I was England. Here are my predecessor's and my notes.


Autumn, 1901: Dear diary,
I heard back from both Germany and France, and personalities really took opposite directions. Germany has shown himself to want an alliance at every turn. His press last year was 100% truth as he told me Russia said he would move south and he had been considering the move to Hol as opposed to Den. He spoke truth again this year when he said France was considering a move to Bur with support but would get back to him.
I believe France lied in part last year when he said Russia was moving 2 north. I believe Russia DID suggest France move to the ENG. France also was truthful when he said he wouldn't move to the Channel. I believe France *thinks* he told Germany he was definitely supporting himself to Bur as opposed to simply considering the option.
The biggest difference between France and Germany is that France is willing to sow small nuances into his sentences while Germany tells straight truth. Also, France is selfish while Germany is not.
A bounce in Bur already screws Germany since it leaves him with no real play for 3 centers and little play (none if he opens to Den) on Bel. It hurts France with nothing since he had the option to bounce with Mar while moving Par-Pic. The fact that France SUPPORTED himself there shows that he prefers to be dominant over any ally he's with. Couple that with the fact that he even suggested he take Bel for a third build, and wanted to play things by ear before outright agreeing to give me Belgium is a pretty clear declaration that he's going to look for self first and simply leave me with whatever scraps are left over.
Germany, on the other hand, said support was fine and didn't raise issue with it. He certainly didn't suggest no one getting it.
#germany4thewin.

In the south/east I really need to see a mess Don there that favors Austria and Turkey instead of Russia. If I can get Russia on the losing end of things it means I don't have a Russian pounding at my door a few years from now. Toward that, I will suggest Austria try to convince Turkey to support Bud-Rum. That way, it maximizes his gains. I don't believe he will be able to trust Russia given the bold (France-like) move to Gal. Plus, if Turkey bites, he could have a great underdog ally. Here are my thoughts on why the Rum move is better than defending:
If he moves to Rum and...
--Russia moves to Rum with all 3 but Turkey cuts support and Italy stays in Ven, Austria gets 3 builds (best case)
--Russia or Italy attack at Vie/Tri but the other doesn't, Austria gets 2 builds
--Russia AND Italy attack, Austria gets 1 build (worst case).

If Austria defends:
It's a guessing game as to where to defend. Russia could move to Vie or Bud in anticipation of A moving to Vie to cover. A also has to cover Tri.
--Austria defends but no one attacks and gets 2 builds (best case)
--Austria defends correctly against Russia or Italy, but both do not attack. Austria gets 2 builds.
--Austria defends incorrectly but only one of them attacks, not both. Austria gets 1 build.
--Austria defends correctly but both attack. Austria gets 1 build.
--Austria defends incorrectly and both attack and gets 0 builds (worst case).

These are the exhaustive options for both scenarios. Notice that the best case for defense is only 2 builds, there are more ways to come away with just 1 build, AND the possibility of 0 builds exists.
The merits to attacking include the possibility for 3 builds, no chance for 0 builds and reduced stress since he doesn't have to worry about defending incorrectly given all possibilities.

I'm going to suggest this to him when I get time. Now, it's off to work.
14 Jul 2015 Autumn, 1901: Dear Diary: note to self: don't be as paranoid as Russia. Every season he has told me he heard from "multiple sources" that I'm planning on doing what I said I wouldn't. If others get irritated hearing paranoia and distrust the way I have been, I'll never have an ally again. My tolerance for his press is reducing as seasons go by. Hes sorta like that guy in FtF who you have a hard time talking to because he has horrible breath, but you gotta to make sure your goals are accomplished. Maybe it's his method, and it's successful in other situations with other players, but not me. He should be building the type of trusting relationship that has me pushing for 18 by hitting Tunis and the Boot instead of Mos and War.
15 Jul 2015 Autumn, 1901: Dear Diary,
Every time I finish a post for this thing, I'm apprehensive to hit send, always expecting the note to instead get sent to someone I wouldn't want it sent to. I wonder how many others feel that way...
Anyhow, this is France's SECOND attempt to try to take Bel, although this was far more direct. Take this as a hint, France, if you want an ally, it's better NOT to try to suggest you get 3 builds while the person you're trying to persuade onto your side gets 1. Better to have 2 builds and a friend than 3 and lose the game. It's only 1901. The opportunity will be there to gain more of you can get an ally. Ally first, builds second.
As per Germany and my discussion, I believe we will have France poised to try uselessly for Mun.
There is always a fear that I'm being duped and that Germany won't offer support and F and G will standoff in Bel so no one gets it, but I don't get that impression. I guess I'll know more in 9 hours.

