As France: Frustrating game for me. I think this one really showed my rust in not having played many high quality slow games in quite some time. Should have either supported Germany to Bel or built a fleet in Mar. Instead, I did neither- which helped bring about an E-G which may or may not have happened otherwise. In live games, I play a very aggressive F. Can't get away with it at this level- which is a good thing. Lesson learned! Anyway, I felt I put up a tough defense. My goal was to draw E out of position so as to tempt Germany into an easy stab. The opportunites were there, but the frustratingly loyal Mujus wouldn't bite <shakes fist in air>. Anyway, once I saw this was the case and that I simply could not hold out any longer, I tried my best to throw my centers to E in the hopes that in death I could avenge myself upon G. Unfortunately, my suicide was also a failure. Alas.

gg all

@babak, I really hated you this game.

@ Lando - I really want to know why you chose to move to Tyl and how the hell you managed not to have Russia move to gal. I NEVER have that sort of luck lol. in fact, i think this was the only game out of the 7 where there was no bounce in Gal and where Austria moved to Tyrolia. dang my luck.

Good game, all! As Turkey I figured the safest thing was to open hard against Russia... and because of this, I can't tell you how glad I was to see Austria and Italy go after each other. I got managed to tread water in the Balkans for a bit, taking and then losing both Bulgaria and then Rumania in turn. Russia's continued focus on Austria kept the pressure off me. Once I took Sevastopol my northern border was secured and I was free to move west, but Babak did a great job of keeping my units held in place for a bit (bouncing in Aegean).

Anyway, by 1904 the Anglo-German alliance was scaring me a bit. Russia's collapse had them on my doorstep -- partially my fault, I know. I at least wanted to squeeze out one more nation before trying to draw, though... and I also saw potential for a win if I held out. So I went after Austria, and it seemed everyone else had the same idea. Squeezed!

At that point, during what turned out to be the last build phase, I had to decide: Do I stab Italy? jmeyersd and I were the only ones at this point who had not voted for a Draw, and I was still humoring the possibility of winning. I could easily trample through Moscow and Warsaw, and could definitely overpower Italy... but it could mean giving England an opening in the Med that they wouldn't otherwise get, and after Game 4: Exile's debacle, I was loathe to let my greed cloud my judgment and give a win to someone else. So I voted Draw, and not long after the game was indeed finished.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

gg all. my main thought on this game was the amazing alliance i had with mujus/germany. that was one of the best-coordinated gunboat alliances i've ever had the pleasure of playing. thanks mujus!

at some point around 04/05 i made the mistake of entering orders on my phone and so retreat-bounced in brest, which set back the timetable a bit. thanks to ger for sticking with me after that. i wonder how things would have turned out had i gone to wmed.

before i left i was planning to go to swe and then support myself to den while taking par/mar and probably trying a convoy to bel. sarg took the safer (and probably smarter) course which let things wind down a little more. i'm happy with the final result, as i would've felt a twinge of conscience soloing at the expense of ger. gg all

Wow! It was a pleasure to play with y'all once again, and to get a share of a draw (especially since it may be my only one!). Yeah, good coordination with England. Of course, as Germany, it was a little unsettling to see the pink spreading around me like a pool of (my) blood.... heh heh. I did see the stab coming but hoped that my defensive moves would make me a less appealing target. The two major points I'm learning in this series are these: 1) You guys don't play like my average opponents, and 2) I need to stop overextending myself. And just so you all know: I have really appreciated the chance to play with such a talented group of players.