For the second straight game, the host had the most. Playing Austria, host Greg Duenow topped Game No. 81 today with 10 centers. Last week, Matt Sundstrom topped Game No. 80 at his home in Glenview.
Also for the second straight game, the emergency replacement had his head handed to him. Last week, it was Mike Morrison getting the quick hook. This week, it was Gary Przybocki, playing with the group for the first time since January after his return from Savannah.
The game ended in Spring 1908 with the following center counts:
Early on, it was a fluid game with a lot of back and forth in the West and North, but it eventually settled into a two-vs-two battle for the stalemate line.
Players, please post your endgame statements in the comments section below.
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GREG! GREAT JOB.
Swear I posted this yesterday, but didn’t appear.
As a side note, looks like Russia is back where the Weasels have historically held it.
Is it me, or has Weasel Traffic come to a snail’s pace?
Thomas C
For those of you who weren’t there, we used a new power selection method devised by Greg called Screw Your Neighbor.
We each rolled a 12-sided die (Greg’s a nerd), and the high roll chose first. We proceeded in clockwise fashion from there, but the catch was that when you selected a power, you were picking for someone else, not yourself.
I rolled a high with an 11 (I’m a nerd, too), and I gave Austria to Greg as a special thank you. I’m pretty sure the selection went something like this:
Peter gave Germany to Ted.
Greg gave Turkey to Gary.
Ted gave Italy to me.
Gary gave Russia to Marty.
Marty gave France to Christian.
And that left England for Peter.
I’m partial to the White Elephant method, but this was a fun twist.
Just some thoughts on the game from the Italian perspective.
I figured the West would resolve itself quickly, so I was determined to wrap things up in the East just as quickly so that I wasn’t out on a limb when either France (Christian) or England (Peter) sailed into the Med.
As it turned out, there was quite a bit of back and forth in the west. England and France appeared to move toward Germany (Ted), but then France backed off as England and Germany moved against Russia. Then England stabbed Germany, and then France brutally stabbed England for three dots. But eventually, England and France patched things up, and at that point, France steamed into the Mediterranean.
Fortunately, the East had already sorted itself out, and I was ready.
Austria (Greg) and I worked together pretty well, despite some early distrust. He actually suggested the Key Lepanto to me, and I agreed, but then the dirty bastard bounced me.
Problem was he was then unable to participate in the arranged standoff in Galicia.
The presence of a Russian army in Galicia changed my thinking a bit. I had initially favored a quick blitz of Turkey, but I decided to try to engineer a set of moves that would leave Austria with four at best. Russia (Marty) and Turkey (Gary) agreed to my scheme — which called for Ven-Tri, Gal-Bud and Bul-Gre — but neither followed through, and Greg bounced me again in Tri. Bastards, all.
We built eight fleets. in 1901. Not a great sign for an Italy who builds only one of them. England and Russia built two each, Germany and France built an army and a fleet, and Italy and Turkey built a fleet each. Only Austria went without, building two armies instead.
In 1902, I played a straight-up Lepanto, landing in Syria in the Fall. That Fall turn provided one of those adrenaline rushes that makes Diplomacy so thrilling to play. Christian had fleets in the Mid and the South Coast of Spain. If I convoy while he enters the Med, I’m screwed. I thought hard about pulling my fleets back, but in the end, I chose the convoy, and my heart raced while we read the orders.
But Christian didn’t sail into the Med, and in 1903, I took my first of three Turkish dots.
We eliminated Gary in 1904, as I took another Turkish dot. And in 1905, I wrested my third, Ankara, from Russia.
That third one was critical, as it coincided with France’s push into the Med. Tunis was doomed, but I was able to take Ankara in addition to Munich (from France, with Austrian support), so I built anyway. When I’m the aggressor, it always demoralizes me a bit when my target builds despite my attack, so it was nice to be on the other end of that transaction.
With the build, I was able to shore up my defenses, aided by an Austrian fleet in the Ionian, and France advanced no farther.
In 1906, Austria eliminated Marty. Well, actually Gary. Down to three units and in a pretty hopeless position, Marty asked for permission to turn the reins over to Gary in Fall 1905 (I think). He had some stuff to do elsewhere, so we unanimously agreed to ignore the house rule that prohibits eliminated players from returning to the game. Thanks to our magnanimous spirit, Gary now owns the distinction of being the only player eliminated twice from the same game, although officially, Marty gets credit for Russia’s demise. š
The following year, England and France eliminated Germany, which was still played by Ted, and then we called the game in Spring 1908 in a four-way draw along the stalemate line.
It was a lot of fun, but Greg is guilty of false advertising. There was no whiskey. He did briefly play a banjo, and Peter played a guitar and sang for us. (Greg listened to that for a minute and then said, “John Belushi, Animal House.”)
And afterward, Peter, Christian, Ted and I retired to Schaller’s Pump for a couple of drinks.
All in all, a good day.