Austria and I seem to have gotten off to a really good start. Hopefully I bought him an ally. I'd rather see a AT than a AR, but in the long run, knowing he is on that side of the map doing well will help in the long run.

Haven't heard from Italy in a while. Time to drop him a line and see what he has to say.
16 Jul 2015 Autumn, 1901: Dear Diary
It's the 01 build phase. I have an ally in France or Germany if I want. Both issued support. I'm still very loosely/vaguely toying with a French alliance be clause if there's a RT (and the signs are there), I need a quick fight and hitting France without Italian help will be slowwww. I still trust Germany more and I feel he would be the easier person to stab later in the game if it comes to that, which is a plus. It's also a strain to make a French alliance work. He wants into the ENG, he keeps asking for Bel and I suggested he take an army around Switzerland bit I'm sure it will be met with a 'can't do that. Violates Italian DMZs' bs.
I told France that he can build F Bre and he said it's a useless build if it can't move to the Channel, which is true. It would be nice if he suggested 2 army builds. That would make eliminating him much easier. Hopefully Germany will be on soon and we can begin game planning because if it comes down to me picking France or a non responsive German, I'm going French all the way.
I sent press trying to get Russia to agree to no builds in StP other than maybe F StP sc. If there is a RT, eventually I'll have to expend the resources to take Swe and StP to prevent a backlash from Russia, so I'm really hoping he agrees to the DMZs to buy me that time.
Spoke with Turkey who alludes that my claim of a RT is a ludicrous idea. Hes saying what he has to, because RTs always have to deny their presence, but every move he made last year screams RT. He will probably point out "yeah, but I attacked Sev" to which I will reply "as a safety net in case Russia moved to the BLA that you both clearly agreed to DMZ. I bet Turkey builds F Smy, Russia builds A War and toys with a build at StP to secure Swe until he can further a campaign in the north.

I offered for Italy to join us in a French assault, but am not pushing the issue. I'd love for him to agree to it before having to put a lot of effort into it. More later
18 Jul 2015 Spring, 1902: Dear Diary
It's S02, the official start of the game. When I saw builds, I was very satisfied. France built predictably. Now he's going to move to the MAO and possibly Pic and will definitely hit Ruh expecting support. His Spa army will move to Gas/Mar. Predictable moves. I actually did like my press with France this build phase. When he feels like he's the target, he becomes more humble and easy to talk to. I appreciated that. It was far less about him and more about us. I still don't feel comfortable allying with him. Not because of him, but because I really like Germany and we have a RT which means I don't want a FR later in the game if we decimate Germany. I prefer to be the outside of an oreo.

Germany with dub armies! This tells me how pro-England he is. Not sure what he will do with them all, but I'm going to suggest Mun-Tyr and follow it with a move to Pie. That will stretch France. Of course we won't tell Italy. It's going to be a loooong time before I stab Germany. Hes the kind of player that will do whatever I need and will trust me forever. I plan on attacking France, taking StP and giving Germany Swe, pushing into Italy as the RT is crushing (hence my desire to not hit Russia for a while). I will take as much of Italy and the Boot as possible before knifing Germany

I'm going to propose to Russia that we each back our fleets off--his to Gob and mine to NTH to allow us to put the best net between us. Not sure if he will go for it. I really want to get a fleet in the ENG and NAO which will take time.

F Smy. Not sure why Turkey continues to play the "Dur, there's no RT" card. I know people call a RT the Juggernaut, but this is no juggernaut. This is a good, solid RT that doesn't threaten me. Turkey is less of a communicator than I want. I plan on confronting him with his lies in an effort to get him to drop his wall and open up more by reassuring him I'm not here to hurt him.

