Not surprisingly, the final tune-up before WDC went to someone named Bryan. There were, after all, three of them in the game.
Game No. 303, played yesterday at Pete McNamara’s home in Evanston, went the distance, ending by time limit after the Fall 1912 turn in a five-way draw. The final center counts were:
Austria (Matt Sundstrom): 0; 0.000 points.
England (Jack Sundstrom): 3; 3.409 points.
France (Brian Shelden): 0; 0.000 points.
Germany (Bryan Pravel): 10; 37.879 points.
Italy (Brian Beck): 9; 30.682 points.
Russia (David Spanos): 5; 9.470 points.
Turkey (Pete McNamara): 7; 18.561 points.
The supply center chart is here.
Game No. 303 was our longest of the season, and as I wasn’t there, I can’t possibly do it justice. I hope the players will provide some color.
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Motto of the game. Always look on the bright side of life.
And for the record, the game was not nearly long enough for my tastes. EoG statements to follow. I still owe this one, plus two others.
Longest of the season, huh? As Italy, here was my take on the proceedings:
Spring 1901: Very conventional except for an unusually anti-Russian German move. That plus the Norwegian England move and the French move to Pic rather than Burgundy made me think a Western triple was in the works. I felt forced to answer it.
Fall 1901: Venice-Piedmont to defend against France, while England moved to the Barents and Germany picked up Belgium. Definitely a Western triple, but with me prepared for it and Russia not set to defend.
1902: French and Italian fleets square off and stalemate each other, while my alliance with Austria holds. England gets StP, and in a weird series of events, Austria gets Munich, Germany gets Holland, and Russia gets Sweden and Rumania. England now has everything he wanted in the North, and looks South to the stagnant French.
1903: Everyone piles on France. France doesn’t lose anything right away, but by the end of 1903, Italian fleets/armies are in W Med, GoL, and Piedmont, German armies are in Picardy and Burgundy, and an English fleet’s in the channel. The East keeps churning and Austria gains 2 centers at Russian and Turkish expense. Austria builds a second fleet.
1904: I break past the Italian 4, grabbing both Spain and Marseilles in the Spring. Germany retakes Munich, England gets Portugal, and Russia and Turkey.cooperate to keep Austria from further expansion.
1905-06: The Central triple holds now, with Italy and Germany teaming up against England, Italy and Austria teaming up against Turkey, and Germany, Austria, and Russia remaining a little messy. But somehow, because of out of place German armies, Germany loses the Low countries to England.
1907-1909: Italy gains in France and stabs Austria; I/G/A becomes I/G/T. I end up with all of France and Iberia, my home centers, and Greece in 1907. This spooks Germany into working with England just to maintain an edge in the West; he grabs France back with English help while I take and hold Trieste. Austria is stuck with no friendly neighbors and collapses.
1910-1912: The draw is now pretty well fixed as:
England: Home centers, maybe Norway
Germany: Home plus Paris, Brest, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, maybe Norway
Italy: Home plus Portugal, Spain, Marseilles, Tunis, Trieste, Greece
Turkey: Home plus Serbia, Rumania, Bulgaria, maybe Sevastopol.
Russia: Home plus Budapest, Vienna, maybe Norway, maybe minus Sevastopol.
A few draw offers are declined (Germany trying to poach an English home center), but this holds to the end, with Germany getting Norway and Turkey getting Sevastopol.