Yes, the other finished last week.

Congrats Sarg! ABIC-G2 was the actual championship game, so this was merely a random game of seven anonymous people with no impact on the invitational, though it clearly had quality players and is a very impressive solo nonetheless, again, well played Sarg!

Oh. I see.

I find it odd, then, that Lando was in the "actual championship" instead of me, considering in what was afterwards called the qualifying round I actually scored higher than him in our game.

Bit disappointed to learn I was just seen as a random.

Even if ours was just an extra game for randomers that had no significance, it seems petty to feel the need to say that after we've just finished playing for months, in the belief that we were part of the championship.

Sarg, I never said the person with the most centers qualified for the championship game, that would have made the championship not very anonymous, right, everyone could look and figure out who was playing. Also, I don't think the person with the most centers in a draw played the best every time, so I used my own judgement, since it was my tournament and I was charged with keeping games as anonymous as possible, even the championship game.

As far as pointing out this game wasn't the championship game, it is the fact, so I don't really see the issue... As I stated, I think it was a quality game, and you won, so kudos.

Ok. At least I know how large an amount of salt I need to take the next time I see you advertising a series of games.

Ouch, dare I say Carnivore score? (see profile)

Soon, Carnivore score will replace everything.

Sarg, please go back to the original thread about the ABI championship:

http://webdiplomacy.net/forum.php?threadID=800930&page-thread=1#threadPager

Here's a question you asked back then:

"Will the seven 'finalists' be any player you choose, for example even someone who was defeated, or will you nominate based on in-game performance and final result?"

Here's my response:

"I would nominate based on in-game play, but doesn't have to be an obvious choice, could be someone defeated too."

At that point in time you responded:

"Wow, ok."

Finally, here's the last thing I said about the two game championship:

"FYI - I want the championship game to be as anonymous as possible, so if anybody wants to volunteer to play, whether you were in the invitational or not, please PM me and we'll see what happens. If I get enough interest, I may even have two championship games, splitting up the ABI single game "champions" against some more anonymous competition."

Please note, Sarg, the first thing I said was that I wanted the championship game to be as anonymous as possible. Also note I later said I "may" have two games that splits up the champions. Again, I want it clear that this *annual* invitational is about the unexpected, nobody, including yourself, should assume anything, including the fact that you are playing for the championship. The entire spirit of the Invitational was that I took on the task of mixing things up and keeping people out of "the know", and I did that to the best of my ability, regardless of if I accomplished that or not, and regardless of if you agree with how I did things or not. My intentions were in the right place and if you honestly feel you are a victim and/or have been cheated, I apologize.

You can use it for tournaments and make thé one who accumulates most the winner

Marx: I quote you from above "If I get enough interest, I may even have two championship games"

Two championship games.

Not one championship game and a pity game. Two championship games.

You never said that there would only be one true championship game and the other would be a pity game - so to turn round and say so now is unfair, petty, and unnecessary. That's all.

I don't feel like a victim - I was just surprised at the sudden change in the status of the ABIC-1 game. A few people even messaged me and said how odd it was that I win and suddenly the game is no longer a championship one.

Oh well. I don't care enough about the petty politics of this that much anyway, I was just surprised that you would feel the need to say that in this EOG thread. The double standard is clear from your own quotation of yourself. But, as you have just said to me in private message, it's not my place to understand you.

I said if I get enough interest, I *may* create two championship games, implication being I may not create two championship games, and ultimately I did not, I merely created two games, in the spirit of anonymity. Look at ABIC-G2, it has one player from each game, and was the true championship game, that's how I decided to do it from the start. If your ego got hurt in the process, I am sorry, but ultimately that's your issue to sort out.

No, my ego isn't hurt at all. I enjoyed the game that I was involved in. You don't need to attack me just to defend yourself here.

That said, your argument is wishy-washy. You should just admit that you were misleading - rather than making petty digs at my ego. Two championship games you said. Even in the thread you evidenced above, when you posted the links, you referred to them as championship games. Now suddenly they are not. It's petty. Whether you can admit that or not is your own issue. I was just airing my view at the petty way you felt the need to demarcate the games. It was completely unnecessary at this point.

He had made this point before but obviously some people (you) missed it. I don't see a problem with him making the point again.

You're likely just real rattled by the fact it is finally been proven that I am better dipcy player than you are. Too soon?

Congrats on your victory.

Sarg, why on earth would you suggest I "should just admit" I was misleading, that's my entire point, I was 100% misleading, that's how I chose to maximize anonymity?!

Given my stated goal, how would you have me refer to the two games, one as the real championship game and a fake championship game? How does that maximize the possibilities for anonymity? In fact, the two games together masked the real championship game very well, in my opinion, so the real championship game could not have been nearly as anonymous without the second game, and thus the two games are arguably inseparable from the championship itself, so I see no reason why they could not honestly be referenced as championship games, even with one not crowing the champion, that one still made the championship game all that it could be, right?