I wanted a AR, but a RT , AI is just as good. It's slow. I need slow. Especially with Germany and I taking on France without Italy. Italy and Austria should be able to slow them down. I just hope Italy doesn't get antsy.

I also wish Italy would have considered helping against France. He can prop up Austria and use Ven to hit France. I understand his reluctance but he needs a build somewhere and he's not going to get it aiding Austria. Plus, if he defends Austria, when the RT eventually wins, and it will without outside help, he will have already established himself ad an opponent instead of presenting himself as an ally. The RT will have relied on itself for success and will continue that pattern attacking a 4 center Italy. Oh well, it's his game and I can't play it for him.
20 Jul 2015 Autumn, 1902: Dear Diary
It's F02. My moves and coordination with Germany went with only one minor glitch: Russia in Silesia. We had talked about it since Germany knew in advance, but when your German ally doesn't get on and alter his moves, it's hard to ensure the best results. Oh well. I'm glad he's in Tyr. That will give us the ability to break the French wall.
I'd love support to Swe but the Russian retreat would screw us. Still, I may pose it to him. I'll take a fleet in Lvp and maybe convoy Nwy.

Still don't like Russia in Sil. I don't even like the proposed bounce. It really hurts things. If I don't get a handle on France soon, this game could suck for me.
23 Jul 2015 Autumn, 1902: Dear Diary
No builds this year but I still chalk it up as a big success. One of my fears in attacking France is that it was going to be a slow fight with many a year where Germany or I got a build, never both and sometimes neither while the west reduces quickly. Those fears were affirmed when I saw Spring moves and RA had Turkey in a choke hold because once Turkey is out of the picture, Russia has to go somewhere.
Austria fears it's him because Italy has some strength. I tend to agree, but there's never any certainty to this game until moves are revealed.
I consider this year a success because of several factors:
1) Germany successfully got into Pie. In all my games with a EG or EF, I have never seen F or G move around Switzerland to stick the other because no one wants to spook Italy, or because they want to but they ask permission and receive a 'no'. Germany was going to ask Italy for that same permission. Screw permission. Do it anyhow and let Italy deal with the consequences. What's he gonna do, bounce you on your way out? Psh, no. Hes gonna support a hold just like he did. Once someone is caught trespassing, you don't detain them. You tell them to get off your lawn using the quickest route.
With Germany in Pie, that means Mar is on lockdown.
2) Germany is in Bur. With my moves setup, I figured either Germany would be in Bur or I would be in the MAO but it certainly wasn't a guarantee. France had several options to prevent Germany getting into Bur, he just chose one that didn't work. In fact, had we gone with my initial suggestion of moving Bel to Bur with double German support, France wouldn't have been able to stop that either and in no case would he have earned Bel as a consequence for his loss. His moves were wholly lose-lose.
3) I'm in the MAO. This too was a guessing game. I anticipated France would either self-standoff in Bre, but more likely choose to use Pic to cut support at Bel. My other fear was that he would use Par or Mar one to self-standoff in Bre preventing me access to Bre and MAO. My thought was that I could try for MAO, or use my fleet to support one of his moves so that next year, he would have to jostle two units again to keep me out allowing Germany access to Mar.
I went with the MAO move because I figured if France played this season well, I would know the two units he would use to self-standoff next year, and I would support his army movement.
4) I feared a French move to the IRI on the chance I might have convoyed to Pic with support leaving me defenseless. That didn't happen.
5) Russia didn't gain ground OR take a build against Turkey. His choice to defend Rum instead of convoy to Arm while shuffling armies into Rum and Mos, plus the standoff in Gal plus his paranoid press about "people are telling me you're attacking me" means he's a very defensive risk-averse player. I don't have to worry about him soloing anymore, I don't have to worry about him stabbing me for a long time (if at all) because these require risk. He had the huge opportunity to trust that his diplomacy worked to buy him a Austrian ally enough to let him try some risk/reward moves and he didn't do that. He chose to turtle - up and gain nothing.
All-in-all, I got the best possible result given my position and one I certainly didn't expect to be fortunate enough to see. Score one for the pink and brown team.
25 Jul 2015 Spring, 1903: Dear Diary,
With 8 hours left, it's appalling the amount of press I HAVEN'T received. I expected the people of this game to be of high caliber. I have heard from Germany and Russia. France decided to go silent after the "stab" if you can call it that. As for the other half of the board...very poor display of their gamesmanship. I'm going to send another round of press since I firmly believe that of they aren't talking to me, they could be talking to someone else, and that the talker gets the ally.
26 Jul 2015 Autumn, 1903: Dear Diary
Logged on right at the phase turnover (well, a minute prior :) and I'm pretty disappointed. France NMRs, Italy screws up our game with a move to TYN/Pie???

