Supports are one way.

Builds are always a way.

I know that...you mean like support holding a unit or something?

Support holding to show where you want your ally to be or to remain; support moves to show the direction in which you want things to unfold; etc.

anybody else have opinions? or is this just how it works only?
Thank you for the advice Cachimbo.

If the other player gave the impression he was going to do something "bad," it's his fault for the perceived move. If you reacted to what you saw, and that's all you have to go by, make the other player pay for his timidity.

You can't really "communicate" as you would in a normal game, of course. All communication is via your orders, so first turn moves are important. If you want to signal good will towards France as England, move to the Norwegian Sea and North Sea. With any luck, France moves to MAO and knows enough to recognize the situation.

I find that second guessing yourself kills you in gunboat. Commit to an opening and follow through. If you're Italy, this means opening anti-Turkey or anti-Austria. If you attack both countries, you're screwed. Since your moves are the only way of communicating, attacking two countries at once says "Hey, I don't need any allies, please kill me." You need to be smart and strategic with your moves and consider any possible consequences before committing.

Going on with that statement is it bad to play defensive...lets say as italy since you brought italy up?

If you play defensively you won't win. You need to take risks at some point in the game.

That I understand. There is some point where you need to just attack...but how do you distinguish the best time if your always in a tight spot? Do you just go for risks?

Depends on the power you're playing. I often hear people say that Italy, for example, just has to open aggressively if it has any chances of winning (e.g. open to Tyr or Tri).

Honestly, each game is different. You need to weigh the risk vs. reward of, say, stabbing somebody that is working with you, or exploiting a weakness or vulnerability. Playing as France, for example. I've had a few games where England has send most fleets into Scandinavia, leaving Liverpool wide open. You need to decide if you have to resources to devote to another attack, and if taking one or two centers from one country is going to cripple them or simply cause them to send all units against you instead.

true. I guess you're right. Cachimbo is an agressive attack as Italy really one of the only things you can do? Italy normally is a slow builder, so making it where you attempt to fight an austria or turkey really doesnt make sense if france comes at you....I don't know I'm usually agressive but I feel like gunboat you have to be super cautious if your italy...while it's easy to be agressive as turkey. In almost all gunboats the winners are on the corners of the board while the middle just gets shafted in my opinion.

Any other options? I would like to hear as much feedback as possible.

Go play. You learn best by doing. In this case, players often do well by experience: knowing opening tendencies, playing the odds, best moves in different scenarios, etc.

true. I am trying it out for the second or third time right now...It's just really difficult when your in my position.

I'm not a gunboat freak, so take this with a grain of salt, but let me ask you this: why do you think corner countries do so well in gunboat? Good defence can make up for slower builds. Italy doesn't have that advantage: it's smack in the middle of southern Europe with Austria and France to quickly limit its growth. Say you get your build or two, where do you go after 1902? Or, let me rephrase: where do you go now that Austria has maybe 3 builds and France the liberty to build a fleet in Mar on top of the one he used to secure Spain? As for Germany, it probably has Munich covered by now. So where do you go?

That's what I take to be the gist of the rational behind an aggressive Italy in gunboat: get your 2 builds ASAP, show the world you're going in one direction, and take a shot at forming an early alliance (what playing slow or neutral forbids since the other 6 will not be able to form an opinion of your direction and what you have to offer them).

hmm....interesting thought. I do agree with that statement.

I think corner countries do well because that's based on what I've seen. In gunboat when i play corner countries I do exclusively well by myself without many alliances. Easiest winner is turkey in gunboat. Italy never gets to grow very well with 5 minute phases and a stupid austria who wants to attack you the very first move.

Here's the thing. Italy can play the wait and see game, but it *has* to wait and see in order to do so. That means keeping both of your armies at home in 1901 -- no convoying to Tunisia, that commits you against France or Turkey, and no moving them out of Italy, that commits you against France or Austria -- grabbing your F Nap build from Tunisia, and waiting until after S02 to pick a target. Italy can get away with it provided that Austria is above the moron class of players and doesn't blitz him in 1901 (if so, kiss surviving goodbye, pop a beer and enjoy the Juggernaut-induced schadenfreude). This provides an enormous advantage to Italy, because it gets the chance to see the strategic position on the board, the alliances, etc. before it commits, something no other power can really afford to do. This is because Italy alone is never the initial target of a gang up attack.

That said, an aggressive opening against Austria *can* work -- but you have to play your cards VERY carefully. I would lean toward opening to Tyrolia (almost never blocked) and then supporting myself into Trieste (rarely blocked), and seeing what the diplomatic situation looks like. If you suspect a Juggernaut or EF, then a 2-fleet Rom/Nap build is the best sign of peace you can possibly make; if you're going to continue, F Ven/A Rom is a pretty slick set of builds, because you can support yourself to Vienna and put units in ADS/Ven to recapture Trieste in A02.

Wow that is a great explanation as italy Thank you very much.

Question: If you don't take Turkey out early can't he just get out of his box and open up a can of whoop ass everywhere and build fleets like hell to take out italy and set up defense against england?

He can, but if you don't go plunge into Austria right off the bat, Austria usually provides the requisite buffer to keep Turkey from doing so. ATs in gunboats are rare, in my experience.

Yea. I played one game as austria with some guy as turkey and we seriously went for a 17/17 draw haha. It was rare but a fun experience...me playing as Italy right now isn't a fun experience. but I will say with the ability to defend myself as long as I have I'm proud of myself.

I will say that Turkey is given the opportunity to grow exponentially after he is "out the hat" but if pounced on immediatley by austria and russia his ass will gobble gobble to the grave...

I just don't see why the A/R alliance against turkey is so underplayed. If it was turkey would most always be taken out.

okay so next question. As italy what is the best defense against Turkey? I know defending against france isn't really difficult. It's Turkey that Italy usually gets killed by often.

I remember seeing a trendy move toward ARs in press live games last summer, but they seem to just show up in waves and then disappear off the face of the Earth.

As for Turkey, it's probably just making sure Turkey never gets too far out of the bag. He can be allowed to expand in 1901 or 02 but if he's still viable after his initial target is gone, his second is usually Italy.

In my experience, Turkey getting Greece is usually the tipping point between a weak and powerful Turkey.