Also, the fact that we played it live at least three times, I think this one makes it four.

looks like a great game. Classic english naval power combined with germany land forces.... looks good.

Looking good!

um, don't you mean classic english naval power facing off against german land forces? lol

Haha. Ah how things can change! Good luck to you both. ; )

The game has turned into a model of human incentive. Germany and England were dis-incented to cooperate , as each wanted the win. Russia and Italy are strongly incented to cooperate, as only together can they hope to participate in a draw - the perfect example of when an unbreakable alliance makes sense in this game.

If England and Germany trusted each other, they could quickly break down Italy and Russia. But because England will not use fleets to support Russia's armies, and Russia will not use armies to support England's fleets, this is likely to go down as a 4-way draw, with England and Germany splitting 31 of the SCs and Italy and Russia holding on with 3 strategically placed SCs.

kudos to italy and russia ;)

dj, I was trying to understand what was the plan for Lon army in 1909 (both spring and autumn): it tries to get convoyed, but noone convoys it. Just a mistake or some infernal ruse? Hopefully it's not one of the things you can't comment on during the game.

lol most likely a mistake. i'm dreadfully prone to them. or the system full of bugs. yes, that must be it! i don't make mistakes! it's kestas' fault! i demand a re-do!!

The standoff was too strong, and Germany finally bowed to the inevitable - having to share a draw with the team of 2SC Russia and 1SC Italy. Great game, played in at least 4 live sessions (only one planned) and then in regular turns. I think real time was a little over a week?

Game is over now.

Certainly one of the best I've played.

Thank you all, jbalcorn, vexlord, airborne, and of course, the counterpart to my uneasy relationship, Ms Bent.

Also pandasun and Submariner, although they didn't get to play as much as the rest.

@jbalcorn: Not more than two weeks, surely.

yes indeed. a quick game, but a brutally excellent one! the on-again-off-again friendship of england and germany was great. xapi, jbalcorn and airborne all played quite well, especially in the end game.

after my initial stab i actually thought xapi and i would go on to share a 2-way draw. but once he stabbed me (understandable as it was) there was no chance of it. it was frustrating to be so close to 18 and yet not able to get it, and i'm sure xapi felt the same way.

jbalcorn, next week let's start a new game so we can keep up our constant banter with each other. i can't believe we're not in any other games together right now! =)

Well, it was frustating, but in a weird way.

In the end, I knew it was a huge risk, and you made all the right moves as I made all the wrong moves, so I guess it had to happen.

My last attempt at a two way was clearly weak, but I was desperate.

well i was tempted to try, but i just couldn't hold my borders properly. so it was too risky.

kaiser xapi, in 1914, offered us to keep fighting in the north, while we each inch toward turkey to try to complete the two way draw (or one of us solo in the mean time). it just didn't seem possible for it to work - i was too spread out, encircling germany, while his units could be a lot more concentrated. so i didn't risk further spreading.

I usually suck ass playing Germany, so this was a change for the better.

I would like to thank Italy for his excellent teamwork, without him I think the game would of been a German or Anglo win.
I admit I came close to stabbing him several times; really close when England and Germany both offered me a 3 three-way draw

@airborne - it was incredibly satisfying to hold our small alliance together and to create the right diplomatic atmosphere to stop any solos and to keep Germany and Italy suspicous of each other enough to stop them from taking us out together! :-)

i think jbalcorn and airborne, and to a lesser extent vexlord, showed why you should never give up when you have only one or two SCs left. by playing carefully and doing a great job on diplomacy, you can pull something impressive like participation in the draw with only one center.

yes djbent doesn't make mistakes... the bent gambit is named after someone else...

let's rename it the kestas gambit. i *know* i entered edi-nwg, the *system* sent edi-nth. stupid system. lolz