Well, I'll go through my thoughts for each country.
France: poor show. An NMR is bad enough, but in a publicized game? Ouch. Lucky for him his position was somewhat salvaged by Italy.
Germany: Still going strong. It's nice to see Russia out of Boh. It brings peace of mind that's hard to come by.
Russia: Wow, an attack on Austria? What the heck is going on over there? Turkey should be about dead, yet his position is just as solid as it ever was (nearly). No build for anyone in the east.
Italy: He must be knew. He decided to move badly this year. I'm not sure how much press he's had with Turkey, but I doubt Turkey is happy with Italy's support of Austria to the AEG. I also bet Austria isn't happy with his move to Bul/ADR, and I KNOW I'm not happy with his move to Pie/TYN. This is a lesson on why we communicate in this game--so we don't do dumb stuff that causes people to go "hmm, this guy needs to die"
Turkey: not sure what's going on with him. I suppose I should send him some press. I know I've been lazy cultivating this relationship, but it's hard to talk to people that don't talk themselves. I suppose if he's going to live for a while, I'll have to talk to him.
28 Jul 2015 Autumn, 1903: Dear Diary,
It's Fall 02 retreats. I could finalize and see the phase switch over, but I've still got a lot of press to both send and receive. I've sent my first round of press during retreats and need to hear back from a few people and send some additional press before the build phase, if it's possible. There's still over 30 hours remaining but some people have really slacked on their communication.

I plan on retreating to the MAO and using that to hit the WES. It gives me positive options from a variety of outcomes whereas retreating to the IRI or NTH are counter-productive. I have my army at home for defense and a fleet build coming in at London which can cover the NTH. My MAO fleet will hit the WES repeatedly since Italy will obviously do one of the following: (a) support the French Gascony there, in which case my WES tap will cut support, (b) support a French fleet there, at which point I can choose to retreat to Por or NAf, or (c) move WES-Spa with French support, which, if it succeeds, will put my MAO fleet in NAf giving me Tun while my retreat can go to either GoL and strike Italy's home or Por if there's no French fleet in the MAO at which point Italy's move only costs France further loss.

I also need to focus on closing some gaps this coming year. I've got a lot of spaces and units spread pretty much everywhere leaving me vulnerable. I've got a solid German ally and I'm hoping Russia builds in Warsaw or Moscow to allow me next year to clean house and reorganize.

The fall turned out to be a REALLY good conclusion to the Spring. France, once again, chose the wrong moves and lost Marseilles. Had I been in his shoes, I'd have used Par-Bur and Gas-Spa to ensure supports were cut. It would have guaranteed him the ability to keep Marseilles given he had to have known Italy was moving to Pie. He did have a good move hitting the English Channel--it's what I'd have done. I'd have said 'screw England's ability to retreat, I want the Channel' and then I'd have rammed a fleet into either Wales or the IRI depending on England's build choice.
At this stage, France has a disband coming, so I'm hoping for another poor choice by disbanding the Channel, but Par/Gas are equally good choices for me. Really, he can't afford to disband anything, but that's not an option :)

I was also really pleased Germany went with my suggested move to use Pie to hit Mar. I will probably suggest he support me to Paris while he takes Belgium. It's less stress on my plate worrying about Bel and I can guarantee France loses Par this year if Germany first forces France to disband Gascony, although the finalized move ideas will depend entirely on what France ditches.

