player can stab you for +1 or +2 centers while you end up at -1 or -2 centers, then a stab is likely going to take place and that's where you're sitting--in the good graces of Germany. Additionally, if your alliance remains through this year then Germany will take the top spot because his locations are more defensible than your own. The key to not being stabbed is to not put yourself into a position to be stabbed.
As it stands, though, the question that remains is 'what is the end game alliance going to look like because a 2-way is not feasable unless it's the ludacrous pairing of two naieve players ending the game on a nice note and not based on competitiveness and going for the solo. The fall moves will explain more and to be honest to this point, in general, you deserve to have a spot in the endgame draw based solely on play during the last 4 years.

#2 Germany: Your spot as the number two is under debate and this last season showed that because you have convinced France to put himself at your mercy and trust you won't stab while your units are in position to prevent a return-stab. I'm also surprised you haven't taken the last English center which is simply hanging out. In addition, while he's staying alive, he's not even working for you so it's merely a unit hanging out being a nuissance. Last, you'll face the brunt of pressure from the eastern nations as the combined force of Russia and Austria is in a better position to put a hurt on you than Italy is on France.
To get back to my statement about a stab, this was your year to shine and stabbing France would have been paramount here but could only be coupled by talking to some eastern nations letting them know about the stab ahead of time and securing allies. Stabbing your only ally is the worst thing you can do but stabbing your ally while making new ones is the best thing you can do, especially when it puts you into a position for a solo or top draw position.

#3 Russia: Of all the eastern nations, your position is to be most envied. You have pressure on Germany, can stab Austria for gains or maintain him as a good ally to see the both of you see future gains and you're in no position to receive a stab. I must congratulate your moves because out of anyone on the map, you won't be losing centers this season and will set yourself up to make gains in the next. If F and G continue to play nice, it could very well be you as the third member of an end-game draw and if things go badly for them and the 4 eastern nations end up ruling the map, you'll be in a top draw spot there as well. Nice moves last season.

#4 Italy: Your spot is still really good and you're looking to put France in a tight spot and have room to negotiate. Even having France occupy Tunis isn't bad because he may not be able to hold it for long if you can continue to get fleets into position and you'll be sitting in Piedmont very soon and be able to see Austria into Munich with no great effort. The only point of nervousness is if Turkey should turn, you'll be in a rougher spot having fleets to both your front face and rear flank coupled with the loss of Greece but as long as the F/G remains, I don't see that happening.

#5 Turkey: It looks like you've decided to throw your lot into the eastern powers taking on the two giant western nations. Not sure what your lone army is doing, but I guess it's pretty negligible. Getting your fleets out to lend support is critical to have the greater naval presence in the French/Italian waters. I like the moves overall, especially seeing that your allies are committed to doing their part. I also like your position because you have the most room for negotiation, especially with the western world.

#6 Austria: Love Vie-Boh with support. You're looking at gaining a build this season since Italy has pressure to the west and Russia will be assisting you. You should be moving up a spot if things go well this season. I understand your position and you don't really have much of a choice in putting yourself into a position to be stabbed because at this point, it's all or nothing. Good luck in the season to come but forcing Germany to disband an army in the spring was beautiful. I always recommend forcing disbands in the spring instead of the fall unless your opponent loses centers because the loss of a unit in the spring means that you'll have a stronger hand going into the fall while your opponent has to suffer. Disbanding units in the fall while not taking a center means that their unit will simply be rebuilt to abound again but forcing a disband in the fall while taking a center means that you're the one that gets to choose the unit your opponent loses. Very nice.

#7 England: um...do something?

I also need to apologize to schmoo, the spot you're in without a TA could be having adverse effects but I really hope that you continue playing. You've done really well so far and you're by far not out of this game. Good luck.

Reprinted from global board:
"You know what: you can find a TA in the next 2 days. There are tons of suggestions already. Also, a TA is not a player: it's a sounding board. You still have to make your mind up and enter the moves on your own.
So you got stabbed... Pepjin was going to do just the same. And you still have 6 units. Please take the hit like a grown-up and let's move on. I will not pause. This game has been way too long already."

As this is a tournament-like game with special rules, isn't it appropriate for a mod to force a pause?

Wait... Force a pause for us to find a TA? Really? One has already been suggested. Others abound. I'm sure we can find someone in the next 24 hours without resorting to a pause. This game has been held up and slowed down soooo many times already.
Don't take me to lack in compassion. Like I said above: the TA is a sounding-board, not a player. The moves are still for the player to decide. France didn't suffer a stab for lack of a TA. I think believing otherwise is an insult to France's capacity to play the game.

Perhaps Austria's TA could take over for France.

Cachimbo. And your player capacity is fair with you having a 2v1 on the board? Me playing solo with you guys having an experienced player in your ear. I mean hell, your ranked 40 on the GR. And your in a SCHOOL of War game. I love how your trying to pick me out of this and insult me infront of everyone, but all your doing is making an ass of yourself. I'll just wing it solo. I was already told by an experienced player that there wouldn't be much they could offer to do. So stfu already.

I would ask all players to refrain from personal attacks on each other. Keep this civil.

After I go post in SoW1, I'm stepping in as Scmoo's substitute TA.

Posted in SoW1. (Sorry I've been infrequent there; I thought we were going to pause that after France's disappearance last spring. I'll stay on top of it.)

