gameID=153091

I will have some more thoughts later, but, Ogion/Italy, we worked so hard on that Central Alliance, I still don't understand why you bailed on it. France and Russia are usually the winningest countries on this site, and I don't know why you'd help them out versus working with Austria and Germany.

Russia reporting in.
I was friendly with France from the start - We had a deal for a sealion-like opening with Germany, and we were supposed to tag-team Germany as soon as England was neutralized. I stayed friendly with both F and G, and found out that G leaked some of my press to F. So, I had to get them to fight each other. I talked France into talking Germany into attacking me, so that France can stab them. Then, instead of jumping in, I started helping Germany defend, while trying to remain friendly. At one time, I supported France, but told Germany to cut the support. ssorenn saw through it, and asked me directly. So, I faked a screenshot of my press with Germany (Don't trust those!) to stay on his good side.

On the south side, I started out friendly with everyone, but decided to go after Turkey pretty quick. JaimeR was.. spartan in his press, and I had a much easier time working with ckroberts (Austria). Until he pulled his pants all the way down and turned his back - There was no way I wouldn't take that stab.

At the end of 1905 it was obvious that France and Russia will dominate the board, with Italy playing kingmaker, or as is the case drawmaker. Still, I really didn't want to give up that easily. Austria asked for peace, so I tried recruiting A/G to help me solo in exchange for a survival. But, there was some miscommunication and their moves weren't what I had asked, so I just decided to take as much as I can.

At this point, I was counting on ssorenn to make a play for the solo, with Italy and me trying to stop it. I set my draw vote up, so Italy would lower his guard a bit and then maybe I'd get a chance.
ssorenn suggested a 17/17 split, and that was obviously a ploy, but I kinda agreed, hoping he'd attack/piss off Ogion and give me some Turkish centers. Next thing I know, we drew.

Congratulations everyone, this was a very fun game. I'm really sorry about the NMR.. As I said, I accidentally slept 8 hours longer than intended. Was late for work too.

Specifically:
ssorenn - You were a very aggressive and scary power. I was friendly, but was trying to find a way to slow you down at every turn, because I knew you'd run me over if given the chance.

Ogion - Well done, you were the weaker power, but managed to place yourself perfectly that no one would dare attack you. Your slow progress in the first 4 years made you an unlikely candidate for a solo, but you managed to get the best out of it.

Marz - Sorry about the stab in 1902. The odds were against you from the start, there wasn't much you could have done. Shame G and F were so tight, I was hoping you'd be a thorn in the French side for much longer.

HB - It was a pleasure. Originally I tried to keep you from growing, but when I saw that you wouldn't be attacking me, I started seeing you as a vassal, and am very sad to see you gone. I made a mistake of not going for a solo with you and Austria, but at the time I thought it was a ruse on the Austrian side, so I resorted to getting friendly with Italy.

ckroberts - Our attempts to DMZ Gal and generally not threaten each other were fun, but ultimately futile. I liked Germany, and was afraid of France, so I didn't dare attack them. That only left you as a target.

JaimeR - Your press was really scarce, which is the main reason I sided with Austria. It seemed like you were willing to honor our DMZs and even do a full Jugg, but I just found better allies in A/G/I.

Oh sweet, an EoG! I love these.

Germany pitching in here; I've been having an ongoing dialogue with Ssorenn about my play, lack of confidence, etc. From the outset, I enjoyed this game, despite the result. I'll echo Sherincall...France wasn't necessarily aggressive, but pointed and direct. I kept getting pissed off because there would be something that I felt we agreed on, in terms of movement, but I missed the conversations that should have taken place. Next thing you know, an agreed on move would be made, but the followup that I didn't expect would happen, and I was left in a worse condition. In that case, well-played Ssorenn. You pissed me off repeatedly. And, your press style changed so that I didn't think it was you.

My plan at the beginning (and maybe this is something I need to not hold so firm and fast with) was to create a central triple with Austria and Italy. Both seemed amenable to the idea BUT in the following years, press I would get from both made me feel like I had to continue to massage the relationship, keep the focus intact, etc.

The plan was to eliminate the corner 2 first...England and Turkey. This required FG v E, and AR v T, with Italy filling in some of the gaps (against Turkey). Then, it would have been IG v F, and A v R, or something like that depending on who was struggling more.

Progress against England was slower than I would have liked, plus, I made the unfortunate mistake of misordering to Ruhr (or something, can't remember right now) and that damaged the relationship with France. I felt I could never vacate Munich and use that unit effectively. While this was going on, I tried to pull Russia over to at least make some sort of move against France, but by the time this press had been made, I think they were already planning on moving against me.

I was badly out of position, and when Italy had built Venice while sitting in Trieste, I assumed the worst. Russia then suggested moving toward the survive, and by this point, low-hanging fruit is easy to grab.

By this point, I shut down on the game, which is something I typically don't do. I felt the emotional energy wasn't there, and I really just stopped communicating with anyone.

Lessons: Have a clear centre goal (didn't do that this time), be adaptable (maybe hope the CT lasts, in theory, but consider my needs more).