I've been spending some time talking to Austria and Turkey to try to patch things up. As it stands, if AT work together, they have a decent chance of pulling through. If they work together, I've suggested the idea that I can help by hitting Russia in the north. My thoughts on this are that I'd rather see a stronger AT than IR because AT isn't as cohesive and they're likely to just attack each other after Russia and Italy are reduced given past tensions and the likelihood that Turkey will have no real expansion except through Austria. The IR has been functioning since 1901 and it's not likely to break up once Austria and Turkey are gone, so it means I eventually have to face Russia and Italy when they're working in tandem instead of out of sync if the AT took control. To that end, I've been planting ideas of a Swedish invasion into Germany's ear. I'd love the build myself and if I give Germany Belgium, I can probably get Sweden free of charge along with Paris to ensure we both get builds next year.
9 Aug 2015 Autumn, 1904: Dear Diary,
I'm writing my S04 notes at the outset of the Fall. Opening Day preparation for school had me bogged down printing syllibi, pretests, etc. After seeing France's disband of one of his fleets, I knew Spain was, for the most part, secure. There's still that pain-in-the-neck Italy throwing a wrench into things. I fully intend to make his life miserable after France is gone, but until then, I need to play nice and act negotiable. So, I put another offer on the table.
There was very little said this Spring. So little that I barely heard from anyone within the last half of the phase. Germany and I agreed that I would take Bre, Por and probably StP while Germany takes Bel and Par. I suggested Germany try to pop a Parisian army by moving Mar-Gas under Bur support. Where France is concerned, I felt it would succeed. Hes not bold enough to try something drastic like hitting the NTH or IRI, but I gotta cover my bases anyhow.
I also suggested Germany hit Tyr from Mun. In part because Russia asked me to and it's an easy way to keep Russia on my side, but also because I really want Italy to back off, and the only way to do that is to force it.
9 Aug 2015 Autumn, 1904: Dear Diary,
It IS F04 and there's a lot to talk to you about. The Gas move succeeded, I also have Germany applying an appropriate amount of pressure to Italy and I will at least focus on taking my centers this year.
I know I will at least take one build and two if I can convince that annoying tick Italy to not "tap" my units. He sent me a late message "is tapping Spa hostile?" Um...yes. Because there's really no need for it. I'm going to send more press offering him a deal he can't refuse, and if he hits Spain again, he's going to regret it. Well, either way, I'm attacking him after this, but not because he's annoying. I want to cross the stalemate line and this is an easy way to do it.
I also need to send press to Austria and Turkey that I'm coming. To that end, I will probably take StP. I know it's going to pissed Russia off to no end, but I need the center, he won't be able to do jack about it, and it's the one guarantee I have to a build.

My press will center around making Germany look like a villain in the eyes of Italy so Italy doesn't focus on me, making me look like a hero to Austria by letting A know that I'm sending Germany to help and suggesting some moves, also making me look like a hero to Turkey by hitting StP. The only person that won't appreciate me is Russia.

Oh, I should probably talk a bit about Bel, as you're probably wondering what happened. I did suggest Germany take Bel because I have no real means of keeping it--I'm spread too thin. Germany liked it because he gets a build and it looks like we are at war. I plan on using it to make me look like a mild victim, although unless Germany builds fleets, his motives will be pretty clear as to where he's going.
11 Aug 2015 Autumn, 1904: Dear Diary,

It's the builds phase for 03. Lots of good things to report. I contemplated convoying Lon-Nwy instead of using the NTH because I was 90% confident France wouldn't be so bold as to try to hit London from the ENG. 10% did win out, though because I wanted France eliminated without leaving the possibility of him taking a center from me. I figured if France took London, it increased the chances Germany might turn on me in a marginally weakened state.

Italy held true to what he said, which means my diplomacy won the day. I will plan a southern invasion to reciprocate his compliance. I will talk pretty regularly with Austria and Turkey to make that happen. My goal is to get a solid foothold on Italy and then maybe look at smashing into Germany for a possible solo run. I may also try to convince Germany to support me into Moscow for the added centers. The more I have in the east, the less I have to worry about Austria or Turkey helping lock me out of centers like Munich or Berlin.