I for one am glad to know that the game I was eliminated from was not a tournament game. lol

...and that my stabby and complainy former ally didn't get a championship off of me--petty as that may seem. ;-)

Mujus, it was a tournament game, just at the first round games were tournament games, it just wasn't for the championship... I'm confident the anonymity the seven of you had in that game, as well as the competitiveness of the game, were well worth playing regardless of the official status of the game itself, though I admittedly more of a "process" sort of guy than "end result" sort of guy, it's not whether you win or lose (or draw), but how you play the game.

That said, congrats to MrcsAurelius, the inaugural ABI Champion, excellent end result, kudos!! ;-)

Hey, I still would like to read more EoG's, and hear how people liked the game and the anonymity the came along with it...

Thanks for setting this up and I can't wait for the next one.

No problem qtlp, glad you enjoyed it, thanks for joining/playing!

HEY, I will be doing this again, and would love more feedback. Did others, besides Sarg, take offense to this game not deciding the championship? Was this specific game a quality game, in the eyes of the seven participants??

No its fine that it wasn't part of the championship. It was my first NMR and I had other errors in my play but it was a fun game.

Obviously this wasn't a tournament in the sense of a defined reward structure. I don't think I did anything particularly well in the first round that warranted me being in the 'championship' game but I really enjoyed the competition and anonymonity.
Sarg, I wouldn't get too worked up over whatever rankings mm gave to the games.

MadMarx's wording was a bit unclear -- I would have interpretted it that same way as Sarg -- so I can understand Sarg's disappointment. Maybe you guys should have a play-off?

Thanks Yonni.

Unlike what MM and Lando say, it wasn't my ego that was offended but the petty way MM had to drop that this wasn't a significant game in his tournament. It was unnecessary and unfriendly. That that has even remotely bothered me to waste valuable minutes of my life writing messages about it in this thread only tells me that this isn't worth my involvement and that I should pull back. Likely MM or Lando will cop in with another retort so I'm going to bow out of this one now.

Good game to my fellow competitor, thanks again. Good luck to everyone else who plays in the next one.

... even if it is "unofficial" ;-)

Sargmacher was Turkey to my Russia. We started working together early, but then Sarge started early to wrangle for a position of advantage over me. After much indecision, I finally took the risk of a gang-busters alliance and left myself open, which is fine with some players--but not with Sarge, as I learned to my chagrin. Still, it was worth the risk, which pays off sometimes, and other times, not so much.

Sarg, sorry you are not happy with me and my words of late. My intent was not to be petty, my intent was to make clear to as many as possible that the ABI is all about the unexpected, all about surprises, all about the unknown, so "revealing" the format after the fact was meant to highlight the very nature of the ABI and to be celebrated as something different, unique, and exciting. The best laid plans sometimes go astray, but I believe the way the ABI came together this first year was pretty cool, and I look forward to bringing new twists and turns next time around, this October, and if you are not interested, the invitational will clearly suffer for it, but the beat must go on.

I really enjoyed the game, and it took me quite some diploming to survive the early attacks of E/F/R, after 03 I thought I was gone... I tried hard to set up F for the stalemate line in the end, and its a bit sad it had to end with a NMR, but otherwise it was a quality game!

Hey guys, I just noticed this, and I didn't do all that much, but I'll try to get something up soon.

As for this championship stuff, it shouldn't really matter that much, and I agree with MM's choice as far as my games, but I would be interested in hearing more of his rationale on specific games.

Congrats on the win Sarg!

Congratulations Sargmacher!

I'm surprised, I really thought Turkey was played by MM. But I didn't account for the posibility of him not being in this game :P

I wasn't very impressed by your play, though. For some reason, you kept picking onme. Everything I did, every post I made you found some reason to critisise me. And I still can't imagine what would make you so angry at me specifically. I tried numerous times to organise an alliance, but each and every time you started to make demands before even considering to make some compromises yourself.

An example: in 1903, I offered to stop contesting the Ionian, because that would make Russia the only southern power with armies, and leave Turkey defenseless against a Russian stab. As a reaction, you told me: "okay, but you shouldn't build F Nap then." That's not stopping the contest, that's conceding it. Did you honestly think I would go for that?

Anyway, you won, so I shouldn't question your strategy.

By the way: Mujus, you should start stabbing your allies earlier. You could have won this game. Stab Turkey in 04,04 or 06 and you completely dominate the game.

Basvan, you think Sarg was criticizing you??? You should have seen the private messages he kept sending me. I was on the point of stabbing him just in reaction to his constant complaining and accusing, but held myself back from it. And I don't stab allies unless it looks like they are going to attack me. I prefer to risk getting stabbed if taking the risk affords the chance of an amazing alliance.

What a bunch!

Divine intervention is not allowed by the mods.