Pending goldfinger's approval, PM me and we'll figure out what in the world to do now, Scmoo.

No longer pending approval. Scmoo, PM me when you're done with your live game

In some sense of things, I have to agree with Scmoo. If everyone else has a TA on their side who is a qualified player, he should have one as well. It's not too fair for someone to not have a second set of eyes on the board.

Thanks to PE for stepping in. I'll post some more commentary as well since I should have some time.

My issue was with the pause, which I don't think was needed (and the turn of events seems to have proved as much).
I also must have expressed myself wrong, as I meant no insult to Scmoo and I'm quite sorry if that's how it read; I meant, indeed, quite the opposite. I was trying to say that Scmoo had obviously done fairly well for himself, otherwise he wouldn't be where he is. And I believe that most of that is due to his own capacities, which seems to be confirmed by his saying that Triumvir had barely helped him throughout the game. I therefore assumed that he would be okay without a TA for a couple of hours. That's all.

As for my jump in GR: it was performed much after I joined SoW. I've also signalled a few times that I thought I should maybe be replaced. I don't mean to be an arse to anyone, and I also don't mean to play in a game if my participation is considered an unfair advantage to some alliance.

So I'm sorry for having been insulting, Scmoo. I'll make sure to word my thoughts better in the future.

F05: Very interesting turn of events. Some were to be expected but some were less expected but still sound decisions and we still have some people doing little to nothing and at this phase in the game, doing nothing means that you're expendable.

#1 Germany: You're either in a very good spot or in a very tight spot. The stab was effective but it was a shoe-in stab, and the only ends that should have been tied up along with the stab would be ensuring that you have other allies. Making the stab is great but if you're alone in the process, then your top spot is going to falter. On another bright side, Austria being out of the picture means that you have a little more cushion room. The biggest drawback of the stab is the impending loss of Belgium and in addition, if F and R are working together, you'll have to cover more of your border than you should be covering. For builds, I expect either an army in Munich (more likely) or a fleet in Kiel (less likely).


#3 Russia: Although you don't have the second most number of centers, you do have one of the best positions on the map. Depending on what happens in the coming season, you could be in a really great spot. You've got room to grow and will continue to do so as the game progresses. Next season will show some futures to come. I won't say more quite yet to prevent influencing some things but needless to say, your future looks bright. For builds, an army in Sevastopol makes a little sense but deferring a build seems to make a lot of sense as well.

#3 Italy: Again, this is a difficult idea to place you here. Many would argue that you should be controlling the second position on the map, and to some extent, I agree with that assessment. The biggest hangup I have is that with F and G no longer allies, you'll have to wonder about the affairs of the east. Serbia is absolutely undefended and Greece is not far off. Turkey has been lurking in the corner doing oddly nothing while Russia is on your backdoor. If things go well for you this season, then you're in a better spot than you are right now but if things go sour, you could be facing a similar situation as France. Granted, the strong F/G forced some movements along the lines you're in but once you agreed to take out Austria with Russia, it would have been better for you to take Budapest and see him into Vienna since it puts you closer to centers you control than anyone else. On another note, I love the movement ideas along the French border. If you didn't negotiate France leaving Tunis, then the way you out-thought your opponent and opt out of movement to the Western Med was excellant, and better yet, it was paired with a convoy to close all gaps. If it was agreed upon, it was still a great maneuver to cover your bases. Very nicely done.

#4 France: Although your position has decreased somewhat, I'm hesitant to put you at the fourth spot in the game. Some could argue that you're in the third, maybe second spot but I put you here because of the massive gaps you have in your defenses along your border and you still have to disband a unit during this year's build phase. Sure, Belgium could be an easy gain but then you have to deal with the question about his retreat location and what you do there. With PE on your side as your new TA, he should have some good guiding lights to help you increase your status, and you could be in a rather handsome spot in years to come. The stab, although painful, was not lethal and you should take it as a learning lesson to never let your guard down. There was no need to leave Edi and move to the NRG and even less reason to try for St Pete since it's way outside your bounds for reasonable gains and should have been left to Germany. After all, you did get the entire English Island out of the original deal, which is more than a vast majority of French players can claim under similar circumstances. With the deterioration of the F/G and the elimination of Austria, I'd certainly say that the east is in the "bargaining" position once again and new contracts can be drawn up between you and another player pretty easily. Always remember, in every game, someone out there wants to find growth through the territory of your enemies. You just need to determine who that is and what you can offer. For disbands, the Barents Sea is the most likely choice.

#5 Turkey: Still not entirely sure what you're doing back there. You look like a fish that swam toward the shore during high tide and was left there on the banks once the tide receded just biding your time flopping around. There are opportunities to be had and it's about time to begin to figure out where you're going. If you don't do something, then as I stated before, you're expendable.


Things to look for:
The next phase of the game depends on what Russia, Italy and Turkey are going to be doing. If the east remains cohesive and focuses on attacking the west, then I'd say we have our 3-way draw pointed out for us unless someone attempts to gun for the solo. If the east breaks apart like the west did, then new cooperative groups will form with new lines of attack. I don't really think that the east is going to remain as it is because Turkey can only sit so long and do nothing. He's either going to be eliminated because he's expendable, or he's going to join the offensive and start attacking the back of one of his allies.

Does that mean England gets #2?

It was a typo. Russia's #2. England's #11.