Russia's NMR was fortuitous. He goes down a center, it continues to bog down the east while I invade, and it gives me a less crappy reason for taking StP. If you're going to NMR, ya gotta expect people to take advantage of it. His disband won't be easy, but I guarantee it's from Boh or Ukr (probably Boh). I will also talk Germany into taking Swe next year as well as putting focus on War for builds. I don't want Germany to get too big while I position myself in the south, so hopefully Russia will protect against Germany instead of Turkey.
18 Aug 2015 Autumn, 1905: Dear Diary,
I know my messages to everyone (and myself) have been few and far between, but teaching AP Calc has taken a lot of my time working 12-14 hours per day. Eventually I'm hoping things will slow down.
Anyhow, this was a successful year. France is gone, Italy is down 1, Austria is up 1, Germany got nothing and I'm in striking position.
My guess is that Italy disbands a unit near Austria instead of me, which sucks, but it's what I'll deal with. Russia has been sending me messages trying to get me to stab Germany. Honestly I toyed with the idea which was lucrative with the possibility of +2 while G goes -2. The main reason I haven't is that I can't stab Germany until I get a foothold on an Italian center. If I stab Germany now, the board will turn and I'll have to draw a ridiculously large draw trying to fight GRI. Germany is in a vulnerable position, and will be all next year. Hopefully I will be in a spot to secure an Italian center and maybe stab Germany in the process, but I want Russia out of Swe and the north before I do. That way, I know Turkey won't sit bored while everyone turns since he will be worried about being cut from the draw, Russia won't have any retribution since he will be out of the north, and if I can take Tunis at the minimum, then I can take Germany for the solo or talk Turkey into working with me from the rear.

5 Sep 2015 Autumn, 1907: Dear diary, I just volunteered to take over England and already there's drama on the global. I'm not sure what I'm going to do in this game yet, but I'm hoping it will be fun. :)

Thu 10 Sep Autumn, 1907: I thought Germany was going to stab me (mainly because that's what I would have done as Germany). Italy isn't responsive. Russia just doesn't care. Austria and Turkey seem like they are of one mind at this point and they are very quiet. It's like pulling teeth to get them to talk. Question is should I go for a 3-way draw with AT? or mend fences with Germany and stab him later for the solo?

Sat 12 Sep Autumn, 1907: Dear diary, these people don't speak. I have had PPSC games where there were more communications.
Sat 19 Sep Spring, 1909: Dear diary, maybe it's because everyone thinks I am a solo threat and that's why they don't talk much? Otherwise, it's rather puzzling to me why Austria and Turkey don't even ask about my builds or have any sort of plans on what they want me to do. And it is also puzzling why Turkey chose to build another fleet...

Thu 04 PM Whether or not I win or draw this game, my advice to some of the players on the board is that you've gotta talk more. Talk to your friends and talk to your enemies. Be interested in what they are doing, how they are moving their pieces, what they promise to do, what builds they are thinking, etc. etc. Even if you are on your way out like Russia was, it would have been important to try to stick around for another year to throw the solo so that the one who ignored or stabbed you would feel that loss more acutely.
Even if you, the readers, disagree with my choices after I took over, I hope to illustrate the importance of talking to everybody, even those who may or may not be on their way out. You never know how they can change the game.

Fri 12 PM Dear diary, I won the game, but I should not have won the game, at least in this round. Germany and Austria should have worked together to prevent the solo. Even in the spring, Austria should have moved to Tyr and Bor to make Munich the Germany center to decide the game where my long-run solo plan of using Italy to move into Pied mont to tap Tyr and taking Munich would give me the solo (or if I can get into Prussia but that should be less likely). This game should have ended in a 3-way draw among ETA, but lack of planning and communication was why I won. Me taking Mun, Ber, and Kiel all in the last round should not have occurred and should have resulted in speeding up the 3-way draw if Austria and Germany had moved well together.